Re: XP license to 2nd computer legal?

On Sun, 04 Jun 2006 07:04:19 -0400, Jim wrote:

Mxsmanic wrote:
Not quite. The critical problem of Linux is that it does not run
Windows applications. Almost all desktop applications are Windows
applications today. Linux can run a handful of Windows programs in a
degraded way with special software, but there is no reason
whatsoever for anyone with a normal desktop to foresake it for the
inferior support of a handful of applications by Linux. Linux fans
don't understand this, because for them, the whole idea is to install
Linux, not to use the PC for productive work, so they don't care
about applications. But normal users do.


Your analogy is too much like saying the problem with a Ford is that
Chevy parts don't fit.

Windows does indeed have have far more applications written for it. But
many are merely competing for the same bucks. Roxio wants you to
purchase their product instead of Nero's. I use K3b for my ripping and
burning purposes. It was written for Linux. Personally I like it
better than the two Windows alternatives mentioned above. No need to
run Windows applications when a superior, or simply equivalent product
exists. Apple users have known this for years.

The browser of preference currently is Firefox. Works on both
platforms. Why should I care if Internet Explorer won't?

Thunderbird meets all my needs. Why should I care if Outlook can't be
installed?

Same thoughts apply with office products. I use Office 2003 at work,
works fine. I have Open Office 2.0 at home. Anything I bring home to
work on opens cleanly and gets resaved seamlessly. When opened again at
work it just keeps working.

Gaming software is one area that Windows has a clear lead. I have one
machine with XP installed for the few games I play and that annual
ritual known as tax filing (TurboTax not yet available). Beyond that I
use Linux happily. Meets or exceeds all of my needs.

So what am I missing?

Jeesuz H. Keerist. Finally someone who understands my broken English and
contextually, what I was *trying* to say.
I use Windows XP as well for the work I *have* to do that Linux won't
support but as soon as Linux supplies a valid *free* replacement, I move
to it. And no, I don't hate Microsoft nor Ford nor GM just Exxon Mobile. :-)

I'm simply a fella (no, not a geek) who is attempting to move ahead with
computing in the cheapest least restrictive way I can.

Unfortunately, Linux is like wine. It's heavily governed by
personal taste. Users need to find the distribution which fits them with
respect to ease of use, available applications and difficulty of
installation. This takes time and in many cases, some people never find a
flavour that suits them or simply don't wish to travel that fairly
long road and simply go back to Windows. Obviously, in those cases that
makes perfect sense.

I don't understand the unqualified nastyness some people show towards
Linux any more than I understand the very negative attitudes toward
windows or OS-x that are shown by some people.

Someone in this thread said you can't even use "instant messaging" in
Linux. That's the kind of bold, ignorant and totally subjective statement
that should not be made without having the facts. For example, I use GAIM
for 'instant messaging in Linux' just as many Windows users do in Windows.

In this thread people were bitching about the Licence restrictions of
Windows, the cost, the time limited support and if you read my first post,
I simply said that there was an "alternative" that was basically free,
looked like Windows (if that was a requirement), did most of the same
things as Windows (if that was a requirement) with the major exception of
gaming and is supported by a community rather than a 'for profit' company.

The Linux distribution I'm using feels so much like Windows that I very
seldom boot the XP machine anymore. No, not even for Office Applications
and I am too old to play games anyway. Of any kind. So I don't need that
support.

Is Windows easier to use? Yes indeed, but only until you learn the other
OS whether it be Linux or that used on a Mac or any other OS for that
matter.

I started computing in the assemply language days evolved through DOS,
then the first Windows to hit the market and all the iterations that have
followed and I *personally* find that Linux has made my wallet thicker, I
can still do the same work I have always done, I don't have to reboot
my computer constantly because of sloppily written code and Viruses and
Spyware haven't really hit the Linux OS at all 'yet'. You have to admit,
those are some pretty good assets when considering an OS for personal use.

Is Linux for everyone? Definitely not. Someone who has never operated at
the DOS prompt or some other cryptic prompt, will *not* like some
aspects Linux and may not be able to get a handle on it. However, if you
have the stamina to beat on it, you will wind up with a pretty damned good
OS with plenty of applications that work back and forth with Windows and
an OS that is as secure as a present day OS can be.
For example, my bank will not permit the use of Windows for banking
on-line anymore. Mac and/or Linux/Unix are the order of the day with them.

In choosing an OS, as with just about anything else, it's all a matter of
choice, preference and needs. If those values are met, then that
constitutes an Alternative to any other given product with the same choice
criteria.

I hope eventually I'll be able to totally eliminate the monetary costs
associated with Windows and Microsoft products altogether, Not because I
*hate* Microsoft but because I'm not rolling in dough and I find their
products are not in line with the average 'single user' pricewise. Most
of us don't require all the power and features of those products, so why
would we want to pay for them if we don't have to.

Sorry, I still maintain the validity of the statement that for
personal use, "Linux is a viable alternative to Windows".


--
________________________________________________________
H. Seldon

I wish there was an "Intelligence" control on the TV set.
There's a "Brightness" control, but it doesn't work.

VectorLinux SoHo 5.1
.

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