Also GiGo. If you’re savvy enough to install a whole new operating system, then to dual boot it, then to find and install the drivers needed, then set up an emulator to run a program then you’re probably savvy enough not to screw up your system. The vast majority of problems in any OS is you’re own damn fault. Thats why Linux users boast better stability, they’re more likely to know what they’re doing because they did their home work first. Meanwhile, most windows users just take it for granted.

Also the GUI was stolen by Microsoft from Apple. But Apple had stolen it from IBM’s paperless office. Just throwing that out there.

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I had countless problems with XP64 with games and devices etc.. firstly because no bugger supports it and secondly if they do support it they do it half assed. The built in 32bit>64bit (WOW) layers in XP64 are terrible really.. at least Vista 64 improved on this.

Also if i was going for a linux build i’d also still keep to 32bits (unless you have 4gig+ ram). There really is no performance increase going to 64bit, unless your a crazy chemist attempting to simulate the random motion of an entire moles worth of molecules.

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Gametap mocks my 64 bits. I can’t play a game over their service that I can buy (and play) for 5 dollars at my local big box store. XP64 refuses to run all matter of mod-installers for games/apps I’ve purchased… unless I turn to the hackmasters that only a quiet population of enthusiasts have learned of.

I learned about computers by getting games to run. I… saw X-Wing at about .4 FPS. Never actually played it, of course. But it RAN. It was made to run. Incidentally, while I can plug my old Sidewinder into my computer now, it just cyan’ be recognized. I can’t even play some classics on modern tech.

Take what you will from it – I’m an aged gamer, apparently nt so aged that it’s not a desired demographic, and yet, the only OS I can choose denies me. More and more , these days…

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http://www.ubuntu.com/

What with installing drivers, patches and mods, most PC gamers are already technically literate enough to handle a modern Linux distro just fine, they just don’t know it yet.

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Also of note for linux gamers, codeweavers has just released crossover games, which is basically the latest version of wine + installers for games so that they just work (so no looking around on the net to find out what you have to tweak). The steam install was amazing, just press “install steam” and click next a few times, and in 10 mins I was playing Team Fortress 2 in Linux. Although it isn’t perfect yet (I had a few texture issues), it’s great to see how close it’s getting. I’m still rebooting back to windows for proper TF2 sessions, but if I just want a quick game of Audiosurf, then it’s a click away, no reboot into OS of pain required :)

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@Max: It is eating. I’m on a laptop; ideally I’d like as little RAM/processing power etc used as possible… And what if Vista is trying to cache, well, whatever and then the next thing I load isn’t it? And the thing I load is very intensive? It leads to bad performance, not made up from the potential gains.

As for the GIMP with its most recent release it’s become a lot better. Personally I’m very impressed. I feel that things have got a lot better recently; using Compiz Fusion (at much lower memory than Vista but looking much better) with Emerald can give me a Vista-like look. And possibly with more recent developments it will be an entirely Vista look (If you’re into that sort of thing).

Another issue that has just occurred to me (possibly the most important one) is that of the ideas behind the software; obviously GNU/Linux is free, open-source software. Should I wish to change the window manager to better suit my twisted Vista needs I could (if I had the necessary skills); maybe I want to pare it down such that everything is optimized for high performance to get the best for my gaming needs. I don’t change these things but that’s not the point; maybe one day I’ll be in a position where I can. GNU/Linux is customisable to a level which Windows will never be.

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AbyssUK is right, vista has issues with partitions with other OS’s. That may have gotten better with recent patches (SP1?). I don’t dualboot so that kind of info floats past me.

I think Vista is a great OS. Yes it has a few issues (so did XP back in the day). There are a few cool perk things. Performance tab in the task manager is one that comes to mind. Check it out if you’re running Vista. The problem is Vista has a tarnished rep partially from Intel saying “Vista ready”. nVidia also failed miserably with driver support early on (MUCH better now). My GeForce 8800 640mb GTS works great :)

I think slashdot had a article recently saying 30% of Vista crashes early on were from nVidia failing to deliver quality drivers. ATI had something like 9%.

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Bloatware means that, if you buy a computer with an OS already installed, to make it work right, you’ll need to wipe the HDD and reinstall the OS. At that point, you just made your OS more difficult to use than Linux.

I use Linux in three places: in my router, in my NAS and in my pants.

And I only have 2 gigs of memory, not 4.

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