I hate Microsoft Office!

[RebeccaFog]

Yesterday, for the first time ever, A virus slipped by me and trashed some of my windows system files.  I blew some hours fixing it, but it's still got problems.

So, today, it occurred to me that I may as well just install Linux.  I can get it for free.  The apps I use mostly on that system are opensource like GIMP and openoffice which have Linux versions.

Goodbye microstink. Now you'll have to spend your time screwing me over on my second system. So, come and get me!

Welcome to the dark side Rebis!

We have pie 

What Distro do you plan on using?

Hi,

I don't know yet.  I've used Red Hat and Suse and two others. I usually just grab the first thing, although, now that Suse is owned by Novell, I'm interested to see what tweaks they may have added.

I've heard of Ubuntu.  Why do people like it more than others?

[Ellieka]

I would have to say for me it is because its built on Debian And the huge repository that you can install from just by doing

Code Select Expand

sudo apt-get install "what_ever_title"

Install is a breeze and its pretty much ready to use right out of the box. You have a really easy to understand and use GUI as well as the full power of the CLI.

I run our family media center of of Ubuntu 8.10, 8.04 for my desktop.

I also use Ubuntu Server for my LAMP, email, and DNS servers.

Now if I could just get Emme to switch ....

[RebeccaFog]

Thanks.

Maybe I'll try Ubuntu.

I've used linux and even ran a server or two with it, but I've never really gotten acquainted with it. It's like I was always rushing to get something working then moving on to something else.

[Ellieka]

Isn't that how it goes? lol, no time to play with it, just get it going.

I guess what finally made me switch was when I went to upgrade form win2k to XP Pro. The upgrade totally trashed my box and it took me hours to recover my files. It was so messed up I couldn't even access the drive from another windows install. Ironically when I popped in my Ubuntu live CD the problematic drive mounted right away.

I've never went back.

[Kaitlyn]

Ubuntu is the most popular distro right now, which is reason enough to choose it.  It's got more effort going into it than anything else, and that's really important for hardware compatibility and out-of-the-box usability.

Although, I have to disagree with the people who say it's ready for the desktop - I'd never expect that my grandmother could find her way around it, even just for email and web browsing.  Web media is geared for Windows (or Mac), and the plugin & extension support for Linux browsers just isn't there.

[Vexing]

Running dual boot XP/Kubuntu.
Gaming and graphics happens on XP, Internet and music happens on Kubuntu.
If I could port a few games to Linux, I'd probably only ever use XP for my artwork.

[Kaitlyn]

The thing about Windows is that it's got a ton of features that Linux just doesn't have - and I'm talking about really geeky stuff, things that even power users wouldn't be aware of.  The problem is that this stuff is seen as bloat by people who don't need it or who aren't aware of it.

The modular services architecture, the Windows Installer system, COM+/DCOM, registry hives, the .NET framework, security ACLs, GDI+, the Windows Scripting Host, the stability of the Windows API and ABI, emulation of legacy 32-bit and/or 16-bit protected mode environments, virtual 8086 mode, etc.

[Ellieka]

Although, I have to disagree with the people who say it's ready for the desktop - I'd never expect that my grandmother could find her way around it, even just for email and web browsing.  Web media is geared for Windows (or Mac), and the plugin & extension support for Linux browsers just isn't there.

I would beg to differ.

Firefox web browser and Evolution mail client are installed by default With Ubuntu. And as far as multimedia plug ins go, flash player installs right from the browser. The only time I had any trouble with it was on one of my 64bit systems but flash 10 beta solved the problem. One thing that makes Ubuntu great is how Canonical works with Debian to keep GNU/GPL plugins and extensions up to date. The only web media I ever have trouble with is with RealPlayer content. 

Running dual boot XP/Kubuntu.
Gaming and graphics happens on XP, Internet and music happens on Kubuntu.
If I could port a few games to Linux, I'd probably only ever use XP for my artwork.

I currently can play any Blizzard game that I have through WINE, i.e. WoW, Diablo I and II, Warcraft III  and a good number of others like Empire Earth, Guild Wars, Everquest...and even PAC-MAN! lol   Ubuntu has a rather large game repository too. OpenArena is a pretty awesome game, good stress relief.

[Kaitlyn]

I think people get too wrapped up in what they like about Linux, and don't realize how it'd be for someone who doesn't really "get" tech.  I wouldn't even recommend the Windows port of Firefox to most people - not because I don't like it, but because I try really hard to see what could get fsck'd up as a result of it.

Imagine what happens with a person who doesn't know what a browser is, and thinks Internet Explorer is just another word for the Internet.  Imagine someone who doesn't notice a difference between Firefox and IE, and thinks that the PC is just messed up and forgetting their favorites, passwords, and home page.

EDIT: I say this a someone who works in tech support and has been a package maintainer for Gentoo Linux.

EDIT: I used to be a gung-ho GPL valkyrie, but I eventually ran up against the fact that most people don't like PCs as a hobby and don't appreciate what they're capable of - they just want to do their jobs.  I try to think of it as something like how I feel about cars.

[Vexing]

I currently can play any Blizzard game that I have through WINE, i.e. WoW, Diablo I and II, Warcraft III  and a good number of others like Empire Earth, Guild Wars, Everquest...and even PAC-MAN! lol   Ubuntu has a rather large game repository too. OpenArena is a pretty awesome game, good stress relief.

Let me know when they get Tribes III working 

[sd]

I think people get too wrapped up in what they like about Linux, and don't realize how it'd be for someone who doesn't really "get" tech.  I wouldn't even recommend the Windows port of Firefox to most people - not because I don't like it, but because I try really hard to see what could get fsck'd up as a result of it.

Imagine what happens with a person who doesn't know what a browser is, and thinks Internet Explorer is just another word for the Internet.  Imagine someone who doesn't notice a difference between Firefox and IE, and thinks that the PC is just messed up and forgetting their favorites, passwords, and home page.

Exactly my problem with Linux.
Geeks WAAAAAY over estimate users.

I do have customers who think Internet Explorer or AOL are the internet, who cannot understand that a slow internet does not mean their computer is slow, and I have even met people who thought their fax machine worked over the internet. Some of my customers often cannot even drag a shortcut out onto the desktop in XP and you expect them to handle Linux?

Linux is like Windows 3.1 (which I liked by the way). There was a reason Win95 sold so well, because any fool could manage to use it without resorting to a dos prompt.

If the general public knew anything about computers, half the manufacturers would be out of business over crap products, no one would be buying Vista, at least on the crap they install it on, and Apple... I will refrain commenting on them.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fanboy of any of them, I have been through enough operating systems over the years that I couldn't care less (I liked Be and Os2 if you must know) but I do know my customers, and there is just no way they could handle it.


Oh, and yes the internet is geared towards I.E., certain industry websites will not run on anything but I.E., I tried.

Apt Get... works great, if you know the name of the program. VI? Yet Another...   Sure... No thinks, I am not teaching my customers how to deal with all of that.

[Ellieka]

If it were true that the large majority of average computer users are really so clueless that they can't even follow directions in a Windows help file then why are Macs selling so great? Macs are a whole different animal then a windows machine but I see average users every day leaving Windows for Mac.

I think a lot of people should give Linux a second look. Its not the green on black command line interface that it used to be. My 5 year old Step son can navigate his way around the Ubuntu Linux box I have set up as a media center. I really don't see how its any more complicated then a Windows or Mac system. Its only different, not worse then.

[MarySue]

If it were true that the large majority of average computer users are really so clueless that they can't even follow directions in a Windows help file then why are Macs selling so great? Macs are a whole different animal then a windows machine but I see average users every day leaving Windows for Mac.

That's because with a Mac, they don't have to read help screens.

Incidentally, for those who aren't aware, Macs are built on top of a unix varient. You have full access to the CLI, and the GUI and the CLI are nicely integrated. Eg, if you drag a file from the GUI to the CLI, it pastes the file's pathname with blanks (etc) escaped. For me, that combines the best of both worlds: I have both a standard GUI and a unix CLI available at all times. I can switch from CLI-oriented software development to GUI-oriented image or audio editing without rebooting. For the last few years, I've developed software on my mac and simply scp'd it to a linux server for production. With a little care, everything moves over fine, even the shells.

Oh yes, I do use java these days. C/C++ would be more of a problem, obviously. The language may be the same, but the differences in the "standard" headers and libraries get annoying.

BTW, here's my favorite quote about GUIs vs CLIs: unix uses a CLI, instead of a GUI, for the same reason that books for grownups use words, while books for children use pictures.

* Ducks the bricks thrown by graphic novel aficionados .... *

[Kaitlyn]

I think a lot of people should give Linux a second look. Its not the green on black command line interface that it used to be. My 5 year old Step son can navigate his way around the Ubuntu Linux box I have set up as a media center. I really don't see how its any more complicated then a Windows or Mac system. Its only different, not worse then.

A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.
- Groucho Marx

Need I say more?

[Ellieka]

By all means. My 5 year old does use it and quite well I might add.

[Chrissty]

I remember a great analogy earlier this year between operating systems and airline seats.

...It went something like this....

The Microsoft seat

Everybody uses them so they must be good, but you find thy are never as comfortable as you hoped The stewardess will keep asking you if everything is Ok during the flight, but if anything goes wrong she tells you it's your fault, so you end up asking other passengers for help.

The Mac Seat

The most stylish and expensive seat on the plane. Minor faults aren't a problem they are more a feature of the experience. The stewardess just smiles at you as she walks up and down, and you know you were right to spend the extra money because you can afford it. Great in-flight entertainment included. But when something goes wrong, it's probably better to change to another seat than try to get it repaired. I mean, they never go wrong...do they?

The Linux Seat

The sort of seat you would want in a plane crash. Strong, sturdy, reliable, and potentially very comfortable after some adjustment. A truly unique and rewarding experience.

You arrive on the plane and find a box of parts, spanners, and a piece of paper saying "Some Self Assembly Required"


(My apologies if you have seen this before I couldn't find the source of the original)

[MarySue]

I don't know the source either, but I first saw that a long time ago -- with Unix instead of Linux, because Linux didn't exist yet.

[Ellieka]

My friend and I used to have great Windows vs. Linux debates at work and some even got a bit heated. He is a die hard MS fan while I am Strictly Linux with a little UNIX (freeBSD) thrown in for good measure.

In the end it always came down to this. Preference. I have my opinions on why Linux is better but those are only reasons why its better for me, not for everyone else. He was a gamer so Windows was better for him. I'm a network admin  and a geek so Linux/UNIX is better for me.

[sd]

The Linux Seat

The sort of seat you would want in a plane crash. Strong, sturdy, reliable, and potentially very comfortable after some adjustment. A truly unique and rewarding experience.

You arrive on the plane and find a box of parts, spanners, and a piece of paper saying "Some Self Assembly Required"

I worked on aircraft, you don't want Joe the Plumber fixing your plane. 

[RebeccaFog]

By all means. My 5 year old does use it and quite well I might add.

Great. Now I have to worry about losing my job to 5 year olds.