Why Linux?

[mountainman]

Hey folks.

I see all of this talk about using Linux and Mandrake and stuff like this by all of you. I am just curious for the reason that you do this.

Can you give me some good reasons for wanting to use something other than the MS standard? And, if your reasons are because you don't like MS because he has a monopoly and big business is bad, you can save it, because I've heard it enough.

Are there any real performance issues that are improved? Also, are MS programs compatable with Linux stuff?

Thanks. I'm just trying to educate myself here.

[onetrueday]

I dont use it myself...

Some of it the security, because it is more secure and you have a firmer hold on the holes. The second important reason is togetherness. Let's face it, if you use linux you're part of a 'group'. Another reason is speed. You can run linux on a very slow computer and it works fine. Winxp doesnt work at it's best unless you're AT LEAST a gighertz.

[Brent]

people like what they like

that's the best explanation i can give


it's kinda like shoes... one person lines one, the other likes another one

or food, or sports, or watching TV, or cars, etc. etc. etc.


some people just like driving their car

others have to get inside of it and control every aspect of it


windows = the family car

linux = the modders car





i am analogy man tonight...

i'll be more coherent in the morning... but ya catch my drift

each OS has it's purpose and it's positives and negatives, and it also has it's following of people and it's haters

[Brent]

here is a short list of good things about linux

small - can be run from a floppy disk, without a hard drive
fast - can be real fast on slow machines
customizable - like you wouldn't believe, you can control every aspect of linux including the kernal (try to get MS to let you mess with their kernal )
security
stability
supports managers like the popular X manager for a GUI interface
a GREAT NOS (network operating system)
Is based on UNIX
Compatible with damn near any hardware CPU wise
Its Open Source

but it is 100% command line based, like Unix... and it's file structure is different then windows

fi you are use to windows it will be a lOT different, and there will be a BIG learning curve... in fact you will down right think it's HARD and a waste of time most likely, heh

you have to want to learn it, or else you won't

once you learn it then you can decide for yourself where it stands in the great ocean of OS's and cn judge its use for yourself

[Brent]

oh, and the main reason

cause Bill Gates is a demon of the Devil and MS is his chariot

[mountainman]

Originally posted by Brent
oh, and the main reason

cause Bill Gates is a demon of the Devil and MS is his chariot

You bastard!

Just kidding, Brent.

Thank you very much for all of the explainations. I know know probably 10x as much as I did last night about Linux. To me, it was only this big mystery of all the computer gurus here that knew what the hell is going on.

I don't think I have the interest or time to try to learn this. Seems like with computers, you almost can't do everything you wish you could because there is so much to do with individual aspects of it such as gaming, video editing, web design, technical aspects, etc.

Either way, thanks again for your explainations, Brent.

[master7]

Linux is fun to figure out. It just allows complete control over every part of the OS.

and, its just stable as anything! I've had my server up for 258 days now

[Jim]

Both have their advantages. Linux is free (although you can buy boxed versions, saving you from downloading 3~9+ cd-sized ISOs), open source, and has a multitude of free software. These days, they're sporting the same sort of GUI and multi-media capabilities as Windows.

On the other hand, Windows has the widest support for anything (video cards, printers, etc.), and definately out-performs Windows when it comes to stuff like gaming.

Is Linux for you? Don't know. I tend to tell people to stick with what they have if they're having no problems. Windows isn't perfect, but I stick with some form of it (usually 98SE or 2K), although I'm tempted to try out Mandrake 9 on an older machine.

Uh...scanning the post, I probably didn't make a lot of sense. I think its time for me to get some sleep.

[bug]

If you want to try Linux, you can D/L the
different flavours here:

http://www.linuxiso.org/

I prefer Mandrake and SuSE myself.
Redhat is also a snap to install

[cy]

I have Mandrake 8.2 on my other partition...and i don't like it! Well, if i have time and the patient to figure stuff out, i'll probably be fine...but then it's kinda confusing at some point.
*gonna uninstall soon*

[YARDofSTUF]

with linux u have THOUSANDS of ppl that code program and add to the OS. be it features, drivers, security fixes, whatever. all working to make the OS better. linux is fast, stable, and the right price

[JawZ]

CONTROL!

You are at the mercy of Microsoft if you use Windows. It is a proprietary system.

Linux is open source. (GPL, GNU licenses) If you have the know how and time, you can do whatever you want with Linux to make it your own. You could even develop your own distribution and sell it so long as you shared your source code with the rest of the community.

Linux (Unix) owns the internet and server markets. If it weren't for the robustness of this OS, you wouldn't be here at SG. SG uses Apache as it's server software.

I might also add that if you use WINE, you can run most windows binaries (emulation). This means that you do not have to depend on Microsoft to run windows compatible software which brings me to my final point.

Software for Linux has come a long way in the last few years. There are a good number of programs which are great and free...just look at Open Office for instance. Many file formats, like .doc, .xls, .prs, etc., have become industry standards. So you can work on files in Windows environments and then transfer them to a Linux box and they will look the same because in essence, they are the same.

[Docsta]

linux makes some kick ass gaming servers

[czgu]

Linux is free, windows is not

Linux comes with office softwares, Windows doesn't

Linux comes with compilers so you can change (even kernel) softwares and/or make your own
windows does not.

.........