Eero Ahonen <aer### [at] removethiszbxtnetinvalid> wrote:
> moppel wrote:
> > 
> > You're right, that's a couple of years ago. It was even before Ubuntu. However,
> > I'm actually happy with Vista. Never had trouble with it. 

> Then I really think you should stick with Vista. It's not that some
> system would be perfection and above all others, but they fit to
> different uses and different users.

  I find it a bit unselttling how people talk about the two OSes like
they were completely equivalent choices. You either choose one or the
other (or both), like it was just like that.

  People seem to be forgetting one important difference: Windows is a
commercial product, and not even a cheap one. It costs a fair amount of
money. It's definitely *not* a completely equal choice whether you use
Windows or Linux. If you prefer Windows, you'll have to handle a significant
amount of money to get it. (I assume that moppel is using a legit version
of Windows. I can't even begin to express my utter contempt at the hypocrisy
of people who dare to hype some software they are using illegally, without
paying its authors the money they deserve.)

  Not only that, but every new version of Windows has to be bought at full
price (and, as far as I can remember, each new version has been way more
expensive than the previous version). Microsoft (as well as most software
companies) drops support for old versions of their OSes eventually, so if
you want to stick to Windows and get security updates etc, you will be forced
to pay them the money from time to time. This is especially so now that MS
is urging their next version of Windows sooner than anyone expected.

  And it's not only the monetary price you are paying. By using Windows
you are submitting to whatever Microsoft wishes to put in their user
license agreement. For example, Microsoft has not *yet* added strict
DRM restrictions to Windows, but they still have it planned for the
near future. You *will* be forced to submit to the draconian DRM system
if you want to keep your Windows up-to-date to the latest security patches
etc. You will have no choice. (Well, you have a choice: Never update Windows
again, leaving you open to any security holes discovered in the future.)
And DRM is certainly not the only draconian measurement Microsoft has
imposed, and will impose, on its users.

  Linux, being free, and being developer by its users, has a rather different
philosophy. Linux does not drive the interests of companies nor proprietary
technology. Linux drives the interests of its creators: The users themselves.
It just doesn't make sense to impose any draconian limits in Linux, and thus
you don't need to worry about them.

  And of couse with Linux you don't have to pay some company a large amount
of money each other year to keep your system up-to-date.

> > The one thing I still
> > miss is Linux' shell scripting capabilities. 

> http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/
> http://cygwin.com/

> IMO 2 must-haves on Windows-box, at least makes my work a lot easier.

  OTOH, no matter what you do, you will never get the same level of
integration between the system and those tools as in Linux.

  moppel complained about the hassle of always configuring Linux, while
Windows is easy. Rather ironically, once I have had my system running,
I feel the exact opposite: Almost any time I need something new, it's
often a couple of clicks away in Linux, while in Windows it can be a real
hassle, sometimes so much that it's way too much work for me to bother.

  Example: If I need, let's say, the gtkgl development libraries for
some program I making, and they are not in my system, I don't have to
think. I launch "install software", enter "gtkgl" in the search box,
choose the gtkgl-devel package and click "ok". That's it. The libraries
have been installed and I can use them. I don't know where they have been
installed nor do I actually care. It just works.
  I only wish these things were that easy in Windows.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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