# Why Should a Windows 7 user switch to FreeBSD?



## Bernard (Aug 19, 2011)

Why Should a Windows 7 user switch to FreeBSD?

I already know FreeBSD is easy to use. Just like windows 7. I have read a lot about FreeBSD. And it seems like there is plenty enough reason to switch. At least if you are a develepor or if you have a (network)server. But what if you are a single deskop user. 
Most of the reasons seems to be irrelevant to a single desktop user. For someone who just has a budget desktop. A freeBSD installation is to much trouble as long as there are no benefits!

Why Should a single desktop user switch to FreeBSD?
Why should someone switch to freeBSD if he already has Windows 7 (FREE)? 
Why should a computer illiterate switch to FreeBSD?
Why should a gamer switch to FreeBSD? 

Should they? Why? 



Budget Desktop 
Processor:     AMD Sempronâ„¢ 140 (2,7 GHz, 1 MB cache)

Operating System:   Free illegal WindowsÂ® 7, 64-bits, Nederlands

Memory:   2GB2 Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz

Hard Drive:  320 GB5 SATA harde schijf ( rpm)  (7200 rpm)

Video Card:  ATI Radeonâ„¢ HD4200 geÃ¯ntegreerde grafische kaart

Optical Drive:   Dvd+/-rw-station (cd/dvd lezen/schrijven), met dvd-brandsoftware


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## drhowarddrfine (Aug 19, 2011)

Windows was made for amateurs, to make computer usage easy for them. FreeBSD was made for professionals, or serious hobbyists. Amateurs and every day Joes should not switch from Windows to FreeBSD.

I've always said, FreeBSD is for serious work while Windows is the family van. You wouldn't take the family van to the construction site. Instead, you'd use a Mack truck. FreeBSD is a Mack truck.


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## vermaden (Aug 19, 2011)

Bernard said:
			
		

> Why Should a single desktop user switch to FreeBSD?


Maybe we should consider PC-BSD here which is preconfigured FreeBSD with KDE4, AppCafe with PBI packages, graphical wireless manager, and a lot more, but all these things can also be aplied to 'stock' FreeBSD installation, FreeBSD is far more secure and stable if these things are important to You, it allows for easily install of more then 22 000 various packages/tools that can be used to ease Your work, that of course depends what You do and what You need. The ZFS v28 deduplication will save You disk space and ZFS checksum mechanism will make You sure that Your data is safe, the GELI mechanism is great if You wnat to secure Your whole disk (can be used along with ZFS).

For most 'Windows' people it would serve best as FreeNAS installation on home NAS and/or as Monowall/PFSense on home router.



> Why should someone switch to freeBSD if he already has Windows 7 (FREE)?


Windows is never for free, someone may have an impression that it is but it isnt, if You buy a new computer with Windows bundled, the OEM pays the price and laptop is more expensive because of taht (often less then 'FULL' windows license), if You have Windows thru MSDN AA, then You univercity pays Microsoft, its never for free ...



> Why should a computer illiterate switch to FreeBSD?


Freedom from viruses/malware/spyware, stable and secure place for Internet for sure.



> Why should a gamer switch to FreeBSD?


A gamer You say, if he likes Open Source games, then Linux would be better as more Open Source games are available on Linux, if He wants to play Windows games, then better stay on Windows.

If someone wants to use Windows but has older machine, then Windows XP and 2003 are good OSes fur older boxes.


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## Epikurean (Aug 19, 2011)

No one is trying to sell you the FreeBSD operating system. Therefore no one but you can come up for reasons to make the switch.
Just look at what FreeBSD is, compare it to what you need and if it turns out that FreeBSD makes the thing you want /need better, then change your OS.


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## alie (Aug 19, 2011)

For gaming... stick with Windows, for security and stability go for FreeBSD


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## davidgurvich (Aug 19, 2011)

If you're happy with windows then stick with that. Using FreeBSD is not easy for someone unfamiliar with unix like operating systems.  

Security is a major issue with windows.  If you are interested in most new games they will either not work or work poorly in FreeBSD.  Similarly, Linux has better support for playing windows games than FreeBSD but these will not work as well.

The most likely reason to switch to FreeBSD as a laptop or desktop user is that only browsing the web, email, simple documents, and simple games are used.  No malware.  However, for such a user most Linux distributions would be a better fit.

As stated above, FreeBSD is excellent as a file server with ZFS available.  For a router I would use OpenBSD.


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## wblock@ (Aug 19, 2011)

Because stealing software, even Windows, is bad.


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## xibo (Aug 19, 2011)

A Windows Seven user should switch to FreeBSD for the same reason that an OpenBSD, Haiku, GNU or OpenIndiana user should switch to it: because (s)he likes it more 



> The most likely reason to switch to FreeBSD as a laptop or desktop user is that only browsing the web, email, simple documents, and simple games are used. No malware. However, for such a user most Linux distributions would be a better fit.


I'd rather think the majority of todays "desktops" won't ever send or receive an email, nor will they ever use a simple game. Instead, they will be used to twitter and blog, eventually access a webmail interface (often enough not required as many of the former uses of email have been merged to "social" networks), and run adobe flash and skype. flash and skype are IMO malware.

Any security measure on a dektop system these days only is an annoyance for the user (Vista UAC, tray messages to setup virus scanning software, notification popups due to invalid SSL certificates, just to name a few), while ZFS is useless if you don't have data to store. And you don't because you're outsourcing your data storage to web services, or not having any relevant data to begin with.


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## bbzz (Aug 19, 2011)

Treat any OS as a tool, nothing more, nothing less. It is there to get your job done. It's not about amateur vs pro system or any kind of silly stuff like that. Pro's use Windows lots of times, out of necessity. If Windows (or any OS) gets your job done in a fashion that is suitable and good enough for you then stick to it.


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## Simba7 (Aug 19, 2011)

I'd suggest you don't switch over to FreeBSD. If you're expecting your Windows programs to work perfectly in FreeBSD, think again.. especially if you're running specific software.

I'm (now) using FreeBSD on all my servers and routers while I'm running Windows 7 Professional on my desktops. I moved from Gentoo Linux back to FreeBSD mostly due to getting irritated with the support group and getting told "you don't need that". Also, the ZFS filesystem is more solid than BTRFS.

Like I said, switch only if you *NEED* to. I have nothing bad to say about Windows 7. I've tortured that OS and it seems to ask for more. You may need another stick o' memory, though. I'm running with 8GB since I got a good deal. You could probably get by with 4GB.


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## kpedersen (Aug 19, 2011)

Windows 7 has been artificially limited by the addition of online activation *malware*.

You don't want to use a limited OS do you?

Windows 2000 and FreeBSD (I like 'em both)


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## nakal (Aug 19, 2011)

> Free illegal WindowsÂ® 7



Aren't you even a bit ashamed of posting things like this? If you don't want to pay for software, don't use it.


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## kpedersen (Aug 19, 2011)

nakal said:
			
		

> Aren't you even a bit ashamed of posting things like this? If you don't want to pay for software, don't use it.



Oh right, I didn't realize that he was using a (hassle) free copy.

Bernard,
The reason why I migrated to FreeBSD was because of the online activation / DRM sh*t.

Rather than cracking the software, you should switch to FreeBSD since it is more guaranteed in the long run in case Microsoft puts even more research into their anti-piracy techniques. Afterall, if everyone boycotted Windows due to the activation system it might have a positive effect.

Not only this but if you look on the first page of the WINE software list, the majority of Windows software nowerdays *also* needs online activation, so if you are this way inclined to use pirate software perhaps spend your efforts on the open-source community instead.

(edit:
If you crack software yourself *as a hobby or for education*, you may be pleased to know that I have completed and submitted a FreeBSD radare2 port which now also supports patching binaries as well as disassembling them. http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/query-pr.cgi?pr=159805)


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## LateNiteTV (Aug 19, 2011)

If you like your Windows, stay with it. If you want to learn how your computer works, use FreeBSD.


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## UNIXgod (Aug 19, 2011)

Bernard said:
			
		

> But what if you are a single deskop user.
> Most of the reasons seems to be irrelevant to a single desktop user. For someone who just has a budget desktop. A freeBSD installation is to much trouble as long as there are no benefits!



This is an uninformed statement.


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## Bernard (Aug 19, 2011)

That's was a very fast respond. Thanks! 

About myself. I already have decided to switch to BSD. This post it's not about me. It is about the rest of the world. In my opinion could and should everyone benefit from the BSD projects. I am newby and I am just trying to understand what FREEBSD is al about. 

Please correct me if am wrong!

*Operating system*
A legal version of Windows is expensive
A legal version of FreeBSD is FREE

(Free) FreeBSD is legal
(Free) Windows is illegal 

*Games*
FreeBSD support only linux Games 
Windows support only Windows Games 

Some games can run on both operating systems.

*Software*
Windows software applications are often expensive (commercial)
FREEBSD software applications are always free

Windows software applications are often closed-source 
FREEBSD software applications are always open-source

*Marketing*
Windows sell there product trough marketing. 
FreeBSD is not trying to sell you the FreeBSD operating system.

Microsoft sign Exclusive Contrac with company that will agree to sell windows operating systems only.
The FreeBSD community will advice you to use Windows when it will do the job better. 

*Security *(spam, malware, virus, hackers) 
Using internet on Windows is insecure
Using internet on FreeBSD is (very) secure 

*Stability*
Windows is unstable 
FreeBSD is (very) stable

*Support*
Windows has commercial support
FreeBSD has community support

*Employes*
Windows employes are trying to make a lot of money.
FreeBSD employes are trying to make a good operating system


*Limitations*
Somethings you can only do in Windows. Windows os and license is very limited. 
Somethings you can only do in FREEBSD. FreeBSD os and license almost unlimited.


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## kpedersen (Aug 19, 2011)

That comparison is a tad simplistic but generally correct.

I might disagree on the stability aspect. Windows can sometimes be more stable than FreeBSD (and other unix-like) because there is generally better driver support (a main cause of system failure). If you use an older thinkpad or server hardware, then this is usually negligible.

Also, you can play a large number of Windows games with WINE (a little less stable than on linux, but still very usable).


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## qsecofr (Aug 20, 2011)

> Aren't you even a bit ashamed of posting things like this? If you don't want to pay for software, don't use it.


Amen!

Figure out what you want from your computer, firstly.  Knowing that, you're better able to compare & contrast different operating systems' strengths & weaknesses and their ability to meet you needs.  Be wary of anyone who advises you that you _should_ do something before you're really clear on what exactly you want.

If you decide to leave to Windows, ask yourself if you're willing to learn how to be your own sysadmin.  You'll get out of it what you put into it, but the effort isn't trivial if you've never done it before.  Something like PC-BSD might ease that burden a bit, but I don't have first-hand experience with it to know.

And even if you're on the fence, you can dual-boot.  That might be the best way to decide for yourself which you like better, or even if you want to keep both.  (assuming, if you keep Windows, you make it legal eventually)



> Windows was made for amateurs, to make computer usage easy for them. FreeBSD was made for professionals, or serious hobbyists. Amateurs and every day Joes should not switch from Windows to FreeBSD.
> 
> I've always said, FreeBSD is for serious work while Windows is the family van. You wouldn't take the family van to the construction site. Instead, you'd use a Mack truck. FreeBSD is a Mack truck


Someone needs their cheese.  The Cheese!  The *CHEESE*!

Seriously, there's no need to belittle anyone else.  That's just not ..uh, professional..


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## xibo (Aug 20, 2011)

Bernard said:
			
		

> That's was a very fast respond. Thanks!
> 
> About myself. I already have decided to switch to BSD. This post it's not about me. It is about the rest of the world. In my opinion could and should everyone benefit from the BSD projects. I am newby and I am just trying to understand what FREEBSD is al about.
> 
> Please correct me if am wrong!



Here we go:


			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *Operating system*
> A bought copy of of Windows is rather expensive
> A bought copy of FreeBSD is rather inexpensive
> 
> ...


You can get free versions of Windows if you're in some parnerships with Microsoft, like MSDNAA, which is free. So change the "Legal version" to "bought copy", and the "Free version" to "Torrent version".
Also, when buying Windows OS you get it on a physical medium and can install it even without an internet access. For a physical medium of FreeBSD, you have to donate/pay something, too: See http://www.freebsdmall.com/cgi-bin/fm/bsd8.2
FreeBSD is less expensive then windows, so call it "rather more" and "rather less" expensive.



			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *Games*
> FreeBSD support only very few Games
> Windows support next to every Game
> 
> Some games can run on both operating systems.


There are only very few "linux games" that aren't "Windows games" too. On games, Windows is not only undoubtedly supperior to anything else, but also to anything else combined.



			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *Software*
> Windows software applications are usually priced
> FreeBSD software applications are usually free
> 
> ...


Whether software is commercial or not is irrelevant for charging purposes. Squid, Snort, Qt, ... are all commercially developed software that are both open source and free of charge to use. Note that those are also free for use on Windows OS.
Also, there's expensive software for FreeBSD.



			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *Marketing*
> Microsoft sell there product trough marketing.
> The BSD community is not trying to sell you their operating systems.
> 
> ...


I don't fully get the second part, but the part I got I will disagree. Microsoft will not try to sell you Windows OS only - quite the opposite, they'll try to sell you Office right after that. Most OEM-installations of Windows even ship timed demo versions of Office.
Office is the "true monopoly" of Microsoft, and I think they would release a UNIX version of it if UNIX had more market share in the office world (the mainstream market isn't worth the effort because of the large amount of piracy). Microsoft FoxPro for example, has officially supported usage on FreeBSD.

Also, changed from FreeBSD to BSD. IIRC FreeBSD, was created as the effort to market BSD.



			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *Security*(spam, malware, virus, hackers)
> Using internet on Windows is as secure as the user wants to put effort into security
> Using internet on FreeBSD is as secure as the user wants to put effort into security


Wine officially stated their goal to also run viruses and trojans, clicking on every banner in the web won't be alot safer in <your-browser-here>@FreeBSD then in <your-browser-here>@Windows OS.



			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *Stability*
> Windows with all updates is stable
> FreeBSD-Release-GENERIC is stable


In fact I had more crashes with FreeBSD then with Windows lately.



			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *commercial Support*
> Windows has commercial support
> FreeBSD has commercial support
> 
> ...


http://www.freebsd.org/support.html



			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *Employes*
> Windows employes are trying to make money.
> FreeBSD employes are trying to make money.


Every developer is trying to improve his or her product. Any interpretation of what an improvement actually is, is subjective.
The difference is actually that only very few people involved in FreeBSD development are employed by [the] FreeBSD [Foundation], while only very few people involved in Windows OS development are NOT employed by Microsoft.



			
				Bernard said:
			
		

> *Limitations*
> Somethings you can only do in Windows. Windows OS and license is very limited.
> There's nothing that really can done only in FreeBSD. FreeBSD OS and license almost unlimited.


The fact next-to-everything that can be done by FreeBSD can also be done by OpenBSD, NetBSD and maybe OpenIndiana is (at least to me) a feature of FreeBSD: If the FreeBSD community was to go crazy, additionally to forking FreeBSD (which is not a viable option for most users), there is the option to move to an already existing alternative at considerably low efforts.

While I'm not a great gamer, and prefer both LaTeX and HTML over wysiwig documents (Word/Excell/Powerpoint/...) I think the most important point of Windows was not mentioned:

*Hardware Support*
Windows OS drivers are available for virtually any Hardware.
FreeBSD drivers are available for established Hardware.

For a desktop user in question, this is important because only nvidia tends to support new graphics cards, while support for "established" non-nvidia graphcis is rather poor, too. Also some WLAN adapters seem to be troublesome according to the mailing lists. And WLAN is _very_ popular at home-use.


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## ElectricRider (Aug 20, 2011)

Bernard said:
			
		

> That's was a very fast respond. Thanks!
> 
> About myself. I already have decided to switch to BSD. This post it's not about me. It is about the rest of the world. In my opinion could and should everyone benefit from the BSD projects. I am newby and I am just trying to understand what FREEBSD is al about.
> 
> Please correct me if am wrong!



 Sure I'll be happy to correct you.



> *Operating system*
> A legal version of Windows is expensive
> A legal version of FreeBSD is FREE



 Windows 7 can be Free too and many times is. Microsoft makes ways for many people to obtain the OS for Free, PLUS you can get one "free" when you purchase a computer with it pre-installed.




> (Free) FreeBSD is legal
> (Free) Windows is illegal



 Windows is Legal when legally purchased. Only thieves use an illegal copy.




> *Games*
> FreeBSD support only linux Games
> Windows support only Windows Games



 Linux does support Windows games through the use of the Windows Compatibility Layer called Wine So does FreeBSD and PC-BSD (PC-BSD is made for the desktop user where FreeBSD is geared more to the commercial or server type OS)




> Some games can run on both operating systems.
> 
> *Software*
> Windows software applications are often expensive (commercial)
> FREEBSD software applications are always free



I use Only all free software in my windows 7 OS, freeware, or Open Source - there are tons, tens of thousands of both for Windows. 




> Windows software applications are often closed-source
> FREEBSD software applications are always open-source



 Incorrect, see above.




> *Marketing*
> Windows sell there product trough marketing.
> FreeBSD is not trying to sell you the FreeBSD operating system.



In a way you are correct to the unpopularity and IMO bad business model of FreeBSD. I read on a FreeBSD page someplace that the devs would rather spend time improving the code than market the product. This is the stupidest thing I have ever seen a geek write. Devs do not do marketing. They do not know HOW. They code, that's their job. If they want their systems to be widely used they need to learn from or employ skills from marketing people who know how to spread the word. Over the years FreeBSD has enjoyed a good standing with word of mouth - it works, but mostly for those people who need a free solution in enterprise and business for things like servers. They have done some advertising but not too much. Now there is PC-BSD and it's exciting new Isotope based on FreeBSD 9.0 and with it being geared to the desktop, advertising the right way could cause it to become more popular than FreeBSD and be a strong contender for Windows and Linux users.




> Microsoft sign Exclusive Contrac with company that will agree to sell windows operating systems only.
> The FreeBSD community will advice you to use Windows when it will do the job better.


 True at times yes.




> *Security *(spam, malware, virus, hackers)
> Using internet on Windows is insecure
> Using internet on FreeBSD is (very) secure



 My Windows 7 is very secure because I know how to protect it properly. I have special safeguards in place that will keep virus's out (like sandboxes - I do not trust Firewalls), but if one fails and a virus corrupts my system, even if it deletes the entire C drive, these safeguards will have my entire system back up and running in 5 minutes. This is something Linux or any version of BSD can Not do. (and no it does not involve backing up to a network)




> *Stability*
> Windows is unstable
> FreeBSD is (very) stable



Untrue. In the past 2 and 1/2 years I have never had a slowdown or crash or Blue screen of death occur with Windows 7. Microsoft has fixed most of the major issues that cause serious crashes.




> *Support*
> Windows has commercial support
> FreeBSD has community support



Microsoft has paid support. I don't use it, I cannot afford it. I get great community support for Windows through the tons of user forums for Windows, just like this forum is for FreeBSD.




> *Employes*
> Windows employes are trying to make a lot of money.
> FreeBSD employes are trying to make a good operating system



Both of these are true.




> *Limitations*
> Somethings you can only do in Windows. Windows os and license is very limited.
> Somethings you can only do in FREEBSD. FreeBSD os and license almost unlimited.



 Application wise, there is Nothing you cannot do in FreeBSD/PC-BSD that you cannot do in Windows. There are many things FreeBSD and PC-BSD Can do that Windows cannot. (Like run native Linux applications)

I am a Windows user, a Linux user and a PC-BSD user. I like PC-BSD (Hubble 8.2 and Isotope 9.0) over FreeBSD for the HOME user, it has better ease of use and a better desktop experience IMO.

I like PC-BSD over Linux though I do use several flavors of Linux too. I use Windows over both of them for gaming as I am a hard core 3d FPS gamer. (I'm 43 going on 18) I also like Mac OSX Snow Leopard but do not use it much because I can only run Snow Leopard in a virtual machine.

My reasons for using different OS's are that you can learn something, have more fun with different apps, broaden your horizons, not tie yourself down to one OS. Do I think everyone should switch? No. Some people just need something that works for their job and don't have that much interest in using a computer daily for pleasure. People who think about switching need to run each OS side by side to really test it to be sure it will do all the things they want, the way they want it to do, before switching. Or never "switch" but use both OS's like I do. No shame in that.


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## mgp (Aug 20, 2011)

I'd put it like that:
FreeBSD means freedom (see my signature). If you don't care about that, use windows and be imprisoned in your own operating system.


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## xibo (Aug 20, 2011)

mgp said:
			
		

> I'd put it like that:
> FreeBSD means freedom (see my signature). If you don't care about that, use windows and be imprisoned in your own operating system.


Naaa, if I want to be imprisoned, then I go to Apple.


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## Slurp (Aug 20, 2011)

I strongly recommend to avoid shady Windows deals, they far too often come with malware preinstalled. And what's worse, they may prevent antiviruses from seeing what's really going on in it, so you're inherently insecure.

Also, to people commenting about legality stuff:
Are you sure it works like this in Holland? Copyright law is different in different parts of the world and if something is illegal in your country doesn't mean it's too elsewhere.
In my country (Poland) downloading stuff is legal. Except for software and databases. I wouldn't be surprised if some countries had even more permissive laws.

On FreeBSD is free / Windows is not:
There is significant cost in both of them: learning to use them. A Windows user paid for learning Windows already and in short-mid term paying real money for Windows can be much cheaper than lost productivity. I know this because I'm in the process of migrating from Windows to FreeBSD. I spent, I think, like 100 hours learning PC-BSD and I'm still a total noob, having to search the net with every second task that I'm performing. Maybe I'm learning slowly and I'm sure doing much more than browsing the web, but for me FreeBSD is actually a very expensive investment.

For me, a desktop user, the reasons were:
-Freedom
-Configurability
-ZFS
-Vista / Win 7 are a severe downgrade from XP and I didn't want to use them.
Not necessarily in this order.



			
				xibo said:
			
		

> While ZFS is useless if you don't have data to store. And you don't because you're outsourcing your data storage to web services, or not having any relevant data to begin with.



I don't think it applies to many. Almost all my friends store photos on their disks and many put music / videos on them too. ZFS offers superior data protection, though sadly most desktop configurations that I saw (single disk, copies=1) offer only error detection.



			
				vermaden said:
			
		

> if You have Windows thru MSDN AA, then You univercity pays Microsoft, its never for free ...


Slightly OT, but these are the worst kinds of deals sometimes. My University didn't pay MS for MSDNAA, but agreed to ignore Oracle on a DB lecture and do more of SQL Server instead.
Honestly, even though I used MSDNAA stuff a lot, I'd rather have courses done with teaching quality as the only goal.


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## tingo (Aug 21, 2011)

ElectricRider said:
			
		

> Windows 7 can be Free too and many times is. Microsoft makes ways for many people to obtain the OS for Free, PLUS you can get one "free" when you purchase a computer with it pre-installed.



Just as small correction here; "included" isn't the same as "free". If you buy a machine with a Windows license, the Windows license isn't free. Why isn't it free?
For two reasons:
1) you can only use it on that specific machine (you can't transfer the license to another machine)
2) upgrades (to Windows 8 for example) are not free, you have to pay for them.

Now, if you know of any other ways to legally get a Windows 7 license for free (without being a student, and without cheating), please tell us.


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## DutchDaemon (Aug 21, 2011)

I think we covered the essentials here, and we're not moving to a 'how to get Windows for free' topic. Closed.


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