Most people just won't listen
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| helios Apr 04, 2007 6:32 PM EDT |
I have a good friend who, despite my best efforts, spent hundreds of dollars on the super-deluxe-man-this-is-so-cool-and-so-worth-300-bucks edition of Vista. By the time he had it 8 hours he was not only disappointed, he was radioactive, screaming angry. Not only did his "promise it works now" nvidia card not work, but his wireless card did not work, his scanner wouldn't work, his printer would work but only at a childs scrawl dpi. In a condensed version, it was pretty much the same experience he had with Windows ME...except ME didn't cost him almost 300 bucks. The sorry part of this? I told him most all of this was going to happen. He just thought I was being the normal Linux Advocate and blowing hot air He also thought the new 3d desktop was going to come out with vista as well. When he still had nothing and I gave him a live cd with mepis, beryl working at first boot...well, let's just say that its a good thing the kids weren't home to see daddy melt down like that. We now have a new Linux convert. Finally...and all it cost him was 300 bucks and a plate-full of crow to do it. He swears he is going to go get his money back at CompUSA and demand that he was lied to. Let's see how that works out. h |
| Scott_Ruecker Apr 04, 2007 7:39 PM EDT |
For most people, myself included, eating crow is a lesson not easily forgotten. Unfortunately that plate of crow is going to be an expensive one. the chances of him getting his money back are slim because an installed and activated Windows is a used Windows, and they don't do returns for that I'm pretty sure. If he does get his money back that is great but if he doesn't it will almost guarantee that everyone he knows and many of the people he meets will hear about his experience. It sucks that it happened to him but I can't help but think that him telling his story to others will be good for Open Source. |
| thenixedreport Apr 04, 2007 8:02 PM EDT |
It was the idea of Vista requiring so much hardware that caused me to jump ship, and the very reason why I threw out that challenge. I'll put it out in PDF format and I might even send it to Redmond as well. |
| salparadise Apr 04, 2007 9:39 PM EDT |
My Dad had a similar experience. He now writes books on Orchids, a subject on which he is rather well versed. He has several books out on the subject. He does his own photography for the books and uses the main stream apps for such work (Photoshop et al).
I've talked to him before about Linux but apparently all the publishers insist on photoshopped images and he won't countenance the idea of Cross Over Office or equivalent. "Son, I'm going to buy Vista." "Dad that's a really bad idea." "Why son?" So I told him. 3 weeks go by and Dad hasn't been heard from. "Son, Vista was even worse than you said it might be." (In the end he gave up and went back to XP). The depressing aspect of this is that the poor victim of abuse goes back to the abuser and chooses an earlier version of their product which carries with it less abuse than the new version. But the abuse is more or less expected. |
| dcparris Apr 04, 2007 9:58 PM EDT |
I ditched Winders back at Win98/XP. I had already ditched WinXP, downgrading back to Win98 due to well-publicized printer and CD-writer issues I experienced. As of SUSE 9.2 in 2004, I went Windows-free. Oh, it wasn't free, just like they say. You know, the counseling and all. I was so used to revamping my box every 3-6 months, what with the memory leaks and oddball crashes and all. I was always busy maintaining the computer. Defrag the hard drive, clean all the temp files, reboot the box just to make everything work like it was when I booted up 20 minutes ago. The switch to SUSE Linux left me feeling empty and useless. I found myself pacing the floor, trying to figure out what to do with the time. Then a friend told me I should ask my doctor about Prozac. Then Dr. Phil told me I didn't need Prozac. He suggested I try a regimen of doing some actual work with my PC. All I can say is, "Wow!" |
| Sander_Marechal Apr 04, 2007 10:11 PM EDT |
I know the feeling dcparris :-) There is so little maintenance with Linux once it's installed properly, it's just no fun anymore. I now regularly upgrade other people's older PC's to Linux or get new hardware for myself so I can stay tinkering. After the HP ProLiant server a few weeks back, my next project is a Dell Latitude D520 laptop. The basics should be easy but wifi and mounting Windows Server 2003 shares will probably be a challenge. |
| jdixon Apr 05, 2007 5:40 AM EDT |
> For most people, myself included, eating crow is a lesson not easily forgotten. Scott, you must be right far more frequently than the rest of us. Personally, I have to eat crow on a fairly regular basis. :( |
| techiem2 Apr 05, 2007 6:15 AM EDT |
Quoting:I was so used to revamping my box every 3-6 months, what with the memory leaks and oddball crashes and all. I was always busy maintaining the computer. Defrag the hard drive, clean all the temp files, reboot the box just to make everything work like it was when I booted up 20 minutes ago. Quoting:I now regularly upgrade other people's older PC's to Linux or get new hardware for myself so I can stay tinkering. So THAT's why we do it! :) /me looks at the stack of brand new parts for the shiny new comp he's going to assemble this evening after work since the case and psu arrive today ;) Finally building a new box. I'm thinking I'll triple boot it. Gentoo of course, Debian so I can finally get learning it (Debian proper, not that silly buntu stuff), Something with zen so I can learn that (any suggestions? I know there's a good gentoo howto, and I think I've seen a Debian one or two, any other ones I should look at?) Of course I'll be logging the whole process and will blog it when done. |
| Bob_Robertson Apr 05, 2007 6:22 AM EDT |
"There is so little maintenance with Linux once it's installed properly, it's just no fun anymore." That's why I run Debian Unstable. Every few months, a curve-ball will hit, forcing me to learn more about how Linux systems function. Just often enough to be interesting, not often enough to be frustrating, and very rarely something big enough to cause stress. Like the XFree86 to Xorg transition, or going from 2.0 to 2.2 to 2.4 to 2.6 kernels. And if I want to "just work", I simply leave it alone. :^) "Personally, I have to eat crow on a fairly regular basis. :(" I'm married too. BTW, the wife won't use Linux because she needs her Chinese language applications that are written for Windows. However, one of them seems to be a very serious virus/malware vector, because after installing it things always go wrong and I have to wipe/rebuild Windows for her. Going from Win2K to WinXP made no difference at all with the viruses. Is an "upgrade" still an "upgrade" if there is no improvement? She is almost, _almost_ reaching the frustration point. But she doesn't use the machine enough any more to make it worth while, and all the kid's games/edu-soft runs on Windows anyway, so it stays. Oh well. It is the only Windows box in the house. |
| bigg Apr 05, 2007 6:52 AM EDT |
> There is so little maintenance with Linux once it's installed properly, it's just no fun anymore. Wait until you have little kids at home. I don't remember the last time I had time for any kind of fun. Etch is a godsend, I install it and it runs for months, I just hit the update button every so often. On the other hand, my wife's XP and Vista machines remind me on a regular basis just how wonderful Debian really is when you have no time for computer maintenance. > the wife won't use Linux because she needs her Chinese language applications that are written for Windows The most popular Korean websites only work on Windows. In fact, as I understand it, the geniuses over there have made it so that IE on Windows is the only way to do internet commerce in Korea. |
| thenixedreport Apr 08, 2007 1:17 PM EDT |
Update for all of you! I've published a PDF press release for my challenge, and is located at the following URL: http://www.thenixedreport.com/press/vistachallenge.pdf I've also sent the link to Redmond and apparently, "Angie" is going to send my "concerns" to the appropriate team (they identified my browser and system as well). Well, this'll be fun. |
| techiem2 Apr 08, 2007 1:23 PM EDT |
haha They'd probably send you the box, but make you sign an NDA in order to get it. "Yeah, you can test vista and compare it to linux all you want, as long as you don't tell anyone about it!" |
| thenixedreport Apr 08, 2007 10:14 PM EDT |
Well, if they sent a machine first, it would be a foolish move, because it would belong to me. Either way, if I were to get a copy of an NDA to sign, I'd scan it and show it to the world. If a machine was sent along with it, I'd wipe the hard drive and they wouldn't be able to complain as per the contest rules, anything sent to me becomes my property, period. |
| helios Apr 10, 2007 5:02 AM EDT |
"Personally, I have to eat crow on a fairly regular basis. :(" "KC Masterpiece Original Recipe" makes the medicine go down. Also, if you grill it, don't forget the hourly basting...it dries out quickly if you don't baste it properly...oh, and I almost forgot. Don't cut the actual feet off. They make excellent toothpicks without the hassle of getting up to get one. Ryan (my friend as mentioned in the opening post) has agreed to an interview. "The Mind of a Windows User" will publish soon. h |
| tracyanne Apr 10, 2007 5:08 AM EDT |
Sounds interesting........ the interview that is. |
| jdixon Apr 10, 2007 6:32 AM EDT |
Helios: Obviously the voice of experience speaking. :) I bow to your superior knowledge. |
| thenixedreport Apr 11, 2007 8:03 PM EDT |
Well, believe it or not, I may have the first taker of this challenge! http://www.thenixedreport.com/comment.php?comment.news.19 Read the whole post too (and btw, please donate to tux500...). |
| dcparris Apr 11, 2007 9:56 PM EDT |
thenixedreport: Just submit your links to the news queues, and we'll post them to the newswire (front page) - as long as they're relevant. Don't leave noteworthy links hiding down here in the forums. ;-) |
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