You are not logged in.

#1 2004-07-23 17:45:36

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Should I ditch windows?

Hey folks,


I've had Windows 2000 installed on this computer since I got it. I'm thinking it's time to uninstall it.  I haven't used it in months. What say you?

I originally installed it because my University ocassionally wanted me to install certain Windows only software (such as an educational version of oracle and of visible analyst) or to view files only easily viewable in Windows (quicktime, some windows media formats...).  I used it about 20 times over the course of my University career to date.

But I'm going to be graduating in a few months and shouldn't need Windows anymore. Should I uninstall? I have several reasons to do so:

* free up a few (6, to be precise) GB of space
* it's illegally installed
* it's embarrassing

Only one reason to keep it:

* I might need it someday.

Dusty

Offline

#2 2004-07-23 18:25:28

sweiss
Member
Registered: 2004-02-16
Posts: 635

Re: Should I ditch windows?

I've Windows XP installed on this machine as well, I haven't used it in months, in fact, ever since I started with linux.

But unless you really need the HDD space I wouldn't bother, there are still a lot of Windows only stuff, unfortunately.

Offline

#3 2004-07-23 18:29:18

mattux
Member
Registered: 2004-04-22
Posts: 81

Re: Should I ditch windows?

all you can do unter windows you can do unter linux ,so why should you hold it?
the only thing to have windows is to play games...and wine/transgaming make great work tongue


mattux

Offline

#4 2004-07-23 19:39:41

dp
Member
From: Zürich, Switzerland
Registered: 2003-05-27
Posts: 3,378
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

6GB are a lot on a laptop but nothing on a tower-computer

illegallity is your own morality problem - if you want to keep it, buy it, if you ask me

gratulations for soon your graduation

-> if you have a laptop, remove it to gain space
-> if this is a computer with possibility to add another hdd easily, keep it,
because installing it again if you need it is big pain!!! (i had to help someone to reinstall win2k and lost 5 hours doing so - and we didn't manage to make it see the third harddisk :-( - keep it while it runs, as the setup is the pain and no flexibility) - actually i realized how lazy i got using 99% arch, but this is another thread :-)


The impossible missions are the only ones which succeed.

Offline

#5 2004-07-23 20:12:40

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

dp wrote:

illegallity is your own morality problem - if you want to keep it, buy it, if you ask me

That's my opinion too.  I'm against pirating of all sorts, music, videos, software... if they choose to licence it that way, I feel obligated to comply. That's the main reason I want to remove.

The reason that I didn't buy it in the first place was that I felt forced into the position of installing it. If I may, it was installed for educational purposes. In my situation (studying from home), I couldn't just go down to the University lab to do something on Windows. I don't have that excuse anymore though, and I don't *need* or even want Windows installed. wink

I don't know of any applications available for Windows that are not available for Linux that I would ever ever ever use... besides, I'm a good programmer, I can probably do it myself. :-D

In all honesty, this post is a joke, cause I'm gonna trash windows regardless of anybody else' opinion... but I still like to read peoples' opinions. smile

Dusty

Offline

#6 2004-07-23 20:34:42

kakabaratruskia
Member
From: Santiago, Chile
Registered: 2003-08-24
Posts: 596

Re: Should I ditch windows?

I think it's good to have more than one OS, cause you never know, and sometimes you screw up, and need to use the computer, so you can have some OS for the meanwhile. Anyway, I think it would be better to have another linux distro (or any good UNIX), than windows, cause win does not let you read your linux partitions. Anyway, there is always knoppix.


And where were all the sportsmen who always pulled you though?
They're all resting down in Cornwall
writing up their memoirs for a paper-back edition
of the Boy Scout Manual.

Offline

#7 2004-07-23 20:45:20

topito
Member
From: Catalonia
Registered: 2004-03-25
Posts: 118
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

I have a win XP cos I like playing counter strike, I'm almost 30 but i like taht game lol , I think it is a good idea to have an alternative OS, specially if games only run on it but if you are not a gamer you can use vmware for example if you need to run some "special/only" winblows software.

Offline

#8 2004-07-23 22:48:22

sarah31
Member
From: Middle of Canada
Registered: 2002-08-20
Posts: 2,975
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

well you could try uninstalling it and see how it goes.

if you may need it then determine what you may need it for and then determine if those function are doable in linux.

i had misgiving when i killed my illegal xp partition but since going winders free at home three years ago i ahve not even been tempted to go back to even using anywhere else but at work where i really have no choice but to use it (main because all our instruments that use the computer only have software for windows)

i don't like using it myself but that is because i have never really liked it. i find it disorganized and rather buggy.


AKA uknowme

I am not your friend

Offline

#9 2004-07-23 23:09:15

dp
Member
From: Zürich, Switzerland
Registered: 2003-05-27
Posts: 3,378
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

i finally found one reason i would keep it:

Internet Explorer runs faster natively than over wine: if you are a webdeveloper and use tables or css, it is essential to also know how your creation shows up in IE (especially tables that are 100% of an css element that is only e.g. 30% of width show up in IE as 100% as screen-width instead of 100% of css-element)

for your private page, tis is not essential, because the button [100% IE-incompatible] is ok, but if you work for someone else or for a organisation, it is not, as at least one ****** person uses IE to surf and your interface must also work with it


The impossible missions are the only ones which succeed.

Offline

#10 2004-07-24 03:19:20

afu
Member
From: Tuscalooser, Alabummer
Registered: 2004-02-19
Posts: 155

Re: Should I ditch windows?

I 'd leave it on there. Then I would install exchange and IIS, connect it to the internet and count the seconds that it would take to get hacked or start spamming the world with porn. Then you will have a real reason to delete it.
-Shawn

Offline

#11 2004-07-24 04:27:55

rasat
Forum Fellow
From: Finland, working in Romania
Registered: 2002-12-27
Posts: 2,293
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

I have thought several times removing Windows but always there come a situation to use it...... dp gave a good example.
You/we are surrounded by Windows users, so keep it but delete programs what are not needed and then resize the partition.

About legality, MS has legal rights but no moral rights. I suggest you remove Win 2000 and install Win 98.


Markku

Offline

#12 2004-07-24 04:36:36

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

Why is it more acceptable to use 98 instead of 2000?

IF I did remove one to install another, that would be silly, I'd just remove one and not install anything till I needed it. wink

But, I might do that anyway... I can always borrow somebody else' comp if I need to use windows for a few mins.

Offline

#13 2004-07-24 06:53:51

Mr Green
Forum Fellow
From: U.K.
Registered: 2003-12-21
Posts: 5,893
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

Errr like remove it....

Mr Green


Mr Green

Offline

#14 2004-07-24 07:27:40

forn4x
Member
Registered: 2004-06-23
Posts: 13

Re: Should I ditch windows?

heh, you can do backup of partition...

dd if=/dev/part | gzip > file


my calculator software doesn't work in linux - the only reason I am using win that I got with my laptop...

but if you don't need it, get rid of it... I hate it because it always know better what you want...


"Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live
in a cradle forever."     Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky

Offline

#15 2004-07-24 14:58:04

beniro
Member
From: St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Registered: 2002-12-31
Posts: 313

Re: Should I ditch windows?

I haven't had windows on my PC in about 6 months...I use Linux mostly for web browsing, multimedia playing and some web design/development.

At work, though, I code HTML and VBScript on a WinXP machine.

---edit---

As for IE, it might not be a big deal to run it through wine...depends on your preference.

I, on the other hand, have an older PC with win and a bunch of browsers installed.  That way I don't have win contaminating my main PC.

---/edit---

Aha!  smile

Offline

#16 2004-07-24 15:30:56

aCoder
Member
From: Medina, OH
Registered: 2004-03-07
Posts: 359
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

Why is it more acceptable to use 98 instead of 2000?

Some people are still convince 98 was a 'good' piece of software, when it was, in fact, the worst thing ever to come out of Redmond, except for Bob...

Of course there is one reason to keep Windows, Warcraft III.  Not gaming, not compatibility, Warcraft.  Of course, my easy way out is to get a Mac...[/code]


If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience.
  - John Cage

Offline

#17 2004-07-24 20:54:34

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: Should I ditch windows?

I compromised... mount /mnt/win; rm -rf /mnt/win/*; umount /mnt/win; remove win from fstab... So windows isn't installed. But I still have a simple vfat partition available, in case i have to install Windows someday... probably I'll trash it eventually too though.

Dusty

Offline

#18 2004-07-25 10:11:51

tmadhavan
Member
From: Wales :D
Registered: 2004-03-26
Posts: 441

Re: Should I ditch windows?

aCoder, couldn't you just use WineX to run Warcraft? I'm using WineX atm, got some great games going on linux.

Also, been meaning to ask you: your sig. I've been trying to think where it's from for months.

It's from a Pink Floyd song..... another brick in the wall?

T.

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB