Is Solaris a viable operating system for the home user, capable of running windows programs as well? -

I am not liking the direction Vista and Windows 7 are taking with abandoning software compatibility concerns. Every home user out there that switches to Vista has to give up their software. It seems like theft of a new kind. Make an operating system that is incompatible with software you purchased just a year ago. Weird. Time to head over to Mac or try this Solaris, I think.

Solaris is a great system (I use it at work), but I would strongly NOT recommend it for what you asked. As a server, yes, but not necessarily as a personal system. First of all, it s a Unix system, which means, unless your running some virtual machine package with it for Windows compatibility, you cannot run Windows software. Windows software runs on Windows. That s why everyone seems stuck with it. It s also the primary reason why Windows sucks as much as it does. I really hate Windows a lot, so I m biased. But you might consider another alternative: Linux. Now Linux won t run Windows software either (unfortunately, that s the part you ll have to get past if you want to make a change). But here s some reasons to at least consider Linux: 1. It s a free, open source system. Everything that runs on it is also free and open source. Not just free as in cost, but free as in you can do anything you like with the software...even program changes into it if you re so inspired. 2. There is one Linux (the system kernel...the heart that runs the main system), but literally dozens and dozens of different quot;distributionsquot; of Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, etc). The different quot;distrosquot; are designed for either general desktop uses or specific uses, like on servers or for disgnostic/forensic use. You, obviously, would want a general desktop version...there are many good ones. 3. You can test Linux desktop versions out first. many come in the LiveCD format: you download an ISO file of the distro, burn the image to a CD, then boot the CD on your system. You can then run the full system from the CD to see how it looks and get a general idea of how applications work. You can then use the CD to install the system permanently on your hard disk and update it from the Internet. 4. There isn t anything you can do on Windows that you can t do on Linux. 5. There are no viruses, malware, spyware, trojans or other crap to attack the system. The security model is designed to prevent that stuff from ever reaching the system. When security updates are available, your system can notify you and automatically download them, in the background, while you work. You don t have to worry about security. Ever. I ve added a couple of links for your further reading. Don t get too lost in some of the Geek language about Linux. It s a solid, capable system that easily replaces Windows in all the ways I mentioned, and more. Lots of first-timers look to Ubuntu Linux (or it s brother distro, Kubuntu, which is my personal distro), due to its ease of installation and understanding. But many of the other listed distros are excellent. That s the great thing...you have CHOICES! Microsoft doesn t give you choices, and if they do, you wind up lighter in the wallet. Good luck.

Have you tried Opensolaris.. it is very good for desktop and work on all windows environment. if you really want to switch to other OS for desktop i can recommend you ubuntu, it is cool and have good graphic and all windows like software. most important it is free try once you will forget windows. Report Abuse

Solaris is an operating system for Sun Workstations that will not run on a PC and you cannot run windows programs on it unless you have a windows emulator. Why don t you just stick with XP, it s perfectly good operating system, nobody is forcing you to upgrade.