Do you still use Windows sometimes? And why?

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MU
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Do you still use Windows sometimes? And why?

#1 Post by MU »

Hi, I'd like to know, if you still use Windows beside Puppy.
erikson wrote:By now I am running two Puppy flavors from pendrive, with multi-boot option (standard Puppy 3.01, pcPuppyOS rc6, or WinXP from hard disk), and I find that I'm now using WinXP for barely 10% of the time.
from: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=27244

Myself I replaced my loud harddrives with an internal CF-card 3 months ago.
This means, I have no more Windows XP (I was too lazy to reinstall it).

I only "miss" it concerning some games I once bought but never played (like "The Chronicles of Riddick" or "Prey"), but I had no time for them anyway.
So at moment I don't need XP at all.

Why do you still use Windows, which applications?
Mark
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ndujoe1
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Puppy LInux use

#2 Post by ndujoe1 »

no Windows here since nov '05.

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Lobster
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#3 Post by Lobster »

I use XP on other peoples machines. It is always painfully slow.
The last Windows OS on this machine was 98SE

I may put it back on (there is some software I like to use) but frankly the internet connection setup is more than I want
to do, so probably won't.

I like XP but I hate keeping it running at speed
and protected

Unlike some penguins I feel dual booting an OS you have paid for
(came with this machine) is fine.
If you need WIndows - use it
- what are we engaged in software eugenics?

I do not need WIndows and I do not need the
bloat (and extra facilities) of other distros.

I may well use ReactOS when it goes into Beta sometime this year

Fast, flexible and friendly - Puppy does all I need
and then some.
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bugman

#4 Post by bugman »

my wife does and sometimes i have to fix things for her

apart from that, no

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MU
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#5 Post by MU »

If you need WIndows - use it
- what are we engaged in software eugenics?
no, but it is important to know, so that we might add alternatives in Puppy :)

Mark
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headfound
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#6 Post by headfound »

I use windows a few times a week. There are some hardware devices (cameras, mp3 players) that will not work with linux, they just charge from usb instead of being able to access the internal discs so windows for those. Bluetooth for my phone (pics, ringtones).
I find video editing a lot easier in windows. I have used adobe premier for many years and nothing in the linux or windows freeware domain comes close yet.
Games! There are lots of windows games i like and they either do not work or I am too lazy to configure wine properly for them.
I only go on the net with puppy and its the only thing i use unless its for something specific.
Download a better Computer :)
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#7 Post by Lobster »

Ah OK Mark,

The program I miss is Dreamweaver
BUT I much prefer using a wiki (yes I can not do as much)
but I can use a wiki from anywhere at any time . . .

On-line services are always fun - for that I just need a browser . . .
http://blog.go2web20.net/2008/03/39-web ... quire.html
Last edited by Lobster on Thu 27 Mar 2008, 12:16, edited 1 time in total.
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#8 Post by Caneri »

Hi MU et al,

Well my story is a sad one..I bought a shiny new lappy (HP Compaq nx 9420) with all the bells and whistles so I could run XP Pro fast and it came with a free upgrade to Vista(the free upgrade ended up costing me $65CDN..and XP is not fast..sheesh).

Anyway I was looking for a free disk partitioner and found Puppy....Gparted did exactly what I wanted it to do but the side effect was I loved Puppy and slowly migrated to it and haven't needed all those bells and whistles on my shiny new lappy...rats.

If we are talking what would be good for new pups, then for me bluetooth would be great, as I just want my bluetooth headset and a mouse to connect...not so much my phone. I seem to have a problem getting BT to work.

I find XP Pro a true multi-tasking OS because every time I start into Windows I find it's better to walk away for a half hour and do something else while it boots and updates and..and..and

The wife on the other hand still needs her genealogy programs, but MU's setup in Mini-Muppy for GRAMPS sounds great...I haven't had time to go after that yet but it looks good. I would love to see a puplet specifically for genealogists with Gramps and database etc as default software..then you'll see Windows go to the dust bin here (and I suspect also my wifes colleagues).

Photo editing is better in M$..Adobe Elements and Photoshop with IrfranViewer(IViewer) is what the wife uses here.

Best,
Eric
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davec51
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Windows98

#9 Post by davec51 »

My old 400mhz computer has Windows98 (not SE). I run several versions of Puppy from CD's. I use Windows to print to an Epson 7000CX in another room, attached to a Windows XP machine (my wife's). I have had big trouble printing using SAMBA and CUPS. Of course, walking a few feet into the other room is another solution.

Trobin
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#10 Post by Trobin »

I use Windows XP, and sometimes Vista. I have yet to get my printer to work satisfactorily under linux.

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#11 Post by NathanO »

There are two programs I use under Win 2000.

The first is Calendar Creator Plus, going back to 1993. I have not been able to find a Linux program that give me the Print options that CC+ does.

The second is Cadrail by Sandia Software. I use it for my hobby of model railroading. Yes there are Linux programs that are similar, but they do not come anywhere near the needs I have like Tom's program does.

NathanO

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#12 Post by Henry »

Hi, Mark,

I still use windows more than puppy, by necessity. First, let me qualify "windows." I have an extremely small, simple, fast, windows, a "vestigial" 98se less IE and less practically every file I don't need. Uses 95 explorer as in 98Lite. (At least the file sysyem is intelligible :-) No frills, no multimedia, no AV and never a virus. (Postini, no IE, and hardware router are responsible.) I have not reinstalled windows in over 5 years except from a ghost image.

Why do I have to use windows? Familiarity is one thing. If one has been speaking English all his life he does not switch to French without a performance hit. But the main thing is applications. For example -

Quickbooks is needed in our small business.

I have written and publish numerous books, mostly in WordPerfect. These have to be periodically revised and reprinted. They are heavily integrated with graphics and not practically transferable to any other word processor. Of course they are in pdf but sometimes the source is needed. (Also, I like WordPerfect.)

Many windows programs are superior. Take for a small example the freeware image browser/viewer Faststone. Nothing comes close to it. Run it in wine? Maybe - the last time I tried it partially worked.

The workarounds to use windows programs in linux have so far not been satisfactory for me. Inefficient, awkward, incomplete. (My experience, but why should one have to use windows programs anyway?)

Drivers - I have a perfectly satisfactory scanner (Epson 4800) that will not work with linux. I would have to replace it, integrate it and learn a new, probably inferior interface.

The reader component of the ancient Acrobat 4 I use in windows is vastly superior to the slow and awkward default pdf reader in puppy.

I've used Eudora email for about a dozen years and have large files going back that far. Yes, it is possible to convert the files, even to Opera linux, but I always end up keeping Eudora for safety and simplicity.

Having said all that, I still have made every effort to adapt and use puppy, appreciate its general superiority, and enjoy using NOP 3.01 rev 5 nearly every day.

I use no Microsoft programs whatsoever except what little remains of 98se. That was the last one I got.

Henry
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#13 Post by sunburnt »

Hi Mark;

I myself don't use WinBlows, the rest of the family does, kids & games.

All of them play World of Warcraft on line, can Linux do that?

The boy plays Halo2 (Vista only), Unreal2004, Quake4, & GTA.

Any success stories of getting these running on Linux (Wine, Cedega, etc.)?

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#14 Post by Pizzasgood »

The only two things I have used Windows for this semester are to run Quartus and to print. The printing is only because I broke CUPS a while back and haven't gotten around to fixing it. Last semester I had it working great though, and I think the newer Puppies even include all the stuff I need for my printer. Someday I'll get around to making it work again. But for now, it doesn't really matter because every time I need to print corresponds with a time when I need to run Quartus.

I have no idea if there are Linux alternatives to Quartus, but it doesn't matter anyways. We're using it in class, so I need to use it at home too. Actually, if I hit it hard enough I could probably get it running in Wine. I tried once and got it mostly working, but it died when I tried compiling a circuit.

Two other programs I sometimes use Windows for are Ruckus (school gives us a free account 8) ) and BYOND (which I had mostly working in Wine until they upgraded to version 4...) I did use Windows for a couple days to play the trial version of WOW, just to see what all the fuss was about (impressive, but I don't have the time or money to play).

All the references above are to XP. I do have 98SE still installed on my other computer (dual boot, Puppy is main os), and I plan to keep it out of nostalgia. Yesterday was actually the first time I even booted 98 since at least August. The only reason I did it was to defrag the harddrive so I could resize the partition.
Last edited by Pizzasgood on Sun 16 Mar 2008, 19:29, edited 1 time in total.
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#15 Post by MU »

Quake4:
There is a Linux installer.
Simply google for "quake4 Linux" to find all the mirrors (the one from ID-software usually is overloaded and slow).
You need the Windows retail-CD for it.
Requires the manufacturer-drivers from Ati or Nvidia.
It works slow but playable on a Pentium 700 with 1 Gig Ram and a Ati Radeon 9250.
But only in Puppy1, in Puppy 2 it crashes after 10 minutes.
Even in Puppy1 I have to restart after playing one hour.
I was not able to compile the last available driver for the 9250 in Puppy 3.
These cards are still sold, so this is pretty poor from Ati that they dropped driversupport for it.

With newer cards you can use new Ati-drivers (that do not support old cards like my 9250 any more). Maybe they work better.

World of Warcraft might work using one of Puppys Wine packages.
Here is an instruction:
http://www.wickle.com/wiki/index.php/In ... r_on_Linux

Unreal has good Linux-support.
I often read it runs faster than in Windows using an Nvidia card.
http://tinyurl.com/2c4ojm

Mark
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#16 Post by Pizzasgood »

Well, I'd already heard that it can run in Linux, and my brother told me about servers, but that still doesn't solve the time issue. Maybe if we make a big enough stink on the mailing lists we could get the kernel developers to add eight more hours to the day in the next update?

And no, the accelerated pace servers are not an adequate solution to me :wink:
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#17 Post by GeoffS »

My main computer has Puppy and XP on it (along with a couple of other Linux distribs) - I can't remember when I last booted XP on it.
A second computer also has Puppy and XP (with XPLite) on it but defaults to XP, is rarely used and is locked out of the internet.
This laptop has Puppy (2.12).
I only have 4 reasons for booting XP now.
One particular function in Quickbooks which I just can't make work under Wine. Fortunately I only rarely use that function.
Video editing - Lives or Cinerella would probably do everything for me however they both involve a steep learning curve for something I don't do very frequently.
Maintaining a number of systems I wrote in MS Access some years ago. I wish somebody would develop an equivalent for Linux.
Maintaining and using a couple of programs writing in Visual Basic and some PicAxe programs.
Doesn't seem much and mainly fixable.
Cheers
Geoff

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#18 Post by Jactek »

My computer at work has XP. I have to use IE to access our state wide database, also i use Access quite a bit.

At home I have a partition with 98 that I use for the same reasons.
I mostly use lighthouse pup at home.

We are in the process of setting up Vista machines (not my idea) Acer T-180's Have already set up 30 they are used to surf the net and write resumes, cover letters etc and so far have been working, knock on wood

Jim
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#19 Post by SirDuncan »

I use XP for playing games that don't run or don't run well in Linux, running the software for my TV tuner (might run under WINE, but I already have XP for other things), InDesign CS3 (for class), and for running boolean logic and circuit design programs (again, for class).

There are Linux alternatives for all of the programs I use for class; but as Pizza said, if you use it in class you need to use it at home (or in the dorm as the case may be). InDesign will not install under WINE, but might run if I copied the installed files to the WINE file structure. Too much work, though.

WoW does run in Linux through WINE, but it will get your account disabled because it does not let the Warden (the anti-hacking program used by WoW) run properly. They will assume that you are hacking and disable your account.

Like Lobster, I await a functional ReactOS. A free/open source OS that is binary compatible with XP and a fraction of the size? I'll take it.
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#20 Post by ttuuxxx »

SirDuncan wrote:
Like Lobster, I await a functional ReactOS. A free/open source OS that is binary compatible with XP and a fraction of the size? I'll take it.
Hey SirDuncan

I've also been a bit of a tester for ReactOS for a few years now, Whenever they release a newer version I usually test a few applications and report my findings to the online forum/chat
Also I still use windows for my CS3 Suite applications.
One day I hope we get better alternatives for the professional side of things when it comes to linux. But for most I use puppy.
ttuuxxx
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