What would you run instead of Windows?

[Brian Frank 0]

Well seeing as the Mac OS X can be run on the x86 platform, thanks to Unix, and Apple going to Open Source, things are looking a little more promising to realistically avoid using Windows. I am not making the Mac OS X thing up either. You can download it and install it (having a BX board is a plus at the moment) on your PC.

www.opensource.apple.com

 

Sooooo, that's why I'm putting this up as a choice.

[DosFreak 2]

I'm triple-booting 2K/XP/Mandrake 8.1 at the moment. Downloading MacOS X x86 so I can test it out under Virtual PC under Windows 2000 right now.....

[Xiven 0]

Triple boot of 2k/XP/Mandrake 8.1 here also. What I really want is a PC version of AmigaOS

[DosFreak 2]

Quote:

Triple boot of 2k/XP/Mandrake 8.1 here also. What I really want is a PC version of AmigaOS

Great minds think alike.

[kgeissler 0]

You forgot the best one: BeOS

[INFERNO2000 0]

I just got Mac OS X

not sure what I'll do with it though.

 

 

Mandrake is my alt OS.

 

other than 2000 SP2(and SP3), and XP

[Brian Frank 0]

Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't Palm buy Be Inc.--the makers of BeOS. I've run BeOS once, and hate it. While some peole like it, I really doubt it's a really viable source.

 

My personal opinion is that Mac OS X is probably the best shot for a viable Windows replacement. After Windows, the next OS that gets software or driver support is the Mac. Companies rarely produce drivers themselves, and if they do, it's rarely supported. The Mac gets a Unix backbone, but retains a user friendly interface. The l33t h4><0r types can do their thing if they wish, but it's not required. People are generally intimidated by computers to start with, and Linux is not very helpful to ease this, if any. If developing continues for x86, I really think that it would be a serious alternative to Windows. Linux is cool until you realize you don't know what the hell to do with it. I've had a change of mind toward Linux over the year, and unless some major changes occur, it will go the way of OS/2. I'm all for alternatives, but I haven't seen anything that is believable. I'm certainly looking for something to jump to as Microsoft doesn't seem to get the concept of "user friendly". XP is a real yawn to me, nothing I want to deal with or need. I'll stick with Win2k for now, unless MS stops their policy of leaving strings attached among other things.

[smoke 0]

The only thing I see at that Open Sourced MacOSX site is that Darwin, the kernal is ported and I don't see any ports of the Cocoa or Carbon libraries... from the posts I read here it sounds like a full port of MacOSX is available for PC to DL and iso and install it.. but it doesn't seem like it's equivalent of xfree86 or even a version of that to run on it is available so am I missing something here? I myself wouldn't want to install an OS that only gives me a command prompt if I did.. then I would install linux or freebsd without xfree86

[Brian Frank 0]

Darwin is a code name for a newer version of Mac OS X, although Apple may name it something else in the final product. It's in development stages, and is not ready for widespread consumer use yet. From what I can tell, you'll have to do some command line stuff, but not much. It also helps if you have a BX board handy, as Via and AMD chipsets don't have drivers incorporated into the current development. You can download them, but you'll have to put them in yourself. Totourials are out with topics on how to make a bootable CD and how you can install the OS on your PC. Use at your own risk type of thing...blah blah. It's in some very early beta stages right now, so do realize you may have a chunck of stuff that doesn't work.

I haven't gotten around to doing anything since I downloaded it, and probably won't until Christmas break at the earliest. I don't really have time to install an OS right now, and I'd much rather not have to now.