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R.I.P. - Windows XP

tannerhelland.com — It’s true that Ubuntu has some quirks for the user switching from XP, but I’ve found these quirks to be a byproduct of 15 years of Windows use - not any inherent problem with Ubuntu itself. In fact, once I get used to the Ubuntu way of doing things, they’re almost universally better.

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 19, 2008

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  • evil-doer, on 10/19/2008, -13/+117"XP takes 5 minutes to load, 5 minutes to launch Firefox"

    buried as inaccurate and idiotic.
  • InspectorGadget, on 10/19/2008, -2/+92If booting Windows XP and starting Firefox require 5 minutes each, you either have a piece of ***** computer or you're clueless enough to fill it up with bloatware and unnecessary startup items.
  • PhYk3n, on 10/19/2008, -2/+45"XP takes 5 minutes to load, 5 minutes to launch Firefox"

    Funny, my laptop that is almost 3 years old running Vista Ultimate, takes 2 minutes from an off state to a porn state.
  • doctoralf, on 10/19/2008, -17/+48Sadly, I'd miss Word 2007 too much. Openoffice is nice and all, but no ribbon interface means blah.
  • freezz0823, on 10/19/2008, -11/+39How I wish Linux was the solution to all the problems, but for me and many others just seems to create much more problems.
  • inactive, on 10/19/2008, -7/+32Can Ubuntu run CS3?
  • Meccabilly, on 10/19/2008, -0/+25XP is fine, get over it.
  • mikesbaker, on 10/19/2008, -20/+44hate to be the turd in the punch bowl but... until linux can completely ditch the command line it will never replace windows for anything. it's close but not quite there.
  • ZeeZee2k, on 10/19/2008, -0/+19or both
  • CoffeeandTV, on 10/19/2008, -6/+24That was a retarded article. This guy has been using XP that long and still doesn't understand basic computing.
  • motang, on 10/19/2008, -0/+17Yep, check out the stats ( http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php ) it's still dominant OS...aging and it's almost 10 years old, but still dominant.
  • subgeniusd, on 10/19/2008, -6/+23A lot of "free time" to install and work with Ubuntu???

    If he was talking about trying Gentoo or Arch as a first step into Linux then sure, you'd have a point.

    You're either trolling or not smart enough for Linux. And these days anyone who can figure out a new universal remote can run Ubuntu, Linux Mint and a number of other distros.
  • MofugginPaulrus, on 10/19/2008, -8/+24She must be a McCain supporter
  • Sisko41, on 10/19/2008, -11/+262007? I couldn't stand it! I still use 2003.
  • lazerflesh, on 10/19/2008, -5/+20Ubuntu has a great interface, but there isn't as much compatibility with games and file formats.
  • one1plus1one, on 10/19/2008, -2/+16"completely ditch the command line".

    Windows hasn't ditched their command-line, nor has Apple. Why should Ubuntu?

    In fact a more powerful command line is exactly what attracts me to Ubuntu sometimes.

    For the most part I'm sticking with Windows-XP (Media Center Edition) for various reasons -- one of which is that my girlfriend loves media-center, and so do I.

    But I'm not sure your argument "ditch the command line" is shared by many people.

    (Maybe you meant to say that you wanted a better user-interface, so that those who don't like the command line can do everything graphically? I guess maybe I am misunderstanding your original post?)
  • ColinZeal, on 10/19/2008, -1/+15Can Ubuntu run CS4?
  • mehan, on 10/19/2008, -1/+13"5 minutes to launch Firefox" - sounds credible.


    Not.
  • mareksoon, on 10/19/2008, -1/+12Consider it a blessing. Mine liked change and now I'm divorced. :(
  • Gizmo688, on 10/19/2008, -2/+13I got ubuntu as somewhat of an experiment, and i'll never use anything else if i can help it. I have to run Vista virtually to run programs like autocad, and it just seems like ive given my laptop some sort of std. Plus, everything linux is FREE.
  • LastDitchHero, on 10/19/2008, -0/+11Ubuntu will never be Windows and Windows will never be Linux. I get so tired of people getting so serious about how great your OS is on. They both are pretty good and have their own strengths and weaknesses.
  • FastZ, on 10/19/2008, -4/+14@Kugelblitze

    Wireless drivers aren't a Linux problem. Those problems are from the wireless chipset provider not wanting to provide drivers for the Linux OS. Don't knock Linux just because you can't get your Broadcom card to work, knock on the Broadcom folks for that, it's their fault.

    The game and video issues are issues with the game developers and the video card developers as well. These are not caused by Linux itself.
  • LedgerFangirl, on 10/19/2008, -20/+30sorry linux nerds, this is the CENTURY of the windows desktop
  • Spr0k3t, on 10/19/2008, -15/+25So you're saying you haven't used Linux in at least a year or two then...
  • InfernoX, on 10/19/2008, -4/+13Yes.
  • Tk007, on 10/19/2008, -3/+12im currently formatting my XP desktop and Vista laptop to install Ubuntu then run XP MCE inside a virtual machine. i've given windows too many chances to be my primary OS... the software seems to degrade the longer you use it.
  • RomanThommassen, on 10/19/2008, -0/+9Yes, i use 2003 lite (70 mb) and it provides everything i need, at startup times under half a second.
  • anagoge, on 10/19/2008, -0/+9"I can still go from a turned off PC to browsing the web in 30 seconds" - How true is this?
  • RetepNamenots, on 10/19/2008, -1/+9@Kugelblitze

    Since Gutsy Gibbon nearly six months ago, all my broadcom chipset cards have been autodetected in Ubuntu - I spend the most time installing drivers for everything in Windows XP.
  • Ramzy, on 10/19/2008, -2/+10If it takes 5 minutes for you to boot your PC, and another 5 minutes to boot Firefox, then your computer is *****, not XP. Maybe defragging every 5 years isn't a good idea.

    I'm no fanboy -- I really couldn't give two ***** if you like Mac, Linux, XP, or Vista, use what ever you want. But if you're going to exaggerate and make up stupid ***** to get your point across, then your article doesn't deserve my time, nor my digg.
  • scottybowl, on 10/19/2008, -4/+12I tried Ubuntu for 2 months (and during this time I never touched windows) - it was a relief to go back to Windows and for things just to work out the box rather than scouring forums trying to find out what I need to type in the command line to make things work
  • DangerCollie, on 10/19/2008, -0/+8I haven't found Ubuntu to be that much faster, even on compatible hardware. Sometimes, on start up and shut down, it's noticeably slower. And I'm not sure how he's getting OpenOffice to open that fast. We're still on 2.4 and it's a little slow the first time you start it. Faster after the first load. Speed is not why we picked Ubuntu for our commodity desktops at the office. We picked it because it's easy to configure and manage, powerful and we didn't have to provide any significant training for users. We can let them experiment and not worry that it's going to infect our network. If we have a problem with a particular workstation, we can wipe the drive and start over. No problem, no product activation, no enterprise licensing or other MS hoops. We just work.

    Although it's not a speed demon, I have found Ubuntu can extend the life of older hardware. It runs adequately fast on an AMD 2600, with a gig of RAM and a decent video card. And once you get it running right, it stays running right. That's one of the best features of Ubuntu as a desktop. It stays working.

    You don't really notice how much of your IT effort goes to serving Microsoft until you're away from it. New frameworks, new dev languages, new operating systems, byzantine licensing requirements, security patches, anti-virus subscriptions...it just never ends. You spend a significant chunk of your time on unproductive activity in a MS shop. When you strip all that away, your productivity sky rockets. Particularly if you employ people skilled in open source technologies. Our development pace in PHP would be the eny of any MS .NET shop.
  • briLo, on 10/19/2008, -0/+8I couldn't agree more InfornX.
    They are not necessary whatsoever; unless you're cruising through porn/warez/p2p/bttorrnents/serialz sites, downloading and running things blindly or downloading and running every attachment you ever receive.
    I wouldn't recommend it but it's 100% possible.

    If you do feel to run them make educated decisions as AV and Antispyware apps are usually massive and memory hogs.
  • inactive, on 10/19/2008, -4/+12I'm so cool, I use Ubuntu. :/
  • madk, on 10/19/2008, -2/+9If it takes you 5 minutes to boot or load anything in XP...you've got seriously issues.
  • DirtyVicar, on 10/19/2008, -2/+9He has a point... a few months ago I was trying to get Ubuntu to work with (1) my Linksys wifi card and after that, (2) WPA, and after one hour trying to do #1 (sucess) and four hours of digging around for #2 on Google to try to get the ***** to work right (failure), I went back to XP. I really wanted to like Ubuntu but it needs work.
  • inactive, on 10/19/2008, -0/+7Sad and brilliant...
  • samsite, on 10/19/2008, -1/+8I just switched my laptop over to Ubuntu, the wireless didn't work out the box, so i had to use a command line and a nds rapper? and i had to know my exact chipset to do this. wile i think that Linux has come on leeps and bounds...as long as i or others have to use the command line to install or fix drivers....then people will use windows. This isn't the fault of Linux, its that hardware vender's are locked in with windows and few will make good or any Linux drivers

    i have 2 or 3 niggaly issues with Linux that im going to sort out before i can move over fully (vid playback from a windows share on a server, hangs every 5-6 mins) and the fact that hibernation is slower than a normal boot

    but all in all i have got to say im very happy and will continue to try and use it, the last bug bare is firefox to be honest, and the way it displays websites. the web fonts are honorable and fuzzy (even using windows fonts)





  • theaceoffire, on 10/19/2008, -0/+7As a happy, enthusiastic Ubuntu user and supporter: Yes, people still use XP.

    Hell, almost every linux user I know has a copy of XP on a partition or virtual machine somewhere.
  • Frixionburne, on 10/19/2008, -0/+7Really? Ribbon interface? Does no one know how to use drop down menus? I mean, I feel like I'm being treated like an absolute moron by word2007 by having icons 5 times the size of the text. I think this looks tacky, and bloated. Its like someone just threw icons at screen and arranged them in that order. I miss being able to find things under the correct drop menu. How about lets stop all of this "user friendly" unnecessary styling and actually teach people how to use a computer.
  • borninda818, on 10/19/2008, -0/+72007 on my Box, Abiword on my Eee :D
  • coldkill3r, on 10/19/2008, -1/+8Probably not stock ubuntu, but it can be done. I have seen other distros to go from an off state to a desktop in less than 10 seconds.
  • mashw, on 10/19/2008, -3/+10Not true.
  • xero8472, on 10/19/2008, -0/+6I hear that. I don't see the need to get used to a new GUI when I already know where to find everything in Word 2003.
  • flashcat7777, on 10/19/2008, -2/+8I agree. With 2007 I can actually pretend like I have some sort of design and presentation skills.
  • thebuggalo, on 10/19/2008, -4/+10and that is why Windows XP is alive and well. Basically, you want Linux to remain just out of reach for normal users so you can have the satisfaction of saying you run linux. let's face it, everyone uses linux just so they can say, "i run linux".
  • Hollow5, on 10/19/2008, -2/+740 seconds for me to it on XP
  • duccodude, on 10/19/2008, -0/+5ditching the terminal is kind of pointless. almost everything that can be done in the terminal can be done within the UI. The terminal just skips the foreplay.
  • RickyTheRiot, on 10/19/2008, -3/+8Right, so XP is dead because this guy can't get his computer running smoothly? From his other blog entry..

    http://www.tannerhelland.com/2008/10/ubuntu-804-ta ...

    Point 3 reads... "Speed. I love XP - and frankly, I couldn’t be happier with it - but XP’s time is drawing to a close. I have tweaked my XP install in every way I can concoct: registry cleanup, defrags of every kind, removal of unnecessary software. I’ve even gone so far as to disable a bunch of semi-necessary services in an attempt to get it to run a bit snappier. After all that, XP is still too sluggish for my tastes - so barring a clean install or hardware upgrades, I’m outta ideas."

    So tell me Tanner, you've tweaked your XP install in every way you can "concoct" yet Firefox still takes 5 minutes to load? (O.o)

    Right, I am no screaming windows fanboi, but this is buried for being inaccurate; Tanner's ham fisted usage doesn't count as "RIP".
  • Zippo, on 10/19/2008, -0/+5LOL, Photoshop *6*?
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