Because Shiny Things Are Fun - The New New Windows v Linux Thread

WoW! Dell and WinD'ohs- what a disfunctional pair!

As if Windurs8 isn't bad enough....it sounds like the Dell definitely has some hardware issues going on there; along with customer service issues, 'cause any new 'puter that has that many problems, is just a lemon, and should be replaced- or a refund given! Disgraceful! (And how terrible- your nice uncle tries to do something nice for you, but thanks to Dell, it turns into nothing but a hassle!)

And Maples, I dumped Windurs quite a few years ago- but from what you (and others) describe, it sounds like NOTHING has changed with WinD'ohs in the last 15 years, because what I still hear today from Windurs users, is the exact same crapola that I remember from when I had WIN98 back in the 1990's!- Only even worse, today!

Amazing...

Thank goodness for Linux, because if I had to use WinD'ohs, I would have just quit using computers, altogether. (And I don't like Apple products; and I refuse to pay their exhorbitant prices for their inferior stuff!)

Yeah, I plan on ditching Windows ASAP. As a sophomore in high school, it's not that easy. I find myself booting into Linux more and more and using Windows for things that don't work in Linux. (Why do you think it's taken so long to take care of the broken laptop? I barely use the thing, because IDK if installing Linux will screw up the warranty. AFAIK, it's a 1-year warranty, so my laptop will get a new OS for Christmas )

For example of why I can't completely switch to Linux (yet), I'm a programmer in our school's robotics team. We use RobotC, and since it's closed-source, there's no Linux version. I've read how people got it to compile under Wine, but AFAIK nobody has managed to send the program to the robot, which seems to be a bit of a problem .

Off topic: Mono? What board and\or chip for the bots? Arduino?

Back on topic: schools tend to stick it to us like (and with) proprietary software. E.g: why paper books and why reprint them with (most of the time) the same info every year?

The robot runs on a Lego Mindstorms NXT brick. From Googling, there have been many attempts by people far more knowledgeable than myself, and they could not get it to actually send the program to the robot. I might try to run it in a VM, though, and see how that goes.

I do have an Ardiono, and I wish I had more time to mess with it. Somehow, I find myself more entertained by browsing this forum after figuring out how to work my laptop's WiFi in Arch...

I was just going through my wallet, and I discovered a "verification code" for Microsoft DreamSpark, whatever that is. They were passing them out at the robotics competition, and I completely forgot that I took one. Looking at the card, though, it looks tacky. The front of it is an image with a horrible resolution. It looks like they took a low-res bitmap, doubled or triples the resolution, and saved it as a low-quality JPEG. The back is a little better, but the quality is still poor.

And once I actually read it, this is just a long-term scam.
First, they want you to make an account, so they can spam your e-mail with all the latest Microsoft products.
Then you have to enter the code to download.
Then the account is valid for 12 months.

I'm definitely not using it.

DreamSpark is a program offering Microsoft's development tools to students for free, many universities are partnering in that program. I can't see why that should be a scam.

It's not the actual product that I think is a scam, it's the "12-month activation" part that I don't like. What happens after the 12 months? My bet is that all of your work will be saved in some format that only DreamSpark is able to open, and to be able to get at it you need to purchase another license.

Originally Posted by maples It's not the actual product that I think is a scam, it's the "12-month activation" part that I don't like. What happens after the 12 months? My bet is that all of your work will be saved in some format that only DreamSpark is able to open, and to be able to get at it you need to purchase another license.

You are wise beyond your years!

Any time you see the word "free", hold onto your wallet! (You seem to already know that)

Originally Posted by maples It's not the actual product that I think is a scam, it's the "12-month activation" part that I don't like. What happens after the 12 months? My bet is that all of your work will be saved in some format that only DreamSpark is able to open, and to be able to get at it you need to purchase another license.

DreamSpark will not save your data in any way or form. It is a program that enables you to download development tools for free. There is no need to bet how it works, all that information is just a click away: https://www.dreamspark.com/

OK, maybe DreamSpark isn't as bad as I thought... I guess I just have a natural aversion to MS after the whole Windows 8 thing.

...and a little off-topic, my parents want me to give my Win7 laptop to my 8th grade sister for a graduation gift, and it sounds like there's not a way out... I'm leaving Arch on it, regardless of what she says, though. Maybe I can convince her to use that most of the time...I think she can handle CLI login and type "startx" (at least I hope she is capable of that...)
Since she is almost completely computer-illiterate, I'm not giving her admin rights, nor will she ever get them on my laptop. I uninstalled IE and have Firefox installed. (she's not getting a choice on that, either) Any other ideas on how to make sure she can't completely screw it up?

EDIT: Win7 is still on it, and I plan on keeping it there. See my next post.

Originally Posted by maples ...and a little off-topic, my parents want me to give my Win7 laptop to my 8th grade sister for a graduation gift, and it sounds like there's not a way out... I'm leaving Arch on it, regardless of what she says, though. Maybe I can convince her to use that most of the time...I think she can handle CLI login and type "startx" (at least I hope she is capable of that...) Since she is almost completely computer-illiterate, I'm not giving her admin rights, nor will she ever get them on my laptop. I uninstalled IE and have Firefox installed. (she's not getting a choice on that, either) Any other ideas on how to make sure she can't completely screw it up?

Good way to make people not like Linux: CLI login, unable to install software on her machine, ... .
Seriously, if your sister wants to use Windows there is no point at all not to give her Windows, just because you don't like Microsoft.

Sorry, I probably wasn't as clear as I should have been.

I was given this laptop for my 8th grade graduation, and in the end it will remain my laptop. However, my sister will be using it like it is hers for schoolwork and such. The main reason for not letting her install anything is because I don't trust her judgement in what to click on and what not to click on. If she wants/needs a program, and it's a legitimate want/need and she points to a legitimate program, I will install it and let her use it. However, if it's obviously mal/spam/adware, I will tell her that it's not a legitimate program and not install it.
It's fairly complicated on who gets what privileges, and I don't think my parents even have it figured out. I really like this laptop, and to be honest I'm a little sentimental about it. It was my first computer that was actually mine, and it did everything I ever needed it to do. It has a normal BIOS, without all the UEFI "Secure Boot" hassle.

As far as I know (and I hope) I will eventually get it back when she gets her own.

EDIT:
I intend on keeping Windows on it. As much as I love Linux, I still am not completely independent of it yet. As for the Arch, it is entirely up to her if she uses it or not. If she wants to use, it, that's great. If she doesn't want to use it, I have no problem. The choice is entirely hers. Personally, I hope she likes the Arch, simply because it's a lot more secure than Windows.

Whats wrong with display managers?

Nothing, I just prefer CLI login. I may look into installing one on that laptop, though.

It's funny- we fall into habits and patterns, based on what we're used to- then we can think that anything different is a hardship, even when it really isn't.

I've just started using Slackware, and the first thing I said to myself was "I've got to install an automatic/GUI login manager!"- but then I thought "Wait! What is so hard about typing in my pseudonym and password, and typing "startx"?! ". Now that I've been doing that for the last few days, I've come to the conclusion that I may not die, after all; and that it's not so bad, and keeps things simple....so I'm not lusting for an automatic login anymore.

Re: Maples's sister: Sometimes, it can be good to give others a little "push" to expose them to something different, which they might not otherwise try. I could just see her reaction at first "Oh, this sucks! What is this, 1995?! N'oh the pain; the pain!"...but 3 days later, she probably won't care, and might even find Arch to be interesting and different, and "cool".

I'm waiting for the day that my idiot sister comes over and wants to use the computer.... Me: "Oh, sure, just go in there and turn it on" [Hilarious laughter ensues as I watch her stare at a black screen with text and a command prompt] My sister: "Uh...I think your computer is broke[sic]...". Me: "Ah well...it's old..."