Dual Booters out there -- What do you still run on Windows
GeneralThis forum is for non-technical general discussion which can include both Linux and non-Linux topics. Have fun!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I use windows to apply for certain jobs online. The site "works best with internet explorer." <...>
This is one of the things that irritates me most. I do use Windows at work, but installed Firefox, with Xmarks to have my bookmarks synchronized and for several other obvious reasons.
But some suppliers we work with have sites that are so badly programmed (usually in .asp) that they do not work in any browser different from IE.
In some cases I simply choose another supplier, but this is not always possible...
I have Linux boxes at work, but, unfortunately we have a new systems administrator who doesn't like Linux that much. Over the next several months he'll be phasing out my Linux boxes and replacing them with Win 7 units. At work my work station is now a Win 7 box. I may have the opportunity to have Ubuntu boxes as this is something he will accept. Try to imagine how I feel about all of this.
Thank God I have four Slackware boxes at home. After work I come home and enjoy computing.
Home: I use Vista for games that don't work at all or perform poorly with wine. Sometimes I use it to diagnose hardware issues (like sound problems or the odd piece of hardware). Sometimes the only video player that plays my DVDs is windows. Blu-ray as well (until someone figures it out for Linux).
Work: I'm forced to, although I do like the Visual Studio environment for coding. At least I use Firefox (with IE tab) and Firebug. I've used Gimp for a while now and it's good for free software. It's no Photoshop though; they still don't have shape support and the path tool isn't that easy to use.
It's kinda funny . . . just a few years ago, all of my friends would call me up or otherwise consult me with their computer problems. Since I stopped using Windows completely, I am almost completely useless to them. Heck, I've never even used Vista or Windows 7 . . . they look terrible, though. I don't think I'm missing anything. (I actually know more about Macs now than Windows PCs, since OS X has changed only a little bit since I regularly used it last at work.)
Why not run games under WINE, guys? . . . it takes some doing, but it can be done, and it seems like it is less of a hassle than dual booting. It seems like a lot of would-be true Linux purists are chained to Windows for gaming.
Heck, even Cross-Over or Cedega are cheaper than Windows . . . or are you guys pirating Windows? You know, that is illegal . . . is using Windows worth being a criminal?
With WINE, I can even run Windows games that my box doesn't meet the minimum system requirements for.
There's a lot of games that wine doesn't run or will only run if you get a nocd hack even though you bought the game (I don't like nocds because people embed viruses in them). I don't mind doing the tweaking necessary to get games running, but sometimes it's just not enough. To give you an example of poor performance, Neverwinter Nights 2 runs, but the frame rates inside buildings are unacceptable (outside is fine for some reason) and I already turned off everything except bloom effects and disabled debug output. Also when you enter a certain area you get a giant black screen unless you zoom in really close to your character. Check the wine forums or Bioware forums and you just see a lot of questions. So I use Windows for this.
There are plenty of games that run well on wine, I know. I finished playing Oblivion and Rune just fine with wine. My brother-in-law plays WoW and told me the framerates were better with wine. But not everything works in wine, and who wants to pay a monthly subscription fee for a game they already bought?
I've been tempted to create a Windows VM for playing games, but I imagine you wouldn't get the same performance as just booting Windows. AFAIK the only option is VMWare Server since it has direct 3D support, but it doesn't work on more recent kernels without patching (not that this can't be done, just haven't gotten around to trying it).
Why are you assuming that Cedega is cheaper than Windows? I paid $90 for an OEM version of Vista and a 2 year subscription to Cedega is $90. Not that Cedega is a bad deal, but I don't like having to pay every year for a service. Plus I made the mistake of buying an ATI card and Cedega mentions that there are problems with them.
I use windows because of Adobe. Especially Photoshop and Fireworks. Nothing is even close to them in open source. The good thing is that Dreamweaver was also in that list before. It is not anymore since I started to use smarty, and the tools to design a page using open source are really good now.
When Adobe releases its software for linux, then windows days are over.
Anyway, all servers at work run Slackware. No one who is responsible, has a real excuse of putting windows on servers. At least not there.
I occasionally use windows. This time of year is still nice enough to get some good fresh air in .. although mostly at night I close them cause it's getting rather nippy.
About Windows servers: some people don't seem to realize why the internet is mostly Apache not IIS. They assume IIS is easier to use, but I know better. Once you compile Apache with the plugins you want and do some tweaks to the config files, you're done. I've had more trouble with IIS issues than Apache and in the security realm Apache beats IIS hands down.
Maybe I missed something (didn't read the entire thread), but the info is always the same regardless whether you're using Outlook, Thunderbird, Seamonkey, Evolution, or whatever. The ISP may not provide support for Linux (that's why there's LQ ), but once the info is entered, it works.
Of course you're right, and it's frustrating when this happens- I've dealt with a couple of ISPs who wouldn't even provide DNS addresses; if you couldn't run their installation CD, you were SOL.
Of course you're right, and it's frustrating when this happens- I've dealt with a couple of ISPs who wouldn't even provide DNS addresses; if you couldn't run their installation CD, you were SOL.
Times are a changin! ...
I would find another ISP as there are several in metropolitan areas but if your stuck in the country like I am. Then choices are slim pickings. I had the same issue when I got DSL. Solved by just placing a M$Windows machine on the modem to run the damn thing initially. Then switched things over for my GNU/Linux Slackware server with no major issues.
Distribution: x86_64 Slack 13.37 current : +others
Posts: 459
Rep:
There is only one operating system...this is why I use XP... its because all opearing systems have the same origin and are arrived at in the same way as each other...plagiarism for example windows 7 is all the best taken from Open source LOL
I use windoze only when I have to. I have a HP scanner, there is no driver for it, so the scanner is on a backup machine in my home. When I need the scanner I get to wait and wait for the XP system to boot. Funny thing is I have Slackware on the same box, and it boots in about 1/3 the time.
My other windbloze time is spent fixing various bugs on the wifes vista system and the daughters XP system.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.