OS WARS MEGA THREAD (Now debating proprietary vs. open-source!)

[Urwumpe]

Could you dual-boot the Win8 version, or is that locked in somehow?

I suspect, you could run into driver issues, since the hardware might be non-standard.

 

[orb]

Could you dual-boot the Win8 version, or is that locked in somehow?

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...-to-dual/7f27ab98-d7c8-42d4-af49-545e39a0d0ce

 

[Urwumpe]

I would still recommend looking for a notebook... I just learned of the prices for the Surface Pro... 880 Euro (It costs $900 in the USA, or 700€) for the basic model and 130 Euro for the "Type Cover" keyboard. For 1000 Euro, you can get a pretty decent notebook.

 

[TMac3000]

I played with Win 8 on some laptops at my local Walmart. I didn't like it. It feels too tight, too controlled, like it really isn't meant for power users. I got into Linux just...a few months, maybe?...before Win 7 came out. And don't get me wrong, Win 7 was niiiiice:yes:. But I don't understand why, when they clearly had a winning formula with 7, that they turned around and did all this Metro business?

 

[Urwumpe]

I played with Win 8 on some laptops at my local Walmart. I didn't like it. It feels too tight, too controlled, like it really isn't meant for power users. I got into Linux just...a few months, maybe?...before Win 7 came out. And don't get me wrong, Win 7 was niiiiice:yes:. But I don't understand why, when they clearly had a winning formula with 7, that they turned around and did all this Metro business?

I don't dislike the Metro concept... it is the first time since Windows 3.1, that Microsoft tried to define a coherent visual display language.

But it gives you constantly the feeling of being less than Windows 7, which is wrong, but easily perceived because many functions are now hidden behind the Metro style world.

 

[TMac3000]

I don't dislike the Metro concept... it is the first time since Windows 3.1, that Microsoft tried to define a coherent visual display language.

But it gives you constantly the feeling of being less than Windows 7, which is wrong, but easily perceived because many functions are now hidden behind the Metro style world.

Agreed. Their mistake was have both experiences in one OS. I don't want a touch-screen display on my desktop, anymore then I would want Win XP on my smart phone.

 

[Urwumpe]

Agreed. Their mistake was have both experiences in one OS. I don't want a touch-screen display on my desktop, anymore then I would want Win XP on my smart phone.

Yes, because you need two different kinds of user interfaces there, that don't easily merge into one.

But the biggest mistake is, that it simply looks different now and is sold on computers without touch screen interface.

 

[Hielor]

I would still recommend looking for a notebook... I just learned of the prices for the Surface Pro... 880 Euro (It costs $900 in the USA, or 700€) for the basic model and 130 Euro for the "Type Cover" keyboard. For 1000 Euro, you can get a pretty decent notebook.

The price is actually in the same ballpark as other devices with similar capabilities, so it's not totally ridiculous. It's a rather capable little device.

 

[Urwumpe]

The price is actually in the same ballpark as other devices with similar capabilities, so it's not totally ridiculous. It's a rather capable little device.

Not really, unless you are talking about Ultrabooks with multitouchscreen, which are not really Ultra at all.

 

[Hielor]

Not really, unless you are talking about Ultrabooks with multitouchscreen, which are not really Ultra at all.

That would be "comparable hardware," yes.

 

[Urwumpe]

That would be "comparable hardware," yes.

Yes... but for somebody planning to go studying software engineering, not the most cost effective choice. I still wonder why the hell I should buy something, that is labelled "Ultra", but doesn't do anything better at all...

 

[n122vu]

Agreed. Their mistake was have both experiences in one OS. I don't want a touch-screen display on my desktop, anymore then I would want Win XP on my smart phone.

I think their overall aim here was well intended though. I suspect they were trying to mirror Apple's success in having a unified OS architecture with identical-looking interfaces on both the iPhone and iPad lines. What they failed to realize (and I really, really don't know how they missed this) is that Apple has designed a completely different UI and architecture on its desktop and notebook computers from what is on its smartphones and tablets.

 

[Hielor]

Yes... but for somebody planning to go studying software engineering, not the most cost effective choice. I still wonder why the hell I should buy something, that is labelled "Ultra", but doesn't do anything better at all...

Ultraportable.

If you need to travel a lot and don't want to lug around something larger, an "ultrabook" is a good choice, same for the Surface Pro.

I agree with you that it wouldn't be a cost effective choice as an only computer for someone going into software engineering.

I think their overall aim here was well intended though. I suspect they were trying to mirror Apple's success in having a unified OS architecture with identical-looking interfaces on both the iPhone and iPad lines. What they failed to realize (and I really, really don't know how they missed this) is that Apple has designed a completely different UI and architecture on its desktop and notebook computers from what is on its smartphones and tablets.

Given how little success the Windows Phone has seen, I don't think building a tablet OS on top of that would've been successful.

There's also the consideration that apps/games you'll want to run on a tablet are often a lot closer to apps/games you'll want to run on a laptop or desktop than apps/games you'll want to run on a phone, due to the different form factors involved, so unifying the desktop/tablet store makes more sense than unifying the phone/tablet store.

 

[Urwumpe]

Ultraportable.

I would count my current i7 as one, if I neglect the weight... :lol:

 

[Linguofreak]

Agreed. Their mistake was have both experiences in one OS. I don't want a touch-screen display on my desktop, anymore then I would want Win XP on my smart phone.

Their mistake wasn't having both experiences in one OS. Their mistake was in how they chose to determine when to display either experience. I very much want Windows XP on my smart phone (or rather, a Linux install with MATE or XFCE) when it's docked and I have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor hooked up. And I very much want a touch interface when it's not docked and I have no keyboard or mouse and the display is a few inches wide. But neither interface should ever appear in the other situation.

 

[Eccentrus]

I purchased this particular laptop (ASUS N46VZ) for about $800 3 months ago, it have a powerful i5 topping at 3.15 GHz and the best GPU in the price market of Geforce GT650M the aforementioned ultrabooks only wield 2.35 Ghz i5 and Geforce GT635M which is essentially a rebranded GT550M at the same price range. The only drawback is mine's only equipped with a subpar 5400RPM hard drive, which makes everyday computing a sluggish hell for me, and thus the reason for the confusing results of being very fast for gaming and photo processing yet can be crippled by the startup of Skype. If you really want a performance laptop I suggest something that have similar or better specs, and ultimately, a Hybrid HDD with an SDD for boot up so that your everyday computing a much more pleasant experience.

 

[Linguofreak]

About backup strategies: since I have Linux, I just copy and paste my whole desktop folder to a 16 GB flash drive.

Why "since you have Linux"?

A Windows user could just as easily copy and paste their user folder to an external drive.

I don't usually update the backup unless I suspect something bad is coming, or I need to change OS's.

But it's true that nobody expects the hard drive inquisition:lol: So I may start backing up weekly

I recently started using Back in Time to do daily incremental backups to an external hard drive.

 

[jedidia]

So I finally got an android phone. After a decade of torture under symbian tyranny, I expected a non-restrictive, intuitive OS.

So far, I'm not thrilled. I can't send files via blutooth from my symbian phone. Importing contacts from sim only worked after creating a google account (how's that for undocumented feature? was probably just one hell of a weird coincidence). There's a welcome message from an app called timescape that offers me to connect my facebook and twitter accounts. I have neither, so the bloody welcome message won't go away and is permanently clumping up my homescreen.

Again I have no access to root folders and pre-installed programs without hacking the stupid phone via 3rd party software that give my virus scanner the shivers. Seriously, I expected better from android...

 

[Mojave]

Argh, we have Androids too. These phones are the worst thing ever to be put on this Earth. My biggest problem with them is the auto-correct that changes correctly spelled words.

 

[Urwumpe]

So I finally got an android phone. After a decade of torture under symbian tyranny, I expected a non-restrictive, intuitive OS.

So far, I'm not thrilled. I can't send files via blutooth from my symbian phone. Importing contacts from sim only worked after creating a google account (how's that for undocumented feature? was probably just one hell of a weird coincidence). There's a welcome message from an app called timescape that offers me to connect my facebook and twitter accounts. I have neither, so the bloody welcome message won't go away and is permanently clumping up my homescreen.

Again I have no access to root folders and pre-installed programs without hacking the stupid phone via 3rd party software that give my virus scanner the shivers. Seriously, I expected better from android...

Looks like your Android has a lot of annoying stuff (tm) by the manufacturer or mobile network provider.

I never had such issues with the Samsung Galaxy S3, despite having a lot of annoying stuff packed on it.