Windows--98, 2000, ME, XP???

[MossRoad]

Geeks are always satisfied with something they can tinker with. Linux is a very fun tinker toy. Therefore, it must be a duck. I, personally, like Mandrake the best out of all operating systems. But you will never see it in my office, where I make my living, until it is the number 1 distributed and supported OS in the country. BAAA, I'm a sheep, and if everyone else jumped off a bridge, I would too. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

<font color=green> MossRoad </font color=green>

 

[glennmac]

More on the CNET XP polls. There actually are polls on four different versions of XP, which is why Huck is posting different numbers. Here they all are with the number of participants in parentheses:

XP Professional (full version) -- 63% (89)
XP Professional (upgrade version) -- 62% (38)
XP Home (full) -- 48% (1805)
XP Home (upgrade) -- 52% (97)

As you can see, the full and upgrade ratings are very close to each other for both the Pro and Home versions.

I think one can conclude from the CNET and Epinion polls that Windows is the lowest rated operating system going, particularly for non-professionals, except (anomalously) for Windows 2000.

 

[huckflynn]

<font color=blue>I think one can conclude from the CNET and Epinion polls that Windows is the lowest rated operating system going, particularly for non-professionals, except (anomalously) for Windows 2000.</font color=blue>

Talk about your anomalies. What is Microsoft Windows market share? It's what we love to hate. Go figure.

(by the way -- I could not find XP Home (full) on the CNET review pages. Found all the others -- but not that one.)

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>What is Red Hat, anyway?</font color=blue>

A commercial version of Linux.

 

[huckflynn]

"Microsoft’s share of PC operating system sales has been above 90 percent every year for the last decade. For the last couple of years, its share has been above 95 percent. " -- Creating Competition in the Market for Operating Systems: A Structural Remedy for Microsoft

So Microsoft is a monopoly -- we don't have a lot of choice -- we're squeezed into picking Microsoft. It seems that could account for some resentment toward Microsoft. Clicking "Thumbs Down" on some web page might be a convenient way of reflecting that resentment. Still, the CNET reviews don't really show that resentment. For the number of Mac users weighing in there were relatively few Windows users based on market share. And many of the negative "reviews" I read were nothing more than rants about Microsoft (many of them were complaints that Microsoft copies the Mac.)

I think there may be a new "silent majority." Computer users who are not unhappy with their computers and are not so aware of the operating system itself that they would bother to answer a thumbs up/down survey.

 

[huckflynn]

Zealots. I tell you, those Mac users are a bunch of zealots!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

You're close on a few things glennmac. But you are wrong about free will. We all have complete free will -- but we are pragmatic -- and pragmatism often imposes itself on our decision making process. I like to eat. I write programs for Windows. I don't have a loyalty to Microsoft. I have a fondness for food.

 

[Bird]

Glennmac, I think I pretty well understand most of what you're saying this time - which is stretch for a feller who knows no more about computers than I./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif The first IBM I bought (moving up from Radio Shack) came with OS/2 installed, but also came with a set of floppy disks to delete it and install Windows 3.1, which I did because everyone I knew at the time who could bail me out when I didn't understand something was using MS Windows.

Bird

 

[Buck]

Bird,

I wouldn't worry for one second about your choice. ME is fine.

Buck

 

[scruffy]

Buck, <font color=blue>ME is fine</font color=blue>
For What? My Wife (admittedly nuts) loves it, and for her usage, has no problems with it. For my purposes, ME was a royal pain in the rump, and always a problem. Admittedly, big differance in ways of using, and programs used with. That is why I dropped back to 98SE...for my way of using/needs, it is much more stable for me.
For Glennmac, or most of the average users, ME would probably be ok also, even though it is NOT a stable platform.
For some links to articles on XP, and related issues see attachment above.