Dont' forget you can cluster those smaller boxes into a better computer :) (read the pages precceding this, and look up Knoppix. It has a clustering system on over distro of itself)

Until computer venders decides to put linux on their desktop machines for average joe (besides the cheapos at Wal-Mart) Windows is going to be around for a long time. :mad:

I don't think it will ever go away, but its going to change alot. If for no other reason the EU is going to make them.

gotta' love vendor lock-in. the biggest problem is that these game manufacturers will feed the beast by exclusively making games that require dx10.

yup, they will.

as DirectX 10 is introducing quite some neat features, one of the most outstanding is Physics processing through the GPU

Whats annoying is in alot of cases, the games only reason for not being multiplatform is their reliance on DirectX. If they started to use OpenGL more and more, then they could probably get more money, and end up with some hellacious game that can run on any system anywhere.

lol not even OpenGL is that good.

I remember as a kid when my dad got from his office a PC with DOS and windows 3.1. We knew the capabilities of the computer were far beyond our Ninentdoes and Segas, but it still wasn't an entertainment system. We would try to play games on the x86 PC the shareware games, but the game consoles always ruled. I only became excited when the console companies would start to code their games for the PC.

I see Windows as an advanced entertainment system. If games were not an issue, I really wonder how many users would stay with Windows. Linux is for serious productivity.

Murdock

No, its not, but if people USED it, then the development would have a bigger reason (plus could get industrial donations) to make it into something better.

It wasn't a statement on how well it worked now, but how well it COULD work...

Count me on those users.

PC gaming is the only thing that keeps a windoze xp installation currently in my disk.

if I could only play ANY PC game without windoze...

File charges against M$ for anti-trust based on the fact they refuse to release their products to other OSs, refuse to comply to standards, and make every effort to prevent anyone else from doing anything on another OS. The only reasoning that anything else exist if the fact that they know Whine-bloze sucks, and want something better.

Their restriction on the gaming industry is even worse...

I just did some surfing around the internet to find out more about Windows Vista.

From what I can tell, Microsoft is trying to make major changes to the GUI. This is very good news for me. All these years, despite merrilly migrating to Linux, I couldn't rid myself of the inferior feeling that it was Microsoft that truly sets the standards when it comes to GUIs. But now Microsoft themselves are moving away from their own standards, and this only gives Linux desktops, windows managers, and even its shells (think of Monad), a chance to find a liking by even the most avid windows fans.

Also, asides from the eye-candy, I have not found any major breakthroughs in the operating system. After reviewing a few of Microsoft's sites about Vista, Microsoft is not focusing as much on it being an operating system anymore as much as it is a complete all-in-one do-it-all software suite. Seems that the operating system genre is too technical for most people, but showing them that it could about anything you want (Microsoft way, of course) is more convincing. This doesn't sound very unusual for microsoft. They originally introduced an Office suite, then a web browser, firewall, etc. and now an entire monolith of utilities and applications.

Murdock

@Murdock:

They are actually including utilities?!?!?
/me just saw a snowflake fly out a volcano
This is a bad sign...


M$ have never changed their OS, they just keep hacking DOS. I'm sure if you got the original DOS code and Vista code, there would be part of them that would be ideniacle.

I agreed with you Operating system term is more techincal now a days...

And as I download and install Vista it too give a great pleasure to see that os, But if you ask me (which you haven't n still i am telling you) Linux is Best software in terms of Techinical things, its free for freedom and good for learning Computer and its working, but if you are pure user of computer, say my anuty or 5th grade cousion who can just play games, Vista is something that give them pleasure to work ...

Hope nobody mind it i am saying good words about MS product :D

MS has the potential to do great things for the computer industry, but they just don't. Its a case of being lazy and greedy instead of self-less and innovative (I mean really inovative).

Just think what owuld happen if MS was taken over by a Linux user. That much money being pumped into F/OSS could help things grow by leaps and bounds, and they could continue to make money off of closed-source software (MS Office, Access, ect.). I think for the most part (this is my problem), is that MS takes credit for things they didn't do, sell inferior products for outrageous prices, and in the end provide a flawed, insecure system that is well below their ability.