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To: Golden Eagle

Your argument is technically correct, .nix distros do have more rapid and numerous version upgrades. However, consider the upgrade process compared to Windows.

With most .nix distros when an upgrade or update is offered, you merely click the “OK” button, type in your password, and {maybe} reboot. All done. All of your data and programs are right where you left them, and still, fully functional.

Can’t say that about any Windows version I’ve ever used. Or Mac.

Just for the benefit of anyone reading this...
(I know you know this-LOL)
Ubuntu has LTS versions. LTS stands Long Term Support. That means a Desktop version will not be upgraded or changed and it will be fully supported for FREE for three years, and a server version for five.

Can’t say that about any Windows version I’ve ever used. Or Mac.

Ubuntu also has an upgrade version every 6 months, if you like to have the bleeding edge versions and capabilities that go with it.

Can’t say that about any Windows version I’ve ever used. Or Mac.

Most .nix distros have a software installer package, in Ubuntu it’s called the Synaptic Package Manager, that you simply click to place a check mark in the box next to the software package you’d like, then click ok, and it installs all by itself.

And it’s FREE, as in FREE beer, too.

Can’t say that about any Windows version I’ve ever used. Or Mac.

Really, it’s all about choices. Windows, Mac or .nix. But the point is, it’s great to have so many, and fun to learn with each experience.


50 posted on 02/09/2009 5:57:56 AM PST by papasmurf (Impeach the illegal bastard!)
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To: papasmurf
Another thing I'd point out is that even if you do decide to do a clean install of Linux, it's much easier to keep your user preferences and user data intact. On my desktop, I have multiple disks / is a separate disk from /home, so I can do a full install of / without touching the /home partition. When I login after the upgrade, my desktop still has everything intact and where I left it before the upgrade. Can't do that with Windows because of registry crap.

At work, I have a script that backs up /usr/local, /home, and /etc to another server using rsync. This script runs daily, and takes about 3 minutes.  If, for whatever reason I need to recover my home directory (or any file or directory inside my home, it's a matter of a simple rsync command to bring me back to exactly where I was as of my last backup. 

Granted, I'm a power user so it's fairly easy for me to do this, but using the standard tools available with the operating system, I was able to do the same thing for my mother-in-law's laptop, and have it automated so she doesn't need to do anything to make it happen, and can drag and drop from my desktop to her laptop easily using konqueror and the fish:// protocol (which is just a bookmark in her browser to her). Also, because I'm backing up her homedir to my desktop, if she sits down there and logs in, it looks exactly like her laptop to her.

There is a lot of power available in Linux to do some cool things if you know what your're doing.

53 posted on 02/09/2009 7:45:49 AM PST by zeugma (Will it be nukes or aliens? Time will tell.)
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