Your point is valid for the scenarios you mention. Personally, if I know I need to work on something remotely I'll save it to my laptop hard drive and and work on it locally before uploading it again when I'm connected again. If you use multiple computers or you never know when you'll need to work on a file then your suggestion to keep a USB drive is a more sensible idea.
Sure it's free but you get what you pay for. I'd rather pay a huge web host that isn't going anywhere for some open-ended FTP storage, than surrender my personal documents to a fly by night startup that could close shop any time!
I hope your system swap/paging files are not on the flash drive or you're going to wear it out in record time. You get a very finite number of writes and deletes on flash memory sectors and there's no faster way to reach that limit than to put a swap file on there.
Rather than maintain my regular pattern of buying and losing ever-larger USB drives, I've opted instead to pay $5 to a web host with FTP access. I get 120GB of storage, can assign a domain name or subdomain to any directory if I want to label some specific content, or I can set up something fancy like a PHP/SQL CMS or wiki if I want to keep things organized. This content is available to me anywhere with internet access.
I do keep a small USB drive in my pocket if I'm doing an important presentation and don't want to take a chance on shoddy web access. That's the only time I ever rely on a USB drive, though. I'm simply too clumsy to trust myself with gigs of data in my pocket. The cheaper storage gets, the more valuable the data in my pocket become!
I've never used Eyetoy or other webcam-based games, but somehow I don't think it could afford the same degree of responsiveness of the Wiimote. You can play rhythm-based games on Wii but I doubt this would be possible with a webcam. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but it does limit its possible uses.
Your claims are false. The quicklaunch concept is different on Win7. They've combined quicklaunch with the taskbar so that the same button will either open the first instance of that app or will minimize/maximize it. Also, you can pin documents to each of those quicklaunch icons so that you can instantly access a file and open it with that specific program (handy if you have multiple handlers). Finally, when you're copying files there is a progress bar behind that application's icon on the taskbar.
What's stupid about TFA is that it basically concentrates on how many CPU cycles are required to perform a task, but what about the number of steps the end-user has to follow to perform a task? That's the real value of Win7 - usability.
Zero_Kelvin: We can install Linux dual boot! You can use Linux for your real computing, and use Windows as a game OS until you get a real gaming box!
Joe: Okay, so you're telling me that to play the game I paid for I should use the operating system I paid for. So why do I need this limix thing you're telling me about?
Sounds to me like you've weighed your variables and acted accordingly. My workplace has high tech users but often withholds the requisite tools to do their jobs most effectively, so I default into the defensive position on this matter.
Ah, nLite. What an awesome piece of software. I wonder if there will be a version for Win7?
Your points ring true, but I'm of mixed opinions when it comes to disabling some features. I used to disable last file access time in NTFS to boost file system performance, but it didn't seem like much of a performance gain, plus it's a useful feature when you're looking for a file you worked on 2 weeks ago. Thumbnails are another hot topic - they slow down your PC but speed up your decision making.
I guess it's all about finding the golden ratio of speed vs. functionality, and a lot of that comes down to just how organized you are. I'm embarrassed to say that with the introduction of desktop search I've gotten a LOT sloppier.
Sort of. Maybe the top command was a bad example of the concept I had in mind because I want to know not only what tasks are running and how many resources they are consuming, but a summary of what they are doing.
I admit I haven't lived in Ubuntu ever, and I won't pretend like I've never had driver issues in Windows. I guess someone who has spent equal amount of time in both Windows and Linux (maybe that's you) would be more qualified to make statements about this. All I can talk about is my own experiences, and honestly the trouble I've had with drivers in Linux is comparable only to my experiences with Windows 3.1 At least Ubuntu now gives an option, out of the box, to download the closed-source drivers I struggled with so hard in previous versions.
So what I'm saying is that I've changed my mind. If you say that linux has comparable driver support to Windows then I will consider this possibility and not allow that to be a presupposition in my mind in the future. Maybe some of my devices were the exception by not having linux drivers available, but I can't ignore the fact that it was trivial to use those same devices in Windows.
You're right about netbooks and, specifically, SSDs. I'm not much of a laptop user so I don't have all the facts, but I understand that the various power profiles you can choose in Vista and 7 make a big difference in terms of which features are enabled while you're running on battery. As for SSDs, that's a brand new technology and technically everything you do with an SSD brings it one step closer to death, but it's fast enough that you don't really need to precache anything, so I'll be interested to hear how Microsoft plans to deal with those as well.
P.s., I upgraded from Vista to Win7 in maybe 2 hours by copying over my documents and appdata directories. This restored my browser histories and extensions, application settings, my email, my address books, and pretty much everything I cared about in Vista. The only reason it took this long was because I had to install each app and run it before copying the profile over.
That was a really fantastic post and I do feel like some of my words were reactionary rather than objective. It's a tough to discuss this topic objectively because we all use one OS primarily and thus we often discuss the contrasts between OSes, rather than the standalone merits of any one.
In no way do I mean to say that Windows is the best solution for a Linux user, nor for all users in general. The point I think I failed to convey is that the right product for you is the right product for you. For me personally I feel the right product is Windows, and nobody has yet been able to convince me otherwise. I'm actually looking to be convinced, else I wouldn't waste my keystrokes on a public discussion forum, so I thank you profusely for being so thorough and level-headed in your response.
You struck a real nerve when you mentioned audio production. That's something I've done extensively on Microsoft operating systems since the DOS days, and you're 100% correct that MS is starting to take control out of my hands to do that effectively. For example, in Vista (and 7) MS took away some internal routing controls which reduced me to buying a patch cable to hook one sound card's line in to the other card's line out. That's some archaic vacuum tube shit right there, and now that you mention it I'm sure I could have done the same thing purely with software on Linux.
Users grow into, and grow with, the platform they use the most. I think you are absolutely correct that Linux can be everything a user needs, and more, in many realistic use cases. I'm not necessarily talking about those people in my previous comments, though. It's unrealistic for most casual (or even hardcore) users to "make the switch" to any other OS without giving up some significant abilities in the process, and even a more open framework can feel restrictive when you give up some feature you rely upon.
Most important, I believe you are correct that it is more fair to compare Linux and Windows as "paradigms" rather than "eras". When I used those terms I was speaking specifically about the OS-level UI, but now that you've revealed some of the intricacies I can see my words may have been too general.
I'm a fanboy of the things I find reliable. Fault me for that if you like.
And the release candidate is certainly more than a "trailer". It's a fully functional snapshot of the entire product as it stands today. Yes it's in development, and yes Microsoft gains non-monetary value from me by testing this prerelease product, but it's still something I find valuable.
Wow.. I just tried dragging a gadget off my Vista sidebar and indeed, there it is on my desktop! I had no idea. Strange that 7 would do away with the sidebar entirely since some people must prefer the sidebar. Thanks for correcting me on that!
To be fair, most of the times I called Microsoft Support I was indeed deflected to an Indian call centre. However, even if they are script readers, their scripts are very detailed. Calling Microsoft's toll free support number has solved my problem every time I've tried it.
As for me not being objective, you need to re-read my Linux comments as I clearly prefix them with "in my opinion". I don't pretend to speak for everyone, but perhaps someone out there nodded his head while reading my opinion.
Regarding drivers, I guess you had more luck with your hardware drivers than I. I've tried various Linux distros on a few desktop and laptop machines and always seem to find one or two (or five) components that lay dormant due to lack of driver support. Maybe I'm unlucky or maybe I'm too dumb to figure out how to install the driver, but I don't find either prospect very welcoming.
Regarding support, I was talking specifically about where Microsoft is the OEM. Microsoft offers support for the products they manufacture and I've had great experiences talking to their support reps (except for product activations - that pisses me off to no end). Ask me if you want examples.
Finally, regarding holistic experiences, I'm confused by your contradicting statements. You tell me you use command line extensively in Windows, you say Ubuntu is your primary desktop yet you boot to Windows for some applications, and you recommend I use Apple. "Holistic" means the quality of bringing all the parts together into one whole. Windows does that for me very neatly, so why would I take your advice of using a loose patchwork of unrelated standalone applications? I think perhaps I'm not the only one who needs to take a step back to re-evaluate the solutions out there today.
What was my message? First of all, it wasn't a message for you - it was for the person I was replying to who compared an old version of Windows to a new version of Linux which is not the point you are making. Second, what the heck do you think Windows does regarding wired networks and default printers? Brings up Clippy asking whether you want to print or make freshly squeezed orange juice?
The only point you raise that has any relevance to anything is price. If Linux meets your needs then that's fantastic - use it. The software available for Linux does not meet my needs so for me spending money on Windows is the path of least resistance. Luckily Microsoft has a shiny new version of Windows which has nicer features than the previous version, so that's what I'm on/. talking about today. When you feel like choosing the same topic as me you're welcome to come sit at the grownups' table, but before you do please read the context before replying and missing the mark.
You've made my argument for me. I never said Windows was innovating, I said it has a sleek user experience. I don't care much about innovation - I just want to get my computing tasks done efficiently. Yes these features, or the potential to create these features, is available elsewhere, but here it all is in one package. You've made the point even more salient than I could have by mentioning features in 20 years worth of operating systems - I love that it's all brought together under one roof.
Agreed 100%. I'm really disappointed at the small gadget community. Most gadgets are ugly, broken, or pointless. Microsoft should really be paving the way with some very professional, polished gadgets. I'm very disappointed at Microsoft for dropping the ball here, and for the conspicuous lack of Vista Ultimate Extras. You'd think they could assign a team of 10 engineers to these initiatives just to save face.
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Your point is valid for the scenarios you mention. Personally, if I know I need to work on something remotely I'll save it to my laptop hard drive and and work on it locally before uploading it again when I'm connected again. If you use multiple computers or you never know when you'll need to work on a file then your suggestion to keep a USB drive is a more sensible idea.
Sure it's free but you get what you pay for. I'd rather pay a huge web host that isn't going anywhere for some open-ended FTP storage, than surrender my personal documents to a fly by night startup that could close shop any time!
Read my whole post before replying, please.
I hope your system swap/paging files are not on the flash drive or you're going to wear it out in record time. You get a very finite number of writes and deletes on flash memory sectors and there's no faster way to reach that limit than to put a swap file on there.
Rather than maintain my regular pattern of buying and losing ever-larger USB drives, I've opted instead to pay $5 to a web host with FTP access. I get 120GB of storage, can assign a domain name or subdomain to any directory if I want to label some specific content, or I can set up something fancy like a PHP/SQL CMS or wiki if I want to keep things organized. This content is available to me anywhere with internet access.
I do keep a small USB drive in my pocket if I'm doing an important presentation and don't want to take a chance on shoddy web access. That's the only time I ever rely on a USB drive, though. I'm simply too clumsy to trust myself with gigs of data in my pocket. The cheaper storage gets, the more valuable the data in my pocket become!
I've never used Eyetoy or other webcam-based games, but somehow I don't think it could afford the same degree of responsiveness of the Wiimote. You can play rhythm-based games on Wii but I doubt this would be possible with a webcam. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but it does limit its possible uses.
Those same power users are also sitting down to Windows 7 and saying to themselves "WOW! I can do this task in 2 clicks instead of 6!"
Your claims are false. The quicklaunch concept is different on Win7. They've combined quicklaunch with the taskbar so that the same button will either open the first instance of that app or will minimize/maximize it. Also, you can pin documents to each of those quicklaunch icons so that you can instantly access a file and open it with that specific program (handy if you have multiple handlers). Finally, when you're copying files there is a progress bar behind that application's icon on the taskbar.
What's stupid about TFA is that it basically concentrates on how many CPU cycles are required to perform a task, but what about the number of steps the end-user has to follow to perform a task? That's the real value of Win7 - usability.
Zero_Kelvin: We can install Linux dual boot! You can use Linux for your real computing, and use Windows as a game OS until you get a real gaming box!
Joe: Okay, so you're telling me that to play the game I paid for I should use the operating system I paid for. So why do I need this limix thing you're telling me about?
Sounds to me like you've weighed your variables and acted accordingly. My workplace has high tech users but often withholds the requisite tools to do their jobs most effectively, so I default into the defensive position on this matter.
When it comes to battery-powered PCs you're absolutely right. Precaching is literally penny wise, pound foolish.
Ah, nLite. What an awesome piece of software. I wonder if there will be a version for Win7?
Your points ring true, but I'm of mixed opinions when it comes to disabling some features. I used to disable last file access time in NTFS to boost file system performance, but it didn't seem like much of a performance gain, plus it's a useful feature when you're looking for a file you worked on 2 weeks ago. Thumbnails are another hot topic - they slow down your PC but speed up your decision making.
I guess it's all about finding the golden ratio of speed vs. functionality, and a lot of that comes down to just how organized you are. I'm embarrassed to say that with the introduction of desktop search I've gotten a LOT sloppier.
Sort of. Maybe the top command was a bad example of the concept I had in mind because I want to know not only what tasks are running and how many resources they are consuming, but a summary of what they are doing.
I admit I haven't lived in Ubuntu ever, and I won't pretend like I've never had driver issues in Windows. I guess someone who has spent equal amount of time in both Windows and Linux (maybe that's you) would be more qualified to make statements about this. All I can talk about is my own experiences, and honestly the trouble I've had with drivers in Linux is comparable only to my experiences with Windows 3.1 At least Ubuntu now gives an option, out of the box, to download the closed-source drivers I struggled with so hard in previous versions.
So what I'm saying is that I've changed my mind. If you say that linux has comparable driver support to Windows then I will consider this possibility and not allow that to be a presupposition in my mind in the future. Maybe some of my devices were the exception by not having linux drivers available, but I can't ignore the fact that it was trivial to use those same devices in Windows.
You're right about netbooks and, specifically, SSDs. I'm not much of a laptop user so I don't have all the facts, but I understand that the various power profiles you can choose in Vista and 7 make a big difference in terms of which features are enabled while you're running on battery. As for SSDs, that's a brand new technology and technically everything you do with an SSD brings it one step closer to death, but it's fast enough that you don't really need to precache anything, so I'll be interested to hear how Microsoft plans to deal with those as well.
P.s., I upgraded from Vista to Win7 in maybe 2 hours by copying over my documents and appdata directories. This restored my browser histories and extensions, application settings, my email, my address books, and pretty much everything I cared about in Vista. The only reason it took this long was because I had to install each app and run it before copying the profile over.
That was a really fantastic post and I do feel like some of my words were reactionary rather than objective. It's a tough to discuss this topic objectively because we all use one OS primarily and thus we often discuss the contrasts between OSes, rather than the standalone merits of any one.
In no way do I mean to say that Windows is the best solution for a Linux user, nor for all users in general. The point I think I failed to convey is that the right product for you is the right product for you. For me personally I feel the right product is Windows, and nobody has yet been able to convince me otherwise. I'm actually looking to be convinced, else I wouldn't waste my keystrokes on a public discussion forum, so I thank you profusely for being so thorough and level-headed in your response.
You struck a real nerve when you mentioned audio production. That's something I've done extensively on Microsoft operating systems since the DOS days, and you're 100% correct that MS is starting to take control out of my hands to do that effectively. For example, in Vista (and 7) MS took away some internal routing controls which reduced me to buying a patch cable to hook one sound card's line in to the other card's line out. That's some archaic vacuum tube shit right there, and now that you mention it I'm sure I could have done the same thing purely with software on Linux.
Users grow into, and grow with, the platform they use the most. I think you are absolutely correct that Linux can be everything a user needs, and more, in many realistic use cases. I'm not necessarily talking about those people in my previous comments, though. It's unrealistic for most casual (or even hardcore) users to "make the switch" to any other OS without giving up some significant abilities in the process, and even a more open framework can feel restrictive when you give up some feature you rely upon.
Most important, I believe you are correct that it is more fair to compare Linux and Windows as "paradigms" rather than "eras". When I used those terms I was speaking specifically about the OS-level UI, but now that you've revealed some of the intricacies I can see my words may have been too general.
I tried - I unzipped the setup.exe and tried installing by right-clicking the inf files. No joy.
I'm a fanboy of the things I find reliable. Fault me for that if you like.
And the release candidate is certainly more than a "trailer". It's a fully functional snapshot of the entire product as it stands today. Yes it's in development, and yes Microsoft gains non-monetary value from me by testing this prerelease product, but it's still something I find valuable.
Wow.. I just tried dragging a gadget off my Vista sidebar and indeed, there it is on my desktop! I had no idea. Strange that 7 would do away with the sidebar entirely since some people must prefer the sidebar. Thanks for correcting me on that!
To be fair, most of the times I called Microsoft Support I was indeed deflected to an Indian call centre. However, even if they are script readers, their scripts are very detailed. Calling Microsoft's toll free support number has solved my problem every time I've tried it.
I'm not going to quote everything here.
As for me not being objective, you need to re-read my Linux comments as I clearly prefix them with "in my opinion". I don't pretend to speak for everyone, but perhaps someone out there nodded his head while reading my opinion.
Regarding drivers, I guess you had more luck with your hardware drivers than I. I've tried various Linux distros on a few desktop and laptop machines and always seem to find one or two (or five) components that lay dormant due to lack of driver support. Maybe I'm unlucky or maybe I'm too dumb to figure out how to install the driver, but I don't find either prospect very welcoming.
Regarding support, I was talking specifically about where Microsoft is the OEM. Microsoft offers support for the products they manufacture and I've had great experiences talking to their support reps (except for product activations - that pisses me off to no end). Ask me if you want examples.
Finally, regarding holistic experiences, I'm confused by your contradicting statements. You tell me you use command line extensively in Windows, you say Ubuntu is your primary desktop yet you boot to Windows for some applications, and you recommend I use Apple. "Holistic" means the quality of bringing all the parts together into one whole. Windows does that for me very neatly, so why would I take your advice of using a loose patchwork of unrelated standalone applications? I think perhaps I'm not the only one who needs to take a step back to re-evaluate the solutions out there today.
What was my message? First of all, it wasn't a message for you - it was for the person I was replying to who compared an old version of Windows to a new version of Linux which is not the point you are making. Second, what the heck do you think Windows does regarding wired networks and default printers? Brings up Clippy asking whether you want to print or make freshly squeezed orange juice?
The only point you raise that has any relevance to anything is price. If Linux meets your needs then that's fantastic - use it. The software available for Linux does not meet my needs so for me spending money on Windows is the path of least resistance. Luckily Microsoft has a shiny new version of Windows which has nicer features than the previous version, so that's what I'm on /. talking about today. When you feel like choosing the same topic as me you're welcome to come sit at the grownups' table, but before you do please read the context before replying and missing the mark.
You've made my argument for me. I never said Windows was innovating, I said it has a sleek user experience. I don't care much about innovation - I just want to get my computing tasks done efficiently. Yes these features, or the potential to create these features, is available elsewhere, but here it all is in one package. You've made the point even more salient than I could have by mentioning features in 20 years worth of operating systems - I love that it's all brought together under one roof.
Agreed 100%. I'm really disappointed at the small gadget community. Most gadgets are ugly, broken, or pointless. Microsoft should really be paving the way with some very professional, polished gadgets. I'm very disappointed at Microsoft for dropping the ball here, and for the conspicuous lack of Vista Ultimate Extras. You'd think they could assign a team of 10 engineers to these initiatives just to save face.