Would you have switched to use Debian or any other .... ?

[edbarx]

Would you have switched to use Debian or any other distribution if you were to decide right now with the current stability, quality and dependability of MS Window 7, 8 and 10?

I think, my switch from MS Windows was partly due to the fact that at the time of my switch MS Windows was plagued with insecurity and scumware. By scumware I mean, viruses, malware, etc. Open source projects exist for MS Windows as well, this would have meant, the probability of switching would have been far lower. But I am a tinkerer to a limited extent and that also adds to the motivation of using something that allows tinkering.

[Randicus]

Impossible to answer. I stopped using Windows, because the applications I used were crap that could not do the jobs I wanted to do. Having not used Windows since the days of XP, I have no way of knowing how much Windows' performance has improved or deteriorated, or is unchanged with a new label. The question is too hypothetical for me to answer.

[somebodyelse]

I always hear all these wonderful things about Windows but whenever I use it (have used 7 and 8 and 10 for 2 minutes), I always find it stiff, clunky, illogical etc. Plus 8, 8.1 and 10 are ugly (and 7 is boring/grey-suitey). I like the look of Windows 8 in general but the way it colours windows is an affront to good taste. And as soon as you step off the path, you realise that you're all alone in the wilderness.

Their office suite on the other hand is very good and that's what I think Microsoft should concentrate on.

[Randicus]

Their office suite on the other hand is very good and that's what I think Microsoft should concentrate on.

Interesting. The inability of Word to handle files with more than a couple hundred pages is what finally caused me to stop tolerating Windows.

[thanatos_incarnate]

My then reason was that Windows 98 wasn't supporting USB sticks properly and I couldn't, but also wouldn't upgrade to XP (too slow PC, but I also never liked the UX/UI, etc.) Now, Vista was utter crap. Win 7 was a decent product as far as Windows goes. However, it still wasn't as slick as Linux. Even distros we consider bloated, such as Ubuntu, install and perform quicker than any Windows. I had the "honour" of setting up a Win 8.1 machine recently... It was an OEM machine with Win on it. Even though it already had Windows on its hard drive, it took literally hours to set the thing up. It then took us hours to remove all the crapware that came from Acer as well. Then, it took us even more time to set everything up the way the person liked it. If I compare that to a Debian installation (which in the Linux world takes too long compared to live CD installs) I would have saved 6 hours or so, had the person gone Linux at the time.

So, yes, I would have again converted to Linux given the bad track record of MS implementing something as trivial as installation. I mean, OK, that they won't necessarily copy from Linux, I get that. But that their engineers haven't at least tried Mac OS X in the last 10 years or so and seen what a smooth installation looks like... Or is it a conspiracy, so that IT personell can charge you for setups?

[cpoakes]

Yes. First off, I use recycled hardware and treat computers as durable equipment rather than consumables. Performance matters on older equipment. My Lenovo T61 (C2D) laptop is now ancient at 8 years. While originally responsive, it is now painfully slow to boot and run Win 7 + Avast + Firefox (the partition still gets booted at least once a year). It remains quick to boot and very usable with Debian/Openbox/Tint2/Firefox (an evolution from CrunchBang). I have been running linux exclusively for 3 years, and dual booting systems for more than a decade before that.

Second, I am also a tinkerer with a desktop composed of both very conventional and very unconventional elements and features. I have a custom python hot-corner interface (with hot edges too); I have customized and contributed to tint2; and I often use a highly modified version of HTML webkit_app_bar (xdaks at deviantart) to prototype and experiment with alternative interface elements inspired by other interface designs. (I know I could learn LUA and use conky, but I am already proficient with HTML).

I find Win7 highly usable and recommend it to friends with the caveats: expect slow performance on older hardware and don't ask me how to use it or fix it because I haven't used Windows as a daily driver for more than 3 years. But if they want to try linux, I am glad to shepherd them through Mint Cinnamon/MATE, LXLE, or Xubuntu.

@edbarx: as in Ed Bark, TVWW writer?

[tezzeret]

I sort of switched recently, still need to do some things om my main computer to get Debian fully like the way I want it but its mostly lack of time that holds me back.

My laptop is dual-booting Debian and windows 8 as windows 8 (which came pre-installed) was slow and I Hate how it looks. After some trouble getting it to run with a gui Debian does what I want it to do and does it job even better then windows.

I installed Debian on my desktop as windows got slower and I wanted to see how Debian runs on the hardware of that machine. Again the drivers where a bit annoying to got working but they seem to work fine now.
I have not done enough to really compare it with the performance of windows as there are some other things I want to do with it first. What I do know is that the boot time significantly went down, after it loaded grub you might as well call it instant. I did not expect that the first time and it kind of scared the crap out of me

[Randicus]

I know what you mean. I occasionally use the computers at work (in classrooms) to show photographs. I believe they have Windows 7. They take a long time to boot. I make sure I am early so Windows is finished booting in time for class.

[dasein]

Would you have switched to use Debian or any other distribution...

I'm not sure if I'm eligible to answer this question, because I didn't come to Linux from Windows.

That said, my answer is no. If OS/2 (and its accompanying native apps) were still under active development, I'd still be using it.

[aplistir]

Would you have switched to use Debian or any other distribution if you were to decide right now with the current stability, quality and dependability of MS Window 7, 8 and 10?.

Current quality of windows
I have both windows 7 and 8
And every time I boot to them they annoy the hell out of me. The most annoying thing is the windows update. Whenever I boot windows the update wants to install all the updates since I last used (5-12 months) windows. And usually it takes about one hour... And it also needs to reboot a few times.
Cant understand why anyone can stand that.

And dont even mention all the viruses etc.

[TonyVanDam]

Years ago, I made the switch to Linux in general, primary because...

1. I knew in advance that Microsoft was going to stop supporting XP.
&
2. After previewing Vista, I hated it.

At the end of the day, getting off the Microsoft Plantation was the best decision I've ever done. No regrets whatsoever.

[keithpeter]

Would you have switched to use Debian or any other distribution if you were to decide right now with the current stability, quality and dependability of MS Window 7, 8 and 10?

Yes.

I started using Linux at home (Ubuntu 5.04 and quickly 5.10) because it looked fun and had all the software I needed and would run fine on a P4 with half a gig of RAM, and because I quite liked the software-libre discussions and viewpoint. So I moved *to* Linux rather than *away* from Windows. I actually used an Apple iBook for a few years.

I'll use Windows if someone is paying me to and my two employers seem to be able to keep the PCs I use on their premises running fairly well. I have not had any issues with moving data between home and work (I just save LibreOffice documents in MS Office 1998-2003 file formats as opposed to the more recent XML based formats).

[Bulkley]

I came to Linux because 1.) I was angry that every little upgrade made my software obsolete and 2.) Windows 95 buried DOS which I understood better than the GUI desktop.

Would I switch today? Well, having had to fix a Windows 8 and 8.1 the answer is still yes. The newer Windows come pre-loaded with commercial crap and browser hijackers and are very difficult to clean up and keep clean. If I install anything from the Debian repository I can trust it to be clean. While Windows itself may be clean, almost everything you add has its hooks into the user.

[unixlearn]

I currently dual boot windows 8.1 and debian jessie. There are a few drivers and specific programs or games that i use windows for. As for most desktop and web needs I try to stay on Debian. Unlike alot of people, I switched to Debian from FreeBSD (not Windows). I got tired of all the troubleshooting of every single little thing. Updating was also a hassle since it leans toward installing from source. Debian was the perfect marriage of unix and windows for me. Most things are easy. I spend more time enjoying my apps than troubleshooting them.

[Crewp]

My answer is yes, the ONLY reason I keep a copy of Windows on my dual booted laptop is to update my Garmin GPS. It is the only thing I have not found a work around for.