Comments on: #$%#$% NTLDR Is Missing!

By: Jerry

Jerry — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:24:33 +0000

Hi Jesse,
I feel your pain. But I went the cheaper route - make that the FREE route - and now run Linux almost all the time. It’s not just Window$, it Micro$oft in general. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when Office suddenly decided that I was no longer worthy and I had to re-enter the product key. When I tried that it said I’d done it too many times and had to visit their web site. Duh! It’s not MY fault I did that too many times! The web site told me the same bunk, so I called Micro$soft. The tech-droid ran me through the same script and guess what? Same result. He wanted me to uninstall and reinstall it and I said, “No way. I paid $283 for this package. It ran this morning. Just give me the number I need to enter to make it run this afternoon.” He finally gave me the number.

I still run Window$ once in a while because I haven’t found what I need for video editing in the Linux world. If I had lotsa $$$$, I’d probably get a Mac and a high end video editor like the Adobe Premier I run now.

But Linux has come a LONG way in the past few years. I’m far happier with it than with Micro$oft. The transition was a little shaky for the first few weeks as I learned the different ways things get done in Linux, but the KDE interface is very Windows-like, so daily use is almost the same. Adding and removing software and the file system were the biggest adjustments for me.

If you’re getting tired of high end gaming, Linux is pretty darn good. So are Macs, but what a price difference!

If you need to run windows software, Wine and Virtual Box are two effective ways to get that done. Virtual Box is a full blown Windows emulator. You’ll need a copy of Windows to make it work on Linux. Or a copy of Mac’s OS, or any other OS you want to run.

By: Jesse Petersen

Jesse Petersen — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:13:40 +0000

@DJ:

Well, there are a lot of Windows ports available. Phil mentioned one, and another is Crossover, which has a Mac and Linux version to run Windows programs.

I’m just about to the point of quitting hardcore gaming anyway. I play WoW and a game here and there.

Besides, there are so many fun, free Mac games out there, I might fall off the map of Windows gaming and get a Wii or PS3.

By: DJ

DJ — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:10:18 +0000

Jesse, I feel your pain! You have no idea how many hundreds of the same type of problem I have had over the years with Windows-based computers. If it weren’t for Mac’s not running the latest-and-greatest games, I would have switched years ago. Once Jobsy figures out that there’s a lot of money in high-end gaming, hopefully we’ll all be able to make the Mac switch!

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:25:16 +0000

While I have not made the switch as of yet, I to have considered switching over to the dark side (Mac). I don’t know if it’s the hype or not, but I do have a couple of family members that swear by mac, so I think it should be a good choice. Now a days you can just use boot camp on a mac to use windows, if the need arises.

By: Jesse Petersen

Jesse Petersen — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:11:48 +0000

@DM Osbon:

WoW runs MUCH better on a Mac, actually. Tomas is a big Mac user.

By: DM Osbon

DM Osbon — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:05:37 +0000

Jesse that sounds crap…but can WoW be played on a Mac?

I had been thinking the same thing for my next computer purchase, whenever that is, & change over to Mac from PC but I can’t advise you much here as I know very little about the Mac.

Hmm…