Windows rapidly approaching desktop usability

[void_false]

Every year or so I like to see how Microsoft is doing in its attempt to make a desktop operating system as usable as Linux....
Read full article here. (http://os.newsforge.com/os/05/05/18/2033216.shtml?tid=149&tid=73&tid=16)

Post your opinions here. I'd really like to see ppl whose first OS was *nix. And what they say about that `user-friendly` Win. O:)

[dolny]

Even though I'm a Linux user, I don't agree with his opnions, they are overblown and exaggerated. WindowsXP installation hard? Harder than Linux? Well, looking at Ubuntu, I think that Linux can reach WXP level of user-friendlyness in a couple of years. When my girlfriend will be able to install and maintain Kubuntu for herself - that will be a system ready to kick Bill's ass.

[void_false]

When my girlfriend will be able to install and maintain Kubuntu for herself - that will be a system ready to kick Bill's ass.
Sorry to tell that, but I think this will never happen. Most off ppl pay $$$ to install Win. Many just afraid to install software on Win although it is just few ckicks. They just afraid to do anything new (afraid to make mistake?). I'm sure that even if install process would be to just insert CD and reboot computer, there still will be ppl who would think it's too complicated.

P.S.
I didnt talk about your gf, but about ppl in common.

[GTKpower]

What a bad article.

The author actually wonders why WinXP Home doesn't come with Firefox. Ugh.

Note to everyone: If you decide to write an article promoting Linux, do it effectively.

[Lowe]

What a bad article.

The author actually wonders why WinXP Home doesn't come with Firefox. Ugh.

Note to everyone: If you decide to write an article promoting Linux, do it effectively.
This was in the humour section of newsforge, i thought it would be pretty obvious it was a joke.

[kiddo]

and it made a lot of flaming on osnews that day :) "sarcasm" should be written in gold flashing headings on top of the page XD

[nocturn]

Even though I'm a Linux user, I don't agree with his opnions, they are overblown and exaggerated. WindowsXP installation hard? Harder than Linux? Well, looking at Ubuntu, I think that Linux can reach WXP level of user-friendlyness in a couple of years. When my girlfriend will be able to install and maintain Kubuntu for herself - that will be a system ready to kick Bill's ass.

To be honest, I don't know a single end-user that can install Windows by him/herself, let alone install and maintain anti-virus, anti-spyware,firewall etc. They pay the shop where they bought the machine to do this for them.

The persons that do install it themselves (mostly IT professionals) still default to running as admin user... These people would be capable of installing Ubuntu too.

There are things that windows does more user-friendly out of the box (such as detecting wireless networks) and certainly ACPI on almost anything.
Then again, Linux has advantages too like not needing anti-virus, not fragmenting the HD, ...

[nocturn]

The article does have a point. Linux is always evaluated from the perspective of the average windows user. The features are not looked at unbiased.

But it does happen the other way arround too. I got used to working on a Gnome desktop all day at work (on a Sunray thin client to a Sun server). When changing jobs, I got a windows XP desktop which I hadn't used before (and no windows system for over a year) and it was very annoying.

Likewise, I knew people that had to switch from WordPerfect to MS Word a couple years back, they raised hell because they missed WordPerfect and Word could not read the files properly...

It all depends on perspective, but I think that desktops should be evaluated without bias (or as little as possible) because if you make a switch to another system, that bias for the old one will be gone in a year or so.

[Mike Douglas]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[defkewl]

Yep I've heard alot about this. Microsoft is doing a research and they're going to implement it in Longhorn. Can't wait to see how LongHorn will look like. I don't know if Linux could ever catch up with Windows in Desktop.

[poofyhairguy]

I don't know if Linux could ever catch up with Windows in Desktop.


If Longhorn keeps getting pushed back we have a good shot...

[desdinova]

I also came from a Unix background first, then Windows.

Personally - I much prefer the *nix way of doing things, but I don't view it as a competition - I don't think either system has to compete, I'd rather see Linux grow on its own merits then play catch up to someone elses rules...

(Used Linux solely on the desktop since 2000~2001)

[brickbat]

I have a canon digital photo camera. Do you know what happens if you plug it into an XP machine without installing the driver? You are busy for the rest of the day.

I plugged it into Ubuntu and it said "Would you like to import photos?"

While this is great, the biggest problem I see is still device drivers. My canon printer/scanner/fax does not have proper drivers in linux. Also, some apps are missing.

I want a route planner on my pc - not the web.
I want Adobe Acrobat (not reader) in linux.
My wife wants a horoscope program

These can and I believe will come with critical mass.

ciao
bb

[desdinova]

I have a canon digital photo camera. Do you know what happens if you plug it into an XP machine without installing the driver? You are busy for the rest of the day.

I plugged it into Ubuntu and it said "Would you like to import photos?"

While this is great, the biggest problem I see is still device drivers. My canon printer/scanner/fax does not have proper drivers in linux. Also, some apps are missing.

I want a route planner on my pc - not the web.
I want Adobe Acrobat (not reader) in linux.
My wife wants a horoscope program

These can and I believe will come with critical mass.

ciao
bb

astrolog is the only astrology (ugh) program I can think off

You can create pdf's in Linux via a printer driver without the need for any other software

http://www.cpqlinux.com/linux-pdf.html
http://www.pathcom.com/~kujira/pdf.pdf

[poofyhairguy]

I want Adobe Acrobat (not reader) in linux.

Have you tried the "save as pdf" option in OpenOffice?

[vega44]

To be honest, I don't know a single end-user that can install Windows by him/herself, let alone install and maintain anti-virus, anti-spyware,firewall etc. They pay the shop where they bought the machine to do this for them.

The persons that do install it themselves (mostly IT professionals) still default to running as admin user... These people would be capable of installing Ubuntu too.

There are things that windows does more user-friendly out of the box (such as detecting wireless networks) and certainly ACPI on almost anything.
Then again, Linux has advantages too like not needing anti-virus, not fragmenting the HD, ...

100% there......... so does that make me a IT professional? i don't use a ati virus? don't need one i have never got a virus in the last 2 years.... every now and then hackers try to get in becoase i hang in hacker rooms. but my firewall is just to much for most or all of them. i do have adware scanner i run every 2 weeks. AND I NEVER! DO WINDOWS UPDATE! i have everything that has to deal with them shut up. ;-)


\\:D/ \\:D/ \\:D/

[nocturn]

100% there......... so does that make me a IT professional? i don't use a ati virus? don't need one i have never got a virus in the last 2 years.... every now and then hackers try to get in becoase i hang in hacker rooms. but my firewall is just to much for most or all of them. i do have adware scanner i run every 2 weeks. AND I NEVER! DO WINDOWS UPDATE! i have everything that has to deal with them shut up. ;-)
\\:D/ \\:D/ \\:D/

The knowledge to install adaware and a firewall isn't limited to IT professionals (if there even is such a thing) yet it is not common for end-users.

As I said, in my personal experience typical end-users go to the shop/friend/family to have this done. The ones that can do it themselves are more then capable of installing Ubuntu, FreeBSD or anything else.

[brickbat]

Thanks for your suggestions.

I know about Astrolog. My wife needs a gui. There is Kastrolog but I havent been able to install

Acrobat doesn't just create a printer. It lets you move pages around. In a few clicks you can scan to pdf. It lets you add comments, change text, etc - All in a gui. There is no comparative product in linux. I know about pdftk and scanning to graphics and then printing to a pdf printer, etc, etc, but it is a pain. Maybe with a script, I could automate it but I can't scrpit and don't really want to. Before any attacks for whinging, I'm not complaining - just explaining in more detail.

ciao
bb

[maspro]

That article was a real laugh, I don't agree with him and it seems he doesn't have a clue what he is doing or talking about.

:-?

[tiiim]

I'm a apple user and *nix way of doing things great that why i prefer OS X.

I have used Linux & Windows... on Windows OS i found for the last 5 years at least i always switched between Linux and Windows i was never satisfied with either. Overall though i prefer Linux to Windows now cos of the *nix like. However though apart from the badly written OS... windows is so intergrated in our societies that people are afraid of anything else. However IMHO this why OS X is so good, underneath is fully fledge BSD system with apple's nice GUI shubbed on top.

But whatever happen's i hope we see more *nix systems on the main desktop... better design, stable, fast... and what's a restart?

[N'Jal]

You could always buy adobe acrobat i belive that adobe sell a linux version, and i empisise on sell. I don't know about you but i don't have a problem with buying software, hell i bought neverwinter nights and found that it ran under Linux was a bonus

[nocturn]

That article was a real laugh, I don't agree with him and it seems he doesn't have a clue what he is doing or talking about.

:-?

He know very well what he is talking about, the article is not meant to be really serious. The point of the article is that the reviews of Linux coming from a Windows perspective are bogus. They usually start with something like 'and it couldn't even import my PST file'.

To evaluate Dekstops, you need equal tests, so checking mail, browsing, etc.
The conversion of files is part of a migration, but not a functionality test.

The point he also makes is that the Windows desktop is unsuited for people who are not used to it, think of the Mac users that had to use Windows, a lot of them are still cursing it today. Likewise, I spend a whole year without windows (completely missing the XP hype), I had Linux at home and Gnome/Solaris at work. Using WinXP after that was horrible, it still is.

[Optimal Aurora]

I love Windows XP SP2, on my 5 year old system and my new amd64 system, its the greatest... And after all my first OS I used that had a GUI was Windows 3.1... I like the stability and usefulness of windows over linux... but then too out of about 30 people that I know that used Windows ME for a while, I am the only one that figured out how to make it run stable on my old system... And then I upgrade to Windows XP SP1 and been liking it since...

The first linux I learnt was about a year ago and was FC1 (fedora core 1) and since then I have been having problems with it and FC3 and FC4 and Ubuntu and Kubuntu and Linspire and others, that I am really debating whether to keep linux on my system or not...