I grew up with windows, but about 4 years ago, I switched to OSX. About two months ago, I switched to linux. I had a few hardware problems at first, but once that was solved I was hooked. I use the Ubuntu distribution of linux, and I love it. It is more productive, faster, and with a little work better looking than either mac or windows. It has just about every type of program you could imagine. Installing programs is much more straightforward as well. There is a button in the start menu that just says add/remove programs, and it comes standard with hundreds of programs. There are linux equivalents to almost every windows program. Some are even better than their windows counterparts. As for the faster part, Linux doesn’t run what it doesn’t need to, and all the programs are very lightweight. You can do five different things at once and my documents will open in 2 seconds instead of the windows 15 (yes, my hardware is pretty slow). I also run eyecandy effects like multiple desktops and animations, and it never slows it down. Since linux is more customizable and themes are not controlled by a company like microsoft, you can also make things look better. this is even before the effects (look on youtube for compiz fusion or beryl). The best part: the entire thing from top to bottom is free. The operating system, the programs, the themes… everything is completely free. So why don’t more people switch? Well, it takes a reasonable amount of knowledge to run, but with places like Ubuntu Forums even those with little computer skill can run it. Another commonly claimed issue is compatibility and the fact that few people use it. This however, could not be farther from the truth. Linux is now compatible with everything. It will open almost any windows or mac file, it is great with file sharing, and is more universal than any other OS. It’s definitely worth getting.
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Most Microsoft fan boys (I prefer to call them Zombie Slaves myself) forget that nearly every Linux user was once a dedicated (ZS) Windows user. If we switch to Linux and stay switched, then it means they may be next. That’s a scary thought to someone who identifies strongly with their Operating System. I have no master when it comes to my computer. It looks and behaves just as I expect it to. Those are foreign ideas to a Windows (ZS) user.
Your experience with other OS’s brings the stories the holdouts need to hear. If the market inertia that Microsoft has built up over the last 25 years were to evaporate and the lock-in disappear, then users would drop Microsoft in favor of the alternative(s). As it is it will take a long time for people to break their habit with Microsoft. A habit that Microsoft is spending billions a year to maintain.
What do you guys think of os x as an alternative to Windows?
I have never used OS X, but from what I hear it’s a wonderful environment. So I don’t really have any problems with OS X itself (actually yes). I’d love to put its live CD into my 4 year old Intel computer and give it a whirl but there are several problems with that. There is no live CD and even if there was, it would only work on Apple approved hardware which is more expensive than non Apple approved hardware. I’d need to purchase OS X with its hardware to use it. The OS X computer I paid a substantial sum of money for would only be mine to use, not own in the normal sense of the word. The applications on it would be very expensive to purchase, and I like to avoid using pirated software. After several years I would need to upgrade and go through the whole process again.
And now the problem I have with OS X. Why oh why does it still have only one desktop. How primitive! Once you work with multiple desktops, you’ll never go back.
If Monopolysoft could build an operating system as good as OS X or Linux, there would be no stopping them short of an armed assault. But they are absolutely incapable of doing that. And they can’t buy Linux, or OS X either for that matter, there’s too much Open Source code in it.
For me OS X is not an alternative for Windows. If Linux was taken away and I had to choose, I’d sell my hardware and take up some other endeavor.
I have just ordered my new Vista machine and i am planning on installing Ubuntu on a partition, it’s a shame i cannot do the same with OS X. I have never owned a mac but came very close to doing so. The overpriced hardware and lack of upgrade ability stopped me in my tracks.