Computer Customer Service

[mtnbkr]

How is that relevant? Linux isn't used by many photographers OR businesses. It's seeems to be a hobby all to itself, or a religion.

Linux is at the core of a huge percentage of the servers out there - including the ones that are using proprietary (not Open Source) software. A lot of businesses are relying upon it, in one version or another.
And as for Mac, it is very prominent in the educational world. It still has its devotees in the graphics world as well.
And of course, it is extremely well connected to the cel phones in a huge percentage of photographers' pockets.

As Matt said, it's used a LOT in business. Just because you don't see it doesn't meant it isn't there. Of course, what do I know having spent the last 12 years delivering security services that rely on Linux to a large number of global customers.

Also, Linux is used as a host OS in Cloud Services from AWS, Microsoft, Google, and others. It's also used frequently in "network appliances" where its true nature is hidden behind a custom UI.

BTW, Android is based on Linux.

As for @Sirius Glass's assertion that Mac is best, I'll counter with all OSes suck and no one is best for all purposes. Here at home, we have machines running Linux, Windows, and ChromeOS. I've used OSX in the past, but didn't find it as useful to me, so I ditched it (actually, installed the old PowerPC port of Linux on the machine and ran it as a server for a few years).

Chris

 

[tomatojoe]

How is that relevant? Linux isn't used by many photographers OR businesses. It's seeems to be a hobby all to itself, or a religion.

that is a good question. maybe getting computer with linix or some other non-mainstream-consumer operating system is like telling people you have a expensive European camera to photograph paint dry when just about anything will be able to do that. I have lerkked here enough to know the first poster doesn't use computer for photographs or and is a pensioner.

 

[Sirius Glass]

the best machine is like the best camera. the one you have with you. if you do not use computer for photo edits and just to play solitaire or pay bills get a chrome book or similar. you do not want to use old computer with old browser with no current internet securities. related to camera, you could have best camera in world but if you need a photo and you have your iPhone 5 or Brownie Bullseye that is best camera.

The computer that I have with me is the one that I buy, so that is real easy to control.

 

[markjwyatt]

I recently bought a Dell 15" laptop with Windoz 11Windows 11 and I had a problem. I called the Windows Support Number and they no long provide tech support over the phone only their online help. The only help is virtually useless with only general information and it does not give useful answers to specific questions. What is one to do if one has problems getting the computer on line.

Today I had a problem with my mid 2012 Mac tower running 10.14.6 which is obsolete but still supported on the phone. In ten minutes the problem was fixed.

So which is less expensive machine in the long run? I usually get 12 to 15 years out of a Mac starting with the Mac 512 in 1984. Windoz machine can almost run as along as what 5 years at best?

Which is the best machine? If you have read this far you know it is Mac whether or not you like that answer is up to you.

I just ordered a Dell XPS 15, pretty loaded. I want something that will last at least 5 years. I won't have it for a few weeks.

 

[markjwyatt]

Tandy Radio Schlock also made the Trash 80.

I have a Sharp PC1500, which is also the Radio Shack TRS-80 PC-2.

 

[markjwyatt]

Problem with Compaq is/was that they screwed up their marketing and their clients when they started to use cheap components...and of course collapsed along with HP.

Dell knows stuff in depth and (of course) Win 10, now 11/12 are a LOT faster than 7 was. And 7 without big internal drive doesn't reliably have enough horsepower to handle big files with Photoshop.

Dell is happy to sell Linux because there's a (small) market for Linux. Presumably IBM thinks the same way.

I spent some time choosing a laptop. I am always upgrading old hardware, and want something with some hp. I went with the Dell XPS in the end. I started with Lenovo, because they are pretty solid and purportedly the most "IBM-like" hardware, but I could not get what I wanted. I looked at some unique laptops like the Asus with an extra LCD screen, but the other specs fell short. Dell had the latest reasonable Intel chips (though a little about AMD, but went Intel 12th gen i9), can handle larger RAM, had larger SSD available, and decent graphics card (not important for photo editing, but is important for video editing) and decent choice of display technology (chose a UHD touch over an OLED touch, but went back and forth a lot). Photo editing is my top priority, but have some video projects in the back of my mind, so wanted some video capability.

Maybe I'll turn my old Dell (2010 quad core i7 technology) into a fun Linux machine to play with.

 

[tomatojoe]

The computer that I have with me is the one that I buy, so that is real easy to control.

it will control you, as you can see. it already has and you do not own it yet. why did you post this threads in this subform? you do not use a computer to make photographs you do not upload photographs it had nothing to do with photography

 

[Sirius Glass]

it will control you, as you can see. it already has and you do not own it yet. why did you post this threads in this subform? you do not use a computer to make photographs you do not upload photographs it had nothing to do with photography

My computer does not control me. I keep a glass of Coke™ or Root Beer next to the key board and whenever the computer acts up, I threaten to dump the drink on the keyboard and then the computer cuts out the crap. I do real photography with film but at some time I may start making masks with Photo$hop.

Perhaps you should take your eyes and look at who started this thread and this is the subforum to which it best fits.

 

[cmacd123]

How is that relevant? Linux isn't used by many photographers OR businesses. It's seeems to be a hobby all to itself, or a religion.

Just for fun, I looked up the hosting for this site and came up with

Netblock owner	IP address	OS	Web server	Last seen
Liquid Web, L.L.C 4210 Creyts Rd. Lansing MI US 48917	72.52.156.35	Linux	Apache	24-Sep-2022

so yes, You are also depending on Linux to read this.
like everyone with an Android cell Phone (based on Linux) almost any web site, Most finacial isnstuions and a "Host" of others.

 

[tomatojoe]

My computer does not control me. I keep a glass of Coke™ or Root Beer next to the key board and whenever the computer acts up, I threaten to dump the drink on the keyboard and then the computer cuts out the crap. I do real photography with film but at some time I may start making masks with Photo$hop.

Perhaps you should take your eyes and look at who started this thread and this is the subforum to which it best fits.

yes I look at sub forum. the thread has nothing whatsoever to do with photography, it is about you complaining about a computer you may need to buy, and comments about operating systems. you make clear for as long as you are here how much you dislike digital photography and how people who use digital cameras or photo shop are fakes (fauxto$hop), it does not seem that you will use this new computer to make digital negative or masks. it is a lounge thread. if you want to make digital masks you can do it with a chrome book as easy as with a rollsroyce apple. I am a new poster and your aggressiveness makes this website unappealing.

 

[Bill Burk]

I just ordered a Dell XPS 15, pretty loaded. I want something that will last at least 5 years. I won't have it for a few weeks.

Oh shoot you should have gotten a 5k monitor and RTX 3060 Ti Vision video card...

 

[markjwyatt]

Oh shoot you should have gotten a 5k monitor and RTX 3060 Ti Vision video card...

I think I did: UHD+ monitor (3840 X 2400 > 4k), and the RTX 3050 Ti Vision video card (best they offered). Should be plenty for me.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Two useful URLs for Windoz 11

• How to take a screen shot ==> https://techcommunity.microsoft.com...a-screenshot-in-windows-11-4-ways/m-p/2849736
• How to start up in safe mode [so you can delete stubborn files] ==> https://duckduckgo.com/?q=how+to+bo...i=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXKsG6wEvhM

 

[albada]

Two useful URLs for Windoz 11

• How to take a screen shot ==> https://techcommunity.microsoft.com...a-screenshot-in-windows-11-4-ways/m-p/2849736
• How to start up in safe mode [so you can delete stubborn files] ==> https://duckduckgo.com/?q=how+to+boot+in+safe+mode+windows+11&t=newext&atb=v344-4&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXKsG6wEvhM

Here's a third useful URL:

• How to upgrade Windows to Linux ==>

Anyway, it's good to see another person using duckduckgo instead of google.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Here's a third useful URL:

• How to upgrade Windows to Linux ==>

Anyway, it's good to see another person using duckduckgo instead of google.

I use DuckDuckGo in FireFox to avoid tracking with Badger Privacy to avoid tacking. Then I can get Google searches without any tracking in DuckDuckGo by starting the search with a "!g".

I have used Linux before but I need to run programs that I bought in Micro$oft form to run on this computer, so I am stuck. Also other programs that I want to run are not in Max or Unix versions.

 

[jay moussy]

From what I read, not my words:
The newest hardware has what Microsoft has pushed onto chip makers, Microsoft's Secured-core features also called "SCPC ready", and also something called "Pluton", some implementation of Trusted Platform Module, TPM.
Unclear if this is visible in BIOS settings, and adjustable? Let's hear form our experts, here.

It matters to me, and other Linux users 'cause these features prevent booting from a USB stick.

 

[BrianShaw]

Unclear if this is visible in BIOS settings, and adjustable? Let's hear form our experts, here.

Fascinating question; I’m sure that an answer is soon forthcoming since Photrio has a member who is a software engineer of intergalactic acclaim!

 

[cmacd123]

I have used Linux before but I need to run programs that I bought in Micro$oft form to run on this computer, so I am stuck. Also other programs that I want to run are not in Max or Unix versions.

1) Their is always WINE (wine is not an emulator) that allows Many MS programs to run on at least Intel/ADM versions of Linux. It has saved me a couple of times when somthing is only distributed as an .EXE file, like a firmware update for a "Apperel Numeric"
2) many times their is a native Unix/Linux application that works as well or better than a "paid for" M$ application. Many are avalable without cost or obligation.

 

[mehguy]

Most computers made in the last 8 years or so are completely suitable for the average person's typical computer usage. The real world difference for most people between last generation's CPUs and the current ones is going to be negligible at best. The only upgrade that matters is whether it has a hard drive or a solid state drive. You will definitely feel a difference then.

Laptop's are different, but I personally would not buy a brand new tower desktop unless I specifically needed the power for it. Lots of cheap dell optiplex's kicking around that are perfectly fine for web browsing.

 

[Agulliver]

The first Microsoft OS I used would have been MS-DOS version 3.3 I think. Though I'd already used CP/M. Then WIndows 2. For my own PC I honestly hated Win 95 and stuck with 3.11 for as long as I could get away with. 98SE was good. 2000 was OK. XP was probably the best. 7 is good. 10 is OK. ME, Vista and 8 were utter disasters. 11 is acceptable enough that I haven't rolled it back.

I have probably been put off Linux due to trying to install a version some 15 years ago and it shredding my HDD so badly that it physically ruined the boot sector.

I've never got on with MAC OS, just seems to be a kind of logic to use it that grates with my brain. Others love it. So it's clearly the way my brain is wired doesn't get on with it. GEM/TOS on the Atari ST was good, but slow.

Used 'em all and never called customer support. Also add into that the Sinclair 8-bit computers, Commodore PET, VIC-20, and 64....Dragon 32, BBC model B, Commodore Amiga, Osborne 1 (which I think was a proprietary version of CP/M) and ICL PC (CP/M).

Computers are so boring now compared to the 80s.

 

[mehguy]

Computers are so boring now compared to the 80s.

I agree. I really love computers during the 90s as well. So many different cpu architectures and OS's, especially in the Unix workstation space, have come and gone. What we are left with are boring Intel/Windows boxes.

 

[BrianShaw]

… same with newer cameras. Boring…

 

[Sirius Glass]

1) Their is always WINE (wine is not an emulator) that allows Many MS programs to run on at least Intel/ADM versions of Linux. It has saved me a couple of times when somthing is only distributed as an .EXE file, like a firmware update for a "Apperel Numeric"
2) many times their is a native Unix/Linux application that works as well or better than a "paid for" M$ application. Many are avalable without cost or obligation.

I do not like taking a first rate machine and using an emulator on it. In my situation I cannot take a Mac tower to a car to program a radio installed in a car so I spent money on a so-so PC for amateur radio work. Also my Mac tower not in the same room as the base station and I do not want to move the Mac tower into that room.

 

[cmacd123]

Wine is More a "redirecter" as indicated by the name, it just runs .EXE files on native linux. NO emulation required. It was built to run WinDos games and so speed was aciteria since day one.

also be aware of The LinuxHam list https://groups.io/g/linuxham where all the software for Ham radio is discussed. Their are even complete Linux distributions optimised for Ham Radio. https://sourceforge.net/projects/hampc/ (based on HamPi for the raspberry Pi single board computer.)

 

[Sirius Glass]

Wine is More a "redirecter" as indicated by the name, it just runs .EXE files on native linux. NO emulation required. It was built to run WinDos games and so speed was aciteria since day one.

also be aware of The LinuxHam list https://groups.io/g/linuxham where all the software for Ham radio is discussed. Their are even complete Linux distributions optimised for Ham Radio. https://sourceforge.net/projects/hampc/ (based on HamPi for the raspberry Pi single board computer.)

Yes, I am aware of the many advantages of Linux over Windoz, but I did not know about the redirecting feature, but that makes sense. Linux which is a descendant of UNIX like MacOS is much like MacOS without the polish, shine and marketing of Apple with some interesting features thrown in.