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1 • Installed OS (by Pogi Americano on 2022-10-17 00:27:47 GMT from United States)
Both of my PCs (desktop, laptop) were purchased with Windows installed. I immediately installed CentOS. This was about 7 0r 8 years ago. Because of the changes at CentOS, I'm not sure what Linux distribution I would use today ... or when CentOS-7 is no longer supported. I am sure I would not use Windows ... Or any other propitiatory OS. I want to be able look at the source code and at least be able to ask questions. Maybe someday I'll be good enough to actually contribute.
2 • Accessing low numbering network ports (by Joe on 2022-10-17 00:32:24 GMT from Norway)
As far as I know, systemd (and maybe other modern Linux init systems) allows to select capabilities for each service, so that the unit does not start with full superuser privileges but with a subset of them, e.g. capabilities to bind to low ports or to set system and hardware clocks.
3 • Pre-installed OS (by cor on 2022-10-17 00:42:53 GMT from United States)
I have 3 laptops which all were Windows pre-installed. I resolved the infection by wiping them clean and installing Kubuntu. Smooth sailing since then. I built my desktop.
4 • Did your computer come bundled with Linux? (by TexasJoe on 2022-10-17 00:58:05 GMT from United States)
All my computers were built by myself from used parts. OS installed by me.
5 • Preinstalled OS (by George on 2022-10-17 01:04:12 GMT from United States)
System 76 with Ubuntu.
6 • Linux installations (by DaveW on 2022-10-17 01:23:49 GMT from United States)
My daily driver is a machine I built, and has only had a Linux OS that I installed. I do have a rarely used laptop that only has Windows.
For the ravynOS install, how about copy/paste the install commands to a script file; copy the script to a flash drive; execute the script to do the install.
7 • Wipe and reload... (by Friar Tux on 2022-10-17 01:39:34 GMT from Canada)
All my laptops have ever been HP brand. Early on in my computer life, I tried a few other brands but always ended with manufacturers' defects. Never had any issues with HP so I've stayed with them. Always end up with Windows pre-installed so it's wipe-and-reload with Linux. For the past seven years, I have had absolutely no "lost time" issues - either from hardware or software. Love it. I voted for the second option (No - it shipped with a proprietary OS.)
8 • Did your computer come bundled with Linux? (by Terence on 2022-10-17 01:58:54 GMT from United States)
I bought my most recent laptop in early 2021. It's an HP Spectre 13 inch. It came with Windows 10 and I used it for the most part. But a few months back, I decided to completely replace it with Linux. I did a LOT of distro hopping because so much had changed since I had last used Linux. I wanted a distro that felt professional, and yet lightweight in terms of the number of installed apps by default. Bottom line, I ended up choosing and sticking with Fedora Silverblue. I get everything I want with that system. Truly awesome operating system.
9 • Barebones PCs (by SleepyD on 2022-10-17 02:14:57 GMT from United States)
My new PC and previous PC are bare bones kits. I originally did not have Windows on the previous PC. Linux only but I help a lot of people. Shortly after the pandemic started, I got a cheap retail Windows key so I could easily check into things as well as easily remote into Windows PCs. smh It is unbelievable how hard it can be to get a normie to be able to download Team Viewer.
10 • Pre-installed linux (by Sam Crawford on 2022-10-17 02:15:28 GMT from United States)
My most recent laptop is a Dell XPS13 and it came with Ubuntu 20.04 installed. Now it, my daily driver and another desktop that only runs "Boinc" on Flatpak all run OpenSUSE-Tumbleweed.
I still ocassionly run Windows for Quicken and Quickbooks and they and Windows 11 run very well on Virtualbox.
11 • Did your computer come with Linux (by penguinx86 on 2022-10-17 02:16:23 GMT from United States)
I've gone through at least a dozen computers over the years. 3 of these actually did ship with Linux installed. The first was a Dell Mini 9 Netbook with Ubuntu. The 2nd was a Dell Vostro 14 inch laptop that came with Ubuntu. The 3rd was a Neo Z83-4U mini desktop from Minix that also came with Ubuntu. These all came with a customized version of Ubuntu that had the correct WiFi drivers pre-loaded. If I tried the official Ubuntu from a downloaded ISO, the WiFi never worked. I was stuck using the factory OS, or no WiFi.
12 • computer OS (by dave on 2022-10-17 02:17:47 GMT from United States)
No OS because I choose to build them myself. I think the last computer that came with a preinstalled OS, of which I sorta had part-ownership, was my brother's Dell Dimension from around 2002-04ish, which of course came with Windows XP.
I try to make them last at least 10 years so I'm in the process of accumulating parts for my next one to replace my aging AMD Phenom II.
I reckon if I ever buy a laptop, that would probably require an old fashioned Window cleaning.
13 • Pre-installed Linux (by tazman52 on 2022-10-17 02:37:17 GMT from United States)
None of my machines came with Linux pre-installed.
My most recent machine, I built with all new parts(except the case) and installed Linux as the only OS on the machine.
Fresh install of MX Linux KDE.
Hopefully, It will remain in service for many years.
I have a few 5-15 year old machines running various versions of Linux.
There are only 2 Windows machines in the house. All the rest are Linux.
14 • Pre-installed OS (by rb on 2022-10-17 03:18:21 GMT from United States)
I built my own three times over the last 20+ years. They usually last about 8 years before the technology is outdated and I want newer and faster.
Sadly, MS license is the big part of the cost of laptops and computers. If you don't plan on using MS, it is cost effective to buy used or build your own.
Units with Linux pre-installed (excluding ChromeOS) seem to be very expensive and, as #11 pointed out, can include some exotic hardware that not all distros support.
I have Win11 in a VM out of fear I'll need it for some reason, but I never have to use it. Wine runs Win games and Linux has all the software and tools I need (Firefox, Thunderbird, VLC, pdf reader, text editor, calculator).
ChromeOS, Android, and Mac have helped fragment the market so that companies and websites don't always assume every user is running Windows. Definitely a plus for Linux users!
15 • Pre-installed OS (by Wedge009 on 2022-10-17 03:29:26 GMT from Australia)
As with others, I've been building my own desktops myself for years now, OS of my choosing so poll isn't really relevant. Only my first desktop, before I knew how to build one myself, had Windows pre-installed. I'm not aware of any pre-built system, desktop or laptop, being available with current hardware (as opposed to older, refurbished tech) in Australia with an OS other than Windows. Not including Apple, of course, that is its own, even more closed, ecosystem.
16 • Pre-installed (by asdfg on 2022-10-17 03:46:25 GMT from Australia)
@15 also from Australia, only Linux laptops I've seen advertised for sale here are refurbished ones. Mine was a second hand one with Windows on it that I wiped and installed a Linux distro.
I don't use the computer for anything that requires Windows or Mac-only software so never an issue wiping it.
17 • Proprietari os (by Enrico on 2022-10-17 04:18:54 GMT from Italy)
I purchased two laptop from lenovo site, both where shipped without os, and both were user in dual boot setting with windows and Linux, in differenti flawours,from ubuntu to manjaro to Debian. For the most part, they all worked weel, but the more new is the hardware, the less i can use without problems in devices or software configuration
18 • Cost of Windows OEM licence (by Head_on_a_Stick on 2022-10-17 05:46:25 GMT from United Kingdom)
@14 "Sadly, MS license is the big part of the cost of laptops and computers" — not really, the cost is highly subsidised.
pcspecialist.co.uk has their cheapest laptop at £274 with Windows 11 Home or £258 with no operating system. Not much difference at all.
For the record I bought my last two ThinkPads (an E485 and a P14s Gen 2a) without an operating system. It's an option on Lenovo's site.
19 • Computer come bundled (by GreginNC on 2022-10-17 06:03:11 GMT from United States)
There should have been a "I built my own so no OS was installed". I imagine I'm not alone in this.
20 • Cost of Windows OEM licence (by rb on 2022-10-17 06:25:34 GMT from United States)
@18 What I mean to say is that regardless of what the manufacturer pays for volume OEM licenses, which is an industry secret for the most part, it does add to the overall cost of a retail PC. This is an added expense that is not necessary if I only plan to use a free operating system instead. I can say, for me at least, I can build my own system with only Linux installed that is much cheaper than buying it retail with the same specs. That is mainly because I do not have to spend over a hundred dollars more for an individual retail MS license. If I had to do that, then cost savings of building my own PC is considerably less.
21 • ”My computerS" (by SuperOscar on 2022-10-17 06:25:40 GMT from Finland)
I answered “No - it shipped with a proprietary OS”, because that’s true for all three of my laptops. The two desktop computers are different, however: one I assembled myself from parts, one I ordered preassembled without an OS.
22 • Pre-installed OS (by jesuiswiizzz on 2022-10-17 07:10:25 GMT from France)
I've been building my desktops from new/used parts for 26 years and have always installed their OS myself (Windows until 2005, Linux since then). All the laptops I've had had Windows before I erased it for Linux.
23 • Computers OS (by Nicola on 2022-10-17 07:13:52 GMT from Italy)
For laptops, it's rare to find a brand without Windows preinstalled. You have to keep it on for the warranty time expiring...than you'll be free to install the OS you prefer.
For Desktop computers it's completely different: I assembled both of them, so the problem was easily solved. I see online are available lots assembled desktop computers sold without OS or with FreeOS and that's good. Main computer brands few times offer the option to buy the computer without Windows. It's a rare option offered for very limited models and only if you buy from their online store.
24 • Pre-installed (by Fabio on 2022-10-17 07:19:44 GMT from Italy)
My Dell Latitude laptop is certified with Ubuntu but in my country could be purchased
only with windows10 preinstalled. I made by myself a dual boot with Linux and
Windows10. I started with debian 11 substituted just after a week with Ubuntu 20.04
for a strange problem with debian that i was not able to resolve. Since then i had no more
problem with linux. I often boot on windows because i need to use Office for work but 80% of
time i work only on linux. I shall try to return to Debian when version 12 will appear next year
(i don't like ubuntu 22.04 and i don't want to install it.) Finally, in my case, preinstalled Windows10 was a necessary option.
25 • Linux preinstalled (by Tony on 2022-10-17 07:19:47 GMT from Bulgaria)
I recently bought a Linux mini-PC from Slimbook and I am very happy that I did so. Very good support for many Linux distros and they support Linux development as a whole!
26 • ....as per 3, 4, 12 et seq (by Someguy on 2022-10-17 07:29:25 GMT from United Kingdom)
There really is no excuse. Anyone who can change a fuse in the mains plug with their little plastic screwdriver should be building their own machine. It's that simple - the proverbial six-year old kid from next door can (and often do!) build it. Choose your H/W from one of the major mail-order companies, pick up the tinware from the local tip, respray it if it doesn't match your curtains. Is it cheaper? Maybe, but you may want to selected better individual components or recycle those that suit. Get a big old tin box and you'll have room for old stuff like FDD, card-readers, etc. so you can access ancient formats that contain irreplaceable data as well as something you can sit on, put feet up, w.h.y.
27 • Pre-installed OS (by Karl on 2022-10-17 08:56:12 GMT from Greece)
I answered "No - it shipped with a proprietary OS" in the poll.
I recently bought an HP Probook 14" laptop, it came with Windows preinstalled. However, it never booted to Windows even once. I nuked the Windows installation, installed Salix 15.0 on it and I'm very happy with it. Everything works out of the box (well, except the fingerprint reader, but I don't care about it at all and haven't really tried) and is really fast!
Previous PC I bought was an Intel NUC a couple of years ago. This came with no HD (or RAM), so it didn't have anything preinstalled. Still using it, just upgraded to Salix 15.0 in this one too.
28 • OS preinstalled (by Kazlu on 2022-10-17 09:38:42 GMT from France)
I bought my main computer refurbished, and I did not have a choice of operating system: it was sold with Windows OEM. But it was in 2015, maybe things have evolved a bit now...
Should my computer melt down with no parts at all be reusable, I will probably use the same strategy: go for a refurbished one, and *if possible* get one without an OS. Or at least without Windows. If I can get my hands on a refurbished spare parts store and build the machine myself, even better, but I don't know if I can find that.
Note that I am talking about refurbished machines/parts, as in used but checked by a professional and with some assurance it works. I'm not buying second hand from anybody just to end up wondering what part doesn't work. I don't have time for that. And I'm certainly not buying new either, for ecological reasons.
29 • Preinstalled OS (by DachshundMan on 2022-10-17 10:25:57 GMT from United Kingdom)
My RPi came with no OS at all. I tried Raspbrian (as it was called then), Arch and finally settled on Ubuntu Mate mainly because it allowed me to run the same password safe that I use on my laptop.
My laptop came with Win10. I inherited it from my partner when it got too slow for her needs. I eventually traced the extreme slowness down to a dodgy HDD which I replaced with an SSD and installed Mint Mate, now it flies. I also have a Win10 dual boot on it as there are a couple of things I need to use that will not work with Linux but except for using them I never boot Win10.
@26. Try building a laptop that way. Building a desktop/tower is surely quite easy but not everyone has the time or inclination and in my experience it does not generally save much money.
30 • Exception to the rule (by AdamB on 2022-10-17 10:36:25 GMT from Australia)
All of the (non-Apple) laptops and netbooks I have bought (except the original EEEPC) came with Windows pre-installed. However, a couple of years ago I came across a second-hand Dell Inspiron 15 with Ubuntu 18.04 installed. It was selling for an attractive price so I snapped it up. This is a rare thing to find in my part of Australia.
After a while, something went wrong with its full disk encryption, so I now have Devuan running on it (without encryption).
I used to set up laptops and netbooks as dual-boot, retaining the original Windows, but I now either leave a laptop as a Windows machine, or replace Windows with Linux. I have a critical Windows application which won't run under WINE.
I have built up many desktop machines over the years; the first couple ran Windows NT or 2000; the next few dual-booted Windows 2000 or Linux, but I mainly used Linux on all but one of them. One of my current desktop machines runs Windows 8.1 (surprisingly successfully), the others run Linux - one of them multi-boots several fundamentally different Linux distros, another was originally a server machine, but I now also use it as a desktop.
The most recent machine I built up is a testbed, on which I have so far experimented with GhostBSD.
31 • No preinstalled (by artytuxy on 2022-10-17 10:41:08 GMT from Australia)
Nearly four years ago bought my third no operating system inside desktop at MSY Technology in Brendale Qld,
In Australia I don't know about overseas thou,
each time when asked what version of Windows I wanted 'no don't bother' Ah the look on their faces 'installing Linux thanks'
Saved dollars in 2018 an Intel i7 Coffee Lake with SSD etc etc retail was $1750 plus GST
explain GST is 10% tax
MSY 3 to 7 days build time $1100 Inc GST , a workmate told me about them, their shop has a small sign it's plain shopfront and walkin in has oh wow factor
This is my third machine from them, no problems on advice if and when you need advice after sales help if needed very nice people . . .
32 • Installed OS'es and exotic Linux distro's... (by Marc Visscher on 2022-10-17 10:55:34 GMT from Netherlands)
The last time I bought a brand new computer was in 2013. It was a cheap HP laptop, and Windows 8 was installed, but the hardware was too weak to give that a pleasant experience. Upgrading to Windows 10 made it even worse. It made it even slower.
The only right thing to do was get rid of Windows and replace it for an OS that would run smoothly. I tried Linux Mint, but for some reason I couldn't install it on that machine. Plan B was to install Manjaro Xfce on it. The installation went smoothly, and since then I use this laptop with much pleasure.
I still have machines that run Windows, but more and more I replace them with Linux. I'm tired of Microsoft's spyware OS and all the hassles that comes with it. I only keep one Windows installation in case I need it for work. I rarely fire that on, because Linux fills my needs more than enough.
About the exotic Linux distro's: I avoid those as much as I can. Mostly it's a rough product without proper testing and lots of bugs and quirks, and more than once there's only one maintainer on the project. You need to rely on your system, or else it's a worthless piece of garbage. I stick with the established distro's. At this moment it's Debian, Arch, Linux Mint, Manjaro, Fedora, Xubuntu and KDE Neon. And there's is OpenSuSE Tumbleweed to be added this week on one of my machines.
33 • Bundled OS (by James on 2022-10-17 11:34:16 GMT from United States)
Yes my System 76 came with Pop. After about two weeks of trying to deal with gnome I switched it to Ubuntu Mate. Bundled is not always better.
34 • Bundled with Linux (by Paul_y on 2022-10-17 11:48:01 GMT from Romania)
I remember I bought a cheap laptop with Linpus Linux preinstalled. It booted to the console screen only. Unfamiliar with GNU/Linux operating systems I had no idea what was in there. I also bought a laptop that had Microsoft Windows preinstalled. * Windows 10 evaluation.
35 • Which OS is bundled? (by crayola-eater on 2022-10-17 12:18:52 GMT from United States)
Actually, it really doesn't matter which of the choices above reflects how my machine came to me - I will certainly delete anything that might be there to bare metal and install the OS(s) of my choice. Even if it came pre-installed with Linux, it would still be wiped, the only thing I would take away from it is that the hardware is 'proven' to work with Linux.
In reality, if you are here on DistroWatch, and reading user comments, what came on your machine is completely irrelevant - you have already shown that you desire to make that machine Yours.
36 • GNU/Linux Preinstalled (by Jure on 2022-10-17 12:30:52 GMT from Slovenia)
I only buy computers which have GNU/Linux preinstalled on them or have no operating system installed. Definitely do not want to pay the OS tax to some evil closed propriatery corporations. The latest ones I bought these way were Slimbook and Tuxedo laptops and I am very happy with them. At work I also got a lenovo which had GNU/Linux preinstalled. So all good here. And I think we should enforce anti-bundling directive here in EU much more so anyone here could get a refund easily when they chose not to accept a closed nonfree OS that some computers are selling with.
37 • ravynOS (by Interested User on 2022-10-17 13:42:25 GMT from Canada)
Just a couple of points from the ravynOS website:
Why won't it display GUI in VirtualBox/Vmware/QEMU?
Since ravynOS 0.4.0 is having its GUI written from scratch, there is no driver for any virtual machine GPU yet, including VMware VGA, Virtualbox SVGA, virtio-vga or qxl and thus, no form of graphics acceleration is currently available. The OS will display a shell-like/ tty interface on virtual machines.
We are working on this, and help is welcome. There is work being done on vmwgfx for ravynOS and this might be released soon, making it possible to test LiveCD on virtual machines 🙂. Currently, VMs are usable for non-UI development.
When I try booting the LiveCD for ravynOS, it shows a blank screen on my PC. Why is that so?
Video drivers, for the time being, exist for only Intel HD series, Intel Iris series (Xe graphics), most AMD integrated and discrete GPUs. There is no driver yet for NVIDIA. Help fixing this is most welcome. If your GPU is supported, the GUI starts automatically on boot. If not, you will receive boot messages on screen followed by a shell-like interface (tty1).
38 • Windows Preinstalled (by Rene on 2022-10-17 13:54:06 GMT from Netherlands)
My laptop came with Windows 7 preinstalled.
Yes,it is that old and i think it still can run windows 10 without any problems.(did the free upgrade)
First i did dualboot with KDE Neon,but needed more harddrivve space and deleted my Windows.
As it is a Dell,installing Linux was very easy.
A few months back i switched to Artix.
on my desktop i have an triple boot with Artix,Windows 10 and on the second harddrive i have Mageia.
On my Windows in installed Virualbox for testing purposes.(that is how i got into Artix and after reading about it here)
I also managed to get Windows 95 running in VBox!
39 • Computer OS bought with Linux? (by Bobbie Sellers on 2022-10-17 14:41:02 GMT from United States)
I have never been able to afford to buy a computer with Linux already installed.
The ever-colorful MS program launcher in XP, Vista, 8.1, had been previously
installed. My first Linux install was a dual-boot with XP on a new computer in 2006.
That one eventually quit working and I got a couple of used computers and installed
them with Linux, then a refurbished computer and it was dual boot for a while then
quite working, had to buy a new computer because the used computer shop did
not open on time, started with Dell Latitudes used and refurbished and have 3 now;
one with no OS at this time, Two with Linux, installed.
40 • Should have had build-yer-own option (by Pongp Pan on 2022-10-17 14:35:49 GMT from United States)
We're currently running 7 machines. My wife's publisher only accepts ms in MS Word format and the Word format output by Libreoffice doesn't quite meet their specs. So I was forced to build her a Ryzen 5 Win 10 machine to sit beside her built-by-me Ryzen 5 Ubuntu Mate one. This saves endless rebooting since I have made an ukase that no banking, web browsing, product ordering, email or anything else shall be conducted on a Windows computer. She also has a newish Win11 laptop for traveling which dual boots to openSUSE Leap on an external nvme.
I built my Ryzen 7 desktop in 2019. It boots between Manjaro GNOME and openSUSE Tumbleweed KDE. I have two backup machines: one is a AMD Phenom II which I made in early 2011 with openSUSE Leap GNOME and Win 10. The Win10 is only used in December, January and February for our very complicated income tax prep. I've tried this with wine and virtual box with decidedly mixed results. The other is an AMD A8 which I built in 2013 running Ubuntu Mate. I also have a hand-me-down HP laptop dating from 2011 which came with a long-erased Win7 running Sparky Mate.
When Win10 goes EOL in 2025 I'll probably buy a mid-range business laptop with Win11 (or 12?) for tax and nothing else. The old HP laptop (which I upgraded to SSD) with Sparky meets my modest needs for travel and I'll keep it until it is stolen or quits.
41 • pre-installed system? (by Dave Postles on 2022-10-17 15:02:35 GMT from United Kingdom)
I usually buy from a vendor in the UK (two options for me) which providess the hardware without an installed system and then install Linux. In my most recent case, however, wanting a small screen laptop (11"), I purchased from Star Labs with preinstalled Linux system.
42 • Pre-installed OS (by Fernando on 2022-10-17 15:24:00 GMT from Argentina)
I bought this Dell Inspiron i5 gen 10 with Ubuntu pre-installed. The same model with Windows was more expensive. And because in both cases I was going to install Mint, it didn't make sense to spend more money to get the same thing.
43 • Computer OS (by David on 2022-10-17 16:06:36 GMT from United Kingdom)
I've never bought a computer with Windows. My current desktop was custom built by CCL Computers and I installed the OS. It's predecessor, I built myself. The one before that came with Linux and QDOS installed. My laptop I bought second hand from an owner who'd already replaced its Windows with Linux.
44 • New computer OS (by Tim on 2022-10-17 16:18:31 GMT from United States)
I ordered my computer with no OS, and they deducted from the price because of it, but it still came with Windows installed. No problem, I fixed that, quickly.
45 • Dell XPS 13 -- a Linux-friendly laptop off the shelf (by Travis Mooney-Evans on 2022-10-17 16:21:43 GMT from United Kingdom)
My current XPS 13 shipped with Windows, because I needed a replacement for my previous model, which suffered a canine-related hardware failure.
Knowing that the XPS 13s are compatible, I managed to buy one off the shelf from John Lewis. Having a known-good immediate solution is really great.
So, yes, it shipped with a proprietary OS, but that OS install didn't last long.
46 • Computers with Linux pre-installed (by David on 2022-10-17 16:23:43 GMT from United States)
Other than the computers I got in 2005 (workstation I built myself and had to install the OS, and Dell laptop I immediately booted into the Mandrake installer and never booted the Windows that came with it), all of the computers I've bought the last 23 years have had Linux pre-installed. The workstations all came from Pogo Linux (came with Linux, though I wiped and installed Mandrake/Mandriva/Mageia myself), and the most recent laptop was one of those Project Sputnik Dells.
47 • Using Linux on a natively Android device (by K.U. on 2022-10-17 17:11:57 GMT from Finland)
My current laptop is an armhf device which I bought in 2002 with Android 4.03 pre-installed. Unfortunately, the laptop has very poor performance in Android mode.
Linux systems, on the other hand, have worked much better on it. I have had my Linux systems (or even multiple of them) installed on an sd-card, not the Laptop itself.
48 • @47 Correction (by K.U. on 2022-10-17 17:19:15 GMT from Finland)
I bought the laptop in 2012 (not 2002).
49 • Linux computers (by Dr.J on 2022-10-17 17:19:57 GMT from Germany)
I distinguish between a) dealers who specialize in Linux computers (system76 or here in Germany Tuxedo) and b) the question if I buy a PC with a preinstalled Linux there. I once bought a PC at Tuxedo (without hard disk and OS). Never again. It was the worst PC I ever had. Lots of power but the temperature management was totally off; it kept running hot, then shutting down and was totally broken after only three years. Since then I only buy PCs from big manufacturers, mostly Acer. They have good hardware compatibility with Linux and critical components like the touchpad run fine. I buy the PC, if it is possible without harddisk and then install my own. If I can't, I buy them with HDD, remove it, and then install my own. Or - if I need a new HDD - just without OS and then my own system is installed (with dd or similar tools). Talking just about the host system, because my main system is running in a virtual machine. The current host is running now since 2013 on the same samsung SSD, but on the fourth notebook. And the samsung magician is telling me that it will run for quite some time.
50 • in addition: Linux computers (by Dr.J on 2022-10-17 17:41:57 GMT from Germany)
In general, I don't think it's a good idea for retailers to offer PCs with Linux pre-installed. If I only take the TOP100 from Distrowatch, the most popular desktops, some window managers and some community editions, then I come to several hundred possibilities. To meet the personal taste of the buyer with a pre-installed Linux is rather a matter of luck.
51 • Pre-installed GNU/Linux (by Joe on 2022-10-17 18:04:12 GMT from Hungary)
@50: I'd rather prefer any pre-installed popular Linux distro over Windows 1x (which often comes with bundled OEM software of questionable quality and utility).
52 • pre-installed prices (by Assembler on 2022-10-17 18:21:36 GMT from Portugal)
Most computer shop components do assemble a PC as per your hardware preferences, O/S included if you will.
Then, what O/S?
If the choice is Windows the shelf price is sky high. Linux is free.
53 • @40 Good option for Word compatibility (by Office choice on 2022-10-17 18:46:16 GMT from Canada)
@40 - Try using WPS office suite on Linux - Word compatibility is much better than LibreOffice.
54 • Pre-Installed OS (by Mike Sonic on 2022-10-17 19:08:02 GMT from United States)
I only use Windows at work and for almost 20 years I have inherited from employer desktops with Windows. On these desktops I use various HDs to try different distros since they are easy to plug and play with the cover open
I have purchased used laptops from corporate resellers who get them at end of lease contracts, usually 3 years old. One can purchase a used Dell i5 with 8 gigs of ram for under US$150, on the laptops I install my favorite Linux OS. I have Dells i3 and i5 from 2012 which I purchased in 2015 and 2016 and are working well although I have had to purchase new batteries.
I see no reason to purchase an new laptops or desktop when I will wipe out the HD to install a Linux OS which will work well for my needs in a 5 to 8 year old computer.
55 • Installed OS (by Steve on 2022-10-17 20:11:02 GMT from United States)
The poll left out a viable option:
Built my own computer and installed what I wanted
In my case, one desktop is running win7 and the other runs PCLinuxOS
Now I do have a few computeres I didn't build but have (or will) change the default OS.
A Raspberry Pi running FreeBSD
A (practically) antique laptop running one of the tiny OSs
A (practically) new laptop running Win10
the last one will get changed someday soon to a non-win OS. I don't use it for anything critical at the moment and have it "hanging" on the wireless which is outside my internal network. And my choice of OS will not include the systemd virus that infects so many of the Linux distros today.
56 • @53 & 40 (re Word compatibility) (by Simon on 2022-10-17 21:21:12 GMT from New Zealand)
LibreOffice, WPS, OpenOffice, and all the other Linux software that claims to be able to save in Word format are all fine for personal use, but hopelessly inadequate for serious professional use where you need to know with 100% certainty that every detail of your document will work precisely the same way for the reader. Obviously none of this is an issue if the people with whom you work have the sense to use free software, but that's rarely the case.
Currently the only way to work reliablly with Microsoft's nasty closed formats is (of course, as this is the whole point of them) with Microsoft's products. This certainly doesn't mean setting up a new machine to run Windows, though! That's an unnecessary, over-the-top response to the problem. Word 2010 and 2016 run perfectly well in WINE; Word 2019 runs with minor cosmetic issues... but all of these applications can (obviously, being Word themselves) open and save Word documents without introducing any formatting issues or other glitches. Word can be launched from a menu or keyboard shortcut like any Linux application, right on the Linux desktop, and can browse the Linux filesystem... all of this is much more convenient, and vastly cheaper, than building a Windows machine just to run Word! If you're paranoid about malware you can even use sudo to have WINE applications run as a different user with access restricted to its own special folders... there's just no need to waste money on Windows (let alone a separate computer to run it!).
57 • Office software (by Jesse on 2022-10-17 21:31:18 GMT from Canada)
@56: "LibreOffice, WPS, OpenOffice, and all the other Linux software that claims to be able to save in Word format are all fine for personal use, but hopelessly inadequate for serious professional use where you need to know with 100% certainty that every detail of your document will work precisely the same way for the reader."
I don't think this argument holds water. Even different versions of Ms-Office are not 100% compatible with each other. Heck, the same version of Word or Excel with different fonts or extensions won't be 100% compatible with another copy of Office with different fonts/extensions.
If you need a document to be 100% identical on two machines you don't use Ms-Office, even the same version of Office.
I've done more "rescue" jobs using LibreOffice to recover and fix MS-Office documents than I have had problems getting Ms-Office documents to show up exactly right in LibreOffice. Ms-Office is just not all that good at being compatible with itself.
"Obviously none of this is an issue if the people with whom you work have the sense to use free software, but that's rarely the case."
I would agree, most people I know don't use open document formats. However, it's almost never been an issue. I can count the number of times I've run into compatibility issues in a professional settings moving between LibreOffice and MS-Office in the past 16 years, with almost daily usage and sharing documents back and forth.
58 • Pre-Installed OS (by lincoln on 2022-10-18 00:54:56 GMT from Brazil)
Pool => "No - it shipped with a proprietary OS". But on the same day I installed Debian - The Universal Operating System - and never had any headaches with my machine until recently when my fan burned out and I am having to use an external one. Otherwise, any operation that demands more performance from the machine, for example watching videos at double speed on Youtube heats up the machine to the point of shutting it down. Detail, the laptop is from 2012 and Debian can extract fantastic performance for activities that don't require a dedicated gpu (yes, of course, with external cooling).
@57:"Even different versions of Ms-Office are not 100% compatible with each other."
In fact, I can read more Word documents through LibreOffice than using incompatible versions of MS-Office.
When a file needs to be edited by more than one person, the only solution I found satisfactory for everyone involved to have an identical version to each other were cloud-based solutions like Google Docs and Overleaf.
But I prefer to write in Markdown format in a simple text editor like Pluma and be able to convert the file into different formats via Pandoc.
When only third party viewing of a file is required, I invariably send PDF files.
59 • Me too..... (by tom joad on 2022-10-18 00:57:08 GMT from Germany)
Only one computer came with Linux....a System 76 laptop that ran for a good number of years too.
The rest of my laptops came pre loaded with that ***other*** OS from Redmond. The towers that I built were put together to run ONLY linux. And it shall be so deep into the future too.
60 • Office suites (by Friar Tux on 2022-10-18 02:53:42 GMT from Canada)
All this talk about incompatible office suite formats. One thing I learned very early in my computing career is that you never, ever save anything in a particular office suite's format. I save everything in the universal *.rtf format. In the past, all word processors were able to read *.rtf files (I find they still do today). If you wanted to send someone a document, but knew their office suite was different, you sent it in *.rtf format and their office suite could open it and convert it to any format hey wanted. Converting it back and forth was just one click away so it didn't cpst much time. Still only use *.rtf today. So far, no one has complained. For fancier stuff, I use laTex, as it is also almost universally recognized now-a-days.
61 • Preinstalled Linux (by penguinx86 on 2022-10-18 11:09:58 GMT from United States)
I agree with @50 that there are hundreds of distros. How can a vendor provide after sales warranty support for all of these? I think that's why vendors like Dell prefer to standardize on Ubuntu. Ubuntu has a large support community. Other distros, not so much. I remember when Zareason sold Linux laptops with your choice of half dozen Linux distros. It must have been difficult to support multiple Linux distros, or even find knowledgeble support reps for so many variations. Working at that support call center must have been a real pain in the butt.
62 • Poll (by Tad Strange on 2022-10-18 18:01:10 GMT from Canada)
Not much to talk about this week.
My HP laptop came with Windows. Wanting more storage space anyway, and not being enough of a zealot to throw away what I paid for, I put in a large second drive and have dual boot capability when I need it.
63 • Assessing Low Level Ports (by marty on 2022-10-19 02:13:57 GMT from United States)
I have no idea of what you have explained. Could as well been an unknown language for me.
64 • "Yes - Linux was the bundled OS", does pinephone qualify!? (by zetabeta on 2022-10-19 05:55:35 GMT from Finland)
"Yes - Linux was the bundled OS", does pinephone qualify. pinephone can be used as desktop system with docking station, in such case my device came preinstalled with gnu/linux.
although word linux should be used for gnu/linux or similar to gnu/linux. android, chromeos and others are based on linux but are heavily modifed, may contain closed stuff, may not be compatible with ordinary linux and development may not be transparent and open. practically these should not be called linux.
65 • No relation whatsoever (by Barnabyh on 2022-10-19 21:13:07 GMT from United Kingdom)
No relation whatsoever to todays topics, but...
I've been using Linux Mint LMDE as my main work horse now since May 2019, first 3 then 4 with backports, a very nice and stable system and still so up to date (with external packages like Thorium browser) I didn't even care to upgrade to LMDE 5 this time.
The new antiX release brought it home to me that LMDE is still using systemd though. I usually don even think about it anymore but still, it would be nice if they rebased LMDE on MX or antiX or even Devuan to go back to a traditional init. Because they re all working fine without.
Just my 2cents. It's a pet peeve I guess.
66 • Word formats (by Fox on 2022-10-20 01:18:00 GMT from United States)
@56. Sorry Jesse; I have to respectfully disagree with you. I am an academic, and I could never get away with using any open or closed source application to work with co-authors using MS Word - other than Word itself. I like LibreOffice and use it often, but not for collaborating with colleagues on Word documents. 99 44/100% compatible isn’t good enough. I’m sure that the fault is Microsoft’s, but I’m stuck with it. For such documents, I use Crossover and Word 2010, and I get a document that is totally compatible with the latest version of Office.
67 • OS on new machines (by Otis on 2022-10-20 12:47:26 GMT from United States)
Windows, of course. Covered it with linux on some and dual boot on others. Have a MacBook Pro, too, but don't mess with it and just use it as is with various tweaks. Nice to have the choices.
68 • Linux preinstalled (but don't agree with any poll question) (by kudu on 2022-10-21 20:09:27 GMT from Moldova)
I voted for -> "Yes - Linux was the bundled OS"
but I would rather vote for -> "I only buy PCs with Linux bundled" or without any OS (usually FreeDOS)
Number of Comments: 68
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