Comments for 3 moments in Vista that make me consider Linux

Can't burn CDs or DVDs, can't run for more than two hours without a crash.... Have you noticed how Vista will delete your MP3s if it thinks you downloaded them illegally? (it won't ask you, it just deletes them from your computer)

I've had 2 bluescreens in 10 months. Often a month of uptime between restarts. No automatically deleted MP3s either.

Don't get me wrong, there are better OSes -- I know that -- but Vista, while its applications are a little flakey, performance is usually poor (although it's much better at utilising 2gigs of ram than XP), is quite a robust OS.

Microsoft could still make a decent OS out of Vista but they'd have to backtrack a distance on the ridiculous DRM and make explorer and the bundled applications a million times better. I don't really see that happening but Vista is better than XP in some respects.

I appear to be flip-flopping between pro-linux and pro-Windows. I'm just sick to hell of ultra-polarised views in the opposite direction. Vista isn't total crap. Linux isn't great for all circumstances yet.

Thanks for your ultra-polarised view, Adam =)

I thought I just made it clear that for me, the positives of Windows still just outweigh those of Linux. I'm whining because I'm stuck between something that is screwed on ideals, annoys the hell out of me but works and something which has golden ideals, super customisation and choice but doesn't do everything I need.

I don't want sympathy. I want Linux to do what I want. I know it will eventually, and I'll keep giving it a solid test through on this system once every few months.

It's my blog. I wanted to rant. No the real reason I wrote this article, Adam, was for your comment.

I'm sure my needs aren't unique and I never said they were. Fact is Linux doesn't do all I want it to at the moment so I am stuck between an annoying system that does work and a lovely one that doesn't work.

And it's not a case of not trying, spending hours trying to hack things into place. I do. I do that on a regular basis.

I could read entire libraries and that wouldn't implement that latest DMRAID45 patches into the Ubuntu kernel. I could spend every hour of every day for the next month on tldp.org and it wouldn't magically port my library of games over to Linux. There's a massive chasm between just working and where Linux is. I see it getting closer every day but it's still not there for people with tricky demands or system configs.

On the subject of being an ass, why do you think you know everything I need from an OS and what makes you so sure (so sure you're willing to argue over it) that Linux does all those things? You don't you're not me. This is a post bitching about Vista crapness and how these things are better under Linux, not an invite for you to psuedo-diagnose my life's problems without having a clue yourself.

If you're tempted to post another reply like that, Adam, I'll delete it so save your effort. If you really want to bitch at me, use the contact form.