[tiwil]

While I do agree, Windows 7 is no longer supported, so you are kind of rolling the dice when it comes to using it.

As long as you're only download from trusted website, I think the security issue is not a problem here. Windows 10 has built-in Windows Defender that scan every file you download and Microsoft keeps updating them everytime. Therefore it has the newest security in Windows 10, while on the other hand Windows 7 only rely on 2-3 years old (from last update) virus database.

I also find out that using Windows 7 also give you hard time to find a software since mostly developer now only develops for Windows 10. I also rarely see there is Windows 8 version available.

[tbelldesignco]

As long as you're only download from trusted website, I think the security issue is not a problem here. Windows 10 has built-in Windows Defender that scan every file you download and Microsoft keeps updating them everytime. Therefore it has the newest security in Windows 10, while on the other hand Windows 7 only rely on 2-3 years old (from last update) virus database.

Meanwhile, using Windows 7 also give you hard time to find a software since mostly developer now only develops for Windows 10. I also rarely see there is Windows 8 version available.

I honestly try to stay away from unsupported software for that very reason, the virus definitions are rarely updated if at all and malware can be packaged in a browser script and have a hay day executing code. I had a late-2009 MacBook Pro that I recycled for my current MacBook Pro because it was not compatible with the latest upgrades and Apple officially outmoded it. 

Windows 10 does a great job emulating software in compatibility mode from what I remember, and I think Windows might be still offering a free upgrade to get folks up on the latest software.

[hamed]

While I do agree, Windows 7 is no longer supported, so you are kind of rolling the dice when it comes to using it.

Windows 7 has many updates from Microsoft, which can now download, but requires an active license for more than 1 year. It's best to read more about Windows.

[tbelldesignco]

Windows 7 has many updates from Microsoft, which can now download, but requires an active license for more than 1 year. It's best to read more about Windows.

This has been posted from Microsoft in their FAQs for Windows 7 and where I have collected my data from prior to posting my comment:

After January 14, 2020, PCs running Windows 7 no longer receive security updates. Therefore, it's important that you upgrade to a modern operating system such as Windows 10, which can provide the latest security updates to help keep you and your data safer. In addition, Microsoft customer service is no longer available to provide Windows 7 technical support. Related services for Windows 7 are also also being discontinued over time.

[tryp4vps]

This has all been super insightful as I try to rebuild the distro I was working on, from what I’ve collected is that folks value an easy to use package manager, stability and security. Does everyone like yum, apt or dnf for their package manager better?

Not saying that I like to use apt very much, but most of the time I'd play with apt, just because I have been using Ubuntu.

I know apt is not perfect though. Sometimes it has problems checking for dependencies. But it is good enough for normal uses.

[tbelldesignco]

Not saying that I like to use apt very much, but most of the time I'd play with apt, just because I have been using Ubuntu.

I know apt is not perfect though. Sometimes it has problems checking for dependencies. But it is good enough for normal uses.

I will keep that in mind! I have been trying to figure out a solution to this myself, especially since with a fork of the project I want to develop a GUI just to try my hand at it, and one thing I've been looking at has been an AppStore a la elementaryOS, where developers can include what dependencies are required and the AppStore would auto install them.

[Mashiro]

Sadly for me nothing can really properly replace Windows on a Desktop. I have used and tried out many different Linux distributions made to be used with a Desktop (you know the ones with a GUI and so on) and I have used Mac OS for several months. Neither Linux nor Mac OS (Unix) can replace Windows for me due to lack of many useful applications or simply because the alternatives are a joke. I actually don't use that many tools on my personal computer but if I can't use the few tools I have on Linux or Mac without having to hack around or use some Wine stuff... No, thank you I'm not going to use Linux nor Mac OS as my main OS. I did try alternatives of my applications and while some are good others are a big joke. Talking about old and outdated software with a very limited feature set. Absolutely putting off...

Mac OS keyboard is annoying as hell and in general it has many annoying aspects. Probably because I'm to used to Windows but honestly if you can't type things like [] or other widely used characters nowadays without having to press tons of buttons... yeah... no... absolutely not going to enjoy such keyboards. And application support on Mac OS is horrible compared to Linux or Windows. Things that work on old Windows version will work on newer ones and in many cases also backwards... Linux even much better in that terms. Mac OS is pretty stupid. You have a Mac OS version that is a few versions older and it gets labelled as unsupported and the worst is you cannot upgrade because well... Apple dictates that I cannot upgrade a Mac Mini Mid 2011 to something newer than Mac OS High Sierra. And if you use patches to do the upgrade... I don't recommend it. I did it once. It worked for Mojave but it was not really usable due to them dropping drivers for the older ATI (AMD) GPUs they used in 2011. And the version after Mojave was a disaster that made me spent several days looking for reinstallation media for High Sierra and how to get it running (simple trick: set the time in the installer back to a date before the release of High Sierra). Ended up reinstalling the whole thing because it was stuck in a bootloop after the upgrade to whatever came after Mojave with a patcher. Again no problem with Windows or Linux in this terms. Overall Apple products and their software isn't made to be really friendly to the environment in many different ways (no matter what they preach to you).

Actually what comes close to replacing Windows would still be Linux (Debian / Ubuntu / Mint Linux). And If I wouldn't play games I probably would use Linux as there most things work and the only application that doesn't work is something I can thankfully get running with Wine easily without much hassle or dirty hacks. I did use Linux as my Desktop OS several times in the past but it has had its downs that made me go back to Windows.


On servers I would use / actively use Ubuntu Server LTS version or Debian. Why? Well, not much to say. I've grown up using Ubuntu 6.X and later moved on to Debian 6. I know both distros well. They're both pretty much the same under the hood and with their tools. Easy to manage, stable and very robust (Debian more than Ubuntu).

However even here Windows Server is something that you cannot really replace. I'm talking "business". AD, DNS, printing and etc. inside companies. All of that is based on Windows Server and other Windows products. That is how Microsoft makes its money with business customers. Private customers who get Windows for free today are just peanuts for Microsoft. Business customers, O365 and Azure is the real deal for Microsoft.

[tbelldesignco]

@Mashiro what do you mean with []? Those brackets are standard to most if not all keyboards and I use them all the time when building arrays in Swift, Ruby and other languages on macOS.

As for software support, you do have a point there, but developers are really starting to build more applications to work natively with PC and Mac. I think with the React.JS frameworks and Swift now being available for Windows and Linux more developers will start to use the libraries to build applications that can be cross compiled across various platforms. So we will see better options moving forward.

[sagher]

Not agreed that windows 7 has no support any more.. still using in commercial and residential both platforms. and almost all driver packs are available. even windows 7 has some unique old devices driver setups which absolute in 8, 8.1 and 10. if the machine has 2GB to 4GB of RAM then windows 7 professional is one of best and light weight option.
HP,DELL, all still providing system updates and driver list for windows 7. however you use original or pirated copy. both works with no hasit.
Best performance in low specs Laptops and notebooks.

[tbelldesignco]

Not agreed that windows 7 has no support any more.. still using in commercial and residential both platforms. and almost all driver packs are available. even windows 7 has some unique old devices driver setups which absolute in 8, 8.1 and 10. if the machine has 2GB to 4GB of RAM then windows 7 professional is one of best and light weight option.
HP,DELL, all still providing system updates and driver list for windows 7. however you use original or pirated copy. both works with no hasit.
Best performance in low specs Laptops and notebooks.

That may be the case from vendors, but Microsoft themselves are not providing service, support or updates for Windows 7. The company I was with made the transition to Windows 10 due to the EOL of Windows 7 and 3 of my clients all made the transition precovid due to this same thing. Windows 7 was a great platform, but from the horses mouth they are no longer supporting it.