____/ Rex Ballard on Monday 06 August 2007 19:17 : \____
> On Aug 6, 8:27 am, Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Two weeks without Windows
>
> Going completely without Windows is a much bigger challenges than just
> "using Linux".
It's a matter of which applications you require. With lots of things going
Web-based, rarely does anything require Windows unless you interact with
hardcore Windows user who prefer applications that use proprietary
(non-standard) formats.
> I've tried a few times to go "Windows Free", and I can do it on one
> computer, but not both my private computer and the work computer.
> Even with the Work computer running Linux as the primary OS, there is
> still the need for Windows running as a VM Client. Fortunately, these
> days, VMWare has made this progressively easier to do. Their
> "Converter" lets you take a configured Windows system, and create a
> VMWare "image" that can be booted in VMWare. It looks and acts
> exactly like the native machine, except that it uses the VMWare
> devices instead of the native devices.
>
> With the right hardware, the Windows Virtual machine runs almost as
> fast as Native on some applications, faster on some disk intensive
> applications.
> It does require quite a bit of RAM, for example, you would need about
> 1.5 gig to have a 1 gig XP partition and 1/2 gig left over for Linux.
> The good news is that if you decide to go with a smaller amount of RAM
> on XP, you can still get fast performance, since the paging file will
> be heavily cached by Linux. It's not much slower than RAM. The best
> part is that the VM is much easier to back up. You can save some
> archived images on a USB drive, and recover them as necessary. Much
> easier than having to rebuild entire hard drives every few months.
>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | The day I installed PCLOS, I was so impressed that I decided to refrain
>> | myself from booting to Windows.
>> `----
>
> It's getting easier and easier to spend longer and longer in "Linux
> only" mode. In some cases I can go for several days using only Linux,
> without having to start up the Windows VM for several days. Other
> days, I just end up powering up the Windows VM and staying there all
> day. It depends on what is needed that day. For example, if I need
> Microsoft Project (because the client wants a Project plan in
> Project), then there isn't much point to flipping in and out of
> Linux. Leave the browser set to Linux as well.
Have you heard of openProj yet? I think the official unveiling will take place
at LinuxWorld.
>> http://abhay-techzone.blogspot.com/2007/08/two-weeks-without-windows....
>>
>> Related:
>>
>> The Great Ubuntu Switch
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | However, it seems peer pressure, as well as a general disgust for
>> | Windows bugs and latency, has taken its toll, and I've finally made
>> | the full-blown switch to Linux. I've wiped the Windows partition
>> | from my hard drive, I've moved on, and I'm not looking back.
>> `----
>>
>> http://storm.presidium.org/?title=171
>
> I'm wondering if this is the beginning of a new trend, especially
> among the younger users. More and more younger computer users,
> especially those under 30, have been more aggressive about using Linux
> and NOT using Windows.
I have not used Windows for about a year (last used it on the parents' PCs). A
couple of years ago I occasionally logged in to Windows PCs in the cluster in
order to see what IE6 breaks. I was designing some Web pages and I needed that
to run that Windows killer app (which kills perfectly valid Web pages).
> One thing is for sure, the harder Microsoft tries to drive Linux from
> the desktop, the more aggressive Linux users get about wiping Windows
> from their desktops. With Windows XP, there was an economic incentive
> to "peaceful coexistence". With Vista, it's beginning to look more
> and more like "Ban Vista" policies are going into place, from the
> classroom to the board-room. Microsoft is actually getting MORE money
> from OEMs who are willing to pay extra for the ability to NOT sell
> Vista. Microsoft still counts these XP Licenses as "Vista" sales,
> because the product purchased is a Vista License with a "Downgrade
> Option", not a separate bucket for "XP Only" vs "Vista Only".
Check out the following recent survey, which made many headlines.
Businesses having second thoughts about Vista
,----[ Quote ]
| Fewer businesses are now planning to move to Windows Vista than seven months
| ago, according to a survey by patch management vendor PatchLink Corp., while
| more said they will either stick with the Windows they have, or turn to Linux
| or Mac OS X.
`----
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9028478
I haven't looked at it recently, but IIRC, something like 85% of all businesses
surveys have no plans to adopt Vista. With Lenovo's and Dell's (among others)
Linus embrace, things are definitely destined to change.
> The question now becomes, at what point to OEMs and corporate IT
> managers balk completely and say "No more Windows - Period". Some
> companies, like IBM, have already taken the policy that upgrades to
> new versions of Windows and Office are treated as exceptions, and
> require upper management approval. If you don't have a compelling
> case for the upgrade, you probably won't be getting it. IBM also
> "owns" their licenses, and these are floating licenses.
I actually left a comment in Bob Sutor's blog a couple of days ago. It could be
perceived as anti-Vista and I think this was the first time (after about 30
comments) that he did not approve the comment. Hopefully he got a giggle
looking at it though. It was a couple of cartoons. I don't think he wants to
endorse anti-Vista messages of any kind, but it's clear that everyone hates
it, even just because of its effects on standards (including OOXML, which Bob
fights viciously).
> Microsoft is sitting fat and happy at the moment, but they know they
> are smoking a pipe on a powder keg. One stray spark and the whole
> thing could blow.
Have you followed the OOXML events recently? "Sitting fat and happy" is a total
misfit. The company is more like a group of men with machine guns. Microsoft
has not denied that it needs (and will use) any weapon it has in the arsenal
at this stage. Microsoft is not fighting. It's not laughing and it's not
ignoring anymore.
> Meanwhile, Microsoft is looking for other ways to diversify their
> income. Services, games, support contracts, and upgrades have become
> a much more significant part of the whole Microsoft revenue strategy.
> Minimum commitments and mandatory upgrades are being avoided.
>
> It seems that the Judge and Jury of the marketplace have done what the
> 25 Attorneys General, two federal judges, 9 appellate judges, and 2
> presidents have been unable to do. Microsoft's monopoly grip on the
> market is being forced open. Open Office, ODF, Linux, Virtualization
> of the desktop, and rejection of Microsoft shovelware, have started to
> trigger thinking that makes vendors, support organizations, corporate
> customers, and schools, look much more seriously at alternatives to
> Microsoft Monopoly-ware such as Java, Linux, OpenOffice, Firefox,
> Thunderbird, Lotus Notes, Eclipse, Dia, third party products such as
> Symantic, Norton, and McAffee, rather than just "Doing what Microsoft
> tels them to do".
Thin clients appear to become popular too, at the expense of desktops. H-P has
just made a huge acquisition of Linux technology that will capitalise on this.
> Today, the adage "No one got fired for choosing Microsoft" is less and
> less true. When a company executive tries to force-feed a Microsoft
> solution, without considering other solutions, there are often audits,
> reviews, and much deeper scrutiny, and often terminations if it turns
> out that an executive put personal agenda ahead of the profitibility
> and/or effectiveness of his employer.
Watch the BBC going under fire. Also compare:
"No one got fired for choosing Microsoft"
and
"No one got fired for choosing Vista"
It truly makes you think.
> It reminds me of those days in the mid 1990s, when IBM loyalists were
> trying to cling to the notion that "Nobody ever got fired for choosing
> IBM", even though managers were often getting sacked when their
> decision to reject alternatives such as Unix and Windows were ignored
> in preference to MVS, OS/400, and OS/2 2.0.
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | Windows: slippery when dry. You have been warned.
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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