Are other operating systems ever going to catch up with Linux?

beans100 said:
Do you put as much trust in the cloud as faith in the cloud? I think it would take a long time for me before I would trust the cloud. Just look at the Jenifer Lawrence leaked pics debacle, cloud 0, local storage 1. How much info was farmed from cloud storage by wikileaks? I'm sorry, I just can get myself to trust the Cloud.
You say your info is in another continent. How many people have access to it, how many people have claim to it, how many people own your digital copy? I don't think it's just you. On my PC, only me have access.
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How about trusting yourself instead?

Trust yourself to use a proper password and 2-stage authentication instead of the "convenience" of going without.


Even if there was a real brute force vulnerability in iCloud it's still weak password and lack of 2-stage authentication that made it easy to hack.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Who says Mac users buy MS Office?

Their OS is free now and so are their "Office" apps.

Yes at a higher hardware cost, but you also get what you pay for.
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Apple: paying that much extra, then having had to even BUY more software to get the job done. iStore sales consultant, with an exposed cleavage at the rear and wearing sagging jeans, told me that all they sold came with iWorks. Well, it didn't and they sold a LOT of MSO Mac.

Then, one update after the other broke essential functionality, forcing me to use Google instead. I never had more than 5 virus infections on my computers over the past thirty years, but my sun had 40 malware infections on his Mac recently. 39 were removed by Bitdefender but the 40th called for a complete format and re-install. If Apple was more dependable and predictable, that would have been my first choice.

Linux is not perfect but more reliable, stable, secure and predictable. I I could trust Apple, though...............................

(I'm thinking of buying used Macs and install Mint on them.)
 
Some of us 1.5 billion Windows users don't care much about operating systems. It's apps and data that matter. And so far there's no compelling reason to switch.
 
beans100 said:
Do you put as much trust in the cloud as faith in the cloud? I think it would take a long time for me before I would trust the cloud. Just look at the Jenifer Lawrence leaked pics debacle, cloud 0, local storage 1. How much info was farmed from cloud storage by wikileaks? I'm sorry, I just can get myself to trust the Cloud.
You say your info is in another continent. How many people have access to it, how many people have claim to it, how many people own your digital copy? I don't think it's just you. On my PC, only me have access.
Click to expand...

Encrypt your data if you are paranoid or have bad security. If you dont have the foresight to be smart with your data in the cloud then perhaps you shouldnt use it after all...
 
Arthur said:
Some of us 1.5 billion Windows users don't care much about operating systems. It's apps and data that matter. And so far there's no compelling reason to switch.
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Any OS is useless without good apps.

MSO and especially Outlook was what had me hooked onto Windows. Then there was OneNote, a brilliant app. With the dawn of Office365 that will eventually end the life of traditional MSO, I started looking for alternatives. Currently, I am using:

* LibreOffice, but there are OpenOffice and KingsoftOffice to consider
* Thunderbird with Lightning calendar, ThunderKeep, GoogleTasks
* Chromium, Opera and Firefoc browsers
* Amarok, VLC for entertainment when needed
* Gimp for 'photoshop'??
* Gnucash for managing my millions of worthless cents :D

Even though there are just 37 Linux viruses about and none fo my specific distro and even though I have a hardened system and hardened browsers, I am considerate and run an anti-malware, more so because old habits die hard. Bitdefender subscription with Afrihost would be dirt cheap but Linux users don't really need it.

Is Linux better? Not always, but sometimes it makes more sense.

It does offer alternatives and there are about half a million free apps, some horrid and some brilliant, usually FREE. If you start feeling uneasy with your current system, do give Linux Mint a chance. Read the OP, it really makes sense. At least, instead of pirating Windows (almost 40% of SA installations are not legitimate) rather migrate and enjoy a stable environment. For speed and extreme stability, use either Xfce or METE desktops, as Cinnamon and KDE are not as reliable. MATE is pronounced maah-tay, as it is named after a flower in South America or some place faaaar from here. :)
 
ghoti said:
Encrypt your data if you are paranoid or have bad security. If you dont have the foresight to be smart with your data in the cloud then perhaps you shouldnt use it after all...
Click to expand...

The encryption keys and techniques have been handed to NSA. Now all encrypted data could be accessed. Not until an entire new generation of encryption tools are invented, will data ever be safe again. Even so, encrypting is better than leaving it open, of course.

Encryption for email: Thunderbird Mail runs on Linux, Mac and Windows and can be adapted for encrypting mail between parties, using GNUPGP, with keys created by the user and not bought from Thawte or Verisign.
 
ghoti said:
Cloud data is normally replicated across multiple datacenters often on different continents. Your data is not. Your house could burn down and you could lose all your data tomorrow. A nuclear weapon could hit one of my datacenters and my data would still be safe on another continent as well as my local backup.
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I am really wise and diligent enough to make several encrypted back-ups of my data, very regularly, and then to keep copies at different safe places. That should not even need to be mentioned, but there are businesspeople who never make back-ups, nor do they system maintenance. That is not so wise!
 
MacLindroid said:
The encryption keys and techniques have been handed to NSA. Now all encrypted data could be accessed. Not until an entire new generation of encryption tools are invented, will data ever be safe again. Even so, encrypting is better than leaving it open, of course.

Encryption for email: Thunderbird Mail runs on Linux, Mac and Windows and can be adapted for encrypting mail between parties, using GNUPGP, with keys created by the user and not bought from Thawte or Verisign.
Click to expand...

lol. Okay... you believe whatever you want to :D
 
What is the alternative to MS Office in a large corporate or wanting to rent specific services such as AD etc from Azure?
 
MacLindroid said:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-...s-its-own-encyrption-software-spy-its-clients

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...to-the-tiny-sounds-made-by-your-computers-cpu

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/384007/the-nsa-has-cracked-internet-encryption

http://www.myce.com/news/nsa-compromised-commercial-encryption-standards-71023/
Click to expand...

If you do not know the difference between some compromised security and if all encryption methods are compromised I am not qualified to have a discussion with you. Many encryptions are still solid. Also, some of the links you posted were lolworthy :D
 
MacLindroid said:
As an old Windows user, I have always been using OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird and other portable applications on a flash drive.

With Windows moving towards an online-only solution in future, on a monthly or annual subscriptions base, I find that hanging on to Windows lost its appeal. Mac users buy MS Office, so what's the point with Mac? Both Windows and Mac have become expensive platforms for running FOSS applications.

Regardless of the million and a quarter other logical reasons to be using Linux only, it comes bundled with what everyone needs and then some, add to that the extensive applications repositories.

By design, not by market share, it is practically immune to malware as well. It asks little and delivers much, as it can run on older hardware with aplomb.

One really needs to ask whether the other OS's are still relevant for the right reasons, or are they like Hotel California where you can check out but never leave? Dear old John Dvorak wrote a piece recently, asking if Linux came too late. After having read all his arguments, I can say that we need to realise that there is a naked king, with tailors sewing with imaginary thread, to try and piece together a worn robe called Proprietary.

Like Dvorak, one can ask the question: did they overstay their welcome? Does it still make sense to buy expensive proprietary software and systems that seemingly fail after every next update?

Linux rose to maturity, from an ugly duckling to a graceful swan, the leader of the flock. Linux ballets on the world's supercomputers, it runs on millions of servers, it powers millions of networked or stand-alone desktop units. Linux is a liberation of the mind, unshackling the user experience from bondage to freedom.

From my perspective, Linux did not come to the party too late. Perhaps it is just above the mental reach of the majority out there, as the only logical, sensible operating system today is Linux. I also want it on my tablet and my phone, as my TV, VCR, PVR, microwave and even the car's "black box" runs it in various formats.

Refresh your cyber mind with a breathe of cool Mint!
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Linux runs on supercomputers because it's ideal for that particular environment. A supercomputer is inherently specialised, and will therefore benefit from an OS where programmers can go wild.

I have tried Linux (Ubuntu and Mint) and I switched back to Windows quickly on both occasions.

This is why most people would hate Linux:
- Thunderbird and Open Office/Libre Office don't hold a candle to Microsoft Office
- Gimp is in no way a substitute for Photoshop
- Having to troubleshoot problems with the terminal is a nightmare for a layman
- Gaming is very restricted
- Many popular services don't have desktop apps for Linux
- Linux will bring tears of frustration, and most people don't like crying
 
ghoti said:
If you do not know the difference between some compromised security and if all encryption methods are compromised I am not qualified to have a discussion with you. Many encryptions are still solid. Also, some of the links you posted were lolworthy :D
Click to expand...

I could not find the report, which came from the world's top 5 security experts a while ago. What they said was that the underlying technology/algorithms were handed to NSA/CIA, almost a year ago, giving them the tools to decrypt with fair ease. I lack the vocabulory to explain but perhaps you understand that it is the key to RSA/AES encryption that was handed over. In layman terms.

Some interesting reads.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/tech...nsa-and-an-ontario-tech-firm/article16402341/

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/nsa-gchq-encryption-codes-security

http://www.itpro.co.uk/619150/gsm-encryption-key-revealed

This brings me back to the original topic, which is that Linux (some distro's) have matured so well that it now provides a more secure, stable operating system with sufficient functionality for at least professional business use both on servers and desktops. It is a free choice anyone can make. My post here is to show that even a layman like myself can become proficient in Linux and end up with a much better ICT understanding than I ever had while using Microsoft. Of course, nobody is forcing anyone to be using this and, to their own disadvantage, the majority will blindly follow the herd.

Linux is for the smart user, not the passive, reactionary average user. It is not more difficult, just different. We use it because we are also different! :D
 
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Bryn26 said:
Linux runs on supercomputers because it's ideal for that particular environment. A supercomputer is inherently specialised, and will therefore benefit from an OS where programmers can go wild.

I have tried Linux (Ubuntu and Mint) and I switched back to Windows quickly on both occasions.

This is why most people would hate Linux:
- Thunderbird and Open Office/Libre Office don't hold a candle to Microsoft Office
- Gimp is in no way a substitute for Photoshop
- Having to troubleshoot problems with the terminal is a nightmare for a layman
- Gaming is very restricted
- Many popular services don't have desktop apps for Linux
- Linux will bring tears of frustration, and most people don't like crying
Click to expand...

I come from the days of CP/M and MS-DOS, so the terminal does not intimidate me.

Up to MS Office 2003, Microsoft had the edge. My own MSO 2007 was not without its hiccups, either. MSO changed its interface too many times and MS Outlook and data corruption are synonymous. Thunderbird, if you know how to configure it the way I do, is by far superior but you don't need Linux for that.
Gaming is something we don't use in buisness, but there is Steam for those wanting to.
Linux brings skills and expertise, taking its user from the dummy realm into the real world of computing. It isn't meant for those who cannot apply their minds but who then prefer to use defraggers and malware scanners (that are no more than 80% useful) and rather risk security than acquire skills.
 
MacLindroid said:
I come from the days of CP/M and MS-DOS, so the terminal does not intimidate me.

Up to MS Office 2003, Microsoft had the edge. My own MSO 2007 was not without its hiccups, either. MSO changed its interface too many times and MS Outlook and data corruption are synonymous. Thunderbird, if you know how to configure it the way I do, is by far superior but you don't need Linux for that.
Gaming is something we don't use in buisness, but there is Steam for those wanting to.
Linux brings skills and expertise, taking its user from the dummy realm into the real world of computing. It isn't meant for those who cannot apply their minds but who then prefer to use defraggers and malware scanners (that are no more than 80% useful) and rather risk security than acquire skills.
Click to expand...

Office 365 is an excellent product, as is Windows 8.1 with Start8 installed. It doesn't seem like you've used them. I use MS Exchange, Gmail and a private domain for my email, all of which just sync once added to Outlook. Windows can still provide the occasional problem, but it's nothing compared to Linux. Linux terminals don't intimidate me either, but they're an unnecessary inconvenience. I have better things to do with my time.

No matter how you configure Thunderbird I can assure that it doesn't come close to Outlook. I'm not just talking about functionality - ease of use and aesthetics play a big role in determining the quality of an app. Outlook manages multiple accounts better than any other client I've ever used and looks fantastic.

You may enjoy having to 'apply your mind' to use Linux as your primary OS. Others prefer not worrying about their OS and rather just being able to get on with whatever it is that they want to do. Gaming is huge industry, and having extremely limited support on Linux is a dealbreaker for many (Steam on Linux has very few games). Many people have laptops and home desktops that need to be capable of work and play.

I'm not saying that Linux sucks, as it clearly doesn't. I think it works nicely as an OS for a laptop (that is a secondary PC). But I wouldn't want it as my main OS, and I don't think most others would either.
 
Are other OS's ever going to catch up with Linux?

MacLindroid said:
Apple: paying that much extra, then having had to even BUY more software to get the job done. iStore sales consultant, with an exposed cleavage at the rear and wearing sagging jeans, told me that all they sold came with iWorks. Well, it didn't and they sold a LOT of MSO Mac.

Then, one update after the other broke essential functionality, forcing me to use Google instead. I never had more than 5 virus infections on my computers over the past thirty years, but my sun had 40 malware infections on his Mac recently. 39 were removed by Bitdefender but the 40th called for a complete format and re-install. If Apple was more dependable and predictable, that would have been my first choice.

Linux is not perfect but more reliable, stable, secure and predictable. I I could trust Apple, though...............................

(I'm thinking of buying used Macs and install Mint on them.)
Click to expand...

They do come with iWork pre-installed anything since this time last year. Same for their phones/tablets.

In 12 years I have never had a virus or Malware on my Macs. Let me take it further...I have never reinstalled a Mac other than a complete hard drive failure and that's managing more than 200 Macs.

Apple is very dependable and very predictable...more so than any Desktop version of Linux I have ever used. Any true Linux geek would be man enough to agree on that point. Servers Linux is there, but Desktop still isn't quite right.

Also if your son was browsing "free porn" on any platform then the results would probably end up the same. User behavior does not make the OS used better or worse.

You never need to reinstall a Mac. Again sounds like someone didn't know what they were doing...therefore it must be rubbish.

I hate to say it but firstly you seem extremely biased and secondly you seem to be doing it wrong.

Just because you desperately WANT something to be perfect, doesn't mean it is perfect.

*****

Also what updates broke what exactly? If you are talking about Office for Mac being ****...how is that Apple's fault?


******

Disclaimer : I come from a Windows background and moved into an Apple heavy business and today I only run Linux servers so I do believe I have adequate experience to comment.
 
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MacLindroid said:
I never had more than 5 virus infections on my computers over the past thirty years, but my sun had 40 malware infections on his Mac recently. 39 were removed by Bitdefender but the 40th called for a complete format and re-install. If Apple was more dependable and predictable, that would have been my first choice.
Click to expand...

I would have loved to see a list of those 39 infections - BD likes to identify windoze culprits (word files, email junk.zip) and identify them as an infection on a mac.

I have discovered about 20 variants of browser hijackers and that is about all.
 
What broke on my Apple was local sync, both iTunes and iOS. Also, wireless networking on iOS on SOME devices, following in the wake of the removed USB sync. It forced users through the iCloud. Sorry, there is much more to say but it really is uncomfortable just reliving it. Just on the issue of local sync, 242 pages of irate Apple users bashed Apple for their sheer stupidity.....go do a search on their forums.

Then the iPhone's power button broke and it took six weeks to get it fixed/replaced. Since iStore staff wear jeans exposing their arses, I see no reason why we should be paying up to 55% more than elsewhere for things that stop working after updates.

Paying that premium for stuff that does NOT work even remotely as well as Linux does, is plain stupid. My yeaar with Apple is the only one that I came to hate anything with such a fierce passion. Expexting it to be perfect would be daft, but an expectation of performance according to price is fair. Apple fell far short.
 
MacLindroid said:
What broke on my Apple was local sync, both iTunes and iOS. Also, wireless networking on iOS on SOME devices, following in the wake of the removed USB sync. It forced users through the iCloud. Sorry, there is much more to say but it really is uncomfortable just reliving it. Just on the issue of local sync, 242 pages of irate Apple users bashed Apple for their sheer stupidity.....go do a search on their forums.

Then the iPhone's power button broke and it took six weeks to get it fixed/replaced. Since iStore staff wear jeans exposing their arses, I see no reason why we should be paying up to 55% more than elsewhere for things that stop working after updates.

Paying that premium for stuff that does NOT work even remotely as well as Linux does, is plain stupid. My yeaar with Apple is the only one that I came to hate anything with such a fierce passion. Expexting it to be perfect would be daft, but an expectation of performance according to price is fair. Apple fell far short.
Click to expand...

iOS+devices != Mac OS. You can't fairly compare how well the iPhone's power button or iOS networking compare to linux.
 
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