Why is it called ‘Windows’?

Using virtual machines on my Mac and Linux computers allows me to fire up a copy of Windows on the very rare occasions when I need it. (Typically about once a quarter). And then shut it down again before anything bad happens.

And then the light of understanding and enlightenment dawned upon me, dear friends, so I share it with you, with apologies for the grammar:

    It’s called Windows, because that’s what you should run it in.

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2 Comments

Hi Quentin,

Alternative answer: Because it’s a pane?

Yes, it’s a relief to feel in charge again of one’s computer by not running Windows. Seriously, I run Win 7 in a VM under Ubuntu Linux these days when I need to. Sometimes it takes a while for all the updates to install before it finally closes down!

Other Windows applications that I need, such as Eudora, run very well using Wine.

John

I’ve been running XP under Virtualbox on my Ubuntu machine for one reason and one reason only – iTunes for my iPod. I tried various Linux media players but they all messed up my iPod.

But just this last week, the media player I’ve been using for the past few months, Guayadeque, had an update and it now supports iPods so I can happily add music to it without needing iTunes or Windows.

Free at last…etc etc!

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