[blaiset]

I've been dual booting Ubuntu and Win7 for several months now, and I can't find too many reasons why I would choose Ubuntu over Win7 (or Mac OS). I should say, I have converted friends and family to Ubuntu and they do just fine.

Many of the tools I like for Linux are starting to also get ports for Windows. Plus Win7 feels open source compared to my buddy's Mac :P

[glhaynes]

"Plus Win7 feels open source compared to my buddy's Mac"

Your feelers are funny. The amount of open source and open standards utilization in Mac OS X is ridiculously higher than Windows. And if you think there are a lot of Linux tools that run on Windows, you should see how many run on Mac.

[RobGR]

I agree with you in that there is more open source and free software code in Mac OS X than Windows, but I also know exactly what is meant by "Win7 feels more open source". It's a cultural difference, and not a subtle one, and it has little to do with whether vi or emacs is available at the command line.

If Windows was constructed the way a medieval cathedral is built, and Linux is an ongoing "happening" more like a chaotic bazaar, then Max OS X is company town along the lines of Fordlandia or The Woodlands, a little less open than Fordlandia and more closed than The Woodlands. Maybe it's like Disneyland.

Another bullshit analogy I make is comparing Max OS X to an all-Mormon town. Everything is functional, you don't fear your home and vehicle unlocked, and you know if you hire anyone to do work, it will be slightly more expensive but done competently, unimaginatively, and on time; the electricity never goes out and garbage is taken away. You also don't date any girls from there or think about raising children (writing software) there, because you know the locals are fucked in the head, no matter how clean and orderly the place is.

I'm not sure what kinds of towns would be Windows and Linux. Sometimes I think Linux is like a trailer park, where it's cheap but damn, you live in a trailer park. Winodws is like one of the stereotypical American subdivisions, with quiet functional streets and cookie cutter houses that are all shoddily built when you peel off the exterior, and all sorts of unseemly exchanges and lifestyles going on behind closed doors.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_town [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordlandia [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woodlands,_Texas

[blaiset]

Indeed, It may be a chip on my shoulder about iphone/touch development standers (including, but not limited to, needing a mac to develop for them). Just my personal preference though.

[julio_the_squid]

I set up my mother's laptop with Ubuntu and she is perfectly happy with it. It stopped the constant cycle of viruses/spyware I was having to fix, and everything works just the same as far as she's concerned.

[blaiset]

Yeah, its helped alot with my family's computers a lot too. (on a side note) I will say im amazed that with one installation of win 7 pro (since rcm version), I havent had any virus/spyware problems (with no anti-virus/spyware software)