OSNews

This is a good opportunity to build confidence in other platforms.

Well, I've been happily using Linux for a year now, no good reasons to switch. Well, excepted maybe for Free/NetBSD.

i agree with ax. i am using os x but at the same time i want to try something new. i am planning to try zeta beos. ydl was great but i always wanted to run beos and this is the right moment.

- 2501

Well, I use LINUX as my main OS, and Im very happy with it, so I dont plan on switching.

I am very intrigued by OSX though, and would probably own a Mac if I could afford it. (this is not a "macs are expensive" thing, I simply have no money right now).

Last November. From Windows 2000 Pro to OS X. I also use Linux and FreeBSD, but my primary computer is an iMac running OS X.

I am very intrigued by OSX though, and would probably own a Mac if I could afford it. (this is not a "macs are expensive" thing, I simply have no money right now).

Are you kidding?! Macs ARE expensive. Everything about them is expensive. They are, -however- different and quite useful, but let's all be honest - they are expensive.

I have no reason to switch. I currently run Slackware as my main OS, and it has suited my needs fine.

HOwever there are a few key applications that require Windblows.
And as far a games... Playstation is ok, xbox is ok, but Yoy cannot beat playing games on a PC!!!!

And almost all of them are still on the Windblows platform.

Besides that... I Love Linux.
I probably would like Mac, but the expensive and limited hardware choices will more than likly keep me from ever trying it, unless the will open up like intel-PC's or I win one.

He never denied the fact that they were expensive, he just said that that's not the reason he's hasn't gotten one, probably so he won't get flamed by a mac zealot.

My main OS's have been OS X and RedHat 9 for a while now (both at home and work, hooah!) and although I still must keep Windows around for my weekend gaming sessions, when the work gets done it's back to my RH9 desktop and 12" PowerBook.

I have debian on my laptop, which I use exclusivly for schoolwork. My home computer, however, while having a constantly changing *nix partition, runs windows, cuz I'm a gamer.

For me, developer, Linux is here to stay. I don't think there's another OS platform that could ,,win me''. (not WinME;-). I will add one system (soon, I hope) -- MorphOS. I love it, too bad I can't run it yet. :-))

Yeah, if they made OSX for Intel boxes I'd buy a copy immediatly. It's too bad they don't.

I switched from Windows to RH Linux about 4 months ago although I still own a Windows machine at home. At work, I took the plunge and moved to Linux - I am the only one though. Thinking about breaking out Linux at home too. Also thinking about Mac but it seems like a lot of mental investment - I think about a lot of things...;-)

Saturday, got definitively rid of my PC and all Windows related CDs. After having run various distros of Linux, FreeBSD (loved that one), and BeOS (great OS; now trying to sell the CD and various apps), I settled on Mac OS X (had already tried it).

I run Mac OS X but I'd love to run PPC Linux on one of those Pegasus Boards.

but I did switch from my Win Laptop to my OS X desktop for my main computing work, and plan on getting a 14 in iBook when my warranty dies on my Laptop. then perhaps a year after than I will get an eMac with DVD-R in it (you simply don't need a DVD-R on a laptop)

I will probably be using Windows 2000 for another couple of years. I've tried Slackware 9.1 out on my desktop, and I got a decent desktop environment going (minimalist though), but it's not as fast as Windows at all. (slow gui and slow program loading) I could only get Quake 3 and America's Army running, too. Unreal Tournament 2003 wouldn't work because the ATI drivers aren't full featured. It's still a bit of a hassle to move/manage files and install programs in linux, compared to Windows (explorer is fast, and there is add/remove; and I'm less likely to screw something up since I'm very familiar with windows, where c:winnt is the only real sensitive directory.)

I'm considering getting a gamecube for gaming, but a lot of great games are coming out for the computer still, and I must play them (ut2004, hl2, doom3). Game performance isn't as good under linux due to driver support.

I'm setting up a linux router soon, which will be a security-fun learning experience as well as a router.

I bring files to school via an ftp.

I think by the time Microsoft has stopped support for Win2k and it really needs the updating, linux will probably be much easier to run.

I have dabled with 4 differnet linux variations (currently, looking at the BSDs), and found them lacking (nothing personal). I run win 2000, and keep it mostly stable (no IE/OE, hardware firewall, stable drivers, etc). I am intrigued by OSX, but without an X86 port, I won't be trying it anytime soon (my realy hobby is building systems hence no Macs, not playing with software). ReactOS looks ok, but does it run on X86? couldnot find information in the brief time I looked at it.

To each his own.

I do not plan to switch. I plan to continue using Red Hat 9 Linux as my main OS. I occasionally use VMWare to boot up Windows 2K in in a window at the same time but most of the time is just use Linux by itself.

Not really planning on switching - Windows 98 works fine as my primary OS, and I keep plenty of alternatives installed. But there are some 'new' OSes I would like to try including WindowsXP, Zeta, Syllable, and OSX.

Best Wishes,
Bob

I just switched to OSX 2 days ago.

ProjectBuilder feels pretty nice. Trying out IB tonight.

Using an OS that "just works" frees you to work on the stuff you really care about (rather than tinkering to get every little thing working).

Man, OSX is nice... so consistent. All the apps seem to use the same keyboard equivalents.

I just switched a couple weeks ago to Mandrake 9.1 and am now happily running XFCE4. I have to run photoshop in Win4Lin though as the codeweavers solution wasn't fast enough for me. But I think I might get an iBook when the new models come out. I want to run photoshop natively and would rather die than go back to Windows.

I bought an iMac a month ago and because I don't really play a lot of games (except warcraft III) I haven't had to boot up my Windows machine since. I wish I hadn't waited so long to switch. I love my iPod also.

I switched from redhat 9.0 to Slackware 9.1 and I love it.

I am never going back to hell (windoze)

W2K, W98, Gentoo, FBSD-5.x; thinking about Dragonfly BSD.

Well, of course, you tried out Slackware. It's not made for newbies. You'd have been better off trying Mandrake or RedHat.

I switched from Windows FP this year and went to a new 1GHZ 17" iMac and also bought an iBook and I love OS X.....It's so much easier to use than Windows. It's very user friendly and I don't have to troubleshoot most of my time because everything works the way it is suppose to. With that said I am sticking with OS X and not looking back.

it is a pleasure to read these posts. for the first time, people are being respectful of other peoples choices. and I think that is true because people are using REAL reasons to pick one over the other!!! OMG, civilization!!!

I have Dual G4 and an XP PC for games and thats the way its gonna stay. I'll be get a PowerBook and a laptop PC for work in a few months.

Well, I have been using FreeBSD as my main desktop and servers for long time by now like three to four years by now. The BlueEyedOS can change my desktop prefer if it is doing very well. If not, then I am looking at DragonFly BSD if the FreeBSD 5.x is turning out that what I don't like or if DragonFly start to get better than FreeBSD 5.x.

...and no I am not going to get Zeta, peroid.

I hope to buy a Powerbook soon, but technically I am not "switching" from anything. I just bought WinXP Pro last week, and use that primarily (I'm a gamer, no real choice). Prior to that I used Win2k.I use Redhat and Gentoo frequently, and want to switch all non-gaming related tasks to my Linux drive.

I don't particularly favor any OS, and I mainly want a Powerbook due to the fact I have never had the chance to use OS X.

I'm mostly off Windows myself, though I have an ACPI laptop that can't run power management with the current linux ACPI code. I'm going to try the 2.6 kernel soon and see if I have better luck.

I doubt I'll ever go back to a Windows machine myself, but my wife probably has one more in her future before I see switching her to OS X. I'm looking at a cheap upgrade machine for her (from a P3/700 to something in the $500 range for another year).

When the new iBooks are announced, I may seriously put one on the shopping list.

But, the sad fact is, I'm currently underemployed and won't be makeing big purchases soon. If I suddenly got a good job, I'd probably spring for two OS X machines and convert the PC hardware I have now to Linux fileservers.

I've been using OS X since it was officially introduced in 2001. Actually, I started using it back in 1999 when it was Rhapsody/OS X Server 1.0.

I'm intruiged by SuSE Linux, and I may install it on my ThinkPad at work just to have something to play around with, but Mac OS X will still be my main system for the foreseeable future. I'm anxiously awaiting my copy of Panther, on pre-order.

I use both Windows 2000 and Mandrake Linux because of applications that you can't have on the other OS and which make life easier. Sometimes FreeBSD but Linux was always more cutting edge with compiled applications.

With the new Apple G5 maybe Apple will drop the price ?? of G4 single processor to a reasonable price. If it happens I will be buying a Mac with OS X.

Anybody who have heard rumors on this price drop is welcome to post ...

I use WinXP Pro about 50% of the time, and Debian the other 50%.
I used to be a Mandrake, then a SuSE user, before switching to Debian, which I truly enjoy. =)

I won't really be switching from Winodws XP. Does everything I need it to without tinkering. At the same time I will be exploring deeper into Linux and Yellowtab Zeta, but Win XP will always be my main.

Right now I use XP Pro.
If Stevie Boy was to ever release OSX for my Athlon hardware,I would probably switch,but hell hasn't froze yet.

After 6 years I left Windows (95 -> 98 -> XP) behind well over a year ago for Linux. Currently using RH9/XD2 for work and playing with Debian/Morphix, Fedora Core and BeOS5 PE in my spare time. I love the stability, cost (I actually paid for RH) and overall speed of Linux and Gnome is definitely my DE of choice but it still manages to annoy me occasionally in little ways with its funny quirks - never enough to go back to Windows though, I often have to fix XP systems and I find myself less and less impressed every time I use it!

I've been really impressed with BeOS - it's a great shame that Be inc. went under. I only started using it about 2 months ago and I can't get much work done with it as the apps just aren't there but I have high hopes for Zeta. I fully intend to purchase R1 when it comes out, and if it's good enough I'll move my main work onto it. If not it'll get installed on my P166 laptop in place of BeOS5 so I can start to learn it in more depth ready for R2.

Other than that I'm looking to buy a cheapish Mac (ebay is my friend!) next year which will run OSX as I've been really impressed with what little I've seen of it so far. A new Mac is out of the question for the foreseeable future but if I could afford a new 15" Powerbook I'd probably end up burning my PCs anyway so it's a good job they're too expensive ;-)

Hmmm...well i switched from windowsxp to debian(Knoppix 3.3) around 3months ago.Right now im intrested in trying out freebsd. Maybe a dualboot.

FreeBSD or bust! My secondary OS is Red Hat, athough that may change to a debian derivative.

I use NetBSD at home and GNU/linux at work.

Not going to switch anytime soon...

... i'd switch to it.

Victor.

If you need stability and performance, use FreeBSD.

If you need to get some work done, use Windows.

If you want to play, use Linux.

Don't buy into the Linux hype...and don't let this site turn into another slashdot.

"If you need stability and performance, use FreeBSD.

If you need to get some work done, use Windows.

If you want to play, use Linux. "

What if you want them all in one OS?

I'm switching back to windows XP Pro from Mac OSX. I'm sick of all the crashes and people wanting me to join weird cults(mac clubs).

I run FreeBSD as my main desktop. Since I develop (well, sortof) I also have a machine running Linux, an ancient SUN and HP/UX each, and for the child in me, I still got a box running Windows in case I feel the urge to play games... The UNIX way, one tool for the task at hand, sortof.

So I voted for 'I am not planning to switch' because, instead, I'm planning on getting a Mac as well...

My main OS is RedHat 8.0. Yes, it is an old model. I want to upgrade but I also want to try Slackware, FreeBSD, Knoppix, and MacOSX. It is like being a kid in a candy store, which do you choose first? If only the Lottery Angels would answer my prayers.

Umm... I left windows so that I _could_ get work done. So i'm confused. What kind of 'work' do you mean?

I have not dual booted in all that time.

The only main problem I have is with games. Half life 2 most likley will not run on Linux. Doom3 and Unreal Tournament 2004 most liley will.

But i need to upgrade my entire system to play these anyway

Most of the games I play are retro anyway and I use emulators for them. They won't run on a modern MS Windows system without emulation either.

My Nvidia Geforce 4 MX440 runs unreal tournament 2003 demo flawlessly.

If I was to change my operating system it would be to one that offered even more scriptability than a Unix one.

No plans to switch...I run about 50/50 Gentoo and WinXP...I'm a student and need a fully functional office suite (sorry, OO.o doesn't cut it at all). Gentoo for normal browsing, unix interaction, and data processing, and WinXP for cd-burning, gaming, and office/photoshop work. One day I won't have to switch back and forth...and that one day will be when I buy a Mac.

I switched to Mac OS X about 2 years ago, when my first child was born. And purchased a 12" PowerBook back in Jul. We are getting ready to move from PowerBuilder to J2EE at work, at which time I hope to move my development team from Dell products to G5 desktops and PowerBooks.

I'd love to switch to BeOS (or at least give it a go), but it just won't run. I've tried R5 and BeOS Max V3. I think it must be something to do with my motherboard (asus p4p800 with intel 865PE chipset). Max won't get past the stage of looking for a BeOS partition (on the CD), and R5 won't do anything except display a blank screen.

Pity, because it never worked properly on my old computer either, so I've never had a chance to actually *use* BeOS...

Linux is used in many mission critical places. Its hardly a "toy". Whether everyone in the world should use it or not is a different story, but LINUX is completly capable of performing under anything you throw at it. Just look at the wide range of places its used.

You could very well be running LINUX right now and not even know it (do you have a Linksys router?).

I recently switched from Linux to OS X. It's great, but I miss having an x86 machine to tool around on. Reccomended, though.

I'm just waiting for Papyrus Office to be able to dump Windows 2k as my main OS finally. It's in late Beta, so not long now.

L4-Hurd within the next year? /me crosses fingers....

I voted no.

But if I ever decided to change to *nix platform it would be to OSX.

Just personal preference.

It would be linux if the following was true:

You know how with fontconfig it handles installing and configuring of fonts by a simple drag and drop into the ~/.fonts directory?

Well if installing linux apps was that simple I would be excited. Now some would mention apt and yum. I like these too, but where the heck are all the good repositories?

i am sticking with good ol' Linux...

Linux

Linux

and...




Linux

>Now some would mention apt and yum. I like these too, but where the heck are all the good repositories?

Uhh... on your local debian mirror?

Off-Topic:

""L4-Hurd within the next year? /me crosses fingers....""

Hurd is never coming, they've missed their window of opportunity to create a viable "free" unix kernel. The history of Hurd development is likely to end up as nothing more than a cautionary tale used by college professors to scare their students into finishing projects :>.

On-Topic:

Not switch as such. I might find a couple more to dump on my hardrive though I like having a variety.

I have a copy of Windows XP Home Edition Sp1. I am a student & use computer mainly for playing games, chatting or browsing. Windows XP supports majority of games & I like it. So I think I will keep it unless I decide to buy a new computer. But then I will surely go for Macintosh. :-)

Hehehe. That's pretty funny. I do my work in Linux. Programming, school papers, etc. When I want to play (currently feeding a Battlefield 1942 addiction) I boot into my Windows partition. Which, by the way, commited suicide a week ago (hal.dll or something is corrupt) and I'm really dreading having to reinstall the thing just to play one game.

from Slackware 9.0 to Slackware 9.1.
I may switch again when 9.2 comes out.
I am so fickle.

Nothing will be able to kick windows out of my system. It does everything I need and want and its so easy. As for those *nix systems.....what can I say...you get what you pay for....

"Macs are expensive"....
On the contrary. Macs may be expensive by a little but in the long run it is much cheaper to own. 7 out of 10 computers in our office are Macs and the Macs hasn't cost a dime to maintain in the last 3 years whereas PC's require constant attention. And yet, Macs do most of the work such as heavy duty graphics and PC's are deligated to doing only emails and word.....

"Are you kidding?! Macs ARE expensive. Everything about them is expensive."

I have to agree to an extent (The consumer line is very expensive, thanks to the G4); The Dual 2Ghz G5 is WAYYYYY cheaper than a similarly configured PC box.

I only recently have started to make the money I would need to update my systems. But the one platform I truely wish to aquire is Apple's Mac OS X. Preferably on a portable system. I want something that is easy to use, but allows me to fiddle with a powerful underbelly when the mood hits me.

With linux and the other unicies, I have learned how to do the config's by hand, and to get my work done at a command prompt. I know it is powerfull, but I also enjoy working in a GUI that works. KDE/GNOME are really moving forward well, I admit, but Apple has most interfaces whipped.

I still have to admin that using KDE on linux with 3 monitors is a great way to work with a computer, but If I get a mac, and it is a desktop, I will probably dual boot linux on it, and try to go with at least 2 if not more monitors.( I cannot work with 1 for any length of time anymore, the first thing I did when I got my new job was ask for a second monitor, and they said sure... heh )

Anyway...
Enjoy!

I've been running mostly MDK 9.0 and 9.1 for the past year (with a little bit of SuSE 8.2), but I'm planning on switching to FreeBSD sometime soon since (1) I want to try a source-based os that optimizes itself to my arch, (2) I've heard a lot of good stuff about FreeBSD's performance, namely its reliability, and (3) I'm too scared to try gentoo without help, while my roomate is a FreeBSD master. Once I get my feet wet with FreeBSD, I might switch back to linux once I hear some good stuff on the 2.6 kernal and Reiser4.

I'm running windows xp and ark linux.
No problems with xp whatsoever, and only minor problems with ark (doesn't like usb stuff).
I've been really curious about openbsd, i might switch one of the linux servers at work to openbsd to check it out.

Switched my 2nd box from XP to Gentoo Linux last summer, i'm totally Windows-free now. It feels great! And it thinks and works great, too. Also, MSN will be gone wednesday, since i'm not gonna team up that cat & mouse game. Besides WINE and possibly ReactOS, that would be my last MS software.

Out of interest i test various other OSes every once in a while as long as they can be downloaded legally for free (ie. no Windows) and as long as i find free time.

Finally, i help people switching their OS to Linux or switching their software to free software and help with problems one might experience. Great fun! Writing documents around this is also a hobby of mine.

Btw, nice to see so many people beeing interested in a free software OS )

>Now some would mention apt and yum. I like these too, but where the heck are all the good repositories?

Yes, http://www.apt-get.org
Or you make them yourself. Some programs like MPlayer allow this for you.
And finally, switching to Sarge (testing) or Sid (unstable) gives you more packages, but mind you, that these 2 distributions are less tested and therefore weird problems will earlier occur. Want rock-stability? Use Woody.

"And finally, switching to Sarge (testing) or Sid (unstable) gives you more packages, but mind you, that these 2 distributions are less tested and therefore weird problems will earlier occur."

Id give an HD install of Knoppix 3.3 a try. Its very stable, has more packages, and includes the 2.4.22 kernel.

I'll stick with Windows XP till one of the Linux distro steps up an add's good wireless support. Right now, it's a big pain in the butt to setup. And performance is choppy at best once you do get it working correctly.

It seems like everyone just did their switching within the past month or two. I'm a member of that crowd myself. I switched from Linux to FreeBSD about 2 months ago. I absolutely love it!

i have been going true the different other os the do have a certain potential and here is my point of view explaining why i will stay with winxp.
no1: i like to play game and as long as most game are made first for win then il stick with win and that is true for most gammer
no2: most common application(office,adobe,etc....) are more easy to obtain for pc.
no3: i do understand that most software are ported or have equivalent for the alternative os that you are running but having to download it from the internet as a iso and then burn it to a cd is not as easy as it seem to be for mister and miss anybody (mostly if you have a 56k connection).also try to find a store that carry tons of linux software....
no4: here is where linux hits point over macos as long as those G? ppc machine stay that expensive the general public will stay with pc
no5:here is where macos hits point over linux EASE OF USE, linux is sometime akward to use but its getting there slowly one kernel version at a time....
no5: the advantage of linux over its two competitor is price(with price starting at o$ who can ask for more)
no6:windows ahhhhhhhhh windows in my point of view the bigest problem with this os is its self centered approche to os building(but at the same time it may be what its making it so strong)but macos is not much better
no7: mac os should definnetly be ported to x86 this would in fact siriously give a huge blow to win supremacy as the os of choice for x86 machine(then again that is my point of view i can be wrong)linux would not suffer from it but would not gain either from it....
etc,etc,etc............................

That's interesting. In Gentoo, my configuration was limited to emerging one package and editing /etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts to set my network name. After that, all I had to do was set the wireless interface to get an IP via DHCP. Overall, it took all of a few minutes. And the connection has been rock-solid for several months.

PS> I did, however, have very similar problems when I originally tried wireless support. Apparently, the problem was the result of immature pcmcia scripts and a driver incorrectly detecting my card's chipset. Both the problems resolved themselves a few weeks after my first try due to updated software.

Oh yes, Debian-based distro's work very well there's also Gnoppix, which is about the same as Knoppix, but centralized around GNOME instead of KDE.

"Right now, it's a big pain in the butt to setup. And performance is choppy at best once you do get it working correctly."

Can you state more thoroughly what you found hard? Which part of the setup? Did you got stuck, if so, where have you been stuck? What were the performance problems about? What have you done to fix it? Which documentations have you read? Where have you consulted for help?

You're only stating your conclusions here. Me not saying your conclusions are irrelevant, but it's pretty blurry without the analysis.

It should be noted i've got no experience with WiFi at all currently, but i'm interested. I do know a group who do WiFi and Linux setup very well, which in contrast to your findings make me wonder!

OS/2 has been my primary desktop since 1993 (I switched back and forth between OS/2 2.0 and Windows 3.1 + WinTools for a year or so until the OS/2 2.1 release, which made WinOS2 compatible with Windows 3.1 and thus good enough for me to use fulltime), and it still does what I want. It shares files just fine with my Windows boxes and with my Linux boxes running Samba, it burns CDs for me and plays both music and the shoutcast radio stations I listen to from time to time, it supports the basic applications I need for my day to day tasks, and it has an X server (actually two: XFree86 and Hummingbird Exceed) and a VNC client to enable me to run Linux or Windows software from one of my fileservers if I really need to use something from another platform..

I've also used Linux for many years (since the SLS 0.9x days), partially as a learning tool, but mainly as a firewall OS and as the OS on my fileservers, and it's also a very good secondary desktop OS where I can play around with newer open source software and keep tabs on where various Linux distros are going.

I've also used Windows for years (far too may years, since I started with Windows 2.1 back in 1988), and my desire to play the various multiplayer games found only on Windows keeps at least two or three Windows installations on my LAN. My wife is also used to using Windows at her workplace, so I keep it installed on her boxes as well.

She and I each have a KVM switch. Why? So we can switch to the environment that best fits our needs with the flick of a button (or a couple of keystrokes).

All in all, I like where I am. OS/2 is a comfortable place to use as a desktop focus, Linux is the up-and-coming second platform (and primary server platform), and Windows is still around to fill in the entertainment holes present in the other platforms. No switching for me yet. Maybe in a few years when the Linux desktop finally catches up. :-)

I currently, and have for the past few years, use Mac OS X as my primary OS. Besides my Macs, I have a PC with WinXP for gaming and Mandrake 9.2. I'd also like to play with other Linux distros and maybe Zeta and other more obscure OS's.

I only know a little about Linux from OS X, so I thought I'd dive deeper by installing it native. I'm still confused by all of the distrobutions, but I can't say I really like Mandrake. KDE and Gnome both get the job done, but there not very good yet. Still a long way to go! KDE is clunky and complicated and not very user friendly. I don't mind more configuring than a Mac, but not much more than a PC. It's still almost impossible for a non-geek to use Linux. I mean, just installing programs is a pain!

I tried to switch from WinXP to Linux 3 times on my desktop (my server has always been Linux), the experience has been getting better each time. And this time I get it on my notebook, so and it is working nicely.

Of course there are problems:
1- Hardware support is not perfect, like I can't put my laptop into sleep mode when I close the lid.
2- There are not many commercial desktop applications for Linux. Of course this is good and bad. Good thing is that I dont have to spend too much on software, the bad thing is some applications are just not that great.
3- Most games will not run.
4- I still didn't have time to figure out how to sync my pocketpc with Linux...

But I think I will keep this Linux installation on my notebook. Also I have been thinking of going OSX, but I just can't quite justisfy the cost of it yet.

Using Linux is harder than using Windows or Mac, I won't argue that. However, installing programs is not a source of difficulty. The 'urpmi' tool in Mandrake is lightyears ahead of anything Win or Mac offer in the install department.

I've been a long time windows user. I work in 3d graphics (Maya). Been on platforms such as Irix and Win2k mainly for that, however lately been experiementing with linux. Tried the SuSE live as well as RH9 and I must say i'm quite impressed. They arent lacking all too much and I think the community should be commended for what they are doing. I also tried out OSX and was quite impressed and happy with the state of that OS. The price of the hardware has now hit my price/performace ratio and I think I'm ready to take such a plunge. Its reaching the state where these platforms are ready for consumers. Sure, the games aren't there yet, but that is due to the lack of users. If everyone takes the leap of faith, the apps and games will follow the masses.

I used to dual boot win2k and mandrake 9.0 I've since traded mandrake for red hat then gentoo then debian and finally for freebsd. I find it more responsive and much more stable than mandrake and I like the ports system better than both apt and portage and as for red hat...well it's red hat
If you are considering linux, I would urge you to consider a bsd as well, I'm much happier for it.

Can't take this shit any longer, Microsofts attitude, all the patches, fixes and security holes. Later this year I will replace my PC with a PowerMac loaded with Mac OS X (Panther hopefully), already got an iBook. I feel free

I've gor 3 machines with 4 different OS (Win XP, Red Hat Linux, QNX and BeOS . They are working well together. I'm using them each day for the best they can give in their own domain. And I'm happy like this. Anyway, it will be better if I can turn off my Win Machine (wich is the most powerfull of all, but the less performant), but for the moment, for many things, I can't do without

I am in the process of switching from RedHat Linux to Slackware Linux.

"but for the moment, for many things, I can't do without "

Care to elaborate?

The OS does not matter.
OpenOffice for serious office applications
Mozilla for Browsing, Mail, Contacts and Calendar
gvim for text editing and programming.
ssh and vnc for connecting to other platform.

All of this products run on most of the platform I'm using: Linux RH, Windows 2000, FreeBSD and OpenBSD (Even thougth I'm not running X on OpenBSD, I know it works). If the application is cross-platform, the os does not matter.


... well except for security. :-)

OS X Problem #1 is OpenOffice. My wife and I have used OpenOffice for several years and cannot do without it. Mac version due 2006...that is just too late.

I only wish I could see the poll...

Anyway I am sitting here impatiently awaiting my new PowerBook arriving. Over the last few years I've tried a number of OS in my search for a replacement for Windows. Although I am increasingly concerned at the increase in MS' restrictive practices, my main gripe with Windows has always been that it is so boring and utilitarian. From the very first Windows 95 machine I set up it has underwhelmed me.

The closest thing I have come to OS nirvana has without a doubt been BeOS with all its shortcomings. This was never a viable contender as an OS to be used on its own given the limitations such as no USB support, no film scanner, no online banking, no connection to an iPod.

Linux feels good politically but has been a bugger to set up on my hardware and frankly I don't have the time. When it works, it works! Compared to BeOS it will run a great range of software and really comes close to being the one. I always felt it was unduly gothic and labyrinthine but my recent encounters with Libranet and all things Debian have somewhat softened that view.

Having tried FreeBSD, I found it a very elegant OS compared to Linux but nowhere near as polished. Again, as with Linux it feels right politically but (for me) is not a long-term desktop solution.

All of this seemd to naturally lead me towards OS X. BSD-derived (so still quite geeky), a company that (to some extent) 'gets' the opensource message, a wide range of software and cutting-edge industrial design that everyone in the industry follows. The cost of course is an issue but you are not buying generic components in a beige box there!

I have switched from WinXP to Redhat 9 with Ximian Desktop 2 and everything works great. for the windows programms i need (macromedia flash f.e) i use win4lin - although i haven't really used it recently, however it feels good to know that i can run a view windows applications if i have to. i tried Suse 8.2 before but had real problems with my wireless. I also used Debian and KDE, but the packages were too old. eventually i think i would like to switch back to debian (their package-management is just awesome imho), however i would want to use unstable because of their more up to date packages and that is the problem - i am not sure how stable an uptodate gnome 2.4 would be in debian unstable - any experiences ???

I made the switch about a year ago, from Linux to Windows XP. Linux is still playing catch-up, and XP has just widened that gap. XP is stable and rock solid and has the apps that I need.

Linux is still for servers and the programmers, but not for people who have work to do. There is nothing on Linux, free or commercial to match:

1) Cinema 4D for 3D graphics
2) PhotoShop for 2D graphics
3) Flash, 3DFA, SWiSHmax, Swift3D for Flash
4) Cubase or Cakewalk for MIDI and audio
5) Freehand or Illustrator for vector graphics
6) Quark or Indesign for print

I've followed Freshmeat regularly and all people seem to be working on are new mail programs, new window managers and new media players.

I did think of switching to Mac, but then I'd have to buy all my software again.

Yes, I'm actually switching to WinXP (from NetBSD). The reason is mainly integrated multimedia (I can't find anything about the status of tv-out with Linux, also Redhat boots slow as a dog and I don't want to roll-my-own anymore, so no BSD, Debian, etc.).
Maybe I'll try Zeta, though, I simply _loved_ BeOS.

I hope someone will create a fast-booting deaktop Linux distro (with Gnome).
Currently XP is the fastest usable OS I know (tried OS X 10.2 on an iMac 800, slooooow).

My main OS is now Slackware 9.1, & i'm loving it...
Also there's WinXP somewhere in my drive...
I tried Mandrake [from 7.1 to 9.2RC] And RedHat [from 7.x to 9] then i tried FreeBSD [4.7] (Haven't seen 5.x, is it good ?)

Then Slackware 9.0, but i found it mmm- buggy
And finally Slackware 9.1... Slacking around.... recompiling things... tuning .. d;)

I'll try Zeta thou...

About the Apps:

What more would you need?
U can find EVERYTHING [IMO] on Linux...

Games ? THere's many ports,
And there's wine/winex

I'm now playing CS,UT2003[port],Quake[PORT],War3,Diablo2,GTA:VC etc...

I have planning to switch from Windows to AmigaOne

"Linux is still for servers and the programmers, but not for people who have work to do. There is nothing on Linux, free or commercial to match:"

Then i shouldn't run it, because i'm not a much of a programmer and run it on a desktop as well. I'm not the only one who doesn't fit in your tiny ''description''.

Also, people use Linux for desktop purpose but different then the one's you state.

2) PhotoShop for 2D graphics -> GIMP is both free speech & beer; Photoshop is neither. If you understand GIMP, you can do a lot nice things with it. Especially the new 1.4 release will have a lot good improvements.

If you want to pay that much $ for PhotoShop, then you can still run it on Linux with WINE. In fact, Walt Disney has done exactly this and done professional things with it. In short: Fallacy.

4) Cubase or Cakewalk for MIDI and audio -> Search and find, and you'll find very good and nice MIDI and MOD stuff, especially when using ALSA. What would this be: "zynaddsubfx is a opensource software synthesizer capable of making a countless number of instruments, from some common heared from expensive hardware to interesting sounds that you'll boost to an amazing universe of sounds."

The other programs i don't know, so i can't comment on these. If you think it's impossible to play with sound, video, or graphics with Linux, you're very wrong. XP also doesn't include these apps you state for free (speech and beer).

I'd recommend dyne:bolic, a Linux Live CD, for the purpose of playing with audio/video/graphics since it's very user-friendly: http://www.dynebolic.org but it's not as complete as say a full blown distribution.

"I've followed Freshmeat regularly and all people seem to be working on are new mail programs, new window managers and new media players."

Yeah right. So i go to FM, and click on the most above project:

"Coefficient 0.8
by Dylan Etkin - Tuesday, October 14th 2003 00:45 PDT

About: Coefficient is a project-based collaboration platform. It provides basic collaboration tools such as discussion forums, file uploads, news, tasks, and voting as hot deployable modules in a themeable presentation layer. In addition, it provides a workflow engine to help guide projects through their development cycles. All of this functionality is provided through a themeable Web interface."

Wow, you're right, that's about either "new mail programs, new window managers and new media players". All people are working on the things you describe, any other programs do NOT exist nor aren't they developed! Also, WM's are for servers! They never run on desktop machine's, they aren't used for such purpose.

You know what a kernel is, or a compiler? Nobody is working on that, according to you? Are you trolling or just closed minded? geez... if you want to use XP, fine, your choice, but go spread lies somewhere else, will ya?

I could not display the poll using galeon on linux at home. An hour later, I tried at work with Firebird on Windows and the poll is there.

Am I the only one having trouble ?

"The reason is mainly integrated multimedia (I can't find anything about the status of tv-out with Linux"

Which graphic card do you have on that box? Where have you searched already? Where have you asked for help? Have you even searched RedHat's mailinglists for this? I got tv-in and tv-out working on Linux (Debian and Gentoo), piece of cake, though i never got either properly working on any other OS. Probably my fault, btw.

"also Redhat boots slow as a dog and I don't want to roll-my-own anymore so no BSD, Debian, etc.)."

What's ''roll-my-own''? NetBSD is afaik the most DIY-BSD, which is quite the opposite of say XP. Also, have you investigated why it boots slowly? Are you starting up too many services when booting up?

"Maybe I'll try Zeta, though, I simply _loved_ BeOS."

You can currently use for example BeOS Max v3. And, eventually, try to port some GPL apps to BeOS.

"I hope someone will create a fast-booting deaktop Linux distro (with Gnome)."

As Live CD you can try GNOPPIX. It won't hurt your HDD. Keep in mind running from CD is slower than from HDD. It's based on KNOPPIX, but focusses on GNOME rather than KDE.

"I could not display the poll using galeon on linux at home. An hour later, I tried at work with Firebird on Windows and the poll is there.

Am I the only one having trouble ?"

It works when i go to
http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=4809
Firebird 0.6.x @ Linux

I can't vote? Is the voting closed already?

I checked osnews maybe 12 hours ago, and then there was no poll... and when I checked there was this poll and some other new articles... Why can't I vote? I only see the results...

I use Mozilla Firebird, with JavaScript enabled...

I've switched to Win2K after using BeOS and Linux for years.

Then I've switched to Win 2003. And now I'm using FreeBSD 4.8 more and more and eagerly waiting for FreeBSD 5 to go production.

Win 2003 rules the desktop imho, no crashes whatsoever, but FreeBSD is stable, slick and fast (compared to Linux).

Hi!

I'm Linux user from any years ago, no M$ in my $HOME =)
But i'm thinking to switch to Mac OS X.
My history: SunOS->Linux->OSX =) ¡Windows Sucks!

(excuse me formy tiny english, so i'm spanish)

I was switching to BSD/Linux for a long time and this year finally migrated to BSD for developement, networking, writing documentation etc. I dual boot WinXP for multimedia and other family members.

My experience with: Linux - nice, but I don't wanna get into licencing traps. BSD - free, raw, consistent, faster, easier to maintain, good documentation, harder to set up but no strings attached.

I'm done with switching for now.

From Dos all the way to Win95, to Linux, to BeOS, to OS X and now FreeBSD with WIndows XP when I feel like it. Can't complain at the moment, finally everything works just as I want it to.

Currently I'm stuck with XP, just because I work with it and there are loads of interesting videogames, so I do my personal stuff on it.
But I love BeOS, and since Zeta _will_ be a new BeOS, I will get it. And OpenBeOS after it.

(please note that it is almost eight years I'm trying to use Linux, but I just don't like it)

Well, I use Server 2003 (stable as a rock) for my everyday stuff, but I'm a huge fan of BeOS, MDK and Lyc (although less of the latter two). I've tried out several other as well, ranging form FreeBSD to QNX (wonderfull suprise BTW, QNX).

Oh, I'm forgetting my soon-to-enter my top 3: SkyOS!

I'm switching from Linux (used for more than a year without touching Windows) to Windows XP.

Not because I like Windows that much, but things I'm interested in have changed lately and those things cannot be done using Linux.
(at least, not as easy as it can be using Windows)

Also, I don't really care about this whole OS-war anymore.
I just want to get the job (and hobby) done, and I really don't mind anymore if that's using Linux, Windows, OS/2 or BeOS.

I switched to Apple in July of this year and OS X is the best desktop OS I have ever used. I also have FreeBSD running on two boxes, one a desktop and the other a server. I ordered OpenBSD that I'm going to use for a firewall and I'm also thinking about trying it as a desktop as well.

"If everyone takes the leap of faith, the apps and games will follow the masses."

Yeah, I heard the same lines some years ago in reference to BeOS. I guess you know how well that went.

I haven't switched yet, but soon I'll switch from Mandrake Linux to Mac OS X, as soon as I can afford a iBook.

I have been toying with Mac OS X in some of my friends Macs, and it feels great. I mean, does all that Linux can do and has a better graphical environment.

But Linux rules on the server side. Maybe BSD.

Switched from BeOS to MacOSX a year ago, and recently resurrected my BeOS Machine.
I only keep my BeOS/Windows around to:
· Chat/Share on BeShare
· Submit Tax Return with Australian Tax Office (WinME)
· Test CD-Rs for Compatability (I'm yet to master MacOSX "Disk Copy" with truely Multi-Platform CD-Rs, and can't afford Toast ATM)

I might resurrect my old Linux Box as a File-Server. Have to get a new Case & PSU for it...

I'm Swiching from windows XP to a dual booting Solaris 10 Mandrake 9.2 machine.
Later on I'll get a AmigaOne-light to run OS4,
which will then be my main OS.

Dpi wrote:

2) PhotoShop for 2D graphics -> GIMP is both free speech & beer; Photoshop is neither. If you understand GIMP, you can do a lot nice things with it. Especially the new 1.4 release will have a lot good improvements.

If you want to pay that much $ for PhotoShop, then you can still run it on Linux with WINE. In fact, Walt Disney has done exactly this and done professional things with it. In short: Fallacy.

4) Cubase or Cakewalk for MIDI and audio -> Search and find, and you'll find very good and nice MIDI and MOD stuff, especially when using ALSA. What would this be: "zynaddsubfx is a opensource software synthesizer capable of making a countless number of instruments, from some common heared from expensive hardware to interesting sounds that you'll boost to an amazing universe of sounds."

I wish people would stop saying GIMP is as good as Photoshop. Its support of colour spaces is crap to non-existant.

Zynaddsubfx and other pieces of software are NOT Cakewalk or Cubase and would not be used in production of professional quality audio.

Also you took my comment about "only working on email clients and media players" too far, it's called Hyperbole - exaturating a truth. The truth being that there are a lot of people spending time re-inventing the wheel rather than getting involved filling the gaps in the apps.

I am a full-time GNU/Linux user and I am very satisfied with the platform. However, I think that OS X has the best things of several worlds (Unix compatibility, brilliant GUI, good cooperation with other systems, supported by hardware manufacturers). Since my laptop needs replacing and Apple makes damn good notebooks, I am saving up money for buying an iBook or PowerBook. However, this will not replace my Linux desktop machine, so it won't really be switching.

MorphOS 1.4 !!!!!!!!!! Great OS !!!!!! And 6 months ago
I switched to Mac OSX ... better than any Windows !!!!!

``Are you kidding?! Macs ARE expensive. Everything about them is expensive. They are, -however- different and quite useful, but let's all be honest - they are expensive.''

It is true that you can't own a new Mac as cheaply as you can own a new x86 PC, but that's not all there's to it. Macs are high quality machines, and Apple puts a lot of effort in ensuring that everything Just Works. I also wouldn't be surprised if Apple machines outlived cheaper PCs of comparable performance. The dual G5 PowerMac has a very good price/performance ratio, and both looks and sounds nicer than current high-performance x86 PCs. iBooks and PowerBooks have impressive battery life; I am hard pressed to find any x86 offering with comparable battery life that is cheaper. Of course, aestetics and battery life may not matter to you. It depends on your criteria.

Apart from the quality of the hardware, there is what you can do with it. Non-Apple computers can't run MacOS X, which is a great operating system providing compatibility with the ubiquitious MicroSoft applications on the one hand, and a horde of open-source software on the other, as well as providing a unique GUI that can match any competing product in both aestatics and usability. OS X seamlessly integrates with Windows, Mac, and Unix networks, sometimes easier than the native systems. On the other hand, Macs can't run the whole slew of games that come out for Windows, and OS X doesn't provide some of the features of Linux (e.g. ReiserFS). Again, it depends on your criteria.

In conclusion, I think the whole Mac vs. PC debate (and many similar ones) are mostly futile. Different people have different needs. What's best for me may not be what's best for you, and no single solution is best for everyone. I just wish more people realized this, so that maybe one day people can use whatever system works best for them in the workplace, instead of being hampered by the deployment of platform-specific features. Realizing the support cost of heterogenous networks I think this is just a pipe dream, though...

``Now some would mention apt and yum. I like these too, but where the heck are all the good repositories?''

ROFLMAO

What about debian.org makes it not a good repository?

I am not switching to anything. I am using Windows XP as a full time OS and I am very happy with it. I use Linux for fun. I really do try to like Linux as much as I like Windows but it just doesn't do it for me. Don't let my comments hurt anyone's feelings. For some people, Linux or any other OS works the best, for me it's Windows but I am an OS enthusiast -- I like trying new OSes and see what they have to offer. Once I find anything close enough to Windows perhaps I will swicth. I am used to Windows and the only thing to make me swicth to another OS is an OS that gives the feeling of using Windows or similar. That's why whenever I use KDE on Linux, I try to make it as Windowish as possible.

I have seen there is a lot of happy XP users, saying that XP is rock solid, stable, etc. When I installed XP, I thought it was fantastic. 15 mn after, after having installed the lightweight word processor I needed to work, I began to think: hey! This is Windows after all. The word processor would only run on the root account, which made me delete my user account (easiest than anything else) 10 mn after having created it! I know, maybe it was not because of the OS.

While I stay with an overall positive experience of XP, I began to see funny things. I couldn't say in what order my startup items would start, it was different every day. Some day, an explorer window would appear without scrollbars, showing only a third of a folder, or a cancel button would not appear in a save dialog box. And it was taking more and more time to boot. And there was no known virus on the machine. Then I would see an assistant I had never heard of insisting (about every 3 mn) to get rid of what it called useless icons on my desktop. After I clicked 2 times to stop the annoying thing my mouse freezed. The next reboot the loging screen freezed (no mouse, no keyboard, no cursor blinking). That was its last day.

I never saw anything that funny with Linux, BeOS, FreeBSD or NetBSD. I have yet to see it with OS X, an OS that always crashes, if I believe one of the posters.

Am just switching to OSX on a Powerbook; partly to let
me work with a particular client more easily.

The rest of the logic is that one laptop runs Unix,
Windows (if I get Virtual PC) and Mac software; all
without rebooting.

Still missing that second mouse button ....

A

I haven't read all the comments, so I'm sorry if this is a repeat...

The poll could be taken to support Windows because it doesn't ask what OS you are currently using It only asks if you are going to switch. Since this is a techie website, and the handful of comments I did read were by satisfied OSX and Linux users, the majority of answers will prob'ly be "I'm not switching". Then, the polsters get the data and say, "Well, the majority of computers run Windows, and the majority of answers was 'not switching', so the majority of people must like Windows."

How can you guage anything with this poll? How do you define the main OS? Does the poll assume that the main OS is currently Windows? If that's not the case then I'd have to select that I will not be changing my OS, however it will not be accurate because not everyone would realize that since it's not worded very well.

I migrated from DOS/Windows (95->Xp), over Linux (various distro's: Debian, SuSe, Slackware, Redhat, Mandrake,...) and FreeBSD to OpenBSD, which I've been happily using for quite a while now.

From time to time I also play around with Linux, Free/NetBSD, Solaris, HP-UX and soon, IRIX. I probably won't swith to any of these, but I do enjoy the experience.

The only times that I still use Windows is when I have to fix someone else's Windows pc, so I hardly ever see a Windows box in good working condition. Most of the time they're messed up pretty bad

switched to OSX through me buying an iBook. And i'm impressed. After years of Windows (like 13 years i think) and quite some time under Linux i finally found an OS i really love. It's sexy, it's good the Unix underpinnings i always lounged for, it's got the application support i needed (flash, photoshop, logic, cubase, reason) and it's got a great usability. i don't know why but i'm kinda more productive on OSX.

so, my main machine is still a 1600XP Runnin XP and MDK, but i'm currently saving up for a G5 and i'll probably do a 100% switch in about 6 months.
and i can't wait to do so. (though i'll probably install OSX and Linux on the G5)

I have a dual boot setup. (w2k/gentoo) I really want to use linux more, but I don't because instead of getting stuff done, I spend all my time playing 'janitor' trying to get stuff working.

System updates are painful too. Gentoos emerge system works wonderfully most of the time, but having to update configuration files is just a users nightmare.

I installed the dual boot saying to myself, that once Gentoo linux worked better than w2k, I'd change for good. Six months after that day still seems to be just beyond the rainbow...

FYI, you don't need to dual-boot to Linux to run KDE. The latest XFree86 (and the past few versions, too) can be run using the Quartz libraries, so you can have Mac OS X and KDE running side-by-side. You can also run rootless, allowing you to have Aqua windows and KWM (or whatever) windows on the same display surfaces. As long as the applications you need don't *require* a Linux distribution specifically (in which case, they probably require an 80x86 Linux distribution), you should be able to compile the apps if necessary. There are plenty of screenshots on the web from happy people showing various KWM/Sawfish/MetaCity windows side-by-side with Mac OS X ones - usually applications such as Word/Excel/PowerPoint or Photoshop, for added measure ;-)

I'm in the "not planning to switch" category. Love running Jaguar, and looking forward to getting Panther soon. Throw in a bit of NT 5.1 and YellowDog, and I'm happy =)

[x] I'm planning to switch to Linux 2.6.0
[x] my main-OS is Linux 2.4.22

I'm going for bust: dual-G5, new 12" PB and new 17" PB. Should be really fun. I was on Win2k until it borked. Now on Mandrake. My main box is a home-brew Dual-PII 200.

I am planning on purchaseing SuSE v9. I own a Compaq x1000 series laptop. I need to be able to use the built in wifi and the built in internet. Does anyone know if SuSE v9 will support this?

I need to use the built-in Ethernet as well as the built-in wifi. I use a standard connection at home and the wifi at work. With Win XP I can switch between the two connection types without a problem. Is this possible with SuSE?

Have very recently made the switch to apple and I must say the OS X is impressive. Being a UNIX admin from way back you have got to love such a slick GUI that can still run all of your unix utils on at the same time.

I'm currently using XP, mainly. But I plan to switch once Longhorn is introduced with all its "Trusted Computing" components and XP is no longer fully supported by MS. At that point I'll probably switch to some flavour of Linux that does not have TC incorporated or that at least allows the user to fully configure it for his or her needs.

I guess the mane reason I'm still using XP is so that I can still play the latest games. But as I seem to be loosing interest in games this is no longer an issue.

From Mandrake 9.1 to somthing else...

Mandrake 9.2 :-)

MarkP

I would like to see a poll about which OS is being used. My guess is around 70% of OS News readers use Linux.

I like FreeBSD. Never was disapointed with it. I don't do dual boot.

I use MDK 9.1 for all my work (which is internet research, text processing, etc.) I think every OS has advantages and disadvantages, and althouhg I'm in love with Linux and Unix, I must accept that there are some lackings... Maybe WinXP or 2K is better for those people who don't like fighting with the computer and like gaming a lot. I don't care about gaming, and I love to take risks... and now I'm sticked to any Unix OS...

Well, I began to use Linux in 1997, I think. the fisrt Linux I used was Red Hat 5.0... That was difficult to configure... Some time later appeared better software (KDE desktop, for example), Linux improved and I began to use it as my only operating system in my home computer to do everything... Some moths ago I tryed FreeBSD... I was so impressed that it is my only operating system now. What I most like is the pkg systems. No more libs problems!!!

In the past years I tried Solaris x86, Unixware, BeOS, Windows (of course) and some others. Definetely FreeBSD or Linux are the best options. But I am sure any BSD derivate is good and I'd like Solaris x86 to have more drivers for the x86 platform... otherwise it is always difficult to use it.

The other night I went to use my laptop for something and during the boot process I got a blue screen that said something like "Could not mount boot volume".

That was the last straw. Knoppix Linux read the volume just fine and quickly copied the important files off onto an external firewire hard drive in preparation to format and finally make the switch. I've been using Linux exclusively on my other computer for a while now, but was waiting for kernel 2.6 before switching the laptop in order get software suspend. Guess I'll have to do without that feature for a while.

"If you need stability and performance, use FreeBSD.

If you need to get some work done, use Windows.

If you want to play, use Linux. "

There is always at least one...

I'll bite...besides gaming, which is changing with UT2K3 running natively, as well as Doom 3 will be released with a linux binary, not to mention RTCW, etc..what can't be done on Linux? This is a serious question since I have not found anything I usually work on not available. The things I do consist of writing web pages, playing games, editing images, burning CD's and DVD's, do design work for electronics, as well as the usual office documents.

And no I am not a "Zealot", as I still run windows as well, just pretty much for the gaming only anymore.

Are you kidding?! Macs ARE expensive. Everything about them is expensive. They are, -however- different and quite useful, but let's all be honest - they are expensive.

LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL!

Oh lordy, I almost fell off my seat with such a laugh. Thanks for that. You know, I had a really bad day until you bought up that classic comment.

Seriously, anyone who can't afford AUS$1899 for a community must be living on skidrow and have a card board box as a house. Either that or they've never heard of saving up money. I put $100 away per-week, after around 4-5months, I had the cash and I was happy once I purchased it.

Maybe the US education system should introduce "school banking" to teach people how to save up money, like the good old days. I am sure your grandparents will be able to tell you of the good old days.

"Seriously, anyone who can't afford AUS$1899 for a community must be living on skidrow and have a card board box as a house. Either that or they've never heard of saving up money. I put $100 away per-week, after around 4-5months, I had the cash and I was happy once I purchased it."

My friend, we don't all have rich daddies who give us $100 per week to save. Some of us actually work for our money-- and if you are 18/19 yrs old like me, and you are a student, it's impossible to save E100 a week without destroying your social life.

Or doesn't your social life matter to you

Face it, a Mac is expensive. But it is worth every penny though, I presume.

As a long-time Wintel user (starting with 8086 PC's in 1983), I just recently (3 weeks ago) bought a 17" wide-screen iMac and I'm having more fun than I've had in the past 10 years computing. I just got tired of chasing down virii, email trojans, and buggy software -- I just wanted something that works. After buying the iMac, it was apparent to me that Apple puts more thought into the PACKAGING of their machine than most manufacturers put into their machines.

Apparently you need to get on the clue train - a large number of students graduate college with _debt_. Putting even $50 away a week is a real trick for many students.

Just because mommy and daddy aren't paying for their schooling doesn't mean they don't know how to save money.

-Erwos

Hi,
just wanted to say I'm a XP user and .NET programmer with basic Linux knowledge. Most likely I won't buy Longhorn when it comes out because I like open source and I'm a open source developer myself but I will stay with XP for a few years and then switch to a open source OS. What keeps me away is the lack of programs, what I would miss on Linux because I don't know equivalents: a IDE like VisualStudio 2003 or SharpDevelop, RAD IDE in general (I hope the Linux folks here know what RAD means, it means Rapid Application Development, something that can't be achieved with C/C++) AviSynth, VirtualDubMod, Namo WebEditor or Dreamweaver, mp3DirectCut, NoteTab Light, PhotoImpact, The Godfather, TrayBackup and Zoom Player.
What's also bad is it's hard to choose between a desktop environment, GUI toolkit etc. In the past I did some bad descisions. I don't want to do a bad descision again by choosing a wrong OS, destop environment, GUI toolkit or whatever so I say with the things I'm currently using until I'm sure I'm right

I use BeOS as my main OS, with SuSE Linux as a secondary OS. While I like Linux, it seems every time I want to install something different I run into Dependency Hell, or somebody that thinks I want to compile his/her app. - yeah, right. I've ordered Zeta, and hope to use it as my main OS in the future.

"While I like Linux, it seems every time I want to install something different I run into Dependency Hell"

this is also something what keeps me away from Linux but probably most OS aren't optimal in installing and deinstalling software, I consider Linux one of the worst

Apparently you need to get on the clue train - a large number of students graduate college with _debt_. Putting even $50 away a week is a real trick for many students.

Just because mommy and daddy aren't paying for their schooling doesn't mean they don't know how to save money.

Funny, and I paid my way through University by WORKING and SAVING. I put aside a social life, "experimentation" and getting pissed on the weekends for a little short term pain.

I *SAVED* *MY* money for 2 years. Working in a crappy job, saving every penny. After 2 crummy and crappy years I then went to university and used the money I saved to pay for the course and books I required.

The problem with people like you sunshine, is you expect the whole world to give you a hand out because you happen to be in the luckly 24.7% who happen to think that going to university is your god given right.

How about instead of being a whining student, why don't you realise that there are the other 60% of the population carrying the can for your university education.

As for my parents financial status, my parents aren't wealthy but they *COULD* have put me through university, but they didn't. *MY* old man didn't want be to be born with a silver spoon and expected me to work my way through university. I did it, and now I feel that I have achieved some thing.

I received a free & legitamate copy of WinXP and had it running on my home computer for 6 months. 3 days ago I installed RH9, not dual booting, it's RH only. I couldn't be happier. The Evolution Summary page blows the doors off Outlook. Weather, slasdot stories, etc. It's great. I've got a bunch of new audio tools like ALSA, Grip, Xmms and they work! Mozilla is very nice too.

I'm a Systems Analyst supporting Windows '95 to XP at work. So you could say that I really know my way around Windows. I've never been happy with Windows. Windows XP sucks less, is the best way I can describe XP.

I've used lots of different OSs over the years. I used to be a big OS/2 fan. I've tried Linux (I also have a Lindows computer - NON ROOT USER) as a second computer. But after seeing Mac OS X and playing around with it for awhile and reading everything about BSD UNIX (actually I knew about BSD UNIX before) and seeing the much better interface than Windows (including the Dock which I for one really like), I went and bought an 800mhz iMac Lamp last year. And I've never regretted one second of it.

I still have a Windows computer at home. I haven't turned it on once this year. When I'm not using my Mac (because my wife is using it), I resort to the Lindows 4.0 (NON ROOT USER) computer. For Linux systems, I like Lindows (NOT ROOT USER) better than the other distros out there. I don't mind paying for a good user experience.

"While I like Linux, it seems every time I want to install something different I run into Dependency Hell"

Dependancy hell is an OLD problem that has been SOLVED! I use Mandrake and ArkLinux, both RPM based distrobutions, and they there is no dependcany hell!. Other distrobutions have squashed it as well, SuSE has, Debian has, Gentoo has, and others have too. The only distrobution that I know that still has the dependancy hell problem is RedHat, and even that is being solved with the Fedora project.

I received a free & legitamate copy of WinXP and had it running on my home computer for 6 months. 3 days ago I installed RH9, not dual booting, it's RH only. I couldn't be happier. The Evolution Summary page blows the doors off Outlook. Weather, slasdot stories, etc. It's great. I've got a bunch of new audio tools like ALSA, Grip, Xmms and they work! Mozilla is very nice too.

That sounds like a good convert story Red Hat could use ;-)

I've been tracking Fedora and it will be a great disitribution once it has stablised and released.

I made the switch about a year ago, from Linux to Windows XP. Linux is still playing catch-up, and XP has just widened that gap. XP is stable and rock solid and has the apps that I need.

Linux is still for servers and the programmers, but not for people who have work to do. There is nothing on Linux, free or commercial to match:

1) Cinema 4D for 3D graphics
2) PhotoShop for 2D graphics
3) Flash, 3DFA, SWiSHmax, Swift3D for Flash
4) Cubase or Cakewalk for MIDI and audio
5) Freehand or Illustrator for vector graphics
6) Quark or Indesign for print

I've followed Freshmeat regularly and all people seem to be working on are new mail programs, new window managers and new media players.

I did think of switching to Mac, but then I'd have to buy all my software again.

I'm going to agree. I was dual booting between WindowsME and Mandrake. I hated ME because it frequently crashed, so I was thinking of switching full time to Mandrake Linux. Then I needed some software that required XP, so I bought it. XP hasn't crashed on me once since I bought it. On occaision on Mandrake Linux, Gnome or KDE would freeze up, with no way for me to recover other than a hard reboot.

I still dual boot between XP and Linux, however I won't be switching to Linux full time until the window managers stabalize.

I plan on switching back to Windows CE as my primary OS pretty soon. WinCE itself is a means to run Dynapad, my OE.

Im just a poor 20 something working at a call center but have aquired many computers. my network has 2 macs 1 older imac with os x 10.2.8 a G4 with the same OS , a Xbox running gentoo linux and PC, with windows xp linux and beos max edition on them. honestly none of them are perfect. My mac G4 was my main system but the HD on it just gave up and no longet receives power for some reson, im usering my XP as a main box till i get a new large drive for my mac witch i curently have put a old xbox 7.5 gig harddrive in just to tide it over. Now as far as the topic goes, i prefer mac os / Beos easy of use and unix based, Zeta looks awsome but i wont buy it till i get to try it. also what happened to Beos on PPC architecture, it died after os 4, too bad. someone needs to breath some life into it. im not complaining about OS X but if their was a alternative user freindly OS for the mac not made by apple i bet it would force apple to come up with better ideas

I have A SuSE linux personal 8.1/Win2k, Windows just for this game I play.

"The poll could be taken to support Windows because it doesn't ask what OS you are currently using It only asks if you are going to switch. Since this is a techie website, and the handful of comments I did read were by satisfied OSX and Linux users, the majority of answers will prob'ly be "I'm not switching". Then, the polsters get the data and say, "Well, the majority of computers run Windows, and the majority of answers was 'not switching', so the majority of people must like Windows.""

Well, the majority of computers run Windows? Who says that's the case on this site? Who says that's the case on readers of this poll? Hard to say, ain't it?

Oh well, don't use polls on the internet for statistics, cause that's always biased. Proxies, shells, doubles, 2-or-more-people-at-1-static-IP, and much more!

Using computers to vote just doesn't wor. Have you checked the fraud stories in California? (:

I'm happy with my OS/2 and BeOS setup thanks. I'll be staying with it, and my nice old hardware. No need to upgrade anything for any reason so far.

Err.. what do you peeps are actually thinking you are talking about when saying "lightyears"..? Time or distance?! Usually, one would mean so say that something is ahead loong way time-wise, but lightyears are a measurement for distance, not time...

Dreft gaat lichtjaren langer mee dan andere afwasmiddelen.

For the rest I use mostly FreeBSD 5.1, and sometimes W2K for Transport Tycoon and Texas Instruments Interactive, which we need for school.

Using: Primarily BeOS, Windows XP Pro for IE, and Syllable for pleasure&pain. Soon to try: Zeta, Linux 2.6, Cosmoe/Linux, BlueEyedOS/Linux. Longterm interest: OpenBeOS, Linux, DragonFly BSD

Currently coding for BeOS/OpenBeOS and Syllable.

Windows is Windows, Linux is a mess, MacOS X is a pretty mess I can't afford, BeOS is niche, BSD isn't evolving as fast as Linux. It's frustrating really. :-]

What's also bad is it's hard to choose between a desktop environment, GUI toolkit etc. In the past I did some bad descisions. I don't want to do a bad descision again by choosing a wrong OS, destop environment, GUI toolkit or whatever so I say with the things I'm currently using until I'm sure I'm right

Who told You that tale?
One _does_ _not_ have to choose between GUI-TK or DE!
It's just normal to use e.g. a Gnome-App. under KDE.
Everybody has several GUI-toolkits installed on his box.
They _do_ _not_ influence each other!

I've used windows forever now and I'm finally moving everything I do to FreeBSD. Its fast and I like the licensing scheme. Now that I got OpenOffice 1.1 to compile on FreeBSD 5.1, I only need windows for gaming... unless I somehow got winex to work.

I'm using XP and Suse 8.2 at home and all kinds of windows versions at my "steady" job and sometimes I boot up knoppix on a laptop just to have my own office at work. If I could run a widely exepted video edit program like final cut pro or avid on linux I would. I'm not a gamer so I only use windows to edit video and to learn Avid Xpress. If I were rich I'd put xtra money into open source, I love it and loving it more each new version of linux comes out. Mind u i'm just a simple user not a compiler or config file typist

I run 4 machines here, all with multiple OSes. One is a triple
boot machine for my son. He runs Linux (Debian), Windows 2000
and 98. He uses Windows 2000 for his school work, and newer
Windows games. Windows 98 steps forward when he wants to play
legacy type games (the early Command and Conquer series, for
example). Linux is for games and e-mail. That's right, games
and e-mail. He is having a blast checking them out, and there
is a certain innocence in a lot of them I find refreshing. As
for the e-mail, I insisted on it. I got tired of the multiple
threats to Windows. I have taken good precautions, got hit
with multiple virii, but never got infected. With Linux
running the e-mail, one huge infection route is closed. He may
move his school work to Linux when I get his Palm to synch
with Linux, and I install test to speech software. Right now,
things are working well.

My daughter boots Windows 2000 and Linux (Debian, again). Like
her brother, she plays games on both OSes, but spends most of
her time on Linux, as she does her school work there. Linux
also handles Web browsing and e-mail.

My laptop dual boots Linux and Windows 2000. Windows 98 runs
with the help of Win4Lin. Because of Win4Lin, I almost never
dual boot. As for games, it's a Transmeta machine, so nothing
heavy duty.

We have another machine called the server. It dual boots Windows 2000 and Linux (again Debian). Other machines save their data to it. They also back up to it (the server has a lot of drives). I have set up the file shares so that they look identical in Windows and Linux. Backups seem to go 30-50% faster when the server runs Linux.

The server also serves as my photo processing machine, with its two scanners tethered to it. I know XSane runs the Canon flatbed, but have not tried to get the Polaroid film scanner to run. I use Vuescan under Windows, and may switch to Linux. If I do, I will try some processing with Cinepaint.

Debian is at its best when it comes to maintaining the OS and all the software that comes with it. To my mind, KDE has pulled ahead of XP's and 2000's desktop. Windows maintains a big edge when it comes to software availability. Still, I suspect 2000 will be my last Windows OS.

Some 18 months ago I switched to Linux after getting a new laptop with Windows XP installed.

I had a few ups and downs with it to begin with, running Redhat 7.2 and KDE 2.2

Now I'm on Mandrake 9.0 with KDE 3.0 and it works like a dream. Unlike Windows I feel I just have more control over the OS and know what is going on. I also feel a lot less patronised.

I'm mostly looking forward to the point in the future (hmmm, maybe 2 years or so?) where I will get the chance to install KDE 4.1. Should be interesting.

Finally feel Linux will do everything I want it to so switching both my systems full time over to Red Hat 9, well kinda, going to keep a 15GB partition for WinXP just so I can play games now and then (ie: Half Life 2)

Well ive been running debian as my main os for about 3months ever since winxp crapped out on me.

Personallly i love linux. I finally got all my favorite games to work: UT/UT2k3, ET, Simcity4k, Starcraft, GTA4, The sims, etc. Also im now able to run my favorite win apps: Photoshop 7, IE 6.0(lol i need it for acouple of sites), and trillian.

For anyone who hasent tried out a linux distro in a while, I would seriously consider giving one of the new ones a try. They have come so far!!!

I currently run IRIX as my main Os, but as an old Amiga/Commodore Fan, I have an irresistable urge to get Morphos and a Pegasos. So even if I don't like Morphos like I think I will, I can still run Qnx, Linux, and BSD on the Pegasos...Cool computing with a few options for a change...:)

I recently bought a little G3 iMac which runs OSX, just to play around with OSX... and although my main system is winXP on P3 box, I find myself gravitating to the slower iMac. As a result of my tinkering with OSX on slow hardware, I have decided I need to run OSX as my main system, with hardware to back it up. So by Jan 04 I will be switch completely to OSX; I'll be Buying a Dual G4 w/ panther. I'd go a G5 but Im a student.
OSX really is a stunning OS. I find it hard to fathom why I didnt switch sooner

A common English expression is "Product X is miles ahead of its competition," meaning Product X is much better.

A light-year is many orders of magnitude longer than a mile (which travels approximately 186,000 miles/second), so the phrase "Product X is light years ahead of its competition" is sometimes used to indicate that Product X is so far ahead of its competitors that it isn't even in the same solar system. :-)