I'm guessing your machine has an SSD while the newer "better" laptop has a HDD or maybe an equally crappy SSHDD?

Are you aware that Windows has to support an infinitely larger combination of hardware configurations compared to OS X, or any flavor Linux for that matter?
Driver support for Linux and newer hardware is generally pretty abysmal.

And as for OS X.. have you ever seen the file system become corrupted? I have.. and it is a huge pain to dig up the instructions to be able to run a scan through the console to fix the file system issues.

Or how about setting up a wireless or wired network printer in a mixed Windows and OS X environment? HUUUUUUUGE pain to get the OS X machine(s) working properly while the Windows machines work like a charm.

Windows does have it's problems, but it is supported infinitely better than any other OS out there. I don't see this changing any time soon.. or ever.

one little tip: i learned some time ago in the company i slave at (10k+ lemmings) that they would not ever consider free software for their shitty processes because they will only trust a product with another 10k lemmings corp behind it (at that time gpl software was offering at least 3 options that would massively improve my workflow)

Newer versions of macOS are also pretty bad. High Sierra just takes FOREVER to boot and finally become responsive on HDD-equipped Macs. I often see UI animation dip below 30fps, even on new Macs. For an OS that only has to run on Apple computers, it just doesn't seem very well optimized. IMHO, Apple hit their high point with Snow Leopard, and Mavericks was also decent. Yosemite and later versions are bloated garbage, just like Windows 10. But hey, Apple still lets you choose your updates, so that's something, I guess. I'm not familiar with Linux and don't intend to ever use it, so I won't make any comparisons.

Still rocking Win7 on my main system and enjoying every minute of it. I'm very worried about 2020, though. Win10 is slowly getting better, but I somehow doubt it'll ever be as polished and trouble-free as Win7 has been for me.

I'm not working in the IT industry but, speaking purely from an end user experience, Microsoft doesn't just sell Windows. They have other products as well (Office being one of them).
I think this list should probably demonstrate my point much better: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Microsoft_software

I doubt that Microsoft will be going anywhere anytime soon

Looks like they are doing better than ever ->

keenmaster486 wrote:

...Or at least be relegated to the sidelines.

Already, using Microsoft software is unnecessary

For you.
For many businesses, using anything that is not 100% compatible is suicide. This includes more than the OS.

MS was good PC training wheels. It still the defacto OS brand on new PCs which aren't by Apple and is a household name. It turns out a lot of tasks don't need a GUI and Linux has more free software tools. Until more learn these things, MS will remain like it is. Being a publicly traded company, no matter what they do or if they morph to something else, they have to answer to the shareholders. They could even become their own Linux distro desktop environment with a support model like Red Hat.

I see alot of opinions but very little facts and judging by the topic title that isn't what this thread is about.
Use what you want but don't fool yourself into thinking that just because you like something over something else doesn't make it the best.

MS isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Both userbase and hardware support are too large for this to happen and nothing atm comes even close.
I am also not pleased with windows past 7 - and this is what I will continue to use until the point it's considered really obsolete.

Microsoft might die at some point but Windows 95 is forever.

One word: games

Auzner wrote:

MS was good PC training wheels. It still the defacto OS brand on new PCs which aren't by Apple and is a household name. It turns out a lot of tasks don't need a GUI and Linux has more free software tools. Until more learn these things, MS will remain like it is. Being a publicly traded company, no matter what they do or if they morph to something else, they have to answer to the shareholders. They could even become their own Linux distro desktop environment with a support model like Red Hat.

Could you tell me who exactly, that is a general computer user, is going to ever switch to a non-GUI interface?

Sure you can do a ton of things without a GUI, but 99+% of users have no need and no desire to even try to learn how do do stuff from the command line.

cyclone3d wrote:

Could you tell me who exactly, that is a general computer user, is going to ever switch to a non-GUI interface?

No one. There's a reason there's an uptake in PC usage since easy to use GUI became standard on all PCs.

Windows will not die until someone creates a superior product that the masses take up.

That product will not involve getting my mum or dad parse commands to do tasks that most users do on their computers like it's 1989 again.

People who think otherwise are honestly kidding themselves.

Like for everything in life, there are exceptions.
Even today, some tasks can be done more quickly on the command line (whoa, I never thought I'd say this someday!)
Let's say, you're going to rename some files for your TV's media player or a personal homepage.
Changing an extension via "ren *.html *.htm" or "ren *.mpeg *.MPG" is more simple that changing a dozen files by making
file extensions visible, then using a right click on them each time.
In Widnows 7, aeyou don't even have to open the command line. Just type "CMD" in the address bar and it will open within the current folder. 😀

Jo22 wrote:

Like for everything in life, there are exceptions. Even today, some tasks can be done more quickly on the command line (whoa, I […]
Show full quote

Like for everything in life, there are exceptions.
Even today, some tasks can be done more quickly on the command line (whoa, I never thought I'd say this someday!)
Let's say, you're going to rename some files for your TV's media player or a personal homepage.
Changing an extension via "ren *.html *.htm" or "ren *.mpeg *.MPG" is more simple that changing a dozen files by making
file extensions visible, then using a right click on them each time.
In Widnows 7, aeyou don't even have to open the command line. Just type "CMD" in the address bar and it will open within the current folder. 😀

You're making it sound like more than 0.1% of the population even understands what you just wrote.

I'm a Linux user also, I use Fedora Linux with the MATE on modernish hardware (i5 3.3ghz 1155, 8gb ram 2.5TB and a 1GB AMD Sapphire 7790HD) I'm dual booted with Windows 7 but I almost never use that any more outside of the occasional game. I don't hate MS, but I am a Mac hater. I gave them a shot and got a bunch of macs and I just hated them completely.

I think these non-open operating systems will continue to thrive as long as the industry requires them for their programs. Companies such as Autodesk that doesn't seem to have any intention of ever becoming Linux compatible sort of hold the whole thing up. Linux has many great alternatives to many things from audio and video manipulation software to office software but for some reason it still doesn't really have a great alternative to the existing industry standard drafting suites.

Microsoft is slowly bending to the market. I never thought I would see this day:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sq … ver-linux-setup

It makes me believe that Office/Exchange/Lync might eventually be ported over to Linux (which would be a huge effort judging by the resources they require to support MacOS).

I think Civil engineering is still stuck with Windows due to a dependence on Autocad/Revit, but Mechanical, Marine, and Aerospace engineering have been free to use CATIA and Siemens NX on Linux for a long time (although Dassault has regressed with V6, argh!). Solidworks is, I believe, still Windows only.

cyclone3d wrote:

Could you tell me who exactly, that is a general computer user, is going to ever switch to a non-GUI interface?

Sure you can do a ton of things without a GUI, but 99+% of users have no need and no desire to even try to learn how do do stuff from the command line.

Computing tasks, not desktop environment setup. There are a lot of repetitive tasks easier to call from the shell with a few args than what a Windows user would find a solution for. And most users don't have "computing tasks" required of their machines. They just open word, facebook, itunes, and netflix. So OS doesn't even matter since they all do that.

Apple has eaten Linux's lunch. It's a huge company now, bigger than Microsoft and IBM put together.

It's success is fragile however, and could disappear overnight if something "cooler" comes along. Nobody needs iMacs and iPhones and iPads like they do Windows and IBM mainframes.