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View Full Version : a pet peeve of mine...



benplaut
May 25th, 2005, 09:29 AM
there's something i just can't stand whenever i visit any Linux forum or IRC channel.

<rant>
I just can't stand the "\/\/i|\|D0\/\/5 5u(|<5" talk by all the senseless windows bashers. Yes, windows may not be their personal prefence for an OS, but just becuase you think it has some problems does not make is cool to 1337 845h the OS that introduced you to computers in the first place (for 99% of them, anyway). If you don't like an OS, don't complain, just get a better one. There are about 400 OSes out there, and surely one of them will work for you. If not, LFS :wink:

The funny thing is that many of the "windows sucks" people are still dual booting, and very likely use windows for most of their common, everyday tasks.

I actually apprecate windows, and not as a punching bag. In the modern world, windows holds 90+% of the marketshare for home PCs. However, if windows wasn't there, then a vast number of those users would not (to the windows bashers' dismay) be using Linux... they simply wouldn't be using computers at all!

If you don't like it, don't say it sucks. Try and fix it! If you can't fix it, then find something else that works. Sitting there are complaining will not improve your reputation. Quite the contrary, in fact.
</rant>

Anyone have anything to add? :|

23meg
May 25th, 2005, 09:41 AM
mostly agreed; definitely not with the "try and fix it" part though. windows can't be "fixed" in many senses of the word, and i think time spent "fixing" windows is better spent learning to use and getting used to open source operating systems. i feel the need to advocate this stance, since i see the Wintel world of "everyday computing" as a sinking ship which Joe Average should abandon.

Leif
May 25th, 2005, 10:17 AM
I agree. Also, I have a special place for people calling it Winblows/*******/Micro$oft. Nothing makes your point like name-calling.

Knome_fan
May 25th, 2005, 10:35 AM
Anyone have anything to add?

Yep.
If there's one thing I can't stand and most of all can't understand it's people who get all worked up about people who don't like windows or MS. Who cares? Why should I care?

And why do people get upset about others writing M$ instead of MS? Is it silly? Sure. Is it something to get worked up about? Certainly not.


However, if windows wasn't there, then a vast number of those users would not (to the windows bashers' dismay) be using Linux... they simply wouldn't be using computers at all!

I'm sorry if I sound harsh here, but that has to be one of the most unintelligent things I've read in a very long time. While I agree that they would probably not run Linux, there is more to computer history than windows. What about OS/2 (clearly supperior to Windows at its time), or BeOs? To claim that Windows isn't successful because of the computer revolution, but the other way around is just silly.

totalshredder
May 25th, 2005, 11:21 AM
The funny thing is that many of the "windows sucks" people are still dual booting, and very likely use windows for most of their common, everyday tasks.
It's strange, because people who have stopped dual booting tend to be able to look at things more openly, but those who actually use windows on a day to day basis seem to hate it more. Hmmm...

Luke

jeremy
May 25th, 2005, 12:43 PM
In my experience, once you have gone a while without using windows you tend to forget about it (don't wake up in the middle of the night, sweating! etc...). At least, you forget about it until the next time a friend or relative phones to ask you to come and eradicate yet another virus ;-)

Takis
May 25th, 2005, 04:06 PM
The funny thing is that many of the "windows sucks" people are still dual booting, and very likely use windows for most of their common, everyday tasks.
I found as soon as I moved email across to Linux, I stopped using Windows nearly entirely.

I think the Windows family, particularly the servers, has its uses. I think, though, that once you're at the kind of level that you're even aware that MS make server versions of Windows, you probably know at least a bit about Linux/UNIX and will have some kind of idea as to what situation calls for what OS (heh, dream on Takis).

I also think that the major reason why so many people use Windows-based systems is that that's what they've been taught to use in schools. Certainly down here in Oz we used (old, old) Macs for about 6 months in year 4, and spent the rest of school and college (y11-12) on Windows machines. I think public education has a responsibility (amongst all its other ones) to teach its students about something other than Windows and Office for 12 years.

On a similar note though - have other people noticed a significant increase in 1337s who've decided that Linux is out of fashion and have moved to Macs? I know a number of people who just 3 or 4 years ago were all "Linux, yeah!" but now sort of roll their eyes and profess how superior their Mac laptops are.

tread
May 25th, 2005, 04:43 PM
I also think that the major reason why so many people use Windows-based systems is that that's what they've been taught to use in schools

This is certainly true, and after ta-ing for a professor who taught a Computer Science I course, I tend to think it's because they find it easier not to go through the hassle of teaching about makefiles and such .. clearly they don't know about anjuta :)

mike998
May 25th, 2005, 05:09 PM
Windows is preferable to some, Linux preferable to others.
I make no bones about pointing someone back to Windows if they lack the patience or skills for Linux, or pointing someone to Linux if I feel they will do well with it.

Windows bashing is frustrating as it makes it difficult to be appreciated by users as an alternative operating system. It tars us with a brush that paints us as being childish at best, morons at worst.

I don't use windows at all at home, and only use it at work as that is what my company put on my laptop, and that's what is corporately supported. I do curse at it occasionally when something goes wrong, but I also curse at my Ubuntu box when something goes wrong with that.

Both (indeed, all) operating systems have their niches.

thecrimsonking
May 25th, 2005, 06:10 PM
I love Windows. Lets me play all my games :) (yes I play some games in linux, but realistically not all games work or work *well* with linux)

Will I ever use it for day to day computing? No.
Will I keep dual booting so I can still play my games? Absolutely.

I just see Windows as a gaming platform and Linux as a real OS.

poofyhairguy
May 25th, 2005, 07:06 PM
On a similar note though - have other people noticed a significant increase in 1337s who've decided that Linux is out of fashion and have moved to Macs? I know a number of people who just 3 or 4 years ago were all "Linux, yeah!" but now sort of roll their eyes and profess how superior their Mac laptops are.

Yeah I noticed that too. Its funny, they went from paying nothing for an OS to paying $400+ for OSX (thats how much more expensive Apple hardware is).

poofyhairguy
May 25th, 2005, 07:14 PM
However, if windows wasn't there, then a vast number of those users would not (to the windows bashers' dismay) be using Linux... they simply wouldn't be using computers at all!

And to look at this from the selfish elite nerd perspective (bear with me I'm trying my best to emulate a M$ blows type of troll):

<troll>
Yep. Without Windows the average person (as in not us 1337 folks) would not have bought computers and our prices would be soo much higher. Sure their Windows boxes from Dell might be turned into Zombie virus pushers within a week, but the fact that M$ software allows this make the average person believe that computers are a money pit. "I got a virus, time to buy a new computer!" Without this mentality in the common perception us great nerds would have to pay twice as much for hardware. That means that anyone who really hates M$ isn't 1337 because they don't want their new shiny hardware (flawlessly running Linux/BSD while saving small children from death in the off time) to be cheaper.
</troll>

That was hard, but my point is proven- even the trolls have a reason to like MS.

poofyhairguy
May 25th, 2005, 07:17 PM
I'm sorry if I sound harsh here, but that has to be one of the most unintelligent things I've read in a very long time. While I agree that they would probably not run Linux, there is more to computer history than windows. What about OS/2 (clearly supperior to Windows at its time), or BeOs? To claim that Windows isn't successful because of the computer revolution, but the other way around is just silly.

Who knows. That is all speculation. What did happen is that Windows unified the fragmented computer industry and decreased support and hardware costs.

Knome_fan
May 26th, 2005, 08:15 AM
Who knows. That is all speculation. What did happen is that Windows unified the fragmented computer industry and decreased support and hardware costs.

Ehm, yes, of course it's speculation, as is you claim that Windows decreased support and hardware costs.
1. Windows didn't unify the computer industry, but the IBM PC.
2. Why shouldn't that have happened had IBM chosen something different than the Quick and Dirty Operating System from MS?
3. Who is to say costs wouldn't have been lower if MS hadn't succeeded in killing of all competition in the DOS market (illegaly)?
4. Why would the market have been fragmented had it settled on, for example, OS/2?
5. Why do you assume that a monopoly decreases costs? A stunning proposition, to say the least.

poofyhairguy
May 26th, 2005, 08:21 AM
Ehm, yes, of course it's speculation, as is you claim that Windows decreased support and hardware costs.



Ooooo. Thats awesome. I love being called out. You are so right. Awesome. Great burn. I needed it.

I humbly admit my error, and hope not to repeat it in the future.

KiwiNZ
May 26th, 2005, 08:41 AM
I agree with Mr Hairguy , Windows did reduce cost of hardware,in as much as it was the strongest market influence that brought about the explosion of PC's into the home market. Thus allowing for mass production , quicker recoup of development costs thus allowing sellers to reduce prices but maintain profits due to greatly increased sales volume.

jeremy
May 26th, 2005, 11:30 AM
I would say that M$ cashed in on the mass production, and, as a previous post pointed out, it was IBM, creating a standard for interchangable parts that revolutionized the computer market.