What do you guys think of the latest operating systems?

[brad]

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I have started my own forum topic, so here is one now!

I was wondering what you guys thought of the latest operating systems that are popping up? I have been a Mac user for quite a number of years now although I also have windows 7 in a virtual environment for all my programming needs etc... i also have Linux mint in a virtual environment as well.

I don't much care for Windows 8. I think it is quite dull and boring and I miss the 3D interface that has been around since, well, windows 3 era! It seems that Apple is going the same way, iOS 7 features the flat interface and they will soon be releasing the new Mac OS in the next couple of months and rumour has it that it will also be going to the flat non 3D simplistic interface.

What are your thoughts?

[bitfogav]

To be honest I have always preferred windows, but mac is good!.. I have just switched to windows 8, not really out of choice because I think it's not very user friendly at all, but I did take the jump from windows Vista as for apple I07 bring back I06 I say, everything is so dull and plain..

[Garth]

When I switched from Windows to Linux, 90% of my computer problems went away. I have Ubuntu 10.04 on my desktop though and I like that, whereas I have 12.10 on my laptop and have for a year and a half, and I still can't find things on it-- which is why I'm not going with a later version than 10.04 on the desktop. 10.04's user interface is much better. 12.10 tried to make more of the screen available for your work, which was a noble thing to do 20 years ago; but with today's monitors of about 2,000 pixels across, there's room for everything. I told my employer I won't use Windows again even to save my job. It's not worth my health. I was always angry with the computer when I used Windows. I did not lose my job, but the other engineer got into Linux to find out what I was talking about, and now he prefers it too.

My parents, who are hardly qualified to operate a computer, had a very cheap, low-powered one with Windows, and after viruses wiped them out, our son installed Ubuntu Linux on it, and they were happy. After a few years, my bro-in-law got them a faster, smaller computer, but it came with Windows 8 on it. They hated it, so our son put Ubuntu on that one too, so now they're happy.

I don't have any Mac experience; but with Linux, I've never had to re-install anything to get it working again, never had a virus (or needed AV software), never been required to pay for software (it's virtually all open-source and free), never had to defrag, never had any slowing, and I only re-boot if a software update requires it, which is a couple of times a year. Computer maintenance consists of dusting the monitor once in a while.

Linus Torvalds, the originator of Linux, does say however that now Linux is getting too bloated. Bloat was one of the things it was originally supposed to remedy. I don't like the fact that PCs are so complex that no single person can understand a very broad portion of it-- but I suppose that's the way it has to be, since we want our videos, photo-editing software, PCB-layout software, etc., etc., and run it all at the same time with customization to no end.

Partially related though, there's an article on computer and programming philosophy at http://www.ultratechnology.com/lowfat.htm, "Low Fat Computing (A politically incorrect essay by Jeff Fox)." He and Chuck Moore (inventor of Forth), taking an entirely different programming philosophy, plus Forth hardware and software, have improved the compactness and speed of code by a factor of 100 to 1000, reducing GUI software down to amazingly small programs. Fox criticizes some of the folly and deception of the software industry.

[brad]

Linus Torvalds, the originator of Linux, does say however that now Linux is getting too bloated.

Now that is a good point Garth. I think that operating systems are changing and growing just for the sake of it. Not because there is a need for it. Perhaps people are thinking 'Well, we can't just have something that does exactly what it did a couple of years ago or it can't look the same as a couple of years ago - so let's just change it!'