All Things Microsoft > Microsoft Software

Linux vs. Windows, Longhorn FS and "Perfect" Windows.

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TheQuirk:
It sometimes has intresting articles about spam, ecommerce, etc. But most of it is trash.

Fett101:
Might I qoute PC World "To find out if it's (Linux) finally ready for the average PC user"

It'd be different if they had advanced of slightly advanced users, but your average user would probably be considered a bit above newbie.

 
quote:"You must be an expert to use Linux"
The way I understand it, RH8.0 fixed this, correct
--- End quote ---


The full text under that included "Many procedures still require dropping to the command line, decoding cryptic sytem messages, or hand editiing what can be complex confoguration files."

First, they were talking of Suse, not RH8. And RH8 was released Sept 30th, 2 weeks before I recieved my PC World. I doubt they would do a OS review so close to a realase. Also, the command line and editing config files by hand would easily seem like some expert computer work to and average PC user.

 
quote:Lagging hardware support
More and more hardware is becoming Linux compatible. Even so, most hardware that's not supported is crap (winmodems, etc.).
--- End quote ---


And yet Linux still lacks hardware support for many devices, does it not?

 
quote:-Second-tier software: most Linux software can't match the Windows alternatives - like MS Office, Outlook (ha!) and Photoshop.
Seeing as how they compared StarOffice 5.2 to Office XP, they have NO right to judge. I prefer OO over Office XP any day.
--- End quote ---


That would be personal preference, and I assume they compared features. Since I use neither Office XP or Star Office often, I couldn't say which has more features. They also say "Menu organazation and toolbars can vary substantially from program to program. And while some products (like Star Office) come across as top-tier suites, others feel considerably les polished"

 
quote:Outlook is a joke, with all of it's security holes, and Evolution beats it hands down.
--- End quote ---


Looks exactley like Outlook too me. Maybe MS could sue.        Either way, I don't use either enough to tell.

 
quote:And The Gimp is almost as good as Photoshop, but if you care, you should be running a Mac, anyway.
--- End quote ---


This Windows Vs. Linux. Who invited the Mac?

 
quote:-A confusion of Distros: Since Linux is free, anyone can package the operating system...

I think that's a good thing, don't you?
--- End quote ---


And yet a newbie could get stuck with a harder distro. I remember a post on the Linux board about a new convert who had unwittingly installed Slackware. That could easily push away anyone new to Linux.

 
quote:-Support at a price

Microsoft provides support at $35-PER-INCIDENT, Mandrake does the same at $15. They actually said those prices don't differ much. Besides, if you pay $30 for a packaged distro, you'll usually get free, 60 day technical support by phone and 90 day email support.
--- End quote ---


PC World- "With SuSE, the free instalation support is severly limited. If you're a Linux beginner planning on calling for help, consider installing Mandrake Linux, with it's $15 per-call (or less, in quanity) support polity"

Explains itself.


Not that everything about those magazines are great. Every other month is an issue dedicated to windows tips. (cover of PC World: Windows Your Way: 25 tips and tools to keep you in control.

PC Magazine cover:104 ways to make Windows Work Better) It's always the same damned tips too. But at least they provide to editorials, and looks at upcoming hardware, software, and other stuff.

[ October 13, 2002: Message edited by: fett101 ]

[ October 13, 2002: Message edited by: fett101 ]

psyjax:
Hey fett101,

Your post is a bit confusing, It is hard to tell when you are responding and when the origional poster is quoted.

In the future, why not copy and paste the "QUOTE" tags as you post. That will organize it more. Just a suggestion, not to be a pain.

Calum:
strangley, even though many of you have posted saying how duff PC World is in particular, in australia, they are quite pro-linux. MY first linux distro was 2cds of red hat 7.0, one CD of turbolinux 6.1 and one CD of extra linux software. This came with a totally good newbie intro type magazine for a total of AUS$17! and guess who published it? PC World. It was the first in a series of 'LinuxWorld' minibooks. The second came out soon after featuring i think red hat 7.1 and mandrake 8.0, and that the one that X11 got.

Go to linuxworld.com.au and you will find that a help site for new to intermediate users of linux is maintained there, and updated regularly. maybe it's different stateside.

preacher:
In Windows, the hardware is made specifically to work with the software. The people who make the hardware write drivers for it, do testing with it, and when it is released it is always windows ready. Since Linux doesnt have the large market share that windows does, hardware vendors see no reason to write linux drivers, do testing on linux, and make sure that it works with linux. However linux users a a very resourceful bunch, and with the help of the large linux companies have been able to get a huge amount of hardware to work with linux. Its wrong to say linux doesnt have hardware support, because that is uncontrollable unless you want to tell hardware makers that now they have to make sure their hardware is compatible with our stuff too. Id love to see equipment that says windows/mac/linux compatible, other than the occasional modem and nic.

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