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wersdaluv
March 5th, 2007, 11:07 AM
Windows, Mac OS, and all other Operating Systems are meant to make computing better for us in order for us to be more productive.

Many Linux users were former Windows users who, for some reason, switched to a new OS.

There are many reasons why people do what they do. I have noticed that many switch to Linux because of the Open Source Philosophy, Linux is free, Linux-based Operating Systems allow you to tweak your desktop much.

Computers should make us productive. It's not the other way around. We should not produce for the sake of computing.

Sometimes, using Linux make us work. We study, configure, and all for us to have a better computing experience; but do we exert too much effort on tweaking our computers that we forget to live the real life or is it worth exerting effort because our Linux computers make us more productive?

How much effort do we exert on tweaking our computers and how much do we get out of it?

Does using Linux actually make you more productive than using other Operating Systems? If so, how does it make you more productive and how much more productive?

Notes:
1.) In this first post, I am 100% neutral.
2.) The target users of this post are the ones who are supposed to use their computers for productivity in terms of things other than computing

23meg
March 5th, 2007, 11:16 AM
Computers should make us productive. It's not the other way around. We should not produce for the sake of computing.
While this statement makes sense for the majority of users, keep in mind that had a lot of users of GNU/Linux not also produced for the sake of computing, we wouldn't have the goods we do today. The same isn't valid for proprietary operating systems; their developers do not absolutely rely on the tools they produce. They're not a community in the sense that we are.


but do we exert too much effort on tweaking our computers that we forget to live the real life or is it worth exerting effort because our Linux computers make us more productive?


Technical users of any OS spend a lot of time customizing their OS. Just look at power users of OSX. The difference is that we also have to take part in the production of what we use; if enough of us don't, the juice will stop flowing.

A balance on the mass scale is needed. While some will just use the tools, others will use, test and report bugs, and others will use, test, report bugs and develop.


Does using Linux actually make you more productive than using other Operating Systems? If so, how does it make you more productive and how much more productive?

It does, in so many ways it would take a very long post just to summarize.

sultanoswing
March 5th, 2007, 11:23 AM
Does using Linux actually make you more productive than using other Operating Systems? If so, how does it make you more productive and how much more productive?

Yes.

Reason: I don't have all those windows games to play (which detract from productivity).

floke
March 5th, 2007, 11:52 AM
Agree to that.
But also - what is life all about? If it makes you happy then what's the problem?
Too much guilt in the world already. If you like tweaking, then enjoy yourself.
We'll all be dead soon enough anyway, so it's not worth worrying about.

wersdaluv
March 5th, 2007, 12:05 PM
I edited the first post to specify the target Linux users of this thread.

wersdaluv
March 5th, 2007, 12:06 PM
Yes.

Reason: I don't have all those windows games to play (which detract from productivity).

Nice point!

:lolflag:

rejser
March 5th, 2007, 12:10 PM
It's easier to adjust the desktop to my preferences. Key-commands that feels natural to me, position of things, without installing 32 small application that has to be ran at the same time.
At work I use a windows box with Photoshop and dreamweaver, once you get to know dreamweaver there are no other apps like it, it produces good code, and produces in 5 minutes what would have taken one day just to type down and test.
Photoshop is great, but gimp is a strong contender, or perhaps pixel. but i've been using ps, since photoshop 3, and it's damn strange to try to learn something new.
Otherwise beside the desktop it's pretty much the same when it's up and running, firefox, thunderbird, openoffice, apache with mysql for testing.
An I have come to a conclusion, if you don't mess with linux it is rather nice to you. My laptop has been running for 4 years, never crashed, never reinstalled, used daily.
But as many other here, it's itching in my fingers to make it just a little bit better. And then it all goes bad.
And to be honest, not that much differences even though the settings are completely different.
Though if you only have one screen, linux is way smoother. The software to have several desks in win ain't that smooth.

Tomosaur
March 5th, 2007, 12:10 PM
Linux makes me far more productive - the tools I need (development tools and libraries etc) are all far more readily available (for free!), and there's much, much more documentation available for when I need to read up on a subject. I can work a lot better in Openoffice too - me and MS Office have never gotten on very well.

I am also a musician - and the range of music tools - aside from just track editors, is pretty astounding. Windows has nothing on Linux in this respect - there are thousands of little tools available which make life a lot more fun and productive on Linux. On Windows, I have Audacity - and that's pretty much it. I have no real use for things like Sony SoundAcid - I can mix things down pretty well in Audacity.

BWF89
March 5th, 2007, 12:32 PM
No

Take last night for example. I installed a NES, SNES, and Genesis emulator from the repos. None of them ended up in my Games folder on KDE Start Menu. I had to manually look for the files myself and put them there. I couldn't even find all of them. After I clicked on the programs it shows the little arrow glass thing in the taskbar like it was loading and poof, it just stopped.

On Windows I'd have just double click installed the program and could have found the .exe of it in the Programs Files. On MacOSX I could have just clicked & dragged the programs file into Applications.

The only reason I'm using Linux is I wanted to try something new. That and reinstalling Windows XP is a 10+ hour process and I'm not bothered enough by Linux, yet, to warrant that kind of commitment.

Erik Trybom
March 5th, 2007, 12:48 PM
Not by much so far. Some things are easier, such as converting images for use in Latex, but most of the stuff I do in Linux could just as well have been done in Windows.

Running Linux is not essential because a lot of the great free software is available for Windows as well. As I see it those programs do increase my productivity, while the OS itself has lesser importance.

AndyCooll
March 5th, 2007, 02:06 PM
Yes ...now that I've been using Linux for awhile.

As I was learning Linux, I found myself re-evaluating how I undertook various processes. As a result I also learnt new and quicker ways to do many tasks that I had previously never considered (including using shortcut keys etc).

Add to this the familiarity factor, these days I find that it now takes me longer to do equivalent tasks in ******* than it does in Linux.

:cool:

liamjamesbooth
March 5th, 2007, 05:48 PM
i think the fact the you never have to reboot because your system is slow and dont usually have to reboot if software becomes unstable, or have so scan for spyware and viruses and trojans and adware (which usually entails you having to stop what your doing because your pc in unusably slow to do anything, and no my pc is not old or low spec!) is reason enough to say yes i am more productive i would have thought!:guitar: oh and i forgot defragging ! :lolflag:

aysiu
March 5th, 2007, 06:03 PM
Yes, it makes me more productive.

Of course, it took me about two months to get up and running and comfortable with...

Heliix
March 5th, 2007, 06:12 PM
nice forum :)

short answer: no. but it's fun.

long answer: I spend too much time playing with it, exploring it, learning how to do this and that, trying all the wonderful tools it provides. I even start programming..
well, as for work, I find linux more effective if you know your way around. but sometimes the temptation to make it even more effective sometimes holds me back from my duties. do you feel the same?

Sunflower1970
March 5th, 2007, 06:45 PM
Am I more productive? Yes...I think.

I know with one computer I had XP on which was the only one we used, while the older one with Windows 98 on it gathered dust bunnies (rather LARGE dust bunnies *shudders*) Once Ubuntu was up and running on both of them, I decided to learn how to get them both to connect to our cable modem, one through a wired connection, the other wirelessly. Next was teaching myself how to get them secured. Then I bought a laptop, and hooked that up wirelessly using Ubuntu as my primary OS. Now I'm teaching myself how to get all networked to use one printer, and figure out how to share folders between all of them. I know using MS products I wouldn't have ventured to do any of this, since I didn't see the point before, and we only had the one working computer. Now, in the 2.5 months running Ubuntu, I have three working computers plus a PDA (well that still runs PocketPC 2003 SE, but I would have never connected it wirelessly either if I had not used Ubuntu on everything else)

fuscia
March 5th, 2007, 07:04 PM
only a gun to my head would make me more productive.

anaconda
March 5th, 2007, 07:06 PM
NO!

I spend too much time playing with linux.. Much more fun..

Pikestaff
March 5th, 2007, 07:35 PM
I think I'm about as productive in Linux as I was in Windows (that is to say, not very. ;) ) Although oddly enough doing things seems to be more "fun" in Linux than in Windows, I'm not sure if that's a Linux thing or if it's just me being a geek.

I will also add that I feel like I have learned more about computers in just a couple months of 'buntu than I have with years and years of Windows, so I guess that's sort of being productive.

kanha
March 5th, 2007, 07:36 PM
Yes.

Reason: I don't have all those windows games to play (which detract from productivity).

++
only work on ubuntu :lolflag:

mykalreborn
March 5th, 2007, 07:52 PM
yes it does make me more productive.
windows is known to quickly overload with a lot of junk and just stop running as good as it did at the moment you've installed it. to clean it you have to use some other software - such as system mechanic - software that is pretty darn expensive. plus you have to defragment every couple of weeks, especially if you're into recording music, and if you have say, a 200 gb hard drive it takes the whole day to do just that.
then with windows you have the security issues: viruses, adware, malware, some-other-kind-of-ware. to protect your self from these things you need to buy a firewall and an antivirus program - or a bundle - and this can get expensive too.
you have to download a new web browser, because IE doesn't support tabs (only recently) and it doesn't stop pop-up windows. you have to buy a sepparate image editing software, a sepparate office suite, a sepparate cd-burning application - because everybody knows winxp's built in cd burner is bogus.
plus you have to buy many more.
with linux, yes it takes you some time to configure it and some time to get used to it - it took me about 3-4 months to finally be familiar with it, but now i can configure my fresh install of ubuntu in about a day, using my carefully saved bookmarks. but after i'm done with that i know i can use this system for so long, without having to clean it up, to defragment it, to firewall it - this one depends - and even to restart it.
so of course it makes me more productive.
it makes me a good couple o'hundred dollar richer and happier because of belonging to this wonderful comunity, and for adhering to the open-source philosophy. :D

Belyel
March 5th, 2007, 08:39 PM
Yes and no (yeah, I know, a cop-out answer).

Yes: I use linux for all of my research and computer modeling. As a student, I use the school network and linux clusters all the time, and running linux on my home machines and laptops (yes, plural on both) make it that much easier to communicate with the machines at school. I also find that the applications in linux, such as thunderbird and Ooo are straightforward and don't have the bloat that the MS alternatives do. The update system is great. Using beryl is a plus and minus. It did require a lot of tweaking to get just right, but the multi-desktop setup, application switchers and levels of transparency allow me to have a ton of windows open simultaneously, helping me multitask. The various system monitors help me decide if I need to cut back on my open applications, too.

No: I spend WAY too much time tweaking in linux. Granted, I have my systems just about perfect, but I'm always here on the forums looking around, and when I see something cool, I try it out. I build a lot of my own packages, and have compiled my own kernels. It does detract from my overall productivity, but it also adds to my enjoyment. Plus, when someone looks at my setup and says, "whoa! that's cool!", it's all worth it to me.

Crashmaxx
March 5th, 2007, 08:49 PM
Yes, I'm a lot more productive.

Once my system is setup as I like, which now doesn't even take me more then a couple hours to do from a blank HDD, I am WAY more productive then with Windows.

Man, I would get killed all the time with XP. Move my laptop to a new local, and crap, the wireless is taking a dump. Now I have to mess with it for half an hour, basically just doing random reconfiguring till it works. Then I go back home, and it might be working.

But I can work yet, it is working awful and I need to scan for spyware and viruses. Guess what, tons of spyware found! Ok, now I can do something, but everything is slow and only gets worse as Windows overloads the laptop and makes it overheat. So now I have to kill it and let it cool. And on and on, XP would always break and act goofy. The best part is, no real way to diagnose or fix it. A ton of go through wizards over and over and jiggling the cables till it starts working again.

In contrast, my Ubuntu setup never breaks unless I am messing it up myself. And it is much faster and cleaner. Add in multiple desktops, I can get a ton done, all at once even.

And if I do break something, it is usually pretty obvious what I did and fixing it is a cake walk.

hardyn
March 5th, 2007, 09:03 PM
much much less productive, i spend all my time on this forum ;)... but im having a blast

peabody
March 6th, 2007, 12:33 AM
I'm curious what the profession of the original poster is. Linux can certainly make you more productive in certain areas, but others are still weak:

Things Linux does well:


Web Development -- LAMP stack right on your desktop
Writing and Typsetting -- TeX comes preconfigured nicely on linux distros
Making databases -- MySQL, postgres, 'nuff said.
Having a reliable system -- saves time spent reinstalling/reconfiguring, so the computing basics always work (web, email, IM, word processing).
Scientific Computing -- less fluff, more meat, easy to setup farms. The OS isn't in your way.
Security Auditing -- open OS lets you do things Windows doesn't (raw packet support anyone?).


Weaknesses of Linux


Multimedia -- video playback of all proprietary formats is only supported on x86 (and even then it's not strictly legal) and video drivers are a mess. Most distros aren't setup out of the box because of the legal issues.
Video Editing -- Abysmal. The Achilles heel of Linux currently (although I've dabbled with cinelerra and it's looking mighty good).
Vector Graphics or Print Graphics (CMYK) -- I have a friend who's a professional graphics designer for the web and he swears by Illustrator, Photoshop and Flash. I don't think he could make the transition. An equivalent toolchain with all his comforts just doesn't exist in the FLOSS world despite the noble efforts of GIMP and InkScape.


I'm convinced I'd be less productive on Windows because of the first set, but the second set pains me from time to time. If the second set is your life--your career--Linux is out of the question.

It all depends on your needs.

wersdaluv
March 6th, 2007, 12:05 PM
I'm curious what the profession of the original poster is.

I'm a college student taking up AB Psychology and Business Management.

I have been spending much of my time since December 2006 tweaking my desktop and trying to make it help me to be more productive.

My biggest problem so far is not having my USB devices work with Ubuntu (you can learn more about it in this thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=356269)). I have not solved it yet and it still is consuming more than an hour of my life everyday.

My second biggest problem is being attracted to tweaking my desktop too much. I spend some of my time looking for Ubuntu eye candies even if there are more important things for me to do.

I have posted this thread hoping that I will have more reasons not to give up on Linux. I think it's just making me work instead of the other way around.

peabody
March 6th, 2007, 02:29 PM
I'm a college student taking up AB Psychology and Business Management.


What would you say are your most important applications? It sounds like you could easily work with either Windows, Mac or Linux.



My biggest problem so far is not having my USB devices work with Ubuntu (you can learn more about it in this thread (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=356269)). I have not solved it yet and it still is consuming more than an hour of my life everyday.


ah, hardware compatibility trouble, the number one killer of Linux.



My second biggest problem is being attracted to tweaking my desktop too much. I spend some of my time looking for Ubuntu eye candies even if there are more important things for me to do.


Well, if you're like me, this will be a passing fad. I was all over Ubuntu when I first switched to it from Fedora and managed to get XGL/Compiz working. I spent hours every day tweaking it. Then I reverted to the plain gnome and I've hardly bothered tweaking it for months. I haven't even bothered looking at edgy or feisty because dapper has been so stable for me (with the exception of kernel upgrades requiring I update my ATI drivers). I just don't want to touch it.



I have posted this thread hoping that I will have more reasons not to give up on Linux. I think it's just making me work instead of the other way around.

If work's important to you, and you think Ubuntu is lowering your productivity, by all means use what works for you best.

Myself, I have become so dependent upon the Unix tool-chain for my productivity that when I find myself on a Windows machine I find I have to install cygwin tools, GNU Emacs, MiKTex, Firefox, Python, and tweak environment variables, etc, etc. Getting my toolset setup on a Windows machine takes me hours, whereas all of this is done for me with a Linux distribution. Different strokes for different folks.

kazuya
March 6th, 2007, 03:50 PM
This is subjective.
I am more productive in the sense that I am forced to focus on one task only when I use my windows machine. I can have download going, chatting, and then attempting to type a word document. Since the interface looks bare and not that attractive or without ease of teaking the system. I am forced to do my one task.

Linux may not be as productive because I am distracted with countless free stuff. Daily, now, I have my movie playing, a document being typed, chatting going on, downloads always going, learning programming, watching youtube.com, etc.., changing the look of my PC or having it set to change., and trying to beautify my PC look and improve performance.

I am not as productive on on task as it makes me somehow give equal attention to all tasks. It is the only system that pulls my attention to innovation.

On windows, I just do one task only, which is either watch videos for hours alone or surf the web. Ofcourse I have to scan everything downloaded before opening them so as not to infect my PC.

Well, I use Windows at work only because that is what they use there. At home, it is all linux.....

My machine could be up for days or a month with no degradation or need to reboot.

wersdaluv
March 6th, 2007, 06:51 PM
What would you say are your most important applications? It sounds like you could easily work with either Windows, Mac or Linux.


The most important app for me in Linux is KDE's BasKet notepads.

Other advantages I see with Linux is it is customizable. I am hoping to tweak my desktop to make me work. Tweaks like keyboard shorcuts, apps that open once I boot my computer, hiding panel so that I will not easily be distracted by other windows, and all that.

I'm not sure yet, but when it comes to productivity, I need to exert more effort trying to help my desktop help me than the amount of benefits I get from my computer.

I think, if the hardware issue is not going to be solved by the releases of the new versions of distros these coming months (or coming weeks), I am going to stop working with Linux and switch back to Windows.

peabody
March 6th, 2007, 07:51 PM
The most important app for me in Linux is KDE's BasKet notepads.


That's a neat looking application. I hadn't heard of it until you mentioned it.



Other advantages I see with Linux is it is customizable. I am hoping to tweak my desktop to make me work. Tweaks like keyboard shorcuts, apps that open once I boot my computer, hiding panel so that I will not easily be distracted by other windows, and all that.


Even as a Linux person I can't help but play devil's advocate here. Windows is very customizable (especially if you're willing to spend some money on proprietary software). What specifically weren't you able to do with Windows that you hoped to accomplish with Linux?

For myself, I use GNU/Linux for 4 reasons:

it's free
it's stable
it's educational
it's more fun


It's not that I can't use Windows, I just find Linux more compelling. And now I'm more used to it than Windows, so I have even more reason to use it than I did when I started using it 8 years ago.



I'm not sure yet, but when it comes to productivity, I need to exert more effort trying to help my desktop help me than the amount of benefits I get from my computer.


I'm not sure I understand that last sentence. Sounds like you meant to say something like, "I'd like to do more with less." Linux is good at that.



I think, if the hardware issue is not going to be solved by the releases of the new versions of distros these coming months (or coming weeks), I am going to stop working with Linux and switch back to Windows.

That's certainly a perfectly valid reason not to use Linux. However, one needs to keep in mind switching to a new operating system can entail a hardware upgrade. Let's not get started with Vista shall we?

NevadaDave
March 6th, 2007, 08:45 PM
It's funny, but I was just about to post a similar question when I searched & found this thread. I recently installed Ubuntu 6.06 on an extra HD on my desktop, which normally runs XP. It has been kind of fun and interesting to get things working (such as sound, video, networking, etc.) but I am kind of at the point where I am asking, "What now?". So far, the only real major issue that I have seen is that I'm not running multiple antivirus & spyware/malware scanners all the time. Application execution speed seems to be about the same (except picasa2, as it apparently runs behind an emulator). I still have a number of apps to try out (video editing, for example) but in reality - I had so few problems with my XP system that I'm wondering why/how linux should be an improvement. When I was running W98, I could have really used an OS that didn't crash/lock up daily. With XP, things seem to run pretty much without problems, other than some individual apps.
Ubuntu boots faster, shuts down a bit quicker, and has some "cool" factor, but so far, there has been no "killer" feature that seems to call to me. Perhaps as I try different apps, I'll find the one I can't live without.
On the other hand - there does seem to be good support for linux, and that can be a very good thing when you're stuck!

wersdaluv
March 6th, 2007, 09:25 PM
That's a neat looking application. I hadn't heard of it until you mentioned it.

It's the most important Linux app that hinders me from switching to Windows again.


Even as a Linux person I can't help but play devil's advocate here. Windows is very customizable (especially if you're willing to spend some money on proprietary software). What specifically weren't you able to do with Windows that you hoped to accomplish with Linux?

For myself, I use GNU/Linux for 4 reasons:

it's free
it's stable
it's educational
it's more fun


It's not that I can't use Windows, I just find Linux more compelling. And now I'm more used to it than Windows, so I have even more reason to use it than I did when I started using it 8 years ago.

I like that. You do things because of reasonable factors. As for me, I'm thinking of learning so much more about technology. I'm thinking of coding one day. I want to tweak it as if a company designed an OS for me. I guess that will require me a lot of work but I think it will be worth spending my resources for.

I'm just curious. What do you mean by more educational? Is it because of educational software or education when it comes to IT?


I'm not sure I understand that last sentence. Sounds like you meant to say something like, "I'd like to do more with less." Linux is good at that.

What I mean by that is, maybe, just maybe, there is more work that requires the desktop tweaking than the benefits I can get from it.


That's certainly a perfectly valid reason not to use Linux. However, one needs to keep in mind switching to a new operating system can entail a hardware upgrade. Let's not get started with Vista shall we?

You know what? I'm thinking of using Vista Home edition. I just want to get the most out of technology and I don't think Vista will require me a hardware upgrade.

I'm just too frustrated with how Linux and my laptop work. If they don't fit, I think I don't have to force it.

Right now, I'm using XP. I was thinking of forgetting my Linux desktop for a while for me to get back to doing the things I had no time for whenever I use Linux. I'm doing my homework in Office Word 2007. I think Office 2007 is really great. Another reason why I use XP to do my homework is that, I cannot print with Ubuntu. My USB devices do not work there.

I guess, the best thing for me to do is to forget about Linux for a while and spend some time for my real life's responsibilities.

Koori23
March 6th, 2007, 09:46 PM
Not by much so far. Some things are easier, such as converting images for use in Latex, but most of the stuff I do in Linux could just as well have been done in Windows.

Running Linux is not essential because a lot of the great free software is available for Windows as well. As I see it those programs do increase my productivity, while the OS itself has lesser importance.

I agree. I'm not a power user in any sense of the word. I type in Abiword, Play on the Internet with Firefox and screw around with SameGnome. Productivity to me means the OS gets out of your way and lets you work on the application itself. Windows, it alerts you to EVERYTHING!! I get balloon dialog boxes constantly about dumb stuff that I don't care happened anyway.

Linux enables me to be productive because I don't have to mess with spyware or any of that stuff.. I just go along my merry way. Mainly Linux makes my pocketbook productive because I can spend my money elsewhere.

Oh yeah, I don't have to defrag, that's a real productivity killer in that other OS. Your computer is basically useless till that's done.

towsonu2003
March 6th, 2007, 10:21 PM
Does using Linux actually make you more productive than using other Operating Systems? If so, how does it make you more productive and how much more productive?


1. very useful utilities free and apt-gettable (such as imagemagick, pdftk, openoffice, dia, transcriber etc)
1.a. no need to track down shareware / demo software to do what you want
1.b. no need to take your wallet out for utilities you wanna use (except when donating)
1.c. no need to track down ports of Linux utilities

2. secure & efficient
2.a. no need to purchase anti-virus, firewall software, anti-spyware software
2.b. no need to worry about "does that software come with viruses"
2.c. no need to "maintain" (defrag, check for viruses, check for spyware etc)
2.d. once I configure it to my tastes[1] (and now that I *know* how to configure it a little better), I stop wasting my time with the computer.

so yes, I do more work :)

[1] I found that if you know what to do, it takes about 20 minutes to configure the overall system and 30 minutes to configure Firefox & Thunderbird to your tastes :)

TLE
March 7th, 2007, 12:24 AM
Hell yes ....!

I can make the "tweaking" required for my work (read University study) in about 1 hour tops. Bing bada bum, 6 desktops, favorite IM app for discussions, music in the background and off course emacs and tetex up to full speed dada dum da

The rest of the tweaking is just for fun. But hey, some people like to stand by the side of a pond with some sort of a stick and line device with a little bend nail at the end of the line... Tweaking GNU/Linux and contributing to FOSS is just my hobby .!

Rede
March 7th, 2007, 01:02 AM
Yes... after using it for almost three years so I can deal with minor problems without spending a ton of time fixing them.

SSH, X-Forwarding, and Konqueror w/the FISH protocol make my life so much easier when I'm not at home.

Easy installation of packages with apt lets me do things like install apache and php in a minute and test/develop.

DD-WRT (a linux based firmware for my router) allows me to use WDS to get decent wireless coverage in my house.

Amarok... I just love it and don't think I could go back to windows and live without it. It doesn't increase my productivity though cause I just spend time I should be doing something else working on scripting (my lyricwiki lyrics script in particular).

Lastly:
sudo apt-get install cowsay
cowsay -f sodomized OUCH!

And more I'm sure I'm forgetting. On the downside I still dont really understand how drivers/driver installation works and there is just no open-source equivalent for Microsoft's Active Directory which saves business more time than Server 2003 costs me with errors like the one I've attached (see below).

russellc
March 7th, 2007, 03:34 AM
Through my experience, I find that Mac OS X has been my most productive operating system. It really depends more on the applications provided rather than the operating system itself. Productivity for me has been better in this fashion, as I have found: OS X > Linux > Windows. I'd put Linux lower than OS X because OS X has a LOT of applications that can improve productivity. The applications made for OS X seem to have productivity and functionality both in mind when created. The way all the applications work together is also something amazing on OS X.

On Linux, productivity is lost in maintenance of unstable software since I personally enjoy playing with unstable software. Time is also lost when exploring the vast amounts of software in the repositories as well as new customization discoveries and new updates (including new features) are constantly revealed in almost every field of software. Productivity is gained though in the packaging systems that are available (ex. Synaptic, apt, pacman, etc) as well as your own customization settings that allow you to work the way you want to.

I don't really have any good things to say about Windows. Don't take this negatively, Windows advocators, I just haven't preferred it in terms of productivity (when compared with OS X or Linux) in my many previous years of usage.

peabody
March 7th, 2007, 04:51 AM
I'm just curious. What do you mean by more educational? Is it because of educational software or education when it comes to IT?


Pretty much. I'm a computer science student at UC Davis. Gonna get my bachelor's one of these days.



You know what? I'm thinking of using Vista Home edition. I just want to get the most out of technology and I don't think Vista will require me a hardware upgrade.


Ya sure now ;). I hear it eats RAM for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm hearing people recommending 2 gigs of RAM. probably sensational, but still...

pjkoczan
March 7th, 2007, 04:57 AM
Two words: TAB COMPLETION!!!

Seriously, I found myself being far more productive once I got comfortable with the shell. It's amazing how much work you can get done when you don't have to move your hands between keyboard and mouse. Once I became proficient at TAB completion, pipes, and other stupid shell tricks, my productivity soared.

I've had to use a windows shell and let me tell you, it's not pretty. Also, considering that very few windows apps are text-based, it makes the shell almost pointless.

What I love most about Ubuntu is that it caters to me no matter how I want to use my system. If I just want to click and drool, I can. If I want to compile my own kernel and run everything through parallel subshells to maximize throughput, I can just as easily. I find it user-friendly because it appeals to both the novice and expert in me.

Arisna
March 7th, 2007, 05:36 AM
I have no doubt that I am more productive with Kubuntu than I would be with Windows, simply because of the following applications:

Bash -- I like having a command line framework to automate tasks and save me when things go wrong.

KOffice -- A little buggy, but being actively developed. Also opens much, much faster than MS Office or Open Office.

Kontact -- Keeps me organized exceptionally well.

Krusader -- Once I got this thing configured the way I like it, it has let me manage files faster than ever.

Konqueror -- A web browser that is niche enough to be immune to every nasty trick on the Internet.

Ocxic
March 7th, 2007, 09:17 AM
friend of mine was (b4 being converted by me) running vista, i took a look at the resource usage, (2nd time this things been on, and bassically a base install from DELL). was using 586MB of ram, total ram in the laptop 1GB, ya I'd say that it's a little resource hungey, this is vista basic by the way.

Unanimated
June 28th, 2008, 06:20 PM
It depends on what you use it for. For me, the only reason I spend those hours tweaking it is because I like changing things to be exactly how I like them, and I'm learning a lot of stuff about Linux and Ubuntu along the way.

hessiess
June 28th, 2008, 07:02 PM
yes, blender runs faster and renders faster also.

archer6
June 28th, 2008, 07:20 PM
I'm too new to comment with accuracy, as I'm still learning and setting up my system the way I want it. Yet, that said, I'm very happy working in the Ubuntu environment. I can see already where there will be some areas that are a definite time saver for me.

At the end of the day, I'm very happy that I decided to get involved with this OS, and enjoy the learning opportunity it presents.

Finally, I'm enjoying this very well run forum, as the people here have been very friendly, helpful and thanks to them, I'm off to a great start!

Cheers!

joshdudeha
June 28th, 2008, 07:28 PM
I think it has made me more creative in many ways.
I am more creative with like design, as I'm learning a lot with the programs I use so the designs I do (graphics and such) are better I think.

Also, I am more open-minded and I think that is due to the open philosiphy of Linux.

Anyhow, I love the system

hanzomon4
June 28th, 2008, 08:36 PM
In a word: No

Constantly dealing with crashes and apps that don't work forces me to jump through hoops to just get things running. I just can't rely on it to do anything important. Even not so important things, like skype. I fear getting a a skype call and having the app or system just die. I've been burned too many times.

I guess you wonder why I even bother.

miggols99
June 28th, 2008, 08:50 PM
Yes, it does make me more productive. Things aren't crashing all the time (so I don't lose my work) and the internet doesn't cut out when it wants to. And it all looks good doing it too (Vista is an exception. It may look good but it isn't near as stable as my amazing openSUSE 11 KDE 4.1 setup. Yes it is stable ;)).

Can+~
June 28th, 2008, 08:58 PM
Having multiple desktops (compared to windows) really helps out. I remember in windows days, if I wanted to edit a webpage I had to open:

-Fireworks for making the images, tweaking on the way.
-An web development application.
-A file browser.
-a Web browser to test the website.

Having all this inside a desktop, means that I had to close/open applications, minimize them, find them again, etc. Having multiple desktops is just about Ctrl+Alt+Direction and I can leave them open.

And Gnome-do, please, everyone here install it, it's plain awesome productivity enhancer: Ctrl+Space, type a word, enter.

archer6
June 28th, 2008, 09:07 PM
Yes, it does make me more productive. Things aren't crashing all the time (so I don't lose my work) and the internet doesn't cut out when it wants to. And it all looks good doing it too (Vista is an exception. It may look good but it isn't near as stable as my amazing openSUSE 11 KDE 4.1 setup. Yes it is stable ;)).

While I plan on staying with Ubuntu 8.04, I would like to explore openSuse.

How would you describe the differences between Ubuntu 8.04 & openSuse 11 KDE 4.1?

Thank You!

keiichidono
June 28th, 2008, 10:23 PM
Linux does make me more productive indeed, the main thing is Gnome-Do. Windows has programs like it but they don't compare to it as far as i know. I love how fast i can get around my system now, it's set up how i want it to the tee and it didn't take too long.

RebounD11
June 28th, 2008, 11:16 PM
While I plan on staying with Ubuntu 8.04, I would like to explore openSuse.

How would you describe the differences between Ubuntu 8.04 & openSuse 11 KDE 4.1?

Thank You!

openSUSE 11 -. way faster and better out-of-the-box experience (and this is the Gnome side), I also have a KDE 4.1 setup and it's working perfectly (unlike the KDE 4.1 I installed on an Ubuntu machine that simply won't login :|)

Now on the topic... I am WAY more productive on Linux. With the immense number of viruses running around on my campus network I had to reinstall Windows every month (install+programs+updates>=6hours lost). Now with Linux I'm virus free, my computer runs faster (visibly) and were I need Windows apps I use Wine (+gaming, that being CS and Oblivion) and/or a WinXP VM with VirtualBox OSE (no networking, just shared folder so I can check what I download before loading it in the VM). And CompizFusion makes my friend go "ooo wooow!" :D

50words
June 28th, 2008, 11:34 PM
For me, no.

For all its advantages, Ubuntu is not an OS that gets out of the way so I can get things done. (Neither is Windows, incidentally. Windows won't leave me alone. My limited experience of OSX is much more positive.)

Choice does not lead to productivity, it leads to the user constantly playing with all the choices. That may not be true for all users, but it is true for me.

Plus, I am constantly having to work around Linux. It never just does what I want; I have to do things the way it wants me to. For example, I cannot just view and edit PDF documents in the same application. There is one application for viewing, and one for editing. In Windows or OSX, I can just use Acrobat.

So while Ubuntu does not make me more productive (than I am with Windows), it does not make me less productive, either.

konungursvia
June 28th, 2008, 11:41 PM
I feel considerably more productive in linux. The multiple workspaces do it for me, now working in windows feels like having a hand tied behind me back.

cardinals_fan
June 29th, 2008, 02:24 AM
For me, it depends on the distro. With Arch (which I do love), no. I spend too much time fixing things. With Slackware (my primary), absolutely. Using Vim and Xmonad on a fast Slack system makes me vastly more efficient with my schoolwork.

archer6
June 29th, 2008, 03:40 AM
For me, no.

Since I'm very new to Linux & Ubuntu, but very experienced in Windows & OS X. My question is: If you were limited to just one OS, what would it be?

Thanks!

50words
June 29th, 2008, 04:05 AM
Since I'm very new to Linux & Ubuntu, but very experienced in Windows & OS X. My question is: If you were limited to just one OS, what would it be?

Thanks!

I don't know, but I would be awfully tempted to commit to OSX. I suppose I am a power user in the sense that I know how to do a lot of stuff with a computer, but I just want things to be simple. OSX gives me that.

Ubuntu is full of choices, complicated solutions, and too many options. I just want to get things done, not learn the command line.

Windows is full of speed bumps and annoying interruptions (and I like Windows fairly well, and have used it for over a decade with fewer problems than I have had in Ubuntu in a year, so don't get me wrong).

So maybe OSX. Second choice for me is a tie between Windows and Ubuntu. I enjoy using Ubuntu more, but Windows is still more useful overall.

archer6
June 29th, 2008, 05:41 PM
For me, it depends on the distro. With Arch (which I do love), no. I spend too much time fixing things. With Slackware (my primary), absolutely. Using Vim and Xmonad on a fast Slack system makes me vastly more efficient with my schoolwork.

When you say a "fast Slack system" what is the configuration of your computer in terms of processor speed / ram amount / etc. Laptop or desktop?

Thanks!

Barrucadu
June 29th, 2008, 05:53 PM
I am much more productive on Linux... When I'm not playing with it.

toupeiro
June 29th, 2008, 06:11 PM
Its ridiculous how much more productive I am in a Linux environment as opposed to a windows environment.

archer6
June 29th, 2008, 06:37 PM
Its ridiculous how much more productive I am in a Linux environment as opposed to a windows environment.
From your signature:

Primary O.S: Ubuntu 7.10 64-bit
Pilot O.S: Nexenta Alpha 7

What is a "Pilot O.S." ?

Thank You!

orasis
July 11th, 2008, 01:05 PM
Yes since I can concentrate on actually using my computer rather than being bombarded with spyware or searching the net to constantly repair some issue or other...

Does Linux have me searching the net every once in a while? Yes - but it's usually to find some information on how to set up a cool new look, or desklet or other eye-candy I don't need heh.

beercz
July 11th, 2008, 02:26 PM
Yes .........

...... until I start browsing the ubuntu forums ......

...... so it's a no!

Delever
July 11th, 2008, 03:50 PM
No, it does not, since I have to manage virtualized windows machines. But it is easier, because I can take snapshots and do other tricks. However I have additional linux machine to take care of, so it is not more productive overall.

jomiolto
July 11th, 2008, 05:10 PM
Well, I have not done any research on this (and it would be difficult to do so, because productivity is affected by so many other things), but I'm quite sure that Linux does make me more productive.

I do occasionally spend some time tweaking things up, but I'd be doing the same thing no matter what operating system I used -- I would most likely use more time tweaking Vista than I do my Ubuntu installation, because to me the default Vista look is horrible and I'm not sure if it can be easily set up the way I prefer things to be. I have no idea about Mac OS X, because I've never used it (Macs are too expensive for me to afford one).

Besides, in Linux I have virtual desktops by default -- something that greatly increases my productivity when I need several applications open at once (which is quite often). With Windows I would have to install and set up some program to even get virtual desktops.

Then there's also command line. I don't know if my brain is wired in some funny way or what, but I actually prefer to do file managing and some other similar tasks using the command line -- endless mouse clicking and dragging and dropping just seems so slow compared to a couple of quick "mv", "cp" or "rm" commands in terminal (especially when you're used to wildcards and tab completion), and I don't even know how to create symbolic links in Nautilus or Konqueror. I know that I could set up Cygwin or something like that on Windows, but it just seems like such a hassle when compared to Linux already having all that (and I'm not sure if it's possible to get it to integrate as well with the rest of the system as in Linux).

Oh, and then there's of course Vim. I prefer to use Vim for almost all writing I do (the only exception being things that require a lot of formatting), and not just programming -- I often write the text in Vim and format it later in OpenOffice.org or some other word processor. I think I have quite clumsy fingers, and I find the Vim keybindings so much easier to use than always having to move my hands to the function keys or to the mouse when I need to move around the text I'm writing/editing or cut&paste, etc. -- ever since I learnt to use Vim I have felt very out of place with "normal" editors. Of course, I could also get Vim on Windows, but again the lack of decent integration with command line would most likely limit its usefulness in that environment.

Really, the only thing that gives me trouble in Linux is when I need to send .doc files to someone, since OpenOffice.org can sometimes mess up the formatting quite badly when you save in .doc. For that I need to check the files in MS Office (which only runs on Windows, as everyone knows) to make sure they look fine, but that's the only hindrance I can come up with Linux usage.

Perhaps if I used Windows extensively for a long time, I could become nearly as efficient with it as I'm with Linux (Ubuntu in particular, as it seems to work more reliable for me than other distributions), but I don't see the point in that, as I'm very satisfied with my current system.

That's all, I think :)