CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/84429051/article.pl ------------ I suppose the near future will show many computers being sold on ebay for cheap. Could the next few years be the best time to create your very own personal beowolf cluster? ------------------ |
samw3 Member Posts: 542 From: Toccoa, GA, USA Registered: 08-15-2006 |
Like I said previously, Vista will signal my full switch to ubuntu linux. ------------------ |
kenman Member Posts: 518 From: Janesville WI Registered: 08-31-2006 |
Have you looked at Ebay recently. $150 gets you a used XP pro >2.0 GHZ system. This trend will continue as many businesses are upgrading (or laterograding as Vista probably is a lateral movement at this point) to new computers. I wouldn't be suprized to see these systems fall under $100 by summer. I wonder if anyone else besides me in the CCN is planning on upgrading to Vista soon? It would be a very good indicator of my lack of sanity. |
SSquared Member Posts: 654 From: Pacific Northwest Registered: 03-22-2005 |
Well, I have been contemplating a laptop for months. I missed the XP boat, so looks like I will end up getting Vista. Some of my fears have been laid to rest as Microsoft has ALREADY released their first compatibility update for apps/games. Although, now that Vista is out, I am not in any major rush to get a new computer. One of my most important reasons for the computer is to download/view/edit photos while I'm on the road/vacation/away from home. I don't see that happening anytime soon, so I feel I can wait for the Vista dust to settle and for current prices to drop a wee bit more. In the meantime, the laptop purchase may be switched to a telephoto lens. |
steveth45 Member Posts: 536 From: Eugene, OR, USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
My laptop has been dual boot XP/Suse Linux for as long as I've had it, but I've been in Windows land for awhile. In response to the Vista craze, I installed the latest version of OpenSuse: 10.2 on my laptop. Once again, Linux has taken a big step up in usability. Not only did my wireless card work perfectly without me doing anything, but I was able to configure my USB headphones to work and even set them as the default sound device instead of the built-in sound card. This was a big hassle for me before, but it was relatively painless this time. BTW, Linux has had the whole "desktop search" thing for a while now with Beagle, where you can find personal files/webpages/things you've downloaded/software with a simple search. So Vista's fancy new start menu is no fancier or nicer than KDE's menu. It only took me a few minutes to download and install the latest ATI drivers for my video card. I may actually nuke my Windows partition, or at least shrink it considerably, as I have almost no more need for it. The reason I'd keep it is to make Windows builds of any games or software I may want to make in the future. I downloaded Code::Blocks for Linux, and it is a very nice IDE--way better than KDevelop, with many of the features for C++ development that make VC++ so nice. For 3D modeling and animation I can use Wings3D and Blender. For C# development, there's Monodevelop. For the rest there's Firefox, Gimp, OpenOffice, etc. ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
I'm planning to get Vista, but it won't be till a get a new computer in June. ------------------ |
Valkyri Member Posts: 205 From: Registered: 08-13-2005 |
I've been running Linux the past year and still love it! Plan on getting a new system in a couple of months and will probably dual boot it with small w2k partition (to play games) and big Kubuntu 6.06 64-bit partition. Kubuntu has served all my needs over and beyond. Got 6 servers running stable on a machine that's 6-years old! I don't intend to get windows vista anytime soon. That way prices will be a little better and less bugs. ------------------ |
Mene-Mene Member Posts: 1398 From: Fort Wayne, IN, USA Registered: 10-23-2006 |
I'm hoping to make the switch to *buntu/*nix. Probably either Xubunto (my dad has it) or Kubunto. ------------------ |
Lazarus Member Posts: 1668 From: USA Registered: 06-06-2006 |
My Dad was going to get a couple computers for his business and for our home, but every store around here only had computers with Vista. He got pretty mad, let me tell you.  I've already got a beta dual-booting on my desktop - can't imagine why I haven't formatted that partition after playing with Vista for a while. |
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steveth45 Member Posts: 536 From: Eugene, OR, USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
One of the big hypes about Vista, is the "compositing" desktop. Essentially, it's using the 3D acceleration of the video card to do cool things with windows, like transparency, shrinking and enlarging them, etc. Well, ask any Mac user, they've already had this for a couple years. Even Linux beat Microsoft to the punch with Xgl/Compiz shipping with standard distributions before Vista went gold. With openSUSE 10.2, all I had to do was change one setting and reboot, and I had my 3D desktop. I looks like the screenshot on this page : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiz Not only is your desktop spread out over a cube that you can spin around, window transparency, and other eye candy, there are real productivity enhancements. If I move my mouse to the upper right hand corner of the screen, all the windows shrink into a grid, so I can see them, pick one, and they all pop back to normal size, with the one I selected on top. At home I work on my laptop, with one screen, so this feature is very helpful. It is very similar to something I've seen in OS X on my friend's laptop. It also runs on top of KDE (or Gnome), so you don't have to lose your favorite window manager. ------------------ |
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CPUFreak91 Member Posts: 2337 From: Registered: 02-01-2005 |
quote: Ugh tell me about it. I had a hard time convincing a Windows fanboy that Linux had 3D desktops a year or two before Vista did. I'm staying away from vista and getting a mac. I plan to run Linux, OSX and *BSD on it. I'm hoping to develop games for XP and the Wii, and if I have to get vista to test my games on it well, then, hopefully it will be on a crappy computer or it will be emulated because I'm not putting vista on any of my current computers. Does anyone have trouble with Vista's freedom restrictions? (Like Free Software Foundation [and their anti-DRM campaign] defined-freedoms) ------------------ |
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steveth45 Member Posts: 536 From: Eugene, OR, USA Registered: 08-10-2005 |
quote: Well, I'm currently working on a game for the Wii. You don't need Vista. All of the computers at work have XP on them. I hear that Wii dev kits run a lot cheaper than most other console dev kits. Unfortunately, you have to either be a developer in a relationship with a large publisher, or at a educational institution to get your hands on one. Then, it's still up to Nintendo to approve your game for licensing on the Wii. I believe the original NES was the last console to have commercially successful unlicensed games.
quote: Yes, but only a little since I'll never use Vista at home, and it will be at least 3 or 4 years (I'm guessing) before I have to use it at work, if ever. I don't like feeling like a slave to my tools (computers), they are expensive and software should be designed to allow maximum functionality. Also, most DRM is a violation of fair use rights. It's smart to make a backup of all your purchased disc-based media in case of scratches, it's also your legal right. DRM tries to disallow this behavior. ------------------ |
bennythebear Member Posts: 1225 From: kentucky,usa Registered: 12-13-2003 |
i would try using linux more but i'm learning and going with the visual studio route of programming, so linux really woudln't work for me right now, but i do intend on getting a linux computer up and messing with some php, and trying to get an apache server set up. as for windows vista, it looks pretty, but i'm not about to dish out $300-$400 to get the parts i need, and then a little over $200 for vista ultimate(OEM edition people...CHEAPER). ------------------ proverbs 25:7 www.gfa.org - Gospel for Asia www.persecution.com - Voice of the Martyrs |
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