On 07/28/2016 08:15 AM, Russell Reiter via talk wrote:
On Jul 27, 2016 11:20 PM, "William Park via talk"
<talk@gtalug.org>
wrote:
>
> I'll give opposite advice from the rest. Stay with
Windows.
> - Windows comes free with all retail computers, fully
configured.
Windows does not come free.
The cost of Windows is built into the price.
At one time if you tried to sell a computer without Windows
pre-installed you would be forbidden from getting Windows to
pre-install on other computers.
Nothing is free.
But my take is that its an easy sell to tell someone to get a
windows computer and once they do I don't have to support them
because I know nothing about windows and just can't help.
If I suggest a linux computer I am suddenly responsible for all the
ills of the internet and any piece of software that gets installed.
When Windows problems crop up... "I guess you just have to buy a new
computer and upgrade to the latest version of windows."
The only reason this is the case is that Foss became
a threat to the profit model, otherwise it would be business as
usual at Microsoft, which is to squeeze every cent they can out
of consumers.
> If you're used to XP, then you'll have
short (if at all) learning
> curve to 10.
> - Components you list below, all come with Windows
driver.
That is true that windows has better driver support.
Partly because of the dominance of the product but partly because of
aggressive business tactics.
> - Windows has virtualizations -- Hyper-V and
VirtualBox. So, you can
> run Linux if you like.
Linux has virtualization and you run windows with Xen(where Hyper-V
comes from), VirtualBox, VMWare, KVM, ...
Linux also has Wine so you can run some windows apps natively.
> - MS-Windows and MS-Office are standard that Linux
fanboys are
> trying to copy. Open/Libre Office's
That is hardly a fair comparison.
OpenOffice has been around for quite a while.
First as StarWriter around 1985 where word started around 1983.
Microsoft chooses to keep Word/Office as a Windows package with just
enough support for Apple to keep them out of court.
One could claim that Word/Office are just fanboy copies of
WordPerfect which showed up in 1980 and was a far superior product
till well into the 1990's
[snip]
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