ReactOS 0.4.10 Released For The Newest "Open-Source Windows" Experience

[kpedersen]

so I'm not seeing how needing access to Internet to install a program is good while needing Internet access to install its dependencies is bad.

Basically if I have firefox setup .exe on a disk and a firefox .deb or .rpm on a disk, the one on Windows will install no problem. Because all the deps are part of the package. The one on Linux will require me to connect to the internet or use my 60GB hard-drive to grab a large (an embarrassing large) number of deps. Like I said, I do this exact thing but simply still prefer the Windows way of doing things for my own workflow.

Windows has many critical issue for me to actually use it as an OS, but I feel the way software is handled (minus the registry), is not one of them. I have never liked the UNIX way of scattered dependencies.

[xiando]

Does it run Crysis?

[starshipeleven]

Basically if I have firefox setup .exe on a disk and a firefox .deb or .rpm on a disk, the one on Windows will install no problem. Because all the deps are part of the package. The one on Linux will require me to connect to the internet or use my 60GB hard-drive to grab a large (an embarrassing large) number of deps. Like I said, I do this exact thing but simply still prefer the Windows way of doing things for my own workflow.

I think you have a weird workflow, why you don't have all programs you need already installed? Because if you know you might need it and saved the installer on disk, you could have installed that program already in the running system too.

I usually have all I think I will need already installed and ready, be it Windows or Linux (or Android). What's the point of carrying installers with you at all? Neither Windows nor Linux run worse if you install any amount of software (as long as you keep stupid shit from starting on boot), and I don't like having to wait for installation and having to configure the programs I just installed each time I need to do something with them.

[cybertraveler]

At this point, the only way they will recreate the full "Windows Experience" is if:

• they irregularly restart the PC without the users permission even if that means loss of work or loss of user time.
• they constantly prompt the user to upgrade to a rolling release version of ReactOS and when the user clicks No they should "upgrade" anyway
• they -- by default -- upload user activity data to private corporate servers hosted in the USA so that it can also be secretly and forcibly accessed by various governmental spying/force agencies. They should also, ideally collect voice and even keyboard input samples too.
• they should form relationships with various political components of various governments. The relationships should all be tit-for-tat, or "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine". Formally this is called crony-capitalism. The purpose of this would be for ReactOS to get significant, unfair competitive advantages in the various software markets using government force.

... if they achieve all of that... only then will they have recreated the full Windows Experience ™

[kuco]

I dont know why it seems so hard to get his point. If you have shitty internet it IS nice to have some CDs (DVDs, whatsever) with the programs you need. I hate using Windows, but the installers usually WILL work for decades. Its hard to get that same experience on Linux. Yeah you can use stable/lts distros and hope, the dependencies dont change so much. Still not compareable to Windows7 which still supports all the old shit AND 99% of the newest programs, games and drivers. I dont like the Windows-approach, but I get his point.

[starshipeleven]

I dont know why it seems so hard to get his point. If you have shitty internet it IS nice to have some CDs (DVDs, whatsever) with the programs you need.

Nice in the sense of "feels good" or is it actually useful in your workflow?
Because it makes no sense to carry around the installers for all software I might need when I can just install them all and have them ready to be used.

I don't reinstall often if ever (even on Windows, thankfully), and I'm not doing it when in the field.

I have backups of legacy stuff like old games from my youth that I'll probably never play or install again, but that's it, I don't see why that is a crucial thing to have.

I hate using Windows, but the installers usually WILL work for decades. Its hard to get that same experience on Linux. Yeah you can use stable/lts distros and hope, the dependencies dont change so much.

Yeah, but what kind of applications you need to keep there uninstalled for decades and then install? Is it a so common occurrence that the current status quo is an issue?

I'm just trying to make sure that it isn't an old habit that is carried on, because it surely seems like it is.

Still not compareable to Windows7 which still supports all the old shit AND 99% of the newest programs, games and drivers. I dont like the Windows-approach, but I get his point.

I don't know if that is his point, he didn't talk much about need to run ancient binary software, maybe because there isn't much to begin with, on Linux or FreeBSD.

I'd also lower the percentage to around 60%, to reflect my actual experience of installing old software. It's not the first time I buy games I own already (for a few Euros) from GoG or Steam just because they have been fixed to run decently (or at all) on modern hardware and OS.

[ssokolow]

I dont know why it seems so hard to get his point. If you have shitty internet it IS nice to have some CDs (DVDs, whatsever) with the programs you need. I hate using Windows, but the installers usually WILL work for decades. Its hard to get that same experience on Linux. Yeah you can use stable/lts distros and hope, the dependencies dont change so much. Still not compareable to Windows7 which still supports all the old shit AND 99% of the newest programs, games and drivers. I dont like the Windows-approach, but I get his point.

Last I checked, Debian (and, thus, all derived distros) had multiple ways to archive the .debs and metadata necessary to install a given package or a full system. It's essential for corporate users with "test, then deploy" workflows that can't be allowed to fetch untested newer stuff from online during the "then deploy" phase.

(Plus, how do you think they build the install CDs and DVDs in the first place? Similar "download a set of packages and metadata into a valid repository-format source" method.)

I prefer that much more than the Windows approach of bloating out my batch archives with who knows how many redundant copies of each common dependency.

[kuco]

Obviously Linux can be configured to fit any usecase. But ALOT of people I know (generation 40+) still use Freeware-CDs out of magazines for example. And no matter how old or new the magazine - the program will work. I still have some old linux-magazines, but I'm pretty sure it will be difficult to get those old gimp-versions running on any common linux-distribution.

[kpedersen]

why you don't have all programs you need already installed? Because if you know you might need it and saved the installer on disk, you could have installed that program already in the running system too.

It must be nice to know what you need installed. My workflow with a workstation needs to be a bit more dynamic than that .

My example is one client wants me to implement collision in their racing simulator needing GL, SDL, et all to build and runs, etc... The next client wants me to implement a light gun tracking system with lib OpenCV, the next then needs me to download an old version of the web browser to test the streaming without WebGL, etc.. There is no what of telling what the client next wants me to work on. I need to fetch the entire package repo and store it on my hard drive (which I currently do but this seems wasteful to grab 60 odd gigs every month).

I like that on Windows if I need OpenCV, I can grab a 1 meg zip file of the libs, need VLC, grab the 30 megs installer, grab the Intel Compiler, another setup .exe. Need to do some technical docs? No problem, TexLive provides Windows binaries DVD with a handy setup exe.
All from a non-central repository (which I feel is more scalable) and more importantly, I do not really need to have access to the internet on my development machine to install the entire thing (rather than writing a script to find and download all potential dependencies).

[duby229]

Does it run Crysis?

Well, I haven't tried it, but I imagine it could because wine does.