By ulf on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Hello
some small hints.

Unix commands in Windows
http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/

How to create keyboard short cuts in windows Vista is described on http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/52f853fe-de4d-4924-bfc0-0373fcf862391033.mspx

Good look with Vista.
Ulf

By sean on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

i use bash, csh, ksh, etc + vi + gnu tool chain + ssh on a regular basis on vista ultimate. there is an install option called “SUA” - services for unix applications. when you install that you can essentially duplicate your unix environment on windows.

By Bruce Franklin on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

If you’re going to be stuck with Vista for awhile then give this virtual desktop manager a try:

http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/

Virtual desktops work better on Linux but this makes Windows more tolerable for me.

By davemc on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

While I could not agree more with your assessment of Vista, it is skewed (as is mine own) experiences in Linux. The ignorant masses know nothing of these things, and so contentedly live their lives happily in Vista, never knowing the joys of Open Source or the freedom of Linux and its pure power. The very fact that a large amount of Open Source Applications were ported over to Windows is also something almost none of them know about. They would rather spend $300+ for MS Office, than get the full featured and free Open Office. They would rather pay Microsoft to live in Software lockdown and DRM, than venture into the big wide world of open code and absolute control over their Computers. Its pathetic really, but to each his/her own.

By Mike Minton on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Drivers are not easy in Linux, I don’t what Kool-Aid you have been drinking. Please don’t remind me about using the NDIS Wrapper to make a Broadcom Wireless card work….

Switch to a Mac, it just works - http://blog.indigio.com/index.php/2008/02/21/why-i-switched-to-mac-and-what-i-have-learned/

By Nik on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Try using AutoHotKey to create shortcuts (including alt+mouse buttons)

Lifehacker.com has lots of hints for windoze, linux and macs, usefull site to bookmark.

http://lifehacker.com/software/how-to/automate-windows-with-autohotkey-278859.php

PuTTy? What’s wrong with it? I’ve used it for quite a while and have no problems with it. Will have to give andLinux a glance tho (Due to work issues I have to have Windows bootable on my laptop but I dual-boot to Linux on it)

By Phil on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

As for package management, have you looked in Start > Control Panel > Programs and features?

Windows installer is damn powerful (think RPM on steroids); it’s a transactional installation engine which allows roll-back, uninstall, unattended install, enterprise-wide deployment etc.

Almost everything you install on windows will be using MSI files (windows installer packages) underneath a fancy gui. The other alternatives (NSIS etc.) should still put an uninstall link in the programs and features window.

Of course, this doesn’t help for programs with no installers (e.g. delivered as a big old zip), or installers that lack (IMHO) certain basic features (I’m looking at you cygwin) - but that’s the same on Linux.

By Anonymous on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Uh, small amount of irony in a Linux user complaining about having issues with drivers in Windows…

By Chethan on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I think launchy is a pretty good keystroke launcher for vista

http://www.launchy.net/

and its open source!

By TK on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I’m curious since I haven’t messed with Vista yet, but is “Add/Remove Programs” present? If so, would you not consider it a package management app in a broader sense of the term? The reason I ask is it includes the option to install from a CD and also to uninstall programs. It doesn’t have an online repository that we Linux users know and love, though. Just wondering…

By Rob on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I’m one of the windows drones,
I’ve tried Linux several times but never got happy with a distribution
does anyone have any suggestions on I how to migrate, it recognizes all my stuff its internet connections I struggle with, one has just let me boot Firefox and go, also a basic guide to Konsole or terminal would be great
Rob

By Jack on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

If you want an easy way to redo your desktop without a lot of pain, go buy a spare drive(yes, for your laptop) and do a fresh install of your favorite Linux distro. I assume you backed up your previous Linux desktop before starting on you unfortunate Vista mis-adventure?

Welcome back, all is forgiven.

By Anton Koch on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

A great app which I don’t know if it works on Vista is launchy from http://www.launchy.net

You hit alt+space then start typing the app name and it does an indexed search of the most likely places to find shortcuts (Desktop, start menu and quick start) - you can also customise which folders it indexes so you can find mp3s or anything else with ease

By Sid on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

You seem to think that a user interface should make it possible for you to work exactly as you are used to in another interface, and that should include grep and awk. Vista designers have never attempted to accomodate a user like you, and I don’t think they should.

By Solo on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I’m just wondering if installing andLinux doesn’t defeat the purpose of using Vista, being that it is a full Ubuntu distribution on top of coLinux (that’s a linux kernel running along *with/along* windows)

You just installed Ubuntu “in” windows and of course, found all the package management/tools/apps you are used to…

By Brade on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I use ubuntu full time, but it’s not all peaches and cream compared to windows. Two problems I still have are the inability to set up a DLNA server to convert oggs to mp3s so my PS3 can recognize them–something easily done with TVersity on windows.

Also, I cannot dual-monitor my Samsung HDTV because of the retarded “screens and graphics” app in ubuntu–most have suggested using xrandr to set up dual monitors, which I’m sure works fine for most monitors, but I still can’t use my HDTV (which simply connects via the VGA cable) to get a good signal. This is something else that “just worked” whenever I had windows.

In the end, all 3 of the major OSes have their definite strengths and flaws. I love package management in ubuntu and the wealth of free programs available, and programming/developing within it is far more enjoyable. But when it comes to setting up some basic scenarios like a media server and dual monitors, ubuntu still croaks…

By jon on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

The problem in your statements don’t appear to be functionality, they appear to be a lack of knowledge and general understanding of how the world is changing with operating systems.

Too much of your personal opinion and not enough analysis. I don’t even like Microsoft and I see you as coming off as a loyal to the end linux fanboy; it makes it pretty hard to take you serious.

By Sam on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I disagree on the drivers, since they are loads more drivers in windows than there are in linux. Any new device comes with windows support while you have to wait in linux for someone to program one. I just wish linux had enough of a user base to force developers to create drivers for that platform. One more thing, I love VS 2005/2008, and really dont like to program in any other IDE since intellisense is heaven unless someone knows another alternative. This is why I dual boot, and my laptop is strictly Vista. Also, the vista start menu is a fantastic idea that was borrowed(or stolen) from apple. You can launch anything from there in seconds using the windows key, which can help you launch items from the keyboard.

By Charles on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Uh, package management? Windows doesn’t HAVE packages in the same manner as Linux. There’s no central “what’s installed” database in the same manner as Linux. Programs mostly aren’t made of distinct, individually packaged components and dependencies. Indeed, in most cases, when a program has a dependency, it’s actually bundled with the Installer. The Installer asks Windows to take care of any dependency installations. (Ever wonder why an Installer asks you to close a program before it can install? Dependency conflicts.)

The closest you’ll get to package management is using an Uninstaller. Uninstallers can be reached in the control panel. Try looking for “Add/Remove Programs,” or whatever it’s called in Vista. You’ll find a complete list of all programs that you’ve installed using the right methods (i.e. an Installer).

Programs that haven’t been installed using an installer will logically have no entry in the add/remove panel. It’s analogous to compiling a package from source rather than using a package manager — the package manager doesn’t realize that the things installed outside its domain of control exist. Thankfully in Windows, these things are few and far-between.

(That being said, I honestly think this is a troll. I mean, seriously, “package management” on Windows, and you didn’t think about Add/Remove Programs? Come on, give me a break.)

By Rick Lee on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I use both Ubuntu and Windows, so I’m not a Linux basher, but hey… the driver situation isn’t so rosy in Linux-land. I had an extremely common HP printer for which the available Linux driver was just broken. Nosing around on the forums showed that this was a known problem. And in Linux-land, there’s nobody to complain to.

By Zach on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I’m not sure I understand what your goal was here. You tried to make the switch from Linux to Vista for an extended period of time, but refused to adopt a Windows mindset when using the operating system. Why were you trying to use Secure -SHell- when Windows isn’t a shell centric operating system? Why grep when Explorer provides similar functionality?

Granted grep and SSH might have features that you’re used to and even be more powerful/flexible. but that isn’t the issue. The issue is that you claim to have used Vista for 4 months, but you didn’t really. You took Vista and made it as close to your KDE environment as you could.

Did you install gVim as well? Many of your points are valid, but you said yourself that Windows “is what it is”. You didn’t actually experience what it is though, because you tried to make it something it’s not.

Consider the analogy of someone who is primarily a Windows programmer attempting to learn programning on a Unix/Linux based system. They can’t find an editor that they’re familiar with, so instead of learning vi they just install Kate. Then the next thing you know they’re talking about comparing features between the IDE that they’re used to and the IDE they used on Linux.

For the record, I’m both a Linux and a Windows user. The title of this article really peaked my interest because I thought it was going to be a real comparison from someone who immersed themselves in Vista after using Linux for so long. But this is no different than the American that moves to Thailand, finds an American community where everyone speaks English, eats at American restaurants, and finds a Thai girl who speaks pasable English from whom he learns how to say about 20 words.

By Greg on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

You mentioned there is no package management in Vista. What do you mean? As someone regularly using Windows and Linux, it’s not obvious why Windows’s Control Panel’s “Add/remove programs” doesn’t qualify. Doesn’t it say what programs are and aren’t installed on your PC? It’s possible to install programs that don’t appear there, but that’s true with Linux package management too. Maybe you mean that there’s no package management that points you to third-party apps you “could” install off the net, like there is in Linux?

By Ralph on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Tabs? You should be using screen instead.

By Bill_Gates_Probe on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I am a hardcore Linux junkie. Been using it since 1997 and I’m currently a Gentoo user who prefers to build everything possible from source. With that said, I have to say the only thing I disagree with is the driver comment. While a lot of basic hardware works with Linux out of the box, there are some notable areas that are problematic:

1. WiFi drivers: if you’re not using one of the few chips supported by the latest linux drivers which usually means NEWER hardware which most people are ignorantly and blithely buying. A pox on Broadcom for not opening the specs for their WiFi devices! Yes, I’ve gotten things working with NDISWrappers. It’s not as bad as some people claim, but it’s not something for Joe User to play with.
2. Multimedia I/O device drivers: Video capture cards based on the IVTV drivers work, but most distros don’t package them out of the box, so a custom kernel and building the drivers from source is usually required. As the IVTV project finally made it ino the mainline kernel in 2007, that may change, but it hasn’t as yet. There are numerous sound cards and high end digital audio interfaces that don’t work. Scanners are a bitch even with SANE. You need to have the EXACT model of scanner that works with SANE or you’re out of luck. The problem is, that as soon as a scanner is supported in SANE, it’s impossible to buy anywhere because it’s already a year old. Can’t blame Linux for planned obsolescence, but Joe User will…
3. Some older devices (especially the less expensive stuff that people are more likely to buy) don’t work at all. The most infamous one is the parallel port Zippy video capture device by Play Multimedia. These things were all the rage for vidiots back in the late 90s. But because Play never opened up the spec for these devices and no FOSS developers had an “itch”, it’s still not supported in Linux. The same for my Opcode 8-Port SE MIDI patch bay/interface. Hell it doesn’t even work on Windows beyond 95a. However, Joe User is still going to blame all of this on Linux “sucking”.
4. Don’t even mention printers. In general, if you’re talking about the cheap printers that Joe User is going to buy for home use, the only brands that are somewhat well supported are HP and Epson. Also, even though we know better and are aware that the CUPS printer drivers are NOT Linux kernel drivers and have nothing to do with Linux proper, Joe User doesn’t know that.

As much as the driver situation on Linux continues to improve and many devices “just work” there are always devices that just DON’T work at all. Sadly these devices tend to be quite popular in the Windows world. Couple that with the fact that Windows basically groups all drivers in as just “drivers” whereas Linux has distinctions: (in kernel, kernel module, user space driver, CUPS, SANE, NDISWrapper, etc…) and Joe User is going to think that Linux sucks.

My experience with Windows is very much the same as yours. I feel crippled when I’m on a Windows box. But, I’m also a pretty flexible guy and I do have to say each release of Windows has gotten better and better from my perspective. Not just stability and security-wise, but also in the organization of the GUI. More simplistic and streamlined is something that appeals to some users. That seems to be what Microsoft is striving for. Of course Mac OS does it better and always has…

By Tony Fendall on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Drivers easier in linux? You’ve got to be kidding me

By Eric Austin on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

For package management try secunia (https://psi.secunia.com/). The only problem is that I haven’t figured how to boot vista without it being initially blocked from starting (entailing yet more clicking to get stuff running) by vista’s annoying security checks (are you sure you want this to run….are you really sure….are you reallllllllllllllyyyyy sure? …..ugh)

By Ozzy on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Drivers for linux are mostly a joke, if you have NEW hardware. At least you can find them in Vista, and not need to drop to a command line to run a buttload of tools to check version numbers and such, in order to install them.

There still does not seem to exist drivers for any sound card I’ve had in the past 3-5 years.

By culoculo on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

if you have the enterprise edition or ultimate you can use the posix subsystem to have a korn shell and other gnu tools

By Farhan Ahmad on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

You said cygwin failed on Vista? Can you give more details? I think your problem might be that you are installing it in C:\. I have it installed in a folder under my User folder and it seems to work fine. I don’t like the much simpler default command prompt “program” in Windows so I have switched it to use rxvt (http://infrablue.tripod.com/cygwin.html, first google result for ‘cygwin rxvt’).

Also, if you end up going the cygwin route, you can use these (http://www.thebitguru.com/blog/view/103) commands to easily go to Windows directories and open explorer. If you are an “all keyboard person” then I would also suggest looking at screen; cygwin+screen works pretty good for me.

By Weasel on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Honestly, I’m kind of tired of these kinds of “switch” articles. No offense to you Ryan, but you commit the same sin as 99% of other ’switchers’, be it from Linux->Windows, Windows->Linux, Windows->Mac’, etc. You don’t actually switch. When you were faced with something in Windows you didn’t like (putty), you immediately found some hack to shoehorn a Linux tool into Windows, and then complain it “wasn’t a smooth install”. Wait, installing a Linux tool on a Windows system wasn’t easy? I’m so surprised. Did you look for Windows solution? Or was the comfort of your previous environment too much to resist?

I’m not trying to bash either Windows or Linux, each has it’s strengths weaknesses. I guess what I’m saying is that if you’re going to switch, then by golly switch. Switch for a year. Switch your OS at home, work, and anywhere else you use a computer. When faced with a problem, don’t immediately fall back to trying to kludge in your old and comfortable environment in your new and scary OS. The idea of switching means you don’t use your old OS, ever. Confronting problems in the new OS is going to make you have to think differently. You’ll have to come up with different ways to solve your problems. When these ‘I switched’ articles start doing that, then that’s when I might put some value on what you write.

By Doug Roberts on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Interesting his experiences in Vista. This corresponds well with my own. Well, not entirely my own. The Vista computer in question is a Dell 1720 Inspiron that my wife wanted so she could learn PowerPoint and do presentations at work. I use it sometimes so it has become the “household” laptop. Most of the time I use Mepis 6.5 on my old desktop computer.

Anyway Vista:

1. The Vista UI is harder to customize, so I didn’t even put much effort into it. Mostly I just turned off a bunch of stuff: the “flying windows”, the widget thingy. I can’t say that is true customizing just turning things off to minimize the effects of bloat.

2. What I wanted in Vista was a simple virtual desktop. I keep it REAL simple in Mepis: just a two window virtual desktop set in the upper right corner of the screen. That is SO handy for me. I simple mouse click and I switch screens. I have not seen anything for Vista like that. I did find something that sort of works for XP though. Arrgh.

3. Then I wanted Vista to do what KDE gives you the option of doing: Moving windows forward or behind other windows that are open with just a click. A very simple idea. No can do in Vista. Another Arrgh!!!

I like the pretty folders in Vista, but truth be told, they don’t really do much except hog resources.

I actually like the UAC. It keeps my wife from getting into the bowels of the computer and getting things messed up. For me it operates fairly similarly to Linux. Linux should be flattered.

Would I put Vista on an additional computer? I have reservations about that. It is just too hardware hungry. At least it has not been a problem stability-wise, which I know is not what a lot of folks say they experience.

Doug Roberts

By Joe on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Ryan,

When you installed andLinux, did you go with the Samba or CoLinux option? Are you able to get sound? I have had andLinux running for a week now with no sound. I have done a few reinstalls, tried the ESD option, etc with no luck.

I am a Windows guy but an occasional Linux user. IMHO, the biggest difference between the 2 worlds is the intuitiveness that comes with Windows for the general user. Install and move on. No configurations/changes, etc. The typical user does not want to control his/her computer. A very small % of people do. So, Linux is powerful and awesome, but its not for everyone.

–j

By Ryan Lester on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

For the package management, try win-get:

http://windows-get.sourceforge.net/

By Tim on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I recently switched from Linux to a Mac, and I’ve been downright giddy. I admit I’d prefer /etc/init.d and adduser to work right, but other than that… it’s a dream. Stuff just works, and my command line is there, and I can compile or port anything.

I decided to switch to a Mac when it took me a full day and a half to install linux on a new laptop and get the bluetooth working, the wireless working, and it driving two monitors only when docked.

By Badguy on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

All I can say is this:

I hope there is at least a good reason for bringing all this pain down upon yourself.

as I sit back on my slackware 12.0 with enlightenment running I think to myself, that poor bastard.

By Archie on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Wikipedia seems to know everything.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_management_system

There are actually a few package management tools that look like they work roughly like the graphical linux tools.

By Murray Baker on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I tried Linux (Ubuntu) on my new laptop (Dell D630) but hibernate only works sometimes and the wireless network settings keep getting lost. So I’m afraid it’s back to Vista for me.

By SpookyET on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Have you looked at PowerShell? It’s very powerful replacement. Hotwire in Linux was inspire by it. You pipe objects not text. And it has most linux aliases for its commans.

By Ian Tipson on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I just installed Vista Business on my 30 month old Compag laptop, AMD64, 1.25 GB ram, discrete video card - only one problem, the wireless did not work until I installed an update, big deal. My new laptop is an ASUS G2 - T7700 Core 2 Duo, 2 GB ram. GeForce 8600GT 256MB ddr3, Wireless N, etc. Vista runs fine, good luck getting any version of Linux to run. The closest I have come is Fedora 8 inside Virtual Box, Suse doesn’t work. I have Office 2007 and Open Office installed, they both work fine, my keyboard shortcuts are customized, most of my software is open source or freeware. I like Linux and use it on other machines, but let’s be serious - unless you want to write your own drivers it does not work on leading edge hardware.

By Vista Sux on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

I got Vista pre installed on my new Laptop, IBM T61P. 4 Gigs of ram, 7200Rpm 160GB HDD, Nvidia Quadro FX570M. Vista fells to be slowing down each day. Devices fail to start at random after hybernate, so you have to reboot, explorer sucks 100% of CPU at random, so you have to kill the process, programs fail to install or work properly, disk copy / move / delete operations seam to take forever to start.
I’m waiting to see if SP1 fixes things. If not it’s back to XP.
Sorry cant use linux, it’s a business pc, I have a linux desktop at home. Aero cant compare to Compiz… And that pc is 3 years and the visuals are stunning.

By Vista Sux on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

CPU is 2,4 Core duo btw.

By Barton on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Regarding lack of tabs under PuTTY… that’s what screen is for ;-).

Good point about sending the same input to all sessions though… I’ve never had the occasion to try that, so it hadn’t occurred to me.

By Chat on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

Did you expect anything else from Microsuck?

By Harold on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

It sounds to me like everyone else who switched from something they are uesd to to something different. It doesn’t matter what is better. The complaints are “I like to do it this way” which actually means “This is the way I do it with (fill in the blank with the old way).” I used this excuse when I refused to use a GUI and stuck with my Apple IIe, and when I refused to leave Pascal programming. I’m not saying that Vista is better or Linux is better. I’m just saying that the resons you give are purely based on the fact that you are used to doing it a certain way that is based on the limitations and/or functionality of the original operating system.

By riclewis on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

If you really want to have fun hacking around on a Unix within Windows, try the MSFT Services For Unix (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb463214.aspx). The SFU is a component that comes standard with Vista Ultimate, or can be downloaded for free from MSFT.

The NT kernal is a shifty beast, and is designed to run any number of subsystems (Win32, OS/2, or any POSIX compliant system) simultaneously. Unlike virtualization or Cygwin style stuff, SFU completely bypasses the Win32 stack and interacts directly with the NT Kernel in a fully POSIX compliant manner. It’s slick.

There’s nothing like running a native bash shell within windows, with native access to the filesystem. Until powershell ships with windows, I will continue to use SFU to replace CMD.exe with bash on all my windows machines.

By Matt on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

I just want to challenge you to you try out Mac OS X. It would be a pretty good blend of ‘nix and mainstream OS. I used Ubuntu for a year and was a Micro-whore much longer than that. Since I have moved to Mac, I hate even touching a Windope box. Just give it a try, you will probably feel more at home with Console and you can even install your Linux apps on a Mac.

By Nogg3r5 on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

I have one thing to say. Download a program in Firefox and run it. Any program will do. Then try the same thing in IE7. Count the amount of times you click.

That alone was enough to drive me insane and get me to try Ubuntu. Now, I’m happier, more productive and I dont ahve to be scared everytime I open an email attachment

By Irish Al on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

“Man tries to make Vista into Linux, fails. More news at 10″

If he had gone from Vista to Ubuntu, and started complaining about how Ubuntu is different, the reply would be ’stop trying to turn it into Windows’.

Driver support is better in Linux? Bahahahahahahahahaha. Ahh, good one.

Package management? OK there’s no Synaptic or equivalent. Equally most things on Vista install using Installshield or MSI, and you don’t have to go off get this package and that for anything that isn’t in a repository or packaged for your distro.

By nate on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

“”Have you looked at PowerShell? It’s very powerful replacement. Hotwire in Linux was inspire by it. You pipe objects not text. And it has most linux aliases for its commans.”"

Powershell is a scripting environment, not a usefull command line environment. I know that Microsoft would like to promote it as a CLI replacement, but in practice it’s not realy that wonderfull.

A similar example would be the Python or iPython interactive programming environment. It operates much like a shell, if you install python and just type ‘python’ then it’ll dump you into a python shell. Ipython is a improved version of it for programmers (it’s fun to use also) and Hotwire is trying to take make a object oriented python shell, indeed much like Powershell is trying to do.

The problem with trying to make a Unix shell replacement is that the Unix shell has been evolving for 20+ years now. It’s very capable and the sort of things it does it is very good at. There are corner cases all over the place and the GNU tools are best and most complete group of tools and utilities you can get from any OS. Making simple aliases in Python or Powershell is something that is easy to do, but it would require a experianced team of programmers years and years to get something that rivals that. Not many people are going to want to spend that much effort on replacing something that is already working, mature, and is freely avialable.

The bottom line is if you like Linux and unless you require Windows-only applications that require lots of hardware resources (say 3D modelling) then there is realy no reason to ever need to boot into Windows.

The driver issues with Linux is easily delt with by choosing hardware that is Linux-friendly. With any sort of classification you want.. wifi cards, video cards, audio cards, hdtv capture cards, etc etc you can find hardware that works great for Linux. You can’t just take random stuff and expect it to work easily, but with some effort and selective shopping you can get a computer that ‘just works’.

For regular Windows apps like MS Office you may need then you can just run XP inside of Virtualbox. You can ‘pause’ the image and undo changes and all sorts of fancy stuff that you can’t do in regular Windows machine. Doing that you can have superior Windows application compatability then if you use Vista.

Same thing with OS X.

Now if you just don’t like Linux and prefer Windows then that is a entirely different story.

By bago on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

Install powershell. You get full .net FCL functionality at a command line and can pipe objects from one call to the next. You can view the registry like a directory. You can make powershell scripts to use the .net base class libraries to make programs. You can even hook into WMI.

Also, regarding the UI complaints. Try visiting the control panel and pushing buttons. They do things like the keyboard shortcuts and whatnot.

By Irish Al on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

Vista was dog-slow copy files and using the UI on my admittedly not great laptop. I have access to MSDN and so have got SP1 on it and on my laptop at least it is signifigantly faster.

By Psy on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

I am a linux fan and a regular user. I also use XP and Vista at work and home for various reasons. Although I agree with almost all of your statements, including how the driver model is so much easier in linux than windows, your comment on how your devices “just work” in Vista but not Linux is just nonsense. Getting hardware to work in Windows is generally MUCH easier in windows. Most device vendors ship drivers for Windows and very few ship for linux. Some provide downloadable drivers for linux online but for those that do not, we rely on the invaluable efforts from the open source community (I try to contribute as much as possible) to provide drivers for us. Often these cannot be fully tested to the degree the windows drivers are as they are not commercial offerings, rather that of software engineers developing in their spare time. The ndiswrapper you mention is a prime example. This isn’t actually a driver but a way of using existing WINDOWS drivers in linux. It exists because most network adapter vendors ship windows drivers but NOT linux, and ndiswrapper is a workaround for us linux users.

By Psy on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

It is, however, nice to see a linux fan make the effort to try to use the other OS, rather than make there minds up based on their hate for M$. Good stuff!

By culoculo on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

did you even try the posix subsystem?
http://blogs.msdn.com/sfu/archive/2007/05/01/unix-interoperability-and-windows-vista.aspx
http://www.interopsystems.com/tools/warehouse.htm

By adam on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

to Nogg3r5:
download complete.
click 1: Run
click 2: Next(start installer)
click 3: Agree(if applicable)
click 4: installing
click 5: click done, run program after completion.

5 clicks which all happened withing about 5 seconds of each other. It’s not a hassle by any means, it’s a standard installer.

In reply to the moving user who had to download a 3rd party app to bring windows to the foreground or move them to the background, you really don’t know windows. That or you didn’t specify enough what you were trying to do, but It’s simple to switch windows from foreground to background. Just click on the top of the window in which you want to bring to the foreground. I am not sure really how to explain it, just click on the window you want to see and it’ll put the window you WERE seeing behind the window you just brought to the foreground.

Now on to replying to the original article. I have taken only a small “intro to Linux” class at a local community college as part of my degree program and I absolutely hated the experience. I dreaded each class the way you dread going to the dentist(if you like going to the dentist you are not human). I have to agree with some of the repliers here in that you never really switched to vista, you just loaded the OS and immedietely went looking for linux programs to run on it. If that wasn’t enough you complained that vista couldn’t do what linux did. Obviously there is a slight learning curve when transitioning to a different OS. Windows IS NOT LINUX. MAC is not LINUX. Only linux is linux.

Everything you tried to do in windows was in some form or another linux related. Personally I don’t see whats so good about linux. When I installed my vista ultimate it found all but 1 driver for all my new hardware. What was the missing driver? Radeon HD3870 graphics card(s).
I’m not bashing you or linux bud, I’m just saying if you are going to move to vista(windows) then you should use windows environment and not resort to having to do everything the “linux way”. Carry on

By Pepa on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

Another Putty alternative is Tunnelier:
http://www.bitvise.com/tunnelier
It also comes with a graphical sftp (ssh) client. (But I can see that andLinux might be hugely preferrable..!)

By Chris Lees on Feb 27, 2008 | Reply

@Mike Minton: Try getting your Broadcom wireless card working on a Macintosh. Or, indeed, get a non-Apple wireless card working on a Macintosh. Without writing your own drivers, and without writing your own version of Ndiswrapper. Yeah, the Macintosh just works, doesn’t it?

By Nick on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

@Rob
‘does anyone have any suggestions on I how to migrate’:
http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=2006061302494935

By Sympatico on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

“Screen” is alright when run under a linux base (e.g. konsole). But Putty doesn’t provide a proper character terminal and screen under putty is uncomfortable.

Basically you were only happy when you had added enough unix tools to your windows install. I’m not surprised. You’re like me. I, personally, am much much happier with the unix interface and the unix toolset. Windows makes Mr Sympatico very sad and angry.

And as for the package management, it’s amazing that nobody has layered apt or similar onto Windows. Or if they have, it’s not popular enough that a substantial fraction of Windows users do it.

Apart from the simple fact that most Windows software is not Free and you have to pay for it and suffer the vendor’s install program, it ought to be possible to implement quite similar functionality to apt. The program would have to have a big database of applications which would contain details of how each application is installed and uninstalled.

For removal of installed software - very simple, delete the installed files and modify the registry entries.

For adding software. Well, the program could contain instructions on how to unpack source media (like a CD or zip file) and replicate the function of the windows installer. Or the program could let you run the windows installer program and merely take note of the installed files. If it had a sufficient database then it might not need to do it.

And for removing, the program could do more than delete the installed files, it could pack them up into an archive suitable for later reinstall.

The program would need a big database of Windows applications. What are the barriers to creating one? I think the main barrier is that Windows users are not a community; there’s no culture of sharing and contributing. Every Windows user is used to buying their software (or copying it) and every Windows vendor is competing with every other windows vendor, rather than co-operating.

Linux developers co-operate with Debian and other distros because it helps their software get widely deployed. No such co-operation for Windows users.

By Liothen on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

Gota give Ryan credit since he did go the extra step to install and try Vista. I had a similar experience in Vista upon a restore of my dell i found it rather difficult to get my sound and video capture up and running. yet i could boot a linux livecd and have a fully functional system.
The linux kernel comes with many different drivers that can be built into the kernel some distros take advantage of this feature and do a scan of the bus to select the correct modules to load.
as for hardware driver support lacking behind windows, that is also debatable seeing that your probably only referring to the graphics drivers, as for that matter yes they are usually 1-3 months behind there windows counterparts. yet most other manufactures make linux drivers available immediately in there release schedule.
Windows package manager, now that is actually funny its more of a place where you can find your uninstall button. granted i will go with it is similar to .rpm since they both compile there applications on generic hardware and architectures.
Truth is i always keep a copy of windows vista on one of my smaller drives, cause you never know when you might need it. As for an everyday OS i use linux.

By Jason Burns on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

Ryan, great article, I appreciate you giving our OS a try

By Bill_Gates_Probe on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

In response to all the other posters who are claiming he didn’t try it the Windows way, you’re wrong. I lived with Windows XP intentionally for an entire year a while back. Mainly it was to keep me familiar with the OS. I did EVERYTHING the MS way. The thing is, there is just too much functionality lacking in Windows to be able to satisfy someone who’s experienced a more fully featured environment. I’m assuming that most of you have only had Windows as your primary desktop OS and it shows. That’s not an insult BTW, it’s just a fact. If all you’ve ever known is Windows, it’s a lot like being from a small town. It’s great. Why would anyone want something different? But then you go to a big city and you find all sorts of interesting things to do and people to hang out with that the small town didn’t have. Then you go back to the small town and it’s suddenly really dull. The fact is that when you use a fully featured OS like Linux, your needs as a user are permanently altered and Windows no longer works for you.

By EricS on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

I read both this and your first post about the switch. The question that jumped into my mind that I never saw answered was “Why”? What made you try to run Vista in the first place if you were already happy and comfortable running Linux?

Obviously Microsoft has tried to design much of its software for the average user, not a power user like yourself. Much of the software developed on Linux was written by people trying to scratch their own itch, so naturally, it tends to be more for the power user.

I particularly don’t understand why you would try administrating Linux servers from Windows. Obviously, Microsoft tends to develop system administration tools for administrating Windows systems, not Linux servers. Why would they want to make administrating Linux servers any easier?

If you really want to modify the Windows settings more than what Microsoft wanted Joe Average User to be able to do, you have to get comfortable hacking the Windows registry. That’s were all of the settings are stored. I didn’t see you mention trying that at all. As far as what to change, you either need to figure that out yourself or find some website (sometimes Microsoft’s) or book that will tell you. With XP, you can do some moderately advanced customization without directly editing the registry by using the TweakUI Powertoy from Microsoft, but they haven’t released it yet for Vista AFAIK.

By EricS on Feb 28, 2008 | Reply

Thanks for replying.

Since you mentioned missing sed, grep, and awk, I was going to mention that there are over 150 GNU packages at http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/, but forgot. Unfortunately, there isn’t a shell to run them in and the quote and escape characters are different between Linux and the Windows consoles, but often either the tools don’t reflect that, or the documentation doesn’t. Someone else already suggested http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/, but what is collected there doesn’t look as current.

Finally, there is something I just found called UWIN, which includes a korn shell. A post about it is here: http://linuxhelp.blogspot.com/2006/01/uwin-unix-for-windows.html. It’s listed as $200 shareware at download.com, but the post says it’s now free for non-commercial use (doesn’t help you, I know).

By culoculo on Mar 1, 2008 | Reply

you should get a thinkpad mine works fine in freebsd and windows.

By James on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply

I’d love to talk to you about KDE. It just looks ugly. Email me.