Thanks Harold...most enlightening!!
You make some good points about the transitioning process and I'm sure your comments will be valuable for others contemplating the move.
Cheers....Jim
Or you could just install OSX... Then you're running Linux with the best GUI available.
What in the world makes you think Darwin is Linux?
A lot of people think that OS/X is a Linux variant -- it is in fact a Unix variant:
[url:2xy81yxj]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X[/url:2xy81yxj]
just like Linux (Linux is a Unix variant).
And OS/X....is easier to use from the command line.
OSX is not "Linux". Not even close!
In fact it is so far removed that most similarities are non existent.
Nor is Linux a Unix variant.
So if people think OSX is Linux they are ignorant about the operating systems.
If people think Linux is Unix then they truly are ignorant about the operating systems.
The differing licenses among them should be enough for even the most uneducated to realize that it is impossible for any of them to be the same as the other as the more restrictive Unix licenses prevent that.
About the only thing they each have in common is the fact that they are POSIX systems.
From the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux:1d0otuxg]wikipedia[/url:1d0otuxg] page for Linux:
[quote="The wikipedia page":1d0otuxg]
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution
[/quote:1d0otuxg]
Unix-like then.
As for OS/X:
[quote="Another wikipedia page":1d0otuxg]
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc.
[/quote:1d0otuxg]
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_osx:1d0otuxg]Source[/url:1d0otuxg]
Now licensing...that's a whole different ball o' wax.
Jim Hillier said
Again.....agree 100% Harold.So please tell us:
I see you are running a dual boot system with Linux and XP. What do you specifically use Linux for (to do)? And what do you use XP for? How would you describe your usage on each OS, as a percentage (e.g. 50/50)?Cheers....Jim
Sorry, Jim for being so long getting back to this. I use Linux/Windows about 80/20. I use Linux 80% of the time. It is a lot quicker than Windows, no need for anti-virus. I use Linux for email, internet searching, spreadsheets, simple text files, book keeping, and more complicated MS Word type documents. I find Libre Office a good replacement for MS Office - almost. The reason that I say almost is that I am not as familiar with Calc as I am with Excel. I have some files with macros that just preform better in Excel. I have never really tried to learn how to write macros in Calc.
About the only thing that I use Windows for is some Excel spreadsheets and the ever popular Quickbooks. I use Gnucash in Linux but have some entities that use Quickbooks so I keep up with them in QB instead of Gnucash. I am still using Windows XP and don't plan on buying Windows 7. I have one customer that just upgraded to 7 from XP after her computer got so bogged down with viruses, malware and such. It was beyond my capabilities to clean up and try to salvage so I suggested that she take it to a shop. They wouldn't even attempt to clean up the XP install. They installed 7 and I had to re-install Quickbooks, MS Office and such. So now I will have to learn a little about 7 to be able to help my customer. One doesn't realize just how slow Windows is until you use most any Linux distro on the same machine.
At present, I have a laptop with XP and Mepis. Mepis flies in relation to XP. It is a laptop that I inherited from my daughter when she bought a new laptop. My desktop has PCLOS as my day-to-day distro. It also has XP and several other distros as well. I still prefer working on a desktop over a laptop.
I understand that Windows 7 is a good OS and is much better than 8 will be. From what I read, 8 is not really designed for a desktop.
Guess I will still be sitting at my desktop while the rest of the world is using smart phones, ipads, and such. So be it.
Thanks,
Harold
houndhen said no need for anti-virus.
Huh? Are you saying Linux does not get viruses?
BJ
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You people are missing the boat, especially in my part of the country. Their is a difference between proprietary software and open source, you know the M$$$$. I have bought retailed versions of XP Pro, Vista Ultimate, Win7 Home Premium and a copy of Win 8 Pro for my wife's computer. Does this make me a Microsoft fan, not hardly, just a smaller bank account, remember all the software that was bought to run on these OS's. I am the computer geek in my family, and I have put either Linux Mint or Ubuntu on all our machines especially the ones that can't run windows 8, and they love it.
You don't have to be a computer geek to set up a good Linux Partition, just a /Home and Linux swap on 15GB partition will get the job done. I know Microsoft doesn't care but their are other options for people who can't afford to invest in new computer technology. Thank You.
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