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View Poll Results: Which Computer Operating System Is The Best?

Voters
3. You may not vote on this poll
  • Windows 10 is the best operating system

    1 33.33%
  • Linux is the best operating system

    2 66.67%
  • Ubuntu is the best operating system

    0 0%
  • Windows 10 has the best support network

    0 0%
  • Linux has the best support network

    2 66.67%
  • Ubuntu has the best support network

    0 0%
  • Windows 10 has least user issues

    0 0%
  • Linux has the least user issues

    2 66.67%
  • Ubuntu has the least user issues

    0 0%
  • Windows 10 has best futuristic technology

    0 0%
  • Linux has best futuristic technology

    2 66.67%
  • Ubuntu has best futuristic technology

    0 0%
Multiple Choice Poll.
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Results 21 to 30 of 71

Thread: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

  1. #21
    Forum Saint burgyeb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by johnwash1 View Post
    Gosh, where shall we start!

    First, any Linux version is free open source, not just Ubuntu. Mainly that's because of how the licence works. A very few companies have attempted to build non-free desktops on top of Linux, but I believe all have failed or been very unpopular.

    Ubuntu Linux, which is built on top of Debian Linux, has been hugely successful because of several aspects. They've put a lot of attention into making it easy to use, they've also created very friendly support forums. Neither of those are true for all Linux versions, some are very much for experienced users, or for servers, or embedded devices, or mainframes, and some support forums can be hard for a beginner to get help -- ask a question in a naive fashion and get mocked. Sad, though as Linux gains popularity and years ago became non just for geeks, that kind of treatment has been more rare. In Ubuntu's forums there is a code of conduct, so if anyone is stupid enough to be unfriendly to a beginner, they will be the one pilloried, not the beginner.

    Ubuntu has a predictable release schedule (unlike some versions of Linux, which say "it's ready when it's ready!"). Every 2 years there's a 'long term support' (LTS) release, which is supported with security fixes etc for 5 years (the most recent is version 16.04, released in April 2016). There's also more bleeding edge releases every 6 months, but I'd advise you to steer clear until you're more experienced.

    Cheaver mentions Linux Mint, that's another good one for beginners, an offshoot of Ubuntu, and with the same friendly values. I like Mint a lot.

    However, the best version for you is the one that some friend or acquaintance is familiar with. You can learn entirely on your own, and with the help of forums and the wealth of material on the web, but it's good to have personal help on hand. Check www.lug.org.uk to find a Linux user group near you. Oh! I've just realised you're not in the UK, ok, then scratch that idea, but I'm sure there are user groups all over the world.

    You ask about applications, but that depends on your interests and needs.

    And there's no need to make a jump to Linux straight away. Prepare for it. Use open source programs on Windows (or Mac) that are also available on Linux. That way, when you do jump, the transition will seem much easier. After all, few of us are interested in an operating system for its own sake. 99% of the time that we're using the computer, we're using applications, such as web browsers, mail clients, photo organisers...

    If you use Windows, stop using IE or Edge, start using Firefox (I prefer it as a web browser and it's one of the first things I install on a Windows PC). I'd recommend Firefox even if you have no intention whatsoever of moving away from Windows.

    Use Thunderbird as a mail client, or if you use web mail of course that's equally available to you on any platform.

    Try out LibreOffice, it reads and writes MS docs.

    If you're a heavyweight Photoshop user, try Gimp (though there are also less advanced image editors).

    And so on. There are plenty of sites that recommend alternatives, e.g. www.alternative.to.
    Thank you Johnwash1 for your very comprehensive and informative post. It will provide a great spring board for further research.

    Thank you Cheaver for posting helpful links for support groups.

    I have found most posts helpful in providing helpful information and/or experiences, that will help me and others decide on a suitable operating system.

  2. #22

    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    I am getting ready to try Linux Lite on one of my computers.
    https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=lite

  3. #23
    Forum Saint burgyeb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by sherlock07 View Post
    A friend of mine has Windows 10, it as just done an update and remove all of her prefered programs and replaced them with microsoft ones, i.e.

    Firefox gone replaced with microsoft can reinstall, but all customisations gone
    antivirus gone replaced with microsoft security stuff

    Could go on, but I wont.

    It was very helpfull in putting a text document on the home screen, proudly announcing what it had removed.

    So glad I did not go to 10, but stayed on Vista, when the support goes for Vista it is Linux for me.
    Windows 10 was sited by several posters as having too much control of the system. (See posts 7, 10, 11, and 13)

    Could Windows 10 undo a Linux or application installations? Is there a way to get around the control issue?

    Also, would a windows 10 system warranty be impacted if Linux was installed?

  4. #24

    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by burgyeb View Post
    Windows 10 was sited by several posters as having too much control of the system. (See posts 7, 10, 11, and 13)

    Could Windows 10 undo a Linux or application installations? Is there a way to get around the control issue?

    Also, would a windows 10 system warranty be impacted if Linux was installed?
    Windows doesn't even know if Linux is installed. You have Linux in a separate partition (or in a virtual machine if your pc has adequate ram) and when Windows is running it can't even see the Linux filesystem. Which can be a little inconvenient at times, and MS could easily rectify this if they wished, but they have no love for Linux.

    In contrast, from Linux you can read and write the Windows NTFS file system. In Windows 10 Microsoft have made this less easy -- you have to turn off "fast boot".

    I don't think you'll get a blanket answer to your question about warranty. It will depend on the supplier. My view is there's no reason it should be impacted, but arguing that might not do you any good.

    And of course some suppliers are just plain awful. E.g. if you take your pc to PC World with a broken Windows system, they're very likely to say something like "Oh, the hard drive is broken, we'll install a new hard drive!". Bam! All your data is gone. Back to a factory default Windows system. Whereas many times, with the help of Linux, I've managed to save most or all of the user's data.

    My defence against the warranty concern costs a bit extra, but is fine for me. I recently bought a refurbished Windows 7 laptop, a high end model that 2 or 3 years ago cost around £1,500, 17" screen, i7 processor, 16GB ram. I simply took out the 2.5" hard drive and put it on the shelf, ready to put back if a warranty issue came up. I replaced it with an SSD and installed Linux. Faster performance and no worries about warranty.
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  5. #25
    Forum Saint burgyeb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by johnwash1 View Post
    Windows doesn't even know if Linux is installed. You have Linux in a separate partition (or in a virtual machine if your pc has adequate ram) and when Windows is running it can't even see the Linux filesystem. Which can be a little inconvenient at times, and MS could easily rectify this if they wished, but they have no love for Linux.

    In contrast, from Linux you can read and write the Windows NTFS file system. In Windows 10 Microsoft have made this less easy -- you have to turn off "fast boot".

    I don't think you'll get a blanket answer to your question about warranty. It will depend on the supplier. My view is there's no reason it should be impacted, but arguing that might not do you any good.

    And of course some suppliers are just plain awful. E.g. if you take your pc to PC World with a broken Windows system, they're very likely to say something like "Oh, the hard drive is broken, we'll install a new hard drive!". Bam! All your data is gone. Back to a factory default Windows system. Whereas many times, with the help of Linux, I've managed to save most or all of the user's data.

    My defence against the warranty concern costs a bit extra, but is fine for me. I recently bought a refurbished Windows 7 laptop, a high end model that 2 or 3 years ago cost around £1,500, 17" screen, i7 processor, 16GB ram. I simply took out the 2.5" hard drive and put it on the shelf, ready to put back if a warranty issue came up. I replaced it with an SSD and installed Linux. Faster performance and no worries about warranty.
    Thank you once again; really appreciate you sharing your wealth of knowledge with me and the eBid community.

    I have pretty much decided the W10 is not a good fit for me. The information you provided has helped me make that decision, provided quality information to make a plan, and begin the research process.

    P.S. Do you accept pms? Will be to the point, and infrequent. Not really a pm type; prefer open communication, as it allows the online community to benefit from the shared information. But certain questions or comments harder for me to share in a public forum.

  6. #26
    Forum Saint burgyeb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by burgyeb View Post
    I have pretty much decided the W10 is not a good fit for me. The information you provided has helped me make that decision, provided quality information to make a plan, and begin the research process.
    Having decided that Windows 10 is not a good fit; I've developed a 3 month action plan. Started the plan yesterday; with 1-2 day, 1 week, 1-2 months, and 3 month time frames for meeting stated, timed objectives.

    Completed both 1-2 day time frames yesterday, by:
    1) Initiating the research process

    2) Reviewing all posts and listing them based on being a question, an issue, or a resource (recommendation*).

    * Online research done initially for Linux Mint (Cinnamon & Mate), Ubuntu, and Lite. Leaning towards Ubuntu currently, but will be researching these beginner operating systems further.

  7. #27

    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by burgyeb View Post
    Thank you once again; really appreciate you sharing your wealth of knowledge with me and the eBid community.

    I have pretty much decided the W10 is not a good fit for me. The information you provided has helped me make that decision, provided quality information to make a plan, and begin the research process.

    P.S. Do you accept pms? Will be to the point, and infrequent. Not really a pm type; prefer open communication, as it allows the online community to benefit from the shared information. But certain questions or comments harder for me to share in a public forum.
    I prefer open too, but I agree sometimes there's aspects that are best covered privately (e.g. because of personal issues or because it would be irrelevant for everyone else).

    PMs are ok, or just straight email (ebid at johnwash, dot co dot uk). I do acknowledge communication, so if you don't get a reply within 24/48 hours, resend.

    Re your other post, wow, you're being very methodical, I'm impressed.
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  8. #28
    Forum Saint burgyeb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by johnwash1 View Post
    I prefer open too, but I agree sometimes there's aspects that are best covered privately (e.g. because of personal issues or because it would be irrelevant for everyone else).

    PMs are ok, or just straight email (ebid at johnwash, dot co dot uk). I do acknowledge communication, so if you don't get a reply within 24/48 hours, resend.

    Re your other post, wow, you're being very methodical, I'm impressed.
    Currently addressing my 3rd plan objective (1 week), which is to develop a list of relevant questions for manufacturer's support team contact.


    I feel more comfortable approaching them now about concerns with the operating system (Windows 10), the warranty, etc.

    Most of my plan activity will probably occur during the 1-2 month time frame. Have also set up an objective concerning the pm contacts to:
    4)Limit pm questions to 3 or less, over the next 1-2 months.

    Thought this would help to keep me actively involved with the process. Also not over burden you with the details.

    Since I established that limitation, will contact you only if I can not figure something out, or can not get an answer from the manufacturer's support team or Linux support network.

  9. #29
    Forum Saint burgyeb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by burgyeb View Post
    Currently addressing my 3rd plan objective (1 week), which is to develop a list of relevant questions for manufacturer's support team contact.


    I feel more comfortable approaching them now about concerns with the operating system (Windows 10), the warranty, etc.

    Most of my plan activity will probably occur during the 1-2 month time frame.
    Well I did it!

    Completed my list of questions and contacted the manufacturer's support team. The list helped to keep the conversation focused.

    The issue of control surfaced with even the most mundane questions. The offer to take remote control came early in the "support call". I skipped discussion on concern about control with Windows 10 operating system; seemed pointless.

    BTW, was told it was a no go, to add another operating system to the computer. That doing so would void the warranty. Pretty much what I expected to hear.

    So moving on to the fun part, the 1-2 month time frame objectives. This will include continuing the research process for operating systems, apps, and potential support networks.

  10. #30

    Default Re: Windows 10, Linux, Ubuntu

    Congrats on your progress. Great idea to have a list in advance to keep it focussed.

    Well, if they cared (as if!) remote control would be just as easy with Linux. I use TeamViewer regularly, and it saves me no end of trouble. It works on all 3 major platforms, Windows, Linux and Mac, between any of them. For example I use it when my brother-in-law in Florida wants help on his Mac (and at my end I'm using Linux). It's quite amazing, all the way across the Atlantic, and my broadband is only 5Mbps, yet there's hardly any lag at all.

    But of course that's not the point, evidently their support staff wouldn't want to touch Linux.

    If you really feel the warranty has significant value for you, perhaps you should wait until it's out of warranty. That's my attitude with a new laptop, either I replace the hard drive (so I can put it back in the event of a warranty claim) or else I wait a year before risking tearing it apart for any reason. If your concern about warranty is to do with software support, hmmm, if you can find a supplier that has clued up software support you're doing really well. In most cases a bit of google searching will get you better answers!
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