100% Microsoft free

[colyn]

In addition to my Mac laptop and desktop I now have my former Microsoft computer converted to Ubuntu Linux.

No more virus/spyware worries and a far more stable operating system..

Gimp should be fun to learn...

 

[ChadHahn]

There is a version called Gimpshop which is supposed to be just like Photoshop, it isn't but it's pretty close.

Chad

 

[w3rk5]

Way to go Colyn........I'll be joining that club sooner than later.

 

[captainslack]

Good for you!! I still have XP desktop, but only because it's fairly new and I've been too lazy to change it.

Down with Redmond!!!!

 

[Kin Lau]

There's also Lightzone that's available for Linux (free too) now.... I haven't install it yet, but it looks to be functionally similar to Photoshop.

 

[hth]

I have never had a Microsoft in my life, except for the forced on MS Basic that came with early Amigas (which I never used). I have not ever owned an Intel based machine either, and I have been using computers for 25 years, and I am not really a Mac person either.

Commodore stuff in the early days, then UNIX for the last 15 years. I am stubborn, but converted to Mac after they converted to UNIX.

UNIX won! I now run PS CS2 and all the stuff I want, finally!

/Håkan

 

[sepiareverb]

Proud to say I've never used a microsoft product on any of my machines. I've been on Mac since I started using computers, and my first machine was a duo210, followed by a G3iBook, then this here G4 PowerBook. Do occasionally have to wade into a microsoft puddle at work, but a quick shower usually takes care of any lingering odor.

 

[kaiyen]

Yeah! And I hope that all those people in Redmond lose their jobs...and...get stuck at home watching DVDs for the rest of their lives...and...have no friends! Yeah! They suck!

🙂

platform-agnostically yours,
allan

 

[sf]

Tell you what, Colyn, I own a macbook right now, and I'd have to say that OS X is the worst operating system I have ever used. It crashes...5-10 times a day. No kidding. The OS, applications, etc. Awful. I actually miss Windows, and that's saying alot.

 

[Pablito]

Oh, I'm with you. Am I ever. Unfortunately, while I've never used anything but Macs, the university where I work uses Office as their primary shared software. So while I could use a different Mac word processor, for instance, I'd end up having to save as a Word doc to share with colleagues. I'd LOVE to jettison Office, but it ain't happening any time soon.

 

[kaiyen]

Shutterflower,
Have you ever considered just giving up computers in general? Vuescan's interface sucks so much you are on a mission, OS X crashes all the time (I'm not even a huge mac fan, but OS X is one stable OS, in general, unless you have some weird kernel panics going on), etc. Have you considered other causes? Bad RAM? HD?

I hope you get the computer things sorted out.

allan

 

[kaiyen]

Pablito - why not OpenOffice x11 or NeoOffice? I mean, if you really want to get out there.

allan

 

[Pablito]

shutterflower, that just is not right and I'm sure it can be fixed. It may be a hardware issue. I own 5 macs including the one at work (which isn't really mine), all on OSX and I have not had a single crash on an OSX machine EVER. OK, maybe one or two since the release of OSX. I use all sorts of software, hardware, and peripherals. My Mac-using colleagues report the same reliability. I boot my machines so rarely I need to keep track of my password or I'd forget it.

 

[Pablito]

I'll look into those alternatives, Allan. Thanks. Had not heard of them before.

 

[LeicaM3]

Commodore stuff in the early days, then UNIX for the last 15 years. I am stubborn, but converted to Mac after they converted to UNIX.

UNIX won! I now run PS CS2 and all the stuff I want, finally!

/Håkan

Another UNIX user here.
I do run OSX, especially for desktop / photo. OpenBSD for firewalls, servers etc.
This works fine as mentioned: Gimpshop

For papers I use LaTeX, MS Office has problems with longer documents, and large bibliographies anyway. WYWIWYG beats WYSIWYG by a long shot. 😀😀😀




http://gimpshop.net

 

[ywenz]

I've had 4 Kernel Panics in 2 weeks on my new MacBook.. panic.log says it is having to do with the airport driver. Discussions at apple's forum says the culprit might be the brand of the router being used. (Is that a freakin' joke? The router would cause the MacBook's airport card to crap out and then crap out the entire OS!?!?!) My 4 year old WinXP desktop has not needed reboots in months... advantage so far: Microsoft

Gimp sucks.. plain and simple. There is a reason why it is GNU freeware. It's better than nothing but ain't nothing compared to even Photoshop Elements.

I have WinXP installed on my MacBook as a dual boot where I run Sony Vegas NLE. Unknown to many, Sony Vegas run circles around FCP. My direct comparison of the two on the same machine confirms this fact.

Before the switch to Intel, Mac+OSX was a joke of a computer compared to PCs.. I mean any system that slows down when scrolling a webpage with flash elements in it shows you how deficient its performance is. The Mac in essence is "catching" up with the rest of the computing world..

My new MacBook is also plagued with the well known flickering LCD issue. Apple has been censoring posts that talks about this issue. One thread had over 250 replies was deleted by Apple..

Read here: http://www.appledefects.com/?p=245

and here: http://www.appledefects.com/?p=179