Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment So tired of this (Score 4, Insightful) 339

by leeosenton (#30199086) Attached to: No More Fair-Price Refund For Declining XP EULA
Why sit around and debate what the proper value of a refund is for a Windows license when you dont want it anyway? What happened to voting with your dollars? Do you want HP, Gateway, Toshiba, and Sony to sell Linux systems? Then buy a machine that comes with an "alternate" OS! I am typing this on my Dell Mini 9 netbook running Linux. I ordered it from them so I could cast a vote for alternate operating systems on new machines. I wiped the Dell Linux (old ubuntu w/ Dell launcher) and loaded UNR, but I wanted my vote to count. Yes, my desktop runs Windows and that is the right OS for the tasks that I do. Linux is the right OS for my little travel machine. I eventually chose another distro, but Dell sold a PC with Linux and got positive feedback from a customer. I actually liked the HP machine a little better, but wanted to support Linux by recording a sale, and I have no regrets. Canonical rewarded me with UNR 9.1 which is most excellent! So, want to thumb your nose at the big boys? Stop supporting them, there are many vendors out there with alternate choices. Vote with your Dollar!

Comment Re:It says: 256MB RAM... (Score 1) 744

by leeosenton (#29911811) Attached to: Ubuntu 9.10 Officially Released
Not really. I just received my shiny new Dell Mini with Dell/Ubuntu outdated Linux installed. I immediately loaded the latest Ubuntu and rediscovered how great things are in Linux land. Visit dellmini.com or ubuntumini.com and you will find I am far from alone.

Comment Re:Microsoft is probably telling the truth (Score 1) 774

by leeosenton (#27498557) Attached to: Microsoft Boasts 96% Netbook Penetration
Your netbook must be special; I didn't get lucky like you. Oh wait, neither did my wife or daughter, they also got XP infested with Dell Support, 800 Search Assistant, Dell WebChat, etc. You should visit mydellmini.com. There are forums for Mini 9 users where people share tips and tricks. The Windows forum is the busiest because MicroDell XP is soo awesome. I think a lot of those people got the same version I got.

Comment Re:Microsoft is probably telling the truth (Score 1) 774

by leeosenton (#27498313) Attached to: Microsoft Boasts 96% Netbook Penetration
My opinion is based on 6 months of netbook ownership. I learned that all I normally use it for is web surfing and email. So, the web browser and plug-ins matter more to me than the underlying OS. I want an OS that is fast, reliable, and requires minimal maintenance. I believe that my usage is probably more typical than not when compared with other netbook owners and that many of those owners that purchased netbooks with XP would find Linux superior on a netbook. I have reinstalled Windows on my Mini 9 after upgrading the SSD and later installed Ubuntu after running it several times from a Live CD. The Ubuntu experience was better in every way. Less trouble, less hacking to make things work, more dependable, and faster too. It is a simple paradigm shift to consider the computer as a blank entity, identify usage needs, evaluate options, and then choose the best OS for the job. Many people (see the original post) approach this as if XP is the standard and anything else is a deviation. The idea that Windows is a better choice because of a wider selection of proprietary applications is ludicrous in today's browser based world. After all, we are discussing an OS for a netbook...

Comment Re:Microsoft is probably telling the truth (Score 1) 774

by leeosenton (#27498083) Attached to: Microsoft Boasts 96% Netbook Penetration
Interesting that you find Linux systems unacceptable because they do not provide a built-in encryption solution but you use a third party tool to get that functionality in XP. As far as reinstalling XP; anyone that has ever owned a Dell will tell you to toss the crapware infested restore disk when you open the box. So your choice is either disinfecting the Dell restored XP OS or scratch building from a generic XP CD. What this really means is spend an afternoon editing the registry and uninstalling junk or loading drivers, service packs, hot fixes, and finally applications. No matter how you do it, getting XP ready for business sucks unless you have a tailored image to restore.

Comment Re:Microsoft is probably telling the truth (Score 2, Informative) 774

by leeosenton (#27483849) Attached to: Microsoft Boasts 96% Netbook Penetration

This goes against the prevailing wisdom here, but Linux is not necessarily the best OS for netbooks.

The newest netbooks have about as much CPU power and memory as a notebook computer made 3 years ago. That's enough to run windows XP and older Microsoft applications such as office 2003.

And, Windows has the overwhelming advantage it always did : it has an enormous existing software library that still dwarfs that of Linux. An operating system is an enormously powerful natural monopoly. It's time to admit that the only way Linux or MacOS could ever pull ahead and have the diversity of software Windows has is if Microsoft royally screws up over a period of years. Windows ME didn't even scratch Microsoft's monopoly, because everyone kept using Win98, and it appears that Vista is the same way.

Finally, I've heard many complain that the netbook manufacturers don't properly choose a good Linux distro and configure it with all the software a user is likely to ever need. If the manufacturers did that, pre-installing open office and VLC media player and firefox and the rest, and tuned the distro behind the scenes to run blazing fast on a flash disk, then Linux might have stayed a viable option.

I would assume Microsoft has also adapated to this market : they must be offering a substantial discount on the software license for a netbook. Wouldn't surprise me if they were selling "XP for netbook use" for $20 a license. It could very well be that it is cheaper to pay Microsoft than it is to pay the technical support costs for Linux.

The MS license that accompanies Dell Mini 9s is $50 (the linux Mini 9 is $50 cheaper). I started with Windows and ended up with Ubuntu Linux. I disagree with the idea that Windows XP may be more suitable for a netbook than Linux. Try installing XP, setting up your hardware, load a few applications, and then load office. It will take a fair amount of your day. Then do the same with Ubuntu (a common choice for netbooks). I spent an hour and everything worked: hibernate, wireless, compiz for fancy window effects, and even printing to a wireless printer. If you haven't tried Linux in a while, then you should revisit soon. You will find installation, maintenance, security, and usability are all better than XP.

Comment Optimistic at Best (Score 5, Interesting) 230

by leeosenton (#26971883) Attached to: 1 of 3 Dell Inspiron Mini Netbooks Sold With Linux
Some points to note as a Mini owner and occasional contributor at www.mydellmini.com: 1)Minis are capped with a 16gb solid-state drive if you choose WindowsXP; you can get up to a 64gb drive if you choose Linux 2)Many geeks are buying bare naked Minis with 512mb memory and 4gb drives for $250, and then equipping them with aftermarket runcore 64gb drives and 2gb of memory (another $200 for upgrades). To get the price low, they buy the Linux system and then load Windows or OSX (I know, kinda sick but they are talking about it on mydellmini.com) Bottom line: I think these numbers are skewed by geeks and bargain hunters.

Comment Good Luck with That (Score 1) 234

by leeosenton (#26226723) Attached to: Netbooks Popular Enough For a C&D From Psion
Another loser company with no viable products that wants to sue their way to fortune. Perhaps Psion could seek advice from Daryl McBride.... oops, looks like they may have already. I'm typing this on my new, shiny, NETBOOK and it isn't labeled Psion. Thanks to the efforts of lame companies like this; netbook prices from actual netbook manufacturers will be higher so they can pay the attorney fees to defend themselves from stoopid lawsuits. Thanks, Psion. Makes me all anxious to buy from you. Oh wait, nevermind, you don't actually make a netbook.

Comment Don't make this Hard (it isn't) (Score 1) 823

by leeosenton (#26223783) Attached to: Configuring a Windows PC For a Senior Citizen?
My mother-in-law always tries to press the F2 key after turning on her computer because it says to... What it really says is "Press F2 to run setup". When she is fast enough and gets into the system setup menu; she calls me and says her computer is broke (again). Problem solved when I upgraded her PC. I set the new mainboard to not display bootup messages and show a full screen splash image. My brother-in-law threatened to break her finger if she touched F2 again; that also helped but I don't have the heart for that approach. She has had XP for 5 years and it works great. Compatibility is more important to her than being leet and running linux; we use Ad-Aware, AVG, Thunderbird, and Firefox. I ensure she has the proper browser plugins and disable auto-update on the third party software so nothing changes when I am not there (I do let Windows and AVG get updates).

Slashdot Top Deals

So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of money? -- Ayn Rand

Close