What is your primary OS?

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What is your primary OS

  • Windows XP

    Votes: 24 31.6%

  • Windows Vista

    Votes: 33 43.4%

  • Windows Other

    Votes: 1 1.3%

  • Mac OS

    Votes: 10 13.2%

  • Linux - Red Hat based

    Votes: 1 1.3%

  • Linux - Debian based

    Votes: 4 5.3%

  • Linux - Other

    Votes: 1 1.3%

  • Other

    Votes: 2 2.6%
  • Total voters
    76
I dabbled in linux way back when you compiled your own kernel (on a 386-66 that meant starting sometime after lunch and hoping it finished with no errors around dinner time... hehehe). Back then it was interesting but not very practical for most day-to-day work.

Where I work we make a LOT of money selling Microsoft licensing. While I can't really claim to be a Microsoft basher.... I mean I believe teh OS is just a tool to help you get stuff done. So you just choose a tool that does the job for you and feels right .... I got tired of having my *jewels* in a vise and shelling out cash to Microsoft for everything.

I switched to Ubuntu linux in August of 2005 as my everyday OS. OpenOffice is my office suite. every program I use is legitimate and free and I really don't miss Windows. It DID take some getting used to and I had a dual-boot setup for about 4 months before I realized I wasn't using windows for anything any more.

If I need a windows app and it won't run under Wine, I can either fire up a virtual windows machine and run it in there or if all else fails I can run it on my wife's laptop. But that last scenario hasn't come up and I really don't find myself needing windows apps at this stage any more.
 
cparker said:
I dabbled in linux way back when you compiled your own kernel (on a 386-66 that meant starting sometime after lunch and hoping it finished with no errors around dinner time... hehehe). Back then it was interesting but not very practical for most day-to-day work.

Where I work we make a LOT of money selling Microsoft licensing. While I can't really claim to be a Microsoft basher.... I mean I believe teh OS is just a tool to help you get stuff done. So you just choose a tool that does the job for you and feels right .... I got tired of having my *jewels* in a vise and shelling out cash to Microsoft for everything.

I switched to Ubuntu linux in August of 2005 as my everyday OS. OpenOffice is my office suite. every program I use is legitimate and free and I really don't miss Windows. It DID take some getting used to and I had a dual-boot setup for about 4 months before I realized I wasn't using windows for anything any more.

If I need a windows app and it won't run under Wine, I can either fire up a virtual windows machine and run it in there or if all else fails I can run it on my wife's laptop. But that last scenario hasn't come up and I really don't find myself needing windows apps at this stage any more.
Click to expand...

My experience has been similar. I got tired of all of the security issues in Windows, and having to pay for it. I also got tired of MS basically using their entire customer base as beta testers and forcing them to upgrade every few years.

About six months ago, I started dabbling in Linux (started with Fedora, went to CentOS, and finally settled on Ubuntu). The only reason I still have XP on my computer is that I'm not very proficient yet with the networking controls in Linux and my job requires me to constantly switch between IP addresses and configurations. The only program that I still haven't found a good Linux replacement for is MS Streets and Trips, but it runs so much better under VMWare that that is no longer an issue.

Now my boss (main IT guy for an ISP) is considering switching every company computer over to Ubuntu and running XP in a virtual environment. Especially since one of our billing clerks computers got infected with a virus the other day. The two of us have been tweaking this setup for the past week or so, and will probably make the switch in the next 6 months or so.

Out of the 7 computers in my house, 5 run Ubuntu. The other two which are primarily used for video recording and editing, are still running XP.
 
Up until recently I was on Windows 2000 Pro but was somewhat forced to switch; so I switched to XP Pro to continue receiving updates, patches and stuff. So I voted XP. I have never had any issued with Windows, nor keeping up with patches or protection. Even if I have ever "been late" installing a needed patch, my own firewall had my back. I am leery of Vista; we don't use it at work and the 2 or 3 friends I know that do use it constantly say something they need will not work with it. I assume these are some rather old printers or other pieces of hardware.. I have found that most PCs that have issues with Windows is because or poorly installed components that aren't designed to work together very well, bought on the cheap, under powered or self inflicted user issues and "messing" that screw things up or by simply not being very well taken care of.
 
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I switched to W2K to get time stamp accuracy and to be able to run tax software.

I have no need for productivity software.

I'm not happy about it, but the modern www bastardization requires some pretty heavy duty browser support that lets out all but the most mainstream of browsers and other Internet client software.

I have a Linux-based file server but the client software isn't "hip" enough to allow me to pay my bills and I'm not very impressed with the Linux community's inability to settle on a single graphic interface standard.

Too often I find myself longing for a "personal computer" without user accounts, file permissions and having to ask permission to turn the machine off.

sync
sync
sync
shutdown now
 
XP on all the old machines, all new machines vista. Have had no issues with vista on new hardware. Did not bother upgrading XP machines.
 
Vista premium on mine, xp sp3 on the wifes, and mac os x 10.3 on daughters imac gen 2. I hate 10.3 and wont be buying any more mac hardware if it has a mac os on it, they would have done good to stuck with the way things worked on os 9. Vista has been even more stable than xp or 98 so its time for the haters to move on.
 
Vista, because I am too cheap to buy a copy of XP. Vista has done NOTHING better than XP for me, I don't use the 'aero' theme within Vista.
I just switched to Firefox to give it a shot, also, over IE7. So far I like it better then IE7. :up

Its not that I have an irrational hatred for MS products, I am just not seeing the supposed 'benefits' of Vista.
 
stogie5150 said:
Vista, because I am too cheap to buy a copy of XP. Vista has done NOTHING better than XP for me, I don't use the 'aero' theme within Vista.
I just switched to Firefox to give it a shot, also, over IE7. So far I like it better then IE7. :up

Its not that I have an irrational hatred for MS products, I am just not seeing the supposed 'benefits' of Vista.
Click to expand...

If you really want XP, you can install it using the license code from Vista. You have "downgrade rights"
 
I run XP Pro and have really been happy with it, With 98 and 98 Se I had a lot of problems especially with drivers and early usb support. Xp is Phenominal and I am not going to upgrade until I absolutely have to.
 
stogie5150 said:
REALLY? :D

Where do I go for more info on this? :hungry:
Click to expand...

This is a legitimate Microsoft question. It is not the least bit "shady" so you can actually call Microsoft and request an XP install CD so that you can downgrade your Vista to XP. I think the media is under $15.

One word of caution when attempting this... SOME newer computers (laptops mostly) are "built for Vista" which means it could, conceivably, have a component (like a wireless card or touchpad if it's a laptop) that has no XP drivers.

You may also be able to get the install media by calling tech support of the computer manufacturer (like HP or Dell) if it's not a home-built computer. The cleanest way to do this is to get a restore CD from the manufacturer that is for XP rather than Vista for your particular computer. Then you'll know it has all drivers for your particular model.

There might be a version or 2 of Vista way down at the bottom of the line.... like BELOW Vista Home Premium (there are some VERY basic Vista versions) that don't have downgrade rights, but I have honestly not run across one of those versions yet "in the wild".

What you're asking about is not at all unusual. LOTS of places are buying machines with a Vista license, but with XP installed. You are inquiring about exercising "downgrade rights" and this is covered under the terms of the license agreement so don't be shy about looking into this as, like I said, this is a totally legitimate request.
 
cparker said:
If you really want XP, you can install it using the license code from Vista. You have "downgrade rights"
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if this will apply to his situation, given the literature I found:

Can I downgrade my OEM version of Windows Vista Business to Windows XP Professional?​
Yes. OEM downgrade rights for desktop PC operating systems apply to Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate as stated in the License Terms. Please note, OEM downgrade versions of Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate are limited to Windows XP Professional (including Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and Windows XP x64 Edition). End users can use the following media for their downgrade: Volume Licensing media (provided the end user has a Volume Licensing agreement), retail (FPP), or system builder hologram CD (provided the software is acquired in accordance with the Microsoft OEM System Builder License). Use of the downgraded operating system is governed by the Windows Vista Business License Terms, and the end user cannot use both the downgrade operating system and Windows Vista Business. There are no downgrade rights granted for Windows Vista Home Basic or Windows Vista Home Premium.​

From Microsoft
 
My prefered OS is FreeBSD. I tolerate Windows and Linux. I support all flavors of Windows, VMWare ESX, Red Hat Linux, CentOS, FreeBSD etc at work.

I responded "Other".
 
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