Windows 7 Should you install Linux alongside Windows?

[Andrea Borman]

I have been experimenting with my Netbook for a week. I have been trying out 5 different brands of Linux installed alongside my Windows 7. Ubuntu Netbook,Kubuntu Netbook,Xubuntu,Linux Mint and jolicoud. As I could not install Ubuntu,Kubuntu and Xubuntu with Wubi installer,I installed them on Virtual Clone Drive which I found out how to do from the How-To Geek website. I also installed Linux Mint this way-Virtual Clone Drive as well. But Jolicloud Express was installed on my hard disk C drive without clone drive with the Windows installer. Here is how I did.

Ubuntu-well first of all I could not connect to the Internet wireless broadband because it never detected it -same problem with Kubunt,Xubuntu and Linux Mint. Except that in Linux Mint I did in the end, but I had to plug my cable in before it found my Wifi but all the others did not find it.

Ubuntu,kubuntu, Xubuntu- I could only use wired connection because they never detected my wirless network and would not let me download the drivers.So these 3 brands of Linux were not usable.

Linux Mint-I found having to enter my password and user name most irritating every time I booted my computer and I had to enter my password every time I did some thing like install new packages or change the settings. There was no way to disable this like there is on Windows.

Jolicloud-was the only one who found my Wifi connections right away and connected me without any problems, and I did manage to disable having to enter my password. Every time I booted my computer by ticking enable automatic log in. But I still had to enter my password every time I installed packages or changed settings. And when I tried to change this in command prompt.I found I could not install software unless I logged into the root and user account settings-even more irritating and annoying.

Also in Linux you are supposed to be able to download and install software from the Internet. But I found I could not install anything. Mozilla Flock web browser would only install as a file which I had to download EVERY time I wanted to use it. I could not get it to install the way it should as a web browser like it does in Windows. Even though I installed the Linux version. In fact in Linux you can only install the web browsers and software that are in the packages, nothing else.

Also in Jolicloud a lot of the web browsers I did install from the packages did not work. Aorora browser would not let me sign into my Google account and no matter what I did I could not fix this problem. But the Windows version of Aorora browser is working normally and I can sign into Google and my other accounts. In jolicloud Midori browser crashed, other web browsers were out of date-Firefox 3.6.3 for instance should have been updated to 3.6.12 the current version. Other web browsers did not work and Dillo and Epiphany did not because they are now discontinued.

But on all of the Linux brands I tried, all of the web browsers were out of date and as I could not install anything from the Internet I could not update them. Also Jolicoud took up a lot of space on my hard drive.

So windows users who are thinking of replacing you operating system with Linux,my advice is don't.

Because I installed all of the Linux brands alongside Windows in removable installation,I was able to uninstall them all in Windows uninstall programs. But had I had been stupid enough to go for full installation and replaced Linux with Windows,then I would have been stuck. With an operating system that does not work and is not in the least bit user friendly.And installation alongside Windows is not without it's risks. As I have read that if things go wrong, Windows can be wiped from the boot system,leaving only Ubuntu or Linux on the computer. And if you only have a Netbook like I did,how do you get Windows back? Netbooks do not have a CD drive. True,you can plug a CD drive into the USB socket via extension lead and the other end to the CD drive and run it that way. But you still need to get the Windows CD if you have not backed up your Windows and files to a CD.So it is risky to install another operating system alongside windows.

Windows IS very user friendly. YOU control how you use it and how it is run. You do not have to have any log on password or any security at all unless you want it. YOU choose what software you want and it is quick and easy to install. And with over a thousand web browsers and software compatible with Windows there is plenty of choice. Some people install Jolicloud because of the different web apps. and video chat messengers,but you can get all of these on Windows.

And Windows search with it's tutorials and help guide about how to use and fix your computer,is an asset to Windows users. And Windows will troubleshoot any software that is not working and fix it by automatically.And you can download additional fix it tools from the Microsoft website and they have a security tool now that you can scan your computer with. Well,you do not get anything like that with Linux.

Windows is used by all offices and public computers,such as Internet cafes, libraries and homes. While Linux is not so well known and used. But if it were the other way round and all computers were made in Linux,nobody would use a computer. Linux is definitely not user friendly,difficult to use and you do not control your computer,it does. As you cannot do the things that you want such as remove password,install software from the Internet and other things that you can do in Windows.

Windows is user friendly especially Windows 7 but so are the other versions of Windows,Windows XP,Windows Vista,but Windows 7,the most. Windows 7 does have clear settings listed in the control panel index, making it easy for any beginner to use.

But there is NO WAY Linux can ever rival or replace Windows,unless it changes and becomes more user friendly and allows users more control in settings. Maybe linux should take a tip from windows. As Windows has deficiently got it right but Linux has got it wrong.

And I have customised my Windows 7 to make it the way I want it and I have even successfully removed Internet Explorer browser. But my advice is to stay with Windows. You are much better off. Andrea Borman.

 

[Andrea Borman]

Well,I only got my first own computer,the HP mini 210 Netbook laptop this year in April 2010 and then 2 months later I bought another laptop the same model HP mini 210 Netbook. Because I knew how to use it. But before that, I was using Internet cafes to write my blog posts and Facebook posts etc.As you probably know public computers in Internet cafes do not work as well as home computers because they are not so well looked after and everybody uses them. And most of these places,well all of the Internet cafes I have been to do not even have Windows Vista,they still have Windows XP. And some still only have IE6 or 7 instead of IE8 like they should have. So when I got my own laptop of course I had to learn how to use it. And do things like system restore,recovery and understand it all. Although Windows 7 makes it very easy as it scans and installs updates and in Windows the computer is kind of self repairing. That is some times when it does not start or Windows finds some thing wrong it scans and does repairs automatically. But it would be nice to have a second operating system on my laptop it makes it look impressive. I do wish it was easier to master the settings in Linux which is different from Windows. Andrea Borman.

 

[Mike]

If you look at my signature you will see that I have Win 7 Home premium
multibooting with 5 different linux distros.

I would never suggest that Linux is an irrelevant or even bad client operating system for end users. It may come as no surprise that we have used Linux servers exclusively for website hosting. Most of the design work on graphics, scripts, and other quirks is either done through the back-end or Windows. This may give a unique perspective. Linux certainly fills a niche, and the niche I see it most often fill with great appeal is the web server market. Infinitely more robust than an IIS and ASP model, apache using PHP and MySQL bring with it some endless opportunities. Would I suggest Linux to a friend who needs a simple solution for client computers? Probably never. But for very specific server roles, various distributions of Linux fill that niche quite nicely.


To each his own, for as soon as I bring up the use of apache and its benefits, someone will come out and point out how great IIS is under Windows Server. However, the great appeal of development with apache is that a Linux server doesn’t have a base server cost of $2000+ dollars like most editions of Windows Server.


When this service was getting too big for its britches, one of the most outlandish moves I made was to bring the entire server into my home – hardwire a 1Gbit Wide Area Network connection with no fail-over into my main office, jury rig a Intel Core i7 server with 12GB of DDR3 together, installed additional Intel 1Gbit Network Interface Cards, and port the entire website to VMWare ESXi virtualization hypervisor. I had never planned for this to be a permanent solution, as I knew it wouldn’t hold up for long. Trying to turn ones home into a data center is seldom a good idea, and was not publicized widely. This worked very well up to and around the Windows 7 launch. With an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS), this idea was successful. However, as the website grew, and continued to demand more resources, the need for dedicated servers became more prevalent than ever. At one point the website was being hosted in a fully virtualized environment using VMWare Workstation under Windows Server 2008, which is ill-advised. However, it combined the best of both worlds and did accomplish its objective for a short period of time.


Since then, and prior to that incident, the website has always been hosted at high quality data centers with dedicated generators, security, and failover devices. Today, I am happy to say that we have found a host that meets price obligations and has provided the five-9 uptime guarantees (99.999% uptime) with little to no difficulty. All of this, being hosted in a Linux environment, as so many websites today are.


One area I would express reservations about, and have since the advent of virtualization, is the hosting of multiple operating systems on multiple partitions or drives. To me, this methodology has always seemed like an astronomical waste of resources and work hours. Today, if I need to launch into a Linux or prior Windows environment, for software evaluation or testing, I am free to use, without any difficulty or delay, VMWare Workstation. From within workstation, I can save snapshots of my work, installations, and so forth. Of course, I am using a lot of RAM and processing power to do this. At this point in time I am using 20GB of DDR3 RAM. I am also using solid state drives, which the website itself also makes extensive use of. Using guest operating system has become second nature to me: Most of the tutorials you will see on our YouTube channel have been made using virtualization; if I let a buddy onto my machine it is usually through VMWare so nothing gets destroyed. Consequently, I run in performance RAID and have additional drives on backup to move virtual machines around when they are needed. To me, this is a good way to avoid wasting hard drives. It also allows me to run multiple operating systems, including Linux, if need be, concurrently, without shutting down the host operating system.


Do I think Linux should be run side-by-side with Windows? I believe it can be of great value to run Linux in a virtual machine for developers, testers, and enthusiasts. I would not use Linux as a client operating system. I have done a lot of development work in Linux with different types of code, and in the past this always required playing games with partitions. Today, I would quickly fire up an image and simply run it through a VM.


For serious productivity, I think Windows, and even a Windows Active Directory network, can still easily defeat most Linux distributions. The software development is still on the Windows side – and I would say this about Mac OS as well. It’s not that I don’t think they can be viable in certain circumstances – by all means they can. Just on the client side, it can be a bit nightmarish for someone new, who, no matter which way the cookie crumbles, will find themselves looking through all sorts of documentation, both online and off, to get things exactly the way they want. And then, like a house of cards, they have to worry about it all coming crumbling down. This is one of the reasons why web and server management tools for Linux are so expensive – WHM/cPanel going for something like $3,000 for a 3 year license and Plesk approaching similar values. These are serious products, which streamline the management aspect of Linux significantly – something that should already be there and easily manageable. Even a die hard Linux fan will admit that they are getting cut off from 95% of commercial software.


I also feel there is something unethical about running commercial derivatives of Linux, whereas, a lot of work has been done for free by enthusiasts around the world. It is then packaged by a wealthy business and re-sold in stores. I do not see any of these contributors being financially compensated, whereas a company selling a popular Linux distribution through physical media and worldwide distribution rights can make a lot of money on the backs of these people. With Windows development, and software development in Windows, there is a lack of funny business. Programmers are paid for their work and that is that.


Still, I am able to see past the fluff and know there is a place for Linux - a place that will certainly grow as time goes on. I simply will not use it as a client operating system or recommend it for that purpose. It is, almost, by design, a server-friendly and programming friendly OS. The various GUIs have done nothing more than to copy various derivatives of Windows and Mac OS X in their design and functionality for a long time. While they have come a long way, it still does not mean it is user-friendly. Remember, there are tradeoffs to making things user friendly. In Windows, nearly everything is commercialized, pre-compiled, and costs money. In Linux, it is the opposite, but someone makes money on the backs of enthusiasts somewhere - something I have never really liked. At least you know what you are getting up front with Windows, especially as a client operating system.

 

[Andrea Borman]

I have spent many days and hours trying to figure out the settings and system of Linux. Among the ones I tried,Ubuntu,Kubuntu,Xubuntu,Linux Mint and Jolicloud,the only 2 I could use were Linux Mint and Jolicloud. Because the others would not recognise my wireless broadband Wifi connection. But when I say Jolicloud and Linux Mint were usable,only just about. I could browse the web on Jolicoud and Linux Mint but I did not have the freedom and control that I had on Windows 7. No matter what I did i could not change the settings so that I could install software or change settings without having to enter a password. On Windows I can and I have. On Windows I can download software do anything on my computer without having to enter a password and I do not have to log in with any username or password,every time my computer starts either. But this is what I want, but on Linux I never had that choice and in the end I messed up the settings even further. By trying different attempts to disable or remove password requirement. And I changed the keyring settings,which I thought was the password removal settings. And from then on,I had to enter my Wifi wireless broadband key password,that you use to connect to the Internet for the first time,EVERY TIME my computer booted into Linux. This was just too much and I ended up uninstalling the Linux software.As every time some thing went wrong in Linux there was not settings or way to put things back again. In Windows when I do some thing wrong in settings I can always put it right again. But I could not in Linux. Also there is little choice of web browsers or software,I could not install from the Internet. It would not let me or it never installed right. So I was limited to only being able to have what was provided in the packages.Also a lot of software is only compatible with Windows not Linux. In Windows you can install any web browser or software you want as long as it is for Windows and it is easy to download and it then installs itself. And you can choose your own computer settings,that is to have a password,security settings,or no password or security settings.And change these settings easily.But I could not do this on Linux and it just did not perform the way I wanted it to. I did not feel I had any control of my own computer. I think I tried very hard to make Linux work for me but it just did not. So in my own experience it does seem that I get on better with Windows. Andrea Borman.

 

[blackoutworm]

A Wubi solution is nice if you just want to try Linux, but I would go for a dual boot instead.
And guys, stop with the whole Windows is better than Linux bullshit. Keep your opinions for yourself unless your arguments are relevant.

 

[TorrentG]

A Wubi solution is nice if you just want to try Linux, but I would go for a dual boot instead.
And guys, stop with the whole Windows is better than Linux bullshit. Keep your opinions for yourself unless your arguments are relevant.

You are in no authority whatsoever to tell any member of this site how or what to post. Please refrain from attempting to do so. Thank you for your understanding.

 

[blackoutworm]

You are in no authority whatsoever to tell any member of this site how or what to post. Please refrain from attempting to do so. Thank you for your understanding.

I clearly said "should" and I said "in my opinion".
Since the question was "Should you install Linux alongside Windows".

 

[fjgold]

I clearly said "should" and I said "in my opinion".
Since the question was "Should you install Linux alongside Windows".

A Wubi solution is nice if you just want to try Linux, but I would go for a dual boot instead.
And guys, stop with the whole Windows is better than Linux bullshit. Keep your opinions for yourself unless your arguments are relevant.

Funny thing, no matter how hard I look I don't "clearly" see "should" or "in my opinion" in your post.
The only use of the word opinion is you admonishing us to keep our opinions to ourselves.

 

[blackoutworm]

Funny thing, no matter how hard I look I don't "clearly" see "should" or "in my opinion" in your post.
The only use of the word opinion is you admonishing us to keep our opinions to ourselves.

Whatever dude. You quoted a tiny part of the message.
Also, I didn't literally said it or used those words but you get the point.
It wasn't in my intention to tell people what to do or not..
But never mind, since you are obviously looking for a target or someone to leave your frustration on.
Well, have a nice day then.

 

[TorrentG]

Whatever dude. You quoted a tiny part of the message.
Also, I didn't literally said it or used those words but you get the point.
It wasn't in my intention to tell people what to do or not..
But never mind, since you are obviously looking for a target or someone to leave your frustration on.
Well, have a nice day then.

Funny thing, I see this as leaving frustration: "And guys, stop with the whole Windows is better than Linux bullshit. Keep your opinions for yourself unless your arguments are relevant."

Those bold emphasis words read as very demanding to me. Anyhow, the thread should be returned to topic, so we can all just consider the previous few posts as a glitch in the matrix and carry on with the thread's original intent.

 

[Andrea Borman]

I tried installing Ubuntu with Wubi install but it would not install on my computer. It was downloading for about 2 hours then I got an error message so Wubi install will not work on my computer an HP Mini 210 Netbook. But I do not know why. So the only way I could install Ubuntu,Kubuntu and the others was by mounting them on virtual clone drive, which is a program that creats a removable DVD disk,I think that is what virtal clone drive is. So you can mount the downloaded CD programs. But the Jolicloud Windows install did work. So I could download Jolicloud like another Windows program without mounting a downloaded CD. And Jolicloud was the only one that would recognise my wireless broadband connection and let me connect right away. See my other posts,but I still had problems with Jolicloud,progrms not working as I had with all of the Linux brands I tried. A lot of other people have had problems with Linux as it is very complicated to use and not user friendly. But Windows is different. Windows is very user friendly and so easy to use that even a school child can learn to use it. But for some reason Linux just is not made the same way and no matter what I do or how hard I try I just cannot use it properly. In fact I had so many problems every time I tried it out and I have still been tying to use it since my last posts,that I find Linux is un usable. Andrea Borman.

 

[Windows7HelpGuy]

I use Ubuntu as my main operating system and I must say that it's been a pleasure. I really don't understand how your having trouble using Ubuntu, it's such a simply and straight forward operating system. The only problem I've ever encountered with Ubuntu was setting up my wifi, which was quite simply when you knew what to do. First off, if your driver needs to be updated in the terminal you'll need to have the full Ubuntu installed, then you'll have to connect your ethernet then run sudo get-update (I think that's the code) then it will install your driver and update Ubuntu, then you reset and your internet will be set-up, obviously you can't restart and come back to your original settings with the live CD.

Again, Ubuntu has been a pleasure, and the fact that your having a hard time understanding it shows me how inexperienced you are with computers. I won't say Ubuntu is easier than Windows, but it is about the same! Ubuntu runs smoothly and you can customize it any which way you like. Oh, and before I forget the mention, the Ubuntu Software Center has been a pleasure. I can get all my applications from there, as a matter of fact, I just downloaded a 3D -Multilayer game from there today and it runs smoothly. Ubuntu, in my opinion looks better than Windows, and the fact that you don't have to pay 100+ dollars to get an upgrade is the greatest thing ever, oh, and updates every 6 months, are you kidding me?

Ubuntu also took only 25 minutes to install, while windows 7 on my desktop took 1 hour and 30 minutes. Sure I still use windows on my laptop, but I sure don't dual-boot, that's just to much work. Instead, I use a virtual machine because I still need Windows for my writing applications but every time I get into windows I can't wait to get back into my Ubuntu. The question I asked myself is, do I want a far more superior operating system? Do I want to be different? And those are the main reasons why I've switched, I want to be different than 90% of the computer community.

To summarize, Ubuntu is pretty straight forward, my eight year old cousin came over and got on the internet by herself during thanksgiving, no lie... And the fact that you "don't understand it" makes me wonder how inexperienced you are with computers.

But, at the end of the day, the decision is truly in your hands.

 

[Andrea Borman]

Hi,and thank you for replying to my post. Let me give you some good examples of why I say that Linux is not user friendly and unusable for me and most other people. On Windows 7 you do not have to have a password if you do not want one. So every time your computer starts you don't have to enter a password and any time you want to change the settings,such as change appearence of desktop,change start up time,scan your computer,or download software from the internet. These are just a few examples about what you may want to do on your computer but for all these things and more,on Windows you do not have to enter a password unless you have set up your Windows account to do this. And on Windows you can also choose high control,medium control or low control on user account settings. If you select high control, then if you have set a password on your account you will need to enter it every time you make the smallest changes to your computer,but if you have not set a password on your Windows account then it will just ask you"do you want to allow changes to your computer-yes,or no" and you would just tick yes or no. Medium security will ask your permission from you to allow changes for many, but not all things and low security will never ask you for your permission before making changes. But as I explained on Windows you can still use High security settings for user account control with out having to use a password.And on windows any thing you need to do for example,change user account security settings or change update settings,I search on windows search. And if it is not in the Index it finds it for me and gives me a link to click on to open the settings and will even do scans and repairs to my computer,Windows will.

On Linux it is another story,as there is NO option of removing your password or changing security settings. And although they say you can install software from the Internet,you cannot. As it just downloads as a file and not a web browser and even using their command lines did not work. So you can only install software that they provide in the packages,so if you want some thing that is not listed then you cannot have it. But even looking for software in the packages was not easy I looked for Wine an application that lets you install Windows software on Jolicloud and itnever came up in the search. I had the same problem searching for other software in the package search,even though they did have the item,the search would not index or recognize it.So I could not even install the software I wanted from the packages. And also most software is not compatible with Linux,only with Windows.I also wanted to change settings such as my own user account control on Linux,but I could not even find that setting and the help index would not direct me to it. And then there was the problem that most Linux brands would not recognize my Wifi connection so I could only use wired broadband. Linux Mint did eventually after I installed a wireless driver,while still connected to my wired connection. But then it asked for my password every time my computer started before it would let me connect to the Internet,wireless. How ridiculous is that? It is only supposed to ask for it on first time connection not every time your computer starts. Jolicloud was the only brand that let recognized my Wifi and after the first time connected me automatically as in Windows.But there was no way to fix this problem in the help index,Linux equivalent of Windows control panel.There is no way to navigate to the settings in Linux like there is in windows.And even when I was willing to except not being able to remove my password,after I entered it. I found I still could not install software from the packages,because I got a message that said"you do not have admin rights to install any software."Even though I just logged in and did as the system told me to,enter my password etc.

Yet nobody else was using my computer and i only had one log on account-my own.Linux is all right for people who just want to use the web browser provided for them to surf the web and go onto websites. Just like if you go to an Internet cafe,even though there they have Windows.You know you cannot change the settings because it is a public computer,so you cannot download Firefox or Google Chrome because they have blocked the download. So you have to use Internet Explorer and make the best of it. But in an Internet cafe,you do not want to change the settings as it is some one else's computer and you just want to get online.

But on Linux in some respect you are worse off as i could not even get online,not wirlessly anyway! And on your own computer you want to add your own web browsers of your choice and video chat messengers not just stick with the 1 or 2 they give you. And you want to set your computer up to do what you want it to not be controlled by the operating system. And even when you need to change or access the settings you cannot even find them,let alone change them on Linux. And on a computer,some times you DO HAVE To change the settings. And things do go wrong on a computer. In Windows they have self repair,they have recovery where you can restore your computer to an earlier point in time. But not on Linux,they do not have it. So now you can see why I say that Linux is not a system that you can use and rely on. And you do need Windows. Andrea Borman.

 

[gavin19]

On Windows 7 you do not have to have a password if you do not want one.

I don't know why you keep mentioning this as if it's some great feature of Windows 7? This is for obvious security reasons. If you don't want a password then just run as root, because that is essentially what you are doing with Windows. You are comparing using an OS as root with using an OS as a less priveleged user.

So every time your computer starts you don't have to enter a password

You can easily set autologon, just as you can with Windows (although it's not readily apparent how to do this in Windows 7).

and any time you want to change the settings,such as change appearence of desktop,change start up time,scan your computer,or download software from the internet.

Changing desktop appearance and other minor issues don't require a password. Downloading anything doesn't require a password either, only when you install something. Obviously as you had only started with Ubuntu you wanted to install a lot of apps, but realistically this would pass once you had got things set up how you wanted them. If you had gone into the Software Center and entered your password once then you would have been able to install 90%+ of the software you needed from there, without being asked again and again. After that initial period then password prompts will only be needed now and again, no big deal.

These are just a few examples about what you may want to do on your computer but for all these things and more,on Windows you do not have to enter a password unless you have set up your Windows account to do this. And on Windows you can also choose high control,medium control or low control on user account settings. If you select high control, then if you have set a password on your account you will need to enter it every time you make the smallest changes to your computer,but if you have not set a password on your Windows account then it will just ask you"do you want to allow changes to your computer-yes,or no" and you would just tick yes or no. Medium security will ask your permission from you to allow changes for many, but not all things and low security will never ask you for your permission before making changes. But as I explained on Windows you can still use High security settings for user account control with out having to use a password.

That is UAC and is a feature of Windows. To most people it is as much of a pain as entering a password and that is why a lot of users disable it. So essentially you have an inexperienced user with full admin control of their computer and *no* password set to offer minimal protection, not a good idea. Hence why so many people end up here making posts about how they messed up x,y and z in the registry or system folders etc etc.

If you are knowledgeable enough then any of these problems can be bypassed. Ubuntu, or any linux OS can never be as intuitive as Windows because that is what you are used to. If you install it properly (not virtualized) and take the time to learn then it can be a revelation. Just imagine that you have never used Windows before.

And on windows any thing you need to do for example,change user account security settings or change update settings,I search on windows search. And if it is not in the Index it finds it for me and gives me a link to click on to open the settings and will even do scans and repairs to my computer,Windows will.

If your entire ability to change settings and make basic use of your computer relies on Windows Search then you probably shouldn't be attempting to run another OS in the first place. Most settings can very easily be found if you take 10 seconds to look. Once you know where they are then you can return any time. Do you think that every Windows user even realises that they can use that search box to find what they need? From my experience the majority of people don't know they can, or use it at all.

On Linux it is another story,as there is NO option of removing your password or changing security settings.

Wrong again. Security settings and passwords can be added, changed and/or removed if you want to.

And although they say you can install software from the Internet,you cannot. As it just downloads as a file and not a web browser and even using their command lines did not work.

Again more misinformation. You can install almost anything 'from the internet' if you download the right package. Saying 'their command lines didn't work' is a huge sweeping statement and is plain wrong. The software packages for Ubuntu should provide the vast majority of the software that you need anyway. Most anything else can be found in a .deb package to install, which you would have known if you took 2 minutes to read instead of dismissing things.

So you can only install software that they provide in the packages,so if you want some thing that is not listed then you cannot have it.

As I mentioned this is very misleading to people who have taken the time to read your review. Check your facts before you click 'Submit'.

But even looking for software in the packages was not easy I looked for Wine an application that lets you install Windows software on Jolicloud and itnever came up in the search. I had the same problem searching for other software in the package search,even though they did have the item,the search would not index or recognize it.So I could not even install the software I wanted from the packages.

I imagine that the problems you had with searching for software was because you weren't installing Linux persistently and maybe wasn't able to update repositories to make an up to date search. There is no reason why a package wouldn't show in a search if it was available. How did you know they had the item in the first place if it didn't show up in a search?

And also most software is not compatible with Linux,only with Windows.

You mean most Windows software isn't compatible with Linux? Wow! Who would have thought, what a surprise!! In fact a huge amount of Windows software can be run via Wine or virtualized, or alternatives are readily available to use. Is there any software that you needed in particular?

I also wanted to change settings such as my own user account control on Linux,but I could not even find that setting and the help index would not direct me to it.

As you are aware there is no UAC in linux so you won't find it. Account settings can easily be found if you take the time to look. Which settings could you not find?

And then there was the problem that most Linux brands would not recognize my Wifi connection so I could only use wired broadband.

This can be a problem in Linux no doubt. Compatibility is a lot better than I remember it being years ago but it can still be an issue unfortunately.

But on Linux in some respect you are worse off as i could not even get online,not wirlessly anyway! And on your own computer you want to add your own web browsers of your choice and video chat messengers not just stick with the 1 or 2 they give you. And you want to set your computer up to do what you want it to not be controlled by the operating system. And even when you need to change or access the settings you cannot even find them,let alone change them on Linux. And on a computer,some times you DO HAVE To change the settings. And things do go wrong on a computer. In Windows they have self repair,they have recovery where you can restore your computer to an earlier point in time. But not on Linux,they do not have it. So now you can see why I say that Linux is not a system that you can use and rely on. And you do need Windows. Andrea Borman.

It sounds like you wanted Linux to be a replica of Windows from the start so why even bother trying to learn? Just because Windows does things a certain way doesn't make it better or easier. You are used to 'Control Panel', 'Windows Search' etc etc. Don't knock Linux because they didn't totally rip off the Windows UI.

Linux not reliable? I ran XP side by side on 2 PCs with Mepis for 2 years and I had far more reliability problems with XP. I had Mepis running for 11 months without even rebooting.

Your review gives a lot of bad information and is misleading. If you had installed these distros properly and given them a decent shot then fine, but it doesn't sound like you did and then you rushed out a 'review' giving bad information and exaggerated claims that things didn't work. I'm sure you did have problems with Linux because you sound like a beginner expecting a Windows clone when that isn't the case. Linux isn't perfect and it isn't Windows, it's an alternative for some people but not everyone. If it's not for you then stick to Windows

PS : I use Windows 7 personally as the software I use is more mature on Windows than it is on Linux, but I do keep Kubuntu on a dual boot when I don't need W7.

 

[Windows7HelpGuy]

First off, you keep mentioning the fact that you need to type in a password to do everything, but honestly, I love that option. Not only does it prevent people from downloading things without my permission, but it's also a great feature to make sure I want the download. And again! You can remove that option. Linux is an open-source, meaning you could edit it which ever way you like. It's not that difficult to remove that setting, just a terminal code.

It's extremely easy to set-up wifi, you just need to connect your ethernet code which is what I did, and you also need the full verison of Ubuntu. Just like windows for example, if windows allowed you to test windows before installing it I'm sure you'll go through the same issues.

Actually, you can install every single web browser except safari and explorer the two of which are crap.

What! Linux does have a recovery and a safe-mode! If something went wrong with your computer linux will boot you to the recovery screen.

I find it quite funny how you talk so much s*** about an operating system you have never tried, seriously. All your contentions are easily rebuttalled and your counter-arguments suck! Seriously, try the operating system before you hate on it.

Please learn to use a computer to, because linux is just as user-friendly as any operating system.

I really didn't see any need to go into much detail as my good friend gavin19 pretty much said everything I would've of said, and it was well put.

 

[Andrea Borman]

Well,I have tried to enable the root account in the hope that I could get rid of my password and I never found it. Only on Jolicloud but it did not let me off of doing anything on Linux without entering a password.The software I would have liked to have seen on Linux was Mozilla Flock web browser,there is a Linux version but I could not install it. So the reason I was using Wine was so I could install the Windows version of Flock on Linux. Which I did as it let me download it the same way as I do in Windows and it installed as it did in Windows. As a browser and not a file like the Linux version.But I don't know if you are supposed to put Windows browsers in Linux. But as I love Flock browser I tried it and this was the only way I could get Flock. There are also other open source versions of Firefox for Linux-Swiftfox and Iceweazel.Just like we have Pale Moon and Safefox on windows,both Firefox open sources. But sadly I could not install Swiftfox or Iceweazel browser,due the the complicated way you have to do it on Linux. Or maybe Linux blocked the download. But this also just did not work. Andrea Borman.

 

[Windows7HelpGuy]

You need the full version of Ubuntu in order to complete that as you'll need to reset, not all features are present in live CD.

 

[Andrea Borman]

Thank you for your reply. I cannot install Linux with a live CD because I only have a Netbook and it does not have a CD drive. So i downloaded the ISO Cd or DVD from the website. For example for Linux Mint i downloaded the Cd or DVD ISO file and then mounted it on a program called virtual clone drive. Which is an idea I got from the How To geek website. And it did install but I could not do all that I wanted. And i could only install Ubuntu the same way as Linux Mint because Wubi installer did not work on my laptop,I got an error message.The only Windows installer that worked without an ISO file was Jolicloud. But some how i think that in Linux they don't want you to remove your password from your account like on Windows. I have found out that you can avoid logging in with a password by enabling automatic log in. But you still have to enter your password to install software from the packages or make any changes to the settings. I have not found a way out of this, even on Linux Mint I ticked make myself an administer. That they say can do anything on the system.BUT I still have to enter my password. Andrea Borman

 

[Windows7HelpGuy]

It's possible to download Ubuntu using a USB stick.

 

[fjgold]

It's possible to download Ubuntu using a USB stick.

I detailed this in an earlier post (#5) but it is my opinion that this person is only here to complain
about Linux based on her very limited experience, both with Linux and computers in general.

She says that she has no USB Flash drive available to her even though fairly large capacity drives
are available at very low cost today.

A flash drive should be a necessity with a netbook because of the lack of an optical drive.

 

[Andrea Borman]

Yes,it is true that on Netbooks including mine they do not have a CD drive. But there is a way round it. If I wanted to play CDs on my Netbook I could buy a separate CD drive or CD Player. And connect it to my laptop by plugging one end of the USB cable into one of my USB plug sockets in my laptop and the other end of the cable into the CD drive which I would keep under my desk or on top of the desk if there was room. This would then enable me to both run and play CDs on my laptop and I presume I would get the ISO file for Linux that I downloaded from the Internet onto my CD through the CD drive some how. And the other way that you mentioned about downloading it onto a USB stick,well I do have 3 USB plug sockets in my laptop so I could do this. But I don't have those things at home at the moment i would have to buy them but,yes those are the 2 other was I could run CDs and install programs. It is also possible to back up files this way onto a USB stick or CD drive. I do not use the keypad to navigate on the web, I use a plug in mouse as that is what I am used to after using a computer in an Internet cafe before I got my first laptop this year.So it should work for a USB stick. Andrea Borman.