Do you still use Windows sometimes? And why?

Puppy related raves and general interest that doesn't fit anywhere else
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Monsie
Posts: 631
Joined: Thu 01 Dec 2011, 07:37
Location: Kamloops BC Canada

Do you still use Windows sometimes? And why?

#221 Post by Monsie »

Hi all,

I still rely on Windows each April to complete the family Tax Returns. There are good freeware programs available now, but none have been written for Linux based operating systems that I know of. Note: I have never tried to run such software in Wine. Someday, I may choose to e-file (complete the Return on-line) in which case I will be able to do so regardless of operating system, but I must admit I am a bit hesitant, perhaps needlessly so, but... I feel more in control in terms of being able to work with and save my data on my computer.

Monsie
My [u]username[/u] is pronounced: "mun-see". Derived from my surname, it was my nickname throughout high school.

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Tote
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu 19 Jan 2012, 07:53
Location: South Wales

#222 Post by Tote »

I haven't used it since I discovered Puppy Linux.

I bought a second-hand laptop recently that came with Windows 7. I didn't particularly want 7, I wanted the laptop. So I thought I'd dual-boot for a while, then I went into setting up 7. It looked like an nice OS, everything worked, click-click, ooh that's pretty, etc.

Then, it was recommended to install virus scan software. I clicked okay, and was watching the process, anti-phishing, anti-malware, anti-virus updates, and I had a vision of the future where I'd be compelled to update all of that every other day just to try and stay safe in-line.

Just watching it all install was enough to bring me to my senses. No thank you. I cancelled, deleted Windows, partitioned the hard drive and now I'm running three or four Pups and loving it.

I didn't need Windows for any particular task. It's the same with Puppy. I just browse, e-mail, music, photos. Light user. I don't even need a specific Puppy version, they'll all more or less do whatever I need, but with Pup I don't need all the anti-virus software and if I totally wreck anything I just delete and start over.

I can't imagine ever being tempted back to Windows.

musher0
Posts: 14629
Joined: Mon 05 Jan 2009, 00:54
Location: Gatineau (Qc), Canada

#223 Post by musher0 »

Hi, Tote.

Very convincing. Exactly how I feel. :)

You didn't mention that Windows is so much of a slowpoke : 2 min 45 sec. to boot into Windows, whereas to boot into Puppy it's 30 seconds or so.

I think that your testimony above should be on the first page of puppylinux.org and puppylinux.com, at the very top.

Have a great day! :)

musher0
musher0
~~~~~~~~~~
"You want it darker? We kill the flame." (L. Cohen)

rokytnji
Posts: 2262
Joined: Tue 20 Jan 2009, 15:54

#224 Post by rokytnji »

Sigh

Code: Select all

harry@biker ~ $ cd /home/harry/Isos
harry@biker ~/Isos $ ls
android4.0rc2eeepc  AntiX  Slimpup  TinyCore  Windows
$ cd Windows
harry@biker ~/Isos/Windows $ ls
3.1 rar            Dos document.odt  Windows 3.1
95-floppy-windows  MS-DOS-6.22       Windows for Workgroups 3.11
harry@biker ~/Isos/Windows/95-floppy-windows/Win95Floppy $ cd Win95Floppy
harry@biker ~/Isos/Windows/95-floppy-windows/Win95Floppy/Win95Floppy $ ls
DISK10.IMA  DISK12.IMA  DISK1.IMA  DISK3.IMA  DISK5.IMA  DISK7.IMA  DISK9.IMA
DISK11.IMA  DISK13.IMA  DISK2.IMA  DISK4.IMA  DISK6.IMA  DISK8.IMA  SETUP.IMA
It is the only thing I can get on floppy that installs and boots to a gui on a http://oi44.tinypic.com/1t3fk7.jpg
P66hz, 12MB ram, MA401 pcmcia 16bit Netgear wireless B card. No cdrom . 1992 Kapok/Nan-Tan color screen netbook. Uses a 16bit pmcia dialup modem card with a phone line jack also.

Then. I need my Windows 7 laptop for
http://www.mastertune.net/harleydavidson.htm

for stuff like
http://oi40.tinypic.com/ju8gwm.jpg

Linux is just starting to get into automotive, but just for cars. Us bikers are the red headed step child I guess.
http://events.linuxfoundation.org/event ... ummit-fall

On the ancient netbook. Checking out ebay lately. My netbook might actually be worth something now for collectors of old computer gear. Mine is in tip top shape and the battery still holds a charge (weighs about 5 pounds.) 8)

Any Gaming. I do doom in dosbox.

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/coffee ... post925657

starhawk
Posts: 4906
Joined: Mon 22 Nov 2010, 06:04
Location: Everybody knows this is nowhere...

#225 Post by starhawk »

Hey roky -- I have a copy of a thing called XWOAF -- XWindows On A Floppy. It *might* work on that Stone Age laptop of yours ;) PM me and I can send you the disk image. It's in *.img format -- hope you know how to dd on a modern box, because I sure as heck don't! Alternately, hop over to the DOS prompt (you could still do that from '95 without a reboot, right? It's been a while, lol...) and use the Internet and RAWRITE. I can send you both RAWRITE (for DOS) and XWOAF, that's not a problem.

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Tote
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu 19 Jan 2012, 07:53
Location: South Wales

#226 Post by Tote »

musher0 wrote:Hi, Tote.

Very convincing. Exactly how I feel. :)

You didn't mention that Windows is so much of a slowpoke : 2 min 45 sec. to boot into Windows, whereas to boot into Puppy it's 30 seconds or so.

I think that your testimony above should be on the first page of puppylinux.org and puppylinux.com, at the very top.

Have a great day! :)

musher0
:D Yeah, I also didn't mention Internet Explorer and sitting watching that little blue gizmo spinning endlessly round and round waiting for it to load a page. All the while mentally comparing it with how fast puppy is. No comparison.

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mikeslr
Posts: 3890
Joined: Mon 16 Jun 2008, 21:20
Location: 500 seconds from Sol

Tax Software, Movie Maker and Cut Assistant

#227 Post by mikeslr »

Hi All,

While I could do my taxes online and email the forms, a slight case of paranoia compels me to do them off-line and use the Postal Service. AfAIK there is no tax software that runs under any version of Linux.
For a quick movie production nothing beats XP's Movie Maker. It's ability to split scenes on-the-fly with just one click, re-arranging the parts you want and discarding what you don't is much faster than having to set the beginning and ends of scenes to be split. But even better is Cut Assistant which works with VirtualDub. VirtualDub will run under Wine, but Cut Assistant won't. Cut Assistant enables you to scroll thru your entire movie, slow down to as little as frame by frame at critical points, mark each part to be included (or excluded) and produce an output movie in one run. Not fancy, artistic video, just plain, uncluttered reportage.

mikesLr

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