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View Full Version : What type of OS user are you???



Goblin Dan
2008-01-21, 12:25 PM
The whole point of this thread is to find out if the majority of the people on this forum use Mac's, PC's, or any type of Linux. Just choose one and try to explain in full detail about why use it.


::smile: <<Click on the smiley! It will bring you to my 'MyMiniCity' page. Leave a message too. If you visit my city, I will visit yours! (http://space-frog.myminicity.com)

Sneak
2008-01-21, 12:29 PM
Mac OSX. Woot.

Goblin Dan
2008-01-21, 12:32 PM
I like to use PC's over all. True, I think Mac's are more user friendly and the overall design of the OS is "slicker" than windows, but Windows lets you have more freedom and most programs, and games work on it, while 80% of the games you have will not work on Mac's.

I also like to use Linux (Fedora) because it looks really cool. But I only use the live version. ( you put the CD into your CD drive and you can just temporarily boot linux off of the disk. The bad thing is that while you are on live, you cant use the wireless internet if you have it.)

Please feel free to comment.:smallbiggrin:

Dallas-Dakota
2008-01-21, 12:35 PM
Mac won´t allow my games.
I have linux on a other pc...

But I hugely use windows, Handy with playing all kinds of games.

Goblin Dan
2008-01-21, 12:49 PM
I agree with dallas-dakota. :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:

Sneak
2008-01-21, 12:53 PM
Well, as for the gaming thing...I recently installed Leopard, so I'm gonna get a copy of Windows soon to run on my Mac via Boot Camp so I can satisfy all of my long-repressed gaming urges and desires... :P ...while still being able to use the better operating system for all my regular needs.

Here I come, Planescape Torment...

Samiam303
2008-01-21, 12:54 PM
I've got Ubuntu installed, although I use it less and less. I've gotten back into the habit of using Win XP so I don't have to restart when I wanna play games.

RandomLogic
2008-01-21, 12:55 PM
Windows, my computer is used almost entirely for gaming. The overclocking options are also prevalent in windows.

B-Man
2008-01-21, 01:01 PM
I'm quite comfortable with Windows XP, even if it took me a good 4 years to get used to it. I do have a live disc of Ubuntu sitting around, but seeing as it will not run on my craptop, it's just sitting here doing nothing.

The_Chilli_God
2008-01-21, 01:02 PM
Well, as for the gaming thing...I recently installed Leopard, so I'm gonna get a copy of Windows soon to run on my Mac via Boot Camp so I can satisfy all of my long-repressed gaming urges and desires... :P ...while still being able to use the better operating system for all my regular needs.

Here I come, Planescape Torment... Curse you! Curse you, I say!
Stuck with a lowly PowerPC-based Mac with stupid Panther... :smallfrown:

Ah well. Mac OSX for life!

Skippy
2008-01-21, 01:06 PM
Ubuntu Linux FTW. I love that stuff.

Goblin Dan
2008-01-21, 01:08 PM
One of the cool things about Mac's are their terminals. My friend and I, during science class, were on the computer and we descovered that you can play tetris, pong, and snake on the terminal. All you have to do is:

1) open the terminal
2)type "emacs" (without the quotes)
3)after all the words appear, quickly press (and do not hold down) the escape key, shift and the x key, and you should go to another window. You can tell you have done it right if you can type in the little bar at the bottom of the termonal window. If you cant. open a new window and try again.
4) once you can type in the box, type either: "tetris" (without the quotes), "snake" (without the quotes), or "pong" (without the quotes). If you have done to right, you should go straight to the game!

If you are having problems, just ask.




:smiley: <<Click on the smiley! It will bring you to my 'MyMiniCity' page. Leave a message too. If you visit my city, I will visit yours! (http://space-frog.myminicity.com)

Goblin Dan
2008-01-21, 01:15 PM
some more cool things with the terminal: your own personal psychologist!

1)open terminal
2)type in "emacs" (without the quotes)
3)quickly press (don't hold down) escape, shift, and x.
4)type "doctor" (without the quotes)
5) enjoy:smallsmile: :smallsmile:




:smiley: <<Click on the smiley! It will bring you to my 'MyMiniCity' page. Leave a message too. If you visit my city, I will visit yours! (http://space-frog.myminicity.com)

yabo
2008-01-21, 01:35 PM
Well, I'm that guy... Media phone, PDA phone, and way too many toys to carry (though I want to SO bad...).

Home/Gaming- WinXP 64 Pro/WinXP Pro dual boot
Linux Box (k6-2 500mhz, baby!) laptop- Debian (at the moment... might play with redhat next)
Work Laptop- Macbook running Leopard/WinXP Pro dual boot with Parallels to run XP in a window/emulated if needed. (mac users... buy parallels! it's so good)
3rd Laptop is just running basic XP pro.

Basically, I'm in the same category as the others that have posted... OSX is beyond user friendly, and unlike Dan, I've found that OSX isn't limiting at all. But, I don't know what he's using it for, either. I wish Microsoft would catch up in the UI department. I mean, the 2 finger scrolling/left click method makes it so I'm able to to most everything without moving my hands off of the machine. My poor neglected little mouse!

Gaming Rig: All of the best games are on Windows, you can't deny this. That, and, let's face it: Macs aren't built with upgrades in mind. I can't take my dual 7800gt's in SLI and throw them into a Mac. It wouldn't know what to do with them. Until they let users build their own machines, Macs will not be viable as anything other than portable machines.

Goblin Dan
2008-01-21, 01:38 PM
I don't really have anything against Mac's, but I just find windows easier to use.

Arang
2008-01-21, 01:38 PM
I use Windows. I don't as much dislike Mac as I hate it and everyone who uses it with a passion beyond human imagining. I haven't tried Linux, but it sounds pretty good.

Meynolds
2008-01-21, 01:43 PM
I've got three computers right now, an ancient (by computing standards) desktop running Mac OS 7, a desktop running OS X.3.9 and my laptop running OS X.4.11.


I don't as much dislike Mac as I hate it and everyone who uses it with a passion beyond human imagining.

Excuse my asking, but why?

adanedhel9
2008-01-21, 01:47 PM
I use Windows for most purposes, mostly for gaming, but also because I'm comfortable enough with it that I feel like a power user (which I don't under Linux).

I do have a box running Slackware that serves my Wiki and SVN, though.

Goblin Dan, that's nothing special about the Mac's terminal. Those are standard eMacs features; eMacs (despite the name) is not a Mac thing and can be gotten for any operating system.

Goblin Dan
2008-01-21, 01:59 PM
I might be wrong, but I tried it on a PC and it did not work.

bluewind95
2008-01-21, 02:05 PM
Well... I use Windows. Windows XP, actually. Mainly, I use it because it came with my computer and, while I *could* change it, why do that when it works fine? I don't need to do anything special for compatibility, and it's user-friendly enough.

I don't really get where people say Mac is more user friendly than Windows. I find Mac to be rather annoying with how... centralized it is. Give me Window's spaghetti organization anytime. :smalltongue:

I used to *really* dislike macs back in high school when they had these *really* old macs for class(though they had "better" computers for later classes... with Windows 3.11. We're talking... back in the time when Windows 2000 was the norm) Anyways, those macs were slow, silly and very user unfriendly. I've seen newer macs and they're definitely not as horrid, but I still am not fond of how centralized it is.

JasonDoomsblade
2008-01-21, 02:08 PM
I have both a Mac Lepord and a Windows Xp PC. Both have their usefulness. I use the Mac for my gaming, because the gameplay is much smoother. I use the PC for my drawing for things in the Arts and Crafts thread, and I use the internet more on the PC also, because it's faster.

Bayar
2008-01-21, 02:33 PM
PC, with windows XP.

Arang
2008-01-21, 02:37 PM
Excuse my asking, but why?

I just don't see the appeal. They might be good computers, I don't know, but everything is either useless, all over the place in some random place, or both. Then there's the fact that you basically cannot customize anything because Apple doesn't trust their customers to be able or willing to do anything with their computers than cut together videos of them skating with their friends.

I suppose what I'm getting at is that I was teased as a child and my hatred for Apple products is, alongside my belief that Steve Jobs is Satan, how I express myself. Please be understanding.

Raistlin1040
2008-01-21, 02:58 PM
Vista Home Premium. I hate it. XP was awesome. Vista is :smallyuk:

OverdrivePrime
2008-01-21, 03:18 PM
I'm an Apple guy, born and raised. I used to rock an Apple IIGS back in the day. I've currently got a dual 2.8 G4 running Tiger and an ancient iBook, also (somehow) running Tiger as well.

I longingly look forward to upgrading both to the most current tower and laptop (mmm.... airbook) and then getting my hands on a Time Capsule and a studio screen.

At work, I'm forced to use Windows XP, and I find it to be not nearly as horrible as previous incarnations of Windows. This version only crashes a couple times a month, rather than several times a week.

As for the whole game compatability issue, I generally just play Photoshop and Illustrator. The graphics on Halo are a bit primitive. :smallamused:

Sneak
2008-01-21, 03:32 PM
I have both a Mac Lepord and a Windows Xp PC. Both have their usefulness. I use the Mac for my gaming, because the gameplay is much smoother. I use the PC for my drawing for things in the Arts and Crafts thread, and I use the internet more on the PC also, because it's faster.

No offense, but I think you have Mac and Windows mixed up a little. See, Mac is the artsy OS, Windows is for gaming. Get it straight. :P You musta gotten switched around somehow.

SurlySeraph
2008-01-21, 03:39 PM
Windows XP. All the Macs I've ever used were kinda unstable and prone to freezing (granted, they were all the school's computers, but still), and I don't want to put in the effort to figure out Linux.

Tormsskull
2008-01-21, 03:54 PM
I use Windows XP, mainly because Windows is the most possible in the business world, and I want all the experience that I gain from playing/working to apply across the board.

Goblin Dan
2008-01-21, 04:03 PM
Go XP!!

please click on this link or copy and paste it into your browser!!!!! : http://space-frog.myminicity.com/

RS14
2008-01-21, 04:17 PM
I use Windows XP. I've got no plans to upgrade to Vista. Windows is stable, supports all my old games, and more importantly supports my wireless card. I love the XP style and UI.

I've tried (Ubuntu) Linux, and even had it installed on my primary computer for some time on a second partition. It's just new to me and hard to adapt to. Also, I've had a hard time getting my wireless card supported.

I have a long running holy war with my girlfriend as to whether or not OS X is junk. She worships Jobsus you see...

wxdruid
2008-01-21, 04:23 PM
both my laptop and my desktop came with windows XP and it's what the government uses on it's computers.

The only other computer I use is the Radar computer and it uses UNIX.

Reinboom
2008-01-21, 04:43 PM
I use Windows XP, although I prefer OpenSuSE (Linux) at heart.
Mac OSX is a 'nice' operating system.. but.. I've had too much experience trying to work on them at my old school tech job. They would shut down on a broken firewire being plugged in to them, refuse disc images that was sent out to them in mass - you had to do it individually and through the firewire (or worse, USB).
They would randomly freeze. And they just don't offer much in graphic "superiority" to warrant their use other than CS3 was a bit cleaner/faster to use on them. Modifying around with them is too much of a hassle, and they get very few OS specific apps that I would desire to work with without having to load Windows XP anyways all the time.
That, and I'm a programmer - and OSX is NOT a popular enough environment to warrant even trying to bother (read: learn how to) with it for someone who codes solo.

Windows XP has the compatibility on its side, and its matured enough that nearly everything can be changed to how I like anyways. Even if I want my Windows XP to look like Mac OSX, if the layout bothers me that much, then I can do so.

If I wanted a pretty OS overall, just to be pretty, I would just switch to OpenSuSE again (Linux). At least, through crossover office and wine, I don't have to bother booting windows to run windows apps on it.

@v *snickers*
Go with MS-DOS, you need the later standard, and, dungeon crawls are just amazing. I believe it also has more rogues. And who doesn't like a good rogue game?

Supagoof
2008-01-21, 04:45 PM
I use IBM DOS v4.0. I've found that it runs much smoother then the MS DOS 4.0, but has a bit of a lag supporting the DOS Shell interface. Every once in awhile I need to speed it up to run my games. I have found that simply switching over to the commodore 64 gives me all the speed I need. It simply allows me to move through the dot matrix maze much faster. But it lacks the proccessing power to run the programs I need to operate at the same level as everyone else. While the graphic interface on the Apple II is nice, I can only play number munchers so many times before my hands get tired. Though having that 4kb of RAM and 40 colors is state of the art in my eye.

Leper_Kahn
2008-01-21, 06:11 PM
Mac OSX. Woot.

Yeah!!! Sneak rocks even more than he did before now.


Mac's just seem to do that to people.

Trog
2008-01-22, 12:37 AM
Mac OSX baaaaybeeee! :smallcool:

I <4 my white MacBook. :smallbiggrin:

Kellus
2008-01-22, 12:41 AM
Strangely enough, I use a white MacBook with OSX as well. Go team Macintosh! :smallsmile:

Amotis
2008-01-22, 01:34 AM
I've always been a windows boy so right now I'm running Vista. But recently I've dipped my hands into Damn Small Linux (http://damnsmalllinux.org/) which, concept alone, is totally boss.

Vaynor
2008-01-22, 03:51 AM
I'm on a MacBook. Mac OSX for the win, in my opinion.

Last_resort_33
2008-01-22, 04:43 AM
At work I use XP, which is the best OS that Microsoft have ever produced.

At home I have a Vista laptop which I haven't got round to formatting since I bought it, I wanted to see how Vista was (Our clients will probably all switch to it eventually, so if I have to support them I may as well get a head start.)

I have an Ubuntu PC which I use for most things, but I am in the middle of turning it into a [url="www.mythtv.com"]MythTV[url] entertainment centre with HIFI, DVD and obviously web browsing and office via wireless mouse and keyboard on my sofa.

I really like Ubuntu, my only problem with it is lack of game support... and no WINE is not good enough... my ideal setup will be this PC once I've finished the MythTV stuff and got an HDTV, with XP on my laptop. I would have a mac, but only so I could have fun throwing it from a catapult.

bosssmiley
2008-01-22, 02:42 PM
Win XP for work, home and laptop. It does what I need.

Don't dislike Macs, but I dislike Mac fanbois and the stridently 'cooler-than-thou' Mac image
("It's an OS or a gadget, not a lifestyle choice." :smallamused: ).

Linux users are odd and speak to one another in binary
("||||--||--|-|-- |||--|-|||||-|||||" - a Linux geek, yesterday :smalltongue: ).

Carpetkiller
2008-01-22, 05:24 PM
Mac OSX Leopard for the win!

skreweded
2008-01-22, 05:40 PM
If I had my way, I would use a windows machine for gaming, and mac for multimedia, and then a linux box for a hobby.



As of now, im windows all the way. :smalleek:

Sneak
2008-01-22, 06:15 PM
Win XP for work, home and laptop. It does what I need.

Don't dislike Macs, but I dislike Mac fanbois and the stridently 'cooler-than-thou' Mac image
("It's an OS or a gadget, not a lifestyle choice." :smallamused: ).

But you have to admit, it IS a little funny how all the coolest people on the boards use Macs. :smalltongue:

Just kiddin'. I still do think Macs are the best, though. What can I say. :smallsigh:

North
2008-01-22, 06:21 PM
Windows XP for compatibility. Vista is icky.

The Orange Zergling
2008-01-22, 06:26 PM
Windows XP, but I technically am dual-booting with Vista.

Vista... whoever reached into the bowels of hell and pulled that demon out should be strung up and shot.

The Rose Dragon
2008-01-22, 06:32 PM
But you have to admit, it IS a little funny how all the coolest people on the boards use Macs. :smalltongue:

Just kiddin'. I still do think Macs are the best, though. What can I say. :smallsigh:

I am one of the coolest people on the boards?

Nah, that's impossible. I don't have enough experience to be cool. :smalltongue:

valadil
2008-01-22, 07:01 PM
Ubuntu Linux. I've tried all the other major Linux distros and stuck with Ubuntu because its defaults are reasonably close to my uses. I do have a WinXP partition, but it hardly sees use.

I'll probably pick up a Macbook when my current laptop dies, but until then there's no need. OS X is great when you use it regularly, but when you're only using the machine for an hour or two at a time and have to relearn everything it's rather frustrating.

Anyway I prefer Linux because I feel I can do more with it than Windows. I also find it has fewer hoops to jump through. For instance if you have a new installation of windows, it's a huge pain to get cd burning software. It _can_ burn out of the box, but the options are pretty limited. Unless your computer came with burning software you either have to buy or steal something. Whereas in linux cdrecord and infinitely many graphical frontends are available for free.

Furthermore, once you learn the command line it is insanely powerful. You just type what you want to do instead of searching through a menu. It's far more expressive than the point and click interface. Let's say for example that I wanna watch some pr0n. mplayer is my movie player of choice. I want it to be full screen (-f). And I want the audio output (-ao) to be silent (null) so my roommates don't hear. 'mplayer -f -ao null pr0nfile.avi' is all you need to do. No looking through a menu, waiting for media player to launch, finding and adjusting the volume, and going full screen. Yes, memorizing all those options is hard, but once you do you become much more expressive with what you tell your computer to do.

-- addendum --

I actually like having to dual boot to play games. It keeps me from getting distracted! I do a lot of coding projects outside of work and I'd never finish anything if I had counterstrike staring me in the face asking for just a couple of rounds. With dual booting I can boot to windows once, play a while, then head back to linux and not have so many distractions near by. I realize this isn't an intended feature, but it still helps me.

Reinboom
2008-01-22, 07:25 PM
For clean installs of XP, I keep this list:
http://pifro.com/ext/

Sneak
2008-01-22, 07:39 PM
I am one of the coolest people on the boards?

Nah, that's impossible. I don't have enough experience to be cool. :smalltongue:

Actually, I think I'd rank you in the top ten coolest people on the boards.

Nice to meet you, by the way. :P

The Rose Dragon
2008-01-22, 07:44 PM
Has to do with the tongue, doesn't it?

Wish Jade Empire ran on Macs, though. Would spare me the pain of carrying the giant PC in my backpack everywhere I go. :smalltongue:

Mando Knight
2008-01-22, 09:18 PM
Ah well. Mac OSX for life!

Wow. You must be a real Mac die-hard to mean that.:smalltongue: Of course I know you're exaggerating, and you will probably upgrade when they stop calling it OS X.

I've got Vista, and I make it work.

Vista: "I don't wanna run a Microsoft made game from the late 90's!"
Me: "TOO F'N BAD. You're gonna run AoE II like it does on XP, and you're going to like it."
Vista: "Can't we talk it over?"
Me: "How about... no."

Penguinsushi
2008-01-22, 11:30 PM
Wow. You must be a real Mac die-hard to mean that.:smalltongue: Of course I know you're exaggerating, and you will probably upgrade when they stop calling it OS X.

I've got Vista, and I make it work.

Vista: "I don't wanna run a Microsoft made game from the late 90's!"
Me: "TOO F'N BAD. You're gonna run AoE II like it does on XP, and you're going to like it."
Vista: "Can't we talk it over?"
Me: "How about... no."

Hahaha. Funny you should mention that...

My primary machine is my Mac, so OSX. I dual boot Ubuntu and XP on my lappy - but the only time I really boot it into windows is to play AOEII.

~PS

Crispy Dave
2008-01-22, 11:32 PM
windows XP pro

Darth Mario
2008-01-23, 12:28 AM
I'm a lifelong Mac OS user, since 7, though my current computer does also run Ubuntu and I have a Windows machine for gaming. But I prefer Mac.

Jack Squat
2008-01-23, 08:05 AM
Well, my laptop is Vista Ultimate, and at home we've got a mac running OS X, a couple computers running XP Home Edition, one of which is on the to-do list to switch over to Ubuntu, and my computer science lab runs Debian.

I really don't have a preference, although I do like how Windows gets most of the stuff.

Archonic Energy
2008-01-23, 08:53 AM
my new Lappie came with Vista installed.

my Desktop is a dual boot XP/Vista system with Vista as the primary boot option

so i can run DX10 games... though my graphics cards won't support DX10.1.a or whatever it's called (curse you Microsoft!)

oh and my DS runs Linux... when i need a truly portable machine, otherwise it runs Tetris!

Quincunx
2008-01-23, 09:08 AM
*cracks knuckles*

My husband. . .he is a collector.

Here:

Laptops:
MacBook Pro, dual boot OS X/Win XP
Dell Inspiron, Win XP

Towers:
PowerMac G4, OS X
Debian Linux
Win2k3 Professional
WinXP

In storage (I don't even know where any more):

Towers:
Win98
Sun

I've forgotten a tower or two in storage, and one here of dubious platform provenance as it hasn't booted up in 18 months, nor has he done anything interesting with the PSP yet.

Telonius
2008-01-23, 09:15 AM
PC. My poverty, but not my will, consents.

Jalor
2008-01-23, 06:01 PM
Vista, mainly to express my joy at having a computer capable of running it.

Edit: DirectX 10 as well.

Goblin Dan
2008-01-23, 06:07 PM
I think Windows Vista is just a knock-off of Mac OS X 10.

SMEE
2008-01-23, 06:10 PM
I'm running windows 2003 at home and at server. And Windows XP at work.

<3 Windows 2003. It's just too good.

Talya
2008-01-23, 06:14 PM
XP. Mac OSX or leopard just doesn't have the compatibility, and frankly, the "cool" factor is more "yuppie wastefulness on art-deco junk". Dollar for dollar, mac hardware costs almost twice what PC hardware does for the exact same components, and it doesn't "look" any better. If you aren't gungho for the OS, there's no reason to buy the hardware.

Vista blows chunks for performance, and Microsoft moved all the settings around from where I'm used to.

Linux is nice, and the price would be right, if microsoft products actually cost me any money, Linux might see more use. As it is, I've just never had a need for it. I don't want to reboot into a different OS every time I do something different, and it doesn't have the compatibility XP does.

SDF
2008-01-23, 07:12 PM
I run Vista and love it. I think some people are just upset they moved some things around and changed a few settings, but it only took me about two hours of fooling around to set it up how I like and be familiar with it.

BLAHRG! Change bad! SDF smash! *smashes oil lamp setting self on fire* AHH! Fire bad!

My main problems with Macs I have used are the hardwares vector processing capabilities. I think if I were to use OSX I would boot it from a PC. I actually record my music on my friends Macbook Pro with a firepod and if I were to ever get a Mac it would be for that. But I just bought a nice gaming lappy and I've never been happier!

I did come up with an idea for a Mac/PC commercial once.

Mac: Hey PC whacha doin?
PC: Playing a game.
Mac: Really, what game?
PC: Any game.

Oh, and Reina that OpenOffice just made me extremely happy. Now I don't have to shell out $120 for all the M$ apps to write papers and read my profs power point presentations. ^_^

Reinboom
2008-01-23, 07:16 PM
and it doesn't have the compatibility XP does.

It has more so than most people realize. Thank you wine and crossover office.

Talya
2008-01-23, 07:20 PM
It has more so than most people realize. Thank you wine and crossover office.

Compatibility means: Will it run these games?

I mean, office applications are a dime a dozen (cheaper, actually. If you pay a dime, you probably paid too much.) Compatibility means: Will it run every PC game on the market now and in the past that I keep installed?


And no, it doesn't count if you can install XP on the Mac hardware. (I understand Leopard lets you install Windows alongside MacOS.) That means I just paid extra for mac hardware, and the MacOS (which I'll never use), so that I can run the windows apps I need it to run.

While OSX will run a few of the games that I like, for the most part, games are not ported to the Mac. Therefore I have no need of it. Like Linux, I would not see any point to dual booting. I don't want to keep multiple computers in my house. I want a single OS that can do everything. Frankly, only Windows fits that bill.

Penguinsushi
2008-01-23, 11:28 PM
...mac hardware costs almost twice what PC hardware does for the exact same components, and it doesn't "look" any better. If you aren't gungho for the OS, there's no reason to buy the hardware....

Agreed. Completely.

That said, I find OSX to be simpler and more elegant than the windows & linux machines i used to use. So I guess you could say i *am* 'gungho' about it. I don't play many computer games anyway, and I also found that my efficiency at my job nearly doubled when I made the switch.

Also, it's important to note that mac *does* use *nice* components. Yes, you can get the same components for considerably cheaper elsewhere, however, Apple's software is built around the specific hardware they use. Apple's stuff can be considered overpriced in some ways (and this is one beef i do have with it), but ultimately the simple fact that the software and hardware work together and do what they're supposed to is worth the extra cost in my eyes.

Over the last two years I've been using my mac as my primary machine, i've spent almost literally *no* time trying to "fix" things. In that same span, I've spent at many, many hours working on my wife's windows/linux box and friends'/family's computers running either/both of those OS's. When my primary machine was windows/linux, biannual (at least) complete software rebuilds were pretty much the norm.

Maybe I was just unlucky with PC's, or maybe i've been lucky with my Mac - but my experience (and the experience of many others i know) has shown stark contrast in the amount of trouble one have to put up with between the OS's. Though a geek I may be, I do *not* miss having to fight with my computer.

Ultimately, which OS is "best" depends on what you want to do, and, on this forum, it seems to usually come back to one criterion: if you want to play computer games, get a windows machine.

~PS

valadil
2008-01-24, 09:55 AM
Ultimately, which OS is "best" depends on what you want to do, and, on this forum, it seems to usually come back to one criterion: if you want to play computer games, get a windows machine.

~PS

This is true though it depends on how much gaming you want to do. I pretty much only have time to play on weekends. I don't mind booting to windows on friday night and then back to linux on sunday. My use case results in 2 reboots a week (assuming I even bother to game) which really isn't that big of a hassle.

bosssmiley
2008-01-24, 02:52 PM
But you have to admit, it IS a little funny how all the coolest people on the boards use Macs. :smalltongue:

Just kiddin'. I still do think Macs are the best, though. What can I say. :smallsigh:

Ah young Sneakhopper, but you forget the ancient and universal Rule of Cool: "Those who claim it, don't have it." :smallwink:

LCR
2008-01-24, 03:02 PM
I have both a Mac Lepord and a Windows Xp PC. Both have their usefulness. I use the Mac for my gaming, because the gameplay is much smoother. I use the PC for my drawing for things in the Arts and Crafts thread, and I use the internet more on the PC also, because it's faster.

You game on your Mac and you draw on your PC? Never heard of that combination before.

Penguinsushi
2008-01-24, 03:57 PM
yeah, that's pretty much the opposite of what most would suggest...including myself.

~PS

ozymand1as
2008-01-27, 07:21 PM
Linux
distro: Suse 10.3
why?: it pwns all of u

Mee
2008-01-27, 07:34 PM
Mac, windows is slow, clunky, and generally, just, kinda confusing. At least to me.:smallsmile:

zillion ninjas
2008-01-27, 09:06 PM
Linux users are odd and speak to one another in binary
("||||--||--|-|-- |||--|-|||||-|||||" - a Linux geek, yesterday :smalltongue: ).

"There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary, and those who don't." (http://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/10-kinds-of-people.html)

I've been using Ubuntu at home since 2005 (The Hoary Hedgehog! How can you not like an OS with that name?! Of course, I've kept up with the upgrades since then.) and pre-Fedora Red Hat before that. I also play around a bit with DamnSmallLinux and any other Live CD that looks interesting, and I recently installed a Slackware variant on a spare PC so I can learn more about how it all works under the hood. (Ubuntu is a great system to use. Slackware is a great system to learn.)
- a different Linux geek, today :smallbiggrin:

Oh yeah, and my work laptop runs XP - the OS whose name contains its own smiley.

Generic Archer
2008-01-27, 11:12 PM
Windows, XP not the mac rip-off that is Vista.... if i wanted pretty pictures that leave no RAM left over i'd by a TV.
XP also lets me play all the games i want to and just has simpler compatibility with most software
But one thing i will not use is IE, Firefox all the way!!

That said, its not so much the mac OS i have a problem with as the users that its aimed at, people that want a computer with no expandability are welcome to it, but it gets really bad when the computer won't work... because they haven't plugged it in

I've played with linux (red hat and mandrake) but gave up because i couldn't get my wireless network card to talk to the OS

SpiderMew
2008-01-29, 10:41 PM
Im using Vista home basic.

Why, because my last comp that was running windows 98 was having problems, and when my brother got the house cable internet, turns out my computer couldnt talk to the port.
Then it screwd up and couldnt get on dial up anymore.
Realizing it was basicly falling apart, i backed up my important files (artwork, mugen and whatnot) and barrowed the money from my brother and when and got this.
It was normaly $350, but because it was the display computer and the last one and my friend was working that day, i got it for $300.
Its ace's above my last comptuter, but its barebones compared to whats out today.

Aereshaa_the_2nd
2008-01-29, 11:46 PM
1 V$3 1!nvx. 1 m 1337.
But seriously, I'm going to answer all the objections.

Games: I MAKE them.
Simplicity: |\|00|3.
Wireless Compatibility: Wired connections are faster.

Also I like the shell, because it's easier to use apt-get than to search for the right makefile.

Penguinsushi
2008-01-30, 10:46 AM
1 V$3 1!nvx. 1 m 1337.
But seriously, I'm going to answer all the objections.

Games: I MAKE them.
Simplicity: |\|00|3.
Wireless Compatibility: Wired connections are faster.

Also I like the shell, because it's easier to use apt-get than to search for the right makefile.

I remember those days...

You didn't mention a distro. Ever used Ubuntu's package manager programs? (they're basically just a gui front-end to apt) I was skeptical at first, but actually pretty impressed at how well they work...


Just to engage in a bit of devil's advocacy, I'll submit that none of your statements answer any of the objections.

- the fact that you make games doesn't address the desire for other people to play other games

- i'm all for people knowing how their computers work, but simply (ha!) calling someone a 'noob' doesn't mean that they would find the os simpler even if they learned how to use it. (i think the 'simplicity' issue would be better labeled 'intuitiveness' or something) (on an unrelated note, i think you're the first linux user i've known to actually use 'leet speak')

- while wired connections are generally faster and more reliable, that's not always an option (esp with respect to taking laptops places). That said, i've had better luck with wireless compatibility in Ubuntu than in the XP partition on the same machine. When I used Debian, it was a bit tougher though...

...which brings me to...

@ Generic Archer ^: Yeah, that can be a little tricky sometimes - because a lot of wireless card makers *cough*broadcom*cough* don't open-source their firmware - so you have to use a special utility to extract and port the windows stuff to linux. It's really not that hard once you find a good howto.

~PS

Pyro
2008-01-30, 04:41 PM
XP all the way!

Also sometimes Vista, which is mostly fine.

Aereshaa_the_2nd
2008-01-31, 12:19 AM
I remember those days...

You didn't mention a distro. Ever used Ubuntu's package manager programs? (they're basically just a gui front-end to apt) I was skeptical at first, but actually pretty impressed at how well they work...


Just to engage in a bit of devil's advocacy, I'll submit that none of your statements answer any of the objections.

- the fact that you make games doesn't address the desire for other people to play other games

- i'm all for people knowing how their computers work, but simply (ha!) calling someone a 'noob' doesn't mean that they would find the os simpler even if they learned how to use it. (i think the 'simplicity' issue would be better labeled 'intuitiveness' or something) (on an unrelated note, i think you're the first linux user i've known to actually use 'leet speak')
Heh, people sometime tell me off for it at school, and then I say that I'm ALLOWED!! 1 937 2 7yp3 L1k3 7h!5 b3c4u53 1 4c7u4lly kn0uu h0vv 70 pr09r4m!!!
Also, I use ubuntu, but I changed a lot of defaults... Anyway, I think that people who think linux isn't intuitive only think that because they started with windows. My first computer was a redhat linux, heavily modded by my dad. Stuff like cp and gcc come naturally to me. I find windows harder! Also, I wasn't saying that they answer the objections for YOU, I was merely giving my reasons for using linux.


- while wired connections are generally faster and more reliable, that's not always an option (esp with respect to taking laptops places). That said, i've had better luck with wireless compatibility in Ubuntu than in the XP partition on the same machine. When I used Debian, it was a bit tougher though...

...which brings me to...

@ Generic Archer ^: Yeah, that can be a little tricky sometimes - because a lot of wireless card makers *cough*broadcom*cough* don't open-source their firmware - so you have to use a special utility to extract and port the windows stuff to linux. It's really not that hard once you find a good howto.

~PS

Penguinsushi
2008-01-31, 12:25 AM
Also, I use ubuntu, but I changed a lot of defaults... Anyway, I think that people who think linux isn't intuitive only think that because they started with windows. My first computer was a redhat linux, heavily modded by my dad. Stuff like cp and gcc come naturally to me. I find windows harder! [/QUOTE]

Very true - if a bit obvious. I've always held that viewpoint. In a lot of ways unix-based systems make way more intuitive sense than windows' methods. (favorite example: 'home' folders vs. 'my documents'.)


Also, I wasn't saying that they answer the objections for YOU, I was merely giving my reasons for using linux.

Fair enough...

But you don't *have* any such 'objections', therefore you're still not answering them. :smallwink:


ah, semantics... :smallsmile:

~PS

Trazoi
2008-01-31, 02:42 AM
I use all three main families of operating system, but I mainly use Mac OS X when I can. It's a got most of the benefits of Linux through the terminal window without most of the downsides, and I like its GUI more than Windows XP (haven't tried Vista). However I use Ubuntu at the lab and I used to use Windows XP on my desktop PC (just upgraded it to an iMac).

I feel I'm more productive with Mac OS X, and I like its software a bit more. Most of the apps I need are either open source or shareware for Mac, which isn't that pricey to get. The few pieces of pricey software I have run decently on Mac OS (Adobe's Creative Suites, Logic Express).

The main downside of Mac OS X is the lack of games, but if I can get Windows going with Boot Camp or if CrossOver actually works for my legacy games (haven't tried it) then I'll be sweet.

Aereshaa_the_2nd
2008-02-04, 10:47 PM
B7vv, I've never used Mac OS X, can anyone tell me the main features?