windows 7 release date ?

Driver support is obviously an issue for Linux, but when all said and done that affects the overall experience and simply stops it from being a viable OS for most people. I tried Ubuntu on my PC a few months back and was very impressed with the quality of it especially considering it's free, but my wireless connection wouldn't remain stable and that put me off completely. Even went through the hassle of trying ndiswrapper but that didn't accomplish anything either.

Learning to use any new OS requires you to have an open mind and get to know how it does things differently to what you're used to, but in my experience with Ubuntu (both on my PC and my netbook), it's far more convoluted than it ought to be. I have no qualms with learning to use a new OS, but at least in Windows, virtually anything you ever need to do is accessible via a proper GUI. In Ubuntu at least, it seems like they expect you to learn to use terminal first before you can even get anywhere. Either that, or find a website that tells you step-by-step what commands to enter, which is not how I like to do things because then I've got no idea what's actually happening or how to reverse it.

Windows 7 isn't perfect in my eyes (the right-click menus for the taskbar annoy me to no end, I want the old ones back), but MS do at least know how to make advanced settings accessible without having to resort to a command prompt.
 
D D Danneh said:
No it isn't, but that doesn't mean it's less hassle. Just because it's not Linux's fault doesn't mean it's okay.

Then what's your problem?
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err no its not ok but its not Linux fault so why tar linux with the 'its crap' brush when it has no control. Buy hardware that does work there is plenty of options

The problem being the GUI is still crap without the extras. M$ could really do better.
 
brummie said:
Linux isnt any hassle anymore. less so than windows now.
I'm testing w7 and its so bloated with crap and such a fuss. I hate the Aero interface with a passion.
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...which is why when I installed the latest build of SuSE on my backup PC with 1GB of RAM, it used nearly all the RAM at startup and made me spend around half an hour setting it up. Windows 7 meanwhile runs surprisingly well on the same machine, using less RAM and requiring very little in the way of configuration. Neither is it bloated 'with crap'. Linux less hassle you say?

brummie said:
err no its not ok but its not Linux fault so why tar linux with the 'its crap' brush when it has no control. Buy hardware that does work there is plenty of options
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So, you're saying people should change their hardware just so they can install Linux? Absolutely laughable, puts it into the same league as the resource hog that is Windows Vista. Well done sir! :)
 
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brummie said:
Creative have plenty of choices. *.deb *.rpm
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That's part of the problem doing development and providing drivers for Linux causes real developer pain. There are so many different distributions with different formats and package managers, not to mention the nuances of of an individual distro. To support Linux you spend 80% of your testing budget on drivers/installers that are perhaps going to be used by 5% of your user base.

In other terms, if I wanted an installer for Windows I would choose Windows Installer I know that will work on everything from Window 98 to Windows 7 and I know Microsoft have made a commitment to maintain Windows Installer compatibility in future version of Windows.

The same scenario isn't true for Linux, I can go for *.deb that will cover me for 70% of Linux installs, .RPM for perhaps 80%, if I wanted to distribute binaries I would need several different flavors, and there is no commitment to provide compatibility for future versions or new distributions.

Linux is moving forward, file formats are converging and eventually there may be one package and package manager to rule them all, until someone comes up with something that works better but isn't backwards compatible.
 
reflux said:
...which is why when I installed the latest build of SuSE on my backup PC with 1GB of RAM, it used nearly all the RAM at startup and made me spend around half an hour setting it up. Windows 7 meanwhile runs surprisingly well on the same machine, using less RAM and requiring very little in the way of configuration. Neither is it bloated 'with crap'. Linux less hassle you say?
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user error?

reflux said:
So, you're saying people should change their hardware just so they can install Linux? Absolutely laughable, puts it into the same league as the resource hog that is Windows Vista. Well done sir! :)
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:confused:

Change?, probably if they wanted to use Linux. Should?, no but you shouldn't moan about how crap Linux is when its not the OS fault.
Would you buy a piece of hardware that wouldn't work in windows when thats your OS of choice?
 
Richard Slater said:
That's part of the problem doing development and providing drivers for Linux causes real developer pain. There are so many different distributions with different formats and package managers, not to mention the nuances of of an individual distro. To support Linux you spend 80% of your testing budget on drivers/installers that are perhaps going to be used by 5% of your user base.

In other terms, if I wanted an installer for Windows I would choose Windows Installer I know that will work on everything from Window 98 to Windows 7 and I know Microsoft have made a commitment to maintain Windows Installer compatibility in future version of Windows.

The same scenario isn't true for Linux, I can go for *.deb that will cover me for 70% of Linux installs, .RPM for perhaps 80%, if I wanted to distribute binaries I would need several different flavors, and there is no commitment to provide compatibility for future versions or new distributions.

Linux is moving forward, file formats are converging and eventually there may be one package and package manager to rule them all, until someone comes up with something that works better but isn't backwards compatible.
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Not even sure what your trying to put across here. 70 & 80% isnt right is it? :confused:
nVidia and HP do a damn good job. Why cant others?
Both use binary executables that are platform independent.
 
brummie said:
Would you buy a piece of hardware that wouldn't work in windows when thats your OS of choice?
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Of course not, but then, there isn't much that isn't compatible with windows is there?

That's the whole point. Windows is more widely adopted and simpler to use, thus, it's more compatible. Thus, it's less hassle. What part of that is hard to understand?
 
brummie said:
user error?
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Thank you for proving my point. I can think of nowhere where I may have inadevertently turned it into a RAM hog, but then that's the problem; even with a relatively well polished distro like SuSE, there are layers upon layers of settings and unintuitive menu options. It doesn't need to be as confusing as it is.

brummie said:
:confused:

Change?, probably if they wanted to use Linux. Should?, no but you shouldn't moan about how crap Linux is when its not the OS fault.
Would you buy a piece of hardware that wouldn't work in windows when thats your OS of choice?
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Absolutely not, but that's not the point. Linux is playing catch-up to Windows. It can't afford to dictate what hardware you can and cannot use. If it's trying to win users away from Windows then it needs to be a compelling alternative. My mate who's a Linux geek always says that Linux is only good for the two opposing spectrums of the computer userbase; total newbs who only want to browse the internet and use OpenOffice, and total geeks who can do everything in the terminal.

I'm not saying Linux is crap; it's not, it's great. But it has a long way to go before it can become a true alternative to Windows.
 
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mrochester said:
What, so no link then?
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WTF you on about, link? What Link??

I'm not saying Linux is crap; it's not, it's great. But it has a long way to go before it can become a true alternative to Windows.
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Its already an alternative if you use the right manufactures of hardware.
Works 100% the same as it does for the Win7 install i have OOTB.

My mate who's a Linux geek always says that Linux is only good for the two opposing spectrums of the computer userbase; total newbs who only want to browse the internet and use OpenOffice, and total geeks who can do everything in the terminal.
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I'm neither and so are most of the LUG members i know

Think the rest of replies i'm going to leave as swaying from the original argument it's not Linux fault Creative make crap drivers.
 
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I'm after the link to the easy to install Xfi drivers as all I can find on the Creative website are the ones where you need to use the terminal. Thanks.
brummie said:
WTF you on about, link? What Link??



Its already an alternative if you use the right manufactures of hardware.
Works 100% the same as it does for the Win7 install i have OOTB.



I'm neither and so are most of the LUG members i know

Think the rest of replies i'm going to leave as swaying from the original argument it's not Linux fault Creative make crap drivers.
Click to expand...
 
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