I'm one of that 5%. I've had some minor borkage under Vista, but nothing major. I can't say I'd recommend it to close friends, but it doesn't totally suck (relative to XP).
The point is that an anecdotal success or failure on an individual machine does not really tell you anything. End users rarely if ever perform an installation. If Dell's were available with Linux pre-installed, would end-users have a problem? I doubt it.
I agree that a PRE-INSTALLED Linux machine wouldn't be that hard. A Windows user would have a learning curve, but Windows isn't really that intuitive either. The problem is, very few machines ARE pre-installed with Linux. To use Linux, you HAVE to install it (or get your geek nephew-in-law to do it), whereas Windows just comes with your box.
To my surprise Dell offered only Vista on their PCs, but they still kept the systems at 512MB of RAM despite stating themselves Vista required 1GB to be bearable and 2GB to be happy
Shortly after Vista's release, my GF's sister asked about a new 512M laptop with Vista. I flat out told her that any vendor who put Vista on a 512M machine should be shot!
The last time I tried Linux, it was a major bear to install. I tried multiple distros. SuSe wouldn't set up my internet, Fedora gave me a black screen (not even a command prompt), Ubuntu gave me a command prompt, but no GUI. Oddly enough, Debian Sarge came the closest to working (but no sound & no printer).
Under Windows, all the above worked except the printer (but it did work with my iBook). Windows has a large number of problems, bugs, and annoyances, but most of those aren't showstoppers. Linux, IME, has far fewer problems, but the ones it has often ARE showstoppers.
About half of the people who talk on a cell phone talk above a normal conversational level, apparently thinking they have to shout when the person is so far away they can't see them.
Wrong! If that was the reason, they'd be shouting on landlines too. The reason I talk loudly on my cellphone is because I assume the sound on the other end is as crappy as it is on my end.
Well, I live in a midsized American city, in the "bad" part of town. You hear about crime in the local news all the time. Yet, I walk down the streets with little fear of being mugged WITHOUT cameras monitoring me everywhere I go.
Either the UK is more dangerous than the US, or the Brits are wimpier than we are. Or any combination.
I think you're right. In America, our system still works well enough that people's daily lives aren't yet too much impacted by fraud and cronyism.
Bingo! There are some things about this country that bother me, but right now they're things I'm reading about, not things I'm experiencing. My daily life is much like it's always been, and my belly is not only full, but somewhat large.
I'm not sure what will happen in the future, but for the moment, things are too comfortable for too many people for any "revolution".
You'd still have to keep track of when international communications are feasible. At 01:00 GMT, I'm eating dinner & watching TV, but my British friend is fast asleep.
Timezones ARE somewhat arbitrary. Last Christmas, I spent it with my aunt's family, and though we are in the same timezone, it got dark 1/2 hour earlier than I was used to.
If 43% have flextime, that means that 57% do NOT! And unless my math is worse than I think, 57 > 43. And I doubt that it's changed much in the last 3 years.
Yup! I got bit once, when I had some oddball problem with my cablemodem. I had removed Windows, and lost the install disks. The TW guy still helped me with my problem, but it was a lot harder for him because his Linux knowledge was limited. Dual booting would have helped a lot.
are you sure you never had to install drivers for that onboard NIC in Windows? How about video drivers? Did you have to configure those drivers to use both monitors properly after they were installed? How about printer/scanner/copier drivers?
Nope, nope, and nope. I did have problems with my printer under Windows, but also under Linux. Worked perfectly on my iBook, though.
And, if you use Linux, you can't use it until you've installed it, so the other poster's points are valid.
I wouldn't be that quick in blaming the manufacturers. One reason is that they need to be competitive, and shipping a 6 year old OS when everybody else is shipping Vista would be suicide. It doesn't matter that XP performs better and is more stable, or that more software works on it. When a customer walks into a store what do you think most will ask for?
Personally, I'd ask for the laptop that was faster than a snail running through molasses. The average non-tech customer might not know that their brand new underpowered craptop was slow because it was too wimpy for Vista, but they would know that it WAS slow.
My GF's sister recently asked me about a craptop that she was thinking about getting. IIRC, it had 512M RAM with Vista, and she heard that Vista would run with that. I warned her that that was the bare minimum for Vista, that it would run like crap, and expressed my opinion that any store that loaded Vista on such a machine should be shot.
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I'm one of that 5%. I've had some minor borkage under Vista, but nothing major. I can't say I'd recommend it to close friends, but it doesn't totally suck (relative to XP).
I agree that a PRE-INSTALLED Linux machine wouldn't be that hard. A Windows user would have a learning curve, but Windows isn't really that intuitive either. The problem is, very few machines ARE pre-installed with Linux. To use Linux, you HAVE to install it (or get your geek nephew-in-law to do it), whereas Windows just comes with your box.
Shortly after Vista's release, my GF's sister asked about a new 512M laptop with Vista. I flat out told her that any vendor who put Vista on a 512M machine should be shot!
The last time I tried Linux, it was a major bear to install. I tried multiple distros. SuSe wouldn't set up my internet, Fedora gave me a black screen (not even a command prompt), Ubuntu gave me a command prompt, but no GUI. Oddly enough, Debian Sarge came the closest to working (but no sound & no printer).
Under Windows, all the above worked except the printer (but it did work with my iBook). Windows has a large number of problems, bugs, and annoyances, but most of those aren't showstoppers. Linux, IME, has far fewer problems, but the ones it has often ARE showstoppers.
Does that have anything to do with SL? I thought that was a seperate issue.
Well, our pollution DOES go a long way up. :)
Does your babysitter know what drugs your kid might be allergic to? Would the hospital personnel know to ask her if she DOES know?
Wrong! If that was the reason, they'd be shouting on landlines too. The reason I talk loudly on my cellphone is because I assume the sound on the other end is as crappy as it is on my end.
So, I guess Easter is a good time for a resurrection. :)
That's what she wants you to believe.
Well, I live in a midsized American city, in the "bad" part of town. You hear about crime in the local news all the time. Yet, I walk down the streets with little fear of being mugged WITHOUT cameras monitoring me everywhere I go.
Either the UK is more dangerous than the US, or the Brits are wimpier than we are. Or any combination.
I've got a better idea. Shoot the yobs!
So what? If the law can't or won't protect me, then I have to protect myself. And if that means deadly force, so be it!
Bingo! There are some things about this country that bother me, but right now they're things I'm reading about, not things I'm experiencing. My daily life is much like it's always been, and my belly is not only full, but somewhat large.
I'm not sure what will happen in the future, but for the moment, things are too comfortable for too many people for any "revolution".
You'd still have to keep track of when international communications are feasible. At 01:00 GMT, I'm eating dinner & watching TV, but my British friend is fast asleep.
Timezones ARE somewhat arbitrary. Last Christmas, I spent it with my aunt's family, and though we are in the same timezone, it got dark 1/2 hour earlier than I was used to.
If 43% have flextime, that means that 57% do NOT! And unless my math is worse than I think, 57 > 43. And I doubt that it's changed much in the last 3 years.
But how do you set the time if you're on an ocean cruise off the East Coast?
If we give chimps human rights, they will continue to ask for more until one day a chimp will become President of the USA!
Oops, never mind!
Hmm, I think China got the better deal.
Oddly, I never heard of Russia being one of the most advanced nations in telcom tech. But I'm just an ignorant American.
It's not so "cool" having to clean dinosaur droppings off my car, though.
Yup! I got bit once, when I had some oddball problem with my cablemodem. I had removed Windows, and lost the install disks. The TW guy still helped me with my problem, but it was a lot harder for him because his Linux knowledge was limited. Dual booting would have helped a lot.
Nope, nope, and nope. I did have problems with my printer under Windows, but also under Linux. Worked perfectly on my iBook, though.
And, if you use Linux, you can't use it until you've installed it, so the other poster's points are valid.
Personally, I'd ask for the laptop that was faster than a snail running through molasses. The average non-tech customer might not know that their brand new underpowered craptop was slow because it was too wimpy for Vista, but they would know that it WAS slow.
My GF's sister recently asked me about a craptop that she was thinking about getting. IIRC, it had 512M RAM with Vista, and she heard that Vista would run with that. I warned her that that was the bare minimum for Vista, that it would run like crap, and expressed my opinion that any store that loaded Vista on such a machine should be shot.