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locke.dragon
May 14th, 2007, 06:50 PM
I think that most Linux users think that Linux is better than Windows, but how come? I also feel that Ubuntu is better than Windows, but I just can't place my finger on why. Any ideas?

LaRoza
May 14th, 2007, 06:51 PM
It is more stable.
It is less of a hassle (not learning, but using)
It is free
It is easily customized
It is all about choices
It is BETTER

lamalex
May 14th, 2007, 06:52 PM
Biggest reason: FREEDOM.

other reasons: telling my computer what to do and not being told what to do, security, stability, and ease of use. Ubuntu wins in every category.

starcraft.man
May 14th, 2007, 06:53 PM
I think that most Linux users think that Linux is better than Windows, but how come? I also feel that Ubuntu is better than Windows, but I just can't place my finger on why. Any ideas?

- It's free and doesn't cost 200-400$
- It's software is for the most part (cedega/crossover excluded) free, and doesn't cost fortunes (look at 1400-1700$ for new copy of CS3 suite).
- It has a friendly atmosphere (both OS and these forums) and doesn't treat you like a pirate from day one, see WGA.
- It is modifiable, anything can be changed, and it is really easily themed.
- It is much more secure than windows, even vista and requires no maintenance (no defrag/av scan/spyware scan)

Those are good enough reasons I think, this should probably be in the cafe though.

Edit: hehe, that was fast of mods to move this, they must be stalking/watch me :p

Adamant1988
May 14th, 2007, 07:12 PM
I think that most Linux users think that Linux is better than Windows, but how come? I also feel that Ubuntu is better than Windows, but I just can't place my finger on why. Any ideas?

There are technological and ideological reasons for thinking that. Ubuntu has many technical advantages over Windows. Everyone has their own reason, but I think the rabid willingness to try to 'evangelize' people comes from emphasizing it so much. As GNU/Linux users we seem to find ourselves fighting FUD and ignorance more often than not, and users become hardened in their views.

kragen
May 14th, 2007, 07:14 PM
For me it's the little things:


Being able to move windows with <Alt> clicking.
It's far easier to use command line tools under linux - things like compilers, or LaTeX etc... I've tried to do some programming and LaTeX under windows before, and its a nightmare without an IDE.
Epiphany is awesome, I especially like its search bookmarks.
When you start with a fresh windows installation you need to spend days finding all the office CD's and downloading all the little programs like winzip (and you need to restart after installing each one). With Ubuntu I just tag them all in epiphany and leave it going for an hour or so.
I can also download a whole host of open source games for when I'm wasting time :D Half of those games don't run under windows without installing gtk or something, which is a pain to do.
I could never get Audioscrobber to work with windows media player - just about every Linux media player has an Audioscrobber plugin built in.
Once Ubuntu starts it feels far more responsive as it loads the UI last - unlike windows which loads the UI ASAP to give the impression of loading quickly, but in effect is completely unusable because windows is still churning away in the background.
It might just be me, but Ubuntu feels more stable than windows somehow...

juxtaposed
May 14th, 2007, 08:21 PM
Freedom.

You can do what you want, how you want it. You just have to know how to do it.

kragen
May 14th, 2007, 11:53 PM
Gah, I'm on windows at the moment, Epiphany really does rule, I keep on forgetting about little things, like Epiphany preserving your history whenever you open a new tab, or even going to your homepage instead of some crappy "You've opened a new tab - horray for you" page.

Yeah, freedom is great and all, but Ubuntu is actually good, so everyone putting "its free" down as an aswer, put at least a little effort in, (imagine windows XP has just been open-sourced or something :D) and come up with some real reasons why Ubuntu is better :P

starcraft.man
May 15th, 2007, 12:43 AM
Gah, I'm on windows at the moment, Epiphany really does rule, I keep on forgetting about little things, like Epiphany preserving your history whenever you open a new tab, or even going to your homepage instead of some crappy "You've opened a new tab - horray for you" page.

Just a note, but you can get most of that functionality (from what I think your trying to say) on firefox with the tab mix plus (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122) extension. It allows for storing closed and opened tabs and even whole sessions, and it stores each pages seperate history with the saved tabs, not to mention a lot of customizable features like additional context options at right click and other things. Didn't want people to think firefox was missing anything :).

H.E. Pennypacker
May 15th, 2007, 01:14 AM
It is more stable.
It is less of a hassle (not learning, but using)
It is free
It is easily customized
It is all about choices
It is BETTER

For me, only the fact that Ubuntu is free is true. For others, I am sure more things on that list are true. Maybe the hassle part is because I am trying to compile and package software.

kragen
May 15th, 2007, 02:14 AM
Just a note, but you can get most of that functionality (from what I think your trying to say) on firefox with the tab mix plus (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1122) extension. It allows for storing closed and opened tabs and even whole sessions, and it stores each pages seperate history with the saved tabs, not to mention a lot of customizable features like additional context options at right click and other things. Didn't want people to think firefox was missing anything :).

The only time I use windows is on other peoples computers, but if I ever go back to a dual boot system, I'll give that plugin a try :)

deepwave
May 15th, 2007, 05:05 AM
Cause its faster to work under Linux.

Case Study: Copy and Pasting

Windows (mouse only):
1.) Select text.
2.) Right-click for menu.
3.) Select copy.
4.) Select destination.
5.) Right-click for menu.
6.) Select Paste.

(Steps 2+3, 5+6, saved if using keyboard shortcuts.)

Linux:
1.) Highlight text.
2.) Select destination.
3.) Middle click.

(If somebody really wants to extend this idea of case studies... we could start our own "Getting the Facts Right" campaign without FUD). ;-)

Ptero-4
July 2nd, 2007, 08:22 PM
For me what makes ubuntu (and linux in general) better is:
FREEDOM.
The fact that the OS doesn't spy on me or phone home (activation, DRM, TCPA, WGA)
That I can make it look, feel and work the way I want.
That it and it's apps won't cost me a server worth on licensing costs.

saulgoode
July 2nd, 2007, 08:38 PM
For me it was information. I spent about 7 years with Windows and never was able to figure out things like how to print a listing of files in a folder or how to change the commands in the right-mouse Start Menu. Much of the information I found useful about Windows was coming from the Linux community (FDISK /MBR; and how to access video memory).

I had access to the MS developers documentation and I bought the third party technical references -- but still there were pieces to the puzzle missing and I grew fed up with Microsoft's view that how to use their system was a "trade secret". Windows ME is the last MS product I have bought.

matthew
July 2nd, 2007, 08:45 PM
I'm surprised no one has posted this link yet...enjoy!

http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/

jdrodrig
July 2nd, 2007, 08:47 PM
I would only add great software availability.

At the end of the day, once you finish customizing your DE, the real part starts: getting work done. And for me, the availability of open source software sitting on top of linux is great. Maybe is because "self-selection": people prone to choose Linux tend to like similar features in software and help to develop such applications.

bobbybobington
July 2nd, 2007, 08:49 PM
For me:
1.Customizable, theming your desktop (more so in kde imho) is wayy easier and powerful
2. Eye candy, 3d effects blow vista or xp away
3. Free! you can do 1 & 2 without having to buy some crappy program or deal with annoying trials.

Calash
July 2nd, 2007, 08:51 PM
I spent about 7 years with Windows and never was able to figure out things like how to print a listing of files in a folder


Try going into the command prompt, navigate to the folder, then


dir > lpt1



If you still want to know :)

~LoKe
July 2nd, 2007, 08:55 PM
I'd pay for Linux before I'd ever pay for Windows. The environment is just too bulky and slow. Something just...seems wrong in Windows. I can't quite say what, but there's just something missing.

Probably my terminal.

saulgoode
July 2nd, 2007, 08:55 PM
Try going into the command prompt, navigate to the folder, then


dir > lpt1



If you still want to know :)

Actually, I abandoned caring years ago but even still, I was thinking of within Explorer or, at a minimum, not having the names print out as "filena~2.txt" if done from the command line (perhaps this has been fixed in one of the XP service packs?).

DigitalDuality
July 2nd, 2007, 09:04 PM
d

Calash
July 2nd, 2007, 09:08 PM
The filenames in the default cmd.exe for winXP default to the long filenames...you can specify different formats...DIR became quite the utility.


Not sure how to do it from explorer...could probably fudge something via .cmd file and the send-to menu.

As to the original topic (My bad for going on the tangent :) ), Ubuntu offers me a much more interactive experience with the OS. There is a level of customization that Windows can only dream of, and this is by default. I want a headless PVR system? The same disk that just loaded my desktop can do it without an issue.

Plus it's free :)

borris.morris
July 2nd, 2007, 10:07 PM
A couple of reasons...
1. AMAROK!!!! (although this will be in Windows soon).
2. Better hardware support. (Both of my wifi cards worked in Linux Out of the Box, Windows though...)
3. It is free.
4. I can customize.
5. KDE ROCKS!!!
6. GNOME ROCKS TOO!!!!
7. Way more stable.
8. Faster (My KDE runs WAY faster than windows ever did, and I have transparency turned on with only a 600 mhz processor).
and many more.

Tundro Walker
July 2nd, 2007, 10:43 PM
I'll cite a personal example.

Windows

I downloaded some .mp4's at home on my Ubuntu computer, but didn't have time to mess with them. So, I flash sticked them to work, and tossed them on my Windows computer to listen to. I highlight several, and some mp3's, in a file directory, and hit "enter" to play. Windows Media player opens up, but notices the 1st file on the list is an mp4. So, it makes a single file play list out of the mp4. If I want to listen to the other mp4's, I can't just add them to a play list, I have to play each one individually, and let it loop. I play another mp4, and Windows Media Player proceeds to crash and lock up my computer. I Ctrl+Atl+Del, but no response. I reboot. I assume the file is corrupted, and with a few other mp4's and no way to tell if their corrupt or not, I try each one, locking up my computer 3 more times in order to find the good from the bad. For the ones that will play, I look for a way to convert the file to mp3. I don't have anything native on the computer, so I have to get some 3rd party freeware online to do so. However, because a) my internet is blocked from reputable 3rd party freeware sites (Tucows, Snapfiles, etc), and b) sites I CAN get to are less reputable and have spyware and such in the software, I decide it's not worth messing with. I decide to open up Windows' native sound recorder, in an attempt to manually record the mp4's that work. I start recording the first mp4...Windows' native sound recorder stops recording after 1 min, because that's the max limit it will record (presumably to prevent folks from manually recording music off CD's). I see what file format I can save as...WAV...so it's not even in a format I want anyways. I decide to scrap the whole idea until I get home to my Ubuntu computer.

Ubuntu

I downloaded an .mp4 music file. I select the .mp4, along with a group of other .mp4 & .mp3's, and hit "enter" to play all of them. Totem opens and plays everything as a play list. I want to convert it to .mp3 format so I can play it on my portable player. I google "ubuntu sound convert", and find out there's 2 options. 1) One of the Ubuntu dev's created a bash script that will convert all mp4's in a directory (and recursively convert into sub-directories) into mp3...just gotta get 2 support files from repo's. 2) I can get a sound converter from the repo's and do it with a GUI instead. As an experiment, I try the BASH script, and it works, but the corrupted mp4's don't convert. No crash, no lock up, instead the CLI just says "corrupted file, can't convert". I d/l the sound converter from the repo's to see if it can do it, but it can't. Again, no crash, no lock up, just a message stating it can't recognize the format. However, since I can play them in Totem, I just play them with the sound recorder going and manually make an .mp3. No big deal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's little things like that, day in and day out, that continually make me appreciate Ubuntu more, and Windows less.

borris.morris
July 3rd, 2007, 04:20 PM
Tundro Walker, hey with your sig, could you add Jim Morrison? He's my hero...
Anyways, yes I have had many experiences like this. Another nice thing is updates. My computer is so easily updated, and this is VERY nice when I'm managing a server. And Tundro, I too have had many experiences like this... But none with Ubuntu.

brim4brim
July 3rd, 2007, 05:04 PM
I have to say I like the consistency and simplicity of Gnome.

Everything is layed out very well compared to Windows where there are usually 3 different ways of doing every thing in Windows and none of them are very good.

In Linux you can use the GUI or the terminal/config files for most things at this stage and for the things that you can't, it is coming soon.

The other thing I have started loving about Linux is the documentation, especially the man pages which explain everything perfectly when I'm looking for something. The Howto's too. I'd like to thank everyone that has created one here because they make peoples lives so much easier.

notwen
July 3rd, 2007, 05:12 PM
reasons i can come up w/ off the top of my head
---
1. stability
2. security
3. support(upgrades included)
4. price
5. customization
6. variety[(of distros)(different distro repos)(choice of apps in general)]

a12ctic
July 3rd, 2007, 05:27 PM
I like linux because it does what I want it to do, for free. I can't really afford to buy software, and pirating it isn't good. Sure, theres free software in windows, but its loaded with ads and spyware. Not to menchion the level of customability of linux that you can do without screwing stuff up. I also love the command line, and the Windows command line just doesn't work for me.