Why I Hate Windows
Thursday
Dec 14, 2006
According to my NetStat widget, my PowerBook has been online for 28 days, 6 hours and 13 minutes. And since that time, the notebook had been running without a hitch–perhaps save for some mishaps that caused Firefox to freeze up and require a restart (sometimes happens to such a memory hog like Firefox).
Meanwhile, my Windows-powered Compaq Presario has likewise been running for approximately that same duration. And I occasionally experience losing my wireless connection, and I sometimes get “virtual memory low” messages.
Of course, I don’t really have my laptops running powered on all the time. With the Mac, I close the lid and keep it in a _sleep_ state. With the PC, I use _hibernate_. This way, I get to save on power and extend my computers’ lifetimes, without having to lose the state I’ve been in. Yes, sometimes I get back to a cluttered desktop, but hey, at least I don’t lose track.
Why do I hate Windows?
I don’t hate Windows _per se_. I know XP is a solid operating system (as solid as Swiss cheese!). But with OS X I seem to be able to do my work more efficiently. I feel more productive on the Mac than on the PC. This is simply because I don’t have to deal with the minor annoyances that usually come with running Windows, like:
* Antivirus programs popping up notifying me of updates.
* Antivirus programs suddenly running full tests in the background while I’m doing some _important_ processor-intensive stuff (like copy CDs into my iTunes library!).
* Lag times due to the system accessing virtual memory.
* It takes an eternity to go into _hibernate_ mode. It takes an even longer time to wake up from _hibernate_state.
* It also takes forever to go to and wake up from _standby_ mode.
* Some other stuff I can hardly remember but does happen.
Something tells me all my issues with Windows lie with the memory management. And to think my old PowerBook is still running on a G3 and has about 50% less system RAM than my Presario.
Sigh.
OSX86?
That’s why I wanted to install OS X 86 on my Presario–somewhere along the way, I felt it too tedious to have to backup all my important files (lotsa MP3s), resize the partition and install X 86. Oh, wait, I think I’ve already done that, up to the point of resizing the partition using PartitionMagic and activating the second partition for booting. Only my OS X 86 installer did not push through with the installation. Lucky me!
I’ll try again next time.
Meanwhile, I think it’s time to do a restart on my PowerBook. It does help to run the system from a fresh start once in a while. And it’s mostly to clear the desktop of all the clutter so I can move on with whatever work I’m doing (I’m too lazy to individually close everything!).
J. Angelo Racoma is a technology journalist and blogger. See more of his blog posts here at racoma.com.ph, commentaries at racoma.net, and Twitter feed at @jangelo.





Comments
vance
December 15th, 2006 at 12:12 am
i know a site/forum but i forgot what site it was, sorry, it has a guide in dual booting osx 86 and windows xp.
Carlo
December 15th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
I was able to run OS X86 on my thinkpad before. Now that I got a macbook pro, I already sold my ThinkPad for a very cheap price.
I am still finding a way to completely get rid of Windows but unfortunately I can’t since my company is a world of Windows *hehe
I will admit it, Mac OS X is much powerful than Windows and I can finish my job half the time. Linux may also do
Miguel
December 21st, 2006 at 10:57 am
Adding to my Mac envy!
Unfortunately, my software development project work is based in Windows. My colleagues who do office stuff, graphic design, video on the like are on Macs.
For my home PC, I use Ubuntu.
J. Angelo Racoma
December 22nd, 2006 at 3:16 am
@Vance, I was able to download and burn a copy (that was still Mac OS X 10.4.6, methinks). But during install, I wouldn’t get past the initial Darwin screens. I keep getting I/O errors.
@Carlo, great that you were able to run OS X on your ThinkPad. And a MacBook Pro? Good for you! So, do you run Windows on your MBP?
@Migs, I’ve always wondered if you feel comfy using Windows on your laptop, knowing you’re more of a Linux person.
Miguel
January 4th, 2007 at 2:30 am
I don’t mind using Windows, until…
1. Windows apps and the Windows OS itself start crashing and acting weird.
2. I want to do something quickly and efficiently on the command line.
So, I make up on the home PC!
Alexmkio
February 11th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Hello, my name is Alex, i’m a newbie here. I really do like your resource and really interested in things you discuss here, also would like to enter your community, hope it is possible:-) Cya around, best regards, Alex!