If you have Ubuntu, why do you use Windows?

[Old Pink]

In response to: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=57494

Personally, a month after trying Ubuntu, I removed XP. I understand a few of you still dual boot, why is this?

Waits for the thousands of responses about gaming....

[koshari]

kino is broken in ubuntu, so to import DV i are still reliant on winDV.

[Coelocanth]

In response to: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=57494

Personally, a month after trying Ubuntu, I removed XP. I understand a few of you still dual boot, why is this?

Waits for the thousands of responses about gaming....

Gaming is a minor consideration for me, but I like to keep a copy running and up to date just to keep familiar with it. I'll be starting a new job soon, and they use XP as their OS on all their machines, so it's good to keep in touch enough to know what I'm doing. I find I really only boot XP up enough to update my antivirus and spyware apps and get the MS updates though.

All in all, I guess I can't really say I 'use' Windows anymore...

[oracle5]

Gaming and I can't get ALEKS running under linux and I have to use it for my math classes. Those two are the only times I ever boot windows anymore.

[MetalMusicAddict]

This was already asked HERE (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=162171).

[meng]

I don't use Windows (except at work, and even then I try to use Linux as much as possible). If I did use Windows, it would be for the free-as-in-beer program Cyberboard, which is not a game, but is an application that enables playing board games in a play-by-email fashion. That would be the only reason. However, it remains the case that firmware upgrading is much easier in Windows.
If I can improve my Python skills, I'll be hoping to generate an open-source cross-platform alternative to Cyberboard.

[Senak^2]

I love Ubuntu and would love to use it solely, I even convinced my dad to use it as his main OS, but there is no way he's going to give up his games. Unfortunately his games are terrible at emulating so we added another hard drive with Win2K just for gaming. On the bright side he now uses Ubuntu for everything else.

[AlReece45]

Quite a few reasons for me.
ed

Technical Support. Sometimes sending in the laptop for technical support is inevitable. One time my power supply on my laptop went crazy and I had to take it in to get repaired at the store (or I could mail it in to HP and wait about 2 weeks). So, since I assumed since the guy didn't know about core 2 duo 2 months after it came out, that he wouldn't know anything about ubuntu or linux. So I set the grub boot time to 0 and had windows boot up automatically. I also set the password of the administrator account to nothing. Whenever I didn't do this, they used recovery disks wiping the entire hard drive. I picked it up the next day, confirmed it was working in windows, drove home, started it up, modified grub config from windows and booted up right back into ubuntu.
BIOS Updates. Updates to BIOS help make linux work better on my computer, but HP only releases them in .exe format. I don't trust wine to run this.
Microphone, Microphone port, and Headphone port. The speakers in linux work, these do not. I'm working on remedying this right now.
Logmein, use AMD64, haven't installed 32-bit firefox yet, more worried about sound than logmein, but I use windows to access friends computers for now.
.NET development. Yes, mono is there, but I screwed the project up and it won't even compile or run anymore, I'll convert it once I get it working again
Something in Ubuntu Fails. I like bleeding edge. Enough said.


I do run games, but most of them are old enough to run in wine well or have a suitable replacement in linux. My only problem so far has been getting OpenGL to work for the original Half Life. currently, half hard drive is dedicated to each OS, but I hope to have 60GB of the 80GB hard drive for ubuntu soon.

[Ptero-4]

I don't use *******. I do use OSX though.

[MedivhX]

Gaming and Delphi... I don't really want to bother installing games with Cedega, and there is no good IDE for Delphi in Linux (there is Kylix but it's s**t)

[BigLebowski]

Sigh..(As in sigh why do i have to keep using Windows.. to be able to play games that only work on windows which is gay and lessons the time i spend on Linux) I have and most serious gamers have windows because of all the good, new and greatest games only work on Windows.. Until Linux gets games under control it will never be number 1.

[davec64]

At the moment just for Sony Vegas, but I've found an app. on linux that looks like it will do the trick! If it isn't quite up to the same standard then its time for WINE and Bye Bye XP!

[ShadowVlican]

why? because my PC was designed for it ;) :twisted:

that is true to a point... most hardware is designed with windows in mind

if i went out to a store and bought a piece of hardware, it will more likely work with windows than it would linux

sad.... but true.


oh.. and there's the vast amount of software out there for windows... stuff like utorrent and foobar2000 for example ;) there is no equivalent ;)

there's more reasons... but that's all for now :D

[hobieone]

mainly for a couple of games along with a certain application that doesn't have and equal in linux yet

[raqball]

I refuse to use ******* unless I am at work. :)

[boilerlinux]

uff...well, i'm fairly new to ubuntu so some of my current problems can eventually be solved, but still: there are many reasons why i can't ged rid of win xp

1. synchronization between outlook and mobile phone: while i use thunderbird as mail client in windows, i use outlook for contacts and kalendar. i simply walk into my pc room and my phone gets automatically synchronized via bluetooth. no action on my part is necessary

in ubuntu, i can't even get bluetooth to work and as far as i know, there are no truely working sync tools

2. PC crashes. In ubuntu, my pc crashes all the time. while i'm fairly certain in know why, i can't do anything to prevent it. i would need a tool that lets me adjust the fan speed of my gfx card (ati x1900). in windows, i have to adjust the fan speed when i'm playing games (otherwise i get a system reboot). in ubuntu, the pc crashes after a while even when idle

3. installation/availability of programs: in windows, there are so many great freeware tools which all have one thing in common: double-click on .exe and the program gets installed. when a piece of software is not available through sudo apt-get install you have no chance as a newbie to install anything
and while there is a broad variety of software for ubuntu, there are a lot of windows tools that have no real counterpart in linux

4. microphone/headphone don't work which means i can't use skype

5. compatibility issues: there are a lot of problems with word and excel files. makros in word files won't work in open office, lay-out is different etc.

6. complicated networking (subjectively, compared to my experiences in windows) and ntfs issues

these are just a few reasons why i still need my win xp. however, i hope i can delete my windows partition sometime in the future, because i really like ubuntu

[Dawnshadow]

Games, Photoshop Elements, and there are no Linux drivers that work with my printer (a cheap Lexmark.) So, basically, every time I need to print I have to reboot the computer....

[daniel of sarnia]

I refuse to use ******* unless I am at work. :)

same here, can't stand it since I started using linux. Windows makes me mad :evil:

[Brendt2]

I would have gotten rid of windows 1 week into Ubuntu... but... I also have to make a living.

Where some people use the MS products at work and have to be familiar, or have to write and test software on MS machines ( i have 3 MS machines :rolleyes: ) MS is not going to disapear over night. This is a process, and one that involves a lot of buisness.

[KaroSHi]

I only use windows on a different pc (no windows on this box thank you very much!) because i work in a comp store and i need to know how to fix all the latest windows problems..so i need to use windows sometimes to keep up to date.

[3rdalbum]

My video digitiser doesn't work in Linux, there are sadly no decent DVD authoring apps for Linux, and I stupidly bought a Windows-only MP3 player.

I do have a couple of games, but I would gladly do without them if they were the only reason to keep Windows.

[DraeLee]

honestly I use xp for only a few things unless an answer is given to me

1. I make and upload nextel ringtones to my phone (I dont know if motorola drivers would work for my usb cable so I still use windows to transfer that.

2. WoW has atm better fps on windows nuff said

3. Active Synce for my Pocket Pc ipaqrx3115

Now if any or all of these can be solved I will eave Windows Permenantly I've only been with the Linux community 2 maybe 3 weeks and I have installed Ubuntu 6.10 on an 80g partition and gave Windows 15g and fat32 33g. I am using Ubuntu full time basically. I would like to commend the developers of this outstanding OS. It hasnt been an easy transition but I've learned alot quickly and hope to continue to learn more.

[Phototrek1]

I use Windows Xp to....

Play DVD's
Adobe Photo Shop
CanonZoom Image Managment
Virtural PC 2004
and GAMES except for my sizeable DOS game archive. I use Dosbox for Ubuntu.

Everything Else I use Linux! :)

[Coelocanth]

I use Windows Xp to....

Play DVD's
Adobe Photo Shop
CanonZoom Image Managment
Virtural PC 2004
and GAMES except for my sizeable DOS game archive. I use Dosbox for Ubuntu.

Everything Else I use Linux! :)

Why not play DVDs on Ubuntu?

[ShadowVlican]

Why not play DVDs on Ubuntu?
maybe he like it better in windows

i know i do

[mahy]

I came up with a less common example:

Last year i bought an ethernet DSL modem. Plugged it in and booted Ubuntu. (so far so good) Then i opened Opera, opened the modem's maintenance site and was shocked by the sheer amount of options and parameters, only small part of which were explained on my ISP's site. After about an hour's struggle, i booted into windows and inserted the modem's install CD. A wizard popped up, i just selected my ISP's name from a drop-down list, submitted username and password and suddenly connection was up & running. It would've been far more difficult without windows. :(

My $0.02...

[daynah]

To push torrented video from my computer onto my tv. (and I use VLC)

And that is IT! Really...

Unfortunately, when I dual booted, I was nervous (and there were more programs I was dependent on), so I gave Windows more of a percentage that I'd like to give it now. Do you know how I can make Ubuntu eat some of Windows?

[Reshin]

Why not play DVDs on Ubuntu?

Copy protection

[dannyboy79]

To push torrented video from my computer onto my tv. (and I use VLC)

And that is IT! Really...

Unfortunately, when I dual booted, I was nervous (and there were more programs I was dependent on), so I gave Windows more of a percentage that I'd like to give it now. Do you know how I can make Ubuntu eat some of Windows?

VLC is available in Ubuntu! oh, also most nvidia cards that have tv out do have linux support.

[dannyboy79]

This may sound silly but I have XP still because I am having a hell of a time burning xbox iso file within ubuntu and also converting avi files into dvd files and then burning the dvd video files onto dvd's. Also, there's an awesome application to exact an xbox iso and ftp it to my xbox all in 1 swoop for winbloz. i found an app for linux but wasn't able to get it to do it all at once so I had to first extract the iso, then ftp the contents to my xbox. Other then that, I love ubuntu! oh yeah, also my treo 700P syncing. i have had it work with ubuntu and the palm desktop look-a-like but it's to spotty, it doesn't sync all the time! Not to mention i use xp at work, I would hate to go all linux but yet use windows as work.

[Lord Illidan]

I don't use Windows, except at school, where I am too lazy to install Edgy.

[st00ner]

lol i even loaded ubuntu at school.
I ocasionaly multi boot for gaming. VERY RARELY. but wine wont work for everything (well at least)

[ZBREAKER]

Gaming is the ONLY reason. The experience just isn't the same under Wine or Cedega atm unfortunately.

[Lucifer The Dark]

Poser6 & Bryce6 are the only reason I still use WindowsXP, Ubuntu just can't handle them at the moment, soons as they get proper support I'll be dumping XP for good.

[Cannaregio]

Only one reason: coz of *Poser*, that does not run in Linux.

Apart from poser, I rarely fire XP nowadays.
For the following reasons:
With debian/ubuntu I didn't only find a replacement for everything I "used to use" in windows: the very process of FINDING such replacements was great fun and highly instructive.
So finetuning our ferrari is much better and greater fun than driving the old ford. Even if the old ford has old known quirks and our ferrari has some sudden unknown problems :o

Now, this said I understand those that believe they still have to use windows to get a job done quickly.

But, simply put, the bliss of not having to continuosuly use hjjack, spybot, adware and whatsnot nor having to rely on sygate (a good firewall) and avg (a good antivirus), not to mention all that norton crap that comes installed and you cannot get rid off, is worth **a lot** to me.

So I think i'll slowly eradicate the last vestiges of xp from my harddrives.

Apart for poser :(

Edited in January 2007:
I' now playing with Makehuman +Blender, and it looks promising :-)


-----------
PS, sorry for crossposting to
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=1705599#post1705599
but apparently both thread thrive on the same stuff.
And I thought that alerting developer about poser compatibility issue could be useful in the great scheme of things.
-----------

[the8thstar]

I chose to install Ubuntu 6.10 and I kept my Windows XP MCE 2005 install as well. The reason? Versatility. What I don't have in one system, I usually find in the other.

Ubuntu is fresh, more stable, more secure and less demanding in resources than XP. After one week of use, I have a system that's open (windows and Ubuntu can recognize one another and use each other's documents) and which looks beautiful (Beryl GUI + Vista Aeroish skin).

XP is the current standard for most home users... but until when?

[Condoulo]

Probably until service pack 2? A lot of XP users I've heard from told me they're happy with XP and won't switch to Vista just yet. Heck, my friend is just fine with Windows 98.

[peter771]

My degree course doesn't require me to use windows therefore I do no work at all in it.
I've actually found for compatibility with the unix and windows machines at university I'm better off using linux on my laptop (also I can be lazy on the internet and when checking emails).

Duel booting is great though, I'll never need the 25GB windows has and it's always good to use as a backup and the odd app I can't run in linux!

Why use one when you can use both?

[herbster]

The only use I have left for Vista is MCE-- I cannot get 5.1 surround sound working in Ubuntu after trying damn near everything I have searched on these forums and in the wikis, and it actually might be a good thing because I only ever watch my movies in a silent, distraction-free setting, so booting into Windows just for a movie is fine by me (plus MCE is solid for DVD playback).

Other than that, why not have both installed on a "just in case" basis if you already had Windows to begin with (as the majority do surely)?

[Condoulo]

The only use I have left for Vista is MCE-- I cannot get 5.1 surround sound working in Ubuntu after trying damn near everything I have searched on these forums and in the wikis, and it actually might be a good thing because I only ever watch my movies in a silent, distraction-free setting, so booting into Windows just for a movie is fine by me (plus MCE is solid for DVD playback).

Other than that, why not have both installed on a "just in case" basis if you already had Windows to begin with (as the majority do surely)?

I don't dual-boot Windows and Ubuntu right now, but I plan on having Windows on my computer again when Feisty comes out. Just in case, keep general knowledge of Windows, cause you never know what will happen in the future, or what computer and OS you have to use for a Job.

[Cloudy]

Gaming, for the most part - although I realize with a little work I could make my games (chiefly, WoW) work fine in Ubuntu I'm too lazy; and the home PC is always booted to Windows anyway.. so basically, I guess, because it's just *there*.

[Cannonade]

It's familar partly. I do have a soft spot for Windows, mostly because I remember it from when I first had Windows 95 on my first ever computer. I love BSODs, I find them amusing and sometimes, when Windows crashes, it just makes me smile, though most of the time it makes me mad!

But the main reason is for gaming. Unreal Tournament mainly, I know it can run in Linux, but it's so much easier to mod, patch and edit in Windows. I love making maps for UT and I download loads of mods. Also, I'm adicted to all the Command and Conquer games, Worms and Rise of Nations. I also need my computer for MathCAD which helps me for my lab work and my physics course.

[jackmc]

I switched to Ubuntu a week ago, and have logged in once to get my files onto my external drive, now I'm back in Ubuntu, havent used XP since.

I'm not sure how video editing will go, as I haven't set it up yet (or tried connecting my camera), that is the only thing I can think of that is keeping XP on my disk. I'm not a big gamer, so that doesn't bother me

[vivin_west]

I am not comfortable with Ubuntu because

1) Cannot install hardware easily..I struggled to install my HP laser jet,even though it works,I cannot access all its functions. Similarly my Cannon scanner still doesnt work.

2) Does not have enough support.Web support is excellent but paid manual support is not as good as Windows.

3) Totem does not support all formats. VLC is good,but I cannot see the movie on full screen and I cant seem to figure out why.

4) Open Office for Linux is BAD. Even the open office for windows is better than the version available for Linux.

5) Doesnt install smoothly. Only shipped copies install without any problems.ISO image burnt CDs rarely work without giving trouble.

6) Cannot install important software for accounting,electronics design tools,graphics etc.. We have to use Linux equivalents which are not so good.

7) Installing software is easier in windows.. eg Skype is very easy to install in Windows than Ubuntu.

8) Games.. even a good Chess software doesnt run on Ubuntu. Linux games are not sold in our shops.

9) Any Software has to be downloaded through Synaptic or purchased online. Softwares for ubuntu not sold in shops. It makes things very difficult.

STILL I LOVE UBUNTU.... BUT CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT WINDOWS

[Outrunner]

Because of some games that don't work on Ubuntu. That's the only reason besides the fact that there is no reason to get rid of Windows. I like them both and there's nothing wrong with either.

[awperk]

i use it for matlab and maple (math/science programs). i can't get them to emulate on ubuntu and i have no choice but to still use windows for that.

[rsambuca]

I am not comfortable with Ubuntu because

1) Cannot install hardware easily..I struggled to install my HP laser jet,even though it works,I cannot access all its functions. Similarly my Cannon scanner still doesnt work.
Yeah, some hardware sucks on linux.

2) Does not have enough support.Web support is excellent but paid manual support is not as good as Windows.
Not a big deal to me, but part of the Windows price is for publication of hard-copy materials.

3) Totem does not support all formats. VLC is good,but I cannot see the movie on full screen and I cant seem to figure out why.
I am sure we can get it fixed, but out of the box, no, not all formats will be supported.

4) Open Office for Linux is BAD. Even the open office for windows is better than the version available for Linux.Could you elaborate here? I'm rather surprised at that comment.

5) Doesnt install smoothly. Only shipped copies install without any problems.ISO image burnt CDs rarely work without giving trouble.Maybe you should check YOUR system. I have never had a problem from Dapper, Edgy, Feisty, 32-bit versions, 64-bit versions, and test versions. I have never had iso problems from other distros as well.

6) Cannot install important software for accounting,electronics design tools,graphics etc.. We have to use Linux equivalents which are not so good.
100% agreed. There are definitely some areas where linux has no equivalent to Windows programs.

7) Installing software is easier in windows.. eg Skype is very easy to install in Windows than Ubuntu.Sorry, but I don't agree here. Skype has a debian package for linux on its downloads page. All you do is click on it and it installs itself. Pretty easy if you ask me. Also, with Synaptic, all you do is click install and apply on the programs you want.

Games.. even a good Chess software doesnt run on Ubuntu. Linux games are not sold in our shops.Yeah, gaming on linux sucks.

9) Any Software has to be downloaded through Synaptic or purchased online. Softwares for ubuntu not sold in shops. It makes things very difficult.I am not sure why this is a problem for you.

[kevmartin]

Graphics Apps (e.g. Poser, Photoshop, Bryce, Vue .. etc)
FTP issues
Accounting package
Web Design - there are some good alternatives in Linux, but time to learn them is an issue, so if I'm in a hurry, or project/site management is a need, I end up booting back to Windows for the familiarity of Dreamweaver
Flash

I think theres 1 or 2 others I'm not thinking of right now. But I am slowly trying to migrate away, or at least get Windows running *reliably* in a virtual machine under linux.

[Fidelio]

Music Production. Just Cubase. In fact I have one HD, on one PC and it has Cubase, my VST's, my sample library, my audio files, Wavelab, some other bits and bobs like an old Version of Reason, and now, nothing else. Everything else is linux, and if they ever come up with a decent integrated Midi/Audio system (don't say Rosegarden!) I'd switch that one too.

[The Healer]

for one it auto finds all hd still cant find my 2nd one with ubuntu ed 6.10 :(

[vivin_west]

Not a big deal to me, but part of the Windows price is for publication of hard-copy materials.
Could you elaborate here? I'm rather surprised at that comment.
Maybe you should check YOUR system. I have never had a problem from Dapper, Edgy, Feisty, 32-bit versions, 64-bit versions, and test versions. I have never had iso problems from other distros as well.
Sorry, but I don't agree here. Skype has a debian package for linux on its downloads page. All you do is click on it and it installs itself. Pretty easy if you ask me. Also, with Synaptic, all you do is click install and apply on the programs you want.
I am not sure why this is a problem for you.

Open office doesnt open. If you close all files of open office and they open a particular file it will take a minute.

Skype I take that back.
http://tntmax.com/content/view/176/60/. The first time I installed skype it was through this link . I dont know what went wrong..I deleted some links in the repository. Was a tough time for me.Here I am Not generalizing.

Downloading through Synaptic is a big problem if you dont have high speed net connection.

[rsambuca]

Open office doesnt open. If you close all files of open office and they open a particular file it will take a minute.

Downloading through Synaptic is a big problem if you dont have high speed net connection.That's too bad about OO. Like I said I have never had a problem with it, and I use it quite a bit (writer and calc). What version are you using?

As far as Synaptic goes, yes I agree with you on that point. I had never really thought about it before, but if you don't have a decent internet connection you are out of luck.

[HokeyFry]

each OS has its forte. for example, windows has its games, while linux is better for development (i've found). the statement about linux having poorer hardware support i would have to second guess, because linux usually, for me anyways, works 100% out of the box on a fresh install, while in windows i have to go "driver hunting" like i am now.

[eXcentra]

specific games, certain programs that i'm bound to... and i absolutely have to use foobar2000 as my audio player -- i have yet to find an audio player that matches it (please don't suggest any players...). foobar2000 is fine under wine but it skips whenever my CPU spikes :/

[Deathshrimp316]

For me, I dual boot XP and Ubuntu for application compatability. Everything that can run under wine I will run in Ubuntu, which after trying out various solutions is pretty much every game that I own. When I can get the warcheifs expansion for Age of Empires 3 to install in Ubuntu (The original installs and runs fine) I have a feeling that XP might lose its place on my computer.

Games are the only things that I am bound to by Windows, for everything else really there's a linux alternative, minus a few apps, but most of them run in wine.

[Strider42]

I use VMWare Workstation for:

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premier Pro
Dreamweaver

No doubt there will be those who tell me there are equivalents in Linux of the above programs, but all that I have used have failed miserably in some way or other regarding functionality, speed or reliability.

Entryware
SPSS

[Mr_Starscream]

I use Windows mainly for running exes because WINE is crap.

[lakersforce]

I am sorry to say it, but it just saddens me to see that some is still sticking to windows because of gaming. I think wine should focus more on other software categories than games. I personally stopped playing games when I moved to Ubuntu. I would really like to see better support for professional software, the games windows can have. It simply does not make sense that you do not want to spend 100$ on an OS every 6 year, when you spend 100-400$ a month on gaming. You choose to be a gamer, live with it!

EDIT: But I am still active in the gaming community on this site and else-where and I do occasionally enjoy a game of Enemy Territory

[Turtlecatpurrz]

I am sorry to say it, but it just saddens me to see that some is still sticking to windows because of gaming. I think wine should focus more on other software categories than games. I personally stopped playing games when I moved to Ubuntu. I would really like to see better support for professional software, the games windows can have. It simply does not make sense that you do not want to spend 100$ on an OS every 6 year, when you spend 100-400$ a month on gaming. You choose to be a gamer, live with it!

EDIT: But I am still active in the gaming community on this site and else-where and I do occasionally enjoy a game of Enemy Territory

I don't mean to be rude, but that is sort of unfair. You want development software, my 21 year old brother wants to play Diablo II. Why are you wants more important than his?

Actually my issue will be that Orca, right now at least, doesnt look as powerful as JAWS for windos. screen reader for the blind)

[dyrer]

I use new Adobe CS3 Web Premium for my work, so I need WIndows
Also my hardware is not supprted from Linux, Canon i865 and scanner 4400f
Some times I need Finereader to scan Greek docs
Everything else is ok

[phinn]

The main thing for me is i'm an engineering student and I need AutoCAD, OrCAD, Visual Studio .NET, and Matlab (i know matlab is available for linux but i can't get it for free as easily)

The secondary concern is gaming. I do play games occasionally.

I wish Linux could do it all, but it can't

[cmfu]

keeping up with windows problems...hahaha
when you are in PC support, and most PCs in the market
use windows, you have to keep up with windows' flaws.

[jrusso2]

I do support for Users on Windows and its easier to do if I am on Windows. Also I use it for games still and also I find the DVD decryption and shrink programs in windows are superior at this point to the Linux ones.

[misfitpierce]

Me personally I gave up gaming and found ubuntu alright 2 versions ago... Then tried edgy and was somewhat impressed.... Left to mandriva and once feisty came out I found myself a very happy person... I used to use windows because broadcom wireless was a pain to setup but since feisty I just typed sudo apt-get install bcm43xx-fwcutter and done.... I love it and am sticking with ubuntu... No windows for me....

Also I tried Vista. It looked pretty dont get me wrong. I can run it as well. But I made my ubuntu look like it with gadgets and such and it took 1/4 the reosurces... Very impressed keep up the good work ubuntu team!

[gerrymoth]

Have only kept WinXP on my laptop as a backup just now cos the wifi via Network Manager is a bit flaky (I lost connection last week).

[Calash]

Because the ability to utilize multiple operating systems on a single computer is a feature and benefit of the system, not something to be looked down upon.


That and some games I have just do not run well under Cedega. I also have a VMWare session of XP for work stuff that requires IE.

[VorDesigns]

I would love to not use Windows but, the current business reality indicates I will be using Windows in several forms for the next several years.

Things that make it hard to step away from Windows in no particular order.

1. VPN: No viable support yet in the VPN hegemony for Linux except by Cisco and independent 3rd party providers. This means that when I need to use Nortel, SonicWall, CheckPoint and several others, I must use some form of Windows. This problem is compounded by the fact that VPN manufacturers each proprietize their offerings an so, I can't use the Cisco client to connect to a SonicWall or CheckPoint or Nortel, etc., appliance which further increases my need for multiple MS base workstations both physical and virtual.
2. pcAnywhere: While there is a legacy web based client with limited functionality and a legacy Linux based host, neither one includes file transfer capabilities and I have never been able to get the web based client to function on SuSe 7, 8 or 9 using several different browsers which always stated that Java wasn't installed even though it was and that the activeX plug-in wasn't installed which indicates that I just couldn't figure it out even running as root. Anyone interested in try the web client, feel free. http://www.vordesigns.com/pca.
- I didn't mention LapLink which used to be my remote management tool of choice until my business increased and I started working more heavily in the corporate arena. Symantec's multi-front offerings A/V, catchall, remote control, ghosting made pcAnywhere a shoe in where, IMO, the better product lost out.
3. Database tools: While I would jump to MySQL in a heartbeat, I've grown lazy and like the GUI available in MSSQL, there are similar tools now out but, MSSQL and Oracle are entrenched in the common business pardigm I work in daily. I have downloaded and plan on testing and developing product using MySQL but none of my customers currently use this database to support their organizations. Instead, I work with MSSQL, Ingres, Oracle, ASK Isam based databases and the dreaded MS Access application.
4. Day to day productivity: Open Office Org is yummy and ?Base? will touch both MS Access and MSSQL but, it isn't friendly enough yet for on the fly use as a data snapshot reporting tool and middleware glue agent which is how many businesses use MS Access today. This tool is one of the bigger components for migrating away from the MSOS environment and the fact that it is a true cross platform offering makes weaning users away from MSOffice easier.
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I am monitoring the progress of a company that is testing migrating from MSOS to SLED10; one of the humorous blocking points is that the legacy ERP application which is derived from Unix based roots is blocking transition because the client interface was converted to Windows and is no longer available for a Posix environment.
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One last point, does any know of a viable terminal application to match the capabilities of Reflections? Hands down, this is the best Terminal I have ever worked in for connecting to AIX, HP/UX, VT and standard telnet based environments.

[aimran]

Alright I'll say it!

I NEED OFFLINE MESSAGING ON MSN!

There. So far I don't know any linux messengers with offline messaging features. Mine's probably the most unique reason too >_<

Edit: Apparently Kmess now has that feature. But from my experience Kmess couldn't remember my last settings (maybe because I'm running gnome) and Kmess isn't supported on x64 yet :(

[TreeFinger]

Hmm.. gaming is one reason.

Let me sit here for a few days and try to think of another reason :confused:

[TheMatt]

Because I don't have hardware 3D acceleration in Kubuntu. :sad: Horrible graphics driver support from the manufacturer.

[bchaffin72]

I don't, myself. For my needs, windows become irrelevant as soon as the Ubuntu install finished.

[gashcr]

win... what?? It's just I don't remember that!!

[mech7]

For Adobe.. and for Silo

[VorDesigns]

For Adobe.. and for Silo

For so few applications, CodeWeaver Office or Wine would probably get you the rest of the way.

[Alyaev A.]

Personally, a month after trying Ubuntu, I removed XP. I understand a few of you still dual boot, why is this?

Waits for the thousands of responses about gaming....

I use dual boot: Windows XP and Ubuntu 7.04. But nothing about gaming. Problem in my modem... in my WINmodem (чтоб его! :) ). I'm will be happy if I can in future totally switch to Ubuntu, but now I need a good modem, that will be working in Ubuntu. When I get them, Windows die on my PC and never comes again!

[misfitpierce]

I bought crossover office pro for around 70 dollars and it was worth every penny. there is cheaper version avail(standard) but crossoffice gets alot of what i needed from windows away. Great program

[screaminj3sus]

Mainly games keep me using windows.

[jrocket]

I've been dual booting for the longest time. The biggest thing that kept me on windows was games, WoW in particular. I loved using linux, but I'd reboot to play games, and since I played at least once a day I found myself just staying in windows for everything. Finally I got a new pc and installed only linux, got WoW working through Cedega, and dvd decrypter working through wine to rip dvds. I haven't gotten dvd shrink to work yet, but k9copy is working pretty well so it can wait. I'm getting about half the fps in linux as I got in windows, but I have enough ram and cpu that there isn't any lag at all, so even at 20fps it's still very playable. With my old machine I'd max around 60 but in busy places get down to 10 or lower, even in windows. I'm planning on installing starcraft and warcraft3 and I'm confident that they will work in linux without a problem. I've noticed so far that Ubuntu isn't as stable as other distro's I've tried (was on fc6 before and have a server running slackware), and even not as stable as windows, but that's mostly when using wine or cedega.

[steevols]

I use it primarily for a few, FEW games now. Up till just recently I used it to run Carrara 5 Pro, my 3D app which I paid a pretty penny for, but I just discovered it works flawlessy under Wine.

So now, just to run CS:S.

[jperez]

Photoshop, Synthfont, Flyff and now for IE7 (ThunderCats on AOL Video needs Windows XP/Vista, IE7 and WMP10+), so yeah.

I know Photoshop too well and I'm WAY too used to it already. Synthfont...if someone can confirm to me that it works in Linux, I'll remove that from my list. Flyff needs GameGuard to work and that doesn't work in Wine, so yeah.

ThunderCats FTW...yes...I love that old show...Have not seen it in forever, so if I want to see them with DVD-quality for free, I need Windows. ¬.¬

Jesse~