What can Windows do that Linux can't?

[Vignesh S]

What can Windows do that Linux can't?Come up with the blue screen of death, that's what :D. Linux's equivalent is more like a black one, and has a much more boring name known as the kernel panic, and (in my personal experience), it only comes when one tries to make and use their own kernel (something I haven't done, so correct me if I'm wrong)

Seriously though.... hmmm.... that is indeed a tough one. Run the Nokia PC suite? Wine or Crossover do NOT like it much at all. Major problem for me, seeing that I haven't been able to find a substitute to it. Maybe one day......

[rewyllys]

What can Windows do that Linux can't?

For one thing--especially unfortunate at this time of the year--there is the fact that Linux can't handle US income-tax software, such as TurboTax and H&R Block At Home.

I tried unsuccessfully to run both of these programs under Wine in Ubuntu 9.10; and, as a result, I've just had to install VirtualBox with Windows XP as a guest OS in order to get my family's income-tax return prepared using At Home. The alternatives, for me at least, would be either to pay for professional income-tax preparation (quite expensive) or to prepare the return by hand--the thought of which I find too appalling to consider seriously.

Thank goodness there is, at least, the VirtualBox way around the problem, using a piece of software (XP) that I paid Microsoft for years ago.

[rewyllys]

What can Windows do that Linux can't?

For one thing--especially unfortunate at this time of the year--there is the fact that Linux can't handle US income-tax software, such as TurboTax and H&R Block At Home.

I tried unsuccessfully to run both of these programs under Wine in Ubuntu 9.10; and, as a result, I've just had to install VirtualBox with Windows XP as a guest OS in order to get my family's income-tax return prepared using At Home. The alternatives, for me at least, would be either to pay for professional income-tax preparation (quite expensive) or to prepare the return by hand--the thought of which I find too appalling to consider seriously.

Thank goodness there is, at least, the VirtualBox way around the problem, using a piece of software (XP) that I paid Microsoft for years ago.

[Tikkyca]

Well,it has better ******* SCREEN RECORDER!!!

[faical117]

adobe products photoshop ......

[hawthornso23]

it is much easier to install a virus on windows ... ;)
windows is marketed better. :roll:
windows does a better job of managing to get itself installed by default on laptops. :-(

[alphaniner]

Scroll webpages smoothly with a minimum (or outright absence) of fuss.

[Gallahhad]

It can run software written for Windows Natively; which means the software will work as designed. I have bought some very nice software for Windows, and I can manage most of it to work quite nicely in Wine, but it still works much better on the OS it was written for.

I dual boot. When I need Windows, I use it; when I need Linux, I use it; and I'll soon have a Mac to add to my tool set.

[georgegerm]

it cannot run acdsee pro 3 or the older version on wine..
it is my fav software, not to mention what is the main problem modern games of the quality of call of duty etc.
sorry gimp you can do much much more but acdsee pro is simpler, has all the average photo freak needs, yet it is not of course near all you can do with gimp but it is top of the pops for me
i hope it will some day run on wine :sad:

[yester64]

it cannot run acdsee pro 3 or the older version on wine..
it is my fav software, not to mention what is the main problem modern games of the quality of call of duty etc.
sorry gimp you can do much much more but acdsee pro is simpler, has all the average photo freak needs, yet it is not of course near all you can do with gimp but it is top of the pops for me
i hope it will some day run on wine :sad:

I am a registered user of Acdsee and i am very unsatisfied with Acdsee. Not because it does not run under Linux, but for their failure to fix security problems and database overflows.
Every version gets more features and eyecandies, but the underlining problems never get fixed.
I started off with Acdsee and switched to Acdsee Pro. None of these version run good or shall i say without failure under Vista. So i blew $200 on a licence just to have a software which crashes always.
But it is one of the only software which is fast and renders very quick.
The most closest i can recommend is Geeque which has similar features, but not all.

But i assume you have a happy experience with it.

[georgegerm]

I am a registered user of Acdsee and i am very unsatisfied with Acdsee. Not because it does not run under Linux, but for their failure to fix security problems and database overflows.
Every version gets more features and eyecandies, but the underlining problems never get fixed.
I started off with Acdsee and switched to Acdsee Pro. None of these version run good or shall i say without failure under Vista. So i blew $200 on a licence just to have a software which crashes always.
But it is one of the only software which is fast and renders very quick.
The most closest i can recommend is Geeque which has similar features, but not all.

But i assume you have a happy experience with it.

yes i admit i am very happy with it to the point i wish it would run on my fav. os linux (ubuntu)..
in all honesty other than the security issues i have never have had a crash with it... i will admit i do not use the database function which maybe the cause you have these crashes... i only do minor adjustments and use it for almost all but database maintenanace so you may very well have a point....
but this off subject matter anyway
ps.i run it in xp and win7 and never let it touch vista myself

[yester64]

yes i admit i am very happy with it to the point i wish it would run on my fav. os linux (ubuntu)..
in all honesty other than the security issues i have never have had a crash with it... i will admit i do not use the database function which maybe the cause you have these crashes... i only do minor adjustments and use it for almost all but database maintenanace so you may very well have a point....
but this off subject matter anyway
ps.i run it in xp and win7 and never let it touch vista myself

Just want to let you know. I tried to install it and moved the libs so that acdsee finds them. But to no avail really. sadly, it does not start and breaks with an error.
Misfunction etc..
I assume that either some other MS services have to be installed or i don't know.
I only run Newsbin right now and it works well, but i think it does not need any service.

My criticism was with the database. They never get it right.
But i like the program and its quick. That was my point of buying it.
In the wine database version 7 and up are regarded as garbage.
Did you try it with CrossOver? Maybe it will work then.

[yazmonium]

Most people will prefer shooters and racing games to puzzle games.

it depends on which system you have. Wii users like sports and xbox and ps3 like FPS's.

http://www.vgchartz.com/aweekly.php

[crysis]

here are a few thing where windows still beats linux.

1. internet connection sharing
2. hardware installation/uninstallation
3. software uninstallaion
4. file & storage device management (windows got better icon system and file manager, plus easier navigation if you have too many hardrive partitions etc).
5. networking for home users
6. direct x equivalents
7. sound recording & capturing
8. control panel and computer management (mmc)
9. file sharing and control
10. ... feel free to add on this list (but i dont't think there are many left)

[ndefontenay]

Windows is a niche market. It just does what linux can't do hahaha.

[HalfWord]

I can show some examples why I've been mostly unsuccessful when trying to convert most of the people:

1) Home users:
"I can't install and play this game! And this one does install, but works crappy... or I can't get the 1000fps I expect from my expensive graphics card on that game... and yes, another one of my favorite games doesn't work. No way!"
"Someone gave me this cute little game, but I can't install it!"
"You mean I can't install and use my [pirated] Photoshop? And I can't install and use my [pirated] <another_favorite_app> either?? No way!"

2) Business and professional users:
"AutoCAD and Photoshop don't work on this?"
- problems installing and configuring many existing printers or lask of drivers
- it's hard for users to configure sharing and mapping in mixed environments themselves
"Our custom application doesn't work!" or "it works, but does not look right, and our diacritics are missing!"
- Online banking services using ActiveX components or are dependent on IE/windows somehow else
- Local MSSQL databases
"I cannot use Microsoft Office??"

which also leads to the point not directly linked to the OS used, but affecting it nevertheless :

3) all Office users
"The important macro in my Excel table doesn't work!"
"The tables in our Word documents are all messed up and even when I try to adjust them, it's very hard an they still don't look right"
"I made this 'PowerPoint presentation' and brought it with me, but we couldn't open it!" *
"I sent them my 'Excel table', but they said they couldn't open it!" *
- while the last two examples (* marked) could be easily corrected, they still confuse the users. The first two ones are showstoppers though.

My experience showed that most people and businesses have at least one, and often more showstoppers :( Among those are also problems with installing hardware not mentioned above... and perhaps I even forgot to mention some other problems...

[silverwolf636]

Take your money...

[HarshReality]

I wish Ubuntu could give me a really cool blue screen when it errors and cause my machine to spontaneously reboot :(

[*Boots*]

What can Windows do that Linux can't??

A good graphing calculator like graphcalc 4.0 for windows. I love that program. Please someone make the linux version of that better than the windows version!!!! Its there waiting for someone smarter than me to make it shine!!!

Boots

[zaksworld]

Windows has viruses, and linux doesn't...but most people are okay with that

[NotTheMessiah]

I wish Ubuntu could give me a really cool blue screen when it errors and cause my machine to spontaneously reboot :(

frozen desktop or BSOD? what is your preference?

[forgetclosure]

I've never seen anything Windows can do that linux can't except for run certain programs/games. In which case, I don't mind simply running a VM (VirtualBox! Woo :) ) or switching to my windows partition.

However, I prefer GIMP over Photoshop for its simplicity and ease of use and it also runs much faster on my computer. I also prefer a simple text editor to Dreamweaver any day, for all the junk code Dreamweaver puts into designs.. I don't game on my PC that much anymore, but when I used to, I'd just boot up windows -- not too big a deal imo. I also use gtkpod for my iPod, so no reason to switch to Windows unless it crashes.

I think more users should dual-boot or use a VM, then there'd be no argument against switching to linux or not being able to run programs. The first time I set up Ubuntu I figured out how to dual boot; actually, I installed Windows after Ubuntu the first time, and since I didn't know how to get rid of the windows bootloader and reinstall GRUB at the time, I just retried and installed Windows first.

Edit:
Actually, the one thing linux really needs besides better program support under WINE, and better driver support -- which are both phenomenal already imo, is a universal document viewer that runs quick and has a simple interface. I could be wrong, and linux could have one, but I just haven't found it. and not kde!! haha :p Only a small tiny tiny complaint though/

Random piece of info: Drive fragmentation and registry clogs fill me with nothing but pure disdain, and if I could forever banish them to the depths of hell, I would. ;)

[Ghost|BTFH]

Windows does indeed crash far better than ubuntu.

It is also far superior when one is using hardware that has WIN in the name of it, you know like WINmodems...although some of them really suck horribly in Windows and actually WORK in Linux...go figure.

It also hogs up resources FAR better than Linux...hell, I have to run a Virtualbox just to keep up with it!

In all seriousness, Windows does play games better. Aside from that, it couldn't be better than Linux if it tried...oh wait, they did try.

Ah well, poor Gates.

Cheers,
Ghost|BTFH

[beetleman64]

I've personally found nothing that Ubuntu can't do, but one of my friends lays a lot of Windows games, and Wine, good as it is, can't guarantee complete compatibility.

[georgegerm]

Just want to let you know. I tried to install it and moved the libs so that acdsee finds them. But to no avail really. sadly, it does not start and breaks with an error.
Misfunction etc..
I assume that either some other MS services have to be installed or i don't know.
I only run Newsbin right now and it works well, but i think it does not need any service.

My criticism was with the database. They never get it right.
But i like the program and its quick. That was my point of buying it.
In the wine database version 7 and up are regarded as garbage.
Did you try it with CrossOver? Maybe it will work then.

no i have not ,, to be honest never have used crossover so i will still have a sort of need for it on dual boot ,, there will always be the one or the other prog. one is used to and is addicted to,, even if there is a linux equivalent.. but for my acdsee pro and games i have not found one yet thus the comment and i do appriciate your help:popcorn:
that to me is the linux mind sharing!!:cool:
ps. i have heard indeed the database is an issue ie. problem with it by the way

[georgegerm]

I've personally found nothing that Ubuntu can't do, but one of my friends lays a lot of Windows games, and Wine, good as it is, can't guarantee complete compatibility.

sad to say in my humble opinion that is an understatement...

[georgegerm]

frozen desktop or BSOD? what is your preference?

i must admit i used to get some winblow$ blues but nowdays sadly i do get some frozen pinguins....

[takisan]

Sorry if any of these have been mentioned already:
BSOD
Simpler Command Prompt
Drive Scheme
NTFS / FAT
AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS Files

Cheers

[asharpham]

Ubuntu won't interface with my TomTom GPS. And I can't interface with my Creative Zen MP3 player (although I believe I'll solve this at some time in the future). But except for Windows specific games, Ubuntu can do evrything - and usually easier. And most certainly cheaper!

Alan.

[hatalar205]

Windows makes its creator rich, but linux just makes a good man.:p

[chuina]

Windozz can easily infected with virus, Linux can't.;)

[Don Cunningham]

The only critical thing I find that Windows will do that Linux cannot is run a dependable tax prep program. There are only two that I consider dependable, Tax Cut and TurboTax. I have found a few that work with Linux, but I would not trust my freedom to them. :popcorn:

drc

[dnguyen1963]

I just been wondering what other users have found that windows is able to do that linux (more specifically ubuntu) cant do...

so far the only thing i have found that i cant do anymore is gaming and a few online videos dont work sometimes

also, add anything to the list that makes one better or worse than the other, such as linux being practically virus free


:-({|=


I still use Windows XP because I cannot find Linux software that would allow me to capture video (e.g. from VHS) using a device like Dazzle and convert it into DVD format.

[dnguyen1963]

fragment your drive.

Amen.....

[dnguyen1963]

print to my lexmark printer.

Some of the Lexmark printers are sold by Dell under their own names. I installed a "Dell" printer on my computer and able to print just fine.

[tuddy666]

One particular thing is playing high-end games out of the box. I'm lucky, most of the Windows games I play (Cave Story, Morrowind, and a few Windows emulators for semi-obscure systems without Emulators available on Linux) work fine in Wine with little modification.

[snip3r8]

Most people will prefer shooters and racing games to puzzle games. ;)
.

First of all i would like to point out that Doom and Quake and anything id software makes can work on Linux.
Second,racing games make me violent.

And last but not least ,my list of things that Windows can do that Linux cant:

Windows can:
get viruses
be hated by millions of people
give you error messages like there is no tomorrow
sue you for changing their crappy little OS
cause depression or even suicide
make you want to punch Bill Gates in the face
and last but not least ,suck

And lets not even mention the users,everyone that i know who uses Linux has a brain,there aren't any idiots using Linux,however the amount of Windows users without brains is growing into an epidemic.

[hezuo]

Dreamweaver. Even though you can make a webpage in any simple text editor, it's not a very productive solution when you have tons of page to create.
And of course, games!

[Tibuda]

Dreamweaver. Even though you can make a webpage in any simple text editor, it's not a very productive solution when you have tons of page to create.

Actually, the bigger the website, it is more worth to work with a CMS and less productive to use a WYS editor for all the pages... My opinion, off course.

[XubuRoxMySox]

They can get away with proposing an Internet tax (http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/84717-microsoft-exec-pitches-internet-usage-tax-to-pay-for-cybersecurity-programs) to fund fixes and cleanups for the "cyber security" vulnerabilities in their operating system.

That would be like Toyota proposing a gasoline tax to fix their cars! Even drivers who don't drive Toyotas would pay the tax to fix the problems Toyota has caused.

That's one thing Linux sure couldn't get away with - asking for an Internet tax (read: Bailout) to fund security enhancements to Linux systems.

If by some evil trick of fate this proposal ever becomes law, we could all go back to those old style BBSes I've read about. Of course, we'll need software written for Linux to use those old BBSes. I'd pay for that!

-Robin

[Tikkyca]

It can get fu*king viruses :lolflag:

[snip3r8]

Ok the thing can get the dam viruses but they don't do anything to Linux,The virus gets onto Linux and its like,OMG WTF!!! there is no system32 and WTF is this file system?......Seriously ,i've never heard of a virus actually affecting Linux,however apparently WINE gets infected.

See: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=841223

And yes there is a guy in there saying there are "petty annoyances" out there but what kind of sicko would want to write a Linux virus?I reckon any virus ever made for Linux must be a flipping Microsoft project!!!

[fullofbeans]

I just been wondering what other users have found that windows is able to do that linux (more specifically ubuntu) cant do...

so far the only thing i have found that i cant do anymore is gaming and a few online videos dont work sometimes

also, add anything to the list that makes one better or worse than the other, such as linux being practically virus free

My tomtom will not work on ubuntu.
Can anyone help me

[fullofbeans]

My tomtom nav will not work on ubuntu can anyone help me please.
tomtom home will not work.

[Riel]

office.

sorry, open office is a distance away in professionality. for now, ms-office is unbeatable for me. Too bad, but it runs in wine tho :)

[fewt]

It can get fu*king viruses :lolflag:

Uhh so does Linux.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_malware#Viruses

It also suffers from the same fragmentation problem as NTFS:

http://kernelnewbies.org/Ext4#head-38e6ac2b5f58f10989d72386e6f9cc2ef7217fb0

Windows can run Office, Visio, VMWare client, and 10,000 other apps that Linux cannot.

Windows has a great driver model, Linux drivers suck.

If you don't need them, then Linux may be OK for you, if you do, stick with Windows, you'll be happier.

[Objekt]

My tomtom nav will not work on ubuntu can anyone help me please.
tomtom home will not work.

Maybe TomTom Home can be made to run via Wine? I don't have a TomTom, so I can't test this. That's the only solution I can think of, short of virtualizing Windows in Ubuntu. But if you knew how to do that, I guess you wouldn't be asking us.

[steindor2]

Uhh so does Linux.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_malware#Viruses


a laughably small amount of those actually pose a threat to you. If you ever get a linux virus, you might want to keep it. Its like a digital artifact.


It also suffers from the same fragmentation problem as NTFS:

http://kernelnewbies.org/Ext4#head-38e6ac2b5f58f10989d72386e6f9cc2ef7217fb0
Yes, but it happens a lot slower.


Windows can run Office, Visio, VMWare client, and 10,000 other apps that Linux cannot.
that is what wine is for ;)

[lukedupree]

Work with dual 9800 GT video cards for starters.

[prodigy_]

Uhh so does Linux.
You need to do more research. Proof-of-concept *NIX viruses are nothing like common Windows viruses because they can't propagate (infect system binaries) unless you explicitly give them right to do so. If you don't login as root and don't run questionable binaries with sudo, your *NIX system isn't vulnerable to viruses.

The same isn't true about Windows. Even if your Windows account doesn't have elevated privileges, there are various exploits allowing to gain them. That's why any Windows system is always vulnerable.

[Tibuda]

You need to do more research. Proof-of-concept *NIX viruses are nothing like common Windows viruses because they can't propagate (infect system binaries) unless you explicitly give them right to do so. If you don't login as root and don't run questionable binaries with sudo, your *NIX system isn't vulnerable to viruses.

The same isn't true about Windows. Even if your Windows account doesn't have elevated privileges, there are various exploits allowing to gain them. That's why any Windows system is always vulnerable.

The system (root filesystem) is not vulnerable, but everything in my home folder is still vulnerable. I care much more for the thesis I have been working on for months than for the binaries in /usr or the settings in /etc... That's why I do regular backups, but average users don't.

And let's not forget that when you install a deb file, it can run scripts as root. Social enginering works on any system, and is the main source of malware. Some time ago there was a malicious deb file in gnome-look!

[Armando Lara]

iTunes.

[bionan1]

Hi
Sorry my poor english.
For me what a miss in Linux is a decent video editor... sorry guys, a love linux... i use linux on my work... it's fantastic!!! But, we need to be realistics: the video editors on linux are light years of distance of a Sony Vegas program.

[prodigy_]

The system (root filesystem) is not vulnerable, but everything in my home folder is still vulnerable. I care much more for the thesis I have been working on for months than for the binaries in /usr or the settings in /etc... That's why I do regular backups, but average users don't.

And let's not forget that when you install a deb file, it can run scripts as root. Social enginering works on any system, and is the main source of malware. Some time ago there was a malicious deb file in gnome-look!
What you say is true, if we discuss malware in general. But not all malware is viruses. A script that runs "rm -rf --no-preserve-root /*" is definitely malware (and potentially very harmful) but it's not a virus.

[Sean4000]

Hi
Sorry my poor english.
For me what a miss in Linux is a decent video editor... sorry guys, a love linux... i use linux on my work... it's fantastic!!! But, we need to be realistics: the video editors on linux are light years of distance of a Sony Vegas program.

Don't worry. Lumiera is under heavy development. ;)

http://www.lumiera.org

[d3v1150m471c]

run photoshop efficiently.

[georgegerm]

Don't worry. Lumiera is under heavy development. ;)

http://www.lumiera.org

i hope it comes out an it is mature enough because the original post is right a good easy to use video edit. is a most for any os i believe

windows can certanly give the illusion of being tailored for you and you only, were as if you go linux you know from the first moment you are in a great community effort of caring devoted people who share and do for the benefit of all... you know what you make develop or solve is not for you alone..
that is something windblow$ will never accomplish
we are linux
and folks in this days of i me mine,, it says we care,, a rare thing these days...
your friendly atheist down the road sayz hi

[colobix]

Windows has more programs and people take it more seriously because it's been around for a much longer time, plus office and all the important stuff isn't free in windows. Offcourse you can download open office and easy office but for business people and for work, windows will still be the leader what so ever.
The most important thing linux can't do is manage ipods, ipads and iphones and some other phones.
And flash animation and editing is also an important part of work, for web designers, animators and ppl like that.
So even without spyware, viruses and all that crappy bug shït, I'm afraid Ubuntu and linux in generally will never top windows, unless there's money involved so that people will see a marked here.
Most of the linux games suck and that's because noone will make a hit game for free. Where's the money in that?
EAGames will never make NFS Shift for linux. I just say.
Ok now I sound like a phucking dïck who hates linux, but no I don't.
These are facts you guys.

[fewt]

You need to do more research. Proof-of-concept *NIX viruses are nothing like common Windows viruses because they can't propagate (infect system binaries) unless you explicitly give them right to do so. If you don't login as root and don't run questionable binaries with sudo, your *NIX system isn't vulnerable to viruses.

The same isn't true about Windows. Even if your Windows account doesn't have elevated privileges, there are various exploits allowing to gain them. That's why any Windows system is always vulnerable.

:rolleyes:

Who cares about system binaries, we aren't talking about servers, this is a desktop distribution where the most important thing is your data.

Thanks for the implication that I need to do more research though, what do I know.

If you can write to ~, and execute things in ~ then you are at risk. For example if someone finds a way to put something in ~/.anywhere and links it to ~/.config/autostart .. game over. Now you are shipping your data, destroying your data, or participating in a botnet. Guess what, you won't know because there is nothing to tell you that it is there.

Please don't speak to me about needing to do more research, I've hardened more systems than you have ever touched.

[-X

[Shining Arcanine]

I just been wondering what other users have found that windows is able to do that linux (more specifically ubuntu) cant do...

so far the only thing i have found that i cant do anymore is gaming and a few online videos dont work sometimes

also, add anything to the list that makes one better or worse than the other, such as linux being practically virus free

Windows can BSOD. Linux cannot. :popcorn:

[Drawingnut]

I have Linux as well, and that is the only draw back I see, you can't play any games. Even though I don't mind, I still like to click around some games once in a while. But oh well, I think Windows is nothing but bloat-ware anyway.

[imaginashawn]

Crash! :D
Nope don't miss windows a bit. If you think Ubuntu/linux dosent have enough programs, take a looooong look through Synaptic Package Manager some time. If your still not satisfied, add some more repositories. Then there's the price difference, I really like :p. And the improvement in licensing issues (wanna share it with a friend, it don't matter who knows you did).
Did I mention stability difference? Fantastic support (and a choice of pay or not pay). Gosh, have you not tried Ubuntu? :)
Like the old commercial said; "Try it, you'll like it!"
Shawn

[DonaldJ]

"Try it, you'll like it!"


_______________________




It's as if Ubuntu has Life and Love built into it.. It breathes and beats with you.. It becomes a part of you... It moves like a human moves...

Get a feel for Life.. Try Ubuntu and watch it point you to reality...

Reality is "the brotherhood of mankind".. like we're all one big "Ubuntuish Family".. Ubuntu's big statement, is "freedom".. Ubuntu's logo is "three people hugging"...
Ubuntu is this powerful computer operating system they gifted to you in freedom.. as love as love gets... Wanna "taste" love..? Check-out "Ubuntu-910"...
Free to try.. Free to keep.. Free to own.. Free to help them help you build it bigger and stronger and better for you...

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=ubuntu+910&meta=&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

[richf]

Thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth...

I've been trying Ubuntu since Hardy heron, always dual-booting with Vista and now 7. I have tried and tried to use it exclusively, but always go back to Windows. There are a lot of programs that I use that just won't work on ubuntu such as TC2007, TDAmeritrade Command Center, freestockcharts.com, etc. Almost all are stock charting programs and I haven't found anything close in Linux.

And, at least on my machine; (HP dual-core, 3gb)there doesn't seem to be much of a speed difference; Ubuntu boots about 8-10 sec. faster. Firefox still takes about 10 sec to start.

If Silverlight(Moonlight) would work in Firefox, I'd be on Ubuntu all the time. None of these programs will work in WINE. And Crossover is $40; I paid $49 for the Win 7 upgrade. So, even with all it's bugs and bloat-ware and BSOD, it's Win7; at least for now.

[plurworldinc]

pro video editing, i know you can edit videos with Ubuntu but I feel it is still not at the pro level I am use to. I have tried a number of Linux programs but it still need work.

[MobiusJedi]

You know what? Linux just doesn't have the blue screen of death.

[stew2222]

Like most people, games is the only reason I keep windows around

[jedispork]

What can windows do that linux can't? Be my primary o/s.

I'm a causal gamer and try to stay with console games. However starcraft 2 is coming up and so far the beta is a hassle to get working under wine and has glitches. So I am stuck rebooting every time I want to play sc2.

Some of my dvd backups tools like anydvd do not work with wine. IMGburn is plain better than any of the linux disc writing programs and is free. Or the software for my harmony remote. Rebooting a few times a week would be no problem. When you find you have to reboot all the time I start to think whats the point. Maybe some things would work great in a virtual box but not games.

I'm not a fan of Micro$oft but I think windows 7 and even vista (updated) work fine. Maybe a few of you do have blue screen problems but the vast majority of you are over exaggerating. My only issue with windows is the vulnerabilty to malware and its run by a greedy corporation with poor business practices. Maybe once the official release of sc2 comes out it will be stable under wine and I can use a virtual box for my other applications.

[theantibob]

I've had pretty good luck getting most of my (slightly older) games to work pretty well on Xbuntus. What i wish linux could do that windows can't is play netflix online.
Kubuntu SMOKES windowsXP on video and opengl desktops... my old AthalonXP 2000+ with an NVIDIA FX5500 will show me nice, smooth video (even flash video) in 3D desktop cube mode, and XP won't even show me hi-dev video without major page-tearing.
If i could just watch netflix, my mediaPC wouldn't need an XP partion anymore.
I guess console emulators do seem to run a bit better under XP than Kubuntu, though.

[ndefontenay]

Gaming generally.

Things like Fly For Fun doesn't have a a linux native client and probably won't.

Other things like iphone synch and other phones apps are windows only and sometimes OSX friendly but never linux friendly. Now some smartphone are having android and it's a pretty sweet phone but we still can't tell how good this is working with Linux.

That's it I believe.

Nico

[georgegerm]

Thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth...

I've been trying Ubuntu since Hardy heron, always dual-booting with Vista and now 7. I have tried and tried to use it exclusively, but always go back to Windows. There are a lot of programs that I use that just won't work on ubuntu such as TC2007, TDAmeritrade Command Center, freestockcharts.com, etc. Almost all are stock charting programs and I haven't found anything close in Linux.

And, at least on my machine; (HP dual-core, 3gb)there doesn't seem to be much of a speed difference; Ubuntu boots about 8-10 sec. faster. Firefox still takes about 10 sec to start.

If Silverlight(Moonlight) would work in Firefox, I'd be on Ubuntu all the time. None of these programs will work in WINE. And Crossover is $40; I paid $49 for the Win 7 upgrade. So, even with all it's bugs and bloat-ware and BSOD, it's Win7; at least for now.

i can only agree with you 200 percent... i dual boot also (for other software)
as i mentioned linux will not cover all, specially that which is called payware....
that said when it comes to opensource and free progs windows sucks badly...(well mostly)
so for me linux is not an alternative it is a lifestyle if you wish,, free and can do most of what i want, note i said most..
is a community effort which is doing not well but great!!
the olny alternative is to get payed progs for linux with special uses which sort of demeans the opensource spirit.. so i will save money using linux ubu and mint and pay if i must to do something specific with windows
but in the forefront of my mind is the concept of linux and its thousands of uses FOR FREE....
windows will never ever get there ever ever ever,, hell look at what they have done to their vista users they got screwed period..
and look at the price of win7 .. way too much considering it will be used by almost the whole world.. 20 euro would be about right for such a monopoly os...
i actually like win7 but i rather use my linux most of the time!!!!
and if you can do contribute it is worth it....:popcorn:

[jedispork]

In response to the netflix users. You could pickup a roku box and stream it directly to your tv. I could care less about watching on the computer but can understand if some of you need it.

[razorseal]

What's superior? how about the scroll function of my mouse working? lol

I honestly just miss games and some specific apps like PS. That's about it. when I fee like playing games, i'll dual boot to windows

[quinnten83]

Thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth...

I've been trying Ubuntu since Hardy heron, always dual-booting with Vista and now 7. I have tried and tried to use it exclusively, but always go back to Windows. There are a lot of programs that I use that just won't work on ubuntu such as TC2007, TDAmeritrade Command Center, freestockcharts.com, etc. Almost all are stock charting programs and I haven't found anything close in Linux.

And, at least on my machine; (HP dual-core, 3gb)there doesn't seem to be much of a speed difference; Ubuntu boots about 8-10 sec. faster. Firefox still takes about 10 sec to start.

If Silverlight(Moonlight) would work in Firefox, I'd be on Ubuntu all the time. None of these programs will work in WINE. And Crossover is $40; I paid $49 for the Win 7 upgrade. So, even with all it's bugs and bloat-ware and BSOD, it's Win7; at least for now.

Vendor Lock-in. It's beautiful thing.
You know everybody is complaining about Linux not doing this or running that windows program, blah, blah, blah.....
If you switched to Mac you would have to deal with the same crap. You're lucky if they make a mac version of the software you're running on windows now, yet I don't hear anyone complaining about that.

[augustsalbert]

I had used Linux and currently using Windows 7. There are much differnce in using Windows 7 than Linux. By using Linux i can say that Linux can run faster on older hardware than Windows can and the major advantages of using Linux is It can help the end user to feel more secure in the knowledge that the majority of internet viruses,worms, trojans, and exploits are aimed at Windows platform. Linux can stand on one hand for hours, Windows can't? But in windows we can run our required softwares which we can not run on Linux. So windows is required to run Softwares like mp3 softwares, images, vedios, etc. I had my Linux for a week and I didn't get a single game running smootly. So I think that gaming in Linux is definitely not as mature as in Windows.

[Chame_Wizard]

Screwing up your 64-bit PC,when a file is corrupt due to a AV.:popcorn::popcorn:

[TicTac52]

Easily detect a webcam. And screw you over when you want to do anything.

[riksaga]

Linux has a 90% equivalent work around for 98% of applications.
That 2% of lacking functionality, IMHO, is found in:

1. Gaming (As mentionioned)
2. Point & Click install (for non-repo software)
3. Business Banking
online cert generation requires MS crypto libs
4. Business Payroll
a. online cert generation requires MS crypto libs
b. Requires an IBM AFP viewer (total crap)

[snip3r8]

Linux has a 90% equivalent work around for 98% of applications.
That 2% of lacking functionality, IMHO, is found in:

1. Gaming (As mentionioned)
2. Point & Click install (for non-repo software)
3. Business Banking
online cert generation requires MS crypto libs
4. Business Payroll
a. online cert generation requires MS crypto libs
b. Requires an IBM AFP viewer (total crap)

Ok,from point 3 onwards i don't know what the hell you are on about .

[DonaldJ]

Quoting: "There are a lot of programs that I use that just won't work on ubuntu such as TC2007, TDAmeritrade Command Center, freestockcharts.com, etc. Almost all are stock charting programs and I haven't found anything close in Linux."


______________________________



That is the "spark", which initiates one to create that particular needed piece of software... It's how this Linux-"beast" grows, and breathes fire, and lives... This spark of fulfilling need is why there's "Linux"...
You start by searching for people working on it... Then you search for people who can write what you require.. and you hire an Ubuntu-team to make Ubuntu better for you and all those you love in your circles...
Linux can do everything... If you want something new.. then make a reasonable offer from one of your circles...

[pike747]

I like games a lot. The game I played the most over the past five years Is The Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion because I learned about mods. That I could create them myself and play other's mods. It saved me a lot on buying new games :-) Usually when I had an idea for one I would look on the Nexus and it was already done and far better than I would have been able to manage. Linux is like that for the entire system, IMHO.
I like to learn how to do more than just surf the net and shoot zombies also. I consider Linux more of a thinking person's operating system. With a distribution like Ubuntu, you are told honestly and up front when you are helping with improving software (beta tester) and never required to pay, although welcome to donate time, money, input.
Windows is much better at charging you for further beta testing, creating licenses that make it questionable whether you even own the hardware you purchased, after agreeing to install "Their software" and inconveniencing the paying customers in order to fail to stop the pirates from using their software without authorization.
I have not tried to play what I would call a native Windows game on Linux yet. I have only been using Linux for a short time. I might have thought that sound recording would be an issue but in one day I was able to record my bass through my Creative Audigy sound card using Audacity, a more than good enough Digital Audio Workstation for my simple needs. I have struggled mightily and failed to achieve that in Windows using the very expensive Cakewalk Sonar program.
Adobe, in general, Photoshop in particular. Yes I love their fine and very expensive products. I look forward to finding work- around solutions for them also. I have tried Gimp and look forward to trying Gimpshop.
It is really about a difference in mentality. Bill wants as much control as he can get. If it were possible he would own the internet. Open Source is about all of us trying to make improvements, each according to our ability.
I used to prefer console gaming to PC until I started assembling my own PC. With some modest hardware, instead of the bare minimum, gaming on the PC became a pleasure.
I have been using Ubuntu for a little over a week on my personal machine, a little longer because I actually had someone request that I install it on the build I did for them. I am very grateful for them getting me to do something I have wanted to do for ten years.
It is different, the lingo, the alphabet soup is a little spicier. I like to learn and explore so it is right up my alley. The command line does not frighten me. I love that I can use copy and paste functions there.
I still have Windows and have played some games, used Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Word. Four out of five times I boot Ubuntu

[Jim_in_Omaha]

I was not able to use my Kodak 5500 AiO printer at all in Linux. But now on SourceForge there is a AiO driver that allows printing. Still no scanner but that is not that important to me as I typically use it only for copies at the printer.

So I can say for me that Windows allows full use of my Kodak printer and runs Stinger.

[jerenept]

We can argue about BTRFS, EXT4, EXT3, JFS, XFS, and all the other FS's

Wobbly Windows.--Compiz

Windows can do viruses. (not that I miss that)

[Austin25]

Book printing?
Oh I know! It can crash!
Ok, Linux can do that, but very poorly.
Windows does it very well. Even hourly!
:guitar:

[alcohol52]

If you remove Ndiswrapper, Wine(cedega and crossover) and virtualbox (they are using windows), I think Linux cannot indulge any average user longer than a day. Yes it can run in headless computers for years and run in supercomputers and run hollywood renderfarm. For an average user for day to day computing, it is better to ask what can LINUX do without missing windows?
I have never seen any computer running linux 100%. They either dual boot or use virtualisation software but I have seen a hell lot of computers without a trace of linux. That pretty much explain windows can do a heck lot that linux cant with increased efficiency. (I am not a Windows fanboy any way)

[jerenept]

If you remove Ndiswrapper, Wine(cedega and crossover) and virtualbox (they are using windows), I think Linux cannot indulge any average user longer than a day. Yes it can run in headless computers for years and run in supercomputers and run hollywood renderfarm. For an average user for day to day computing, it is better to ask what can LINUX do without missing windows?
I have never seen any computer running linux 100%. They either dual boot or use virtualisation software but I have seen a hell lot of computers without a trace of linux. That pretty much explain windows can do a heck lot that linux cant with increased efficiency. (I am not a Windows fanboy any way)

Obviously you have never met me (or my computer)

[jrothwell97]

Obviously you have never met me (or my computer)

Obviously you took no note of the word "average" within the grandparent.

[oldsoundguy]

If you remove Ndiswrapper, Wine(cedega and crossover) and virtualbox (they are using windows), I think Linux cannot indulge any average user longer than a day. Yes it can run in headless computers for years and run in supercomputers and run hollywood renderfarm. For an average user for day to day computing, it is better to ask what can LINUX do without missing windows?
I have never seen any computer running linux 100%. They either dual boot or use virtualisation software but I have seen a hell lot of computers without a trace of linux. That pretty much explain windows can do a heck lot that linux cant with increased efficiency. (I am not a Windows fanboy any way)

Yes you are a Windows Fanboy .. or you would have looked further before you made such a blanket statement. I have 5 Linux based desktops that have NO connection to Windows .. No Cedega, No Crossover, No virtual box, No Dual boot .. no Windows programs what so ever on any of them. They do exactly as I want them ... but, then again, I do not waste my time trying to use Windows programs on Linux when a substitute that works just as well for most applications can be found in the FOSS community. And I do not waste hours and money playing games or living in an imaginary world.

[NeverHide]

The only reason i realy boot to windows at the moment is to use MS Office....
Noone can deny the fact that it's a lot better office suite than the openoffice.Other than that i don't realy need windows...
P.S. : By the way i also boot windows to play some zynga poker in fb cause it won't work correctly in ubuntu mozilla :lolflag:


Does this ring any bell?:lolflag:
If it doesn't work good,make it look good...
-Bill Gates

[jerenept]

MS Office runs in Wine...

[Club17]

Stupid nvidia graphic drivers!:mad:

[formaldehyde_spoon]

Obviously you took no note of the word ''average'' within the grandparent.

Obviously you missed the ''I have never seen any computer running linux 100%'' that he was actually replying to.


If you remove Ndiswrapper, Wine(cedega and crossover) and virtualbox (they are using windows), I think Linux cannot indulge any average user longer than a day. Yes it can run in headless computers for years and run in supercomputers and run hollywood renderfarm. For an average user for day to day computing, it is better to ask what can LINUX do without missing windows?
I have never seen any computer running linux 100%. They either dual boot or use virtualisation software but I have seen a hell lot of computers without a trace of linux. That pretty much explain windows can do a heck lot that linux cant with increased efficiency. (I am not a Windows fanboy any way)

This has to be a troll, no?
I'll bite anyway: I don't dual boot or use Ndiswrapper, Wine, Cedega, Crossover, VirtualBox or any other VM software and never have. I've been 100% Linux for years.

[NeverHide]

MS Office runs in Wine...




It runs but i get a few annoying problems....for example when i try to move sth in a the document the page goes in a kind of film mode-negative-if u can understand what i mean and some other annoying stuff :S

[Tony Flury]

If you remove Ndiswrapper, Wine(cedega and crossover) and virtualbox (they are using windows), I think Linux cannot indulge any average user longer than a day. Yes it can run in headless computers for years and run in supercomputers and run hollywood renderfarm. For an average user for day to day computing, it is better to ask what can LINUX do without missing windows?
I have never seen any computer running linux 100%. They either dual boot or use virtualisation software but I have seen a hell lot of computers without a trace of linux. That pretty much explain windows can do a heck lot that linux cant with increased efficiency. (I am not a Windows fanboy any way)

I am an average user (mostly surfing, email, some image processing) and I don't dual boot into Windows or virtual box. I am not a major gamer (but I don't think that many average users are) and I do accept that for gaming Linux is beaten by Windows (but not because of the capabilities of the platform, more about the economics of sales). The only Windows drivers I use is for my Wireless card - and I would love Linux to provide native support for that.

[YaPaY]

1. Font rendering
2. Games
3. Good looking interface (please look at utorrent on Win7 and ktorrent on any Linux)
4. Pulse Audio, ALSA, OSS only for problem
5. Girder, mass downloader like programs

[hansum_rahul]

Multimedia capabilities and Human Computer Interface devices.

Not to forget random crashing!

[mohanmathew]

ActiveX! Even though it is a Windows technology, checkpoint depends on activex for RDP connections! I didn't find any alternative for this, so trying to adjust using a XP VM running inside my Ubuntu :P

[alcohol52]

Originally Posted by oldsoundguy
Yes you are a Windows Fanboy .. or you would have looked further before you made such a blanket statement. I have 5 Linux based desktops that have NO connection to Windows .. No Cedega, No Crossover, No virtual box, No Dual boot .. no Windows programs what so ever on any of them. They do exactly as I want them ... but, then again, I do not waste my time trying to use Windows programs on Linux when a substitute that works just as well for most applications can be found in the FOSS community. And I do not waste hours and money playing games or living in an imaginary world.

Oldsoundguy- you are lucky that every piece of your hardware is working superb and linux is catering your needs well (100% according to you ). Ah! you have seasoned yourself with linux- thats is fine. But look around you, there are many who are not so lucky as you. As for fanboy thing, I am among those who are disillusioned by Windows and its viruses/crashes and in search of a VIABLE alternative.



Originally Posted by formaldehyde_spoon
This has to be a troll, no?
I'll bite anyway: I don't dual boot or use Ndiswrapper, Wine, Cedega, Crossover, VirtualBox or any other VM software and never have. I've been 100% Linux for years.


Ok you are a lucky user too. I am not a linux hater. I use Ubuntu Lucid most of the time. But I simply cannot digest the chauvinistic aura built around linux. Linux is good, damned good but it doesn't mean it cannot cater the needs of all. And the superiority complex of linux users is highly infectious- I was once hot headed and tried to bite others who disregarded linux.
(Please see the local forums-
http://forum.mazzako.com/index.php?topic=21528.30
http://forum.mazzako.com/index.php?topic=22086.0 if you think I am a hippocrite. I wrote there long posts about benefits of linux. Funny I had such energy once)

Need brings about the change. How do you feel when your hardware doesnot work with linux? Worse still, scourging all the forums and typing make and make install (which you have faintest idea ) and the device finally not working while some user boasts the same device working perfectly in some other corner of the world. Since the early 2000 there was always an air that linux would conquer the world but that never materialized. Why? When Vista was a runaway flop, people didn't migrate to linux though it is free, Why? Instead they chose to downgrade to XP or wait for next windows.

It would be a blasphemy to speak such in linux forum and I think many will come to bite me. Oops!

[formaldehyde_spoon]

Oldsoundguy- you are lucky that every piece of your hardware is working superb and linux is catering your needs well (100% according to you ). Ah! you have seasoned yourself with linux- thats is fine. But look around you, there are many who are not so lucky as you. As for fanboy thing, I am among those who are disillusioned by Windows and its viruses/crashes and in search of a VIABLE alternative.



Ok you are a lucky user too. I am not a linux hater. I use Ubuntu Lucid most of the time. But I simply cannot digest the chauvinistic aura built around linux. Linux is good, damned good but it doesn't mean it cannot cater the needs of all. And the superiority complex of linux users is highly infectious- I was once hot headed and tried to bite others who disregarded linux.
(Please see the local forums-
http://forum.mazzako.com/index.php?topic=21528.30
http://forum.mazzako.com/index.php?topic=22086.0 if you think I am a hippocrite. I wrote there long posts about benefits of linux. Funny I had such energy once)

Need brings about the change. How do you feel when your hardware doesnot work with linux? Worse still, scourging all the forums and typing make and make install (which you have faintest idea ) and the device finally not working while some user boasts the same device working perfectly in some other corner of the world. Since the early 2000 there was always an air that linux would conquer the world but that never materialized. Why? When Vista was a runaway flop, people didn't migrate to linux though it is free, Why? Instead they chose to downgrade to XP or wait for next windows.

It would be a blasphemy to speak such in linux forum and I think many will come to bite me. Oops!

I don't really think it's luck; I've happily installed and run Linux on 9 different machines over the years (not a large number, but we're just talking personal use here) and they were all very different computers.

You seem to have more of a problem with less tangible things like attitude, philosophy, etc...

[snip3r8]

Stupid nvidia graphic drivers!:mad:
For the record ,the nvidia problems only seem to occur in Lucid along with other hardware problems.The problem here is Ubuntu ,not Linux..the nvidia drivers work perfectly for 9.10 and lower

Furthermore ,both windows and linux have their place and i personally dual boot and use the best tool for the job.

On the subject of 10.04 LTS.........LTS stands for Linux That Sucks,nothing is happy with it,neither my nvidia card or my hsdpa modem are happy with it so im sticking to 9.10

[f1r3br4nd]

Now that OpenOffice 3.2 is out, I can add "open PowerPoint files without crashing every five minutes" to the list of what Windows can to that Linux can't.

The other one on my list currently is...
WYSIWYG bibiliography and citation management with seamless export/import to a Word compatible format.


Everything else I can live without, but I don't have a choice about office compatibility. It's humiliating to have to borrow a Windows computer every time my work requires me to read or edit Microsoft Office documents. The ten varieties of skinnable, scriptable media players are all well and good but until we have some apps that can reliably interoperate with the other 90% of the world, Linux is just not going to be ready for the desktop.

[oldsoundguy]

Now that OpenOffice 3.2 is out, I can add "open PowerPoint files without crashing every five minutes" to the list of what Windows can to that Linux can't.

The other one on my list currently is...
WYSIWYG bibiliography and citation management with seamless export/import to a Word compatible format.


Everything else I can live without, but I don't have a choice about office compatibility. It's humiliating to have to borrow a Windows computer every time my work requires me to read or edit Microsoft Office documents. The ten varieties of skinnable, scriptable media players are all well and good but until we have some apps that can reliably interoperate with the other 90% of the world, Linux is just not going to be ready for the desktop.

Open Office is NOT Linux, it is not Ubuntu, it is OPEN OFFICE, a third party program, and it comes out of Oracle among others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.org

Read all about it there.

Complaints on the Ubuntu forum are not forwarded to the developers of OO.

[f1r3br4nd]

Open Office is NOT Linux, it is not Ubuntu, it is OPEN OFFICE, a third party program, and it comes out of Oracle among others.


Lol. I know what Open Office is. The original question of this thread is "What can Windows do that Linux can't?" and my reply is essentially: "run an office suite that can reliably read and write the file formats in use by the overwhelming majority of the installed base of office applications".

I'm sure it's Microsoft's fault for being a monopolist and using obfuscated file formats. But that feeling of righteous anger still doesn't help me send a Power Point document to my co-workers.

You're basically right, though, this is not a problem the Ubuntu team can necessarily solve. But if the motivation behind the original question is to understand why there aren't more people switching to Linux, then the answer might be that it's no longer about Linux per se and hasn't been for a while. For many people it's about the availability of certain categories of applications to run on it.

PS: For what it's worth, my snark was misplaced. Turns out that OpenOffice 3.2 runs decently. The problem was with the KDE "integration" package. As soon as I blew that away, it stopped crashing, so my list is back down to just one thing: reference management software that uses the .DOC or .RTF format.

[Justin_West]

If you remove Ndiswrapper, Wine(cedega and crossover) and virtualbox (they are using windows), I think Linux cannot indulge any average user longer than a day. Yes it can run in headless computers for years and run in supercomputers and run hollywood renderfarm. For an average user for day to day computing, it is better to ask what can LINUX do without missing windows?
I have never seen any computer running linux 100%. They either dual boot or use virtualisation software but I have seen a hell lot of computers without a trace of linux. That pretty much explain windows can do a heck lot that linux cant with increased efficiency. (I am not a Windows fanboy any way)

I will only use windows because some company has some proprietary software that is only written for that OS and these are very extreme cases. My computer has run linux and ONLY linux for the past 2 years and running. I may have used wine to run a few games, so I guess to be fair, I would say my computer uses linux 99.5% of the time.

As for your "I do not think Linux can indulge an average user for longer than a day" comment:

I use linux everyday for everything. I buy mp3s from amazon, surf the web and use facebook, yahoo, gmail, fastmail, photobucket, pandora, youtube, kotaku, engadget, joystiq, gametrailers, and post to them regularly. I use my webcam and aMSN to talk to my sons and their mother who are in Japan (and yes, even typing in Japanese!). I keep to-do lists, contacts, schedules and all of everyday events. I order pizza, order electronics, sent flowers for Mother's Day both here in the U.S. and overseas using paypal and various other services without issue. I watch various t.v. shows on hulu and other websites.

I'm more of an old-school gamer, where I prefer the quality of a game over it's graphics and etc. There are literally over a thousand free games for linux. Google "42 best games on linux" and you'll see what I mean. FlightGear is absolutely incredible! Also check out the FPS and MMORPGs, as well! Also, I don't think it's fair to say that using Wine means using windows, because Wine was created so that you wouldn't HAVE to use Windows.

But at the end of all this, there is one thing that Linux can and does do that Windows does not. Grow!

[tropicalfish]

GAMING.
And running foobar2000 properly. I don't think I'll ever be able to find an Ubuntu replacement.
It would be nice to have Microsoft Office fully working with Wine... but aside from that, not else that I know of. I think most people like to use Windows because of it's GUI (no terminal to deal with) and because of the software compatibility, especially gaming.


EDIT: Has anyone overclocked their system and then stress tested/monitored it with Linux?

[babboo65]

Zune support isnt' there on any distro of Ubuntu I have used yet (since Dapper)

other items as noted (video especially annoying for me)

[porjos]

GAMING.
And running foobar2000 properly. I don't think I'll ever be able to find an Ubuntu replacement.
It would be nice to have Microsoft Office fully working with Wine... but aside from that, not else that I know of. I think most people like to use Windows because of it's GUI (no terminal to deal with) and because of the software compatibility, especially gaming.


EDIT: Has anyone overclocked their system and then stress tested/monitored it with Linux?

Try CPUID.com...you can benchmark you're hardware there!

[hotshot247]

the only thing that i am worried about that windows can do that linux can't is my kodak 5500 all in one printer doesn't have drivers for linux. they have drivers for windows and if it wasn't for that, i would leave windows all together but this is a really great printer so i don't want to throw it out just to get rid of windows. if linux ever releases drivers for my printer then i will leave windows all together but that is up to kodak if they want to release the source code for the drivers and i doubt that will ever happen.

[CDR Services]

The lack of games hasn't sales of Mac computers either they are getting more mainstream all the time dispite the price tag!!

[CDR Services]

I was editing a spreadsheet at work in ms office and wanted to print it about 10 pages, office said it couldn't find anything to print. I tried several things to sort it out in office but couldn't! my solution was my little netbook with 10.04, opened the file in open office setup the network printer and bobs your uncle, printed fine!!

[CDR Services]

I believe there are 2 real problems for most Windows users, 1 is ease of use. I know that Ubuntu especially is getting better with each build but there is still the messing about in terminal that scares a lot of point and clicky Windows users they are used to Wizards and clicking buttons to configure stuff! 2 like it or not it is still (for the moment anyway) a Windows world with windows Apps that work in propriatary formats and Extentions! Although I havn't ran one extensively I am sure that Mac users must run into the same things from time to time!

[dhunt84971]

For the record ,the nvidia problems only seem to occur in Lucid along with other hardware problems.The problem here is Ubuntu ,not Linux..the nvidia drivers work perfectly for 9.10 and lower

Furthermore ,both windows and linux have their place and i personally dual boot and use the best tool for the job.

On the subject of 10.04 LTS.........LTS stands for Linux That Sucks,nothing is happy with it,neither my nvidia card or my hsdpa modem are happy with it so im sticking to 9.10
snip3r8 -

I am having the same issue. Unfortunately, this is my FIRST install of Ubuntu (or anything Linux for that matter) and it is giving me a very bad taste. Been on a lot of different forums and it seems to be a chronic issue with 10.04. If I get it fixed, I will let you know, or if you find anything, please let me know.

[cgroza]

I cant professionally speak on this because Im not a professional. The general consensus I get from those who are is this:
"Anything you can do with Photoshop, you can do with GIMP. But like all things in the linux world, its more difficult"
That always makes me laugh.

I think most graphics people are probably frustrated with gimp because its hard to configure and install in windows. I've tried it and its a nightmare compared to photoshops give-me-1000s-of-dollars-and-it-will-just-work thing theyve got going on.

If it WAS a pro, I would deal with gimp though, and save my money.


Its not difficult... its just different...

[limestone]

Yep, There is still many good games that wont work with Linux, I heard that Steam will come now when it's out for Mac and thats a +.

[gabak]

problems using 2 monitors i can not activate video effects

big bug , i have been using ubuntu since 2008 and it never work out of the box with two monitors.
if i want to activa special effect some error appear and it simple does nt work.
Or do weird thing ,using diferent computer with diferent nvidia video cards.
from nvidia 7200 up to 9800.
why is that?
windows does a better job in that case.

ps: that means no compiz effects.

[MrNatewood]

Ctrl-Alt-Delete

[hariks0]

Ctrl-Alt-Delete

Of course Ubuntu does. follow the link in my signature.:popcorn:

[MrNatewood]

Of course Ubuntu does. follow the link in my signature.:popcorn:

Yeah, meant this:
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/13626/

http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/2205/

http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/2067/

(three different ways to look at the same problem)

[wolferl]

Q: What can Windows do that Linux can't?

A: Windows can force people to buy it even when they don't want to use it (*)


(*Please note that here the decisive word is 'force')

[hotshot247]

Q: What can Windows do that Linux can't?

A: Windows can force people to buy it even when they don't want to use it (*)


(*Please note that here the decisive word is 'force')

good answer. a lot of people don't even realize that their is more than one OS in the world and even if a lot of them knew, they wouldn't change because they are so used to windows. they would rather pay the money for something they're used to.

[d3v1150m471c]

No they don't. unless your definition of 'most people' is 'most white, male, under 25 and over 13s' which mine isn't and most PEOPLE I know of all kinds like to play puzzle, platform, logic, and various other games and don't like to play either racing or shoot 'em ups.

Since so many puzzle games out number the first person shooters, role playing games, and racing games on xbox and ps3. Or on computers or any console for that matter.

[Lucifer The Dark]

Become so badly infected with virus & malware that a complete wipe & reinstall in necessary.

[f1r3br4nd]

I admit up front, this one is really unfair to Linux:

What Windows can do that Linux can't is...

"just work" on any new Intel-compatible machine without you spending weeks researching all its peripherals to see whether drivers are available for them (and actually work properly).

This is unfair to Linux because Microsoft has access to proprietary interface specs that Linux developers have to painstakingly reverse engineer. Still, it must be nice to just order a laptop, take delivery, unpack it, turn it on, and start using it.

[Chame_Wizard]

Become so badly infected with virus & malware that a complete wipe & reinstall in necessary.

True that.:lolflag:

[epicoder]

What Windows can do that Linux can't is...

"just work" on any new Intel-compatible machine without you spending weeks researching all its peripherals to see whether drivers are available for them (and actually work properly).


Actually, it's been the opposite for me. Linux worked out of the cd image for me on my intel based computer, no drivers needed. I wanted to play Portal, but my stinky processor just couldn't handle it with wine. I got Win XP and installed it, but I needed to boot to linux to grab a wireless driver, graphics driver, and sound driver.

[McRat]

Opposite for me too. I've had very few "painless" Windows installs on fresh hardware, usually they will run, but not always. And putting a newer version of Windows on a notebook that was already running Windows is unlikely to succeed without a lot of work, if at all.

This computer I'm typing on was built 12/09 from TigerDirect parts: AMD64, MSI motherboard, Seagate HDD, Crucial memory, nVidia video. And Win 7 Pro. Well, not for long. It would freeze up during large file transfers. Never did figure out why.

Formatted the drive, put Ubuntu on it, and it's run flawlessly.

[alexan]

What can Windows do that Linux can't?

push the hardware manufacturer to clean it's feet... if there's something wrong/fuzzy in the windows structure hardware manufacturer had to double their work on driver software (and sometime redesign the hardware too!) in order to be able sell to the public (also called "Windows Global Market Share")

[LiQuidAiR]

Windows 7 is just over all better then Ubuntu 10.4, period.

[McRat]

Windows 7 is just over all better then Ubuntu 10.4, period.

When we get to the fortieth month of 2010, I suppose we will find out.

I can tell you this though. Computer that can't run Win7 (even NIB retail hardware), don't run Win7 very well.

And Win apps that won't install on Win7 machines don't run very well either.

I suppose I could just "recompile" the apps for the Win7 with the pre-installed compiler that comes with the Win7, but I haven't been able to find it yet, nor the source code. Perhaps there is a bug in the Search feature? Dunno.

[wkhasintha]

Windows can give Effing BSOD , what a headache](*,)](*,)[-(

[brion@cbkidder.com]

First and foremost, networking works in Windows and is laughable in Ubuntu. Ubuntu needs an applet that lets the user set the hostname, set the workgroup name, and easily work with other machines on the network.

Try it for yourself--where but in Terminal can you quickly set up a workgroup?

[oldsoundguy]

First and foremost, networking works in Windows and is laughable in Ubuntu. Ubuntu needs an applet that lets the user set the hostname, set the workgroup name, and easily work with other machines on the network.

Try it for yourself--where but in Terminal can you quickly set up a workgroup?

Excuse me?
http://www.google.com/search?q=set+up+networking+in+ubuntu&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

LOTS of answers that do not involve terminal there.

[brion@cbkidder.com]

Right, go ahead and actually try it, and we'll see how smug you are then. Trying to connect to workgroup shares in Ubuntu is very frustrating.

[murderslastcrow]

Maybe it's because you're trying to set up a workgroup in Gnome?

So you mean, rather than simply connecting to an existing samba workgroup through Network, you're trying to build a new one that, say, other Windows or OS X computers could hook up to? Never tried it, but it seems like it wouldn't be too difficult. I guess there are still one or two minor things that Windows, as an OS, can do better or more simply than Linux, but there aren't many, and there are plenty more things you can do in Linux that you can't do in Windows. Then again, I guess that's not the point of this topic- we're trying to see where we still have left to ace Windows.

To be honest, whenever I read a topic like this, I realize that some people just love Windows too much, and they've been using it for so long they really can't accept that Linux isn't Windows- maybe on the face of it, but deep down, they're trying to make it a clone rather than an alternative. Instead of learning a new, more efficient way to do things, many users just wanna' download debs of stuff in the Software Center, never read the documentation, don't look through the Software Center before they say they don't have the application they need merely because it's not the expensive one they used to have in Windows, etc...

When people buy a Mac, they have this whole mindset of its value, its need to be separate from Windows. They buy Mac-only hardware, Mac-only software, and deal with incompatibilities out of loyalty. It's a very odd phenomenon.

And really, the largest evident benefit OS X Macs have over a Linux Mac/PC is Adobe, MS Office (2007 works in Wine, so this is debatable), and a few lesser-knowns people can do without.

I think maybe we should be more interested in doing things 'the Linux way' and finding out what that is, and what it will be as we develop it (I'm not talking about the command line here, I'm talking about what makes us unique), rather than simply be disappointed it isn't Windows yet.

Because, sorry, it's NEVER going to be Windows. It will ALWAYS do things differently, the way the developers and users find most fitting. The imperfect areas will be filled in soon- after all, only a couple years ago, things seemed a lot harder, and now things are pretty much automatic. We don't have that much ground left to cover as an OS, only as a software platform (software availability).

So really, if you want it to be Windows, donate to Codeweavers and within a few years you'll have it.

[oldsoundguy]

I have 7 computers all networked and all able to talk to each other .. including 2 XP machines and 5 printers. NEVER had to use terminal to set them up.

Some people just want to try and do things the hard way.

NOTHING wrong with using terminal (for the windows users .. terminal is called cmd) .. use it a lot for OTHER things. Just that it is NOT required when setting up Samba and networking!

[brion@cbkidder.com]

All I want to have to do is click the Network icon, see the shares that I know are there, and be able to share with them. So far this has never happened on any Ubuntu machine I've tried. Then so the other side can share with me I need to be able to name my shares as part of whatever Workgroup the Windows side is using.

Running sudo ufw disable inside terminal helps, but one I don't want to open Terminal and two I don't know what the ramifications of ufw disable are.

[McRat]

For me, it was easier to hook up sharing on the Ubuntu machines than the XP or Vista machines, and I had no experience with Linux.

When the network freaked out last week, only the XP machines lost their minds, not the Ubuntu machines.

[brion@cbkidder.com]

I have 7 computers all networked and all able to talk to each other .. including 2 XP machines and 5 printers. NEVER had to use terminal to set them up.

Some people just want to try and do things the hard way.


You are lucky that your seven machines can talk to each other. It has never once worked for me without a lot of tweaking in terminal.

I must be one of those people who love the aggravation of doing things the hard way.

[irv]

Can't Watch movies on Netflix. Netflix does not support Linux.
One point to mention, Firefox work best for Netflix. I have trouble with IE not releasing memory after watching movies, Firefox does a better job with memory.

[murderslastcrow]

Anyone tried Netflix in Virtualbox? Is the performance suitable? Preferably I'm looking for a comparison of a VBox with 128 MB allocated with 2d acceleration on and another VBox with 512 MB for those will 2 GB or more on board. Hopefully Netflix starts supporting Linux, since they support freaking PS3 for goodness sake (lucky I have one :D).

So far as that whole samba thing, I have a PowerPC Mac with OS X 10.4, another Mac with 10.5, and we used to have a Windows XP computer along with two more Linux computers.

In this setup, I just went to Network and I was instantly able to access the shares. I don't know what command line stuff you're talking about, but I assume it would be involved in the creation of a new work group. I've never had an issue with samba that required me to go to the command line to get the network integrated. This is in many households, not just mine, since I've commonly sent files to computers over the network in order to easily do a fresh install of Ubuntu on a previously Windows computer, so I have experience with network shares in Ubuntu.

So I hope it doesn't offend you that I'm wondering if it's some specific case outside of what I'm mentioning. I do acknowledge that what may work for one user in many situations may not work for another. :3 I'm just curious as to what you're trying so I can try it out and do some development, perhaps, or fund it.

For people who have more than one computer, you might be interested in Synergy, which can allow you to use the same keyboard/mouse on several computers running different OSs at the same time.

http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/

[irv]

Murderslastcrow: Anyone tried Netflix in Virtualbox? Is the performance suitable?

Yes I tried it and it was slow jerky and the movie paused to much. Even with buffering it didn't do the job. I was running it on a AMD Turlon64 with 4gig of Memory. In raw windows the movies play great but not in VirtualBox. I could do everything else in VB but not Netflix.

[hotshot247]

Yes I tried it and it was slow jerky and the movie paused to much. Even with buffering it didn't do the job. I was running it on a AMD Turlon64 with 4gig of Memory. In raw windows the movies play great but not in VirtualBox. I could do everything else in VB but not Netflix.

why are you watching netflix movies on a windows virtual machine? you can go to the netflix site and they have a plugin that you can download for linux called "moonlight" and you can watch the netflix movies just like you can windows.

[Arwen17evenstar]

I miss things like photoshop, premiere pro, and certain games. But other than that, its not bad.

[irv]

why are you watching netflix movies on a windows virtual machine? you can go to the netflix site and they have a plugin that you can download for linux called "moonlight" and you can watch the netflix movies just like you can windows.

Are you doing this? I have been searching the Internet and have been on Netflix's site and have talked to there tech support and they do not have Linux support. By the way I have "moonlight" installed and when you click on play you get this message:
161089

[LiQuidAiR]

One good thing about Windows is their API and development. It's more central. In Linux, you have applications that use 10 different dependencies most of which you've never heard of and quite frankly, you shouldn't really care about. Searching for apt-get packages or outdated downloads sucks!

I still love Ubuntu!

[zipperback]

I think gaming is the most important for a lot of people. Also a lot of professionals miss Photoshop.


A lot of games for Windows will run just fine with Wine and one the Wine Ports.

Photoshop (certain versions of it) will work under wine.


However Windows will handle DRM based files while Linux will not.

Linux also doesn't have a Native NETFLIX streaming media player as of yet either.

Pretty much if it has to do with DRM we're dead in the water unless we want to do something like dual boot or run Windows in a virtual environment. Then if thats the case, Then you still have access to everything you did before the switch to Linux. Just not in the manner that you would have liked.

- zipperback
:popcorn:

[murderslastcrow]

As much as I agree with the whole, "need my Photoshop, some games that don't work in Wine, and Netflix" arguments, I think there's another side to the coin that should be considered. Even if you could do these things in Linux, I'd be glad to see people do it, but I'd be even more glad to see some viable competition.

Games are something that hopefully Valve with help solve with Steam on Linux. But so far as Adobe and DRM-controlled content providers are concerned, I think what we need isn't ports, but alternatives- this goes for Windows and OS X users alike.

The reason Adobe can charge so much for their software is because they got a ton of marketshare and then they made and improved CS, adding new bits as they went, and it became a standard. However, it's not compatible with many other programs.

This creates a dilemma, where even if a better tool of one of the elements of CS came out, because Adobe wouldn't support their format they'd be forced to use the Adobe equivalent anyway. This is dangerous, because it means higher prices, and less motivation to deliver better features. It should be noted that Adobe's Suite is feature-full and leaves little to be desired in next versions, except for some of their newer programs.

I think it would be best to support alternatives to the norm, rather than try to embrace the norm fully on all platforms. It's bad for consumers and businesses to tie themselves down to anyone, whether it's a closed OS, a closed file format, or a closed piece of software if you're really that far into it.

I really wish there would be some company that could create an amazing cross platform suite to directly challenge Adobe, but it just seems difficult to imagine anyone getting enough leeway to make a dent. That's what's so frightening about it, that competition is almost considered fool-hardy in these markets.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), I believe GIMP, Inkscape, Blender (it's already there, actually), Audacity, Scribus, and many more open source projects that rise up in the next decade may make it difficult for any companies to compete directly with Adobe. If you're not using Adobe, why pay for something with standards support when you can have it for free? It seems like the game is already set, and the choice will be between a very minute selection of closed source software and a wide selection of open source software in the coming years.

I just don't think anyone should feel forced to use any OS or program when there are other options. This is why I encourage people to find alternatives, so we can have a diversified, fair software culture. I still hope Adobe ports all their stuff to Linux, but I really don't wanna' see another 10 years of Creative Suites and Windows 7s. I don't think consumers want to deal with that, either.

[irv]

I think one point that should be address when it come to being able to do things in Windows we can't do in Linux. The fact that a very large user base in Windows for years to come will almost demand Linux user to use Windows for certain things. Let me give you an example.

I have open office and I use Presentation to do Power Point shows. If I use Open Office and create a show I can show it and it look like the one I designed. Now if a friend makes a PP using MS Office and I have to show it, many things in the PP change. (Template, color, fonts, etc). Going back and forth does not work and it will create problems. The point being, not only office products (Open Office vs MS Office), but many other apps will have the same problem.

I choose to use Ubuntu Linux because I like it and like what I can do with it, but I am living in a world full of MS OS's and for that reason, I need to keep a MS OS installed for certain things. I do not use Windows on a daily bases but only on occasion when things arise.

When it come to business many times our employer demand we use MS products to stay in step with others. I never did like this, but I had to work by the rules. (I am retired now, and I live by my own rules).

I paid for my Netflix account and I have not found anything that suits me better for watching old movie, old TV show etc so I will not switch so until they start supporting Linux I am locked into MS OS to use there services. I don't like it, but I will live with it until it changes.

One last thing, I have one PC in the house that has three OS's on it, and it is used when my grandkids come over. It gets booted into WinXp when there are around because they play a lot of online games that don't seem to load or do not load right for them so they go back to XP for that.

This is life, and we have to live in a world we sometimes don't like.

[chiliman]

Linux wont run the program DirecTV2PC so i can watch shows recorded on my HD DVR on my PC downstairs over the network. Its pretty well protected with HDCP, and the software seems to still be in development. Just only one of the three things i still use windows for, other than the games i already have installed, and playing blurays.

[murderslastcrow]

Yes irv, this is true in many cases. However, hopefully Wine and VirtualBox can make these sometimes necessary compromises much simpler and easier for us to afford. We have tools to assist us, and dual-booting's not that big of a hassle. In most cases, you don't even need the net enabled in a Windows partition if you need to use a Windows-only program.

However, with the popularity of PDFs, and with government that's helping us to use more open standards as time progresses, these issues are becoming less and less pertinent to our computer use. I'm not saying it's already there, but it's getting much closer, and there's a lot less ground to cover than before. For the most part, it comes down to Adobe and Microsoft formats. Other than that, most things are quite easy to work around in a business environment.

With ODF support getting better in each new version of MS Office, I don't think it will be long before people start using more open standards- OpenOffice is an extremely popular program with most students, and new businesses started from these students will likely opt for more open and interoperable packages.

So yes, today it is difficult, but with support from Google, Adobe, HP, and DELL, it seems that the future will be a much easier world to be a Linux user in. Of course, there's nothing wrong with dual or even triple/quadruple booting- more power to ya'. You get the best of both worlds, hopefully without having to deal with the worst of each.

However, after reading this post, it seems that software availability and stuff you can't do in Wine is the biggest thing Linux can't do. Maybe we should help Wine development and make this reason go away.

[kamaboko]

Windows can play Bluray and HDDVD w/o some mind boggling pain in the *** work around. It can also support Dolby TrueHD audio. Moreover, support countless enterprise business applications such as Sage MAS90/200 or Cognos,only two of which come to mind.

[mamamia88]

propose and update to a working driver and break it. hasn't happened to me yet in linux but windows update broke my wireless in windows 7.

[Lucradia]

Entice millions of people to use it because it's "mainstream."

[shihkster1015]

screw up every few seconds

[murderslastcrow]

Give less technical people a chilling fear of computers.

[w0Rm210]

Ive noticed some online games dont work on Ubuntu but thats really it i mean anything windows can be run through wine and any games on disc can run through PlayOnLinux. Love Ubuntu and i love Kubuntu their the best linux os's out there in my opinion.

[vaslat29]

Very limited choice in Ubuntu, of applications for voice chat - only skype as far as I know.

[wkhasintha]

One thing I miss big time is Windows Live writer, I always have to get back to windows to make a blog post :-/ . :(

[irv]

One thing I miss big time is Windows Live writer, I always have to get back to windows to make a blog post :-/ . :(

Have you tried ScribeFire in Firefox browser. I have three of my blogs setup so I can do blog posts right from firefox. ScribeFire is a add on and you can install it right from firefox. Go to Tool > Add-ons > Get-add-ons and do a search for ScribeFire.

Edit: I forgot to say Full Circle Magazine had a good article on this. Also Chromium browser is also supported.

[WinRiddance]

I think gaming is the most important for a lot of people. Also a lot of professionals miss Photoshop.


Ubuntu has tons of games. Prompts the question though, just how "addicted" does one have to be if that's what prevents anyone from making the switch? And no, I'm not using the word addicted lightly. Then there are also third party repositories such as Sourceforge where a ton more games and other software can be found. If all else fails, just install a virtual box and then your old version of Windows on top of that and all of your gaming issues are resolved. Yup, I used photoshop and paint shop pro myself for many years ... took me a total of 4 months to really get used to Gimp ... but now I'm doing even more graphic work with Gimp than I ever did with photoshop.

So to answer the original thread question: There's absolutely positively nothing that Windows can do, which in my opinion Linux/Ubuntu based open source software can't do as good or even better, while at the same time providing more security and freedom at zero cost. How can Windows possibly top that?

[WinRiddance]

Give less technical people a chilling fear of computers.


Ha, ha, ha, yuk, yuk, LOL, hi, hi, hi.
Man, I totally forgot about that. Windows does that better than any other OS can ever hope to ...

[wkhasintha]

Have you tried ScribeFire in Firefox browser. I have three of my blogs setup so I can do blog posts right from firefox. ScribeFire is a add on and you can install it right from firefox. Go to Tool > Add-ons > Get-add-ons and do a search for ScribeFire.

Edit: I forgot to say Full Circle Magazine had a good article on this. Also Chromium browser is also supported.

Just Installed it in Chromium , seems this is i wanted , I was actually gonna start a thread to ask about any alternatives for WLW, Thanx alot sir you saved me of alota hassle :) cheers

[murderslastcrow]

Woot- another problem solved. It's always nice to look for alternatives. Which brings me to the one thing I can think of that there isn't an open source equivalent for. You know, this is outside of peoples' addiction to a certain game or interface.

Video editing. I'm not talking about applying effects, but more along the lines of something like After Effects, where you have layers and the such. However, I'm aware that there are some not-so-user-friendly video editors out there that can do this, GIMP can edit AVIs frame by frame, and Blender has video editing capabilities.

However, none of these really seem to be along the level of an all-purpose video editor for the really fine tuned stuff that people use things like Sony Vegas for. However, I could be wrong- please tell me if there's something that does more than just apply filters, chrome keys, transitions and stuff like that (KDenLive and Openshot are great, but they seem to not be too capable of layering and frame-by-frame editing).

I don't really do a ton of that, though, since I always shoot things right the first time and clean it up a tiny bit later in KDenLive or OpenShot. I don't mean to be a bummer, but I don't wanna' pretend there aren't still little places for specific audiences we haven't reached yet.

I think it's outrageously awesome that we've covered as much territory as we have so far. I don't really see how, over the next 20 years of development, commercial models are going to catch up to our styles and speed.

But yeah, let's get down to brass tacks. If there's something you can only do in Windows, it's only one or two very specific things at the moment- Linux has you PRETTY MUCH covered. And, for when it doesn't, you have options like Wine, VirtualBox, and if all else fails (or you hate going through that trouble), you can just dual-boot.

So, even in the worst case scenario, it's not all that bad, and you can keep your precious Linux handy regardless.

Of course, if you're more into the FOSS mindset, you'd probably say using proprietary crap isn't the solution. However, until we port all our applications to Windows and OS X and advertise them, I think Adobe's gonna' be the dominant creative provider in interprises unless we really one up them with our own stuff.

[wynand2020]

Windows is superior in every way, it works for starters and its user friendly, quick installs too!!! Not like Ubuntu where every install is a nightmare.

[irv]

Windows is superior in every way, it works for starters and its user friendly, quick installs too!!! Not like Ubuntu where every install is a nightmare.

I believe there are many many Linux users who will disagree with you on this one, but we believe everyone has his or her own opinion even if it is wrong. I go back before the days of any GUI and we have come along ways in the computer world, but to say Ubuntu install is a nightmare is like a first grader telling a college study that advance math is a nightmare. If you don't understand or you haven't reach the age of understanding then don't make assumptions on other people's part. One person's nightmare is another person's dream come true.

[bruno9779]

Windows is superior in every way, it works for starters and its user friendly, quick installs too!!! Not like Ubuntu where every install is a nightmare.

Quick installs in ******* :confused: Do you own a copy of Windows 13?

[Lucradia]

Windows is superior in every way, it works for starters and its user friendly, quick installs too!!! Not like Ubuntu where every install is a nightmare.

*ducks before flaming and bashing begins*

Oh wait...

[murderslastcrow]

Windows is superior in every way, it works for starters and its user friendly, quick installs too!!! Not like Ubuntu where every install is a nightmare.

It's pretty obvious that wynand2020 was being sarcastic. Windows needs Flash, archiving tools, and tons of codecs to work with everything before you can just play all your files (even Windows 7). Let's not mention DRIVERS. (I sure hope you don't plan on comparing preinstalled Windows to newly installed Ubuntu)

Windows installs in 40 minutes or more, even with Windows 7. Ubuntu 10.04 has installed in less than 4 minutes from a flash drive for me. The only things that go wrong after installs is not having a wireless or video card driver installed yet (only a pain if you're using a Broadcom card, so you need ethernet- otherwise, just install the driver).

So yeah, hiding every setting and feature inside a disorganized start menu might feel more user friendly for people whose first experience with computers was Windows. Other than that whole argument (use KDE for goodness sake), it's pretty obvious he was kidding.

[Chame_Wizard]

Windows is superior in every way, it works for starters and its user friendly, quick installs too!!! Not like Ubuntu where every install is a nightmare.

Good luck using Winblows Seven/Visblah on a old P3 Coppermine(1 GHZ)or AMD Athlon 2000+(1.6 GHZ) with just 512 MiB memory installed.


Lubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 kicks ***(installed within 25 minutes).:lolflag:

[McRat]

Windows is superior in every way, it works for starters and its user friendly, quick installs too!!! Not like Ubuntu where every install is a nightmare.

What I get a kick out of, is when I buy a brand new computer with Win pre-installed, and it takes 2 hours to get it running because of updates and multiple reboots, then more updates.

It's OK I suppose when you have a broadband, but lordy help you if you're 384k and have to do 500mb of updates to setup.

The other laugh riot was when you plugged a new XP computer in after buying it, and it was race to download the updates before the Worm got in through the spyport.

If average folk had to load the O/S on a WinTel before using it, Windows would be gone by now. 3 DVD's for a full version now? Blueray is going to be necessary pretty soon.

[LiQuidAiR]

What I get a kick out of, is when I buy a brand new computer with Win pre-installed, and it takes 2 hours to get it running because of updates and multiple reboots, then more updates.

It's OK I suppose when you have a broadband, but lordy help you if you're 384k and have to do 500mb of updates to setup.

The other laugh riot was when you plugged a new XP computer in after buying it, and it was race to download the updates before the Worm got in through the spyport.

If average folk had to load the O/S on a WinTel before using it, Windows would be gone by now. 3 DVD's for a full version now? Blueray is going to be necessary pretty soon.



Ubuntu is the same way. Come on. I installed 10.04 from and I had to install a bunch of updates. Stop it....

Nvidia drivers didn't work with Ubuntu. It massively crashed my Ubuntu install.

I was about to give up and go back to Windows 7. In fact, I already had Windows 7 installed and working great. My system was back in action. Good thing i decided to do some reading and find out what the problem was. I still debated going back to Ubuntu.

Sorry guys, Linux is not that great. It's awesome! But, not better than Windows. At least on the useability side of things.

[DC.Eney]

Just stop it stupid hollywar. :lolflag:

[McRat]

Ubuntu is the same way. Come on. I installed 10.04 from and I had to install a bunch of updates. Stop it....

Nvidia drivers didn't work with Ubuntu. It massively crashed my Ubuntu install.

I was about to give up and go back to Windows 7. In fact, I already had Windows 7 installed and working great. My system was back in action. Good thing i decided to do some reading and find out what the problem was. I still debated going back to Ubuntu.

Sorry guys, Linux is not that great. It's awesome! But, not better than Windows. At least on the useability side of things.

Yes, Ubuntu installs updates as well. But it installs several times faster from scratch than a fresh Win7 install. My first Win7 install was on a brand new Clone. It crashed at random. Put Ubuntu on it, and it's been "up" ever since. Why did it keep crashing? Best guess is incompatible BIOS.

Installing Ubuntu on fresh computer is quicker than turning on a Win "pre-installed" computer from HP or Dell for the first time in my experience.

[prodigy_]

64-bit Windows versions can be recommended for desktop usage. Ubuntu can't:
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

So much for being an innovation-oriented distro?

[LiQuidAiR]

64-bit Windows versions can be recommended for desktop usage. Ubuntu can't:
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

So much for being an innovation-oriented distro?



HAHAHAAHAH. P.S. I still love Ubuntu...but, that is funny..

[hotshot247]

What I get a kick out of, is when I buy a brand new computer with Win pre-installed, and it takes 2 hours to get it running because of updates and multiple reboots, then more updates.

It's OK I suppose when you have a broadband, but lordy help you if you're 384k and have to do 500mb of updates to setup.

The other laugh riot was when you plugged a new XP computer in after buying it, and it was race to download the updates before the Worm got in through the spyport.

If average folk had to load the O/S on a WinTel before using it, Windows would be gone by now. 3 DVD's for a full version now? Blueray is going to be necessary pretty soon.

i thought it was just me that had a problem with a worm getting into xp so fast. lol but i agree totally. ubuntu kicks @$$ when it comes to security, hands down!!!!!

[hotshot247]

64-bit Windows versions can be recommended for desktop usage. Ubuntu can't:
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

So much for being an innovation-oriented distro?

do you or anybody else know why ubuntu 64-bit is not recommended for desktops? i want to get ubuntu server edition for my desktop because i want to start a web server, is their anyway to turn my ubuntu desktop edition into a server? can i just download apache etc and that's it?

[prodigy_]

do you or anybody else know why ubuntu 64-bit is not recommended for desktops?
The official reasons are given here (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-website/+bug/585940/comments/30) by a representative of Ubuntu website team.


can i just download apache etc and that's it?
Sure.
sudo aptitude install apache2

[McRat]

64-bit Windows versions can be recommended for desktop usage. Ubuntu can't:
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

So much for being an innovation-oriented distro?

Yeah, 64bit Win has been out awhile, and it is "recommended" for the normal desktop.

That way, when you find your hardware/apps don't work, and it crashes alot, you just go buy a new computer or apps. It drives the industry.

My 64bit w7Pro hates more aftermarket software and devices than it accepts.

[prodigy_]

That way, when you find your hardware/apps don't work, and it crashes alot, you just go buy a new computer or apps.

I buy a new PC every couple of years anyway.

Regarding compatibility, I used XP Pro x64 since 2005 and had virtually no problems with it at home (though had some issues at work because Novell never released a 64-bit Netware client for XP).

[McRat]

I buy a new PC every couple of years anyway.

Regarding compatibility, I used XP Pro x64 since 2005 and had virtually no problems with it at home (though had some issues at work because Novell never released a 64-bit Netware client for XP).

I ran into it again for Win7Pro yesterday. A Konica Color Laser Printer would instantly come alive with OS X and Linux, but not Win7-64. I got it to work, but an average user probably would not have. But our network 11x17 laser printer will never be able to run Win7, nor will OS X. Linux is working.

And it doesn't run our CAD software. It crashes at random with no explanation. It's extremely stable under XP and Linux + Wine.

[prodigy_]

A Konica Color Laser Printer would instantly come alive with OS X and Linux, but not Win7-64.
From my experience, printing issues aren't exclusive to the 64-bit version. For example, I couldn't find a 32-bit Win7 driver that would reliably work with Xerox WC 4118.

Win7 supports alot of older hardware surprisingly well, but printers are an unfortunate exception. I don't really know why. Most probably manufacturers just don't care. They want to sell new models.

[murderslastcrow]

Windows can give people a false sense of security since it's 'what everyone else uses'.

[sailor420]

Bluray backups. Yes, I know there are tools like DumpHD and MakeMKV, but there are FAR more, and far better supported tools for Windows.

I still use Linux to do most of my Bluray backups (particularly the transcodes--x264 rocks), but I've got a backup Windows VM that I have to use for the stubborn discs.

[irv]

The Hardware Magicjack, but this is on their website:

We expect to offer Linux support the first quarter of 2010.

[Shining Arcanine]

propose and update to a working driver and break it. hasn't happened to me yet in linux but windows update broke my wireless in windows 7.

That is not surprising, because Linux driver support is to Windows driver support what BSD development is to a Linux distribution.

With Linux, almost all drivers are developed in the kernel tree, while Windows has driver development done independently of its kernel, much like the BSD versus Linux situation with regard to userland.

[egwest]

Bluescreen of Death!

(I do not know if anyone else posted that, I did not read through the 100+ pages, but I just thought I would throw that in there.)

[TempleNav]

I think gaming is the most important for a lot of people. Also a lot of professionals miss Photoshop.
Also if you have need to write .NET programs, you cant write them under Linux... SOFTWARE AVAILABILITY is the number one conflict that I have with someone when they say that they want to move completly over to Linux also Windows can run Blu Ray movies and Linux OSs cannot. There has been no Blu Ray player available for the Linux OS as of yet...I wish they would and I do not care if it isnt open source, becuase to be honest I am not going to be tampering with it. Its a codec, it works.

[TempleNav]

Gaming is def a big issue. The people at wine and crossover make some of the larger titles and older games available, but its by no means a reasonable alternative... yet.


The only thing i've found to date is my modem. Winmodems simply wont work with linux, end of story. Some people have had limited success with linuxants drivers but they didnt work for me.

Penny Stocks (http://www.stocktrains.com/)
exactly I have not payed to see how well thier ports of games work but, I know for a fact that games like TF2 and most of the Valve games are reasons alone why I dont have a REAL Linux gaming rig. That and since the new Lucid Lynx released, I have been having issues getting a lot of software that worked before to work in the newest version. I mean even Amazon's MP3 downloader doesnt work castrating my ability to buy music for my Linux computer. I dont care for the new Ubuntu One music store because its selection is seriously lacking compared to itunes and Amazon.com...

[chemrajib]

I think ubuntu rather linux is little behind in case of photoshop. I know that GIMP is there but it is not equivalent to photoshop.

[oldsoundguy]

I think ubuntu rather linux is little behind in case of photoshop. I know that GIMP is there but it is not equivalent to photoshop.


GIMP itself is close .. very close now .. but there is no equivalent to being able to run some of the Photo Shop plug ins such as the Tiffen Filter program. And there is no Adobe Bridge or Adobe Lightroom equivalent .. not even CLOSE!

And you can not flash update your camera(s) chips using Ubuntu or even ANY form of Linux, nor can you utilize any software that comes with the camera(s) itself.

Not that important for a normal point and shoot photographer (which is the MAJORITY) But, for the advanced amateur or the pro, NOT THERE YET!

Photography (for the really serious shooter) is still confined to the Mac OS or Windows computers.

That is why I still have a Windows box sitting in the corner.

[mojo risin]

hm I still have some sites were the fonts look weird too much spacing (lines) and too small...

[TNT1]

hm I still have some sites were the fonts look weird too much spacing (lines) and too small...

I have that sometimes... Usually around the fourth beer or so...

[wkhasintha]

Windows has Phone management softwares for Sony Ericsson . It's high time SE should develop it for linux. :(

[Zorgoth]

Windows is fully compatible with over 50,000 viruses!!!

[pinguy]

Games. I know some of them work in Wine but they work much better in Windows.

HL2, Portal ect. Work much better on Windows then they do in Wine. On Windows 7 I can run these games on high with over 60 FPS but I can't get anyway close to that in Wine on the same PC.

[wheels666]

as a new ubuntu user, running a dual boot with xp


here's what i miss and need xp for - any suggestions much appreciated


photoshop - i've been using it for 12 years and don't have the time or inclination to learn gimp

dreamweaver - again i'm used to it

outlook - thunderbird seems to lack categories for sorting contacts, and i use outlook like a database for 2000 customers

anydvd - needed for copying dvd's

internet download manager - fast and efficient for downloading movies, tv etc from file share hosts


and the things about linux users that freak me out:

1. the constant referal to linux programmes as "free" as if all windows users pay for programmes - they are available free on sites like warezbb, so cost is not an issue - and paying for windows programmes is a bit of an american thing i think, many people pirate them (funding bill gates eugenics agenda is not cool)

2. the obsession with using command line - i am used to doing everything using a mouse, and preferably don't want to use the keyboard at all - using command line is not "a shortcut" - it's confusing geek speak - i'm looking for instructions like "edit/preferences/general" - ie menus


having said that i love ubuntu 10 and will gradually switch over to it - theres no future in microsoft and i've always said i'm stopping at xp - microsoft is evil!

i've been watching linux for a couple of years now and have tried a few distros like pclinuxos and puppy, but ubuntu 10 is the first one i can see myself moving to

[handy]

Run Lightroom 3.

Which will soon become the standard for pro & serious amateur photographers due to its ground breaking, unmatched technology.

Though I use Lightroom on OS X. Unfortunately, as OS X, has serious flaws when it comes to the sizing of text (amongst many other things).

[snip3r8]

some of the appeal of using command line is that it freaks out windows users

[bigseb]

Lack of serious 3D CAD programs for either surface or solid modelling. The best out there is VariCAD (retails for 500 Euro last I checked) which is pretty good but lacks many of the features found in high-end Windows programs.

[Vimmander]

It can recognize all 8 GB of my Sansa Fuze, whereas Ubuntu will only see just under 3 GB. I paid good money for that too.....I WANT my 8 GB >: (

[x-shaney-x]

and the things about linux users that freak me out:

1. the constant referal to linux programmes as "free" as if all windows users pay for programmes - they are available free on sites like warezbb, so cost is not an issue - and paying for windows programmes is a bit of an american thing i think, many people pirate them (funding bill gates eugenics agenda is not cool)

2. the obsession with using command line - i am used to doing everything using a mouse, and preferably don't want to use the keyboard at all - using command line is not "a shortcut" - it's confusing geek speak - i'm looking for instructions like "edit/preferences/general" - ie menus
1. When people talk about "free" in the linux world they tend to (mostly) mean free as in open-source, the code is free and open for anyone to modify or improve and free from patents etc.
Though having said that, I have seen plenty of mailing list arguments over which "free" licenses things should use etc and which license or more "free" than the other.

2. I wouldn't say it's an obsession as such. When you get to a certain level of familiarity with linux it is genuinely quicker and easier to use the command-line for many things.
I can't think of anything I *need* to use a terminal for but I do use it a hell of a lot.
It is also sometimes much easier on forums to simply paste terminal code to fix something than explain how to do it graphically.
Although I think it is bad practice I suppose because it encourages people to blindly copy and paste code that the user doesn't understand.

[tomasz74]

Hi. I'm new user, but got something from another side.
On my University I try to get in touch with robotics department. They told me straight, if I want to do any robot simulation on high level I have to switch to linux.
On windows programs like YARP or iCub does not work.

So maybe question what Linux can do as Windows can't

[murderslastcrow]

Certainly, that's the question we've been asking and answering all along. There are plenty of things you can do in Linux you can't do in Windows. The whole reason I think this thread started was to be open minded and see that it works both ways, since we tend to focus on what Linux can do rather than what it can't.

However, what it can't do is very little, unless you take into account a ton of tiny things that the majority of people don't run into.

Games and Adobe are the big ones that tend to get in the way for people, Adobe much more so.

So yeah, what can't you do in Linux, really? I mean, from a purely objective standpoint, you can do graphic design, web design, development, etc. etc. just as well or better than in Windows. It's just that it's not the way people are used to or in the formats people in the business world are forced to use (Adobe).

I think there are two big areas we can focus on, outside of just improving and adding format compatibility to what we've already got. That's video editing and CAD. They both exist on Linux, but from what I heard (and from what I've done with them), they don't seem to be quite as mature as their commercial counterparts on Windows.

That said, we're pretty close. So yeah, you're right tomasz74, it certainly goes both ways. However, the main things keeping most businesses away from Linux is Adobe and CAD deficiency.

[tomasz74]

If we in chat.
I use trading platform for fx currencies MetaTreader. Unfortunately it is not supported in linux, so I run it in vmware player and try samba. As it starts to work, I wonder if run windows virtually under Linux is really worst than dual booting.
Dual boot simply doesn't work as I need different software at the same time. So far is good, so if virtual machine works, what can be a problem to run CAD, photoshop or any other?

[Objekt]

I think gaming is the most important for a lot of people. Also a lot of professionals miss Photoshop.

Yeah, gaming is about the only reason I still have a Windows XP install on my GRUB menu.

Aside from games, nearly any software which only exists in a Windows version can be run on a virtualized Windows machine. An example is the Scansoft Paperport software supplied with my laser printer.

Does Photoshop work well on a virtualized machine? I don't own any reasonably current version of Photoshop, so I can't test it myself.

[redraven]

Get updates in a reasonable occasions, this includes drivers.

[murderslastcrow]

Well, to be fair, outside of Adobe or Final Cut, Linux provides a lot better driver support and easier/more up-to-date integration with Windows programs than OS X, with Wine versions being more recent.

However, there will always be hardware vendors who focus differently on their target OS. Needless to say, we've come a very long way. However, I have to agree that, although we have LTS releases and 6-month releases, having a rolling release or one stable release everything is released for tends to be a pretty good model for Windows. NVIDIA in particular has had a few small issues with releasing at the right time for Ubuntu.

But seriously, if all you look at is what Ubuntu can't do, you'll miss out on its true capabilities. Dual-boot if you have to, but if you're interested in technology, open source has a crap load to offer at no cost. Very cost-effective.

Hopefully Wine will soon be good enough that you don't need to pay for that Windows license, either. :D

[x-shaney-x]

Ok I got one here:

Windows can get 3 different external monitors (hdtv's in fact) to display the correct resolution straight off.
Something I have been unable to achieve on any linux distro with any of the externals.

[mojo risin]

I have that sometimes... Usually around the fourth beer or so...
after 4 beers I am at the hospital xD

well if I look at wikipedia it still looks f*upped in this browser.

[oldsoundguy]

after 4 beers I am at the hospital xD

well if I look at wikipedia it still looks f*upped in this browser.

That could be because German beer is REAL beer.. and "a beer" is served in very BIG mugs!! (and is incredibly GOOD!)

[mojo risin]

A beer in very big mugs (1l) is served in Bavaria :p and thats at the other end of Germany xD For bigger container of alcoholic beverages you have to go to Majorca which is nealry part of Germany too xD. there you get the local spirits out of buckets xD

I prefer 0.5 l and only one of them xD

[P.ap G]

If I wanted to catch a mouse I would buy a mousetrap.
If I wanted to catch a cold I would go to the doctor's surgery.
If I wanted my computer to catch a virus I would install windows.:wink:

[texaswriter]

*reads signature below*
*nods head in agreement*

definitely is a troll fest

Hrrm, this argument is a based on some sort of over simplification of the universe wherein we can say one operating system is just as good or the same as another. This is a logical fallacy. Being that this argument exists via the prior assumption, anything that followed this is thereby mute.


If you wanted to know what "Windows can't do", you would have to answer these questions:

1) What drivers do hardware manufacturers write for windows that they don't for other operating systems

2) What frameworks do the world allow certain monopolies to heft upon us that are not supported for other operating systems (DirectX ? .NET framework will evolve into something similar too)

3) What programs do Software companies not make for one operating system that they don't for another

Now those are the real questions.

The OP's question can't be answered because it is based on fallacious assumptions.

[Elmer Fudd]

MS silverlight and therefore Netflix.
That is the only reason some of my clients have dualboot.
I can't run Jeppesen (aviation) products.
That is the only reason that I run dualboot.

[oldsoundguy]

MS silverlight and therefore Netflix.
That is the only reason some of my clients have dualboot.
I can't run Jeppesen (aviation) products.
That is the only reason that I run dualboot.

Spend a hundred bucks US and get a Sony Blu-Ray player with Wi-Fi and hook it directly to the TV. Has NetFlix (among a LOT of other links) built in .. click and play. (I have one and LOVE it!!)

Can't help you on the Jeppesen.

[Elmer Fudd]

Spend a hundred bucks US and get a Sony Blu-Ray player with Wi-Fi and hook it directly to the TV. Has NetFlix (among a LOT of other links) built in .. click and play. (I have one and LOVE it!!)

Can't help you on the Jeppesen.

No problem watching netflix at home (via Wii). The MS Silverlight exclusion of any Linux prevents using the account to watch on the laptop while traveling.

[bilkay]

I bought a cylinder of blank DVDs which included a "free" movie download. Of course, the movies are encrypted and can only be played in *******.

[texaswriter]

*stabs thread* :mad:


thread dies :popcorn:


*cheers*:lolflag:

[3j3x]

I'm sure this is going to p*ss off lots of hardcore *nix fans...but I am just being honest. I'm a casual user. Sorry, I don't have time to learn how to write programming. What I mean by that is if I can't find the answer to my question in one Google search, I *might* have time to search the forums. Go ahead and call me lazy, but the reality is I am merely an enthusiast of Ubuntu (I really wish the stuff I'm about to list was not true)... I LOVE the *idea* of Ubuntu but the fact remains that Windows has the following advantages over any *nix distro I've ever used:

- The user account control obnoxiousness can be easily disabled in Win 7, and I've yet to suffer any kind of negative effect from completely disabling it. If *nix is so much more secure, why in the crap is there not a similar feature? Give me the ability to grant root privileges to a user, so that I never have to enter my password after having entered it to login.


-It's incredibly easy to install and/or uninstall programs in Windows. I have had problems and frustrations with Windows, but I have not had issues with installing or uninstalling software (sans user error or damaged install mediums).

-Windows can run a hell of a lot of programs that Linux simply can't, and again... I'm sorry for bashing *nix, but WINE? It SUCKS about 90% of the time. Yes, I do know that for the most part this is due to a lack of development for *nix versions of programs... but frankly, as a person that *needs* certain software (or certain KINDS of software) to do my job... it's just not there.

- Media Center in Windows 7. Integrated Netflix. That's enough said, but I'm not done whining yet. I could honestly give two **its about what Silverlight is or how intrusive it is or any of the other pseudo-political, "big"-picture reasons I've heard why people "hate Silverlight". You know what? It works. And not only does it work, the streaming videos from Netflix have amazing quality even over a relatively lame internet connection. As far as I'm concerned it's a great innovation in streaming media technology.

- Windows 7 is a far better OS out of the box for an HTPC - again, because IT JUST WORKS. I can't tell you how many days I wasted with Mythbuntu and Mythdora, simply trying to get it to recognize my VERY NEW tuner card and, nevermind how long it took it to actually make the thing work. Installed Win 7 on the same machine and guess what? It worked right when basic setup was finished.

- Maybe the biggest and most important thing Windows can do that *nix can't is that it simply works out of the box.

So those are my biggest problems with *nix so far. As I said, I really, truly do love the *idea* of Ubuntu but for so many, many things, it just does not work without advanced personal knowledge of the OS. MOST of the above can also be said about OSX.

Anyway, that's my 100% honest opinion. Let the geek flames roll in...

[slackthumbz]

I'm sure this is going to p*ss off lots of hardcore *nix fans...but I am just being honest. I'm a casual user. Sorry, I don't have time to learn how to write programming. What I mean by that is if I can't find the answer to my question in one Google search, I *might* have time to search the forums. Go ahead and call me lazy, but the reality is I am merely an enthusiast of Ubuntu (I really wish the stuff I'm about to list was not true)... I LOVE the *idea* of Ubuntu but the fact remains that Windows has the following advantages over any *nix distro I've ever used:

- The user account control obnoxiousness can be easily disabled in Win 7, and I've yet to suffer any kind of negative effect from completely disabling it. If *nix is so much more secure, why in the crap is there not a similar feature? Give me the ability to grant root privileges to a user, so that I never have to enter my password after having entered it to login.


-It's incredibly easy to install and/or uninstall programs in Windows. I have had problems and frustrations with Windows, but I have not had issues with installing or uninstalling software (sans user error or damaged install mediums).

-Windows can run a hell of a lot of programs that Linux simply can't, and again... I'm sorry for bashing *nix, but WINE? It SUCKS about 90% of the time. Yes, I do know that for the most part this is due to a lack of development for *nix versions of programs... but frankly, as a person that *needs* certain software (or certain KINDS of software) to do my job... it's just not there.

- Media Center in Windows 7. Integrated Netflix. That's enough said, but I'm not done whining yet. I could honestly give two **its about what Silverlight is or how intrusive it is or any of the other pseudo-political, "big"-picture reasons I've heard why people "hate Silverlight". You know what? It works. And not only does it work, the streaming videos from Netflix have amazing quality even over a relatively lame internet connection. As far as I'm concerned it's a great innovation in streaming media technology.

- Windows 7 is a far better OS out of the box for an HTPC - again, because IT JUST WORKS. I can't tell you how many days I wasted with Mythbuntu and Mythdora, simply trying to get it to recognize my VERY NEW tuner card and, nevermind how long it took it to actually make the thing work. Installed Win 7 on the same machine and guess what? It worked right when basic setup was finished.

- Maybe the biggest and most important thing Windows can do that *nix can't is that it simply works out of the box.

So those are my biggest problems with *nix so far. As I said, I really, truly do love the *idea* of Ubuntu but for so many, many things, it just does not work without advanced personal knowledge of the OS. MOST of the above can also be said about OSX.

Anyway, that's my 100% honest opinion. Let the geek flames roll in...

You're doin' it wrong.

[cool Cpu]

just few things

in windows if i have problem system crash cuz of drivers i can recover everything in 5 min
my sound card acl 1200 and ati hdmi work out of the box
my ati graphic card work out of the box ati hd4050
internet plug and play
i can easy play games in windows where in ubuntu u have to use wine and in that way u have to use a lot of more cpu power
in windows im able watch HD clips from youtube if when im watching it in ubuntu it use 65% of my cpu in windows 5%
in windows i can watch tv using nova-s usb2 ubuntu doesnt support it cuz its to new model made just in 2002 so i need to wait for driver for the next 20 years i guess
since i installed windows i didnt have even one problem no system crash no nothing its win 7
since i installed ubuntu lucid i had to find tutorial how to install drivers for my sound card than graphic etc
in ubuntu udev doesnt work there is an issue with optiarc dvd so everytime i boot up ubuntu i have to restart udev

IN GENERAL UBUNTU IS NOT A STABLE OS
WINDOWS 7 IS VERY STABLE AND IN REAL LIFE U WONT SURVIVE WITHOUT WINDOWS

but there are things in ubuntu i like for example compiz im trying to learn commands about grub even to make my own splash or boot up screen. etc etc etc

i do like ubuntu but it cant be main OS on my PC or laptop coz it doesnt support enough devices graphic cards sound cards tv boxes and on to of it Ubuntu is unstable.
every thing can happen any time.

for example yesterday i booted up and all my firmwares were gone i dont know how it happen but happen i had to reinstall to get my network working again in ubuntu is a lot of issues but maybe one day it will be as good as windows is

[slackthumbz]

IN GENERAL UBUNTU IS NOT A STABLE OS
WINDOWS 7 IS VERY STABLE AND IN REAL LIFE U WONT SURVIVE WITHOUT WINDOWS

I genuinely lol'd when I saw this. I'm an IT professional, I've been running Linux systems since the late 90's and I haven't owned a machine running anything other than Linux since 1999.

I survive just fine thank you and I find Ubuntu and the vast majority of Linux distributions to be incredibly stable.

If you're going to run any version of Linux on a new machine then here's a little tip so you don't start whinging at the community that has provided all this fine software for free: Do a little research.

Seriously. Take 5 minutes to see what hardware is best supported and buy it. It'll make your life just that much easier. Got some hardware that isn't supported? Don't blame Linux, blame the hardware manufacturers that don't provide drivers. And don't say that Linux distributors should do all the work providing drivers. It's just plain stupid to argue that line. Do you honestly think that Microsoft writes all the hardware drivers that run in Windows?

Now stop crying and and please stop doin' it wrong.

[linux-hack]

What can Windows do that Linux can't?

Well blue screens :lolflag: and get Trojans, viruses, freeze all the time ... ans so on ... :lolflag:

[texaswriter]

OMG, stop feeding the trolls!!!

[snip3r8]

IN GENERAL UBUNTU IS NOT A STABLE OS
WINDOWS 7 IS VERY STABLE AND IN REAL LIFE U WONT SURVIVE WITHOUT WINDOWS



Absolute rubbish ,if something goes wrong with windows gui it has to reboot,in Linux ,just kill Xorg then run it again,hows that for stable? In addition ,if u change graphics cards in a machine running windows 7 you have to reinstall the dam nvidia drivers,and this was swapping from an nvidia 6200 to another 6200 with a higher core clock,pathetic!and the stupid operating system actually wants to install a bloody driver every time you plug in a flash drive,A FLASH DRIVE!!

[JoeEndUser]

Wow, long lasting thread...

Been using Linux as primary at home and office for 4 years. Only three things make me reach for Windows:

1. Visual Basic Macros for Excel. May be able to do in OO, but I may not be smart enough.

2. Netflix

3. Occasional free short-cut programs to do little tasks. For instance, needed a way to smash the contents of thousands of text files in one single text file with path references. May be able to do with pipe or grep, but a free program popped up while I was searching how to do it.

Recently it took 45 minutes to install a new HP Printer in Windows and under a minute in Ubuntu. Yes, Windows has a more idiot proof, complete package "out-of-the box," but wastes my time in significant ways every time I use it. Plus I like knowing that I have the power to completely destroy my own system if I want to.

[toscal]

What can Windows do that Linux can't?
Crash. :)
It is possible to convert basic macros from Excel to open office. But some of the more VB orientated macros may be more problematical. It can be done be prepared for a few sleepless nights.

[Dayofswords]

I'm sure this is going to p*ss off lots of hardcore *nix fans...but I am just being honest. I'm a casual user. Sorry, I don't have time to learn how to write programming. What I mean by that is if I can't find the answer to my question in one Google search, I *might* have time to search the forums. Go ahead and call me lazy, but the reality is I am merely an enthusiast of Ubuntu (I really wish the stuff I'm about to list was not true)... I LOVE the *idea* of Ubuntu but the fact remains that Windows has the following advantages over any *nix distro I've ever used:



- The user account control obnoxiousness can be easily disabled in Win 7, and I've yet to suffer any kind of negative effect from completely disabling it. If *nix is so much more secure, why in the crap is there not a similar feature? Give me the ability to grant root privileges to a user, so that I never have to enter my password after having entered it to login.
i think you just have do something in the sudoers files.. but i'm not sure what you do...


-It's incredibly easy to install and/or uninstall programs in Windows. I have had problems and frustrations with Windows, but I have not had issues with installing or uninstalling software (sans user error or damaged install mediums).
i have had more issue in windows, more of the unistalling part


-Windows can run a hell of a lot of programs that Linux simply can't, and again... I'm sorry for bashing *nix, but WINE? It SUCKS about 90% of the time. Yes, I do know that for the most part this is due to a lack of development for *nix versions of programs... but frankly, as a person that *needs* certain software (or certain KINDS of software) to do my job... it's just not there.
i'd say it sucks 50% of the time, but hey good enough for me lol


- Media Center in Windows 7. Integrated Netflix. That's enough said, but I'm not done whining yet. I could honestly give two **its about what Silverlight is or how intrusive it is or any of the other pseudo-political, "big"-picture reasons I've heard why people "hate Silverlight". You know what? It works. And not only does it work, the streaming videos from Netflix have amazing quality even over a relatively lame internet connection. As far as I'm concerned it's a great innovation in streaming media technology.
silverlight is meant to replace flash things, its not a streaming technology, but it can do that


- Maybe the biggest and most important thing Windows can do that *nix can't is that it simply works out of the box.
not for my new build lol :p graphics card needed like 3x more work to function correctly

[murderslastcrow]

Windows works out of the box for Windows programs. What about all the Linux programs you can't use on Windows without virtualization? What about the fact that Windows often doesn't even come with the drivers needed to use most of your hardware, including crucial things like wireless cards, while Ubuntu has an easy utility to find and download any proprietary drivers, of which there are few since most hardware is supported out of the box?

NVIDIA, ATi, Broadcom Wireless, and some software modems are the only proprietary drivers I can currently think of running into in several dozen installations.

Windows is a mess in that way, considering it's used by the majority- shouldn't the hardware support be better?

Also, good to note that not all the drivers from NVIDIA are the best ever in comparison to the Windows drivers, so there are things that might be improved. Of course, usually this isn't a very big issue.

Windows is great at running Windows software, while Linux does a pretty good job of it in most cases, but not all the time, and so shouldn't be depended on for 'Windows compatibility' as a main, supported feature.

Other than that, unless you like rigid Windows and higher amounts of RAM and CPU processing being used, and an earlier death for your hard drive due to the sporadic filesystem in Windows, I mean... they basically do the same things, just Linux has more technical benefits.

If you don't really care much for those benefits and that excellence in software quality (as, in reality, it doesn't always make that large of an impact in a given day, but more over time), then by all means, use whatever you'd like. Windows isn't the worst thing ever- it doesn't ruin everything in one day. It takes a few weeks or so to really encounter the monstrocities of Windows.


But I'm really just wondering what this 'out of the box' crap you're spouting is, as I know many prior Windows users who are total noobs who had no issue getting to grips with Linux.

I've also installed XP, Vista, and 7 on many machines and I know just how much support Windows doesn't have out of the box. It takes about 10 minutes to install Ubuntu, and another 2 minutes to install the restricted extras. It takes 40 minutes to install Windows 7 and a good 20 minutes to get all the other crap you need to provide the exact same compatibility as Ubuntu in that short 12 minutes. Again, unless you mean Windows binary compatibility, which not even Mac OS X has, I have no idea what you're talking about.

[sptrsn]

I love Ubuntu and Windows 7! They are both awesome. What I can't or don't know how to do on one, I probably can get done on the other. I have them running side by side using Synergy to share a mouse and keyboard. Desktop also serves as a shared file server. Besides my two desktop machines, I also have two headless ubuntu servers. One with PBX in a Flash. The other is a web server.

Learning how to put up and manage the servers has been both challenging and fun. Learning how to do cool things on my Ubuntu desktop has also been a blast after 10 years of managing an office full of Windows machines.

I'm not even planning on trying to settle on one or the other.

Don't be a hater. It's hecka fun playing with both!

[irv]

I love Ubuntu and Windows 7! They are both awesome. What I can't or don't know how to do on one, I probably can get done on the other. I have them running side by side using Synergy to share a mouse and keyboard. Desktop also serves as a shared file server. Besides my two desktop machines, I also have two headless ubuntu servers. One with PBX in a Flash. The other is a web server.

Learning how to put up and manage the servers has been both challenging and fun. Learning how to do cool things on my Ubuntu desktop has also been a blast after 10 years of managing an office full of Windows machines.

I'm not even planning on trying to settle on one or the other.

Don't be a hater. It's hecka fun playing with both!

I've always considered myself a 90% Linux and a 10% Windows guy, but since Windows 7 it has changed to 80/20. I feel I have the best of both worlds at my beckon call. I don't feel I need to just use one and not the other. But one thing I have completely change is MS Office for Open Office.
I find that Linux handles most things better then Windows so I use Linux most of the time. But I will never drop Windows all together. I keep my personal files in a location (separate partition) on my HD so I can get to them from either or. Works for me.

[snip3r8]

I love Ubuntu and Windows 7! They are both awesome. What I can't or don't know how to do on one, I probably can get done on the other. I have them running side by side using Synergy to share a mouse and keyboard. Desktop also serves as a shared file server. Besides my two desktop machines, I also have two headless ubuntu servers. One with PBX in a Flash. The other is a web server.

Learning how to put up and manage the servers has been both challenging and fun. Learning how to do cool things on my Ubuntu desktop has also been a blast after 10 years of managing an office full of Windows machines.

I'm not even planning on trying to settle on one or the other.

Don't be a hater. It's hecka fun playing with both!

hey i use windows 7 too ,(lately ive been trying to make it Linuxy though),mainly use it for Autodesk ,zbrush and games,everything else,including file management i do in linux,i use what works best....

....but if some guys is going to join a linux forum and says linux is unstable and that windows is stable then either he's retarded or he is Bill Gates (If theres a difference)

[texaswriter]

omg can we all [linux people] agree that this thread is a troll fest and *leave it alone*. You can't win arguments like these because you are fighting trolls... trolls feed off of attention.

Ignore them and they go away....

You like Linux, use it; you like Windows, use it!!!

Let that be the end of it. This type of discussion serves no point and is mindless drivel,.

[Covertoddity]

Windows has the uncanny ability to kill itself spontaneously...haven't seen that in Ubuntu, also is has those great BSODs god, I LOVE THOSE, your whole screen changes colors...great!!! You can make Linux do anything that windows can, I have found that most games will run in wine after being Thinstalled.

[tomasz74]

Hmm. I don't know why you want to leave it.

I'm quite new user of linux. Spend years on windows. In linux is a few points what I don't like, but reading this thread I'm finding more points for a future, all of them, good and bad.

I think it's one of the best thread's in this forum, and I like to read about all this differences.

And I think that really comps tech change so often that thread like this should continue.

[irv]

Like I said in a earlier post, I use both Win7 and Ubuntu Linux.
Let me tell you what happen yesterday and today. I am a volunteer at the Jail here in my home town, and I teach classes there. I do presentations using my laptop and a external monitor and sometimes a projector. Last night I needed to use Windows 7, and I could not get it to work with the external monitor. When I switch to Linux it worked fine. I finally gave up trying last night and went back this morning to see what the problem was. I found it was a resolution issue. The funny thing is Win7 never gave me a message that it was a resolution problem. As soon as I lowered the resolution I got a video signal. Ubuntu just made the adjustment automatically. Am I right saying that Ubuntu is smarter then Win7.

[spupy]

just few things

in windows if i have problem system crash cuz of drivers i can recover everything in 5 min
my sound card acl 1200 and ati hdmi work out of the box
my ati graphic card work out of the box ati hd4050
internet plug and play
i can easy play games in windows where in ubuntu u have to use wine and in that way u have to use a lot of more cpu power
in windows im able watch HD clips from youtube if when im watching it in ubuntu it use 65% of my cpu in windows 5%
in windows i can watch tv using nova-s usb2 ubuntu doesnt support it cuz its to new model made just in 2002 so i need to wait for driver for the next 20 years i guess
since i installed windows i didnt have even one problem no system crash no nothing its win 7
since i installed ubuntu lucid i had to find tutorial how to install drivers for my sound card than graphic etc
in ubuntu udev doesnt work there is an issue with optiarc dvd so everytime i boot up ubuntu i have to restart udev

IN GENERAL UBUNTU IS NOT A STABLE OS
WINDOWS 7 IS VERY STABLE AND IN REAL LIFE U WONT SURVIVE WITHOUT WINDOWS

but there are things in ubuntu i like for example compiz im trying to learn commands about grub even to make my own splash or boot up screen. etc etc etc

i do like ubuntu but it cant be main OS on my PC or laptop coz it doesnt support enough devices graphic cards sound cards tv boxes and on to of it Ubuntu is unstable.
every thing can happen any time.

for example yesterday i booted up and all my firmwares were gone i dont know how it happen but happen i had to reinstall to get my network working again in ubuntu is a lot of issues but maybe one day it will be as good as windows is

And obviously with Windows you can not use proper capitalization, punctuation, spelling and grammar.



omg can we all [linux people] agree that this thread is a troll fest and *leave it alone*. You can't win arguments like these because you are fighting trolls... trolls feed off of attention.

Ignore them and they go away....

You like Linux, use it; you like Windows, use it!!!

Let that be the end of it. This type of discussion serves no point and is mindless drivel,.


But it's fun! :) I consider myself un-trollable and participate in this kind of threads only for teh lulz.


Also, Windows can:
* Nag me about restarting, sometimes displaying a popup while I type so it can make me press enter.
* Set up updates when I shutdown and need to go now.
* Set up updates when I boot and need the computer now.

[tellsaju]

Application installation(wizards) are easy with windows na?:(

[oldsoundguy]

Application installation(wizards) are easy with windows na?:(

There are no Lizards in Linux ... there is the software center in Ubuntu and the package manager in Ubuntu and other builds (Ubuntu/Debian call it Synaptic)
Launch, password, find application, click, and it installs. And 99% of the time NO REBOOT REQUIRED.
IF it does not work out that you like the app, go back the way you came and UNINSTALL. Again, NO REBOOT REQUIRED. AND .... no REGISTRY FILES left behind that slow you down and have to be cleaned up separately!

[Chame_Wizard]

Letting air-planes crashing and screwing up oil platform computers.:popcorn:

[UniWoozle]

Break <--- Straight answer...

It's not that It can do things that linux can't. It's more that everything it does works in a different way and when people are used to using Photoshop, they will wan't to carry on using it instead of using Gimp.

Callum

[Spice Weasel]

A lot of people in this thread need to read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_panic

Forget "Linux doesn't crash"...

Yes, it is generally more stable. But that doesn't mean you are bsod-proof. It's just that it is black instead of blue (Unless you have a custom bashrc, hah.) There, that's one thing Linux can do that Windows can't. Change the colour of it's error messages OOTB. Though, I could swear I saw a program for changing its colour in Win95...

[Bapun007]

Linux can't be controled by a single person but windows can .

[tomasz74]

Hi. I don't quite get what you mean with this control by single person. Can you please write some more?

[ral0r3us]

I just been wondering what other users have found that windows is able to do that linux (more specifically ubuntu) cant do...

so far the only thing i have found that i cant do anymore is gaming and a few online videos dont work sometimes

also, add anything to the list that makes one better or worse than the other, such as linux being practically virus free

Well the answer is pretty simple, Windows can close deals worth
of billions and can influence the "free" market to make things
as hard as possible for the open source community. As an OS it's
downright inferior yet you are forced to go back to it simply
because the average user doesnt like the idea that he'll have
to go through all this "fuss" all the time if he wants XYZ
driver for the XYZ hardware to work. This and other "financial"
reasons prevent software companies to actually release their
software for Linux, because it will cost them 5 to 10 times the
manhours that would otherwise cost them to develop the same for
windows and companies don't like cost... only Profits. Also if you
think about it, the idea of free, truly free software, irritates
a lot of people, maybe not people like you and me that dont own
corporations. But the ones they do they want to be reassured that
they and no one else will be profiting. This adds to their illusion
of superiority...

And the list goes on and on...

[tomasz74]

I wonder how would be the world with only free software.

[FlameReaper]

In my opinion: This.


Microsoft is flexing the social networking muscles of its instant messaging client with the latest release. Windows Live messenger 9.0 (2009) brings to the table a feature dubbed Groups, designed to extend the communication capabilities of the client beyond one-on-one conversations, now helping groups of users talk, collaborate, and share. According to the Redmond company, public Windows Live Messenger Groups is not designed as an alternative to community forums, or to affiliation groups, social networks with millions of users, it is rather a limited service for its initial release set up to streamline conversations between multiple Windows Live Messenger users.
...
...
...

“A unique feature of Windows Live Groups is that the groups you create will automatically show up in Messenger. For smaller groups (up to 20 people), you can even have group conversations with whomever happens to be online,” the Windows Live team representative added. “Of course, as the owner of a group, you can turn off the Messenger conversation feature, if that’s what your members prefer, or if the group grows to more than 20 people – just click Options on your group’s website, and then click Edit Settings.”To be specific, this.

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/7431/1227656238912.th.jpg (http://img163.imageshack.us/i/1227656238912.jpg/)

Basically what it does is that you can form a Windows Live Groups at http://groups.live.com, invite users into it (they don't have to be your Messenger contact), and you can chat with them via WLM (provided they do have it as well). One feature (which the lack of it is being a pet peeve for me) I'd really, really like to see it get implemented in any WLM alternatives for any Linux IM applications.

[penguinv]

Windows can work with my (older, cheaper) webcam.
Windows will play video out of the box.
Windows Chrome doesnt lose audio on youtube after a few uses like it does on Ubuntu (but shockwave-flash crashes in it).
Windows has this security device, lol, if you put the hard drive in another computer, it won't boot.
Windows ensures that you have to load the originators, eg HP, drivers so that HP can keep connected with you, while Ubuntu lets you plug and play (pardon the expression).

And last but not least, Windows *will* install off of my somewhat-flakey CD drive and Ubuntu *will not*.


... and while you are waiting,
:popcorn:

[penguinv]

omg can we all [linux people] agree that this thread is a troll fest and *leave it alone*. You can't win arguments like these because you are fighting trolls... trolls feed off of attention.

Ignore them and they go away....

You like Linux, use it; you like Windows, use it!!!

Let that be the end of it. This type of discussion serves no point and is mindless drivel,.

Texaswriter, I'm not trolling. See my post above.

I'm interested in the good and bad points. I'm interested in how I can install linux on my new SATA drive. I seem to be stuck with using Windows.

PS I am assuming I can install the 2 systems on different physical drives and still have them dual boot.. with the boot-manager on the Ubuntu drive so that I have the ability to physically remove the Windows disk and still run my computer.
I have not been able to find something that shows I can do this.
Perhaps you could advise me?

Dell Dimension 4600, IDE Windows XP, SATA 1T drive, SATA on M'board.

PPS I think this is a great topic and I have no problems reading past the "pep club" members.