Subj : Computer operating system of choice?
To   : boraxman
From : Nightfox
Date : Mon Feb 14 2022 16:00:32

  Re: Computer operating system of choice?
  By: boraxman to All on Mon Feb 07 2022 07:31 pm

 bo> Probably a banal question, but I'm curious as to what Operating Systems
 bo> people prefer to us. 

 bo> I'm guessing that most people here are BBS hobbyists of sometime, but I
 bo> wonder whether this correlates with a preference for an OS which gives you
 bo> more power/flexibility, or is just practicality of day to day use
 bo> important. 

I'm not sure if it really correlates to being a BBS hobbyist or not.  Much of the time, I think running a BBS requires using the "right tool for the job" philosophy, and the OS of choice to run a BBS on might not necessarily correlate to the OS you like to use for your everyday computer use.

I've been a long-time Windows user (and DOS before that), so much of the software I currently like to use is for Windows.  I've remained using Windows for now, and generally haven't had many problems.

As far as running a BBS, I use a 32-bit edition of Windows to run my BBS (and an earlier version too) since that seems to be the easiest way to run old 16-bit DOS BBS doors.  I know Linux can run 16-bit DOS doors (and I have considered moving my BBS to Linux), but for now I've been running my BBS in a 32-bit Windows.

I have considered switching to Linux as my daily OS.  I just still feel like pretty much all the software I like to use (including the occasional PC game) is available for Windows, so in a way it makes sense to stay in Windows.  If I did switch to Linux, I'd then have to reboot into Windows to play an occasional game, or use Windows in a VM to use some software that isn't available for Linux.  I feel like it's generally less hassle to just stay in Windows right now.

 bo> I'm kind of thinking that people who like the Windows/Mac OS way of doing
 bo> things would prefer a more graphical approach, but my assumptions may be
 bo> wrong. 

Not everything for Windows or even Mac is graphical.  Windows has some text-based command-line tools, and Mac OS is based on BSD which has its command-line tools.

Linux isn't necessarily all text-based either.  There are some good GUI environments for Linux and some good GUI tools for Linux.

Nightfox
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