October 26th, 2007

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:44 am

Good Morning, Songfightistan!

My question o' the day will, no doubt, open a huge can of worms... but I'm considering "batting for the other team" as it were, and I genuinely want to hear all sides of this argument.

So.

QOTD: Which operating system are you using, and why?

I am currently on XP Pro, but I'm considering rejoining the Mac Crowd -- Because Vista is sounding like a giant turd.

Discuss.

Post by **Lunkhead** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:57 am

I hate Windows. Linux is useful for some things for me, but every time I have to download some program and try to compile it only to find that I need to download six other things that I also need to compile, I want to smash it. I use Macs. They're not perfect, but for the most part, stuff really does "just work", as they say. At least it does for me for the things I do (email, Web, audio, Photoshop, programming, etc.). I think Monday I'm getting a copy of OS X 10.5 and will be upgrading to that next week. Yay!

Paco Del Stinko · Post by **Paco Del Stinko** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:59 am

I just want to say that I too will be watching this with interest, as I plan to make an overdue upgrade soon. Good timing, M, and good luck!

drë · Post by **drë** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:04 am

anti-m wrote: Vista is sounding like a giant turd.

IS.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:08 am

I just want to say that when YOU said you were contemplating 'batting for the other team' my mind took me somewhere else completely. I won't say what though.

qotd: I use windows XP. Because everyone else uses it. Well, that and it works for me and is compatible with God and everything. I've got my studio computer down to like 8 processes and it runs like a dream. I also have my 'workhorse' on it and it's relatively stable. I think if you can get past the Fisher Price interface you can utilize it for quite a bit.(it might be fair to note that I run under a 'windows classic' theme)

Every encounter I've had with Vista has been horrible. This ranges from tech support on the phone with Vista users right down to actually sitting in front of that awful OS. It reminds me of Windows ME and it's a completely unnecessary OS. (Why did they take the command prompt ((run)) out of the initial start menu?)

Which brings me to this: You don't have to upgrade to Vista you know. XP is still very relevant.

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:17 am

Hoblit wrote:I think if you can get past the Fisher Price interface you can utilize it for quite a bit.

I actually would want the Fischer Price interface

but yeah, XP works pretty well.

I "bat for both teams" for different reasons. So I'll stay out of this conversation for the emotional drain it puts me through. But I love audio/music on the Mac. LOVE IT. Though I don't depend on freebies and "having god-zillions of applications" since I really only need a few in reality. So I guess I didn't stay out of the conversation. Sorry. This is emotionally draining, and at least that was a true statement even if I lied through my teeth about staying out...oh...shut up already...bye.

spinlock · Post by **spinlock** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:24 am

I use all three. Recommend it to anyone else too.

Linux boxes are handy for being quiet once you've got them set up for what you want. I use them for web browsing, on my laptop, and the odd bit of programming. Setting up programming environments on any other platform is a pain, but on linux you just apt-get or urpmi it.

Macs are the most musical out of the box. I love garageband. Hate so much other stuff about them, like the lack of proper page up/down home and end keys and the stuff you have to do to fix it (which doesn't even work 100%). Wouldn't have stuck with one without it.

Windows for games, using difficult bits of hardware, like usb video capture cards. Vista lacks this crucial hardware compatibility usefulness, so I don't have that.

jimtyrrell · Post by **jimtyrrell** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:03 am

Roll Call: I'm workin'. Tonight I'm playing a show at Gilligan's in Moultonborough.

QOTD: I use PC and Mac at work (graphic design). We receive files from programs in both platforms, so we ned to be set up for both.

At home, I use a PC. I'm envious of those with Garageband at their disposal, but little else about the Mac appeals to me. Well, okay, they look cool too.

pegor · Post by **pegor** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:18 am

I have XPpro on my work laptop, but the stuff I work on all day is linux. At home I have a Windows media center PC facing off against an imac that sits across the room. I am an OS slut....

I quit using linux at home because of issues lunkhead mentioned - it takes to much analysis and googling to get multimedia stuff to work.

I had Protools on the media pc and it was a sickly halting mess, even after turning off all the extra multimedia services. I bought the iMac - installed protools and it runs like a dream.

We recently got my Mom a new PC with Vista on it and none of her old software works - and it the interface looks like a cityscape out of bladerunner - noisy and frantic but colorful.

but, alas my heart will always belong to hp unix...

king_arthur · Post by **king_arthur** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:34 am

Windows XP. When the current system melts down and I have to get something new, I may go Linux unless I have some very specific reason for something else. Used Mac at school enough that I'd say that would be my last choice, I just don't care for the way it thinks. Not looking forward to Vista, will put that upgrade off as long as possible...

Charles (KA)

Post by **Spud** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:37 am

I spend most of my productive time in DOSBox, a x86 emulator.

Laptop is Windows XP
Studio computer is Windows 2000
Office computer is Windows 2000

I hate macs with a passion. However, since the alternative from Microsoft is now just a big, bloated, broken mac emulator, I would gladly switch to the mac if the software that I need to run for my job ran on it. There is no doubt that the hardware is better and more reliable.

Reist · Post by **Reist** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:45 am

We've got two computers - both on XP. The old one used to have ME on it, and it crashed a lot. That also might have been due to the fact that it's a pretty old computer. It has trouble handling XP, and I try not to use it. Our newer computer has XP, and it works fine, most of the time. Aside from the 5 error messages that pop up each time it's turned on, it works fine. I like macs for garageband and their useless features. I've never tried linux.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:48 am

I think y'all know my feelings on this. Hell, I even use a Mac at work - for Windows development. (VMWare FTW.)

Also, Spud, there's DOSbox for MacOS too. So you can keep on using your CAD software.

Post by **Spud** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:57 am

Even with Windows for the mac, I am unsure that 3D Studio Max would run, because Autodesk has always done their own memory management. I will look into it, though.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:01 am

VMWare is a full system virtualization environment. The guest operating system has no idea it's not running on its own computer. If it runs in Windows it runs in VMWare. If it runs in DOS it runs in VMWare. If it runs on a PC without any OS at all like an old bootdisk demo it runs in VMWare.

Post by **Spud** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:19 am

Cool.

Post by **Lunkhead** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:50 am

But performance might be an issue, for a 3d program, right? Depending on what vm software you're using? I thought they all had different levels of support for 3d hardware acceleration, from none to so-so. I could be wrong, though. I only recently got an Intel Mac and haven't tried running Windows on it, since the only reason I'd want to run Windows would be to play Half-Life 2 and that ain't gonna work so good on my MacBook.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:58 am

Yeah, 3D isn't supported at all on the MacBook since it's got such a sucky 3D chip. 3DS is software-rendered though (or at least it is how Spud uses it) so 3D hardware support isn't an issue.

Billy's Little Trip · Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:51 pm

XP Pro, but then again, I don't know any better.

anti-m · Post by **anti-m** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:02 pm

Hoblit wrote:I just want to say that when YOU said you were contemplating 'batting for the other team' my mind took me somewhere else completely. I won't say what though.

Duh. Fully intentional. "I'll have an entendre! Make it a double!"

I know I don't HAVE to upgrade to Vista... but I don't necessarily trust that this will always be the case. I wont launch into all my tinfoil hat conspiracy theories about MS and their business practices...but my general impression is that MS has a way of eventually forcing people's hands when it comes to the decision to upgrade. (I held on to Win2000 for a LOOOONNNG time before upgrading to XP)

And Roymond, I know this conversation sucks, and leads to all kinds of posturing on all sides of the OS divide, but people like you (people who are "Bi" I suppose... or "Tri") are the ones I'm most interested in hearing from. People who've had experience using a variety of OSes will be better acquainted with the pros and cons of each.

I'm definitely planning on sticking with XP for now. Everything works, and I really never have any problems with it. But if I'm ever forced (for any reason) to leave XP... Well, I suppose I'm just making contingency plans for the future, I guess.

jimtyrrell · Post by **jimtyrrell** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:17 pm

I wouldn't be "Bi", but my day job demands it.

It's a living.

jack · Post by **jack** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:27 pm

jimtyrrëll wrote:I wouldn't be "Bi", but my day job demands it.

It's a living.

same here. actually, the only computers i've ever owned myself have been Apples (since 1991, Mac Classic 4/40), although i've been working on the Windows platform longer (since DOS actually, if you count my BASIC classes at Virginia Tech).

currently, i shuffle between 3 macs at home. a mac mini for most use. an ibook for backup and bookwork use. and and older imac i use for music mostly. at work, it's all windows XP.

October 26th, 2007

October 26th, 2007

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