Linux v Windows

[in2trux]

(02-20-2016 )Pinetown Wrote:  Hi Guys,

I get the impression that the knowledgeable people here use Linux(Ubuntu) or similar to work their "Black Magic"
Can someone tell me what are the advantages of this?
I have a couple of computers that I do diagnostics with and I know from experience that certain programs
will only run on XP while others can run on WIN 7 and very few on WIN10 and then there is the 64 v 32 bit challenge.......all in all its an added pain in the ass to someone whose head is already pounding from trying to understand all this stuff.
Does Linux take away these headaches.???
Mike.

As long as you need windows, you will have headaches. I have an old duo core laptop with 4Gb. of ram that I picked up for $120 a few years ago.
It runs Ubuntu 64 bit and windows XP 32 bit in VMware. Windows runs in a "sterile" environment and has never been exposed to the internet or malware.
IMHO XP 32 runs SO much faster and better than when it has control of the hardware. I run insite on that and it has been rock steady!
See, you can run 32 bit program on a 64 bit machine! You can run a 32 bit program on a 64 bit OS but not a 64 bit program on a 32 bit
system.

I've done hundreds of win 95,98 XP installs on network machines, back when that was the main corporate OS and it functions more like a thin client like novell or citrix in a VM.
I haven't tried it yet but I'd bet win2k would work just as well as xp. "as long as you have service pack 3 or 4 for either one. Win 2000 was very stable and runs most xp programs without issue because it is basically the same under the hood but with NT compatibility. I ran win2k in our home office machines for 10 years with few issues. At that time I was tinkering with Linux Mandrake and Redhat but really didn't have the time plow through it but could see it was so much more efficient and lighter footprint on the hardware. Old machines running Linux were still faster than the latest greatest hardware running windows. Why? Because windows is a resource hog!
If you go out TODAY and buy the fastest machine on the market, ANY extra speed or performance has already been negated by windows XX.

Windows 7, I replaced windows 7 on my wife's I5 laptop with Linux Mint. I also installed a SSD after the old one died.
My headaches are gone! No more screaming and yelling about crashes or painfully long boot times. I gave Mint the the same "look and feel" and it boots in less than 30 seconds.
The transition had a few bumps in the road but you would never know it now. Next step is to clone the office win 7 machine to VM on a laptop.

I don't have time to keep up with the latest malware exploits on windows or service packs and security updates. Whatever MS is pushing, you need to stay at the end of the line!
Only when they stop supporting it, upgrade. They are never ready for prime time!

If you NEED Win 7 to update, incal files etc., you can run it in a VM but best with clean install and lock it down so NO ONE can run exe's!
Any time you install a new program, something else is going to stop working the way it was, Murphy's Law!
Best have 1 master and clone it. Send the clones out into the shop and Beta test on one clone.

STAY AWAY FROM WIN 8-10 AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! That giant sucking sound will be your brain leaving through your wallet!

Talk to Rawze.

PS. My "new" $400 refurb I7 Asus /16 gb. ram /1 Tb.SSD running Lubuntu is like instant on! Log in takes me longer than boot .