MS Propaganda against Linux

And OSX users: don't feel left out. You get some love too:

Source: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2 … rs-too.ars

Look, it isn't propaganda if it's true. I'm sorry to say it, but as I sit here running Crunchbang, I can't think of a single thing on that list that isn't 100% accurate.

I'd elaborate more, but I have some World of Warcraft to play.

Video chat, printers, and games are all not 100% true to my understanding

And what's the prob with video chat?? Skype, aMsn....
Software compatibility: yes, you don't have natively the Adobe suit, but have other stuff, and wine can help you out from the shit...
Printers: At the firm I work, we have network printers, adding a network printer on Win=waiting for minutes, adding on #! or other penguin stuff=just secs thanks to CUPS, and HPlip
Cam, iPod,  I can using them, correctly.

And what about the viruses, and other bad stuff.... Or what about the memory eater virusbusters, and the MSN eye candy smiley-packs bullshit?
And what about the long-long uptimes, and multitasking on Linux, without freezing....?

Everyone can use the perfect choise........
Chose a system to your usage, not the usage to your system...

I'm at the level where I can keep WinXP very secure but Linux is often frustrating. Nobody I know can keep Windows cruft-free and I just roll my eyes when friends relate their issues. I really would like to help but I know what I'd be letting myself in for - I've been down that road too many times. I've installed a few versions of Linux for one friend and that's it. I'm not yet at the level where problems/solutions are obvious and I can simply fix or provide simple instructions.

My biggest gripe is hibernate/suspend. On this machine Linux hibernates - just about - whereas suspend kills it. On friend's Eee suspend works well - often second attempt needed - and hibernate rarely. On Windows hibernate is quick and assured - so is suspend - no need to watch the process to make sure it happens.

Regarding uptime: I had a crufty install of Crunchbang where X would crash every other day. On a normal install it might be fortnightly. Firefox just disappears on a fairly regular basis. On Windows the famed BSOD probably occurred every couple of months and Firefox has rarely crashed since version 3. Uptime probably gets close to a month (then Patch Tuesday).

Re keeping things up to date: I just know how to do that with Windows. I'm so familiar with it. On Linux I run into many many problems. On Windows I would have Pidgin 2.6.2 and Firefox 3.5.3 already.

I'm still with Linux and these days I feel very underwhelmed and unsatisfied when I have to boot into Windows. The main thing I like in Linux is the general 'hackability' - scripts, config files, everything has a command. I feel like I'm gaining some really useful knowledge as well. Hopefully I'll be able to start helping others.

Sorry for not keeping up with the general spirit of the thread!

omg, marketeers are telling a one-sided story!

nothing new there.....

i must admit i do laugh at windows these days mainly for their inability to reinvent themselves with something new!
i must say the comparison to a mac is along the lines of true, but "users have less to learn when starting on win7" is only true because windows is crowbar'd into kids from school age and the majority of work places use the same, hence its a standard.

That said its not a standard that has to be followed, in my line of work, windows is the norm as most companies that come to us use powerpoint, and for mainly compatipility issues. (or keynote on mac) i carry my netbook with ooo impress on as a back up and has got me out of many a deep hole.
my choice is to use an os that is different and challenges me to think about how to use it and change it. plus any normal person comes along never using #! and my desktop and data is pretty safe cos there is no desktop icons to encourage a click from clients walking past!!!

sorry if going off topic slightly i kinda just kept going!

I have been using linux for over 3 years now. Not a long time, I know, but the experience I have gained gives me some perspective on the Windows vs. Linux brew ha ha. I can do "nearly" every single thing I need, from working with photo's to bloging, etc, with Linux. Granted, there needs to be improvement in all areas, but, it works, and works  well. That said, I keep XP for those things that work better under MS. Not being a gamer, MS has no advantage for me there. I have played some first person shooter Linux games and enjoyed them on my decidedly non-gaming, 3 1/2 year old, Sony Vaio laptop. For me I use MS for those rare .pdf files that will not open (?) in Linux, and for MSoffice '07, because I paid for it. And really that is about it. I have lived without any MS product and got along quite well. The learning curve was steep, but taught me a lot. And I could install OO and acroread in #!, but why f*** up a great OS with those heavy lifters? MS is all about FUD. I went to school and got my MS cert's. They clearly explained the MS business model. Ship it less than perfect and with holes, because that creates tech jobs. Simple as that.

Free your Software -- Free your Life

    ASUS eee pc 1005HA -- awesome#!

@rsw

Just a few counter points:

Camera, iPod, mp3 compatibility
Printers and scanners compatibility

My irritation from this statement stems from the fact that what they mean to say are the iPhone, iPod Touch, and to a much lesser extent, the Zune. Personally I just find it disingenuous not to be precise simply because they don't want to call attention to a competitor, and instead use a blanket statement.

Software compatibility

The problem with this is that it is a completely nonsensical statement. Again, they are using a blanket statement instead of being precise. Saying that you have better software compatibility is essentially meaningless as Windows lacks compatibility with both Linux and OSX applications as well. They really should have clarified with something along the lines of: "... better compatibility with the software you know and use, such as Office, Outlook and iTunes."

But then again, they would be drawing attention to a competitor, which they avoid doing.

Windows Live Essentials

Nothing to argue here. I suppose it is a valid point. (Although I cannot fathom a situation where this is the deciding factor in OS choice)

The games your customers want

This is very true, BUT, and this is a big but, they specifically point out a game that runs amazingly well in Linux. They picked World of Warcraft simply because of it's popularity, rather than issuing a factual statement. If they had said "like Crysis" or some other game that does not run in Linux (or run well), it would have been completely valid. But they specifically pick one of the games that runs the best simply because it is popular.

Authorized support

This I disagree with completely. Microsoft offers next to zero support for an OEM license. That typically comes from the PC maker. On the other hand, most of the big names in Linux (such as Canonical) do offer different levels of paid support.

Video chat on all major IM networks

This is trueish, but I do believe that the latest version of Pidgin has been cracking out the video chat (not 100% sure as it is a feature I don't use).

The big lie (and it isn't shown in the image above but was readily displayed on all the sites featuring the story) was that they proclaimed that Linux being more secure than Windows to be a Myth.

Funny thing. This kind of marketing is illegal in Germany.

I have a Samsung Omnia cell phone that has Windows Mobile on it. I can use it for mobile broadband (CDMA). For Windows Vista to work, I had to install a driver, which took about 15 to 20 minutes. For Crunchbang, it was already there with NetworkManager; no install or update needed. Compatibility issues?