AyeTea

As you say, it should be an interesting project.....

I hope you are realistic about what you will achieve in just 31 days especially when you consider you've got 30 years worth of accumulated Microsoft know-how. There is no substitute for experience!

I started using PC's in the mid-to-late '80s at university and have been using them ever since. MS now dominate; today if you ask someone if they've got computer experience you are really asking "do you know how to work Windows and Office?".

But I think Linux is a worthy alternative, I started with Linux about 6 or 7 years ago, dual-booting my XP box, and gradually came to use Windows less and less. Last year I ditched Windows in favour of Kubuntu (KDE works for me) but have installed VirtualBox so I can fire up XP and Vista if needed, my clients use Windows so it makes sense.

I will follow your project with interest, I'm sure you will ask if you have any questions or want recommendations.

Good luck!

Nick

Telic wrote:
This project isn't doing something that's relevant to most MAINSTREAM consumers, who do NOT install and configure their PC operating system. The mainstream consumer will visit a retailer (online or local shop) and choose from whatever Linux-preloaded PCs are advertised. Non-commercial Linux is irrelevant, except to avid PC tinkerers.

I agree entirely the mainstream user would behave as you describe. However, to test how someone like that would adapt to the change of operating system would require recruiting a mainstream user and then bank rolling them to purchase the linux machine of their choice, or providing them with Linux systems to use. I think considering the resources available, this seems a rather reasonable project.

Bossanovawitya

NickElliott wrote:
As you say, it should be an interesting project.....

I hope you are realistic about what you will achieve in just 31 days especially when you consider you've got 30 years worth of accumulated Microsoft know-how.
Good luck!

Nick
Nick, your wrong. No one accumulate Microsoft know how, but everyone using Microsofts products accumulate a lot of experience in dealing with MS bugs and faults.
I change my system end of last year. Now i am a proud owner of an UBUNTU-Installation and it works. 98% of applications - or better functionality - i used with XP now is available on Linux.
My main applications are digital imaging, geotagging, music and video.
I didn't miss anything.
But one of my main conclusion is,
abondonment of MS didn't make any pain, its like to be healed from addiction.
And, the best of it all, it's free.

I would like to say thankyou to everyone who has responded in the forums so far. Lots of good suggestions

Even Sinicism is welcome when presented as eloquently and politely as it has been so far.

Whilst we have not answered every post, all are being considered and fully expect that you will see their influence in the articles that we write.

Blair

falcon wrote:
No one accumulate Microsoft know how, but everyone using Microsofts products accumulate a lot of experience in dealing with MS bugs and faults.

This fact alone is what's most important about the switch. Using Windows doesn't necessarily give you any advantage over the average joe. When switching to Linux, we often find that the playing field is levelled.

What's more important here is your "stick-to-it-tiveness". Linux can become infinitely customizable, and a trade-off of that customizability is a decrease in user-friendliness.

So you also have to look at Linux applications differently as well.

Furthermore, there are also some unsolvable problems with Windows' construction. For example, I've never been able to saturate my LAN on Windows. It would always top off at roughly 1 megabyte per second. I can reach my full 100Mbits transfer capacity on Linux.

Testing for reliability is easy. Just see how long you can go without having to restart. I've been running a Linux machine at home for 120 days, 54 minutes, without rebooting. If it weren't for a recent power outage, that number would be closer to 196. I've been updating it and everything, too. Linux rocks!