While many users really like the Windows interface and have no problem with it, others despise it for a number of reasons. For me, the basic user paradigm is fine but the OS is just too huge and clunky these days. I would far rather see the current OS kernel with a feature set closer in size to Windows 98 or 2000, since (to be perfectly honest) I simply don’t use most of XP’s feature set and am not interested in it. I hate Internet Explorer, though recent versions have gotten better with WCC compliance. I will never, ever use Outlook willingly. Media Player is okay, but mainly I use Winamp.

While chatting with a colleague earlier this week, he raised the question whether it’s possible for someone to transition off Windows and onto Linux. He hates Windows for many reasons, and doesn’t want to fork over a large amount of cash to upgrade his current stable of 4 XP machines to Windows 7 when it’s released. (Like me, he hates Vista with a passion).

After mulling it over a bit, the basic conclusion is “it depends.” Yeah, the answer really does sound like something you’d get from a Magic 8-Ball. Here’s why.

If you’re a generic Internet user — i.e. you need a browser, email client, and almost nothing else — then the answer is definitely “yes.” You could transition easily to MacOS or Linux, taking your bookmarks and mail (presuming it’s not in some funky format) with you. Firefox, Opera, Safari, Eudora, Thunderbird, and other free software will handle everything you need.

But let’s say you’re currently a Microsoft Office user. Now things become more complex, because Open Office for Linux (or Windows, for that matter) may not provide every feature you need. And sometimes it’s not so good at handling import/export of MS Office documents. This said, you could create a VMware image of your current Windows environment (including Office) and run it as needed from a shiny new Linux system.

The same goes for gamers, in fact. While a few high end games are available under Linux or MacOS, most of that market is Windows only. So again, you’d need a VMware image or even a dual boot arrangement in order to handle all your needs.

Musicians and video artists, at least for now, may be stuck with Windows. At least some higher end specialized recording packages (e.g. Cakewalk SONAR) may not be available for non-Windows platforms. Graphic arts packages, on the other hand, often started on the MacOS and went to Windows from there. So graphics folk can probably move to the Mac if they want. What about Linux? I’m not sure at this point.

So, if you’re thinking of abandoning Windows you’ll need to inventory your system. Find out which of your critical applications are available for Linux or Mac. You may find free or shareware applications that’ll do just as good a job. Or you may discover it’s impossible, which means you should contact vendors and demand they write to other OS platforms. The competition would do Microsoft a world of good.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 9:01 pm and is filed under Linux, Operating Systems, Windows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.