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View Full Version : Good reasons to switch to Linux



x911oz
May 22nd, 2007, 09:51 PM
I'm curious why people have switched to Linux, and if it is good for everyone or are there some people that wouldn't benefit as much.

I'm an architect who would like to try working in Linux, but don't know what to expect.

tehbeermang
May 22nd, 2007, 09:55 PM
I have classes to take at school that will use Linux. I've kinda fallen for it. I have no reason to live in a Mac or Windows world anymore.

However, I work in a Windows world. :(

LaRoza
May 22nd, 2007, 09:58 PM
If you do not know what to expect, use a live cd or dvd which doesn't install anything.

I use it because of the following reasons:

1. It is very stable.
2. You can get many programs for it.
3. It is fast (compared to Windows)
4. It is free.
5. You have many choices and have control over the OS
6. It is better, usability wise.

Some distros are faster than others, but all the ones I have used are faster than Windows.

x911oz
May 22nd, 2007, 09:58 PM
hmm.. so why do you like it so much?

I see thank you.

x911oz
May 22nd, 2007, 10:00 PM
1. It is very stable.
2. You can get many programs for it.
3. It is fast (compared to Windows)
4. It is free.
5. You have many choices and have control over the OS
6. It is better, usability wise.

Some distros are faster than others, but all the ones I have used are faster than Windows.

What about design software? Is there much available? Is it cheaper than windows?

Rhox
May 22nd, 2007, 10:02 PM
An architect would probably benefit a lot. Linux has come okay cad programs.

LaRoza
May 22nd, 2007, 10:04 PM
There are thousands of free programs for Linux, which are easily installed.

I am not a designer or an architect, so I can not speak for sure, but you can search the forums, and the Web, if someone doesn't give you a specific answer.

You might want to make sure the programs you use don't already have a Linux version before searching.

Rhox
May 22nd, 2007, 10:05 PM
What about design software? Is there much available? Is it cheaper than windows?

I can't say it's cheaper because all (at least that I know) of them that are free on linux are free on windows too.

wbsorsby
May 22nd, 2007, 10:12 PM
I switched because my computer motherboard died. I didn't need a whole computer, just a motherboard, and I was offended by the need to purchase yet another copy of Windows, as well as reload everything to get going again.

Given all that, Linux looked more attractive than ever, and offered the hope of a better outcome from such a system catastrophe.

I still use Windows, but only in Virtual Box, and only for one specific program.

koshatnik
May 22nd, 2007, 10:13 PM
I'm curious why people have switched to Linux, and if it is good for everyone or are there some people that wouldn't benefit as much.

I'm an architect who would like to try working in Linux, but don't know what to expect.

Use the best tools for the job, rather than switch for the sake of it. What is the overriding reason to use linux? Is it cost? Is it Windows problems? Is it curiosity?

Linux has very few commercial apps. If you use specialist design apps you might find that the linux equivalents (if there are any) may lack in features or power. Try installing on an old machine if you have one, and play around with ubuntu, see if it meets your needs as an architect. If not, then there is no need to switch.

Where linux will meet your needs is as a server (imho its the best server software in the world, bar none) and as a home desktop alternative. It can also fulfill nearly all office based requirements also (it lacks a decent out of the box database). So basically, suck it and see. :)

bchaffin72
May 22nd, 2007, 10:15 PM
You can check into QCad and SagCad and see what you think of them.

Hex_Mandos
May 22nd, 2007, 10:20 PM
Linux CAN be used for design, but currently I'd say that its applications in that area are sub-par. I don't use any CAD programs, so I can't speak about them, but other design and multimedia apps are below the level of commercial software for Windows. For example, you CAN use software like KDEnlive to edit video, but it's no Adobe Premiere right now.

Of course, you have to pay tons of money for Adobe stuff on Windows. Most Linux apps are free.

mech7
May 22nd, 2007, 10:23 PM
yeah i agree for programming it's ok but the design tools are lacking in linux :(

Rashid584
May 22nd, 2007, 10:28 PM
Where linux will meet your needs is as a server (imho its the best server software in the world, bar none) and as a home desktop alternative. It can also fulfill nearly all office based requirements also (it lacks a decent out of the box database). So basically, suck it and see. :)

In terms of "office databases" (Microsoft Access) Kexi is easily on par...from what I've heard. I don't use databases much/at all outside of school, so correct me if I'm wrong.

I use Linux because I didn't want to use Windows...I'd heard about Unix/Linux before, and so just thought I'd do it. I've never had windows installed on my computer since (when I first installed suse 9.2 i accidentally blew my windows partition)

In terms of what people have described...I *do* think Linux is faster, but I would disagree that you can make statements like its more stable, its faster, or its more user friendly. It varies from distro to distro, and I don't know of any distro that has all of them. Linspire has many applications for it, and its easy to use, but its not free, and not fast. Sidux is an extremely fast system, but not user friendly, and not stable. You get the idea...

Ubuntu is user friendly, relatively stable, has a massive number of free applications for it, is decently fast and is completely free. Its your best bet :)

BTW, you can always run windows apps you need like CAD, or Adobe Photoshop (or premiere...never heard of it but it sounds good just from the name :p) using wine, crossover office, or virtual box. Cedega for games

-Rashid

Rhox
May 22nd, 2007, 10:29 PM
yeah i agree for programming it's ok but the design tools are lacking in linux :(

It's not that bad. A lot of professional designers use Linux for CAD.

prince_alfie
May 22nd, 2007, 10:30 PM
what about ubuntu studio for movie editing? Is it like Final Cut Pro?

Rhox
May 22nd, 2007, 10:36 PM
BTW, you can always run windows apps you need like CAD, or Adobe Photoshop (or premiere...never heard of it but it sounds good just from the name :p) using wine, crossover office, or virtual box.

...That would probably be a bad idea for CAD. Also CAD isn't a specific app.

Rhox
May 22nd, 2007, 10:38 PM
what about ubuntu studio for movie editing? Is it like Final Cut Pro?

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/architect

AndyCooll
May 22nd, 2007, 11:12 PM
I initially switched for reasons of cost. Having used pirated software for years my conscience got the better of me and I wanted to go legit. The problem was that I have quite a few computers. I simply couldn't afford all the OS licences.

However as time as gone on, the open source philosophy has become very important to me.

Some of the reasons why I love Linux are the freedoms that are offered, the ability to have powerful apps for free and to be able to install them on any machine without worrying about licensing issues. And the fact that I can have a complete OS and apps, that does everything Winderz does at a fraction of the cost. Heck, I can even run Winderz apps on my linux box!

Another reason is that fact that I can run the full latest and greatest edition of this Ubuntu distro on this laptop. It's a Pentium III 700MHz with 192mb RAM, yet it still runs fine. I could of course run other optimized versions for older machines if I wanted as well. I doubt if there's a version of Vista or Mac OS X that would run smoothly on this.

:cool:

x911oz
May 22nd, 2007, 11:19 PM
Maybe I will try a dual boot install and see how it goes.

Thanks everyone!

x911oz
May 22nd, 2007, 11:29 PM
I initially switched for reasons of cost. Having used pirated software for years my conscience got the better of me and I wanted to go legit.

That's what I'm concerned about. I want to start a design studio and all i have now are student versions of all the architect's standards. So I estimate on having to spend over 5g to get everything I need.

But I'm also fascinated by the diy ethic of Linux. it seems like the perfect way to kick the Man in the balls.

Rashid584
May 22nd, 2007, 11:35 PM
...That would probably be a bad idea for CAD. Also CAD isn't a specific app.

Haha I know...I meant CAD software

AndyCooll, same here. Initially I didn't even understand let alone care about open source...but now its important to me...I discovered a lot about it. For one, my religion is the most important thing to me, and my religion is an advocate of the open source philosophy :D

-Rashid

eentonig
May 22nd, 2007, 11:36 PM
My main reasons are:

- curiosity
- Don't need the unwanted overhead caused by virusscanners, firewalls, etc, etc.
- easy and centralised software installation and update management. I don't need to hunt the web to find out that I need to patch my home webserver for vulnerability x. My systems checks every day if there are updates for the packages (software) I have installed.
- speed. I actually work faster in linux. The more I get confortable with the cli, the more I notice I works faster and faster. But then, I work in Telecom and I'm used to preffer a cli over a gui anyday.
- Tuning. I can install and tweak every little aspect I want. Allthough I run a fairly standard setup. Here and there I get annoyed by 'default'. It's easy to change them.
- Free. I don't have to rely on stealing (illegal software copies) anymore to do the things I want. I know it's comon practice for a lot of people to hack 'n copy commercial applications because they can't justify the expense for personal usage (Photoshop, Office, ...), I still consider it being theft. Now that I have a means of getting similar results and remain honest, I'm glad to do so.
- Free. If I want, I can download and read (and even alter) the source code about any package I installed on my pc. I rarely do it, because I'm not interested or experienced enough in coding. But as a network/security expert, I am sensitive about unexpected or unwanted traffic going from my pc to the internet. If I do suspect that someone is using his program to collect information I don't want him to have, I can read his program code, make sure it's clean and compile it myself. But, I also have the peace of mind, that due to the central application repositories and how packages are added to those, chances are so small that such a hidden trojan would get passed border control, there will (most likely) never be a reason for me to really do this code digging. A lot of people who are better in it than me and wo actually like doing this, already did this for me.

Hmmm, long post. Think it's time to go to bed.

maniacmusician
May 22nd, 2007, 11:36 PM
That's what I'm concerned about. I want to start a design studio and all i have now are student versions of all the architect's standards. So I estimate on having to spend over 5g to get everything I need.

But I'm also fascinated by the diy ethic of Linux. it seems like the perfect way to kick the Man in the balls.
You also have to think about your business. Unfortunately, due to lack of commercial interest in open source/Linux (and subsequently, lack of interest from design professionals), Linux hasn't been able to put together many design apps that are even equivalent to those in Windows. I suggest that you stick with Windows initially for your work, but start using Ubuntu and getting used to it. Then, find a good open source project that's trying to create the kind of app that you want, and contribute your skill and knowledge as an architect to the program.

The reason Linux is lacking apps like video/sound editing, professional design, and architecture is not because of lack of funding or commercial backing; it's because we don't have enough people that work in those professions using linux and contributing to it.

x911oz
May 22nd, 2007, 11:48 PM
The reason Linux is lacking apps like video/sound editing, professional design, and architecture is not because of lack of funding or commercial backing; it's because we don't have enough people that work in those professions using linux and contributing to it.

hmm. Good to know. There are several commercial applications that I'm fond of that will run on linux, and I don't mind paying for them because I am going to be making money off them.

But several more that don't run on linux natively that I really love and wouldn't want to give up. I understand that I can run them through wine, but how much does performance lag?

maniacmusician
May 22nd, 2007, 11:54 PM
hmm. Good to know. There are several commercial applications that I'm fond of that will run on linux, and I don't mind paying for them because I am going to be making money off them.

But several more that don't run on linux natively that I really love and wouldn't want to give up. I understand that I can run them through wine, but how much does performance lag?
there is no guarantee that you will be able to run them through wine at all. In fact, a majority of software probably doesnt work through Wine.

I don't know what the computing requirements are for CAD and architectural software, but you could try running them in a virtual environment inside Linux. This basically means that you'll be running Windows XP inside Linux when you need it through a Virtual Machine. Nice thing is that you can easily turn a virtual machine on and off while keeping the native OS on.

Would that be a possible solution for you?

Rhox
May 22nd, 2007, 11:59 PM
What kind of architecture are you designing? It may not even really matter if it's ran in wine or a vm.

x911oz
May 23rd, 2007, 01:13 AM
will the virual machine work in a dual boot setup? so I'd have linux with an xp virtual machine + xp in another partition?

x911oz
May 23rd, 2007, 01:14 AM
What kind of architecture are you designing? It may not even really matter if it's ran in wine or a vm.

I'm doing a couple houses and a church.

maniacmusician
May 23rd, 2007, 01:24 AM
will the virual machine work in a dual boot setup? so I'd have linux with an xp virtual machine + xp in another partition?
sure that would work, as long as you have enough disk space to facilitate it. But hard drives are really cheap nowadays, so you could easily afford more. you can get a 320GB hard drive for around $90, so it's practically a steal to get a few.

tanelt
May 23rd, 2007, 01:28 AM
A good reason for using Linux is Beryl, which is a real eye-candy and IMO extremely stable and easy to set up. =)

However in Linux it is often impossible to use the screen resolution and the refresh rate that you want. =\

Tomosaur
May 23rd, 2007, 01:32 AM
A good reason for using Linux is Beryl, which is a real eye-candy and IMO extremely stable and easy to set up. =)

However in Linux it is often impossible to use the screen resolution and the refresh rate that you want. =\

:/

I had no problems with resolution / refresh rate. It can be a pain for some people, yes, but I wouldn't say that the situation is anything other than a freak occurence.

As for Beryl - I don't know much that would benefit an architect :P

Rhox
May 23rd, 2007, 01:46 AM
I'm doing a couple houses and a church.

Then it's probably not going to be a big deal if you use wine or a vm.

koshatnik
May 23rd, 2007, 09:38 AM
In terms of "office databases" (Microsoft Access) Kexi is easily on par...from what I've heard.

That's not a good thing, to be on a par with Access :p Seriously, there is no decent out of the box db for linux. No one who uses databases seriously would use Access.



BTW, you can always run windows apps you need like CAD, or Adobe Photoshop (or premiere...never heard of it but it sounds good just from the name :p) using wine, crossover office, or virtual box. Cedega for games


Emulation for serious windows kit is not good. Its still quite buggy. PS 7 works good in wine, but nothing newer. Even then it has issues. Cedega is a piece of crap, frankly. Seriously, its all about using the right tools. I don't see the point of banging square pegs into round holes just for the sheer bloody mindedness of it. Linux is developing fast, but it doesnt have the serious software needed to compete in specialist areas. One day it will. Until then, stick with what works best.