If I wanted to run Linux instead of Windows on a x86 platform what are the pros/cons?

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What do you want to run for applications? When you can answer that, you can start to answer your question. An OS is no good if it can't run the apps you want.
 
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Linux is really only a derivative of Unix, which is what's underneath OSX anyway.

Unless there's some specific piece of software you want to run, there doesn't seem like much point. Linux on Macs seems to be a 'because I can' kind of thing - nothing wrong with that of course.
 
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no it would be on a Windows machine, not a Mac. And I would want to use it as a multimedia base (music, video) and some file resizing and file changing software to go along with that. i would also be running games. I am wondering if linux is better at what Windows already can do?
 
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no it would be on a Windows machine, not a Mac. And I would want to use it as a multimedia base (music, video) and some file resizing and file changing software to go along with that. i would also be running games. I am wondering if linux is better at what Windows already can do?

Ah, understood.

There seems to be plenty of software around for Linux - not sure about games though.

Pro - whatever you're 'learning' with Linux isn't a waste as it's just a different flavour of what's driving OSX. Using either one of them gives you useful knowledge of the other.
 
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i do know that servers that games on both PC and Mac run on are Linux based, that is all I know about their game interactions.
 
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If they can run games I think it would just be some kind of plugin for PC based disc games

WOOT! 300th post!
 
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no it would be on a Windows machine, not a Mac. And I would want to use it as a multimedia base (music, video) and some file resizing and file changing software to go along with that. i would also be running games. I am wondering if linux is better at what Windows already can do?
Music: There's more for Windows than Linux.

Video: While some apps exist, they're primitive imho. Windows wins here.

Games: No brainer, Windows.

Linux is superior in s/w development, especially as regards number crunching. While OS X and Linux share a common heritage, a good Linux distro is different from OS X. In OS X, the Unix side is a means to support the applications such as iLife and Quicktime. In Linux, the Unix side *is* the reason for its existence - sed, grep, awk, gawk, mawk, nawk, emacs, xemacs, cat, dog, more, less, cut, paste, et cetera (this last one NOT being an actual Unix tool, as far as I know).

Linux lags in multimedia capabilities, including gaming. Yes there are some multimedia apps for Linux, but in my experience they don't work very well when they work at all. Commercial games are generally unavailable under Linux. Just because an online game runs Linux servers doesn't mean a Linux client can connect to it.

Just my opinion. Hope this helps!
 
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I use Linux as a primary/only OS on my desktops and I have had no trouble playing music, videos, or games. For music, you can install windows codecs for .wma and the like as well as stuff for .mp3s. Program-wise, Rhythmbox, XMMS, Exaile and many others function very well and can support iPods and other such devices. For vids, VLC, MPlayer, and Kaffine work very well. There are no where near as many games for Linux as there are for windows, but that is to be expected. There are Linux native versions of commercial games like Unreal Tournament 2004 and Quake 4, but there also is a good number of free games out there too like Nexuiz and Open Arena. You can play windows games using either WINE (which is free) or Cedega (which costs money but has much more game support).

Overall though, i would say only change if you want a change since there are going to be differences, but the daily user experience will not be much different. The big differences though between linux and windows are similar to the ones between macs and windows comps (the usual security benefits and stability and such). It also is very customizable; there are distributions that are designed run on a 486dx w/ 16mb of RAM up to modern 64-bit systems with multiple gigs of RAM. I personally use Ubuntu and enjoy it quite a bit since it is easy to get going on most hardware, especially now that you can install video drivers by checking a box. The nice thing is a lot of distros use a liveCD installer, meaning you boot up the whole operating system to the desktop without installing it to your hard drive, allowing you to test out hardware compatibility or simply just use it (but they run much slower off of a cd obviously). A word of warning though, nvidia has much better linux driver support than ati at this time, so having an nvidia card would be an advantage; for example, I have a comp with an x1300pro in it and I have full 3D support, but I can tell it isn't using the cards full potential (though still works quite well). The upside is though that as a general rule most linux distros use less RAM (or at least use it more effectively) than WinXP, so if you have older hardware and want a modern OS (believe me, DON'T USE WINDOWS 98 ANYMORE), it is an excellent option. I run the lighter weight version of Ubuntu called Xubuntu (because it uses the xfce4 window manager) on several comps including a 633mhz celeron system with 192mb of RAM and it runs just fine for using firefox, IM, open office, music, and even some games like Quake III Arena. I also have a 200mhz P1 comp w/ 72mb of RAM running DSL 3.3 and it works great for using opera, IM, abiword, and old games like Doom. Puppy Linux is very good for older hardware too; it runs stupidly fast on anything faster than 500mhz with 128mb of RAM and still has a lot of features; I use it on a comp w/ a 450mhz K6-III in it.

Anyway, check out forums of linux distros you are interested in trying out and download some liveCDs to try on for size. I'm glad I did; I only use windows for a few games and Linux along with my MBP for everything else (including games). Good luck!
 
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There are two things that bother me about Linux;

1. There doesn't actually seem to be any such thing as Linux. If you ask in a Linux forum where to start, you'll get 15 different distros, 7 different GUIs, 197 combinations of what software to use, and if you drop enough subtle flamebait into the thread, you get a 17 page geekfight kicking off :D ("What do you mean it won't run Excel? What good is that?")

I have no idea what I should try. I ended up getting Redhat, which put me off Linux for life. It was a disaster.

2. It has really stupid names. Every distro seems to want to out-cool the last. I've seen a distro called 'puppy'. Can you imagine an IT manager trying to put a case to his board of directors for dropping Windows XP, and rolling out 'puppy'? Even Ubuntu, which seems to be the flavour of the month at the moment is a bit of a 'Ubu-what?' thing.

It's the exact opposite of OSX. It is so diluted and disorganised that it's no surprise potential users have no clue what they're supposed to do with it.
 
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As per point number one, that is a good point, it isn't one unified OS; Linux is a kernel from which a distro is built from. I suppose having that many options is a double-edged sword being that on one hand your computer can be whatever you want to make it, but the over abundance of options can be intimidating and/or confusing to first time users, but that's what some of the different distros aim to fix by having everything packaged in a simple manner without diluting what one can do with their system. It is something to read up about to find what is good for you. For me, it just so happened to be Ubuntu, but there are many very well packaged distros available.

About the names, yeah they can be a bit nebulous in the case of some distros. I suppose by making them a little more unique/awkward they are easier to remember than a version number for most people, though. Often times they give some sort of explanation on their home page behind the reason for using the name. I personally wouldn't use an operating system's name as an indication of it capabilities though; I use puppy linux and I thought the name was corny, but despite that I gave it a shot and it is a good and easy to use system, albeit somewhat basic. Often times when looking for a different distro, I search based upon what its system requirements are and what it is designed to be capable of off of the bat. There are distros like DeLi Linux and DSL that are meant for very old hardware and therefore have a very simple GUI and program assortment, and there are others like Ubuntu Studio that are meant for higher powered machines to do graphics and audio work. But yeah, lots of options and weird names nonetheless. :-D
 

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