Tip for developers.

[JDTAY]

If your Roguelike does not run or emulate on Windows 98, you fail. I'm looking at you, Derek Yu.

...And I'm not just sayin' that 'cause I'm stuck on Windows 98. But it, um, certainly is a factor. :-(

[Magnate]

If your Roguelike does not run or emulate on Windows 98, you fail. I'm looking at you, Derek Yu.

...And I'm not just sayin' that 'cause I'm stuck on Windows 98. But it, um, certainly is a factor. :-(

Nah. The era of Windows is drawing to a close. Vista was rubbish, and Win7 is ... almost identical. Soon everything will run Linux.

[buzzkill]

"It's too damn hot for a penguin to be just walkin' around. I gotta send him back to the South Pole."

[Pete Mack]

Nah. The era of Windows is drawing to a close. Vista was rubbish, and Win7 is ... almost identical. Soon everything will run Linux.

Don't hold your breath...

Win7, aka Vista SP3, is actually pretty good.

[Magnate]

Don't hold your breath...

Win7, aka Vista SP3, is actually pretty good.

No, it's not. It's still obsessively user-unfriendly - and now ships without a mail client. When installing Thunderbird, you have to click through no fewer than six security warnings (sixteen clicks - I counted). M$ does not want users to have control over their system (or their data, but that's a different debate).

[Pete Mack]

Admittedly, you have to disable UAC for a workable system....

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-user-account-control-uac-the-easy-way-on-windows-vista/

[Sirridan]

I actually like win7, once you reign in the UAC it works out quite nicely.

Although more and more I find myself using Ubuntu Netbook Remix on my netbook which is also my angband box. Win7 is my desktop though, and for windows it works out really well. Still, I don't think they can top XP heh.

But I actually agree with Magnate, Linux will eventually take over.

[Derakon]

Windows is gonna be around for a long time, regardless of whether or not it's better than Linux. That said, Win98 is thirteen years old now; I think the statute of limitations has expired on requiring support for it.

[Marble Dice]

Windows is gonna be around for a long time, regardless of whether or not it's better than Linux. That said, Win98 is thirteen years old now; I think the statute of limitations has expired on requiring support for it.

It sure as hell didn't take Microsoft that long to stop supporting it.

[buzzkill]

But I actually agree with Magnate, Linux will eventually take over.

Linux won't take over until they figure out a way to tax it.

[d_m]

For what it's worth I think only one of the current Angband developers has the capability to run Windows binaries (and it's not me).

EDIT: Which is an interesting point about Windows mind-share in itself.

[Tiburon Silverflame]

No, it's not. It's still obsessively user-unfriendly - and now ships without a mail client. When installing Thunderbird, you have to click through no fewer than six security warnings (sixteen clicks - I counted). M$ does not want users to have control over their system (or their data, but that's a different debate).

What are you using as your reference for an OS that *is* user friendly?

There is, IMO, no way in hell that Linux will take over on the casual user's desk, as long as there is still the mindset that the user is expected to revert to archaic command line entry, all too often. Nor will it ever take over as long as it remains in its anarchic, self-conflicted form, where the only 'standard' that really exists is, there is no standard. Don't get me wrong: that's also one of its strong points. But Linux is a massive test bed.

[d_m]

What are you using as your reference for an OS that *is* user friendly?

I submit that Mac OS is more user friendly than windows.

[Derakon]

Hey, can we wrap this up by 4? The emacs-vim guys want to get started and you're using their room.

[Atarlost]

Too bad Mac OS only runs on Mac hardware unlike Windows and Linux which can run on nearly anything these days.

And Mac OS is only "more user friendly" than windows in the way that you find speaking English easier than Chinese. For people who grew up with Windows Mac OS might as well be Greek. Even Gnome is less jarring since it shares a lot of the windows conventions. KDE even has everything in the same locations.