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Operating systems - what you running


rtbiscuit

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+1. Linux has improved considerablly in the last few years thanks to Ubuntu.

 

Personally I'd say Fedora has done more to improve the quality of Linux, it's very nature is meant to be a development style cutting edge OS, however for the same reason I wouldn't recommend it as a desktop OS for a non-geek.

 

 

*nix variants are great if you like to dabble in things or want something very simple for web browsing, but dont think they are yet up there with Windows in terms of plug and play are they? Havent played with them for years, might download some live CDs (or whatever the USB stick term is for them now) and have a play.

 

Actually they're not too bad. There's still a hardware related issues, for example Wireless card compatibility which has always been a bug bear of mine. However this is usually due to their not being an open source driver available and the Windows ones (which you can use through a wrapper) being proprietary so the linux distros can't provide them - although these days they tell you exactly where to get them and how to install them. Going Intel on the Wireless card solves most issues you'll see to be honest along with getting the right video card if you're going for 3d (but then which gamers use Linux??) . When I last used Windows (years ago) you pretty much always needed a driver from somewhere (CD/internet) for your hardware, if this is still true then I'd say Linux is more plug and play friendly than Windows and has the added bonus of the drivers automatically being updating as they're part of the distro rather than downloaded from a 3rd party manufacturers website.

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Unfortunately my Compaq laptop had wireless issues on Ubuntu, otherwise I would have stuck with it... real shame :thumbdown:

 

Changethe wireless card? I did this on mine recently to go from N to G. It's usually pretty easy: Unscrew the cover to the wireless card, unclip the 2 (or 3) aerials, unscrew the screw holding the wireless card in place, swap, reverse.

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I did this 5 years ago, just make sure that any software that you currently run on Windows has a Mac equivalent. My accounts are on Quick Books Pro and although there is a USA version for Mac there wasn't in the UK. I just run Parallels and Windows XP when I need to use Quick Books. It works for me and wouldn't go back to Windows now. Hope it goes well for you. :thumbs:

 

I am in the process of dumping Windows for iMac.

 

Any prewarning of pitfalls would be appreciated.

 

Alex. :)

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Unfortunately my Compaq laptop had wireless issues on Ubuntu, otherwise I would have stuck with it... real shame :thumbdown:

 

Changethe wireless card? I did this on mine recently to go from N to G. It's usually pretty easy: Unscrew the cover to the wireless card, unclip the 2 (or 3) aerials, unscrew the screw holding the wireless card in place, swap, reverse.

 

Yeah I know I should I just couldn't be bothered :lol:

 

I agree if Windows is taking more than 20 mins to install something is wrong :surrender:

 

I have a 64 bit version that also installs a lot more and that still only takes about half an hour :ninja:

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Win7 here, since I cannot play FPS games on a console at all, grew up on CS 1.3 and it's become second nature to use keyboard and mouse instead of a game pad.

Also for my requirements I need an OS that can handle singular files larger than 4GB ;)

Recently did a mini upgrade on my PC with also involved using Hexis vinyl :)

 

From this:

rebuild007.jpg

 

To this:

rebuild011.jpg

rebuild013.jpg

rebuild010.jpg

 

Asus P67 Sabertooth motherboard

Intel i5 2500K CPU

16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz RAM

EVGA GTX470 HydroCopper graphics card

 

Personally I find it looks just as sexy as an iMac :D

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Water cooled? That's really disappointing, I thought BM had a distillery in his PC :wacko::surrender::)

 

How come there is air in the system? Are they filling ports or something? When I used to run my old W/C'd PC it was running closed system so to me that seems a little odd :wacko:

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Win7 took me 20mins to install :shrug: (having it on USB stick makes it soooo much quicker)

 

*nix variants are great if you like to dabble in things or want something very simple for web browsing, but dont think they are yet up there with Windows in terms of plug and play are they? Havent played with them for years, might download some live CDs (or whatever the USB stick term is for them now) and have a play.

Well it certainly felt like 2 hours after installing Office as well and that was from a USB stick! Generally Linux sets up new hardware silently in a few seconds... Windows turns plugging in just a mouse or USB stick into a pantomime of pop-ups.

 

Don't get me wrong, Windows 7 is the best version yet but the old problems remain... Speed/Stability drops over time, random issues only solved by a reboot, Rootkits, etc...

 

My solution is to have a work-only Windows laptop that's kept as clean and simple as possible, while a Linux nettop handles surfing, video, torrents, etc...

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Water cooled? That's really disappointing, I thought BM had a distillery in his PC :wacko::surrender::)

 

It might be Cranberry & Vodka :lol:

 

How come there is air in the system? Are they filling ports or something? When I used to run my old W/C'd PC it was running closed system so to me that seems a little odd :wacko:

Yes, those are indeed fillport lines.

One loop for CPU, one loop for GPU :D

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How come there is air in the system? Are they filling ports or something? When I used to run my old W/C'd PC it was running closed system so to me that seems a little odd :wacko:

Yes, those are indeed fillport lines.

One loop for CPU, one loop for GPU :D

Flash git :p:lol:

 

In my day you were lucky to get anything so fancy. I had DangerDen blocks on my CPU/GPU, some hacked up rad and a pond pump to power it all :lol: The best I got from it was a Zalman water tower thing that I bolted to the back which made it all nearly fanless, it was very very quiet B)

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Just been reading both OSX and Windows 8 are starting down the path of only allowing you to install apps from official app stores, from which they take a 30% cut of course.

 

http://www.osnews.com/story/25619/Mac_OS_X_10_8_restricted_to_App_Store_signed_apps_by_default

 

Yep I read this, stupid idea if you ask me... not that I have to worry about it. :)

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