Comments on: Does the Operating System matter any more?

By: Isaac Harrison

Isaac Harrison — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:06:22 +0000

For me, the best operating system is Linux because it rarely hangs.”-:

By: Rick

Rick — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:34:01 +0000

I like your thinking…SIMPLIFY the OS, and let the user add only what is necessary for them. I like it.

By: Ralph

Ralph — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:39:39 +0000

I’d love to see the cloud force operating systems back to their original function – wait for it – OPERATING THE COMPUTER SYSTEM!!! The operating system is supposed to make the storage drives, printers and other peripherals function harmoniously. The OS is supposed to handle the memory and provide a mechanism for running more than one program at the same time. Instead we get this multitentacled monstrosity that is part OS, part program, part menu system and all nightmare.

BTW, you will *always* have an OS on your computer, so your question is not correctly phrased. And I have lots of non-cloud programs that get their data from the internet, so there isn’t a clear distinction between cloud and local programs.

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:07:00 +0000

OpenOffice.org opens almost all Microsoft and WordPerfect documents on any platform. And Google Docs and Zoho.com do as well.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:17:52 +0000

In doing business with the companies i deal with I use Windows office which is nor my favorite. With the attachments I receive and I have to send I do not see an option that is very handy. They even started using the new office and all of a sudden I couldn’t open the attachments.

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:11:00 +0000

Yep, there are those programs that will keep some of us in Windows…unless you are willing to learn how to use “Virtual Machines” in another operating system. But for most, the hassle isn’t worth it. Just keep your security and updates up to snuff and you will be fine.

By: Bill Buvinger

Bill Buvinger — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:48:35 +0000

Rick, I use a shareware genealogy program called “Brothers Keeper” that I have used since about 1990. It works very well but only runs on Windows. The developer keeps it upgraded on a monthly basis putting in things that his customers want, fine tuning and correcting any bugs that might occur. He has also has it in about 5 or 6 languages. I have tried several other programs including one that runs on linux but none give me what I get with “Brothers Keeper” so even though I would like to move to Mac or Ubuntu I am sticking with XP.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:46:29 +0000

My Documents is just a storage location for the documents and material you create. Word processing documents, spreadsheets, photos, etc can all be accessed from any operating system or even cloud applications.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:45:16 +0000

I agree that for some applications…especially business applications, the OS is important. But for the folks I support in small businesses with modest computing needs and especially home users, it is not relevant at all. As for the support of Apple over Win 2000. Microsoft makes major changes to the operation of the OS from version to version so it makes it extremely difficult to upgrade apps/drivers. Apple, on the other hand, has not made major changes to the core of their system since 2001 which makes it much easier to maintain compatibility even 8 years later.

By: Rick

Rick — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:42:15 +0000

Yes, Joe, I understand your point and many agree with you. I just don’t have any major concerns with keeping my data in the cloud.