Why Windows is better than Linux

[cerbie]

Maybe some experienced users just want to get on with actually doing stuff rather than typing the same commands and editing the same configuration files every time they want to connect to a wireless network.

But, why are experienced users doing that in the first place?

[TheChewanater]

Maybe some experienced users just want to get on with actually doing stuff rather than typing the same commands and editing the same configuration files every time they want to connect to a wireless network.

But, why are experienced users doing that in the first place?

Truly experienced users don't need the Internet. Truly experienced users can write all of their software and drivers in assembly, and they can write web pages with a high power magnet instead of downloading them.

But, seriously, I see no significant advantages by compiling it from source. Sure, it's four commands tops, but downloading binaries is still quicker, when they're available.

[cerbie]

Maybe some experienced users just want to get on with actually doing stuff rather than typing the same commands and editing the same configuration files every time they want to connect to a wireless network.

But, why are experienced users doing that in the first place?

Truly experienced users don't need the Internet. Truly experienced users can write all of their software and drivers in assembly, and they can write web pages with a high power magnet instead of downloading them.

But, seriously, I see no significant advantages by compiling it from source. Sure, it's four commands tops, but downloading binaries is still quicker, when they're available.

But, compiling or not, why would it take editing files or executing CLI commands every time you'd want to connect to a wireless network?

[Random832]

I guess it's been a while since the last time I used a non-"easy to use" distribution - I was on windows for a couple years, and then went to Ubuntu when I switched back...

How do _you_ connect to a wireless network?

[cerbie]

I guess it's been a while since the last time I used a non-"easy to use" distribution - I was on windows for a couple years, and then went to Ubuntu when I switched back...

How do _you_ connect to a wireless network?

Wicd starts as a service, then wicd-client is in the autostart list for the WM/DE (a tray of some kind is needed). There's a curses app for it, too, but it since it connects to known networks w/o the client running, I haven't needed to try it.

[TheChewanater]

I guess it's been a while since the last time I used a non-"easy to use" distribution - I was on windows for a couple years, and then went to Ubuntu when I switched back...

How do _you_ connect to a wireless network?

Code: Select all

sudo su
apt-cdrom add
apt-get install network-manager
shutdown

[Random832]

I was talking to the people who rejected stuff like NetworkManager as being 'not for 'experienced users''.

[You, sir, name?]

"iwconfig wlan0 up" is all I need to do on reasonably well configured networks. On less well configured networks, I need to "iwlist scan" to figure out the settings myself, and then set the essid and junk with iwconfig. But I usually write a network-specific script for the latter part.

[cerbie]

I was talking to the people who rejected stuff like NetworkManager as being 'not for 'experienced users''.

iwlist and iwconfig are great alternatives to NetworkManager, IMO.

Last I knew (12.2, 13.0), wicd was in Slackware, and NetworkManager wasn't. Asking to set up a keyring or wallet is the first bit of fail. But, in distros that do that for you, the lack of error messages, and iwconfig not failing with the same network settings, do not help. IMO, NetworkManager is for experienced developers and maintainers, and not for any users.

[webgiant]

I like Windows because it's the universal platform for every game I want to play. I've also owned my homemade winderbox for over 4 years now and never had a single OS crash or BSOD. The only time it turns off without my permission is during a power outage.

Blatant lies are not good form, my good man!

/shrug

I'd like to get a Linux partition running, but I've been told it doesn't run out of the box like Windows does, and it's been a pretty long time since my collegiate tech-days.

It's easier than you think and these days it has a strong tendency to run out of box better than Windows does (Ie. You don't need a damn driver CD which you lost a year ago to get your networking up and running)

Oh my goodness, this is so right. My wife's Windows PC needed a reinstall after two years frequent use (she didn't realize she was on an OS which allows viruses to install themselves off websites without mentioning it to the user) and I was about to install Linux Mint on an older PC to make for a much nicer four computers on my desk.

An hour later, Linux Mint was installed and working perfectly, and I was still downloading drivers for her Windows PC. Some of those drivers turned out to be the wrong version, and after hunting through message boards on Windows I found out the right drivers and downloaded them instead. All told the Windows reinstall took six hours, with multiple reboots. Linux had one reboot and then didn't need a reboot until a week later when there was a kernel update. Her HP printer took twenty minutes by itself to get installed in Windows. Linux quietly installed my HP printer for me, which came as a pleasant surprise when I accidentally hit Print and the webpage I was on printed.

Linux comes with a built-in feature that prints directly to a PDF. Windows does not have this feature, and must have yet another third-party software app installed (BullZip is quite nice for this function) for when the printer runs out of paper or we need a digital copy. I also really like how Linux Mint supports all codecs out of the box, and do not care for Windows requiring an often bug-ridden "codec pack" to watch videos.

[WizenedEE]

Linux comes with a built-in feature that prints directly to a PDF. Windows does not have this feature, and must have yet another third-party software app installed (BullZip is quite nice for this function) for when the printer runs out of paper or we need a digital copy.

The reason I like linux is not that it ``comes with'' a bunch of nice bulit-in features, it is rather that it comes with no built in features and everything is an add-on. This means there is no difference between the piece of software that prints to a printer and the one that prints to a file --- one is not official and one official, they are both just software.

Although I suppose on my distro, arch, there is the official (in the repositories), unofficial-but-used (in the compile-yourself AUR) and never-been-used-before (write your own package manager log). However, at the core, everything is an add-on.


As an unrelated note, my school's new windows 7 installations come with a print-to-pdf option. So I think that is default. But the point still stands, that it's now impossible to get a print to whatever else option that's as nice as the built-in.

[EvanED]

As an unrelated note, my school's new windows 7 installations come with a print-to-pdf option. So I think that is default. But the point still stands, that it's now impossible to get a print to whatever else option that's as nice as the built-in.

Even Win8 doesn't have a default PDF printer. XPS is there, but who uses that anyway? Must be something your school put there.