Why I choose not to live in a Windows World…
Amongst all of my friendship circles (real life, online, workplace) there are disagreements about operating systems. There is always someone who would prefer a PC (and of course using a PC means using Windows 99.9% of the time) over a Macintosh and visa versa.
These days people don’t seem to try and experience other operating systems as much. There are more and more ‘IT Professionals’ who have never using anything but a PC. This article is why I choose to avoid as much as possible, A Windows World…
First, as I know a few Microsoft peeps will read this I just have to say: The Command prompt in Windows is not a true disk operating system. Ok, now, That being said I’m going to explain WHY I will never live in a Windows world…
I believe the real reason why the return on investment for office computer productivity has been flat or increased little in the last 8 years is because of Windows. Yes, of course Windows has somewhat contributed to the productivity paradox however the time spent waiting for boot up, installing programs, repairing problems, dealing with program conflicts and god knows what else is also the biggest time consumer for any I.T. business.
One of the biggest thing that annoys me (and I’m sure it annoys the thousands of IT Tech support people around the world) is the way Microsoft changes the procedure for a task with each version of Windows. Hard disk caching is a perfect example of this - It’s different in every version of Windows.
Another good example of change is disabling programs that boot on startup. In older versions of Windows you used to just move the shortcut from startup… Not anymore. Now some programs can startup based on environment variables, and others can be set to start with Windows in the Windows registry.
My next target is Windows security… Sure everyone falls back onto the same old argument that Windows NT has a C2 security rating but really this security rating is for a standard NT installation, with no applications, and assuming the machine is not connected to the Internet (or a network of any kind for that matter)… Nowadays Microsoft doesn’t even advertise their security rating on new Operating Systems (although this could also be because these days computers are so connected that the orange book has fallen into disuse).
That brings me to my next security point, Windows has gotten to a point now where it is absolutely full of kernel bloat (lots of code that should be outside the kernel has been placed inside the kernel). Whenever Microsoft can’t make something secure they put it inside the kernel and define it as secure. In the long run this is obviously a poor decision.
Printer drivers in Windows are a prime example of this. They are a part of the kernel - An unsuspecting user can install a rogue printer driver that can completely compromise the system… This doesn’t have to be the case but the Windows development team always chooses ease of use and ease of development over security.
Personally these reasons have very little bearing on why I choose to use OS/X and various flavors of Linux… But they are contributing factors. Either way, It’s my choice to move away from Windows, I’m not forcing you to so if you feel irritated by this article then that’s your choice but you could always just go enjoy another blue screen of death…
March 24th, 2006 at 5:39 am
I’ve always used windows and its what i’m used to so i would rather just stick to what i know although i have used Unix operating systems like Sun Mircro’s one… what ever its called.. and Redhat and i think i used SuSE (doesn’t sound right but ok
)
I got used to the unix stuff but i found windows easier to use
thats basically it… kinda lame but straight forward i would say
March 24th, 2006 at 5:43 am
Well, blue screens?
Im not getting any more of those lately in Windows XP. Basically your computer can be a total mess and you will not even notice a warning. Just a comp that totally locks up/freezes.
Seems a lame way to hide the problem. At least with a blue screen you knew what you were facing.
Sadly: I miss the blue screens.
And exactly the fact Microsoft always placed ease of use at first place is why they became succesfull. It lowers the threshold to the world of computers. And can be a first step towards working with other systems.
One shall most likely agree that for must of us it started with a windows variant of some kind. And that is mostly sufficient to what we want it to do. Not everyone has the same high demands.
And they key to not screwing up Windows completely just seems common sence. How many errors and such are caused by people doing stupid stuff?
When we take a look at the amount of stuff that goes wrong, should we blame microsoft or the ignorance of people?
March 24th, 2006 at 7:47 am
I’m moving to linux when I finish uni.
The only reason I’ll keep a Windows partition will be for games.
I am honestly sick to death of Windows.
The only reason I still am is because all the software I need to complete uni is for Windows
March 24th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
Tim,
Although I can follow your train of thought I think a lot of the conclusions you have come to are drawn from naivety.
Windows has so many hardware issues and software issues that end users just don’t cause - A prime example of this is the VPU errors experienced with Raedon video cards… The user doesn’t actually do anything except install a video card that Windows is meant to support… Next thing you know the computer needs an hour long repair process that your average user couldn’t do..
You say Windows has its market share because of ease of use? I personally believe apples are easier for users to use except Microsoft has the money for the large marketing campaigns… Likewise when Windows was still new to the world Microsoft focused all its energies on marketing this great new IBM computer to the point where every user accepted this form of computer as mainstream…
March 24th, 2006 at 10:23 pm
I’m not too sure about that productivity statement in the 4th paragraph. I mean unless you’re in an IT environment you probably wont be installing programs every day and you typically only boot up once (this is in my experience from my moms workplace as the computers there are extremely stable
). The issues that need to be resolved are generally repeats of previous occurrences that people will know how to deal with and that is if they even happen at all. At work my mom only uses Word, IE, and Outlook. This leaves a lot of room for learning program quirks and bugs with only three main programs. However if a user is given full reign over a computer…. it’s not going to be the best experience unless they know what they’re doing.
March 24th, 2006 at 10:32 pm
Langdon,
Although I agree with you that giving a user full reign over a computer it will be an issue (in any operating system) I’m not so sure I agree with you about productivity being at a good level when using a Windows system…
Personally I do find that your average user will find that using a Linux machine will significantly drop their productivity you will find that should you put them in front of an apple machine their productivity level (once they have had a couple of -days- to adapt) will increase… OS/X has a smart, clean interface that makes performing tasks on a machine both functional and fast… Windows on the other hand is bulky, bloated and slow to navigate around.
Personally I find that I even find using my SuSE on my laptop is more productive then using Windows.. For one I have grep and two everything just works faster and seems more structured and organized.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:47 pm
I’ve only used Windows, and, though it has many many fault’s I wouldn’t change OS any time soon. I’ve grown to accustomed to the layout and seyup of Windows to feel comfortable with another OS.
I’ve used a Mac OS, not sure what, and found it way too fiddly. But i only used it for a hour or so.
Plus most programs and games are Windows only.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:48 pm
I have made the switch out of Windows as well. Been almost a year without Windows and it feels great! Although I occasionally like to use my dad’s Dell desktop to play some games. That has been pretty much it for Windows.
last year, I bought an iBook and have been loving it since. Mac OS X is a superb OS and beats Linux hands down. Mind you that I was dual booting between Ubuntu (one of the best linux distros out there) and Windows XP. This was on my old and crummy Thinkpad 600E. I got sick and tired of always having to update patches on Windows and just hated it when I would catch spyware by just leaving my thinkpad connected to the network. Being on Ubuntu was fun, but a huge pain in the ass to configure. My sound didn’t work, and when I eventually got it to work, the performance wasn’t what I was expecting at all.
So congrats on your new mac purchase, skelm.
March 25th, 2006 at 5:28 am
Skelm, you have a good point about the start up system in windows it pisses me off alot especally dealing with spyware, The only reason i dont use linux is that it just doesnt have the hardware and driver support, which i may say is improving day by day, Im currently looking at setuping a dual boot system, and just have windows for games. and mac sucks
March 25th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
Paul`,
Although many games aren’t OS/X compatible it is still surprising at the amount of games that are available (I’m in no way advocating OS/X as a gamers system but times are changing).
If you enjoyed Civilizations III … OS/X compatible
If you have ever played Diablo 2 …OS/X compatible
Railroad tycoon …OS/X compatible
Halo …OS/X compatible
Myst IV …OS/X compatible
… and of course there are many, many more games out there that I haven’t mentioned. As far as applications go, If you want to do any audio/visual work then OS/X is definitely the way to go. Macromedia products aren’t even native to the new Intel architecture and yet they still run faster then on a Windows system - Now just imagine how fast these applications will run once they become natively supported!
It takes more then an hour to truly experience OS/X, Did you only use Windows for a measly hour the first time and then draw your conclusions? Of course not.
March 25th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Well its the never ending struggle isnt it with os’s, seems like it dosen’t matter whom you talk to someone will have a very opionated view on it.
First of all not everyone has used every os around, and with the amount of linux and unix distros its hard to find someone that has (that isnt living inside a bunker of some sort), so its hard to find a fair revision of each os.
First of all lets get it out, windows is the most used os in the world peroid. cant be aruged, that dosent mean its a good thing, it means its the standard that everyone compares things to.
Dont like skelm, you yourself compare linux and windows, and os/x and windows, but whom compares os/x to linux? Hardly anywhere I think of atucally goes to compare those two os’s side by side.
So you have less market diveristy, because Windows in always in the problem solving process of people choosing there os. This is punched up every more by the fact that every new retail computer brought comes with windows.
So therefore Windows is the most used O’s throughout the world, and is seen as the benchmark.
Ok command prompt in windows, no one really knows what it is anymore, up until 98 it was stated that it was now a shell version of ms dos, however the information about what it was is no longer avaiable from 2000 onwards. Therefore it is ok to assume and state that it is not a true DOS anymore.
As your ROI on investment for office is concerned, its a Microsoft product therefore it piggybacks on the Windows Adversting and the fact that it dominates the market, add in the fact that it is now avaiable on the os/x and your looking at the majority of computer users out there. The reason it is flat, is because of the package deals that microsoft have been doing through wholesaling it is possible to obtain legal copies of MS Office for next to nothing for 300+ copies. The problem is users arent upgrading from previous office verisons to newer ones. The recent marketing campgain of moving from the “fossil” age of office to the new didnt seem to do anything, for unknown reasons (my guess is there subliminal message system crashed)
I could go on and on about the problems with Microsoft Windows, but there are people that can go On and On about problems with Apple os/x its all point of view.
As for games I have atempted to play some new games on a apple imac g4 and it was terrible, latency issues, lag issues, audio issues etc. But everyone knows that apples aint for gamers as much as pc’s are anyway.
It all comes down to the user, you cant reall tell a person that one os is better then another because said person will always find some comparsion which works the other way.
os/x is better because of increased secruity and manufactured hardware, Personal Computers are better because they can be bulit for cheaper with generic hardware and then upgraded with ease later on for less of the cost of upgrading an apple…. etc.
So its get that you have chosen to get OS/X a try and I admire the fact that you are sharing your decission with others. I myself will be staying with Windows as a Desktop computer and uses Linux as a server for some time although I have always thought about getting an Apple laptop/notebook/powerbook/whateveritistheycallemnow myself.
In my opion windows will continue to have problems until they rebuild the entire system from the ground up, scratch the entire windows way of thinking and go back to the users, ala Quicken in short they need to stop thinking of a Globaly domintant company (although that is what they are) and start viewing themselfs as developing a fresh new OS that will cater for all users out there, not just the ones that they think will use it.
Until then enjoy your apple and letme know how the transition from using a Windows desktop to it goes
.
March 26th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
If it works for you, use it. I dont want to hear that you love windows, mac, linux…..pda
its your call. I am over the arguement that this one is better than that one. Do a feasability study and make up your own mind why you should use *this OS* instead of *This OS* and of course in your consideration games should not make a mention. if you want to play games, familiarise yourself with the word “Sport”.
March 26th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Nice writing! ^_^ Although I’m not completely computer literate, what you said about security really got me thinking.
March 26th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Personally I’m a Linux developer, I have found however that OS/X is a far better operating system aesthetically but Linux is a far better server side platform.
March 26th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Thanks for your input everyone! Makes my writing worthwhile. I’m actually quite surprised no-one really noticed that wherever I said ‘Microsoft’ or ‘Windows’ I linked to either a blue screen of death or a security update screenshot
Keep the input coming!
March 26th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
I have been a windows users for a while, then changed because of the obvoise reasons security and reliabity to using a mac, i have been using it for about 2.5 yrs and have never turned back since!.
The thing about choosing the right OS/systen you want to use has to be for what you need it to do. I ‘ve been top collage and do assigments etc was one of the main things the mac ibook i got can do i
I surf the net , check emails with no popups etc virus infection to my laptop..i’m happy and not frustrated and have peace of mine.
While on the other hand my poor dad who is always used to using a winodws would curse! his pc because somthing just disappears or the system crashes…losing alot of information/time trying to figure out what is wrong or what he did wrong? Now to my knowlegde that is a system that is unreliable!
Next he would get alot of spyware on his pc as it get very slow and take ages to open application ect. After a spyware scan i it come up at least 10 spyware found etc. Viurs take only missing an update to infect the pc and again sometime he has ti reinstall to make sure he has a clean system..again to my knowledge that is unsecure!
Let us not agure anymore as Simon said… but let oneself decide! what is best for him/her use what you are comfortable using but bear in mind the main issues such as reliablity and security more which this “artlicle”is trying to point out.
March 26th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
Good Read!
I really liked everything you pointed out and fully agree.
I don’t have an argument, so I will leave it at that.
Great job.
-Lake Denman
March 28th, 2006 at 9:21 am
Just had a “nice” experience with Windows while trying to troubleshoot a friend’s computer. The box in question wouldn’t boot normally anymore, and instead showed a bluescreen when booted without safemode. Well, I say showed, it was more like flashing it, and then rebooting immediately.
There’s an option to disable the reboot immediately bit. It’s hidden somewhere in the System part of the control panel, so I went there (in safemode) and unticked the checkbox in question, and clicked OK expecting this would be fine and dandy.
I expected/guessed wrong. You see, the Alerter service was really necessary to make this change. Or so Windows said. It gave me detailed instructions on how to start this service (why the hell didn’t it just do it for me? Even Linux has the courtesy to do that most of the time!). In an Alert box, so not really userfriendly, but anyway. I went to the services part of the control panel (note: I didn’t really need the instructions to know how to start a service, but let’s for the sake of the argument pretend I did). I told it to start the Alerter service. Hang on, Windows said. You can’t start the Alerter service in safemode!
So here we are. To figure out the problem with booting normally, I need to read the BSOD. To read the BSOD, I need to set an option to something other than its default value. To set this option, I need to start some service. To start this service, I need to boot normally. Does this sound like the “There’s a hole in my bucket” Boy Scout song to anyone else?
March 28th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
haha.. sounds more like another day with m$ to me
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December 31st, 2009 at 6:57 pm
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