[LockHood]

So I always wondered . Why do people promote Linux , 7zip etc ? Whats the point ? Most people, myself included are perfectly comfortable with Windows and Winzip . The advantages of Linux for example seem hollow and not worth the effort of shifting to me . It's like someone just reinvented the Pythagoras theorem - no change except perhaps the definition is slightly easier to memorise - in an attempt to get famous

I don't mean to offend anyone who likes these things . I'm ignorant about this . Could someone enlighten me ?

Hmmm....I've got no idea about the pros and cons of Linux as I've always used Windows. 7Zip, on the other hand, is much, much preferable to WinZip or WinRAR. Why? Firstly, because it is totally free and I think that the best things in life are free (point to be noted: Kovid Goyal's Calibre).
And secondly, because it has got more functions as compared to WinZip and WinRAR. For example 7Zip provides you compression and decompression for 5 formats (.rar, .tar, .wim, .zip and .7z) while WnZip has only got .rar and .zip. Also, only 7Zip can extract .7z format files. 7Zip's GUI is simplistic, just how I like it.

I don't mean to offend anyone who likes these things

No offense taken. It isn't, after all, a religious or political debate.

[LockHood]

Actually I use WinRAR . It was installed in my laptop when I bought it . It can open 7z files too . But I once almost downloaded 7zip when I had to unzip a 7zip file I downloaded before I realised I don't need it . It was annoying that I should be forced to try their software just because I downloaded a file that happened to be 7zip .

No offense taken. It isn't, after all, a religious or political debate.

People get offended for a lot less . I had stayed away from forums for a while because of the raging battlegrounds it can turn into

If it is a preinstalled software, then why not? But I'm certainly not going to part with a good amount of money when I can get a free, not to say better, software. It'd be like buying a copy of Encyclopedia Britannica when you can use Wikipedia for free.

No offense taken. It isn't, after all, a religious or political debate.

People get offended for a lot less . I had stayed away from forums for a while because of the raging battlegrounds it can turn into :)

You're telling me!

[m0o5]

Imho both 7zip and Linux have their advantages (more feature-rich).

But why not get multiboot and have it all?