Re: Ecco alarms are not behaving properly - urgent

Thank you Colin, I appreciate your response and explanations.  Certainly Linux has long been considered by many as a superior platform for server based systems and I think you did a good job explaining some of the reasons why.  I'm not sure that all of those advantages apply to home use, especially for the typical home user, but clearly even home power users should consider at least trying some Linux flavor out.  I dabbled in it at home years ago and was involved in IT for many years ... we had several Linux servers, but I was in management and never really got my hands into them.  But I do remember being convinced they were the right choice by those in the technical know.

I especially share your dislike for the way Windows tends to treat the end user like a baby by forcing certain things to work certain ways without the users consent.  And it so happens that Ecco itself provides a perfect example.  Prior to Windows 7, you could install Ecco like a man and get what you paid for.  Now it plays games with your installation and you have to do a few extra steps to make it work.  It's no big deal, but it is indicative of exactly the kind of "we know better than you do" attitude behind Windows development.

I've used Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1.  In my opinion ... and in general ... either XP or 7 are the best for home or small business use unless there is something specific you need in a higher version.  Overall 7 is probably MS's best ever OS, but I think if you already have XP, there is generally no reason to change.   If you run servers, Linux should be considered.  I don't see any reason to avoid XP as it is still a strong, time tested and reliable platform that will do anything that a home or small business user is likely to want to do for many years to come.  As far as MS dropping support for XP: have you ever tried to get support from MS?  What's the difference if they drop it if they never had it in the first place?  And I think the vast majority of "security patches" are marketing hype and won't be missed one bit.

For home use, I still think a Windows platform is generally a better choice than Linux for most users primarily because of the huge universe of third party apps.... there is competition in every category of software, a lot of choices, and something for everyone.  Sure there is lots of Linux software out there, but Windows has by far superior depth in that area.

Although I think many Ecco users tend to be above average technically so maybe Linux is worth a try too.

This is only tangentially  related to Ecco so I will leave it at that.  But please feel free to post any final follow up comments if you wish.  Thanks again for your response!