View Full Version : How many Windows "kills" have you made?


Rgb
05-12-08, 08:37 PM
Like the nose art of WWI/WWII planes that demonstrated a pilot's success in battle (there are examples from all sides of these conflicts- just historical record, no political commentary, please),

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/ussessexandavg83_1_files/Hellcat_nose_art.jpg

I've been amassing a nice collection of "Designed for Windows" case tags like this:

http://www.fmsinc.com/Products/startup/Graphics/362x229.jpg

removed from OEM machines that were preloaded with Windows (98, 2000, XP or Vista), wiped and reloaded with Linux.

As I was about to tear up and throw one away, it dawned on me to keep these as evidence of my "kills".

In this year alone, I've "earned" about 6 since January. Ands this isn't counting the DIY machine builds I've done for myself and others this year.

How many Windows "kills" have you achieved in recent years?

I propose a pledge to "Deci"-mate Windows this year, whereby you pledge/plan to install Linux on at least 10 computers this year, either replacing Win on OEM preloads or installing on DIY machines.

The intent is to do this for 10 machines owned or used regularly by others, doing the install and app/driver/peripherals setup for that machine to get it functional to the users expectations with appropriate alternatives when available (tell the gamerz to get a PS3/Wii/Xbox360 and leave the PC alone ;)), including Wine if needed, but Windows in a VM not allowed. The point is to eliminate the need for a Win license. Of course, since this is the home theater forum, be sure that the Linux load you do does all the media playback expected- MP3 encode/playback, DVD playback of encrypted discs, video capture and editing if needed, etc.

On December 31, or maybe one year from now, we'll see who has the most Windows "kills"...

..for the a more peaceful metaphor, consider yourself a "Linus Linux-seed" :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_appleseed

For those that haven't had the time and/or skills to contribute to FOSS in other ways (programming, maintaining a project, writing documentation, etc), simply building boxes (either new or with leftover used parts) and/or installing Linux media OS's (Myth, Geexbox, the upcoming XBMC for Linux) for others on their OEM-preinstall boxes is as important a contribution.

Mac The Knife
05-13-08, 03:09 PM
.... including Wine if needed, but Windows in a VM not allowed. The point is to eliminate the need for a Win license.
....

Considering how many apps require "real" windows dll's to run in Wine, I would have to say that running Wine doesn't fit your "eliminate the need for a Win license" either.

Anyway, I've stopped recommending Hardy for the moment, because they broke some things that never should have been broken in a "Long Term Support" release. It's just too embarrassing to have to explain the broken stuff to newbie's.

Rgb
05-13-08, 03:28 PM
Considering how many apps require "real" windows dll's to run in Wine, I would have to say that running Wine doesn't fit your "eliminate the need for a Win license" either.

Anyway, I've stopped recommending Hardy for the moment, because they broke some things that never should have been broken in a "Long Term Support" release. It's just too embarrassing to have to explain the broken stuff to newbie's.

Good point re: Win dll's needed for Wine. IMO, most "normal" people, regular everyday PC users who just want to play audio and video as well as web/OpenOffice, won't need Wine anyways.

And remember, even if they do, often the machine you're converting had Windows on it, so you're entitled to those .dll's for that user. So don't erase the Win partition- at least keep the windows directory and/or burn the Windows directory to a DVD-R just to grab dll's when/if you need them.

This "Install Linux for Others" pledge is in no way limited to Ubuntu- for less than 700Mhz machines I'd recommend Puppy Linux, which had a new release last week.

http://www.puppylinux.com/
http://www.puppylinux.com/download/index.html

For ~700Mhz-1.2Ghz I'd recommend Xubuntu (7.10 if 8.04 doesn't work for you), and for >1.2Ghz either Ubuntu (whatever version works for you), MythBuntu, or Mint 4.0/5.0.

If Ubuntu 8.04 (hardy) is giving you problems, try Mint 5.0, which uses Ubuntu 8.04 as the base, but polishes things up, fixes issues, adds drivers and utilities, codecs, media capability by default, and is compatible with Ubuntu repos and updates.

http://www.linuxmint.com/

Mint 5.0 is beta now, but the final should be out within a month.

Again, there's nothing against running a distro that's one or two revs old (which means only 6-12 months old, which is nothing in the Windows world), either- use what works.