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posted by martyb on Friday June 30 2017, @10:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the thank-you-captain-obvious dept.

Bryan Lunduke at Network World calls out what other mainstream media have been too timid, or bought out, to call out. He starts by pointing out that choosing Microsoft Windows for your organization should get you fired and that if you haven't already replaced Windows, across the board, you absolutely stink at your job.

There. Finally the topic is broached in mainstream media and a proper discussion can now start among decision makers who can arrange complete migrations to GNU/Linux, Chrome/Linux, one of the BSDs, or a combination of them.

As Microsoft security problems continue to escalate since even the pre-networked, MS-DOS days, managers and front-line grunts will find themselves increasingly culpable for selecting unviable software, such as Microsoft Windows. If they wish to pay big bucks for maintenance, there are plenty of companies around to participate in the money. Canonical, Red Hat, M:Tier are just a sampling.

[Ed. Note: I debated whether or not to run this story — in some respects it's just the Windows vs *nix argument all over again. Also, there are proprietary programs which are critical for certain industries which currently only run on Windows. On the other hand, gaining a mention like this in the more mainstream media, does that mean we are approaching an inflection point? Witness the increased displeasure with Windows 10's telemetry and the difficulty in completely blocking it. What programs do you use that are only available on Windows? What keeps you from moving to another OS? --martyb]


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 30 2017, @05:57PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 30 2017, @05:57PM (#533585)

    I really hope it turns the big publishers' heads.

    All I use my Windows 8.1 install for is video games. I have updates turned off, and if it gets pwn3d, I just wipe and install again.

    The hundreds (thousands?) of games currently available for Linux on Steam are great and all. However, nobody I know is playing any of them at the moment. There's an MMORPG I use an English translation patch to play at the moment. Skyrim and Fallout 4 were both really good. I'm hoping to enjoy the Monster Hunter game coming to PC next year. All Windows-only.

    I can play Civ 4 with WINE under Linux. It runs four times as slowly as on Windows, which makes Caveman2Cosmos unplayable on the biggest maps. It can handle BtS with WINE decently.

    Star Citizen is the only game I'm interested in that might have a Linux release. (Assuming it has any release, lol.)

    I hope that changes. I really do. I am constantly irritated with dual-booting, but what else would I do?

    (Heaven forbid, I could read a book instead of playing video games! I assure you, that option is not on the table.)

  • (Score: 1) by jrial on Monday July 03 2017, @11:52PM

    by jrial (5162) on Monday July 03 2017, @11:52PM (#534612)

    I was in your situation back in the early 2000's, when I got fed up with dual booting and finally switched full-time to Linux. Didn't even have a console to get my gaming fix, so gaming for me became the occasional game that got a Linux release (the Quake games, Prey, and that was pretty much it).

    Now, with Steam, I have like, I don't know, 250 games or thereabouts in my collection. Most of them unplayed. Sure, they're mostly Indie stuff rather than AAA titles (Tomb Raider 2013 being the exception to the rule). Then again, as I've grown a bit older, I have come to appreciate the indie gaming scene a lot more than the constant rehashes the big studios keep pumping out.

    YMMV, and I'm not criticising your choices nor your taste in games. Just saying that for me, the gaming scene on Linux is pretty much more than what I need. But yes, sometimes this gem comes around that you would really love to play, but that just won't get a Linux port, so it's far from perfect yet.

    --
    Install windows on my workstation? You crazy? Got any idea how much I paid for the damn thing?