[dogfighter]

Microsoft is such garbage. I feel almost communist for being such a supporter of open-source software, but it really is such a better solution. Can't wait to throw off the chains of the MS blue screen for good.

[PissAndVinegar]

"I feel almost communist for being such a supporter of open-source software"

I've never understood that concept - how is sharing ideas communist?

Most OSS 'enhancements' made 'by the people' are made for one person's or group's needs. The only difference is they can share it back with the community where someone else can pick it up to customize it to their needs.

However, some licensing terms are definitely anti-capitist - they specifically disallow you from incorporating that code into a product for profit. While I understand the intention, I don't agree with it.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I feel almost communist for being such a supporter of open-source software

I feel a little that way about using a Mac. Steve Jobs is a pinko who thinks it's acting on "principle" to not advertise on Rush's program - even though that could potentially give a real boost to his business. But then, I don't get the impression that Bill Gates is the second coming of F A Hayek either.

When Apple went to System X they had to make a "Classic" environment under sys X to run Sys 9.x software under, and they made utilities to facilitate the porting of applications software over to System X. The obvious question about this new "Leghorn" version is the manner and extent to which such a fundamental rewrite produces backward compatibility with old Windows software.

[Lou L]

Can't wait to throw off the chains of the MS blue screen for good

C'mon...if you've been using Windows XP for the past couple of years, you haven't seen a blue screen for a while.

And while an open-sourced OS might work in your one-off home office solution, it's another thing to use that (and keep it up-to-date) in an enterprise solution.

[The_Reader_David]

Don't feel 'communist' for supporting open-source. The thing about software is that, while in some senses it's a product and rather like a device, in other senses it's more like a mathematical proof. (In theoretical CS there is something called the Curry-Howard isomorphism which says valid programs in any given programming language correspond precisely with theorems in a certain formal logical system.)

Open-source is the way to get the kind of 'peer review' which check mathematical proofs to get all the bugs out. (However much problem peer review creates in authority based fields like the humanities and social sciences where it lets crap like Ward Churchill's stuff get published, or the natural sciences, where it works well to preserve quality, but encourages a 'herd mentality' that sometimes suppresses innovation, it works really well in mathematics.) Proprietary software is akin to a mathematician leaving out the details and saying 'trust me'.

The market is still trying to discover a business model which takes this feature of software properly into account, and in the long run, despite the money they've spent on their legal department, it won't be MS's model.

[A CA Guy]

D-base 2 rules!

[A CA Guy]

Actually, if it works, I have no complaints.

I don't see many problems with windows.

I often have to help others with problems and in those cases they knowingly opened an attachment from an ignorant friend with a computer or their kids were on porn sites (which are full of viruses).

Outside of that, there is almost no issue IMO.

[Rate_Determining_Step]

> Microsoft is such garbage. I feel almost communist for being such a supporter of open-source software, but it really is such a better solution. Can't wait to throw off the chains of the MS blue screen for good.

That's such a load. I tried 3 times to install Fedora 3 on an old Celeron 100 system. Very boring box. They sold millions of these motherboards. It was an intel board. I'm using on-board video. Now, Fedora core 3 is supposed to be one of the "grown up" distros. First HD didn't have enough room. Failed inelegantly. Put in a new bigger disk. Failed again. Did it again with the "graphical" install. This time it took, but it doesn't handle the video card. Just on-screen garbage. I **KNEW** I shouldn't have been tempted to install KDE!

The reason I'm doing this is I have to mirror a server I'm responsible for. And I have to get mcrypt working.

Have you seen how insanely FUBAR mcrypt's docs are?

The last time I screwed around with mcrypt was when RedHat 7.1 was new.

People think "Open Source" is some sort of godsend. It's not. Sure, there are stellar open source products, Apache, MySql and some others. A LOT of it is perpetually unfinished, amateur crap that will never displace commercial software.

That same box I'm fighting to get Fedora 3 on is a "test box" I've installed Win95, Win98, Win NT4, XP home, XP pro and Win2003. Without ANY issue. They have been complete "forehead installs".

Oh yeah, don't make the mistake of switcing away from the box with a KVM switch when Fedora "probes" your monitor. If it doesn't find one - guess what?

I generally don't like open source. First, when was the last time you screwed with the code on a os program? How many times have you added functionality to the MySQL code base? OK. If you're like 99.9999 percent of users, you won't. So what's the benefit of open source? It's free. Oh, but it's "Peer Reviewed". Give me a break. Who are the clowns who gave the developer of the install for Fedora 3 a pass?

The only upside to open source software by its nature is that it's free.

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

^^^^^^^^^I feel almost communist for being such a supporter of open-source software, but it really is such a better solution.^^^^^^^^^
You're looking at the wrong leftist ideology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism

[Petronski]

Can't wait to throw off the chains of the MS blue screen for good.

Don't worry. Longhorn only has a red screen of death.

[FLAMING DEATH]

Spent the last two mornings working on co-workers computers. We have a particularly nasty problem this week with Windows XP computers not wanting to boot past the splash screen.

I've heard people comment that Windows is more user friendly than Linux.

That may be true, but only for the first ten minutes.

In contrast, my Mepis box ran for 56 days without restarting, connected to the Net all the while.