Hello LQ Moderators. I do not know if anyone has brought up this idea before, but I thought that the site could provide a space titled "Windows Versions" or something similar (Other operating systems, non-linux, etc) under an individual's username, location, Linux distribution, etc. For example, mine would look like:

NoahT1BM
Member

Registered: Feb 2008
Distribution: PCLinuxOS 2007, Knoppix 5.1.1
Windows Version(s) Windows XP
Posts: 33

because I dual-boot WinXP with PCLinuxOS.

What caused me to create this post is that I have seen people stick their Windows versions with their distributions, which makes no sense.

Anyhow, thanks for reading; I throughly enjoy the site. Keep up the good work!

Technically, each "version" of Windows is a different Windows distribution made by MS. So the distributions would be:
numbered (1.0 to 3.11)
dated (95, 98, 2000)
lettered (ME, NT, XP)
Vista (home-basic et al)

If you check under the help menu, you'll find the version number for your Windows XP distribution (IIRC). It only seems sensless because MS have traditionally not emphasized this. MS customers typically use the service-pack number like linux free-folk use the release number.

However:
Must confess to being completely neutral on this score... it wouldn't show up for me.

How far should this go though - shall we have a separate field for each software-house that makes one? Sun version? Mac version? BSD version? Perhaps the situation is resolved if the feild name is changed? Say, instead of "distribution", something like "Preferred OS" or just "OS:"? Would that make more sense?

Simon, I wouldn't bother putting in the windows version number, as that could confuse others. (unless of course, youu are actually running Windows 3.1.
In response to changing the fields around, what I was thinking was exactly what you had said: a field for each software-house that makes an OS. When an LQ user wants to edit their profile, on the bottom of the page I think there should be a section titled "Preferred Operating System(s)" containing five fields titled "Linux", "Sun", "Mac", "BSD", and "Windows". Any fields left blank would not show up under an individual's username on posts.

Again, using my example to help clarify, it would originally appear like this:

NoahT1BM
Member

Registered: Feb 2008
Linux: PCLinuxOS 2007, Knoppix 5.1.1
Sun:
Mac:
BSD:
Windows: XP
Posts: 34

but since the Sun, Mac, and BSD fields were left blank, they would be omitted, so the user information would look like this:

NoahT1BM
Member

Registered: Feb 2008
Linux: PCLinuxOS 2007, Knoppix 5.1.1
Windows: XP
Posts: 34

And here I thought it was a reductio ad absurdum...

Of course, "linux" isn't a software house. Neither is "Windows".

The list becomes:

Redhat
Novell
Canonical
(listing each linux distro maintainer would be tedious)
Microsoft
Apple
IBM
Sun Microsystems
hp/Compaq
etc etc

Of course' LQ allows embedded systems as well, so those should be considered too:
ARC International
CMX Co
ESP
Forth Inc
Motorolla
Psion Systems
Wind River
Palm
etc etc

Or perhaps in major classes - like:

GNU/Linux
xBSD
Apple
Microsoft
Other Unix
Embedded

It may have a use from a demographics POV.

We can extend the concept by offering a pull-down list of locations instead of leaving what to type up to the user?

Further... offer a collection of name feilds... temporary, silly, etc. With an alias generator for those who cannot think of one. Imagine an LQ Addict user who is stuck with the alias: "ubern00bie" because it seemed cute at the time... it could be changed later, and all the posts by ubernoobie end up reading "posted by 1kewl1". Maybe one could have a different alias in different forums?

What about the user who chose "justarandomname" or "asdef" because they couldn't think of anything... the alias generator could use an anagram of their actial name, for instance. I mean, if I'd thought of that, I could have been:

Inbred Gismo
Disrobing Em
Morbid Singe
Sobering Dim
Bride Sing Om
... to pick five.

While you were more creative with "naughty one" (BM?), you could have been:

Henna Gouty
Hangout Yen
Age Thy Noun
Heat Gnu Yon (Hate Gnu Yon probably wouldn't be so cool...)
Thane Young
... hmmm, I think I got better anagrams.

[edit] My wife lucked out: she'd have got "Anne 'Hellcat' Newsier"

To determine the version of Windows XP that you are running, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type winver.exe, and then click OK. The version number is displayed in the About Windows box.

To determine whether you have an OEM installation of Windows, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
3. Click the General tab.
4. Locate the number that is displayed under Registered to.

This number typically contains 20 digits. If digits 6, 7, and 8 contain the letters "OEM", you have an OEM installation of Windows.

For example, the following sample Product ID number indicates an OEM installation:
12345-OEM-6789098-76543

Cheers

No, I meant that I don't use windows, therefore the windows version entry wouldn't show.
Good info though - most people don't know that Windows has versions.

Again, you exceed what I had expected. Honestly, at this point, things seem to be getting over my head. Despite all that, I think we might be on to something here. But how to implement this idea?

At this time we have no plans to implement a "Windows Version" profile field. Thanks for the feedback.

--jeremy

You mean like this? I think there's a few put their Windows details there, although it's not strictly a distribution.



<===========

True-- They also don't know that DOS is still the heart of the system (Most don't even know what DOS is- lol). Just run Norton Diagnostics, it tells all.

Cheers

Exactly. I've seen several that have done that. Being free to add whatever you use there should suffice. As Simon has pointed out, adding separate fields can get rather lengthy.

Of course, one could always put it in their sig, as well...

Cheers

Yes, I thought the same thing.
Okay then, I will include something in my sig. Besides, jeremy has spoken.

We get quite a few newbies asking if dual booting with Windows works, how to do it, etc. So, if those members who are doing it indicate that they are, it might give the nervous newbies confidence to try it.

The only problem is that they cannot get over-confident. They just have to take the their time and go through the proper steps to creating a Windows/Linux system. Eventually, it will become second-nature.

This is not true of the NT family (NT,2000,XP). I think Vista also counts as part of the NT family...though the kernel has been rewritten enough by now that maybe not.

The NT family's roots are apparently VAX VMS, not DOS, and this family has taken over because its non-DOS roots lead to a system that scales a lot better and is more robust.