Tag Archives: Windows

Linux v. Windows – practical reasons for beginners to choose Linux.

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An overview comparison of windows and Linux:

Ubuntu Precise Pangolin with Cinnamon Desktop.Window is like firmware. Very little scope for customization. Even though it does not sell hardware, it is like buying a phone with camera and music player etc. but without scope of expansion. Actually window’s popularity is due to its Games. However Linux is like a smartphone that has a lot of options. Once we install Linux, it brings with it loads of free software created by volunteers who created it for themselves and distributed it over the net.
At one time it could be said that, the first time computer buyer or for beginner, Windows is the safer option but that is not true any more. It was true, back then because the non-availability of hardware drivers. Linux was not able to run on large number of computers or support other apparatus due to non-availability of drivers. Now major hardware producers are supporting the Linux Foundation which is responsible for its core or kernel and compatibility of all major products are built-in kernel itself.
Here are some of the practical and day-to-day reasons which keep me stuck with Linux. Nothing emotional about it.

Windows’ Price

It is expensive. Worst problem is that a new version is rolled out every three years and it will not work on old machine, so we have to go out and buy a new machine as well. The worst part is dishonesty. The Microsoft first rolls out an alfa product as free trial and then sells beta product as new system. It keeps fixing the bugs and then it releases the final product as new edition. Look at past track record. Window 95 was a beta and 98 got it right. Windows 2000 and Millennium Edition were beta and finally XP was rolled out. Again Vista was a Beta and the Windows 7 was the final. My guess is Windows 8 is another Beta for touch screen monitor machines. Final will be the next.
Now after the purchase of OS, software is to be purchased which is no less expensive. Of course a pirated version is around the corner but why use a pirated when there is a free alternative which is also better? Continue reading →

Windows Black Screen of Death

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Causes

Firstly, there appears to be many causes of the black screen issue. The symptoms are very distinctive and troublesome. After starting your Windows 7, Vista, XP, NT, W2K, W2K3 or W2K8 PC or server the system appears normal. However, after logging on there is no desktop, task bar, system tray or side bar. Instead you are left with a totally black screen and a single My Computer Explorer window. Even this window might be minimized making it hard to see.

Solution

If we have these symptoms try free Black Screen Fix. It will fix the most common causes  of this issue. Running the fix program is easy under normal circumstances, simply download with browser using the link above and run the program. However trying to do this from the PC which has the black screen it is a bit more tricky. In these circumstances follow the procedure below:

1) Restart PC

2) Logon and wait for the black screen to appear

3) Make sure that PC is able to connect to the internet (black screen does not appear to affect this)

4) Press the CTRL, ALT and DEL keys simultaneously

5) When prompted, Click Start Task Manager

6) In Task Manager Click on the Application Tab

7) Next Click New Task

8) Now enter the command:

“C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe” “http://info.prevx.com/download.asp?GRAB=BLACKSCREENFIX”

Note this command assumes that we are using internet explorer as your browser, if not substitute your browser path and file details for those of iexplore.exe or use the Browser option of Task manager to locate it.

9) Click OK and the browser should start up and begin the download process

10) When prompted for the download Click run, the black screen fix program will download and run to automatically fix the issue.

11) Now restart PC and the black screen problem will hopefully be gone.

Source for the fix is here.

Regedit as offline Registry editor

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Windows Booting Problem

If a computer no longer boots up, often a rogue Registry setting is the culprit. In these cases you need an offline Registry editor, that is you have to edit the Registry from a second installation.  Although there are third party offline Registry editors, you can use regedit as an offline Registry editor. The procedure described here also works with Windows PE (Windows Preinstallation Environment) or Windows RE (Windows Recovery Environment). See more at: Regedit as offline Registry editor – 4sysops.

Oracle VM VirtualBox | VIrtualization.

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Oracle VM VirtualBox enables desktop or laptop computers to simultaneously run multiple operating systems, allowing users to get the most flexibility and utilization out of their PCs. Supporting an extensive range of host and guest operating systems, the popularity of Oracle VM VirtualBox is evidenced by its more than 26 million downloads.

Oracle VM VirtualBox provides high performance, support for a large number of virtual appliances available in the OVF format, multi-platform application development and testing, 2D/3D graphics acceleration, and cutting-edge features—including the ability to teleport a running virtual machine between hosts. Available as open source, Oracle VM VirtualBox boasts of a large, vibrant user community. (See: Oracle VM VirtualBox) The link to its download page is here.

SwitchingToUbuntu/FromWindows/Philosophy

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Official Ubuntu Community’s mundane reasons in favor of Linux:

Windows programs generally recognize two types of problems: those that they were specifically designed to handle (which they make unbeatably easy), and everything else (which they make unbearably difficult). Most Windows users find everything very intuitive except “that incomprehensible geeky stuff”, which usually means the contents of the Windows folder, the registry, or DLLs.
Linux users often find themselves learning bits here and there, but rarely hit a wall of incomprehensible geekiness. This can be harder at first (where Windows wouldn’t make you learn), but it pays off in the long-run (where Windows wouldn’t teach you the skills).
For example, Windows encourages you to discount its text-based interface (cmd.exe) as incomprehensible geeky stuff, whereas Linux encourages you to learn its text-based interface (the terminal) one step at a time. You start by copying and pasting terminal commands, then as the months go by, you start to understand what different commands do. People that keep learning can eventually build whole programs out of terminal commands. (source SwitchingToUbuntu/FromWindows/Philosophy – Community Ubuntu Documentation.)

However my reasons for using Linux instead of Windows are practical. Click to follow those reasons.