Is using an OS for the feeling of using it or for the practicality of using it? Why do / don't you use Windows 10?

[Tripredacus]

This is not the expected behaviour. There is no functional difference between LTSC and say... Enterprise or even a retail SKU. There is something wrong with your installation if this type of thing is happening to you.

[CamTron]

I guess I'll give my opinion on this.

The OS that I think is the most fun to use would be Windows 2000. The UI was a result of many well-done studies by Microsoft in the 90s, and provides an interface that's efficient and intuitive. The control panel is very organized with config dialogs that are simple, but not dumbed down. However, the OS is old and not very usable as a daily driver due to lack of hardware and software support. There are a handful of improvements I've seen since 2000 then like the taskbar grouping in XP, the searchable Start menu in Vista, and the Aero Snap feature in 7, but most of the changes were unnecessary cruft just to make it look shiny and different or to catch onto design fads.

Linux by far provides the most functionality of any OS I've used. Want to make a ramdisk, create and edit disk images, completely change the look of your desktop, and take total control over what your computer does? Linux can do that with no problem. However, being such a hodgepodge of software from various developers, the user experience and consistency between applications in Linux is not great. Many programs can do a lot, but require reading pages and pages of documentation to understand how to use them and figure out what all the command-line switches and configuration files do.

I'm personally a Linux user now, but finding one's balance between user experience and functionality can be difficult.

[sunryze]

On 2/9/2021 at 2:45 PM, CamTron said:

I guess I'll give my opinion on this.

The OS that I think is the most fun to use would be Windows 2000. The UI was a result of many well-done studies by Microsoft in the 90s, and provides an interface that's efficient and intuitive. The control panel is very organized with config dialogs that are simple, but not dumbed down. However, the OS is old and not very usable as a daily driver due to lack of hardware and software support. There are a handful of improvements I've seen since 2000 then like the taskbar grouping in XP, the searchable Start menu in Vista, and the Aero Snap feature in 7, but most of the changes were unnecessary cruft just to make it look shiny and different or to catch onto design fads.

Linux by far provides the most functionality of any OS I've used. Want to make a ramdisk, create and edit disk images, completely change the look of your desktop, and take total control over what your computer does? Linux can do that with no problem. However, being such a hodgepodge of software from various developers, the user experience and consistency between applications in Linux is not great. Many programs can do a lot, but require reading pages and pages of documentation to understand how to use them and figure out what all the command-line switches and configuration files do.

I'm personally a Linux user now, but finding one's balance between user experience and functionality can be difficult.

I would definitely use Linux if I could, but I just don't want to have to mess with it. I'd just rather install it and go along with all my apps working.

[bookie32]

5 hours ago, Tonny52 said:

I would definitely use Linux if I could, but I just don't want to have to mess with it. I'd just rather install it and go along with all my apps working.

Linux is something that takes time to learn but is well worth it....;)

bookie32

[sunryze]

4 hours ago, bookie32 said:

Linux is something that takes time to learn but is well worth it....;)

bookie32

Funny thing about that is I used Linux for a fair bit back in 2013. Our PC had failing RAM and my Dad decided to install Ubuntu on it. My first experience with Linux and I really didn't mind it, until I started using Windows after that up until now. I had it on an old laptop at the time, and remember messing around with Windows Vista VMs as well. Last time I ever used Linux for a week or so was in early 2015. 

So basically I can see that most Linux users like to get stuff done on their computer and love how it "just works" on Linux. They even get to know and learn how their computer works too, like all the /dev things, services and others. Windows used to be about that preXP but afterwards it just got dumber and dumber over time, until we were met with 10, which im sure that someone happily uses, but people like us who aren't willing to fully switch to Linux (or just can't) who avoid Windows 10 as hard as possible. I've been trying to escape Windows 10 for the past year now and its been a struggle.

Edited February 11, 2021 by Tonny52

[CamTron]

If you're looking for a fully integrated OS like Windows, I think you'll be disappointed in most Linux distros. The big distros like Ubuntu, Mint, and Fedora come close, but I still have to do more troubleshooting (sound and wireless networking is a hot mess on Linux) than on Windows 10. However, it may be a solution to some of these people complaining about the telemetry, lack of customization, high system requirements, and UI changes in Windows 10, as long as you're willing to deal with a steep learning curve.

[Tripredacus]

In my recent uses of Linux, it just works. But that is presuming I am using it as-is. My current install, everything worked without me having to do anything. That includes LAN, WLAN, mullti-mon, etc. What I wasn't aware of was how to install new programs. I had wanted to install Zoom onto it, and there is a Linux download, but it was some file that wasn't associated with any other program and I had no idea what to do with it.

[sunryze]

Another problem is the multiple types of package managers. Developers have to compile for different package managers (zypper, apt, pacman, yay, emerge) but on Windows, you generally have just one type, an exe file.

[XP-x64-Lover]

Well, in my case I have found Windows XP Professional x64 Edition to be a mixture of good feelings and practicality. It is mostly used for work or projects, It takes a lot of effort and time to set things up to where it all works out properly; especially in special or rare setups. I simply much prefer it over newer versions of windows because it just fits my needs quite well.

I am not a fan of some changes Micro$oft has made over the years to their newer Operating Systems such as Windows 10 involving privacy issues and other things.

Though further into the practicality of such... I have found that Virtual Machines also help in keeping a comfortable compatibility layer; allowing you access to certain technologies or software. For instance if there was a need to use newer versions of programs to perform specific tasks for work or other scenarios that you are not able to perform on your current older Operating System.

So, ultimately I would say there is a balance, and that depends upon the users overall needs of course and what they care about.

Edited February 12, 2021 by XP-x64-Lover

[XP-x64-Lover]

14 hours ago, bookie32 said:

Linux is something that takes time to learn but is well worth it....;)

bookie32

Yes, this is quite true. ^_^

Indeed, it can also be made into a rather fun learning experience if you learn and slowly digest that information within a safe environment such as a virtual machine. So, if you ever somehow broke something you could simply roll back to the previous snapshot and start from where you left off.

[sunryze]

3 hours ago, XP-x64-Lover said:

Yes, this is quite true. ^_^

Indeed, it can also be made into a rather fun learning experience if you learn and slowly digest that information within a safe environment such as a virtual machine. So, if you ever somehow broke something you could simply roll back to the previous snapshot and start from where you left off.

Powerful, but steep learning curve that I will eventually one day tackle.

[Glenn9999]

Basically, I'm just on this copy of Windows I'm on because it's just been working.  I've had my problems, but I haven't worried about tweaking or fixing more than just simply using the computer.  Really the only option, compared to Linux, which was just a complete and total disaster when I tried it - rather would use my computer than have to work on it all the time.

[bookie32]

18 hours ago, Tonny52 said:

Funny thing about that is I used Linux for a fair bit back in 2013. Our PC had failing RAM and my Dad decided to install Ubuntu on it. My first experience with Linux and I really didn't mind it, until I started using Windows after that up until now. I had it on an old laptop at the time, and remember messing around with Windows Vista VMs as well. Last time I ever used Linux for a week or so was in early 2015. 

So basically I can see that most Linux users like to get stuff done on their computer and love how it "just works" on Linux. They even get to know and learn how their computer works too, like all the /dev things, services and others. Windows used to be about that preXP but afterwards it just got dumber and dumber over time, until we were met with 10, which im sure that someone happily uses, but people like us who aren't willing to fully switch to Linux (or just can't) who avoid Windows 10 as hard as possible. I've been trying to escape Windows 10 for the past year now and its been a struggle.

Ok....I hear you..I can also say that certain programs I use are not available in Linux...plus I need to keep up to date with Windows because of customers..so, I have several work computers that are just Windows 10 and many that are Linux....I know there are deep discussions on which version of Linux one can use...I have used many and my favourite was Dreamlinux but there was just too much squabbling behind the scenes and it disappeared from the market place. I prefer debian xfce because Debian is so stable. I add the stuff I want and then maintain it. I also have several servers that have Openmediavault on them...a Debian based server distribution that works well.

bookie32

[Sergiaws]

Yesterday, I made an experiment. I tried to install Windows 10 LTSC x86 on a VM inside Windows XP x86. When the installation finished I dissabled services such as Windows Update and other services in order to avoid high ram usage. I also disabled Windows Deffender, visual effects and I reduced the screen resolution to 800x600. Both machines (main and virtual) have nvda installed with the remote addon so I can connect from my physicall machine to my virtual machine, and doing that the screen reader is quite faster (in the virtual machine) and I also avoid sound distortion. That is also helpful if I want to copy text between both machines because VMware give me an error when I try to install VMware tools, ¡and a virtual machine without vmware tools is very secure! ¡That experience (for me) is like running modern software inside Windows XP! Even Skype calls work in the virtual machine while in my main machine don't work!

[sunryze]

Okay, so I think I found my solution. I'm testing out LTSB 2015 (based on the RTM version) and so far it is working fine. I don't have a problem with colorless title bars, and this is the most 8.1 like Windows 10. It still gets updates because its LTSB and it seems to be working fine as well.