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

Originally Posted by maples I'd say that there are very few computers that can't get Linux installed...Sure, we might need to get rid of Win8, but that's what VMs are for. BTW, I did get XP installed in a VM on this eee...it actually works fairly well. My biggest complaint is that winXp doesn't have a resolution that fits the screen, so I have black bars of wasted screen space on each side. If anyone cares, it's an Eee PC 901 with a single-core Atom processor.

Install the Guest additions (or VMware tools, you don't state which virtualizer you use).

and, my bad it's the right [Ctrl]+keys in V...box

I use VirtualBox...considering how well it runs,I think the Atom has virtulization

This is what Wikipedia says

In December 2012, Intel launched the 64-bit Centerton family of Atom CPUs, designed specifically for use in servers.[6] Centerton adds features previously unavailable in Atom processors, such as Intel VT virtualization technology and support for ECC memory.[7] On 4 September 2013 Intel launched a 22 nm successor to Centerton, codenamed Avoton.[8]

Originally Posted by moisespedro This is what Wikipedia says

I don't think that's my CPU...I'm pretty sure mine is 32-bit. I'll check again when I get home, but I know that I installed a 32-bit OS on it.

IIRC the Atom in my eeePC had the vx switch but was 32 bit.

I saw a command on these forums that printed teh CPU info...It wasn't lspci, I just tried that...I hate that feeling. You know what you're looking for but you don't know what word to type!

Originally Posted by TobiSGD I wish people would stop with those unfair comparisons. LXDE (or nowadays LXQt), while being a fine DE, is missing a large amount of features that Windows 7 or 8 have. Comparing those two is like comparing a KDE 4 desktop with Windows 98 and then telling people that Win98 is actually better, because it uses less resources. If you want a fair comparison compare Windows 8 to Gnome 3, Cinnamon or KDE. Here is my wish-list of things I wish Linux proponents would actually do: - Do not try to push Linux at any cost. For some people/jobs Windows is simply the better tool, if you like it or not. - Be fair. Making an unfair comparison to let Linux look better is not a good idea, sooner or later you will be caught. For the comparison above I would have said: compare KDE with Windows 7 or 8, compare XFCE or Mate with XP. - Show the positive sides of Linux (a "Lubuntu or Xubuntu to replace XP on older computers" showcase is not bad at all, to show how lightweight a modern Linux can be), but also show the negatives (L/Xubuntu is not Windows 8 when it comes to functionality, many Windows games and professional software won't work, some hardware is possibly not or only partially supported, ...) - Take away the fear and prejudices, do not amplify them. You don't need to be a commandline guru or programmer to run a modern Linux distro, for most people Linux can be as comfortable as Windows or OS X, so show people thhat this can be done. Don't let them struggle with the commandline if there is no need to. Always remember, for most people that computer is an appliance, they have a different view of the machine than we tinkerers have. EDIT: Forgot the last one: - Don't be a zealot. Zealotry and fanboyism will turn people away from you and your mission, but not attract them.

Depends on what one is looking for though.

If I were still using Windurs, and ignorant of Linux; but was sick of Windows, and someone came along touting Linux...but used the current Ubuntu as their example, I would say "Why bother switching, since that Ubuntu is bloated and full of spyware like Windows, and is sluggish/requires rather late-model high-end hardware to work well?".

On the other hand, if I saw a presentation like Maples's.....I'd say "Holy cow! THAT is for me!".

A comparison needn't be to show how similar something is...but it could be about showing how different something is.

One of my biggest complaints about OS's- Windows or Linux- is that they have too much crap in them that I'll never use, which weigh everything down and overcomplicate something which would actually work better for me if it had much less. I look at something like KDE and say "All that eye-candy using resources; and all the obfuscation of simple things with unnecessary complex interfaces; and little boxes that pop-up and tell you things; and applications that take 8 minutes to open.... Who needs THAT?!".

Meanwhile, give me something like Openbox or Icewm, which lets me do whatever I want, and doesn't get in the way, nor treat me like some guy who fell-off the turnip truck and never used a computer before, and I'm a happy camper.

So while some may look at it like: I'm going to pursuade people that Linux is as good as Windows",

Others, like myself (and probably Maples) look at it like: "I'm going to show people how Linux is different than Windows, and perhaps, they'll decide that Linux is more to their liking because it gives them a viable alternative to Windows while providing a more customized experience- whether they are looking for eye-candy and point-and-click usability, or elegant and simple, with great performance".

I mean, if I were a Windows user, I wouldn't be impressed if something could do the same things that Windows can already do/offer...but rather if it could do something different- and offer more or less.

Originally Posted by maples I saw a command on these forums that printed teh CPU info...It wasn't lspci, I just tried that...I hate that feeling. You know what you're looking for but you don't know what word to type!

cat /proc/cpuinfo

?

or:

lscpu

Originally Posted by maples I saw a command on these forums that printed teh CPU info...It wasn't lspci, I just tried that...I hate that feeling. You know what you're looking for but you don't know what word to type!

dmidecode --type processor

Unfortunately, you have to be root to run the dmidecode command. Below are other keywords to get info on

bios
system
baseboard
chassis
processor
memory
cache
connector
slot

Thanks for the thoughts on the commands! The lscpu was the one I was looking for. The Atom is 32-bit, single core, but has Intel's Hyper-Threading, so I have 2 logical processors.

And once again, Windows and Dell live up to my expectations. Since they replaced the mobo, I haven't done much with it. Today I opened it up, plugged in my flash drive, and ran portable winSCP from it. I queued a few ISOs to copy to the flash drive, then left to walk my dog. About a half an hour later I get back. The file transfer had finished. I had left the Windows Explorer window open behind it, so I clicked on it to see how much free space was left on the flash drive. It came to the top, but it was completely frozen. The window border didn't even update to show that it was the active window. I clicked back to WinSCP, and it was frozen, too. I moved my cursor over the taskbar, and nothing happened. I tried clicking on Firefox anyway, but I wasn't surprised when nothing happened. Eventually, I got fed up with it and I held the power button. When I tried to reboot, I was greeted with a lovely "Windows failed to start" screen. Fortunately, I managed to boot it into safe mode, and one reboot later and it boots fine. I'm typing from it now, and I'm trying to see if it freezes again. If it does, I'm calling Dell and asking them to replace the whole thing. I'll also ask if I can get Win7 instead of Win8.

My sister gets out of school after next week. In case you've just joined us, my parents want me to give my good laptop (Win7 and Arch dual-boot, but they don't know about the Arch) to my sister. I'm almost completely against it, especially since our high school requires that we all get Chromebooks, and she already has hers. From what I understand, it will still by my laptop, but she will be able to use it like it's hers. (If you care to read more, go back a few pages in this thread)

Maples, I swear....it sounds like not a thing has changed about Windows, since 1998. Not a darn thing! (Well....maybe it's gotten worse!)

You need a reliable 'puter...and that Dell ain't it! I hope that Dell replaces it. You've been more than patient. It's a lemon, and hasn't worked right from day one. I'd make a lot of noise if they don't replace it, NOW!

Thank goodness for walking the dog, eh? That was probably the best part of your day! (I just got in from taking mine for a gratuitous walk!)

Originally Posted by Sumguy Maples, I swear....it sounds like not a thing has changed about Windows, since 1998. Not a darn thing! (Well....maybe it's gotten worse!)

Not technically correct. Maybe not much changed from Windows 2000 but from 98 to now was a big change with the shift to the NT kernel

Originally Posted by smeezekitty Not technically correct. Maybe not much changed from Windows 2000 but from 98 to now was a big change with the shift to the NT kernel

Funny thing is, we now have 3GHZ 'puters with 4GBs of RAM....and from what I see of people using Windows today, there doesn't appear to be a vast improvement over WIN98 on a 500MHZ 256MB RAM box.....

Originally Posted by Sumguy Funny thing is, we now have 3GHZ 'puters with 4GBs of RAM....and from what I see of people using Windows today, there doesn't appear to be a vast improvement over WIN98 on a 500MHZ 256MB RAM box.....

I guess that is true. Windows 98 is somewhat usable on my 486DX-120 with 64MB RAM which is pretty impressive.
Damn small linux booted on it but unfortunately could not find my net card (which is surprising because Linux has always had good ethernet support)