Uninstall != inv(install)

EeePC. Running Windows XP and need an easy solution for burning CDs. I have a USB DVD RAM drive so go to install CD Burner XP (which I have used happily many times before) and dicover that this oarticular piece of software relies on the Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5.

No great problem - lets install that too.

It's as the install completes that the low disk warning pops up. Installing the .Net Framework takes a staggering 55oMB of disk space and on a 4GB partition, that's more-or-less unworkable.

So the plan is to uninstall it and try Deep Burner.

Uninstalling the .NET Framework only gives you back about 50MB of disk space. So where did the rest of it go? No idea. All I know is that 'uninstall' is not the inverse of 'install'.

Combing through the Windows folder has freed up another 100MB, but I'm now faced with a windows install operating with less than 250MB of free space in a 4GB partition.

I'm loathed to say it, but it may be time to rethink this whole MS Windows experience thing. To complete the trial I should investigate putting Windows Vista on here ... I wonder is that even possible?

By the way - Deep Burner installs just fine without needing the .Net framework.

EeePC + Window XP SP3 .... Going back to MS

This is an annoying post to be writing in some senses. I love the open source ideal. I love the speed and robustness of Linux. I love the automated application installation, the safety, the security, the choice of distributions and window systems.

So why does putting Windows XP in this netbook seem so very, very easy?

It's the interface and the support. Dammit. I'd much rather be using Gnome, but the hardware isn't quite supported, doesn't integrate quite as well. With Windows XP, I downloaded about 12 dirver packs from the Asus website, installed XP SP 2, ran the installers for the packs and I have everything working. And I mean everything. The hot keys. The audio and webcam, wireless and lan, touchpad in cluding 2 finger scrolling and a fast set of graphics drivers.

Boot times? No more than a few seconds slower.

Now, I'm fairly sure of a couple of things here. This installation will, like all windows installations, seem to slow down over time as the cruft builds up. But right at this moment this is about as easy an installation as I've done on this - and I've installed something like a dozen different Linux distributions on here over the 10 months I've had it.

I'll keep you posted, but I'm now going to push my luck and install some developer tools on here.

Oh .... and the thing I like best that I never got working under linux? I have a desktop set to 1280x768, and the display pans as I move the mouse at the edge of the screen to show the area of the display that is off the edge of the physical display. I find this much more use than having 4 desktops (as with Gnome or KDE) since I can run an application that needs a lot of display-realestate and be able to work, rather than being left with too little document space once all the tool palettes are on-screen.

This is all about user experience, and I hate to say it, but XP is coming out rather well....