Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> __/ [ [H]omer ] on Thursday 28 September 2006 19:33 \__
>> All I wanted to do was access the NFS share on the server, from
>> Windows. Honest. OMG! *What* a disaster. Why did I even bother
>> trying?
...
>> Maybe it's time I just started buying CDs.
> [H]omer, mate, you have got to get out of this relationship.
Yes, yes, I know.
Thing is, I *paid* for those damned Windows licenses, so I'll feel
robbed if I don't get at least *some* use out of them. And to make
matters worse, of course I've gone and committed myself to third-party
licenses for support software too, like antivirus, a firewall, and
even certain multimedia tools like dbPowerAMP, etc. Not to mention the
ITMS and Napster accounts.
Bah!
You know, I'm hardly new to the game, so I've got nobody to blame but
myself. I knew what I was getting into, but for certain unfathomable
reasons that undoubtedly seemed like a good idea at the time, I
invested to a certain degree into Windows, and now I'm suffering for
my sins.
> Is it truly impossible to live without any Windows boxes (or remote
> Windows connectivity, e.g. for a daytime job)?
I'm retired Roy, so what technology I need for work is irrelevant,
other than the "work" I do for the Fedora Project.
The last couple of years have seen my dependency on Windows diminish
to near extinction, with literally just a handful of applications not
available (in equivalent form) under Linux. Most of that was
multimedia oriented (i.e. VirtualDub, TMPGEnc, Sony Vegas, etc). With
the emergence of tools like Avidemux (equivalent of VirtualDub,
AVISynth, and TMPGenc all rolled into one) and Cinelerra (more
difficult, but just as powerful as Vegas IMHO), that list of
dependencies has been whittled down to just *one* ... and that's
digital music.
So if I want the instant gratification of downloaded (legal) digital
music, I need Windows (ITMS, Napster, etc.), otherwise I'm forced to
place orders with Amazon and wait a couple of days.
Given my XPerience today, I'm inclined to say "screw it", and just
stick with Amazon. It also means I don't have to deal with any of that
DRM garbage either.
> My motivation for eliminating my last Windows machine (a laptop) was
> the recurrence of problems and -- above all -- the reluctance of
> those machines to communicate and exchange data with anything
> non-Windows.
This is the first time I've tried MS SFU, and I'm seriously not
impressed. Good God, how hard can it be for a company the size of MS
to support an Open Standard with freely available sources? Especially
when their closed standard Samba is (ironically) so well supported
under Linux.
> I am honest. Get rid of Windows and you will save yourself a lot of
> time.
Yes, I know. I've extensive experience using both Linux and Windows,
although not much *professional* experience with the latter. I leave
Windows gathering dust for weeks at a time, then go back to it
occasionally for varying reasons, and each time I am disappointed.
> I saved about 2 hours a week in this way.
Other than a few minutes here and there experimenting with Vista on a
VMWare box, the last time I used Windows was about two weeks ago, so
I'm not losing any time, but I am losing hair.
> This translates to happiness and savings
And more hair.
> which proves that mixed environments are not the key to optimality
> (some TCO studies seem to suggest otherwise because businesses
> connect with other businsses... the macro level).
God knows how they do it. They must be deploying custom solutions,
because MS SFU is patently b0rked.
> Best wishes,
Re.
--
K.
http://slated.org - Slated, Rated & Blogged
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