Hi Dark, That's why I said I'm not sure if Linux would be a viable solution for you personally. You already have everything you want/need so there isn't any pressing advantage to upgrade or change other than security fixes and things like that. Most people are like you in that a computer is merely a tool for writing documents, browsing the web, sending/receiving e-mail, and so forth. For me a computer is more than a tool its a hobby, and as a hobby I am always interested in improving it, updating it, and I get some enjoyment and satisfaction out of exploring a new operating system provided it is accessible.
Of course, there is a practical side to why I use Linux too. As a software developer Linux is the ideal development platform because I get quite a lot of development software for free and its generally pretty accessible. First, for web based projects I can use the Apache web server to test websites, php scripts, and other web based products I'm developing locally. While there are Windows ports of Apache its still primarily still a Unix based piece of software and isn't as expensive as Microsoft I.I.S. Second, There is the gcc/g++ compilers that allows me to program and test a number of C/C++ components before porting them to Windows. Obviously, there are Windows versions of the GNU compilers too, but since I'm using Linux anyway its nice to have the same compiler on both operating systems which makes porting back and forth fairly easily. Third, there is the Java ATK Wrapper which allows me to develop and test Java app's with swing accessibility. Unlike the Sun Java Access Bridge which is no longer maintained and really only works with Jaws the Java ATK Wrapper for Linux is actively maintained and works great with Orca. As a result Java accessibility is superior on Linux than it is for Windows which is a big deal for a Java developer. Add to that the Eclipse IDE for Java and Linux really shines for Java software developers. Next, there is Mono Develop. Mono Develop is a .NET IDE for Linux similar to Microsoft's Visual C# for a fraction of the cost. While Microsoft does provide an express version of their IDEs and compilers like Visual C# they do so by yanking out features such as disabling the ability to compiled .NET code for AMD64, Itanium, and so on. Mono Develop happens to be a full featured IDE/compiler for .NET without those features disabled and it is free. Finally, there is the Emacs editor. When I configure it with Emacspeak and Eloquence I can use it as a self-voicing IDE. What makes Emacs better than the traditional IDEs is that it has a number of modes C, C++, Java, etc and as a developer writes code Emacspeak will announce indention, weather or not braces match, if parentheses are closed, and so on. It is far more accessible and interactive than something like Microsoft Visual Studio. Point being for me Linux is a valuable investment because I get a lot of software I need. Not only can I stay up to date, which I like to do anyway, but as a developer I can get a lot of work done in Linux that I'd have to spend a lot more money for software to do in Windows, and sometimes the accessibility of that development software won't be as good. The other practical reason has to do with security. Windows users have to spend x amount of money each year on antivirus software etc because Windows is a piece of crap when it comes to security. There are very very few viruses and worms for Linux and the chances of becoming infected by such is so low its not really a serious concern. There is no system registry so there is no need for a registry cleaner and Linux doesn't have the problems associated with a registry. Plus there are tools such as Spam assassin, Boxtrapper, and so on to sanitize your inbox before it reaches your mail client. Add to that things like user permissions and so forth makes Linux far more secure and safe environment than Windows in my book. Cheers! On 9/2/12, dark <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Tom. > > As I have said before I don't tend to bother with upgrades unless they do > something for me. the only programs I tend to upgrade are avg antivirus and > > pc tuneup (for obvious reasons), and supernova whhich works out as less > sinse sub version upgrades, eg, 12-5 to 12-6 are free, and main versions > (which come out roughly every two years), cost about 120 dollars, and aren't > > always necessary at that. > > > while I could get used to using say jedit instead of notepad, there are some > > windows programs I'd be really not happy to be without. One for instance is > > winamp. i do not use windows media player for anything accept ripping cds > (indeed I find it's interface rathr irritating), winamp I am very fond of, > particularly it's ability to use plugins for different formats of game music > > such as spc, jim, psf et etc. > > I would! miss winamp a lot. then for dvd playing I use a program called > power dvd, which has various advantages over windows media player. The > version i have is about four years old, but does the job fine and I've never > > seen a reason to upgrade it (indeed the newer version when i tried it had a > > much less accessible interface). > > I suppose generally it comes back to the fact that for me, a computer is a > tool, and I'm more interested in what I can do with it, than the computer > itself. this is precisely the same reason I've not upgraded to windows 7, > sinse it would for all practical purposes just cause considderable annoyence > > with the interface, incompatibility with older software etc, and do me > little to no practical good. > > Beware the Grue! > > Dark. > --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://mail.audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. 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