The perfect operating system....

[MadMaxData]

I agree with much of the first post. The perfect OS would allow me to choose everything I wanted, and nothing I didn't. Pretty simple.

Well, that's my version of a "perfect" OS...

zzz2496

Don't tell me. You work in sales for Linux?

 

[authorandrew]

Windows 8

Windows 7 is the best windows out there...but it's still windows, unfortunately. Here are the things for Windows 8 that would make it closer to a perfect OS for me:

OK, Vista was awful at this, Windows 7 improved, but there's still Win7 Home Starter (which barely deserves to be called an OS), Win7 Home Basic, Win7 Home Premium, and Win7 Ultimate/Professional. Enough versions....cut out the basics and give 'developing markets' the full deal. And the people who buy Ultimate (Tech geeks like me) know enough about computers, so you can give them that 'modular' system that you guys were talking about earlier. Seriously, cut Windows 8 down to one version, which would be like today's Home Premium. Add the modular system for advanced upgrades that normally would have come in Ultimate, and that's it. A user can have Windows 8, instead of a specific version. Maybe his Windows 8 will have a little bit more extra than mine...but it still would be Windows 8.

Totally redo all the settings in Windows 8...a unified control panel. Do you know how many Settings there are in Win7? And scattered all over the place too. A unified control panel where I can do it all in one place.

A new explorer. The breadcrumbs trail and drop down side menu are great, but wow us in Windows 8 with a completely new explorer...seriously, it needs to get better. Throw in a better search, more like Mac's spotlight (though Win7 is the best windows search I've used yet) as a small bonus.

Rewrite the core. Make security an integral part of the system. Don't give us security updates every week, instead give us an OS that's already inherently secure out of the box....i.e. don't make me install Avast! or AVG....that would be nice.

And on the subject of rewriting, Win7 did a fairly decent job removing legacy UI components, but a lot are left. Win8 needs to have NONE of those old buttons and animations, icons, whatever.

Give us ridiculously easy Bluetooth and network transfer stuff. I mean, it took me twenty minutes to send a Bluetooth file from my brother's computer to mine when I could have done it in two minutes with a pen drive.

Allow folders in the superbar...just a wishful thinking here. Jumplists are great but not for folders. Folders in the superbar and maybe even the stacks feature similar to mac.

Windows 7 came a long way from XP which is what I used before, but the above would make it my dream OS. And give us a new name...Vista was probably the most creative name used yet because you see a Vista through windows, but Windows 7 strikes me as a dumb name. So give us another good name like Vista had.

Those are my thoughts...what do you think about them?
Uriah

 

[CommonTater]

Ok then. Just because you have a firewall does not mean you cannot be hacked.

Actually it does... The whole concept of a firewall is that nobody gets by it from the WAN side ... You can't connect to a machine you can't see...

Now, what about stability updates? User interface updates? Service Packs?
Just because your system works now, does not mean it will in a week. Something you install (say a new program) can crash the computer. MS may have known about that and released a patch to cover it, which you didn't install.

See my point?

Actually... baring hardware failures... if my system works properly now, it will still work properly in 1500 years... unless I change something. You see the goal is to get the Operating System and various softwares stable enough that I don't have to think about the computer... I want to concentrate on writing code, paying bills, chatting with people, etc... I absolutely do not want to spend my time messing with OS screwups and updates gone bad... I want to USE the computer, not FIX it.

And If I did install a new program or an update to a program that crashed my system... it would last about 3 secongs longer than it takes to uninstall it.

 

[Lordbob75]

Ok then. Just because you have a firewall does not mean you cannot be hacked.

Actually it does... The whole concept of a firewall is that nobody gets by it from the WAN side ... You can't connect to a machine you can't see...

First off, you can still see the router that the firewall is on.
Second, firewalls can be by-passed.

Now, what about stability updates? User interface updates? Service Packs?
Just because your system works now, does not mean it will in a week. Something you install (say a new program) can crash the computer. MS may have known about that and released a patch to cover it, which you didn't install.

See my point?

Actually... baring hardware failures... if my system works properly now, it will still work properly in 1500 years... unless I change something. You see the goal is to get the Operating System and various softwares stable enough that I don't have to think about the computer... I want to concentrate on writing code, paying bills, chatting with people, etc... I absolutely do not want to spend my time messing with OS screwups and updates gone bad... I want to USE the computer, not FIX it.

And If I did install a new program or an update to a program that crashed my system... it would last about 3 secongs longer than it takes to uninstall it.[/QUOTE]
Or unless something you did with your "stable" software messed it up through a bug in the OS or software code.

~Lordbob

 

[MadMaxData]

Ok then. Just because you have a firewall does not mean you cannot be hacked.

If it's configured properly it does.

If you have a computer, eventually someone will give it a shot (not necessarily successfully).

Seriously? That sounds a bit like paranoia to me Bro. I ran XP-Pro on my test machine for over a year without a applying a single update, and didn't get a single infection [not counting tracking cookies]. No anti-virus software installed either.

 

[Lordbob75]

Ok then. Just because you have a firewall does not mean you cannot be hacked.

If it's configured properly it does.

Actually, a firewall can be by-passed. Period.
There will always be a way in.

I am not saying it is a plausible way, just saying it is possible.

If you have a computer, eventually someone will give it a shot (not necessarily successfully).

Seriously? That sounds a bit like paranoia to me Bro. I ran XP-Pro on my test machine for over a year without a applying a single update, and didn't get a single infection [not counting tracking cookies]. No anti-virus software installed either.

I did not say infected. I said someone will eventually test your computer, even if they probably fail.
I unfortunately can find no information to back this up, but I do recall reading something about it before...

~Lordbob

 

[MadMaxData]

Actually, a firewall can be by-passed. Period.
There will always be a way in.

I am not saying it is a plausible way, just saying it is possible.

Agreed. It is indeed possible. But highly unlikely.

I said someone will eventually test your computer, even if they probably fail.

I probably have the same chances of hitting the lottery, but yes, it can happen.

I unfortunately can find no information to back this up, but I do recall reading something about it before...

Huh? You totally lost me there Bro. Read about what?

 

[zzz2496]

I agree with much of the first post. The perfect OS would allow me to choose everything I wanted, and nothing I didn't. Pretty simple.

Well, that's my version of a "perfect" OS...

zzz2496

Don't tell me. You work in sales for Linux?

No, I don't sell Linux for living... But I do get money from setting up servers running Linux... And for now, Linux made my whole computing experience a whole lot better (in server world). That's it

zzz2496

 

[zzz2496]

Lordbob75, unless you know what/how Firewalls work, please don't say anything like "Second, firewalls can be by-passed.". There are MANY Different types of firewalls. Microsoft gave you the basic form of firewall. If you use an enterprise grade firewall and make it "super safe", as in nothing from "Internet" can go in, and everything that wants to go out are always checked, there is virtually NO WAY you can "bypass" it... Most of enterprise grade firewalls can even shutdown the connection if "something happens", which is not great for hackers... Some of them even have Deep Packet Inspection module. It could actually see what's coming and going... Unless you know what you're talking about, don't say a foolish things about firewall... Please.

zzz2496

P.s: Some types of Firewall: NAT/PAT/Stateful. Maybe I'll make a guide about it... If you combine it with an IDS/IPS system, it'll take the basic NAT/PAT/Stateful firewall to a whole different level...

 

[MadMaxData]

No, I don't sell Linux for living... But I do get money from setting up servers running Linux... And for now, Linux made my whole computing experience a whole lot better (in server world). That's it

zzz2496

You know, I've been intrigued with that OS for quite some time now, but have yet to give it a go. I guess there's just too much work for me personally with Windows, to start to venture into unchartered waters with Linux. I'm thinking it would be like starting all over again with a different OS. It took me FOREVER to get a firm grasp on Windows [which pales in comparrison to some IT pros]. So it's the thought of even more endless work that has kept me from checking it out. You know what I mean?

Lordbob75, unless you know what/how Firewalls work, please don't say anything like "Second, firewalls can be by-passed.".

Well, that was kinda' abrasive, but you said it, not me....LOL

If anyone thinks they can hack my firewall, then by all means give it a shot. Need my IP?

 

[zzz2496]

No, I don't sell Linux for living... But I do get money from setting up servers running Linux... And for now, Linux made my whole computing experience a whole lot better (in server world). That's it

zzz2496

You know, I've been intrigued with that OS for quite some time now, but have yet to give it a go. I guess there's just too much work for me personally with Windows, to start to venture into unchartered waters with Linux. I'm thinking it would be like starting all over again with a different OS. It took me FOREVER to get a firm grasp on Windows [which pales in comparrison to some IT pros]. So it's the thought of even more endless work that has kept me from checking it out. You know what I mean?

Yeah, I know My days with Linux changed my "view" of computing world. Add few days with an IBM P Series server to it, the "view" got even broader. Back in the day when VMware only has VMware workstation, I saw IBM PowerVM, a true hypervisor with almost limitless management capabilities, and it already can Live Migrate Guest OSes to another PowerVM hosts, FREAKING AWESOME !!!

All you need is to keep a VERY OPEN MIND when you face Linux. It's not Windows, it will never be like Windows, so you need to learn Linux's way - I suggest you start with the console mode Linux, DO NOT TOUCH Linux's GUI just yet, it keeps you from comparing it directly to Windows from get go. Until you understand the "Linux way", don't touch GUI yet. Once you do, hack away

zzz2496

 

[MadMaxData]

I suggest you start with the console mode Linux...

Do you have a link to that? I have a 20Gig HDD that's not currently in use. Is that big enough to install the OS, and check it out? It will be installed on an old socket-A board, with 1Gig of RAM. Does that meet the requirements? What the hell, I'll give it a shot, if you can provide a link to a free trial version.

 

[zzz2496]

There's no "link to free trial", every Linux is free - unless you need a professional support to back you up. Try OpenSuSE 11.2 then, it's a good distro to start with. It's a full "Linux", the installer has the capability to install Text mode and GUI installations. So... Install the text mode to learn your ways in Linux...

zzz2496

P.s: you can add the GUI later on... The beauty of LINUX !!!!

 

[MadMaxData]

So that's a link to the console mode you were talking about? If not, shouldn't I start out with the regular Linux OS?

 

[smarteyeball]

I wish to revise my statement RE the perfect OS:

The perfect OS would be so perfect that nobody could bitch about anything to do with an OS

, DO NOT TOUCH Linux's GUI just yet, it keeps you from comparing it directly to Windows from get go.

Sage advice.

Not to mention that distro dependant, a lot of the the times - out of the box the GUI has a nasty habit of either:

A: Breaking something which requires a trip to the CLI anyway
or
B: It just doesn't work like it's supposed to. (I'm looking more at you KDE 4.x )

(although I do like my GUI - It's the Windows in me )

And yep - approaching Linux with a Windows mindset is a recipe for frustration and failure

 

[MadMaxData]

So which version of Linux do you think I should start out with Smartey? Got a link?

 

[zzz2496]

I'm still proposing OpenSuSE 11.2... In the installation process, you can select a "Server installation (text mode)" instead of KDE/GNOME

zzz2496

 

[MadMaxData]

I'm still proposing OpenSuSE 11.2... In the installation process, you can select a "Server installation (text mode)" instead of KDE/GNOME

zzz2496

Okie dokie, I'm gonna' go download it now. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll let you know what I think in a few days or so.

 

[zzz2496]

I wish to revise my statement RE the perfect OS:

The perfect OS would be so perfect that nobody could bitch about anything to do with an OS

, DO NOT TOUCH Linux's GUI just yet, it keeps you from comparing it directly to Windows from get go.

In my view, everybody in here's "perfect OS" is Windows without Windows deficiencies, it's hard for any of us real computer users that use computers as computers (not computer users as a Windows users) to say that there are other OSes that is better than Windows that comes with a catch - It's not Windows, thus it's not a better OS...

Sage advice.

Not to mention that distro dependant, a lot of the the times - out of the box the GUI has a nasty habit of either:

A: Breaking something which requires a trip to the CLI anyway
or
B: It just doesn't work like it's supposed to. (I'm looking more at you KDE 4.x )

(although I do like my GUI - It's the Windows in me )

And yep - approaching Linux with a Windows mindset is a recipe for frustration and failure

Unless you know how Linux work, you don't need to use CLI to destroy the system. Heck, you can access the /bin, /sbin or whatever through a super-user mode file manager (that is Explorer run with Administrator rights in Windows lingo), and be done with it... GUI is just another shell started by X server... nothing more...

zzz2496

 

[jimbo45]

So that's a link to the console mode you were talking about? If not, shouldn't I start out with the regular Linux OS?

A Regular Linux :devil: Now that's almost a contradiction in terms.

Linux comes in an almost infinite variety of "Distros" which at the same time is both its STRENGTH and WEAKNESS.

Strength because it's infinitely customisable and can be made to look and run (with effort of course) in anyway you choose, and weakness because there will never be a "Bog Standard" Linux - which makes it highly unsuitable for large scale desktop deployments.

For Servers it's hugely robust and if you want to mess around at home with server software this is a cheap and great introduction. Most Linux distros are totally free and there is a HUGE amount of open source software. If stuff doesn't work there are loads of decent forums -- I like this one LinuxQuestions.org

Windows works "Straight out of the box" and is easy(ish) to deploy and mainatin on workplace desktops - and if stuff doesn't work eventually MS will sort out mostr problems.

Linux is more of a "DIY" approach but the rewards are great when you get a highly customised system working just the way YOU want it to.

Open SUSE 11.2 is a good choice to start -- the main GUI is either KDE ("Windows Like") or GNOME -- but you can install BOTH.

The FEDORA project (used to be the NON commercial part of RED HAT -- also a much used distribution) is also worth a look at and some people swear by UBUNTU.

The good thing is you can try ALL of them at NO COST other than your time. They will all usually run on quite modest hardware - and you could even consider running them as Virtual Machines.

Cheers
jimbo