[Charlug] Windows Abandonment Roadmap

[Bob Evans]

I'm lazy. I've had VMware for Linux for years. I keep an old version of
Windows handy. (NT version 4?)

If/when I need a windows, I crank up the VMware app.

(I barely use it now. Typically, I crank it up if I have a customer with a
Windows need, & I need to test some code...)

-Bob Evans




2009/3/20 Dennis Clark <boomfish at gmail.com>

> On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 1:45 PM, C. Michael Pilato <cmpilato at red-bean.com=
>wrote:
>
>>
>> In general, I'd also like to be able to exchange ideas around what I call
>> a
>> "Windows Abandonment Roadmap".  I want to get myself, my wife, my parent=
s,
>> my church, and everybody else I can off of Windows and onto Linux.  Toda=
y,
>> many open source software programs can get us some percentage of the
>> desired
>> freedom, at some interesting costs in terms of still being to interact
>> with
>> a Windowsful world.  I'd like to share/hear ideas about what softwares
>> (either installed or Web-hosted) are best closing that gap.
>
>
> Indeed. Despite being savvy with Linux, it has not been my primary desktop
> OS at home for over 10 years now. I hope to change this situation soon as=
 I
> recently wiped my previous Debian 4.0 installation and replaced it with a
> fresh Debian 5.0 installation. I also switched from x86 to amd64 which is
> why it had to be a reinstall instead of simply an upgrade.
>
> So why do I believe I will switch my primary desktop OS now after putting
> it off for so long?  Well, for three reasons:
>
>    1. Lenny (Debian 5.0) is the first Debian release to include compiled
>    packages for non-free NVIDIA drivers that support my GeForce 8800 GTS =
512.
>    Compiling the NVIDIA packages on my own is possible but seriously pain=
ful.
>    The free drivers worked, but did not seem to support independent scree=
ns for
>    my two monitors (it would only clone them). Furthermore I have quite a=
 few
>    Windows games so I want the 3D acceleration support in the non-free dr=
ivers
>    so I can use Cedega.
>    2. I recently upgraded my RAM to 4GB, and my Windows Vista cannot use
>    more than 3.5GB (since it is a 32-bit OS without PAE support). My new =
Debian
>    install is 64-bit so it can use all the RAM I can throw at it. More
>    available RAM makes it more feasible for me to run the few Windows-only
>    applications I still need in a Virtual Machine.
>
> One obstacle for switching to Linux as my primary desktop remains. I like
> to use my GeForce card to do GPGPU crunching with the GPUGRID.net project,
> and although GPUGRID.net has a 64-bit Linux client it requires the CUDA 2=
.0
> SDK and NVIDIA doesn't provide a Debian installation package for it. This
> will soon become a moot point though as GPGPU crunching on my 8800 GTS
> generates too much heat for me to do it in my apartment during the warmer
> months. I expect to have a solution to this before it gets cool enough ag=
ain
> to resume my GPGPU crunching.
>
> I may ask for advice here and there as I get more into using Linux as a
> desktop OS. I'll RTFM whenever I can so my questions shouldn't be too
> stupid.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Dennis
>
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>


-- =

Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no
exceptions to this rule.
 - Stephen King



I
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