Are any of you just computer-literate but not a hacker geek???

[SmileyBoy]

That's me. I'm not a novice, and I'm not a whiz. I type 40 wpm. Not hunt-and-peck and not 100. I feel that I don't need anymore knowledge than I need to know when it comes to surfing the net, creating graphic and text documents and recording/burning music. In fact, I only recently was introduced with the basics on how to create a .pdf document on Adobe Acrobat. I'm really good at architectural CAD programs like Autodesk, but that's the field of study I'm in, anyway. I usually don't need tech support for problems I encounter, and I usually figure it out with trial-and-error. But I could not, for example, give you any tips on how to format a disk, or to encrypt files, or how to hack into a denied website.

I don't know that much info about UNIX, Linux or any other of the operating sysetms out there, and I guess I'm one of those "idiots" who uses Windows (to some of you techies). However, I'm savvy enough NOT to use AOL, I think it's a load of crap, and I haven't used it for several years. But just recently, I had an old friend of mine (who also has Aspberger's Syndrome) tell me how stupid it was that I used Windows, and talking about the wonders of HIS operating system (of hich I forgot the name), and I asked him about using Linux, and he said that "all the idiots use Linux now." So, I know that I'm WAAAY far off from the realm of a whiz like this guy, but I'm definitely NOT some sort of beginner.

Any other intermediate-level PC users around here???

[Bluzmann57]

1. computer dummy here

My wife, daughter, sister and boss have taught me an awful lot, or else I'd be in all kinds of trouble here. But damn it, this stuff fascinates me. And we may upgrade soon.

[BlueJazz]

2. Well, I'm a MCSE but I think the dude that said...

..."all the idiots use Linux now" is being a real prick.

I DO like XP Professional and the past few weeks working with Windows Server 2003 has been a joy.

There's really no Operating System that fits ALL folks....just depends on what you do with it.

[SmileyBoy]

4. I've got XP Proffesional as well.

It seems to have been working a lot better than the Win98 I used to have.

[BlueJazz]

12. Be sure to set up "Restore Points"

especially when adding programs :)

[Deja Q]

20. As long as you don't use it for anything CPU-intensive

XP is nice and has the toddler interface which consumes 30MB of RAM on its own, but it's slower than snot on a doorhandle in January.

Especially games, even at 1024x768 (normal quality settings) the graphics in games such as Unreal Tournament 2003 are not as fluid as they should be. Yet in Linux, I can run at 1600x1200 (highest quality settings) and it runs more smoothly.

Even in vmware, XP runs more sluggishly than Win2k Pro, even though the latter takes more time to load into memory!

I'll live without XP, I need my processing power.

I'm looking forward to Server 2003, though any Server OS that uses a registry like the Workstation OS does shouldn't even be on the market. It's unreliable. Especially when Microsoft develops it.

Why I'm going for my MCSE is beyond me, but supporting their slop pays more than photography. :eyes:

[short bus president]

3. Yeah, that's pretty close to describing my computer proficiency

Although I have taught myself Linux (sorta). I can do what I need to, and I know how to find out how to do stuff I don't yet know. Using the computer should not really be a contest to see who does it "best." It's a tool. Kinda like a car - if you know how to change your own oil you're a step ahead of the Jiffy Lube crowd, but you're not a mechanic.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. All the more reason...

Why geekoidals like me stand ready to answer your questions, in the spirit of progressive altruism. ;-)

Note to Asperger's Dude:

A. Get a life, bozo.

B. Go see a proctologist. You have a problem with an area that is called, in polite company, your "nether regions". It involves innappropriate and unhealthy impaction caused by the placement of your cranium.

That is all.

[SmileyBoy]

7. Hey now, he's a good friend of mine. it's just that...

...I didn't see how or why he would want to be knocking Linux in that way. I just politely disagreed to his point. The End.

[Kamika]

6. That would be me

I can use word, excel, play games and chat like lightning :)

[Pegmumm]

10. Linux vs. Windows

I am a computer geek... my husband uses Linux, I use the older windows 98 and quite frankly until Linux is more user friendly, I am sticking to Windows.
Being a former programmer, I love playing with code... but its a drag day in and day out.
I want something easy to use and relatively well behaved... and I haven't seen that in Linux.

Either that or my hubbie is a lousy programmer.
:P

[newyawker99]

29. Hi Pegmumm!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[AntiCoup2K4]

33. Try Mandrake 9.1

Even though I'm a self-taught "geek" in the Microsoft world, I'm still a relative novice to Linux, and Mandrake is the easiest distribution I've used yet. And 9.1 installs just as easy as any version of Windows. Pretty much an automated process with a matter of a few clicks, and all the programs you need are right there. I was hesitant to dump Windows completely, but between the latest worms, the "oops" announcements of security flaws from Billy and the boys, and their cozy arrangements with the Empire, I don't feel like inviting Micro$oft into my home anymore.

Which puts me in the odd position of hoping too many others do NOT feel the same way, as MS going bankrupt would really fuck up the local economy.

[NightTrain]

8. I only hack when I've got a bad headcold

n/t

[SoCalDem]

9. me me me

I have photoshop and 3 other graphics thingies and cannot figure ANY of them out.. I want to photoshop DAMMIT..

I used to have Corel PhotoHouse on my win 98, but XP won't "accept" it so I paid for these other programs and they are waaaaaaay over my head..:(:(

I do a newsletter, keep my league stats, write stuff and do DU..but that's it.. only a few games ..

My computer is waaaay smarter than I am :eyes: It knows how to do things that I don't even know it can :(

[BlueJazz]

13. Did you know that XP will emulate 95 and 98 ?

You can often use XP to run 95 and 98 programs by going to the "Program Compatibility Wizard" in Accessories.

[SoCalDem]

16. did not know that...thanks :)

:)

[SoCalDem]

17. Okay.. I just went there, BUT

I need to load the program from a cd and when I tried that, it would not accept it.. That was the problem :(

[BlueJazz]

19. So Xp won't load the program in the first place?

You can copy the disk onto your disk drive and try that. Keep in mind to point the XP compatibility wizard to the EXE file on the program.

[SoCalDem]

25. If I understood what you just said, I might be in luck

:(.. I turn the box on.. I type and I turn the box off :(

[RC]

30. I have Corel PhotoHouse Ver 1.1

and it works fine with my XP Pro.

[SoCalDem]

32. I don't have the pro version

I have regular XP..:(

[xJlM]

11. Well, sure

I like to consider myself intermediate level. I run Linux on this box, W98 on another box (for playing games), and I help keep another one running, for someone who has no interest in doing anything other than reading and sending email to family.

I used to use Windows, even XP, until I noticed that XP would go online without my permission. Being as paranoid as I am, I decided to eliminate any chance of Bill Gates (or any of his repug buddies) getting anything out of my home, other than the world's most famous hand signal. Besides which, Windows is for people who don't want to learn about computers. There's really nothing to be proud of, being good at using Windows.

I'm pretty happy with Linux, but there's a lot I still have to learn about it. But it's just about puzzling things out, relying on other's experience, and making mistakes. That's OK, since this is really about learning and having a little fun (for me, anyway).

[BlueJazz]

15. There's easy ways to stop windows from going online.....

and setting up multiple servers and domains across the country and truly knowing the ins and out of servers does require some "Proud-ness"

I believe your statement that "Windows is for people who don't want to learn about computers" is a little unfair. If your job requires you to Fix and up-grade domains and such fun (barf) you certainly DO have to have a good working knowledge of TCP/IP and the hassles that it can wreck on your life!

I'm also a big fan of other OS's but when I want to use a good Audio editing program, it's hard to beat the Windows-Made stuff.....although I'm sure someday that will change.

[Sentath]

18. Supporting Windows

Is a whole different matter than just using it...

[BlueJazz]

23. Quite True ...

>

[chenGOD]

31. If you wish to use a good audio editing program...

might I suggest a Macintosh computer? :grin: Hands down audio editing is way better on a Mac. and yes I do it on both, I prefer the Mac though.

[AntiCoup2K4]

34. how unfortunately true

Where the hell is the Linux equivalent of Cool Edit Pro, damnit! :evilfrown:

[BigMcLargehuge]

14. Mac OSX ands Win 2000 user here

I use the Mac for all my "important" stuff like writing fiction, personal e-mail, surfing, listening to music, Photoshoppery (when I want to use the networked version I have) and creating pictures with Procreate Painter. Mh wife also uses Mac OSX.

I have Windows 2000 on my work laptop and I use Word, Excell, Photoshop, Flash 5, Pagemaker, Illustrator, and a host of proprietary tools for Instructional Design and project management.

I am preparing to upgrade from my G3 350 Mhz iMac to a Dual Processor G4 Tower when my friend upgrades from that tower to a new G5. Then I will add video editing and gaming to my list of important things I do with my home machine.

As for operating systems. I will say that OSX is the most stable and user friendly operating system I've ever had the pleasure to use. The operating systems I've been through are:

OS 7.5 (bad)
OS 8.0 (not as bad as 7.5)
OS 9.0 (and . variants. Good if you know how to allocate RAM)
OSX (Nearly perfect)

Win 3.1
Win 95 (not as bad as some people's experience)
Win 98 (Worst op system ever)
Win NT (No, wait... THIS is the worst op system ever)
Win 2000 (Pleasantly stable)

I can pretty much work my way through most software issues without the need for hold music and an ill informed tech support folks.

My next project will be constructing a decent game machine running some variant of Windows. But my financial situation has to improve considerably before that happens.

[Deja Q]

22. You left out WinME and NT4 wasn't THAT bad!

NT4 was much more stable than OS/2 (any version) and seemed to run faster, particularly disk accessing and internet functions. (OS/2 was IBM's pathetic operating system, not a MacOS).

I haven't used Mac OSX but pre-OSX is even worse than 95 in terms of stability.

Win2k is MS's best OS, and I would still complain about the design and implementation of the registry, amongst some sundry nitpics.

[BigMcLargehuge]

26. never used OS/2 or ME

that's why they weren't on my list.

Compared to NT though, Mac OS9 was waaaaaaaaaaay more stable. These are the specs of the two machines in question.

At the time I had NT and OS9 running:

NT Ran on:

Toshiba Tecra 8000
P2 at 500 Mhz
512 Megs RAM

Number of times restarted on average day: 6

iMac (Slot loader)
G3 350 Mhz
390 Megs RAM

Number of times restarted on average day: 2

[BigMcLargehuge]

28. To be honest I have no complaints with 2000

Like I said, it's rock solid. As for stability it's on par with Jaguar. For ease of use though Jaguar wins.

My only nit with OSX is the file structure. The hierarchy is a real step backwards in usability. To get to my writing in OS9 I had to go to hard drive/writing, simple. In OSX it's in Hard Drive/Users/me/Deskop/Documents/Fiction. In fact it's almost identical to the shitty file structure of Win 2000, to get to my work writing on 2000 it's My Computer/C drive/documents and settings/me/desktop/work writing

The next version of OSX, Panther, addresses this so I am looking forward to the upgrade. I haven't used XP in any format yet, my company hasn't upgraded (we're broke) so I don't know if the file structure is better in XP. I can only hope it is.

[BigMcLargehuge]

21. whoops, dupe

that'll teach me to hit post before heading out conquer lawnzilla

[BlueJazz]

24. Also keep in mind that Windows 98SE

(Second Edition) is/was far better then the 1st edition.
AS for ME, I really don't care for it.

[BigMcLargehuge]

27. My company already moved to NT4 when 98Se was released

so I never was able to use it. Same with ME. We stuck with NT 4 until the release of Win 2000

[noiretextatique]

35. i'm sortof a hardware geek

in that i like to build computers, and have been doing so for a few years, but i'm not really that advanced in terms of operating systems and so on. i just hooked up my tv and my stereo to my computer...and that was fun! for some reason, i blew up my receiver...luckily i had a spare which seems to be working fine.
i'm also an accountant, so i know lots of accounting and tax software (started using it back in the days of dos), excel, and i've been on the internet since 1993...with the dos version of AOL and an old 2400 baud modem.
i tried using linux, but i didn't get it. maybe i'll try mandrake 9.1.