[Zarkon]

Red Hat,

May I suggest you do what I do. I have a quick change drive nest in my computer installed as the C drive slot.

I have an additional drive for shared data. Rather than dual booting I shut down pull my C drive out and insert a different drive. Poof new machine. the drives are cheap. and the swappable nest/bay is about 30 dollars and the additional drive enclosures are about 12 bucks. Its fast and painless. :^0

If you are like me you have a few older drives around so for under 50 you effectively get another computer. Linux has a smaller appetite!B-)

[humblejerome]

No ERRORS ! (hehehe !)

[Phineas]

No need for special equipment (although I do wish I had hotswap-able drives). You just need two free Lin softwares: QEMU & VMWare (Player, though Server would work), and a valid Windows install CD / DVD. ...and these instructions:
http://ubuntuforums....ead.php?t=84275
Only start Windows when you want it, then shut it down w/out ever having to restart the machine. I'm down to 1 Win software w/ no loss in functionality or compatibility. When that 1 software requires Vista, I'll abandon it and Windows completely.
For my next trick, I'll be installing OSX Leopard on another virtual drive, at which time I'll be able to run all three OSs (and their softwares) simultaneously.
Kinda puts an end to the Mac vs. Windows debate in my house, anyway.
Vin?
P.S. Anyone who wants a list of Linux equivalents of Win-based softwares, let me know.

[jonnymason]

In my every day use of Vista the only problems I have encountered are some small incompatibility issues with Sonic and Microsoft SQL 2000. Other than that it is with out a doubt the most stable system I have ever used. I enjoy being able to search for anything under the start menu and miss it when using XP. And to compare Vista to ME is like comparing apples to oranges no where near the same in the troubles department. It seems to me if you have a problem with a program every day uninstall it and the problem is taken care of.

[fmorriso]

I love the discussions about Ubuntu as an alternative to Windows (XP or Vista). I even 'repaved' an old (4 years old) Sony laptop with 'Gutsy Gibbon' (7.10). It's cute and runs well. When I can edit Excel and Word 2003 documents without losing even 1% of them under free Ubuntu-compatible software, I'll switch over entirely. Until then, I, like many other people who work for companies that use Windows at work, will continue to use Windows at home, if for no other reason to not have to make the mental switch every night (from Windows to Ubuntu) and every morning (back to Windows). Life is too short to clutter up my day with such efforts. Let the market determine Ubuntu's fate, even if the (technologically speaking) superior product doesn't win. Remember how Betamax lost to VHS even though technically, Betamax was superior to VHS? It turned out those rascally consumers only cared about the amount of time they could record, which was always a bit longer on VHS than Betamax.

[Cheddarhead]

Your points are well-taken and largely valid. I do - respectfully - take minor issue with your VHS vs Betamax argument: it implies Ubuntu et al are "superior" to Vista (and/or Windows.) You'd have a hard time proving it in court, so to speak.

I won't re-route this discussion with a boring saga (too many of them already here???!!!) except to say that VHS killed Betamax for SEVERAL legitimate reasons. That is was better than VHS was - and remains to this day - an argument that cannot be won. I suspect Ubuntu, Linux and all the other up-and-comers are nothing more than Betamaxes of the future. Only time will tell...

[fmorriso]

Serves me right for trying to squeeze everything into 1000 characters. ;

I did not wish to imply that Ubuntu is superior to Windows (pick your flavor). That remains the subject of vigorous debate. I even failed to mention other contenders like Apple's Leopard, just to name one.

What I do wish to say is that, like it or not, the market has a strange (funny anyone?) way of selecting the 'winner' among competing products, sometimes based upon reasons that may not always include technical superiority.

[JimmyDahGeek]

Yes and if you need to partition yor hard drive and NOT lose data you can use the open source software GParted. It works really well.

[Zeroday]

"no one is impressed in vista" wow, what an incredible statement to make. More than half of the people that hate vista has never tried the OS. i recall that when XP came out i had to shell out more moolah for the hardware, stop whinning and complaining about that. When will you ever find a new MAC for 500?

And Pc world your continous bash on vista is a great way to attract more traffic, i would do the same except for all the annoying pop-ups trying to get me to purchase ur magazine prevent me from doing so, go figure, PC world sucks now!!!

[rkinne01]

You're kidding me right? Xp easily has the ugliest looking graphics!

[Jackie40d]

I ran across a few links to make the Windblows people jump ! ! So this way you can even run your MS stuff inside of LINUX

HOW TO: Install Windows XP/2000 in VMWare Player - Ubuntu Forums

http://ubuntuforums....ead.php?t=84275


Guide to VMware on Breezy Preview. - Ubuntu Forums


http://ubuntuforums....ead.php?t=65638


Its the same in all versions of Linux Lets you run the MS O/S inside of it . . and what ever soft ware you need to run AND never SEE the BSD Thats for those not Computer knowledge-able Means "Blue Screen of Death !" Which if it comes up you have a stupid Problem with Windblows MS software or O/S ! . . Some driver or hardware did not like WindBlows as a O/S ! . . . I also added Code Weavers Pro to run a lot of stuff so I do not have to even start windows . .

[Jackie40d]

My Acer Laptop WAS "VISTA" for about oh maybe 45 seconds before I shut it down ( inserted a Linux Mandriva i586 2007 DVD ) in the DVD drive and restarted the laptop . . Took maybe 35 minutes to be up and running plus added Code Weavers Pro to it and then added Quicken You know I have not had a problem with files getting lost of the program having problems since then . . Its why 1 time a week I had to back up Quicken files when I ran windBlows . . JUST in case of a weird problem . . And as of Jan., 1 2008 I will say good by to Windows never to look back again ! ! They have a 64 bit O/S in Linux if you want to go that way . . I would put a link in here to show off the stuff in Linux but it would make the MS crowd very jealous . .

[Jackie40d]

You need to try a Live CD for a bit ! ! Most have a LIVE CD PCLinuxOS is a good one to try and so is Unbuntu and then to really have a fast computer download Puppy Linux ISO 2.16 and the computer you have will really scream . . Puppy you can load into a ThumbDrive and run the computer from it

AND it has games Open source programs and see's almost EVERY thing thats out there ! ! I added it to a OLD LAPTOP 486 vintage with a whopping 16 megs of memory and it ran faster under that than the Windows 98 SE that came on it and had 4 plus megs of memory to run stuff on and that is running it LIVE CD version of it after install it ran like a scaled cat . . Had great color too and IT found the OLD Sound card and installed it found the OLD modem installed it found the PCMCIA slot and installed it plus the USB ports and the D-Link port NO NEED to download drivers . . Even had a opening screen like windows did . . But the people wanted to have Windows 98 SE . . so I dug up a ISO of it and installed it for them . . They put Win 2K on it and wondered why it was so slow . . and almost froze up had a tiny 4 gig drive and I increased it to 30 gig drive ! ! Now they can run a lot of things beside Windows 98 SE . . Had to go to HP and download DRIVERS for Windows though OLD Compaq Laptop drivers WOW what a hassle . . Should have charged them a lot more for the problems it was to get running . .

[rgreen4]

Actually your Betamax vs VHS is a very good analogy. I was duped into going with Beta at first because the CW said it was better. It was just that the tapes in VHS were longer, the standard Beta tape I believe, if my memory of 20+ years ago is right, that the standard tape was 110 minutes, just 10 min short of being able to record a 2 hr program. DUH! Then there was a series coming on that I wanted to record. I lived in Lynchburg, VA at the time, and there were many places to buy tapes - VHS that is, but only a few carried Beta's, and not many of them. I would up at Sears, came home with a VHS machine and a dozen tapes - never looked back.
What all the proponents of Linux don't tell you is that while it works great if you connect to the internet with wire and don't want to interchange with any other style machines, wireless can be a real hassle. After buying the discs and installing it on an HP laptop and trying for three hours to get it to connect to my router, if found out from the Linux forum it doesn't support Broadcom wireless chips. DUH! That knocks out a lot of laptops, and laptops are more popular now than desktops. Then reading further found out it doesn't play well with Linksys wireless cards either - Double DUH!
Tried it on a wired desktop, connected to the internet through the router just fine, saw all my other machines on the network including my NAS, but it would not access any of the shares on any machine. Nor would it read the NTFS drives in the same machine. Then found convoluted instructions on entering terminal and entering a lot of text commands so it would read the files. I gave up - I had already spend way to much time trying to get this "simple, easy" OS to work.

Me thinks they would rather keep it a Techie's Toy. If they want people to take it seriously as an OS, they have to play in the sandbox that's already in place, not over in the playground corner by themselves.

I went back to XP on the laptop, it works, it connects, it reads all the files on all the shares and the wireless works. Went back to Vista on the desktop, it's stable, connects to all the network devices, reads all my NTFS files, it's stable, and works with all my periphials except my ancient twain scanner, since replacedwith a wireless AIO multi-function printer. Besides, from the time I first inserted the DVD, it was up an running, connected to my network and seeing all my devices in less than an hour.

Betamax failed because it has limited support and was not responsive to the market. It failed in the marketplace and the last nail in the coffin came when Sony went to VHS, just in time for DVD's to come out. Linux won't have that fate because it's not a commercial enterprise. That will keep it around, but until it becomes commercially viable, it will never be a real success, because it doesn't have the support mechanism. Then there is the confusion of which of the Baskin's Robbins 31 flavors of Linux to use.

[diboudest]

From what I understand, Beta had a slightly better resolution than did VHS, but was limited to 60 minutes of recording time at the onset, and was significantly more expensive than VHS (Especially when you consider that a movie would take up multiple cassettes!) Over time, the maximum recording time of beta increased, but only by sacrificing some of quality, at which point there was no reason not to use VHS anyway..
As for Windows vs. Linux... I'll never use Windows at home, but use what works for you.

[RedRat]

I had an original Betamax machine back in the late 70s. They recorded in a so-called 1x mode. Each tape could hold only 60minutes. Then Betamax II came out and allowed you to record 2 hours, but the quality was still pretty good, certainly better than VHS. Sony came out with a slightly longer cartridge, the 750 which gave you a bit more time. The problem was that the tape cartridges were pretty expensive compared to VHS cartridges.

In my opinion, in the end, quality was for practical purposes a push between the two systems, with Beta having a slight edge on VHS. What really did in Beta was the cost of the machines. When the first Betamax players came out, the cost nearly $1,000 (remember this was back in the late 70s and this was a lot of money. The first VHS recorders cost half that. This difference in cost continued throughout the so-called battle of formats. Sony felt that people would pay for 1) better quality, and 2) the Sony name brand. They were wrong on both counts.

But what might have put the last nail in the coffin was that Sony was adverse to licensing Beta for Porn films! Video rental shops had separate rooms set aside for porn and they were all VHS tapes. Sony, only very belatedly allowed some porn films to be sold in Beta (and I think this was really an under the table agreement in that Sony probably just looked the other way). But by that time, it was far too late.

BTW, one advantage that some of the early Beta machines had was that you could go rent you favorite movie on VHS and copy it directly to Beta even with Macrovision copy protection. But then when Sony got into the movie business, that went away very quickly and so did Betamax!

[fmorriso]

I too had trouble getting Ubuntu (originally Fiesty Fawn - 7.04, now 7.10) to work with the built-in 802.11g on the old Sony laptop that I repaved. To be fair, my network is 'closed' (it don't broadcast SSID, uses WPA/TKIP), which most likely prevented any default/automatic wireless network discovery. Here's what finally worked for me:
# Boot with the Ubuntu "Live CD"
# Use the Network tool to manually join a wireless network (supply SSID and WAP key)
# Install Ubuntu to hard drive
Until I figured out that I had to set up the wireless network stuff while booted via the Live CD, it drove me nuts. The only clue I got was that part of the install to hard drive option kept giving me a warning that it was unable to connect to the internet to download patches. I thought setting up the network stuff while booted via the Live CD was a waste of time because it would be lost, but to my amazement, it wasn't.

I was probably lulled into a false sense of security about how easy installing Ubunto to a physical machine would be because when I installed Ubuntu to a VM created using VMWare Workstation 6.0.1 (supports creating Ubuntu 7.04 VM's) it found the (virtual) network that the VM was sharing (via NAT) with the host laptop. I later realized that what Ubuntu 'discovered' was the virtual 'wired connection', not the real wireless network.

Maybe when I retire (not all that many years from now), I'll spend more time learning Ubuntu. Maybe I'll create a new edition (Old Geezers Ubuntu?) to compete with Ubuntu Satanic, Ubuntu Christian, etc. By default, Old Geezers Ubuntu will install with a default of 24-point font so you can read the screen without reading glasses. OK, so maybe it'll be like going back to the days of 40-column video cards, but hey, it's worth a shot.

[RedRat]

Hey when you set up that Ubuntu for Geezers sign me up. I am retired and am now having time to work on Linux. I especially like your idea of 24 pt fonts!!! Great idea!

[Pikachu]

Yesss! I feel vindicated. I suspected rather early on that Vista would not be an improvement over XP, and said as much to colleagues and friends.
That drew much critizism - I was a backslider, a stick-in-the-mud etc.

When I asked these critics if they could explain to me why each new Widows version must require major, costly upgrades as far as memory, (sometimes) processor and just generally require more resources than previous versions they would come back with something like: "it's in the nature of technological progress, learn to live with it".
Well, this backslider is not, and I won't upgrade 'til the better OS comes along.
If Linux, for example, had a bigger following and thus, the incentive was there for software companies to write software and drivers for it, there's no doubt but that I would go for Linux.

Jon L. Jacobi - you speak the truth, my Faithful Indian Companion. That's courageous.

[Jackie40d]

As soon as I had heard about LONGHORN now "VISTA" I had the thought of another Patch and fix thing as they had not finished the fix's and patches for XP yet ! !

So it was going to be another gob of patches and fixes to take on and then the problems of hardware and software began to come out . . I sat here and LMAO . . . .

My Present computer is NOW 64 bit able but it cost me too, but I am selling my OLDER mother board and CPU ( 3.0 gigahertz Intel 478 pin P4 ) and put 1 gig of ram ( PC-3400 DDR ) in it and a dual layer light scribe DVD / CD burner and a 100 gig drive for around $125.00 ! ! More if they want the older flat panel 15 inch LCD monitor. .( Price has come down on them I got a 20 inch for the same price as what I paid for my 15 inch ) This will make up for the cost of using one of the new Motherboards I put in computers NOW and added another gig of ram and a 3.4 gigahertz Socket 775 Intel P4 to it and one of the 16 X PCIe 256 meg DDR2 video cards . . Makes it really fast and I do video's and other graphic's too have a ton of stuff on YouTube at the following www.youtube.com/jackie40d They are the happenings which the groups I belong to are doing to send the Illegal Alien Invaders back to where they come from


I made and sold one computer which had the entire 4 gig filled plus the socket 775 Intel P4 and it was really fast like done when you push the key ! . . . . I can't have one out there faster than mine ! . .