A Linux User in Vista-land: Finishing Up

Over all I’m tolerant of using Vista.I feel comforatably using it, but it irks me sometimes.This is of course on a overall usability stand point and considering that I paid nothing for it. Vista is not free though. Not in the monetary sense or in the freedom sense.
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The version of Vista I am using would normally cost almost $200. Consider
what you are getting with this $200. A revamped User interface, and for gamers,DirectX10.
THATS IT. You are also getting a boatload of performance-sucking, hindering, invasive
technologies. DRM. You can’t play HD unless you have a special type of cable. You get
Windows Genuine (dis)Advantage which looks out to see of you have any illegitimate apps,
or apps which Microsoft could potentially not like and disable. I do not like the
thought of that hanging over me, much less that Microsoft may be reporting my every action.
This is where Linux truly wins from a privacy standpoint. Anyone can browse the code, find
invasive technologies, and remove them at will.

Many people have been criticizing Windows for its new security policy(UAC) because it is overly eager to stop users from doing simple things. I did not find popping up to much, and when it did, I ussually agreed that that was a good thing to be restricting. I did however find it annoying that it made the rest of the desktop inoperable until I had dealt with the popup. I find that very annoying. Kubuntu does not do that (thankfully) but Ubuntu does(you can configure it not to). Again we run against the brick wall of non-configurability. Also, it simply asked for  “permission” with a yes or no.  Linux ALWAYS requires a password(even sudo) so that some random person cannot perform dangerous tasks. What is the use of a yes or no statement?What security benefit does it have?

Another annoying popup with Vista is its pop up “Are you sure you want to delete this?” That in and of itself isn’t bad; KDE has it. But KDE also has a nice radio button which you can select to turn this feature off(which I always do). No such button in Vista. Awfully annoying(and again that double-thick brick wall).

And finally, Vista has not gotten it straight with multiple users. In linux you can simply switch users, over multiple f’s (f7-f11 for X users, f1-f6 for terminal users). With Vista switching back and forth between users is nowhere near as quick. Its logout, select user, enter password, and then see other desktop, with 1-2 second gaps between each of these operations.

And finally, This is NOT a windows world. Especially in medium-large businesses. There is no excuse for not supporting remote CUPS, an industry standard used by every OS besides windows. There is no excuse for not including SSH. Linux is used on servers often enough that CUPS should at least be an obscure option.

So although Vista was an interesting experience and I will keep it on my computer for BIOS upgrades and windows only apps, it won’t be seeing much of me.