I do use Linux for my work related stuff. I hope I didn't lead you
to believe I would use Windows for anything important or even
remotely productive. I need a robust, secure system for work.
I hear that crap all the time from Mac and non-Windows PC users. When I was
on XPSP2 I had a machine that was more stable than any Mac and I do a lot
with my machines, including testing things I have been told by users
attempting to make the machine crash or be able to enter the machine (or
other on the network) through some supposed insecurity to see if it
definitely IS possible. You can see that I really do leave myself open to
killing my setup by doing that sort of testing. I even test, irregularly, a
few different AV progs by using viruses etc I have stored to see if they are
keeping up with it (interestingly, there are at least 2 that no AV prog is
keeping up with nowadays and they are around 6 years old! So are AV progs
losing ground?). My XPSP2 just didnt crash without, as has happened, a
hardware problem. Sure, I dont believe it to be perfect but there hasnt been
a perfect OS written yet.
Windows is not a choice in that area. The previous company I worked
for wouldn't even allow Windows machines on the corporate network.
More fool them, really.
Windows is a gaming platform, pure and simple. Without DirectX there
Yep, that is what the uninformed always say. Of course, the fact that
corporate environments USE Windows means they are wrong and you are right.
wouldn't be a single reason to have Windows around that I can see,
and without DirectX 10 coming out next year, I don't think most of us
would be upgrading to Vista. I know I wouldn't have other than the
fact that the security software my company makes for Windows has to
be ported to Vista.
Why would we go to a company for Windows security, that doesnt use it? My
idea to keep up with Windows problems is that you should be swimming in the
same area as the person you think needs to be saved from being drowned. If
you are swimming in a local swimming pool as you are, while the user is in
the ocean, you wont really have much of a clue how to swim in the surf let
alone be anywhere near where they need you to be.
Do I notice a performance hit from software services running in
the background on my Windows box? You bet I do. The games I tend
to run use every bit of the system resources that are available.
Sure there is a performance hit. There was when XP first came out, too. The
reality is that they seem to put all this stuff in that makes little
difference to most people until they upgrade then they cant do without it. I
was running a P3 600Mhz when XP came out and it was a huge difference to the
machine. XPSP2 running on a P4 3Ghz is easy on the machinery.
The long and short of it all is that many years ago, I used to love my Amiga
and think it had everything over PCs and Macs. It did initially. It was
doing in 1984 what Macs did only in B&W in 1987 and even then Macs didn't do
all the Amiga could do. PCs? Not even close. Eventually time cured all that.
You have to keep up with time. Sure, Linux has a place. I am not saying it
doesn't. All I am really saying is that you need to walk around with BOTH
your eyes open, not just your Linux eye. You get no depth of perception
using only one eye!