149 replies to this topic 2 votes

[+Asik]

patseguin, on 21 November 2012 - 15:10, said:

Well, I got Chrome installed but not my latest nVidia drivers. I download them and can't just double click to install them.

Please read my post above. You're on a virtual machine. It doesn't have an nVidia video card.

[+Asik]

Quote

Only by virtue of the oem monopoly Microsoft has. That's how Windows gets installed on millions of PCs. Something different is happening this time though. Microsoft is burning its bridges by competing directly with its oems. I foresee more PCs with Linux preinstalled on the horizon. And once users realise that they don't need Microsoft or Windows anymore, which is already happening in the mobile market, then the Windows monopoly will be broken.

This is wishful thinking. Linux on desktop has failed and continues to fail due to its own flaws, and if the Linux community doesn't recognize this they'll ever stay an insignificant player in the desktop space. Even if Windows 8 doesn't succeed, that doesn't make Linux any more attractive. It has been tried before, and we've heard all this talk about the year of Linux every year including when Vista was released which was a much worse version than Windows 8 - Windows 8 has annoying UI flaws but no major compatibility problem.

[firey]

Dr_Asik, on 21 November 2012 - 18:24, said:

This is wishful thinking. Linux on desktop has failed and continues to fail due to its own flaws, and if the Linux community doesn't recognize this they'll ever stay an insignificant player in the desktop space. Even if Windows 8 doesn't succeed, that doesn't make Linux any more attractive. It has been tried before, and we've heard all this talk about the year of Linux every year including when Vista was released which was a much worse version than Windows 8 - Windows 8 has annoying UI flaws but no major compatibility problem.

A Horrible UI can make even stable/compatible things suck though. Windows 8 could do worse than Vista soley due to the UI. I am not saying that Linux will take over Windows on a desktop market. On a handheld/mobile market yes (in a way it already has). However.. that said like MacOS Linux will gain some share, and will get more backers. I am sure many people (myself included) would not have started looking at Linux as an option before 8 came out.

[+Asik]

firey, on 21 November 2012 - 18:44, said:

A Horrible UI can make even stable/compatible things suck though. Windows 8 could do worse than Vista soley due to the UI.

People can learn their way around a new UI. They can't get around incompatible devices and BSODs. That's why Windows 8 is a better release than Vista.

[firey]

Dr_Asik, on 21 November 2012 - 19:06, said:

People can learn their way around a new UI. They can't get around incompatible devices and BSODs. That's why Windows 8 is a better release than Vista.

Vista never gave me a BSOD. And a new UI is one thing, but to learn it you have to enjoy using it enough to actually learn it. The time I have spent using it was just plain confusing and facepalm worthy. I used to use non-official drivers on vista, and it worked a-ok. I am not comparing 8 to vista. I think MS dropped the UI Ball with 8, and I am not alone in feeling that way, and I definitely feel that the more companies start pushing mobile/touch and leaving the desktop space.. the more we will see linux based OS's filling the void.

I would use Linux over 8 any day. Granted I'd use 7 over Linux any day.

[+Asik]

firey, on 21 November 2012 - 19:21, said:

Vista never gave me a BSOD. And a new UI is one thing, but to learn it you have to enjoy using it enough to actually learn it. The time I have spent using it was just plain confusing and facepalm worthy.

You're only discussing your personal experience, which is anecdotal evidence. That doesn't change the fact that Vista had important stability and compatibility problems, and that these were actual show-stoppers whereas a new UI is not.

I also don't see the logic in learning an entirely new operating system with a completely different UI and a different set of supported applications if learning how to use the Start Screen in Windows 8 is already too much. Everything but the Start Screen is the same in Windows 8. Windows 8 is still a much more familiar operating system to Windows users than Ubuntu or any other classic Linux distribution is.

Quote

I definitely feel that the more companies start pushing mobile/touch and leaving the desktop space.. the more we will see linux based OS's filling the void.

Android, perhaps. Ubuntu, not any more than on desktop.

[firey]

Dr_Asik, on 21 November 2012 - 19:56, said:

I also don't see the logic in learning an entirely new operating system with a completely different UI and a different set of supported applications if learning how to use the Start Screen in Windows 8 is already too much. Everything but the Start Screen is the same in Windows 8. Windows 8 is still a much more familiar operating system to Windows users than Ubuntu or any other classic Linux distribution is.

Hm.. I am running arch. I have cinnamon installed so it gives me pretty much the XP/Vista/7 feel. Application wise.. MonoDevelop instead of Visual Studio. Gedit instead of Notepad++. It's really not that much different, with the standard style desktop. Feels more like a native Windows style OS than 8 does.. and it's a completely different platform. And on one of the distros considered to be for advanced users to use.

[RudeBoi]

patseguin, on 21 November 2012 - 05:52, said:

Thanks for this great post. It sounds like I should try Ubuntu, especially since my Linux mint seems to be all messed up.

I haven't read the whole thread, but did you update your repo database before trying to install the Nvidia proprietary driver?

sudo apt-get update

An upgrade probably wouldn't hurt either:

sudo apt-get upgrade

[+Chicane-UK]

Ubuntu is a great place to start if you're a total newbie to Linux

[+Asik]

firey, on 21 November 2012 - 22:02, said:

Hm.. I am running arch. I have cinnamon installed so it gives me pretty much the XP/Vista/7 feel. Application wise.. MonoDevelop instead of Visual Studio. Gedit instead of Notepad++. It's really not that much different, with the standard style desktop.

It's certainly more different than using the same applications in an operating system that's essentially the same save for replacing the Start Menu with the Start Screen. You're not making sense and you're only talking about your own, anecdotal experience. It's pointless.

[Colin McGregor]

I used to dual boot Gentoo and Windows 7. But after installing Windows 8 I don't use Gentoo anymore so I removed it as use the drive for backup stuff.

[Yogurtmaster]

patseguin, on 21 November 2012 - 15:10, said:

Well, I got Chrome installed but not my latest nVidia drivers. I download them and can't just double click to install them. I found some instructions online about using command line to install from a repo but all that did is mess up the system and now it won't do anything other than 640 X 480. Why would vNvdia even have Linux drivers for download if you can't install them?

I'll try Ubuntu when I get home, maybe it'll be better..

Well, if you are using VMware then there is no need to install them as the Nvidia drivers will not work with virtual machines.
VMware has it's own display drivers that works off your own drivers on Windows.

Try this......

1) Press CTRL + ALT + ENTER key all at the same time while you are running VMWare to go to full screen.
2) Go to the menu button at the bottom (like the Windows start button)
3) At the search box, enter in "monitors" (without the quotes)
4) Change your resolution to a much higher resolution
5) Then go back in to monitors to see if it offers even higher resolutions and select the one you want.

I have Linux Mint 14 64-bit running on my Vmware 8.03 on Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate. I can run both at the same time and even drag and drop between them.

[Yogurtmaster]

firey, on 21 November 2012 - 19:21, said:

Vista never gave me a BSOD. And a new UI is one thing, but to learn it you have to enjoy using it enough to actually learn it. The time I have spent using it was just plain confusing and facepalm worthy. I used to use non-official drivers on vista, and it worked a-ok. I am not comparing 8 to vista. I think MS dropped the UI Ball with 8, and I am not alone in feeling that way, and I definitely feel that the more companies start pushing mobile/touch and leaving the desktop space.. the more we will see linux based OS's filling the void.

I would use Linux over 8 any day. Granted I'd use 7 over Linux any day.

I feel the opposite. I like Windows 8 and yeah it's not perfect but it works fine for me. I think too many people are making too much out of it. People don't like change and this whole Post PC world is just dumb. It's not post PC at all, it is a mobile world in which tablets will be PC's. Phones will be just less functional computer that dock wirelessly to a full computer that happens to be mobile.

Nothing has actually changed, it's people's perceptions that have changed and nothing else.

Linux is okay on my VM, but I would never want to use it as my only OS.

[Mindovermaster]

Yogurtmaster, on 22 November 2012 - 01:43, said:

Linux is okay on my VM, but I would never want to use it as my only OS.

And yet some people do... You don't like Linux, some people don't like Windows 8. Choice.

[+patseguin]

I installed Ubuntu last night and followed instructions to install nVidia drivers from a repo. When I rebooted, I was able to log in but my whole UI was gone. It's things like this that make me afraid of Linux. I can't seem to accomplish a simple task such as installing video drivers.