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Which is better to use Windows 98+ OR UNIX?
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:44 am
by tim.smale
Can anyone tell me if it is better/faster to use windows 98/2000/XP OR to use UNIX? Is there any difference in how they run?
Thanks
Tim S
ULSOP.ac.uk
use whatever makes you more productive
Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:16 pm
by ted
As far as using NEURON itself is concerned, no significant difference. Differences emerge
when you bump up against the strengths and weaknesses of the OS environment itself,
or the familiarity of the user with a particular platform. Stick with Win 98 if that's what you
are familiar with, don't have time to learn a new OS, and don't mind rebooting all the time.
WinNT, 2K, and XP are superior in terms of stability, but you still don't get a real
programmer's environment. You can get that by installing cygwin, but you still don't
have all the conveniences of UNIX (e.g. multiple desktops to name just one) and you're
still saddled with having to install multiple "critical security updates" every couple of weeks.
That said, there's lots of commercial software that runs under MSWin but not UNIX/Linux.
If you absolutely must have this, you're stuck unless you can find a "workalike" or
compatible program.
OS X users potentially have the best of both worlds.