[SWLUG] Re: Giving up Windows

[Rhys Sage]

I'm right there with you. I'm giving up Windows too.

Since I came to the conclusion that there really
wasn't much point in programming for Windows any more.
I also came to the conclusion that the software I wish
to use under Windows just doesn't seem to exist and am
mightily tired of Windows bugs/viruses. XP Pro is
without a shadow of a doubt the best O/S that
Microsoft has ever produced and I'm happier with that
than with any other MS offering aside from NT4 (which
I find even better than XP although sadly lacking in
USB support).

I came to the conclusion that as the software I want -
ie iLife exists on Mac and is thus best suited to a
Mac environment that I'd probably be better going over
to Mac for photos etc.

I have considered using Linux but run accross two
problems:

1. A lack of anything like Windows ease of use. My
personal use of Linux is restricted to SME Linux which
I use on my server. I have tried Mandrake 10 and found
it to be awkward for dial-up access and somewhat
processor intensive. In addition the desktop
environments weren't quite as good as Windows. I did
find one that I could almost live with though.

2. Most of the software seems to be of the
compile-it-yourself variety. I just want something
that'll run without having to compile because - let's
face it - I don't know much about Linux, less about
programming under Linux and don't have an awful lot of
interest in doing the fiddly bits. 

I'm not even sure which programs will run under which
versions of Linux. There seem to be so many - ubuntu,
red hat, mandrake, suse etc. Everybody seems to be
trying different versions as though they're unhappy
with the previous version, which is rather
disconcerting. People have been somewhat disparaging
about SME Linux too yet it works for me as an offline
server.

My primary concern is data security on the hard drive.
I'd hate to lose loads of irreplacable data before it
could all be archived.

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