operating systems

[Sgt. Pate]

Hey Bear,

What about software?

The last time I ventured into MAC Land, I had to replace all my software and it was a lot more expensive and with less choices than PC software.  Has that changed at all?  I have a ton of PC software I'd hate to lose! 

[SonOfKrypton]

Pate, I have a ton of software that handles well on my machine.  The few I couldn't find exact copies of the Windows version, I found alternatives for Macs that were as good or better.  Plus, I have more shareware software then you'd believe that is actually GOOD.  I mean, I don't understand why these Mac developers put out all this free kick ass software but I'm not complaining.  The only thing that is lagging big time are games.  Everytime I wanna play games on my Mac like Half Life 2, or Battlefield 2 or the like, I have to restart it into Windows XP, but other then that, there is no programs functionality that I've had to give up since switching.  Do you have a bunch of Windows only software Pate?

[Sgt. Pate]

Yeah, everything I have is Windows based.  I let all my MAC software go with the MAC I had 8 years ago when I switched back to Windows.

I can see that my old desktop isn't long for this world and I'm going to have to get a new machine.

One thing that really bugs me is thanks to Bill Gates,    I have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of firewall, Anti Spam, Anti Trojan, Anti Spyware and other software protection that clogs up the processor, memory and HD access etc. just to be on line and my MAC friends don't seem to have to buy any of that crap.

So it's good to know about the MAC software.  Do you have to still run a special program to use Windows software on your MAC or is it part of OS X?

Sarge.

[jusbnme]

Win XP here.

[mindfungus]

  I'm looking at Ubuntu now. It looks interesting.
  So would you say that without buying new hardware, that Ubuntu is the way to go over windows?
  Is there an option to make an existing system dual boot?
  If this isn't the place to continue this conversation, please feel free to shoot me an email as I'm really interested is making the switch.

mindfungus@yahoo.com

mindfungus

[Cam]

  I'm looking at Ubuntu now. It looks interesting.
  So would you say that without buying new hardware, that Ubuntu is the way to go over windows?
  Is there an option to make an existing system dual boot?
  If this isn't the place to continue this conversation, please feel free to shoot me an email as I'm really interested is making the switch.

mindfungus@yahoo.com

mindfungus

Yeah, you can set up dual boot very easily with Ubuntu. It's always good to have Windows on your drive FIRST, though, because if you put it on after Ubuntu it hijacks everything. Since you already have WinXP on your system now, it should be a breeze. It can take a portion of your XP drive and cut if off for Ubuntu, leaving all your files intact. You should be aware though, it CAN cause your Windows partition not to boot, because of corrupted files, although I've never seen it happen and I've done it SEVERAL time.

If you need anymore help, post it here or feel free to shoot me a PM.

[SonOfKrypton]

One thing that really bugs me is thanks to Bill Gates,    I have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of firewall, Anti Spam, Anti Trojan, Anti Spyware and other software protection that clogs up the processor, memory and HD access etc. just to be on line and my MAC friends don't seem to have to buy any of that crap.

Ha.  I don't really think it's Bill's fault.  He's just a ridiculously intelligent man who knows how to make good money.  Blame Microsoft's programmers.  I can definently say I don't miss all that stuff though.  I love not wasting processor cycles on an anti-virus that just always ticks away in the background.  Though I still have a firewall up though, but just the default one OS X has internally, and then this one called "Little Snitch" that I love since it requests permission from me before letting any program on the system call out to the internet.

So it's good to know about the MAC software.  Do you have to still run a special program to use Windows software on your MAC or is it part of OS X?

Sarge.

Well, I actually have two methods of getting to XP.  Number 1, I can use Boot Camp, which Apple includes for free on every Mac.  But you still have to pay for the Windows XP disc from Microsoft (or Vista).  Boot Camp is what I switch into whenever I game because when you do so, it's a full fledged PC.  No OS X running in the background, just pure XP, so it devotes all memory, processor cycles, and GPU cycles to XP and its programs.   Number 2 is called VMWare Fusion.  It's an OS X program whereby one can run (assuming you have enough RAM, I have 2 GB) Windows XP (or Vista) and OS X simultaneously.  The downfall with that is the two operating systems then split everything.  From RAM to the amount of Core's on your processor (since I'm on a dual core Intel Core 2 Duo, XP will take one core).  If your machine is nice enough, you won't notice a difference as it will run both flawlessly.  But not for games.  For Internet Explorer and Matlab and all the programs I use in XP, it'll run them fine with both operating systems up.  The VMWare Fusion solution is like 80$ though.  But, one can stay strictly with the Boot Camp solution if he doesn't wish to run both simultaneously.  I just don't like restarting my Mac though because I like to leave webpages open and the like.

[mojim]

Hey guys, I was just wondering what kind of computer operating systems everyone uses.  I assume the answers will mostly be windows, but I'd like to know which version of windows it is.  I'll start it off.

I mainly stick to Linux, Ubuntu mostly, and I dual boot windows xp on my desktop because I haven't gotten around to making the full switch. 

I am using Vista on my work laptop, but Xp on my home PC...I have thought about Linux but was afraid to make the leap...Is it worth it?  I do not do play games, just basic excel, pics and music...regular crap you know....

[TheSlyBear]

 Hey Sarge, SonOfKrypton gave great answers. The only thing I'd add is that not only is there no dearth of software for the Mac (that changed long long ago), a lot of what you need comes pre-loaded. OS X itself comes with a lot of utilities, and the iLife suite (pre-loaded on all new Macs) contains software for doing everything from ripping and playing music, editing movies, mastering and burning DVDs, to making and mixing your own music.

What can get a bit expensive is having to get Mac versions of Office or Adobe Creative Suite, if you need those. Generally you can find inexpensive, or even freeware, alternatives.

You save on anti-virus and the like. Not needed. You also save your psyche and a lot of time that you don't have to spend dicking with the OS.

[Cam]

Hey guys, I was just wondering what kind of computer operating systems everyone uses.  I assume the answers will mostly be windows, but I'd like to know which version of windows it is.  I'll start it off.

I mainly stick to Linux, Ubuntu mostly, and I dual boot windows xp on my desktop because I haven't gotten around to making the full switch. 

I am using Vista on my work laptop, but Xp on my home PC...I have thought about Linux but was afraid to make the leap...Is it worth it?  I do not do play games, just basic excel, pics and music...regular crap you know....

Man, it's TOTALLY worth it. Never crashes. I don't use antivirus, no need. No need to restart, as Linux has MUCH better memory management. Plus, (most) anything you want to do on Linux.. is free! Like I said, after getting used to Linux you'll realize how bad Windows really is. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am in no way a Microsoft hater, I just prefer Linux MUCH more.

[SonOfKrypton]

No need to restart, as Linux has MUCH better memory management. Plus, (most) anything you want to do on Linux.. is free!

It's good to see you Linux heads never have to restart either.  These days, having restarting my Mac (if Apple pushes out a big software update or whatever) just pisses me off.  I like never having to shutdown.

[TomS]

Cam and I are really on the same page here, whenever I go to post about linux he says it first :-)

I also never have to reboot.  I just checked my power history graph and it says I've had ubuntu running for over 12 days (294 hours).  If I think back, that means that I haven't rebooted it since I was out of town for a couple of days. 

If games aren't a concern then there is nothing to stop the switch to linux.  Hardware support has come so far in the past 3 years since I started using linux, and now I rarely find hardware without drivers.  There is also a great community that supports linux.  I know that Ubuntu's forums are full of information and I usually get my questions answered just by reading other's posts. 

When I need to run software that only works with windows, I use VMware server, which of course, is free.  I can't think of the last time I booted it at home, but I run it at work to use some windows-only software.  For games, dual booting is a good option.  I know that's why I keep my XP partition around on my desktop. 

The best thing I can say for people who are thinking about trying linux out is the same thing that everyone says to people who are on the fence about shaving their heads--just do it.  If you don't like it and are testing out a live cd then you can just eject the cd and boot up as usual, just like letting your hair grow back out after shaving.  But you might like what you find and stick with it.  Feel free to contact me if you do want to try it out and need help.

-Tom

[Timmay]

IM with Paulie on this one...smoke signals....im am sooo computer illiterate its not even funny, my kids know how to run this thing better than I do.  I on windows XP.

Timmmayy!

[andrew]

I've worked with many different flavors of unix over the years (SCO, System V, AIX, Solaris, and more), but am sticking with Windows (XP, Vista, Server 2003) at this point.  Mostly because I make my living developing software with Microsoft technologies, like Visual Studio.Net, C#.net, asp.net, and C++.net.

It's not that I dislike unix, but just that the demand is so high for Microsoft technologies right now. 

[DAT Boy]

You guys are way out there.     I had all I could do to spell qwerty and you guys want to try different operating systems?!  Isn't that like blasphemy?!  Hey, if the Gates gestapos come by here, I don't know you guys!