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BlackElantraGT · 03-02-08, 08:36

nice tips Ray, I also have a similar regimen as you when it comes to Windows. I don't really see the point in paying for some of these programs, but based on the recent rave reviews of the Norton programs, I've actually thought about buying one program to handle everything instead of having one for this, and another for that. I've been burned in the past by Norton with all that bloatware they installed onto my system and that's what got me using the free, better alternatives.

One program I'd like to add to your list is SpyWareBlaster, in addition to using SpyBot (recently updated so it doesn't take so long to load) and AdAware 2007.

I like to dabble around in Linux, but as much progress they've made in making it a user-friendly system, I don't think it'll ever be as mainstream as Windows or Mac OS. While you can do more with the OS right out of the box with a good Linux distro, there are just some things that don't work as easily as it should.

For example, watching a DVD on my laptop. I'm pretty computer savvy but as experienced as I am with computers, I could not figure out how to watch a DVD without having to pay for certain codecs. And if you have a newer device that doesn't have Linux drivers, good luck trying to find one that works.

I'm not a big Mac fan, but I feel Windows and Macs offers a "finished" product while many things in Linux feels like they're in beta stage, a work-in-progress, or a college student's project. I just don't get why people say Linux is more stable (because most servers are linux based?) when I find Linux and its apps to be much buggier than most products I use in Windows. I guess if stable means less reboots, then I will agree with that but stability for me also comes from the programs running within the OS and in that respect, I find that a lot more Linux apps crash on me than in Windows.

While there are many good alternative and free programs for Linux, one thing that I find that Linux lacks is a good personal finance software program comparable to Quicken/Quickbooks or Microsoft Money. GnuCash and KMyMoney is alright, if it was 1990 but it's far from what Quicken or Money can do. I'm not big on paying for programs, especially when I can get things for free (legally and illegally) but once you use Linux, you have a bigger appreciation for the developers and programmers and software companies out there writing these programs for us.

03-02-08, 08:36	#10 (permalink)
BlackElantraGT Registered User BlackElantraGT is offline Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,900	Re: Some free goodiez for ya from me.. ;) nice tips Ray, I also have a similar regimen as you when it comes to Windows. I don't really see the point in paying for some of these programs, but based on the recent rave reviews of the Norton programs, I've actually thought about buying one program to handle everything instead of having one for this, and another for that. I've been burned in the past by Norton with all that bloatware they installed onto my system and that's what got me using the free, better alternatives. One program I'd like to add to your list is SpyWareBlaster, in addition to using SpyBot (recently updated so it doesn't take so long to load) and AdAware 2007. I like to dabble around in Linux, but as much progress they've made in making it a user-friendly system, I don't think it'll ever be as mainstream as Windows or Mac OS. While you can do more with the OS right out of the box with a good Linux distro, there are just some things that don't work as easily as it should. For example, watching a DVD on my laptop. I'm pretty computer savvy but as experienced as I am with computers, I could not figure out how to watch a DVD without having to pay for certain codecs. And if you have a newer device that doesn't have Linux drivers, good luck trying to find one that works. I'm not a big Mac fan, but I feel Windows and Macs offers a "finished" product while many things in Linux feels like they're in beta stage, a work-in-progress, or a college student's project. I just don't get why people say Linux is more stable (because most servers are linux based?) when I find Linux and its apps to be much buggier than most products I use in Windows. I guess if stable means less reboots, then I will agree with that but stability for me also comes from the programs running within the OS and in that respect, I find that a lot more Linux apps crash on me than in Windows. While there are many good alternative and free programs for Linux, one thing that I find that Linux lacks is a good personal finance software program comparable to Quicken/Quickbooks or Microsoft Money. GnuCash and KMyMoney is alright, if it was 1990 but it's far from what Quicken or Money can do. I'm not big on paying for programs, especially when I can get things for free (legally and illegally) but once you use Linux, you have a bigger appreciation for the developers and programmers and software companies out there writing these programs for us.