What type of computer does everyone use?

Also, if you could, would you trade your current one for the other one?

I got a Dell PC, next one will prob be another Dell. GHood machines, good back up service


PC = Windows set up

mac = Apple macintosh. Different software, they were leaders technologically. More inot music now I think ?? eg ipods

mantra wrote on May 2^nd, 2007 at 9:36pm:

This is true. The definition is however more to do with the design platform, not so much for the way the components are built, but how they plug together. PC has become a term that used to mean 'IBM compatible'. Mac like to distance themselves from the 'PC' these days but they really do just make different pcs.

Me I'm a PC boy, but I am developing an interest in macs, although I am far from ready to make the leap. The missus wants a macbook though and looks like she will be getting one. I do have a genuine apple brand ipod though

Trump, it is true that now macs can run windows if you want them to. Although OSX is a far superior platform, so the only reason to do this would be so you can use PC software.

I guess you could say I'm a bit of a computer nerd, we have 4 computers in our house, one runs linux, another runs freebsd (both free, open source unix based alternatives to windows...) the other two are windows systems but only because I have to. I hate windows!

zoso - yes, seems the more computer literate ones prefer mac. 4 puters is a good score !

I could prob do with another. for kids homework etc.

macs get very few viruses. More user friendly, i use them rarely. not for years now though, used to be a few at work

Man... a couple of you guys use linux??? 

I've heard from people that it's:

A) Too hard to use.
B) Only for experts.
C) A pile of sh1t.

Brian Ross wrote on May 3^rd, 2007 at 10:10pm:

Which linux distro? I'm running ubuntu 7.04 with beryl and its sweet. I also have freeBSD 6(?) running on a pile of naked components which are hanging by some string under my desk

freediver wrote on May 4^th, 2007 at 9:49am:


YES! I MIND! LEAVE IT HERE!!! 

Just kidding. 

No problem freediver. Stop being so damn polite and just do it already.

If I would have thought about it come to think of it I would have put it in Technology section in the first place.

ex-member DonaldTrump wrote on May 4^th, 2007 at 3:05pm:

I will admit the learning curve is steep, but linux is just what the techies call a 'kernel', that means it is a basic system that has tools to convert software languages to hardware languages... It just the bit you don't see that runs the computer, put it that way. You need to look at a linux distribution.

There are hundreds of linux 'distributions' which are what you would actually compare to windows. Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions

The particular distribution you choose will be what determines if it is hard to use or not. I have one called Ubuntu, which is one of the easiest and most complete ones out there. Basically you go to their website and either download the install disc or you can request them to ship it to you for free (yes, free!), you install it and next thing you just have a desktop that looks a lot like windows or mac, with a stack of programs that look a lot like windows or mac programs, behave like windows or mac programs. Everything is gui driven, point and click etc. Its just that its free. There is even a 'package repository' which is a list of web sites that have free software to download, you go into the software manager, and click on the things you want, next thing they are installed on the computer. Its really really easy!

However! if you have hardware that is not supported...good luck to you! if you want software that is not in the repositories...good luck to you! Not that this stuff is hard to do, but it is higher upon the geek ladder, put it that way. nd very often you have no choice but to do these harder things. But that is what linux users usually love about linux (and where the criticism usually comes from)

Linux is not an OS like windows is, linux itself is just the core of an OS. The distributions are each a collection of open source programs and scripts and other random nerdy things that together make up an operating system. It is the free and open combined work of thousands of computer nerds all over the planet, all working on their own unpaid time. Thats what is really cool about linux.

One cool thing about linux i that heaps of companies actually make profits from it! They do so by setting up distributions (some bigger ones are Red Hat, Suse, Debian and so on) they give away their software then sign companies up for tech support. You forget about copyright and make money from you actual hard earned work, instead of simply duplicating something a billion times. The GPL itself is a really interesting concept http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPL (has some relevance to my arguments about copyright infringement too).

Quote:

And this is the big issue, they don't. There are programs out there that can emulate a windows environment and *most* windows software can be made to work on linux with some shoe-horning, but again, this is higher up that learning curve.

There is a piece of proprietary software out there called 'cedega' that is supposed to be an out-of-the-box solution to gaming on linux, but not everything will work.

However! John Carmack of id software is a huge open source/linux geek and he makes all his games work on linux, so Quake 4, Doom 3 etc should work perfectly. Carmack releases all his code on the GPL after 5 ears of sales or something like that.