Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
That phrase is proven true by my own experience and (I am sure) many people here.
I have always kinda disliked Windows. I don’t think I need to elaborate the reasons. The problem was that I didn’t have any other standard to compare by other than the various MS distributions. Win95 to Win 98, Vista to XP, XP to Win 7 etc.
I think that is pretty typical of the common PC user. Yes we (they) put up with it for lack of competition.
Now that I’ve been using Opensuse almost exclusively for about 9 months I really can’t hardly stand booting to WIndows at all.
I made myself learn new ways of doing things in Opensuse, learning a few new software packages etc. What I originally considered to be a compromise to the way MS does things… turned out to be a better way in OpenSuse. Small things like using split screens in Dolphin etc.
Sorry for the incoherent rambling. It’s just that this better overall OS experience has ruined my Windows experience which is opposite I thought it would be. I’ve been expressing the praise to friends and co-workers still chained to a sluggish and vulnerable OS. Frustrating how everyone complains about Windows, yet hardly anyone considers any alternatives.
I know lots of folks who just just use a computer for online functions like email and browser based applications. I’m sure we all do. Most of them have no idea how a computer works and have no desire to. They just want the darned thing to work, so they can get to Facebook, but they hate how sluggish their Windows has become. When I suggest that Linux might offer a better, more stable experience four out of every five feign interest but have no desire and/or courage to try something different. Every now and then someone will be skeptical but open to trying Linux.
I set up openSUSE with KDE for the brave ones, and I usually find they don’t really notice the change in OS, but they sure appreciate the stability and security.
I always set up those newbie’s PC’s to dual boot openSUSE and their old Windows, with openSUSE being the default. That way they can revert to Windows if they want. I’m still waiting to be asked how to boot back into Windows.
My sister-in-law, who makes her living with eBay, complained to me that her six month old Windows PC had gotten horribly slow, the browser was totally cluttered by unwanted crud, and the Blue Screen of Death had become an hourly event. That was a little over a year ago. I recently asked her “How do you like the openSUSE I installed for you, and do you miss Windows?” Her answer was priceless: “I don’t know. The only thing I ever use is the browser.” Then she paused for a moment before continuing with “I hadn’t thought about it, but I don’t think my computer has crashed since you fixed it.”
My mother about 15 years ago, in her mid 70’s was developing a forgetful mind. Not dementia or Alzheimer’s, just that her mind was dulling.
I gave her an old 386-based computer with Win 98 (It ran Win 98 alright but not the newly released XP)
It was her first computer and she set her mind to learning how to work it. She borrowed how-to books and had lots of questions. She came up to speed very well.
She had a couple computers since then with progressively more modern OS’s.
Her latest was a new HP about a year ago with Windows 8. Sadly, Microsoft made it so radically different and difficult to use that she just quit trying. Her PC sat unused for many months.
Before, she and my dad used the PC for web browsing and email, that’s about it. I wanted for them to use the simplest GUI possible which closely resembled their beloved XP-style.
So I set up Mint 17.1 on their PC and they both use their computer again.
They like it so much that my wife and I supply a wifi hot spot for them so they can enjoy it.
That is not an OpenSuse success story but definitely a Linux success story.
I also happen to use that experience when someone claims Linux is too hard to use. What can be too hard to use when my +80 year old mother enjoys it?
I think that’s a prime example why the availability of alternative OS’s is so important.
Old guy getting close to 80, swears you would never get him near one of the ****** things (computer, that is).
I set up another of my spare machines – an old Dell – with openSUSE (12.1 at the time) and created a User account for him. I then got in touch with his brother & sister, whom he had not seen in decades. I set up Skype & I set up Facebook (they were both using these two applications).
Now, Old NoWay Guy spends about 8 solid hours a night on the Linux Dell (currently running Puppy Linux, because it was not fast enough with openSUSE). You cannot tear him away from it once he fires it up! lol!
I think this rings true for any linux distro personally, no matter the distro I always had a better experience with linux despite the fact i built this computer mainly for windows.
Ubuntu, arch, openSUSE, Fedora, Mageia, debian testing, even android I have tried on this machine and all seem to work far better then windows/
At one point in my life, I tried to be 100% Windows free, but over time I moderated, as I began to see that keeping up such an extremist orthodoxy was too much trouble. Now I use many operating systems, depending on my fancy via this great product known as VMware.
When I started my “Linux journey” I gave myself the mission of “being able to do everything I do in Windows, except in Linux”. A few years ago I was successful. Even my wife and kids used Linux.
If I could get a couple of Windows games to run just as well (or better!) in Linux as it does in Windows then I would be able to get rid of Windows for everybody (except my wife) again.
Did you consider a professional carrer in advertising ?
