In a recent post, maybe my last one, I talked about how I'm trying to migrate to Linux Ubuntu as an operating system, hoping one day to actually leave Microsoft and it's Window's environment completely behind. I've now taken a few more baby steps in that direction. I've been using Linux Ubuntu 14.04 LTS on my third laptop to get used to it, and just the other day promoted it up to my No. 1 laptop! My Win 7 laptop has been demoted to second banana.
Now, as of this time, I'm not including my desktop PC in this, it's my gaming machine and will be the final one to make the transition someday. Which might not necessarily be that long from now. I found an open source screen recorder that I like very much and works well on my laptop with Ubuntu, and Steam has been working very well on it as well, I've even installed a game I've played before called "Grow Home", which ran quite nicely considering I was using an integrated graphics card for it on Ubuntu. So putting Ubuntu on my desktop is looking more and more likely.
Promoting the Ubuntu laptop up to my prime laptop will now mean it's getting used for much more and more often. I've even been able to watch both Netflix and Hulu on it, without having to jump through any hoops or use any command lines with the terminal to get them to work. Ubuntu is starting to feel more and more like something that I can just open up and use just as I would any other computer. I'll keep you posted on where I'm at in this transition and how well it goes either way.
Showing posts with label Linux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Linux. Show all posts
Thursday, February 04, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Step 1 of weening myself off Microsoft!
Well, I've taken my first step at weening myself off of Microsoft. I've still got my laptop with Win 7 on it, and my desktop still has Win 8.1 on it. I have a second laptop though that I've installed Ubuntu on, I'm not sure right off hand which update version it is, but it's the newest out. I've tried a couple of different versions of Linux before in the past and had mixed results with them. The problem with Linux in my opinion is that it seems to be designed with geeks in mind that like to get in under the hood and mess with things. Some stuff you want to do, you end up having to search through a forum to find someone who explains how you have to open up a command line and type in a bunch of commands to get something to work. I'm not into programming and I just want to install something by clicking on it and it just works.
Ubuntu does seem to have a lot of things going for it though, most things work simply and easily, it's fast and light, and with Steam loaded on it, I can even play a lot of the games in my steam library on Linux! And as I understand it, Netflix is even supported on Linux now, so that's one of the final hurdles I've had that have kept me from switching permanently to Linux. I'm planning on using that laptop more and more and see if I can get used to it and eventually, pull the plug on Microsoft and get them out of my house!
Ubuntu does seem to have a lot of things going for it though, most things work simply and easily, it's fast and light, and with Steam loaded on it, I can even play a lot of the games in my steam library on Linux! And as I understand it, Netflix is even supported on Linux now, so that's one of the final hurdles I've had that have kept me from switching permanently to Linux. I'm planning on using that laptop more and more and see if I can get used to it and eventually, pull the plug on Microsoft and get them out of my house!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Sluggish Windows 8 Raising It's Price...Really!?
Windows 8 upgrade price is set to go up starting February 1st. Really? Does Microsoft think that that it's, "slow to move off the shelves new operating system", is going to move any faster at $119 than it has been at $39.99? I don't think so. If anything, I think Microsoft will let it's upgrade price go up so that they can blame the slow adoption rate of Windows 8 on price, rather than quality.
By now, even Microsoft surely has to admit that with their Windows 8 user interface they've left desktop users behind. I've had the RC build of windows 8 on an old PC since it came out. It was a horrible experience which is why I've never even considered purchasing it. Now the RC build has entered it's phase where it shuts the PC down every hour and re-starts it, to basically make you upgrade or remove it from the PC. I'll be removing it and putting a Linux build back on it, thank you very much Microsoft! I have no interest in keeping a "touchscreen dependent" operating system on a desktop computer that has no touchscreen capabilities. All that Microsoft has to do to salvage Windows 8 is to make it a hybrid OS that will cater to both touchscreen devices and non-touchscreen devices. It would surely not be too hard to have the OS detect whether or not a touchscreen is available or not, and tailor the interface to match the capabilities of the machine it's installed on.
Beneath the hood, Windows 8 is little more than Windows 7 with a few new dressings. Unfortunately, it's those very "dressings" that make it such a horrible experience on a traditional desktop. The next iteration of Windows is going to have to address this problem, or there will be a very big reason for computer users to start adopting Linux. One of the main reasons keeping Linux from being adopted widely by computer users is the fact that gamers have needed a windows operating system to enjoy playing games. That may be changing soon though since Steam, a game store/service, provided by Valve is pushing it's service now on Linux. They are also actively encouraging game developers to port their existing games to Linux and to begin developing new games exclusively for the Linux operating system.
As long as the base of Linux users keeps growing, developing games for Linux could actually be a boon to game developers as there would be fewer licensing fees involved. The open source operating system may yet prove to be the underdog that swoops in and claims the huge desktop market that Microsoft seems so ready to drop like a hot potato!
By now, even Microsoft surely has to admit that with their Windows 8 user interface they've left desktop users behind. I've had the RC build of windows 8 on an old PC since it came out. It was a horrible experience which is why I've never even considered purchasing it. Now the RC build has entered it's phase where it shuts the PC down every hour and re-starts it, to basically make you upgrade or remove it from the PC. I'll be removing it and putting a Linux build back on it, thank you very much Microsoft! I have no interest in keeping a "touchscreen dependent" operating system on a desktop computer that has no touchscreen capabilities. All that Microsoft has to do to salvage Windows 8 is to make it a hybrid OS that will cater to both touchscreen devices and non-touchscreen devices. It would surely not be too hard to have the OS detect whether or not a touchscreen is available or not, and tailor the interface to match the capabilities of the machine it's installed on.
Beneath the hood, Windows 8 is little more than Windows 7 with a few new dressings. Unfortunately, it's those very "dressings" that make it such a horrible experience on a traditional desktop. The next iteration of Windows is going to have to address this problem, or there will be a very big reason for computer users to start adopting Linux. One of the main reasons keeping Linux from being adopted widely by computer users is the fact that gamers have needed a windows operating system to enjoy playing games. That may be changing soon though since Steam, a game store/service, provided by Valve is pushing it's service now on Linux. They are also actively encouraging game developers to port their existing games to Linux and to begin developing new games exclusively for the Linux operating system.
As long as the base of Linux users keeps growing, developing games for Linux could actually be a boon to game developers as there would be fewer licensing fees involved. The open source operating system may yet prove to be the underdog that swoops in and claims the huge desktop market that Microsoft seems so ready to drop like a hot potato!
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