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Thread: New computer. Need advise.

  1. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by paul cottingham View Post
    Anyone who says Linux is hard to use has never used it. It is just as easy and as hard as windows, for the average end user. I'm just saying'
    Quote Originally Posted by Myk Rian View Post
    Bunch of BS. Re-read my previous post #38
    It is NOT for the average home user.
    I agree with Paul, and I mostly agree with Myk.

    And that is because deciding whether or not it is suited to the average home user is NOT about whether or not it is hard. Rather it is about whether or not it is familiar to a majority of people.

    I have a Computer Science Bachelor's and Master's degree. I've been using Unix since 1987, and Linux since 1998 in my career.
    But when I started a new job that involved supporting Windows, it was HARD because I didn't know enough about it. It was unfamiliar. (It also has an incredibly stupid design and horrible security, but that is another matter.) Ask your average user to edit the registry and see if they can do it. Ask your average user to start mucking about with DLL files and see if they can do it. Ask your average user to find where their email is stored on disk and they probably don't know. (Heck I still bump into people who confuse the Monitor with the Computer.) BUT, and this is the big one, every town has umpteen stores with geeks in them who might be able to help you, and everyone has friends who use Windows, and so on.

    Linux just doesn't have that market penetration. I fully believe that modern Linux (Ubuntu is my favourite for "it just works" in the Linux world) is just as hard as Windows. But it still is less familiar.

    ...art

    ps: and don't ask me for advice, Larry, I bought my wife a Mac precisely because it is familiar to her and far simpler than Windows, and I have since bought myself an iMac also at home also. And I still think Windows is annoying and stupid.
    "It's Not About You."

  2. #47
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    I've heard good things about Vision Computers in Georgia. Customer support is supposed to be top notch and USA based. Check out their web site: http://www.visioncomputers.com
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]If you first don't succeed, TRY, TRY AGAIN...

  3. #48
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    while its true linux does not have the same market share as windows or mac i have found the recent linux releases to be very usable and user friendly...it took a while to get used to it but once past that it is not bad.
    Last edited by Chuck Wintle; 03-08-2012 at 4:43 PM.

  4. #49
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    Yep. And for the record, I hate the new interface in Ubuntu almost as much as I hate vista or windows 7.
    Paul

  5. #50
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    The Linux/Windows debate is closed. Actually I would not mind trying Linux, kind of intrigues me but......

    I have taught my wife my secret codes to figure out my billing so I don't have to do it any more, and she uses Windows 7 Pro and Quickbooks every day at her real job. So on weekends when she catches up on my junk, she wants 7.

    I let her think she is the boss........

    Larry

  6. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by paul cottingham View Post
    Yep. And for the record, I hate the new interface in Ubuntu almost as much as I hate vista or windows 7.
    That's all? Spend a few minutes on Ubuntuforums.org. You'd think Unity is what will really bring about the end of days . Larry, if you want to tinker and still have a working Windows box, there are ways to run Linux (and yes, Ubuntu is excellent for the non-initiated, as is Linux Mint, an Ubuntu spinoff) either from a CD/DVD or from a USB flash drive. As long as you don't choose "install", it will not touch your hard drive or windows install. Wired networking will probably work from the 'Live session' wireless may or may not. For anyone considering a new machine and wanting to tinker with Linux, going all Intel is a safe choice. Intel graphics, Intel networking "just work" for the most part. I have non-Intel and most things 'just work' but things that don't can send you in search of your largest hammer.

  7. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by Curt Harms View Post
    That's all? Spend a few minutes on Ubuntuforums.org. You'd think Unity is what will really bring about the end of days . Larry, if you want to tinker and still have a working Windows box, there are ways to run Linux (and yes, Ubuntu is excellent for the non-initiated, as is Linux Mint, an Ubuntu spinoff) either from a CD/DVD or from a USB flash drive. As long as you don't choose "install", it will not touch your hard drive or windows install. Wired networking will probably work from the 'Live session' wireless may or may not. For anyone considering a new machine and wanting to tinker with Linux, going all Intel is a safe choice. Intel graphics, Intel networking "just work" for the most part. I have non-Intel and most things 'just work' but things that don't can send you in search of your largest hammer.
    my experience with live versions of linux is that wired networking works.

  8. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Edgerton View Post
    The Linux/Windows debate is closed.
    My SisInLaw had a computer made up in Cheboygan. Don't remember the store, but they made a good machine.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

  9. #54
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    I got my quote. It was twice as much for a little less. That alone I do not mind, but I didn't like the attitude. The salesman did not seem to know his stuff, and the owner was condecending. I did stop in after work[contractor] but I don't figure how I am dressed affects how my money spends. They lost a customer.

    Myk there are two in Cheboygan, I'll call them today and check it out.

    Larry

  10. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Wintle View Post
    my experience with live versions of linux is that wired networking works.
    That's my experience as well though there is one new oddball ethernet chipset which hasn't made it into the kernel yet. Quite a few wireless networking chipsets are supported out of the box as well, if they've been in the retail stream for a year or so ..... unless they're from Broadcom .

  11. #56
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    This thread is about buying a new computer. Not Linux.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

  12. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Larry Edgerton View Post
    I got my quote. It was twice as much for a little less. That alone I do not mind, but I didn't like the attitude. The salesman did not seem to know his stuff, and the owner was condecending. I did stop in after work[contractor] but I don't figure how I am dressed affects how my money spends. They lost a customer.

    Myk there are two in Cheboygan, I'll call them today and check it out.

    Larry
    by any chance did they provide an itemized list of components with the price? If yes then shopping online will save a lot of money

  13. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Myk Rian View Post
    This thread is about buying a new computer. Not Linux.
    yes but linux is always an option for an OS.

  14. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Wintle View Post
    by any chance did they provide an itemized list of components with the price? If yes then shopping online will save a lot of money
    It may save money, but he isn't up to putting those parts together.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

  15. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Wintle View Post
    yes but linux is always an option for an OS.
    And Linux talk is hijacking the thread.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

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