[harsh]

The latest Lansweeper report (27 million Windows devices) says that Windows 11 (3% share) isn't as popular as Windows 7.

The numbers for Windows 11 in businesses is 2.5% while the home market is 3%.

Where are personal computer users going to go?

If you choose other, please offer up some specifics (i.e. FreeBSD)

 

[dtv757]

ill stay on windows not a fan of apple stuff

 

[P Smith]

Follow that OS what pre-installed by mfg, if buying new computer.

 

[b4pjoe]

My main computer I use the most is a Mac and is running Mac OS Monterey. I have PC's running Windows, 7, 10, 11. The PC running Windows 11 also can run Mac OS Big Sur. And a really old Dell running Windows 98. I have an Acer Chromebook. I also have Parallels running on my Mac with installs of earlier versions of Mac OS X, Ubuntu, CentOS and DOS 6.2 and the 3 versions of Windows listed previously.

 

[NYDutch]

My "daily driver" OS has been Linux, specifically PCLinuxOS, since 1999. I do keep a copy of Win 10 installed in the VirtualBox emulator to support family members that haven't seen the light yet.

 

[audiomaster]

My main computer I use the most is a Mac and is running Mac OS Monterey. I have PC's running Windows, 7, 10, 11. The PC running Windows 11 also can run Mac OS Big Sur. And a really old Dell running Windows 98. I have an Acer Chromebook. I also have Parallels running on my Mac with installs of earlier versions of Mac OS X, Ubuntu, CentOS and DOS 6.2 and the 3 versions of Windows listed previously.

Am I right that you need to be a more "computer savvy" person to use Linux than Windows?

 

[harsh]

Am I right that you need to be a more "computer savvy" person to use Linux than Windows?

Not a whole lot for basic things like web browsing and e-mail but if you seek to run specific Windows applications versus similar Linux-based applications, Linux doesn't make that easy (just as Windows doesn't make some basic functions as easy as they should be). At the same time, some things in Linux are just easier all the way around.

The happy part about Linux is that you don't have to perform a long installation that completely wipes out your existing system just to try it out. You can boot a modern Linux from a USB key in a minute or so and be off and running with your network printers automatically configured.

 

[harsh]

I'd like to see more explanations of "Other" since it seems to be tied for second place.

 

[billsharpe]

Both my 2-year-old desktop and new laptop are running Windows 11. I also have a 12-year-old laptop that is now running Linux. I also have an iPad and iPhone. I'm reasonably happy with all of these.

 

[NYDutch]

Am I right that you need to be a more "computer savvy" person to use Linux than Windows?

A several years ago I taught an introduction to computers class at a senior center. My students ranged from their late 60's to their mid 90's. As part of the course, I walked them through installing PCLinuxOS on a variety of older donated PC's that they could take home. As we got into using the OS, the most common comment I got from those with some familiarity with Windows, was how similar the KDE desktop environment was to the Windows environment. We covered installing and using a variety of common Windows equivalent programs, such as LibreOffice instead MS Office, Thunderbird email instead of MS Outlook, and the Firefox browser instead of MSIE (Chrome hadn't taken off yet). One of the highlights for me a few years later was receiving an email from a former student containing an invitation to her 100th birthday party where she mentioned how much she was still enjoying her Linux installation. Sadly, she died just before her 101st birthday. The point though, is that none of these people were "computer savvy", yet they all found Linux quite useful in their everyday lives. Until I lost track, only a couple had switched to Windows, at least one of them due to family pressure.

 

[harsh]

Too many people buy computers without knowing what software they're going to run and the hope is that it will be somehow safer to go mainstream because that's where everyone else is.

I like to use Thunderbird and Outluck to compare the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) world to the Micro$oft world. Outluck looks like it was designed by a collage artist while Thunderbird is relatively tidy and quite configurable. Until such time as Libre Office mandates "the ribbon" (hopefully never), it is just so much cleaner than Microsoft 365.

The Micro$oft ribbon metaphor is really a blight on the computer world.

What's with task bars/docks being at the top or bottom of the screen where they steal valuable screen space? This is especially important given the inexplicable popularity of 13" and under notebooks where side-by-side is really only useful for banner advertising.

Sure, there are add-ons and plug-ins to make the mainstream products less nonsensical but they usually end up being kludges and break with each major release; either the program itself, the OS it runs on or both.

 

[b4pjoe]

In my experience you can either hide the ribbon and bring it back by moving the mouse to the location where it is at or disable it completely in Microsoft Office/365. I use Libre Office for myself personally but I had to support it for other users at my job. Most of those users couldn't even tell you what operating system they were using.

 

[renegade]

ill stay on apple not a fan of windows stuff

 

[P Smith]

Outluck

Outbuck perhaps ?

 

[harsh]

Outbuck perhaps ?

That makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[b4pjoe]

Seriously what is Outluck? I thought it was maybe a typo for Outlook but you typed it that way twice.

 

[harsh]

Seriously what is Outluck? I thought it was maybe a typo for Outlook but you typed it that way twice.

It is an intentional misspelling of Outlook that I feel better represents what you can expect from the product.

 

[b4pjoe]

I can agree with you. It is a horror of an app.

 

[James Long]

It is an intentional misspelling of Outlook that I feel better represents what you can expect from the product.

Then outbuck applies too. You will be out many bucks using Microsoft.

 

[harsh]

Then outbuck applies too. You will be out many bucks using Microsoft.

As it is typically something that comes bundled with other Micro$oft products, it usually costs you only eye strain, stomach lining and premature gray hairs.

Micro$oft does offer Outluck as a standalone product but you'd have to be pretty hard up as the MSRP is $159.99 ($90 less than Office Home and Business that adds Word, Excel and Powerpoint). The "security" (a word that Micro$oft should be prohibited from using in their advertising) features require an e-mail account through Micro$oft (@hotmail.com, @live.com, @msn.com or @outlook.com).