What OS are you using at home?

[gklinger]

OS X I have found to be, shall we say, unfriendly with a smile on it's face.

What's the problem you're having? Maybe I can help you sort it out.

[Schema]

I've been using Ubuntu 9.10 lately, still learning my way around it though. Dual-boot back into XP every so often for running music software.

[gklinger]

I've been using Ubuntu 9.10 lately, still learning my way around it though. Dual-boot back into XP every so often for running music software.

Have you considered virtualization?

[ral-clan]

Pretty much split between Windows XP and AmigaOS 3.x (running in UAE on the PC). I don't think I'll upgrade for a while yet - those two do everything I need to.

Was it you who marked Amiga OS Classic then?

Yes, I figured since I'm 50/50 between XP and AmigaOS Classic, and I was only allowed to choose one, I'd give AmigaOS Classic the boost it needed.

I use AmigaOS for 95% of my graphics 2D bitmap stuff and 3D modelling (Aladdin4d, Lightwave, DeluxePaint, ImageFX, etc.), my MIDI music work (Bars & Pipes) and some other things (including the very ocassional gaming). The only time I switch over to windows for graphic work is to use IrfanView for image conversion, cropping, etc. (the Amiga is equally capable of this - it's just that IrfanView is small and loads up quickly).

Windows XP is for running Sony Vegas (video), Reaper (audio recording) and general internet browsing.

Windows XP pretty much covers all my "modern" computing needs (I have never been limited by it). Is there any really compelling reason for the average computer user to upgrade beyond Windows XP if they own a PC? What can't Windows XP do that Windows 7 can? I'm talking about reasons beyond "you won't be able to get drivers soon" - that's not a functional reason - that's planned obsolesence.

This comes from a guy who was using Windows 98 on his PC until 2008 and who didn't find that very limiting either - the only problem I ever encountered in Windows 98 was when I got into video editing and the old file-system had a 2 or 4GB file limit - oh and the USB support could have been better.

[pitcalco]

So, what's the general feeling about Windows 7? Is it a viable successor to XP? And is there much difference from Vista?

I never used Vista. I went straight from XP to Windows 7. I do like it and it seems to work OK. However, my feeling remains the same now as it did throughout the entire development of Windows, namely: That the development is largely aesthetic and more a question of bells and whistles than it is a matter of substantial functional improvements.

My new HP with Windows 7 has 4 GB RAM, for instance, but aside from all the pretty graphics and sounds I would argue that it does not work any better in terms of getting the job done than my Windows XP-loaded Presario with 256MB did when it was new.

[Schema]

Have you considered virtualization?

Yeah, we use VMware extensively at work so I'm familiar with it, but for home use I thought I'd run both OSes directly to get the best performance. This is especially important for the music software which needs direct hardware access (ASIO, MIDI stuff).

[ral-clan]

However, my feeling remains the same now as it did throughout the entire development of Windows, namely: That the development is largely aesthetic and more a question of bells and whistles than it is a matter of substantial functional improvements.

Thanks for that posting. That's the impression I got too. More bells & whistles, more memory, CPU and hardrive space required, but doesn't really offer any more functionality.

Plus, I'm not too happy with any operating system that needs to connect to the internet to authenticate/authorize when installing (although I'm forced to use them sometimes). The lack of this requirement is one reason I like the older OSes.

[rhurst]

Yes, virtualization is no longer an emerging technology, rather many engines are even allowing to replace one another (i.e., KVM can launch a VMware's VMDK).

[ravenxau]

Xp for host (as other people need to use the computer as well) - puppy linux guest (for its small footprint and ease of use

[rhurst]

I've used Puppy to distribute a LiveCD of MAME, Atari, Commodore, etc. games via a custom front-end. Worked great on "low-end" PC machines and my family and friends loved it.

Sometimes it would be the only thing their poor Windows machines could boot after 3 months of normal people's use.