Alternative Operating Systems to Windows

If you live in a vacuum and are willing to live with whatever you get with linux, you're good to go. But don't expect your peeps to change the way they do things so they can stay compatible with you.

Here is a nice list of alternative software for Linux:

n 26 years in the computer world is pretty well irrelevant. If you want to work with 30 year old computer programs and technology, be my guest.

And I double dog dare you to run a large commercial insurance brokerage using linux on the desktop!!!! Even try running a decent sised manufacturing and distribution business running Linux on the desktop, in HR, Shipping and recieving, packing, and shop floor inventory and BOM apps, including EDI with all your customers across North America and world wide.

On Sat 27 May 2017 03:59:46p, Bill told us...

I don't think I'm overlooking it at all. Granted, smart phones are definitely small computers but they will never replace a deskstop computer in my world. If smart phones are replacing desktops for a lot of people, then they probably don't know that much about desktop computer capabilities.

On Sat 27 May 2017 04:58:04p, told us...

:-)

WTF are "your peeps"!?

Damn kids...... ;)

nb

I would guess that many companies like Amazon use database software running on Linux in most cases (as it's "free"). I wouldn't really expect to run any large company from a single desktop... I have several desktops where I live and we are not running a business.

I work with what in my judgement is best for my own needs and for whatever project(s) I may be working on.

What you consider to be "30 year old computer programs and technology" has taken the world by storm. In every area of computing except traditional desktop systems, some form of Linux/Unix is employed. For better or worse it is what a large part of the technological world runs on.

I come from a non-Microsoft background, starting with systems that employed punch cards and paper tape. I've never had much use for that company or its software, and in fact my own business runs completely free of Microsoft products. (Of course if someone else wants or needs them that is their own decision to make.)

Love to see someone run Autocad or SolidWorks on their phone!! Or set up a 300 column spreadsheet.They are pretty useless even as a serious web browser, and without a physical keyboard like a 'berry, pretty useless for serious email (or word processing) as well. Even with my 'berry I wouldn't want to write a manuscript. I can access the company network VPN from my phone, but running any of the applications would be virtually impossible - even using it to remote control my desktop. My phone will NEVER replace my desktop. Even a tablet, without an external keyboard, is only of limited usefullness. With the keyboard may as well have a laptop.

e various go-arounds offered on the net. I can afford Windows 10 and so on, but I have given too many hours over the years to its Regedit, restore yad a features. I do not need bells and whistles. I need a decent word processo r, spreadsheet, pdf viewer. I have a small Chromebook as my second computer . For anything serious, I can use my little Chromebook or go to the public library.

down for it compared to Windows?

I use Ubuntu Mate.

Excellent O.S.

Andy

Mobile devices are taking over for most users, and Microsoft doesn't really have anything to offer for mobile devices.

I'd also note that Free Software doesn't have to be "conpetitive" (sic) in terms of unit sales to the mass market. As long as there are people who like developing it and people who like to use it, it's automatically a success.

You mentioned in another post that you prefer to use your computer rather than fiddle with it. That's exactly why I use Linux. :) Years ago I grew tired of all the problems that Windows has and decided to see if I could do without it. I tried Apple's alternatives, but found them to be much more expensive and rather restrictive.

You're free to use whatever software you want, but I'd suggest that an investment in learning Linux could pay dividends in the long run. I find that my hardware lasts longer with Linux because it consumes less resources and I don't have to continually upgrade when my computer gets slow.

I also don't have to switch to whatever Microsoft decides is their UI flavor of the month. The desktop environment I use has been around for many years and while it has evolved, it hasn't radically changed like Windows has over and over.

Underneath the GUI is a very capable command line environment that has a long and rich history. I've been using it and learning more about it for over 20 years, and will continue to do so.

The things I've learned about Linux (and Unix) can also carry over to other OSs like FreeBSD or even Mac OS X if I decide to use those. This knowledge also can apply to the popular mobile devices, and the wide array of devices that are making up the Internet of Things.

The chances are very good that you own multiple devices that use Linux (or a Unix-like OS) and may not even know it. My fund of knowledge applies to those devices quite well. Does yours?

I've heard a number of people complain about incompatibility of software, hardware, and peripherals when they moved to Windows 10. I saw one myself when a co-worker switched to Windows 10 and found that his old software that worked fine on earlier versions of Windows suddenly wouldn't work at all on Windows 10.

Whether or not you have a BSOD depends greatly upon the hardware you have and its drivers, plus whatever additional software you have installed other than Windows itself. It's certainly possible that you've never had a BSOD with Windows 10. How about with other versions of Windows?

I've seen a number of pieces of software hang on Windows 10, but I suppose it's possible you've never experiences one. But again, how about with other versions of Windows?

I'm not sure what you mean by a "memory drain." I'd also note that there are a lot of other things that go wrong with Microsoft software that you didn't mention.

Ah, the old "blame the user" game and "I'm a guru and you just don't know what you're doing" trope. I've read quite a few of Dan's posts over the years and he's extremely knowledgeable about computers and software. I'm not getting a feeling that you're as experienced as that.

I have a number of friends that don't really understand Linux or Unix, but they have no problems updating and maintaining it because it's easier to maintain and update than Windows is. I don't have to keep fixing their systems because they don't break.

replying to Wayne Boatwright, Rvanderbush wrote: There is already retail competition from Linux against Micro and Crapple, Chromebooks are picking up market share at a slow steady rate

That's right. A decade ago many homes had more than one PC, some several. Now it's more common for there to be less PCs, the extra ones being replaced by phones and tablets, both of which offer what typical users were using those other PCs for.

PC sales have been dropping substantially for 4 consecutive years and are at 8 year lows.

Define the criteria carefully and everything is a success. Desktop linux is extremely successful among those who use it. I choose installed base as the metric. It's hard to call it a success if you can't give it away. I've installed desktop linux dozens of times over the years. Do I count as two dozen users? I've probably got 5 disks I could plug in and run it instantly. I could do 90% of what I do without incident. Problem is that it takes about five minutes to miss something that I can do easily with windows (and gave up after several serious efforts to implement in linux) and swap out the disk.

I'd agree with the premise. Somewhere around windows 95 I decided to use as little MS software as possible. I use a lot of software originally designed for linux then ported to windows. Icons on the desktop for virtually everything make the OS version mostly irrelevant. One of my desktop linux gripes is that each version seems to arbitrarily change the way users create shortcuts. Did the concept of drag and drop get lost in the linux vortex?

It's not about the details of the user interface. You can learn to use any interface. Problem is that it's not stable or self consistent. And it's not worth the change if it provides no tangible benefit. Windows users and linux users have very different views of tangible benefits. I tried to switch to open office back in the day. It worked all the time in isolation. But there were issues with MSOffice compatibility. And the user interface was so different that I spent most of my time looking for the right menu. After a few weeks, I threw in the towel and reinstalled an ancient version of MSOffice. Having MSOffice on one machine and Open office on another was an operational disaster. That's a big problem with people who have linux at home and windows at work. It's an operational nightmare prone to error.

You do so because you like doing so. Nothing wrong with having a hobby. Go ahead, brag about your superiority. Your peeps will respect you.

Your television probably has a remote. But, there's a rich set of buttons on the machine. How often do you walk over to the TV to change the volume? There's likely a test mode that lets you do additional things to bend the machine to your will. How often do you use that? Cars have automatic transmissions because people like them. Many people couldn't drive a technically superior 'stick' and could care less. I have a thermostat that keeps my house at whatever temperature I like. I have a fireplace in case I want to do it the hard way. I'll let you know if I ever do that...don't hold your breath. I buy food at the store instead of growing it because it frees me to do other things I want. If I actually wanted to cook something from scratch, I'd have to find the manual, decide on which of the dozen alternative recipes to try, go to the repository to get ingredients, futz with the tools and techniques, clean up the mess and keep trying different recipes until I got something that met my desires. Great plan for a chef. For me, not so much. I don't wanna be a chef. I'd rather eat it than mess with cooking it. Toilets flush so we don't have to carry a bucket out to the street. Sure, we could do that, but technology permits us to do better.

You're saying that learning about Linux carries over to other linuxes. Sure it does. Your learning prepares you to ferret out the differences and conditions you to be OK with having to figure out the seemingly random changes in each version/release.

One of the big reasons that desktop linux is not more popular is the high barrier to entry. If linux developers wanted to, they'd take down the "you're too stupid to use linux" sign and pave a better path from the dominant OS to allow new users to come. Let their knowledge of windows carry over to operating desktop linux. I don't mean just adding an icon they can click to surf the web. I mean letting them do all the functions they now enjoy. Better program integration. Better integration with their peeps who have not yet made the transition.

Desktop linux is antisocial. Operated in a vacuum, one might decide that it offers everything they need and a hobby to fill their solitude. Anyone who suggests that Desktop linux become more social with the way the world works is berated, with prejudice. That's not the way to win friends.

The tail will not wag the dog. Millions of linux users will not change the attitude of Billions of windows users. Take something as simple as Firefox. Somebody decided to put the configuration function a different place in the menu structure. Little things like that make the transition more difficult/annoying. This

YES, YES, YES!!! That's exactly the point. You shouldn't have to know anything about the underlying OS to make it do what you want. If desktop linux operated that way, current windows users could jump ship with ease. Every other windows release has been a public relations nightmare. People stick with it because there is no viable alternative. Linux developers have ignored several opportunities to have a major increase in user acceptance of desktop linux.

Linux, the OS, is plenty good. Apps are mostly tolerable. From my perspective, many apps are hobby projects presented as solutions. Somebody solved the 80% of the problem that they needed and moved on. So, we have dozens of apps solving different 80% of the problem. A commercial app would likely have better coverage in ONE app. Same thing is true of different distros. It's CHAOS. Like the song says, "ninety-nine and a half won't do." 80% is a non-starter. Glue it together into A stable Desktop Computing Platform. Round off the rough edges. Add more GUI, that operates consistently. QUIT FORKING IT INTO CHAOS!

My fund of knowledge

YES! You're not the only smart person on the planet.

Every Java runtime update "fixes" a number of "critical vulnerabilities" that can allow remote access or execution and are being exploited in the wild. The funny thing is the vulnerabilities are always introduced by previous updates. They weren't there before. So I don't trust them.

Same with Win 10. "Security updates" disable anti-datamining fixes and open your PC for exploit. Which is why anti-telemetry software is updated every time an "official" patch comes out. []'s

That's what help and man pages are for, there are usually more options than you will ever find in a GUI program. Though the GUI is faster for normal users, the command line is far more powerful. For example, I would never use a GUI to encode video. It's too hard to get the end result I want.

BTW What's the GUI for turning Win 10 telemetry (datamining) COMPLETELY off ? []'s