Mitch Garvis said:

I don't necessarily disagree... but I think we can all agree that Rick hates Microsoft, and he is less concerned by WHO is eating their lunch than he is that someone is eating it

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Well, my disdain for Microsoft has developed over the course of decades of using their products and feeling constrained by Redmond in doing things. They weren't always that way. But these days, they have gotten very much controlling of the Windows environment. I get tickets and complaints about Windows Update forcing things. Windows pushing 365 to the point where you have to about hack the system to get a local account going. And don't get me started on Copilot's constant presence, even with me on a Linux machine, Copilot keeps trying to assert itself.

In short, I am one that believes that users should use their computers, not be used by them, or the companies that provide software.

Gregory Childers said:

That's due to the increase in macOS desktops. Linux is still chugging along below 10% where they've always been.

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Which brings me to Apple - not much a fan of Apple either. I think it was a good move for them to adopt a UNIX based kernel, rather than continuing to make its legacy iOS a pain on the industry (notwithstanding making more agreeable with Intel-based silicon). But Apple still pushes people into obeisance of the Mighty Blue Apple.

Gregory Childers said:

Linux has a stranglehold on the server market, but you'll never convince regular users to switch over. It's an admin OS.

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Probably not en masse but the current trend is that more users are moving away from Windows to Linux - particularly in the world of Gaming where Valve's Proton compatibility layer and implementations of SteamOS are drawing gamers off of Windows at a pretty aggressive pace.

Historically, Microsoft's OS lockouts from Win 10 to 11 have opted to use Linux on otherwise functional hardware. Linux will always be king of 'that older laptop that I want to get more life from'. I have an old Lenovo E351 that runs my Home Assistant - a machine that would otherwise been tossed in the recycle bin is managing my home's smart tech.

So while I'm sure that we're not going to see large swathes of users embrace the penguin overnight, the world is seeing more people leave Windows for something else, rather than the inverse.

Gregory Childers said:

All of them were experienced tech workers at the SSA. They just needed the class to prepare for the exam.

I'll grant that it would be far too difficult for an inexperienced college student to handle, but I can't imagine dragging it on for an entire semester.

I taught a boot camp for advanced high school seniors in 40 hours and every one of them passed the exam.

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Gotcha - so it's more of a review than an initial teach. That changes things quite a bit.

In the trade school demographic, we're not commonly dealing with 'advanced/AP' students. Many of them have GED's or are veterans looking for a new career, or are working some kind of job. Working single parents. Older folks who want to do something new. So, many of students need that extra care and grace to learn the content - and it can take that long for some.

Shane Allen said:

Hi Rick, I imagine it costs you a fortune to keep all of your certs active. The university does not pay for the certification exams, which is a nice chunk of change out of a professor's salary.

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Actually, as a member of the CompTIA Partner program, I have access to all the vouchers that I can use. I'm not sure if your school is a CompTIA Academic Partner - you (or your administrator, etc etc) might want to reach out to your Business Manager and see what your status is.

Mitch Garvis said:

I don't necessarily disagree... but I think we can all agree that Rick hates Microsoft, and he is less concerned by WHO is eating their lunch than he is that

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I use a little bit of everything to avoid vendor lock-in. No one gets all my business.

Gregory Childers said:

That's due to the increase in macOS desktops. Linux is still chugging along below 10% where they've always been.

Linux has a stranglehold on the server market, but you'll never convince regular users to switch over. It's an admin OS.

Click to expand...

I don't necessarily disagree... but I think we can all agree that Rick hates Microsoft, and he is less concerned by WHO is eating their lunch than he is that someone is eating it

Rick Butler said:

What's funny is that I reminded a couple people this week that much of the Azure Cloud runs CBL-Mariner, which...is Azure Linux, and 100% of the 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world are running Linux. In other words, it appears that Windows isn't the dominant force that the Microslop acolytes make it out to be, with Windows now running on about 62% of desktops now.

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That's due to the increase in macOS desktops. Linux is still chugging along below 10% where they've always been.

Linux has a stranglehold on the server market, but you'll never convince regular users to switch over. It's an admin OS.

Hi Rick, I imagine it costs you a fortune to keep all of your certs active. The university does not pay for the certification exams, which is a nice chunk of change out of a professor's salary.

Rick Butler said:

CE designation

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Hi, thanks for the great reply. I have the certification hanging on my office wall. With over thirty-seven years in project management, I think I am good to go.

I have two different GFL Project+ certifications. One from 2003 when it was still called IT Project+ and another one from 2023.

CompTIA awarded me the Project+ CE in 2025 and it expires in 2028.

They did the same thing with Server+. I eared a GFL Server+ in 2021 and they awarded me a Server+ CE in 2025 that expires in 2027.

I'll probably never take either again. I have the GFL, so when the two CE certs expire, I'll just let them go.

I wouldn't be surprised if they do it with Tech+ eventually.

Rick Butler said:

Um, yeah...? The question I would have to ask is how much did the students actually retain in all that? Our school uses 12 weeks to go through both sides of the A+, including dedicated laboratory time. I can't conceive of packing all that into 20 hours of time we have or even a 40 hour boot camp format.

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All of them were experienced tech workers at the SSA. They just needed the class to prepare for the exam.

I'll grant that it would be far too difficult for an inexperienced college student to handle, but I can't imagine dragging it on for an entire semester.

I taught a boot camp for advanced high school seniors in 40 hours and every one of them passed the exam.

Gregory Childers said:

I just taught the 220-1201 and 220-1202 combined class in one week. I barely completed all the lecture in that time.

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Um, yeah...? The question I would have to ask is how much did the students actually retain in all that? Our school uses 12 weeks to go through both sides of the A+, including dedicated laboratory time. I can't conceive of packing all that into 20 hours of time we have or even a 40 hour boot camp format.

Rick Butler said:

I'd tell you how I feel, but this *is* a PG rated board and not everyone appreciates my very unique sense of humor.

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lol! No problem. Keep it clean I say!

So, following up on my Omarchy experiments:

1) The Optiplex 7070 running Omarchy screams. It's pretty great. I had one guy ask me about running Plex on it. Seems that's a thing - running Plex servers with Arch, so they're not saddled with bloat.

2) I did manage to get Omarchy on the Chromebook 3400. It's not quite as peppy as I anticipated it would be. My guess is that the tiny Celeron processor has its limits balancing a full UEFI and a proper OS, rather than just Chrome.

Anyway, more geekery to follow as I explore.

/r

Thanks for that - and I don't mind the hiccups for sure. I tell people now that I run Linux but support Windows. It is sad that there are still a few things out there that Linux can't quite do effectively - or with out extreme amounts of configuration.

What's funny is that I reminded a couple people this week that much of the Azure Cloud runs CBL-Mariner, which...is Azure Linux, and 100% of the 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world are running Linux. In other words, it appears that Windows isn't the dominant force that the Microslop acolytes make it out to be, with Windows now running on about 62% of desktops now.

I know folks, year after year, claim it's "the year of Linux"...and while that hasn't quite happened yet. I think the "year of Linux" thing is more an individual thing. Yours was in 2002, mine in 2026. But either way, I think the folks in Redmond don't quite agree with Steve Ballmer calling Linux "a cancer".

Hi Shane:

So my understanding here is that everyone who had the Project+ or Server+ credentials were automatically awarded the CE designation as a separate certification entry. Mine are set to expire on 12-30-2028. I also have a separate set of credentials that are Good for Life (GFL).

So essentially, the CE's will expire in 2028 if I haven't renewed them with either CE credit or an updated exam. But my GFL variants will never expire - same thing with my other GFLs from CompTIA.

Looks like, basically, CompTIA gave a 2-3 year run up period for those who want to preserve the CE designation while at the same time, making these certifications, CE.

Hope that clears up the confusion.

/r

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Thank you @Stephen Schneiter

I’ve been using Linux as my primary operating system since 2002 - back when distributions didn't offer the same level of excellence they do today. The last version of Windows I actually used was XP, up until 2008. At that time, I bought a new desktop PC and ditched XP for good, switching to gaming consoles instead (since Windows was only useful to me for playing games). However, during the COVID pandemic, I was forced to set up a dual-boot partition with Windows so I could teach remote classes. Even then, I only use it when I’m teaching or attending a web conference...

Congratulations. You won't regret it (even though you might run into a few hiccups along the way)... &;-D

Finally the long wait is over!!! Registered!

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Mitch Garvis said:

Rick, I really wish you wouldn't beat around the bush... do you like Microsoft or not?

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I'd tell you how I feel, but this *is* a PG rated board and not everyone appreciates my very unique sense of humor.