Thoughts on Linux

Hey this is going to be a topic where you can post your thoughts on Linux. Here are my thoughts:

Not too long ago, I started getting interested in Linux. A couple months ago I got an old PC desktop(not too bad of a desktop, but not great either) and I installed Ubuntu on it. After messing around with Ubuntu I decided I would install Linux Mint on it instead. From then on, I have had Linux Mint on it and I have used this desktop just to mess around. I have found myself not using the desktop that much and sometimes wish I would use my Linux desktop more. In my mind, Linux is the dominant server kernel and is starting to become more and more popular on the desktop. I would love to learn more about the GNU Project as years go by. Currently, I have no intentions on using Windows. I just use my Macbook Pro and Linux desktop. I do have a Windows 7 desktop but I only use that for anything that I need to do that requires Windows. So yeah what are your thoughts on Linux?

I have only really used Ubuntu

Unfortunately, my old HP laptop died, but while it was alive, with Linux installed it felt much more like a really modern computer running a top notch OS, much better than Windows XP

louishen said:

I have only really used Ubuntu

Unfortunately, my old HP laptop died, but while it was alive, with Linux installed it felt much more like a really modern computer running a top notch OS, much better than Windows XP

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Yeah I was thinking about running Linux on an HP laptop but I really don't have any plans on getting one since I am addicted to the Macbook Pro. Also, Linux tends to run a lot better and use less resources on the PC computers compared to using Windows.

Thoughts on Linux...

Best thing to happen in the tech world since 1990...

We've had this discussion multiple times. In fact, you've started two threads that have turned into discussions about this very topic (here, here). Do a search - I'm sure you'll find it easy to determine what the community here thinks.

I prefer mac to linux. mac just works. The free part of linux i like, but thats pretty much it. osx does everything i need it too. I dont like windows much at all and dont use it anymore for anything.I have full installs of ubuntu, linux mint, and fedora on virtual box. It lets me play with full installs of linux without driver problems of the host machine.

this is the ideal setup for me. virtual box lets me use any version of linux i want with no hardware issues and it just works. plus i get to keep osx as my primary.

safarisurfer said:

I prefer mac to linux. mac just works. The free part of linux i like, but thats pretty much it. osx does everything i need it too. I dont like windows much at all and dont use it anymore for anything.I have full installs of ubuntu, linux mint, and fedora on virtual box. It lets me play with full installs of linux without driver problems of the host machine.

this is the ideal setup for me. virtual box lets me use any version of linux i want with no hardware issues and it just works. plus i get to keep osx as my primary.

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Yup I'd have to agree with you. Except instead of using virtual box, I just put an old PC to work and install the Linux distro on that.

Germany_chris said:

Thoughts on Linux...

Best thing to happen in the tech world since 1990...

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Haha. You'd be surprised how many people are starting to like Linux. The population is growing fast, believe it or not!

macuser1232 said:

Haha. You'd be surprised how many people are starting to like Linux. The population is growing fast, believe it or not!

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It is, but the lack of real application support is a deal-breaker for me.

Specifically, Office (I've tried, and still loathe, OO) and the CS Suite (don't mention GIMP, while it's powerful, it's UI is pathetic).

Dysfunction said:

It is, but the lack of real application support is a deal-breaker for me.

Specifically, Office (I've tried, and still loathe, OO) and the CS Suite (don't mention GIMP, while it's powerful, it's UI is pathetic).

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Yup. That's the deal breaker for me as well. I just don't find myself using it that much. I bet if I didn't have a Mac and I had to choose between Windows and Linux and I used Linux I would then benefit from it. But with a Mac, all my needs are satisfied.

Am I right that most people here would agree that Linux is better than Windows?

macuser1232 said:

Am I right that most people here would agree that Linux is better than Windows?

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It always seem to devolve to this basic question with you huh? Does saying that XXX is better than Windows make the world better? Make you feel better?

Let's try to focus on why we are all hear on the forums, to learn (and to a lesser part teach others) about Mac's, OS X and other Apple devices. There is little to be gained by bashing Windows or preaching Linux (there are many other forums that I can direct you to that'll be happy to hear your preaching)..

macuser1232 said:

Am I right that most people here would agree that Linux is better than Windows?

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No. Every platform has its strengths and weaknesses. None is absolutely better or worse. It all depends on one's needs and expectations.

lifeisabeach said:

No. Every platform has its strengths and weaknesses. None is absolutely better or worse. It all depends on one's needs and expectations.

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Sorry. I have to respectfully disagree. My opinion is that most people who have to use Windows in actual production, AND have a working knowledge of another OS, would disagree also.

That "AND" is the key.

I switched to Linux after the turn of the century because of XP. And I admit that XP wasn't Windows 7. It was more like DOS trying to become a real OS.

But I switched to Mac because it was superior to Linux in most ways and vastly smoother to use. It still is. I still have a high end Linux box just to keep my hand in because who knows how far Apple will move the Mac toward IOS in the future? And I'm not going to be dragged in that direction - at least, I don't think so at the moment. But, I have no financial skin in the game now, and anyone can use any OS they find agreeable and I will say good luck.

However, my nephew is now the IT manager of a school district. (Already! It was just yesterday that he was trying to figure out how to boot a PC to run Choplifter.) They are converting to Macs as fast as the money will allow but still have a lot of Windows 7 machines they can't just throw away.

One tech on the staff is making sure the thousand Macs are ready. Just one, and she is probably just surfing to kill time. The other five are desperately trying to get the new updates on the thousand 7 machines to recognize the Active Directory (whatever that is). He said that one of the most troublesome problems is for everybody to remember that they are working in a public school system and they can't just stand up and curse at the top of their lungs when MS tech support suggests that rebooting the machines several times should clear up the problem. And so forth.

Actually, I think that the fates are involved. And that you get the OS you deserve. By that theory, I must have been a really bad person in the '90s.

Dysfunction said:

It is, but the lack of real application support is a deal-breaker for me.

Specifically, Office (I've tried, and still loathe, OO) and the CS Suite (don't mention GIMP, while it's powerful, it's UI is pathetic).

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You can install play for lin and install any of the office variants. In the next couple weeks I'm going to take the PC into work and see if I can make it talk to an exchange server..

cptkrf said:

Sorry. I have to respectfully disagree. My opinion is that most people who have to use Windows in actual production, AND have a working knowledge of another OS, would disagree also.

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That's actually not universally true which is why lifeisabeach is right. There are many people who have to use Windows and choose to use it regardless of how much they know of other operating systems. Set in your assertion is an assumption that non-Windows operating systems are somehow intrinsically better than Windows in every way which just isn't the case. You can't assume that, given the choice, people will always choose the alternative over Windows regardless of what they have to use professionally.

I know people who work at (or have worked at) IBM, using Windows all day and would never use anything else because those platforms offer them nothing. For many, a computer is a tool and this goes for people "in the industry." For them, a computer is a tool and they may very well use it like one independent of what they know. For instance, I have a friend who works at IBM (I seem to know quite a few IBMers), knows Linux is more stable and secure but wouldn't be caught dead using it because it doesn't meet his needs. He uses Windows all day to develop applications and has no problem using it in either context.

cptkrf said:

Sorry. I have to respectfully disagree. My opinion is that most people who have to use Windows in actual production, AND have a working knowledge of another OS, would disagree also.

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You may disagree, but you asserted that "most people here" think Linux is better than Windows. I can assure you that is false... most people here don't think that. I also don't agree that your new qualifier that we'd agree "if" we had a working knowledge of another OS. I haven't dabbled in Linux in some time, but last I did I hated it. I appreciate it for what it is and it has its strengths, but as a desktop OS for the masses, it wasn't there. Not even close.

lifeisabeach said:

You may disagree, but you asserted that "most people here" think Linux is better than Windows. I can assure you that is false... most people here don't think that. I also don't agree that your new qualifier that we'd agree "if" we had a working knowledge of another OS. I haven't dabbled in Linux in some time, but last I did I hated it. I appreciate it for what it is and it has its strengths, but as a desktop OS for the masses, it wasn't there. Not even close.

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I'd have to agree.

Yeah. My hopes are that one day when I start working for a business I won't have to work on a Windows computer and I can use Mac OS X instead. I don't mind programming Linux but just not actually using Desktop Linux.

I've done a lot of Linux. A desktop OS for the masses it isn't - great for gram and grampa who just want to browse the internet and check their webmail. Hard for them to break, harder than windows, and fits the retired budget for many better than Apple products. It isn't as easy to do other stuff with it as it is on Apple products though either, which is fine for unsavvy folks who want to do very little with the computer. Windows in the hands of retired people is good if you are charging for services, and don't mind taking from people on a fixed income - it is guaranteed repeat business at least a few times a year. Apple or Linux, you are unlikely to hear from them again.

Every day users who want to do more with their system will find limitations. I've run Gentoo for a couple years, and Arch for a few. I just setup a new Arch install a couple weeks ago. I haven't tried printing yet, its a hassle to configure initially... Probably easier on Ubuntu, which is a better example of Linux usability. Wireless has also been a hassle due to my wireless hardware and my version of the linux kernel, and I know that also works better on Ubuntu.

I like linux, for its ideals, and because it does what I primarily want. Its a tool. I hate printing anyways, its a waste of trees. The wireless problem is an annoying hassle.

I haven't owned many apple products personally, primarily because I'm cheap (price sensitive for those who like to be PC - but really I'm really cheap). I would like a macbook pro, but maybe some day when I can convince someone to buy me one, or when I give up other expensive hobbies.

I'd run OSX in a flash, if I could buy it without the hardware. That's always bugged me, but I understand the reasoning. In my opinion it gives all the good things about linux, without the hassle, and with looking a lot more fly.