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How Long Does it Take You to Tweak a New Box?

Posted by Cliff on from the a-never-ending-process dept.

An anonymous reader asks: "When you get a new computer, how long does it take to make it 'home'? On a Windows system, there seem to be a huge number of preferences I have to choose before it is really comfortable (doing things like: installing software; changing the wallpaper and color schemes; start menu layout; and so forth). How long do you have to fiddle with computer until you have it set up the way you like? Do you use any shortcuts to speed up the process?"

16 of 463 comments (clear)

  1. On linux... by peterpi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nobody's found out how long it takes on linux, they're still working at it! ;P

    1. Re:On linux... by ArsonSmith · · Score: 5, Funny

      Windows - Tweaks for about 4-6 hours and spending about $400 on extra applications
      OS X - Tweaks for about 1-2 hours and spending about $600 on extra applications
      Linux - Change desktop background. Done.

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
    2. Re:On linux... by paeanblack · · Score: 5, Funny

      1h 45m from install to having a working, up to date and configured system running http, https, php, java, tomcat, mysql, mail server, ftp server, remote X access

      Connect a fresh Windows ME box to the net and you can get all that in 1 minute and 45 seconds.

    3. Re:On linux... by chris+vo · · Score: 2, Funny

      Linux - tweak for 1-2 hours, spend 4-5 hours downloading packages, 2-3 installing, then the rest of your life telling all your friends "yeah well when _______ comes out of beta it will have the same features. . ."

    4. Re:On linux... by ivanmarsh · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh... thank you very much.

      (you forgot to include sarcasm tags in your message)

    5. Re:On linux... by ArsonSmith · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yea I've been telling my friend that for years.

      "When Vista comes out of beta it will have the same features as my Linux/Xorg box has for the last several years."

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
    6. Re:On linux... by wings · · Score: 1, Funny

      Windows - Tweaks for about 4-6 hours and spending about $400 on extra applications
      OS X - Tweaks for about 1-2 hours and spending about $600 on extra applications
      Linux - Change desktop background. Done. Priceless!

      There. Fixed it for you.
  2. Depends on how cute she is, or how drunk I am.. by stratjakt · · Score: 3, Funny

    ask your mom, she'd know better than me

    badump ching

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  3. 3 days by fistfullast33l · · Score: 4, Funny

    I use gentoo, and because I'm sadistic I love the install process. The acutal gentoo install is about two hours I think now that they've eliminated stage 1 and 2. But I like to compile everything from sources after that so it takes me another day (not straight through, I usually do it while I'm at work) to compile open office, firefox, x.org, and the like. Then it takes me another day or so to make sure my laptop can handle things like ACPI (I always forget to compile it for some reason), 3D acceleration (stupid ATI drivers), suspend-resume, framebuffer, E17, gensplash, and whatever else takes a bit of time. I don't mind it because I like the feeling of starting fresh without all those packages that you use once and never again being installed.

  4. Karma profit! by BecomingLumberg · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Wait for someone to make a joke at Linux's expense 2. Blast 'em! 3. Completely ignore your sense of humor's pleading, from inside the locked closet, that it is a joke. 4. ... 5. Karma!

    --
    If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.-TJ
  5. Still... by AJWM · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm still tweaking my Commodore 64. I'll get back to you...

    --
    -- Alastair
  6. One to two weeks... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    depending on how much money I spend on her.

  7. Re:Not long. by linvir · · Score: 4, Funny

    Change mouse behaviour to "Focus follows mouse"

    So you're the degenerate pervert using this. Damn you! Damn you to hell!

  8. Re:It's never over with by igotmybfg · · Score: 2, Funny

    Good point. I guess part of it is just that - trying new apps and configs out is fun, and occasionally rewarding. Maybe it does make me 5-10% happier. On average, 7.382%.

  9. Forever. EV. VER. by smellsofbikes · · Score: 2, Funny

    There are people who stop setting up their systems? Really? That's cool. I never even get the case put back on mine, much less stop adjusting and installing and tweaking.
    (That's a big benefit of a laptop: it's not always sitting around with the sides off and wires streaming out to nearby electronics, coz I can't *do* that with a laptop. I'm definitely the computer equivalent of the guy in high school who never had the hood on his car. He had the coolest car... but he was also the only person who *needed* the fire extinguisher under the passenger's seat.)

    --
    Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
  10. Re:Personally by operagost · · Score: 3, Funny

    All together, there are only 2 icons that get to call my desktop home, Recycled and dropbox. I'm thinking about remove recycled.

    I tried a pic of the kids once, but it was too hard to find the icons against the background.
    All two of them? I would think muscle memory would be enough in that case.
    --

    Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.