Computer operating systems

[myglaren]

Microsoft does seem to have been seriously impaired by Bill Gates withdrawing from the leadership. Must remember to ask the wife how she manages with W8.

[Ben82]

Jim you are being very unkind to Poxhaul Ashtrays with that comparison!
So far on server 2012 I've found the easiest way to get to all programs is to do windows key + F and then click on applications.
Come back Bill Gates, all is forgiven, please return and give us a decent GUI

There's a fairly big button for that in 8.1. But just checked 2012, you can press the windows key and then right click, and in the bottom right there's the all apps button.
Of course if you're doing that a lot then why not pin the app(s) to the start screen? once you've got the app right click on it and then select "Pin to Start Screen", then you can just start them off, off the main start screen.

To be honest, I find 8.1 worse than 8, I am now no longer using any metro apps like I was in 8... which was mainly to have skype as a side bar, with 8.1 Metro Skype crashes a lot, which meant I had to keep reloading it.. and then putting it back where I wanted it and resizing it. There was also the return of the pointless start button which there is no option to remove (however I have since found 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, which gets rid of it nicely for me).

[CitroJim]

I hereby humbly apologise to all Poxhall Ashtray owners for any offense caused.....

Sorry...

The battery last a long time in this laptop. A Tosh Satellite thing... That's impressive..

I should add that this laptop was not a conscious choice and there was no intent to have it. I just came to be its custodian by a set of circumstances really.

[Xaccers]

Jim you are being very unkind to Poxhaul Ashtrays with that comparison!
So far on server 2012 I've found the easiest way to get to all programs is to do windows key + F and then click on applications.
Come back Bill Gates, all is forgiven, please return and give us a decent GUI

There's a fairly big button for that in 8.1. But just checked 2012, you can press the windows key and then right click, and in the bottom right there's the all apps button.
Of course if you're doing that a lot then why not pin the app(s) to the start screen? once you've got the app right click on it and then select "Pin to Start Screen", then you can just start them off, off the main start screen.

We've got about 1000 servers we look after for 200+ clients, a mix of 2003, 2008, 2011 and 2012, thankfully only a few of the ones I regularly go on run 2012, so for the others that I happen to have to go on that turn out to be 2012 I'd have to pin it each time but my question is why the hell is that the case? We had an excellent GUI that could be organised easily and logically, yet with each version of Windows it's been dumbed down, had features removed and then turned into something that's a PITA to use.

[CitroJim]

Don't worry Xac, Server 2012 may be the last to have a GUI anyway. Subsequent versions are slated to be administered entirely through PowerShell..

Think 2008 core and that's the future

Unix servers have never had a GUI and never suffered because of it...

[Xaccers]

Unix servers have never had a GUI and never suffered because of it...

Beg to differ, had they a GUI and wizards then their TCO would have been much lower and would have had wider markets.
With Windows going down the sole root of powershell rather than having it as an enhancement, you then lose the advantage Windows server had over the competition; its simplicity.

[CitroJim]

you then lose the advantage Windows server had over the competition; its simplicity.

Simple? Windows Server? That's a bit like saying an XM is a simple car...

[Northern_Mike]

Unix servers have never had a GUI and never suffered because of it...

Oh they have.

We have a couple of thousand Windows servers and about 30 Unix servers.

Ease of use and TCO are the main reason. HP Wintel boxes are dirt cheap and a piece of cake for just about anyone to set up.

Compare that to some of the Sun kit we have..

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Xaccers]

you then lose the advantage Windows server had over the competition; its simplicity.

Simple? Windows Server? That's a bit like saying an XM is a simple car...

Windows server is extremely simple, heck you just tell it you want a DNS server and it does everything for you including installing any other features/roles that you'll need.
Compare that with nix.

[CitroJim]

Windows server is extremely simple, heck you just tell it you want a DNS server and it does everything for you including installing any other features/roles that you'll need.
Compare that with nix.

Where's the fun in that?

No enjoyment from compiling BIND from source code and then spending hours configuring it...

[Xaccers]

Windows server is extremely simple, heck you just tell it you want a DNS server and it does everything for you including installing any other features/roles that you'll need.
Compare that with nix.

Where's the fun in that?

No enjoyment from compiling BIND from source code and then spending hours configuring it...

Jim, has anyone ever told you that you're a bit strange?

[CitroJim]

Jim, has anyone ever told you that you're a bit strange?

Frequently. Almost on a daily basis

[RichardW]

Can't see what's strange about rebuilding 4HP20s for stress relief??

MS seem to have a 'good' version of WinDoze (I use the term advisedly) then a 'bad' one - so Win 9 should be better. Never going to match Ubuntu though Just moving onto Win7 here at work from XP - I only have to interface with it, seems OK, apart from not being to find anything in Office anymore, and getting frustrated about how tasks that used to simple single click now take about 4

Home laptop does still have dual boot - but only because Win is needed for Lexia (although I have yet to buy the interface ) When I have to buy a new laptop (although my in built desire to fix things, and natural tightness, precludes that somewhat!) I will trying to get a clean one for Ubuntu install.

[Xaccers]

Office 2007 was the start of the rot with that illogical ribbon along the top. Having to resort to google to find out how to perform simple tasks shows just how badly designed it was. Oh and I remember Microsoft's Office website suggesting a $65 third party application to make 2007 look like 2003 - an admision of failure?
2010 was marginally better with a slightly more logical layout, but 2013 with its flat layout has confused so many users, especially when they first open Word etc and don't get the usual layout until they open a document.
Forcing people to have a hotmail account in order to download it is also a PITA and just asking for future problems when the login details get lost.

[CitroJim]

Xac, I completely agree

Dad now tells me he wants Vista back and after I put Ubuntu on his old Vista laptop. Gosh, Ubuntu really flies on there too.

I can understand his desire though. I'm still swearing an Win8...

Richard, is it possible to get an OS-less laptop or one with Ubuntu pre-loaded? Be lovely if you could...