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Author Topic: Laptop Recommendations  (Read 3987 times)

Offline Ellirium113

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #15 on: February 14, 2017, 07:07:52 pm »
I know I'm not Elirium, but a solid state hard drive is more or less the same as an USB drive connected inside the computer instead of a mechanical hard drive. They are much faster, silent and use less power. They are also more expensive.
Right you are ArMaP, and as an added bonus you do not have to worry about file fragmentation like you do with data on conventional hard drives.

Offline ArMaP

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #16 on: February 15, 2017, 01:55:39 am »
Right you are ArMaP, and as an added bonus you do not have to worry about file fragmentation like you do with data on conventional hard drives.
True, but as an added problem they wear out with use, so modern Solid State Drives have software to avoid writing twice on the same place if there is space available, but even that is not enough if you have a SSD that is in constant use. Windows 10 detects SSDs and doesn't access them as frequently as traditional hard drives to help avoid problems, but that problem is there, as it's a characteristic of the way they work.

Also, as I said before, like USB drives, when they fail they fail without warning and (usually) without possibility of recovering the data.

Offline Pimander

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #17 on: February 15, 2017, 03:48:05 am »
Right you are ArMaP, and as an added bonus you do not have to worry about file fragmentation like you do with data on conventional hard drives.
If you run linux then you don't get fragmentation issues with most of the file systems.

Why do people still use Windows?  Commercial sh1t!

Offline The Seeker

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #18 on: February 15, 2017, 04:09:52 am »
If you run linux then you don't get fragmentation issues with most of the file systems.

Why do people still use Windows?  Commercial sh1t!
Pimander, what you aren't taking into consideration is that 99.9% of what is available to the general public over here in the US is Windows or Android or Mac unless you can afford to go after a custom built system...

 8)

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Offline Pimander

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #19 on: February 15, 2017, 06:23:12 am »
You can just wipe Windows or OSx straight off the system if you want to.  Most PCs come with Windows or OSx pre-installed but with modern Linux distributions you can just install them pretty easily.

Once Linux is installed you no longer need to worry about viruses and malware and can run free open source software downloaded from the linux distributions own servers so no danger of downloading dodgy software from the internet.

I used to have a dual boot set up so I could boot into a choice of Linux or Windows.  I found Windows was just too much hassle to use and never used it after a while so don't even bother having Windows any longer.  I never pay for software unless I want to donate and have not had a malware problem or crash for years.  Completely stable system.  You can't get that from the commercial offerings which is why 95% of internet service providers run their servers on Linux.  Windows and company are just not good/stable enough and are slower.  Full stop.

People also have to buy more expensive hardware because their systems are slowed down by the bloated OSx and Windows.  It makes better sense to have a cheaper PC running a leaner operating system like linux (or BSD or other Unix like system).

The reason it used to make sense for non-teccy people to use Windows was ease of use (it used to require IT knowledge to run Linux).  That reason no longer applies.  Beginners Linux distributions are free, easy to install and as user friendly as Windows without the virus/malware worries.  I can't recommend it any higher.

Linux rules!  8)

What do I miss about Windows?  Absolutely nothing at all.  There is not a single thing I can't do now that I want to with my PC running Linux instead.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2017, 06:26:59 am by Pimander »

Offline ArMaP

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #20 on: February 15, 2017, 07:03:49 am »
If you run linux then you don't get fragmentation issues with most of the file systems.
That's because most files systems used by Linux move the file around when they do not have enough space between the end of the file and the start of the next file, so they act as if they are defragmenting the drive while saving files. The problem with that method is that, depending on the size of the files, when a disk has more than 80% or 85% occupied the system stops being able to do the file moving and the disks do become fragmented, but, unlike in Windows, there's no direct way of defragmenting a disk in Linux (as far as I know).

Windows 10 (I don't remember if Windows 8 already did it) defragments disks automatically, so there's no need to defragment them manually.

Quote
Why do people still use Windows?  Commercial sh1t!
Because they want to. :)

Offline Pimander

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #21 on: February 15, 2017, 07:32:23 am »
Because they want to. :)
I forgot to mention.  the need for a virus checker to run constantly also slows the system down further on Windows.  The virus software has to constantly monitor for suspect files.

If you have a fast PC then it will be even faster with Linux.

Of course, if you want to support a slow, malware vulnerable, bloated operating system that is your business but there are good alternatives. :)

Offline Irene

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #22 on: February 15, 2017, 09:30:53 am »
Hi Pimander,

You have to remember that not everyone is tech savvy including me. I'd be terrified to do what you've described after investing hundreds in a new computer.

I don't want a brick.  :P
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Offline Shasta56

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #23 on: February 15, 2017, 12:11:54 pm »
I have a Toshiba that works well for me.  My previous Toshiba also worked well, right up until the cat baptized it.  My employer issued Leno of Thinkpads to the field nurses, so we can do our EMR charting.  The laptop is nice.  The EMR program, not so much.

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Offline ArMaP

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #24 on: February 15, 2017, 03:18:22 pm »
You can't get that from the commercial offerings which is why 95% of internet service providers run their servers on Linux.
I seriously doubt that, seeing that 29.83% of all sites in the Internet are running on Windows. :)

Offline Irene

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #25 on: February 15, 2017, 05:36:37 pm »
I just switched over to Verizon's unlimited plan. Dropped $120 off my bill with a click.
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Offline Pimander

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #26 on: February 15, 2017, 06:06:01 pm »
I seriously doubt that, seeing that 29.83% of all sites in the Internet are running on Windows. :)
I meant the service provider servers.

I seriously doubt the 29.83% figure is the actual operating system of the service providers servers.  I think even Microsoft were having to use Linux technologies for their network/server services.  :P

If ISPs host Windows websites then they are most likely running Windows in containers (or virtual machines) on Linux.  It is the best way to avoid getting viruses or getting server crashes.  Windows is relatively insecure and unstable so most companies don't use it.

Linux is now bigger than Windows.  Android is Linux so most people use it unless they have an iPhone (end pay for an overpriced bit of hardware).

ETA:

Quote
Looking deeper, Linux's importance to the Web is even more extreme. By W3Cook's analysis of Alexa's data, 96.3 percent of the top 1 million web servers are running Linux. The remainder is split between Windows, 1.9 percent, and FreeBSD, 1.8 percent.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/can-the-internet-exist-without-linux/
« Last Edit: February 15, 2017, 06:16:35 pm by Pimander »

Offline Irene

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #27 on: February 15, 2017, 06:14:13 pm »
I have a Toshiba that works well for me.  My previous Toshiba also worked well, right up until the cat baptized it.  My employer issued Leno of Thinkpads to the field nurses, so we can do our EMR charting.  The laptop is nice.  The EMR program, not so much.

Shasta

I've had very good luck with my Toshibas, so I think I will start researching the new ones.

Thanks much to all for assisting me with this.

Irene :)
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Offline Irene

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #28 on: February 15, 2017, 06:32:51 pm »
I meant the service provider servers.

I seriously doubt the 29.83% figure is the actual operating system of the service providers servers.  I think even Microsoft were having to use Linux technologies for their network/server services.  :P

If ISPs host Windows websites then they are most likely running Windows in containers (or virtual machines) on Linux.  It is the best way to avoid getting viruses or getting server crashes.  Windows is relatively insecure and unstable so most companies don't use it.

Linux is now bigger than Windows.  Android is Linux so most people use it unless they have an iPhone (end pay for an overpriced bit of hardware).

ETA:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/can-the-internet-exist-without-linux/

I didn't know Android is Linux. The Swype part of it sucks. I can absolutely nail a word on the keypad and it will totally f**k it up.

It's frustrating because my S5 was great that way. Don't know what they changed, but it's been pissing me off for the last two years.
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Offline ArMaP

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Re: Laptop Recommendations
« Reply #29 on: February 15, 2017, 06:42:08 pm »
I seriously doubt the 29.83% figure is the actual operating system of the service providers servers.  I think even Microsoft were having to use Linux technologies for their network/server services.  :P
IIS is Windows only.

Quote
Windows is relatively insecure and unstable so most companies don't use it.
Windows is only unstable on unstable hardware. All the servers I manage, both at work and at home never give me problems and stay months without being turned off, and when that happens is usually because of lack of power.

 


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