Tech

I got a laptop from work to use. A very pretty Sony Vaio VGN-FW45GJ, I decided to dual boot. I installed Windows7 and Ubuntu 11.10.

Installing Windows7 was a HUGE mistake, but it did allow me to discover what an absolute scam the Windows ecosystem is. And to make matters worse, I decided to write this post from my Windows7 boot while installing a load of Windows updates. In writing these short sentences, I have been interrupted by FOUR popups, one to reminde me to install IE9, one to inform me that some of the updates did not install and two from the two Driver Downloaders that I tried to get Windows working on this machine.

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I love operating systems. They are the most wonderful pieces of software that has ever been put together. What you use daily interfaces with your hardware. Every button press causes the OS to send a message to the hardware, and then to read the response from the hardware to provide you with the correct feedback.

Most Operating systems are very good these days. A modern OS can do most of the things its direct competitor does, some do certain things better than others, and some are very specified in their use.

Where the largest focus is today, is the Desktop Computer. Primary focus for the Desktop Computer should be ease of use, or so you’d hope. I take five Operating Systems and compare them using six tasks that most users will need to do at least once a week. Here is how they did.

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If you have not followed this series from day one start here: DAY ONE 

8:20

Start my day with my usual tasks, yesterday putty started using my key for ssh, this morning it won’t. And Windows now takes two minutes before I can launch any programs…

I have decided that desktop widgets, plasmoids, gadgets (as windows refers to them) or even conky is useless as a means for getting information about your system, being notified of e-mails or keeping up to date with the latest rss feeds.

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A reader pointed me in the direction of Microsoft Security Essentials as an alternative to Bitdefender. Unfortunately it is not available in my country. So for now BD it is.

I am looking forward to today, I have just finished breakfast and am getting ready to go to work. Now that I have sorted out most of my needs for today, with the exception of finding a closed-source alternative to Putty, I am wondering how my day will go using the tools I have chosen to make a living.

Off to work…

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If you missed day one of my trek through closed country read it here: Day One

Right, so day one – getting to grips with Windows, did not go well. Day 2 did not start out good either. I had to go back to Linux in order to do my morning tasks in the office because I AM STILL WITHOUT OFFICE!

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Today I got hold of the release version of Windows 7 Ultimate x64. We are a Microsoft Partner company and we get our hands on these kind of things before the normal populace.

Sitting there with 3.2Gigs worth of Windows Vista Problem Solver in my hands got me thinking.

I need to try it.

But I need to do more than just try it. I am a Linux geek and FLOSS fan, so I haven’t used proprietary software on a large scale for a long time. The odd driver here and there, and the odd piece of software there, but I have lived a FLOSS life for many years now.

Working in an IT environment means that I deal with proprietary software on a daily basis.

And here I am, two-and-a-bit hours into a world I never thought I would have ventured into again.

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Yes, I am a late adopter.

Only in March this year did I decide to upgrade from Feisty to Gutsy. This continue reading…