With all respect, being good at (presumably) professional video editing puts the Apple Mac in a minority market, exactly where it is currently.
I don't do any video editing personally and I'm mainly a Linux user. But most of my friends and relatives with Windows PCs can play far more games than a Mac user can and they tend to speak highly of the Pinnacle products to do video editing of their home movies on within Windows.
Besides which, video editing is more a factor of high processor speed, lots of memory and a well-written application to allow you to do it in and not really anything to do with the Mac platform or OS X.
Seven deadly sins
Seven ways to Win(dows)
Seven holy paths to hell
And your trip begins
Seven downward slopes
Seven bloodied hopes
Seven are your burning fires,
Seven your desires...
And not to mention the evil portent later on in the song of opening "the seventh seal" of the seventh iteration of your newly shrikwrapped Windows! Just hope they don't release it at 7:07 am on the 7th of July or we'll all be doomed!
...actually taken the time to install Windows 1 and then upgrade it all the way to Vista one version at a time? I wonder what kind of relics you'd end up finding in the registry and hard drive.. heh. almost makes me want to do it.
I've done it - you end up with "Clippy" constantly asking you "What would you like to do?" in "edlin".
I am not one of those people but I know some real Windows experts who can hack around in the registry configuration such that if an update, usually a driver, screws up their machine, then they can probably fix it without going for the complete rebuild option. They also probably keep a "Last Known Good" registry configuration they can switch back to quickly in such a scenario.
As a primarily Linux user, who uses Gentoo for frequent rolling minor updates rather than infrequent major updates, I keep a constant backup of the working kernel and configuration files by use of a cronjob shell script such that if a similar thing happened to me, if I couldn't fix it myself quickly, I would just do a rollback.
What I'm trying to say is that no-one denies that an update to *ANY* operating system can, potentially, screw the system up - but the fact is that preparing for such an eventuality is of primary importance.
I don't use Ubuntu but I would suspect if a Ubuntu update caused lots of people to have baulked machines, then, like Microsoft, Ubuntu would publish a fix on their web site to help get you out of it and it would be up to the user to go find and follow those instructions to get their machines back. But I suspect most Windows users would never bother even checking the MS web site, rather they'd just reinstall their machines or give it to an expert to fix.
In your particular case, it might be a wierd combination of hardware that has caused you, and maybe a handful of other people, to have a problem with an update that most other people didn't suffer. But the chances are that someone else more knowledgeable than you would have seen the problem, fixed it and put it up on the web somewhere - all it would take from you is a little clever Googling to find that out.
Ultimately, this issue has nothing to do with problems caused by whoever created the update, but about you making some effort to analyse what the problem is, look for a fix, and if there isn't one, post some polite messages in appropriate places asking for someone's help - whether it's Windows or Linux, someone will always jump to your assistance if you demonstrate that you can provide as much information as possible as to what the problem is.
Unlike Windows, where you have an expert on "every street corner", Linux requires that you take some responsibility for your own machines and learn as much as you can about how it works - if you're not prepared to do that, then you should find or pay for someone to do that for you or, even better, stay away from Linux.
Unfortunately, there are far too many people out there lost in the "cool factor" of using Linux because it's different to what most other people run who don't think about the ramifications of doing so. Linux is *ONLY* a replacement for Windows if you spend as much time becoming accustomed to it as you did with Windows (albeit you learnt to use computers and Windows pretty transparently) and switching to Linux is not a decision to be taken lightly if you are pretty new to it.
Finally! I was getting sick of only experiencing advertisements on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, websites, video games, Tivo menus, Xbox 360 menus, Comcast guide screens, airplane TVs, billboards, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, movies, movie theater lobbies, stock cars, buses, bus stops, park benches, taxicabs, license plate holders, restrooms, posters on airport and train station walls, checkout lanes, grocery carts*, and shaved into the back of the occasional head.
You also forgot to mention the 4 inch diameter circle on the top of petrol/gas pump nozzles which also seems to be an important place to advertise chocolate bars on.
...and it's my expectation that my government takes a serious look at Open Source software in all public-funded areas such that money going into the Microsoft coffers might instead be used to pay for better cancer treatment in UK hospitals and/or better funded schools.
I do not deny that IT staff who support Windows day-to-day in the Public Sector would need to be trained to support Linux. But I'm sure this additional cost would soon be outweighed by the monies that no longer need to be spent on Microsoft licenses, anti-virus software and new PCs everytime a new MS OS is released.
If it does turn out that deploying Windows is cheaper than Linux, then I'm more than happy to see them stick with Windows - but the fact is that, so far, estimates of migrating to Open Source are just guesses without any real truth in reality.
People seem to be somewhat mistakenly making direct comparisons between OpenOffice and MS Office.
I do not deny for one minute that there are a minority of specialised MS Office users who write macros and VB programs for which OpenOffice would not be suitable - but for the majority of MS Office users that do use only about 10% of its features, OO is a perfectly good substitute.
And dare I mention one important fact. I work in the IT industry and have a large group of friends who also (mostly) work in high tech industry. All of them have MS Office on their home PCs but not one of them has actually paid for it - they've either borrowed a corporate license from their workplace or use cracks of the Internet. In my experience, when these people compare MS Office to OpenOffice, they forget that MS Office should probably have cost them a couple of hundred dollars/pounds/euros whereas OO is entirely free. If they were forced to pay for their copies of MS office, they would be a lot more inclined to at least give OO a try.
Of course, it really just means that overseas Linux users will either download the files illegally or they just won't listen to big 4 music at all.
I am an overseas (UK) Linux user and I entirely object to your above comment. I spend a ***LOT*** of time researching and listening to music (I watch virtually no TV) and every CD I like, I buy. No exceptions.
Then I just rip the CDs myself, in Linux or Windows.
So just because I choose not to pay for at least one of the operating systems I own, please don't assume I'm a music pirate. In actual fact, because I spend so much time finding the best prices for CDs, I actually consider them ***EXCELLENT*** value for money, far more than computer games or cable TV.
With a CD collection of 1000+ CDs, I have no problem paying artists for royalties or copyrights. I *DO* have a problem handing over money without getting something tangible in return - not to mention that I'm paying as much as (or even more than) what I can buy a complete CD for and get a nice shiny disk also.
Like the other responders have said, the true CD format does not allow for DRM or protected CDs.
In actuality, with a CD collection of over 1000 albums, I can count the number of DRM CDs I own on one hand - a Velvet Revolver one & the remastered CD of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells spring to mind; and I only keep those in my collection because they play okay everywhere & can be ripped easily with cdparanoia (in Linux) or ExactAudioCopy (in Windows). Had that none been the case, they would have gone back to the seller as faulty.
...it's available on things called "compact disks".
Plus you get a nice plastic case, sleeve notes & a nice shiny disk that sounds better in a reasonable hi-fi than any lossy downloaded file.
Oh, and did I forget to mention that good music albums (of which there are thousands) do not have just one or two good tracks - that particular property is reserved for the "great unwashed" who never shop beyond the shelves of their local supermarket for music.
You mean ***PAY*** someone to cause the heads of my hard disk to write a few ones and zeroes????
As a member of the older generation (40+), I should also say that I prefer CDs because I've invested in a reasonably hifi and spend as much time sat in a chair listening to music as other people spend watching TV.
To me, MP3s are great for portability when I'm at the gym or travelling - but they are NOT there for serious listening of music, just to provide something for the mind to focus on while doing something laborious.
My honest view is that most of the younger generation does not know how to listen to music properly and therefore appreciate it fully - a lot of it has to do with shorter attention spans of kids these days.
So please don't diss me for enjoying CDs - the fact is that because I love my music so much, I can usually carry around about 10 albums with me which I will always enjoy listening to from start to finish. So my having an iPod with 10,000 disparate songs on it is pointless.
... people don't want to pay $20 for a crappy cd to hear one half decent song.
If that happens to you then you're listening to the wrong music - I suggest you go off and do some more research into music.
There are thousands upon thousands of classic music albums out there if you can be bothered to venture beyond the shelves of your local supermarket for your music - plus, use eBay and GEMM to find the best prices. And if you're not sure, download it from BitTorrent first and buy it if you like it.
I've got hundreds of classic albums on CD, everyone of them is worth the money I paid for them and I consider a CD to be a great value product - because I've done enough research about the CD before buying it.
1. If you feel CDs have only one or two good tracks on them, then you're listening to the wrong music. It's that simple. Go & look for something new, you'll find it.
2. If you think CDs are too expensive, then buy online or in second-hand shops. A classic piece of music is usually worth every penny anyway, downloadable music is for "fashion fad" music designed to be thrown away after 6 months when something else more "cool" has come along.
I really do have far better things to do with my time than waste it any more with you also.
No, I am not obsessed with your statement about Linux games, but you also made three other incorrect statements which, you will note in my first post, I also dealt with:
1. Graphics cards not being usable in 24-bit mode
2. Wireless cards not working.
3. Complex package installers.
Someone who throws about abuse like "mental deficiency" is not worth any more effort on. I'm happy to argue intelligently with someone about specific points, but not with you - you're jumping around now, throwing abuse at me because you cannot directly respond to my comments, through lack of knowledge. By all accounts you've lost this argument.
Now please go away and do as you will - when you find some constructive comments or questions on Linux, I'll be happy to answer them but not with someone acting like a spoilt child who has not got his own way.
No, I disagree that you know what you're talking about when it comes to Linux - the statements you made are typical of somebody who has listened to far too much FUD rather than speaking from his own experience.
As far as zealots, (word I don't recall using), you seem to be acting like one in your maniacal post.
There is nothing maniacal in my post whatsoever. I simply won't sit back and listen to blatant mistruths or errors - your statement about games on Linux.
As far as zealots, (word I don't recall using), you seem to be acting like one in your maniacal post. Maybe one day you'll move out of your parents basement and learn to converse with people with a modicum of civility.
Actually, both my parents have been dead for 20+ years and I have a loving wife of some 14 years in a house with no basement. And I don't recall throwing around abusive words like "troll" purely because I disagreed with some of the things you said.
If anything, someone who does start to throw around abuse has probably reached the end of their abilities to continue with reasoned argument anyway. So let's end this conversation here.
Have I not myself said positive things about XP? For example, the fact that I rely on it for gaming and for a few excellent tools that have no true match under Linux.
My real beef is not with Windows users per se, but with Windows users who believe all the Linux FUD that is fed to them. If someone deems Linux as unsuitable for what they do on a computer then so be it, I admire them for their honesty. But these age old statements like "wireless doesn't work" or "packages are too difficult to install" just do not ring true any more with Linux if you choose the right distro and take a little care with choosing hardware.
Someone who does not want to spend some time learning Linux should not use it, it's that simple.
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I don't do any video editing personally and I'm mainly a Linux user. But most of my friends and relatives with Windows PCs can play far more games than a Mac user can and they tend to speak highly of the Pinnacle products to do video editing of their home movies on within Windows.
Besides which, video editing is more a factor of high processor speed, lots of memory and a well-written application to allow you to do it in and not really anything to do with the Mac platform or OS X.
My wife already has "Longhorn" - three times a week!
I'll get my coat...
Seven deadly sins Seven ways to Win(dows) Seven holy paths to hell And your trip begins
Seven downward slopes Seven bloodied hopes Seven are your burning fires, Seven your desires...
And not to mention the evil portent later on in the song of opening "the seventh seal" of the seventh iteration of your newly shrikwrapped Windows! Just hope they don't release it at 7:07 am on the 7th of July or we'll all be doomed!
I've done it - you end up with "Clippy" constantly asking you "What would you like to do?" in "edlin".
As a primarily Linux user, who uses Gentoo for frequent rolling minor updates rather than infrequent major updates, I keep a constant backup of the working kernel and configuration files by use of a cronjob shell script such that if a similar thing happened to me, if I couldn't fix it myself quickly, I would just do a rollback.
What I'm trying to say is that no-one denies that an update to *ANY* operating system can, potentially, screw the system up - but the fact is that preparing for such an eventuality is of primary importance.
I don't use Ubuntu but I would suspect if a Ubuntu update caused lots of people to have baulked machines, then, like Microsoft, Ubuntu would publish a fix on their web site to help get you out of it and it would be up to the user to go find and follow those instructions to get their machines back. But I suspect most Windows users would never bother even checking the MS web site, rather they'd just reinstall their machines or give it to an expert to fix.
In your particular case, it might be a wierd combination of hardware that has caused you, and maybe a handful of other people, to have a problem with an update that most other people didn't suffer. But the chances are that someone else more knowledgeable than you would have seen the problem, fixed it and put it up on the web somewhere - all it would take from you is a little clever Googling to find that out.
Ultimately, this issue has nothing to do with problems caused by whoever created the update, but about you making some effort to analyse what the problem is, look for a fix, and if there isn't one, post some polite messages in appropriate places asking for someone's help - whether it's Windows or Linux, someone will always jump to your assistance if you demonstrate that you can provide as much information as possible as to what the problem is.
Unlike Windows, where you have an expert on "every street corner", Linux requires that you take some responsibility for your own machines and learn as much as you can about how it works - if you're not prepared to do that, then you should find or pay for someone to do that for you or, even better, stay away from Linux.
Unfortunately, there are far too many people out there lost in the "cool factor" of using Linux because it's different to what most other people run who don't think about the ramifications of doing so. Linux is *ONLY* a replacement for Windows if you spend as much time becoming accustomed to it as you did with Windows (albeit you learnt to use computers and Windows pretty transparently) and switching to Linux is not a decision to be taken lightly if you are pretty new to it.
You also forgot to mention the 4 inch diameter circle on the top of petrol/gas pump nozzles which also seems to be an important place to advertise chocolate bars on.
I do not deny that IT staff who support Windows day-to-day in the Public Sector would need to be trained to support Linux. But I'm sure this additional cost would soon be outweighed by the monies that no longer need to be spent on Microsoft licenses, anti-virus software and new PCs everytime a new MS OS is released.
If it does turn out that deploying Windows is cheaper than Linux, then I'm more than happy to see them stick with Windows - but the fact is that, so far, estimates of migrating to Open Source are just guesses without any real truth in reality.
I do not deny for one minute that there are a minority of specialised MS Office users who write macros and VB programs for which OpenOffice would not be suitable - but for the majority of MS Office users that do use only about 10% of its features, OO is a perfectly good substitute.
And dare I mention one important fact. I work in the IT industry and have a large group of friends who also (mostly) work in high tech industry. All of them have MS Office on their home PCs but not one of them has actually paid for it - they've either borrowed a corporate license from their workplace or use cracks of the Internet. In my experience, when these people compare MS Office to OpenOffice, they forget that MS Office should probably have cost them a couple of hundred dollars/pounds/euros whereas OO is entirely free. If they were forced to pay for their copies of MS office, they would be a lot more inclined to at least give OO a try.
I am an overseas (UK) Linux user and I entirely object to your above comment. I spend a ***LOT*** of time researching and listening to music (I watch virtually no TV) and every CD I like, I buy. No exceptions.
Then I just rip the CDs myself, in Linux or Windows.
So just because I choose not to pay for at least one of the operating systems I own, please don't assume I'm a music pirate. In actual fact, because I spend so much time finding the best prices for CDs, I actually consider them ***EXCELLENT*** value for money, far more than computer games or cable TV.
Erm, the iPhone is locked into AT&T in the U.S. and over here in the UK it's locked into Orange.
Get used to it. Apple is as interested in being a monopoly as any other big, bad corporation.
Move along. Nothing to see here. Unless you're in the elitist minority.
With a CD collection of 1000+ CDs, I have no problem paying artists for royalties or copyrights. I *DO* have a problem handing over money without getting something tangible in return - not to mention that I'm paying as much as (or even more than) what I can buy a complete CD for and get a nice shiny disk also.
In actuality, with a CD collection of over 1000 albums, I can count the number of DRM CDs I own on one hand - a Velvet Revolver one & the remastered CD of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells spring to mind; and I only keep those in my collection because they play okay everywhere & can be ripped easily with cdparanoia (in Linux) or ExactAudioCopy (in Windows). Had that none been the case, they would have gone back to the seller as faulty.
Plus you get a nice plastic case, sleeve notes & a nice shiny disk that sounds better in a reasonable hi-fi than any lossy downloaded file.
Oh, and did I forget to mention that good music albums (of which there are thousands) do not have just one or two good tracks - that particular property is reserved for the "great unwashed" who never shop beyond the shelves of their local supermarket for music.
You mean ***PAY*** someone to cause the heads of my hard disk to write a few ones and zeroes????
To me, MP3s are great for portability when I'm at the gym or travelling - but they are NOT there for serious listening of music, just to provide something for the mind to focus on while doing something laborious.
My honest view is that most of the younger generation does not know how to listen to music properly and therefore appreciate it fully - a lot of it has to do with shorter attention spans of kids these days.
So please don't diss me for enjoying CDs - the fact is that because I love my music so much, I can usually carry around about 10 albums with me which I will always enjoy listening to from start to finish. So my having an iPod with 10,000 disparate songs on it is pointless.
If that happens to you then you're listening to the wrong music - I suggest you go off and do some more research into music.
There are thousands upon thousands of classic music albums out there if you can be bothered to venture beyond the shelves of your local supermarket for your music - plus, use eBay and GEMM to find the best prices. And if you're not sure, download it from BitTorrent first and buy it if you like it.
I've got hundreds of classic albums on CD, everyone of them is worth the money I paid for them and I consider a CD to be a great value product - because I've done enough research about the CD before buying it.
And to the critics who are going to flame me:
1. If you feel CDs have only one or two good tracks on them, then you're listening to the wrong music. It's that simple. Go & look for something new, you'll find it.
2. If you think CDs are too expensive, then buy online or in second-hand shops. A classic piece of music is usually worth every penny anyway, downloadable music is for "fashion fad" music designed to be thrown away after 6 months when something else more "cool" has come along.
Does that include your misplaced quote symbol?
Yep, "The Amazing Wallet Of Arthur C Clarke" and his propensity for sequels.
No, I am not obsessed with your statement about Linux games, but you also made three other incorrect statements which, you will note in my first post, I also dealt with:
1. Graphics cards not being usable in 24-bit mode
2. Wireless cards not working.
3. Complex package installers.
Someone who throws about abuse like "mental deficiency" is not worth any more effort on. I'm happy to argue intelligently with someone about specific points, but not with you - you're jumping around now, throwing abuse at me because you cannot directly respond to my comments, through lack of knowledge. By all accounts you've lost this argument.
Now please go away and do as you will - when you find some constructive comments or questions on Linux, I'll be happy to answer them but not with someone acting like a spoilt child who has not got his own way.
No, I disagree that you know what you're talking about when it comes to Linux - the statements you made are typical of somebody who has listened to far too much FUD rather than speaking from his own experience.
As far as zealots, (word I don't recall using), you seem to be acting like one in your maniacal post.
There is nothing maniacal in my post whatsoever. I simply won't sit back and listen to blatant mistruths or errors - your statement about games on Linux.
As far as zealots, (word I don't recall using), you seem to be acting like one in your maniacal post. Maybe one day you'll move out of your parents basement and learn to converse with people with a modicum of civility.
Actually, both my parents have been dead for 20+ years and I have a loving wife of some 14 years in a house with no basement. And I don't recall throwing around abusive words like "troll" purely because I disagreed with some of the things you said.
If anything, someone who does start to throw around abuse has probably reached the end of their abilities to continue with reasoned argument anyway. So let's end this conversation here.
But iPhone users are staring into their phones... I guess that says it all.
But I do see absolutely no value in 3D desktops - much rather a relatively fast and slick 2d window manager with virtual desktops.
My real beef is not with Windows users per se, but with Windows users who believe all the Linux FUD that is fed to them. If someone deems Linux as unsuitable for what they do on a computer then so be it, I admire them for their honesty. But these age old statements like "wireless doesn't work" or "packages are too difficult to install" just do not ring true any more with Linux if you choose the right distro and take a little care with choosing hardware.
Someone who does not want to spend some time learning Linux should not use it, it's that simple.
..."Ripping Is Allowed, Assholes"