Microsoft is a pain in the ass

[SteelCurtain]

BB, it's her opinion. She doesn't have a need to play all the good cool "blockbuster" games.
It's the best platform in that respect.

No Autocad for Linux? hmmmm? I wonder why not?

There are plenty of perfectly good alternatives.

FreeCAD, LibreCAD come to mind.

[ignoramus]

hehe ...please, that's like asking me to drink Pepsi!   fight, fight!  

[bennyboy]

I have a question-- what software IS available for Linux that is non-replaceable in Windows? And I don't mean some goofy file utility or a degrag program. . . I mean a major application.

[Tiberius]

I have a question-- what software IS available for Linux that is non-replaceable in Windows? And I don't mean some goofy file utility or a degrag program. . . I mean a major application.

There probably aren't any. The whole point of open source software is that people can contribute code and fork projects. So most open source projects work on both Linux and Windows, and projects which are Linux-only will have forks by Windows programmers in order to bring the product to Windows.

An operating system shouldn't be judged on what it can't do though, only what it can do compared to what you *need* it to do. If you want a gaming system, you're going to go with Windows. If you want a lightweight server, you're going to go with Linux.

[bennyboy]

I have a question-- what software IS available for Linux that is non-replaceable in Windows?  And I don't mean some goofy file utility or a degrag program. . . I mean a major application.

There probably aren't any. The whole point of open source software is that people can contribute code and fork projects. So most open source projects work on both Linux and Windows, and projects which are Linux-only will have forks by Windows programmers in order to bring the product to Windows.

An operating system shouldn't be judged on what it can't do though, only what it can do compared to what you *need* it to do. If you want a gaming system, you're going to go with Windows. If you want a lightweight server, you're going to go with Linux.

Yep.  Best tool for the job and all that. It seems to me that Windows operates on a higher level-- and I mean that in a programming sense, not a rating-- so that the machinery underneath is better hidden, but also that you have less direct access to it.  I'm pretty sure that a programmer could do so pretty fundamental-level stuff in Linux that would be hard on Windows, right?

As a hobby programmer, I'm good enough to write programs that actually do things, but I don't have free time to develop massive utility libraries and stuff-- or constantly research and play with other people's libraries.  The thing I like about Windows is that if stuff works on my computer, it will work on 99% of other computers with little or no alteration.  Oh, and programming for Windows in C# is soooo easy.

[abaris]

If you want a gaming system, you're going to go with Windows.

Exactly the reason why I stayed with Microsoft and never even tried Linux. Even these days, when newer games are ported to Liinux, people report nothing but trouble.

Also I have to say, I never had any really unsolveable problems with Windows. Once a new system was out and I was comfortable with knowing the location of the necessary settings and troubleshooting utilities, we got along quite nicely. I guess it can turn into a problem, who never looked deeper into how to customize their systems. But I imagine, they don't have an easier life running Linux.

[account_inactive]

I don't use my laptops for gaming and firmly believe in privacy, something that Windows obviously doesn't give you at all. It's just backdoored NSA spyware.

However, as Tiberius said if you want a gaming system then go with Windows. Admittedly gaming is one of the weak points about Linux, but you know..can't have everything I suppose.

[abaris]

The operating system isn't the biggest spyware factory. The applications you're running are. The websites you're visiting, the social media platforms, you're posting on. Your iternet provider is - more or less, depending on which company.

[bennyboy]

I don't use my laptops for gaming and firmly believe in privacy, something that Windows obviously doesn't give you at all. It's just backdoored NSA spyware.

However, as Tiberius said if you want a gaming system then go with Windows. Admittedly gaming is one of the weak points about Linux, but you know..can't have everything I suppose.

The only privacy I need is living life as a normal person.  If the NSA wants to watch me jerk off in front of my supposedly-turned-off webcam, then they're welcome to it.

[abaris]

Can't say I'm comfortable with what Snowden reveiled. But I can't say I was surprised either.

I find it laughable that people are concerned over the NSA spying on them and then the same people go on facebook to share every moment of their lives. Facebook is nothing but a giant marketing profile generator. That's how they make tons of money. People stripping down to their bare skins and beyond. Valuable data to be sold to the industry to pester you with ads. And for employers or potential employers to sort you out, if you don't fit the image they want you to comply with.

If you want privacy, get rid of credit cards, don't go on the internet and don't use phones of any kind. Don't use electricity, since your consumption already is quite telling for marketing experts and authorities alike. Don't use cards of any kind, not even at the super market to get a better deal. Don't drive your car around the city, since CCTV might catch you. Better yet, don't frequent crowded streets at all.

The only thing I do, is not being on facebook. I'm generally not interested in what people are digesting or the photos of their brats, and so I don't feel the need to be pestered by ads in return. My nick, abaris, stems from 1994, when you really could cover your traces on the internet. Today I could just as well go by my real name, since I'm not living under the delusion that I'm an unknown quantity for someone really wanting to know.