So, why Linux?

[Noah0504]

So, I'm a long time Windows user, and fan. I also consider myself an advance computer user.

Well, over the years, I've always heard talk about Linux. For the most part, it was all good talk. I always wanted to give it a try, but I was never really ever able to install it. This was only due to the fact that I was using the family computer, and even a dual boot would throw everyone else off.

Well, now I have my own laptop, and I was excited to give Linux a try. I wanted something easy. I consider myself an advance computer user, but Linux was completly new to me. I went with Ubuntu. I messed around with it, and liked it, but I have one question. What is the real advantage to Linux?

Obviously, you have a larger software base on Windows. That statement depends on a few things, but for the most part, it's true. I can run iTunes and Macromedia Dreamweaver on Linux via Crossover or Wine, but the performance isn't as good as running it on Windows. Now, I know if you look hard enough, you can find a nice application to serve any purpose.

Anyway, back to my inital question: Why Linux and not Windows? Someone convince me to switch to Linux for good. (I want to be convinced. I tried using Ubuntu for a few days, but I went back to Windows. I want to use Linux, but...)

Thanks,
Noah

[nemin]

Anyway, back to my inital question: Why Linux and not Windows? Someone convince me to switch to Linux for good. (I want to be convinced. I tried using Ubuntu for a few days, but I went back to Windows. I want to use Linux, but...)

Oh man, there are somemany reasons why to use Linux and not Windows: I could write books about it ;) Well here's a short list:
- it's free
- it's faster
- it looks better
- it's easier and more productive to use
- it's easier to customize and tune
- it's more powerfull

[WildTangent]

because were l33t :P

nah, seriously, i started with a background like you, i consider myself competent with most things windows related. i have owned (and pirated ;) ) every major version of their software to date, including longhorn. the reasons i switched to linux were mostly curiosity (i wanted to find out what half my web design class was talking about :P ), i wanted something new, something different to break up my monotonous windows usage, and i wanted a challenge. many of my geek friends didnt think i had what it took to stick with linux (which i promptly disproved about a month after installing Ubuntu, when i successfully installed Gentoo with nothing but their handbook to guide me. they havent called me a n00b since :D ). if those reasons arent enough, many will tell you because they like the freedom (personally i couldnt care less, i use whatever works for me, and i dont give a f*** about copyrights, and DRM). theyll also tell you that its free in monetary terms, but once again, what windows software i didnt aquire legally, i just pirate anyway (dont no one dare judge me, for thou shalt be ignored :P ). hope that gives you enough reasons

-Wild

[poptones]

Why do you need to be convinced? There's no reason for it. Why linux? Why Windows? You couldn't convince me to go back to windows under threat of imprisonment (no, I wouldn't go to prison I'd just leave the country).

It's like saying "someone convince me to like the blues." Either you get it or you don't, there is no right or wrong - only linux and all the rest.

[Noah0504]

Why do you need to be convinced? There's no reason for it. Why linux? Why Windows? You couldn't convince me to go back to windows under threat of imprisonment (no, I wouldn't go to prison I'd just leave the country).

It's like saying "someone convince me to like the blues." Either you get it or you don't, there is no right or wrong - only linux and all the rest.
Err, by "convince," I just meant tell me a lot of the advantages of using Linux.

[Kvark]

Why switch to linux. Who can better answer that then people who have recently switched to linux, that'd include me. A few of the reasons I switched was...

1. It's easy.
After getting used to features like multiple desktops and tabbed web browsing. Plus messing around with the panels a lot to find out whats best for me. And setting up other things like key shortcuts. It is a LOT easier to use then windows. That is, it goes considerably faster to do what I want to do.

What really made me feel like stepping 10 years into the future when trying linux was checkbox + apply in synaptic vs search + download + install + crack + reboot.

2. Less errors.
For me it is harder to troubleshoot, because I'm an expert at troubleshooting windows but fairly new to linux. But there is a lot less trouble to shoot in the first place. (in my experience, those who are unlucky with hardware support will dissagree)

For someone equally experienced in both it would be easier to troubleshoot linux though. Because windows is closed source, the registry is practically impossible to edit by hand, nobody except microsoft knows the purpose of all the dlls and stuff.

3. Multi tasking.
Windows slows down with too many windows open at once. Linux runs perfectly fine with 4 desktops filled with windows.

4. Security.
I used to be so paranoid that I've had viruses on windows only like twice or so, and never have they managed to cause any damage. I've never got hacked, lost an account in an online game or anything. On windows it was... Firewall, anti virus, anti ad/spyware, popup blocker way before web browsers had it built in, high security settings, email address that is so hard to spell I never get spam, never the same password on two places, and most importantly a lot of common sence.

After switching to linux I've ditched the paranoia and all the security programs (thats saying a lot). Well, except for variated passwords and common sence. The security is waterproof anyway as far as I could test it. At least as long as you are careful with the sudo password and don't have any server programs.

5. The Gimp.
Graphical design is a big factor for me personally. The Gimp beats Photoshop by a clear margin. On the other hand, getting my graphics tablet to work requires compiling drivers from source, something I have not yet figured out how to do.

6. Gedit.
Scripting is another of my interests, and gedit is a lot better then notepad.

7. It's good looking.
You get more then 3 themes, and the themes are not just different colors of the same one!!

[Adrenal]

When I first went over, I came imagining that there would be one clear cut benefit to using Linux over Windows.
Imagine my surprise, that, after weeks of using, there was not one, but several smaller ones.
However, thats just preference.
The reason I went over is philosophical.
All through school, I get told to share things. If you have a bag of candy, you can't eat all by yourself, you have to share it.
Then comes computers, and we get told about piracy. Suddenly, sharing is bad, sharing means you're a bad person. Sharing means you're a criminal.
Thats not the way society should function.
We need that goodwill, that desire to help people, thats what gives us a society and not a dog eat dog jungle.
I have nothing against Microsoft being there and selling their products. Nothing. But when it comes to the point where its 600 dollars for the operating system, and 700 for an office suite, and the only alternative to that is technically 'stealing', then it becomes duty of everyone who can do something, to do something.
As such, I learnt Linux, and, with the help of some of the excellent members of this community, became proficient in it.
Now I share it, set it up so no one needs my help. Runs fine on lower end comps (XFCE is literally GNOME-lite, with added awesomeness).
As such, I went over to Linux for philosophical reasons, as well as boredom.
I stayed for its community, its freedom and its customizability.

[l.tambiah]

I think the main point has been missed. The main reason to use Linux is to have Freedom. What we mean by freedom is the following:


The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).

The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).

The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

STALLMAN, R (2005). The Free Software Definition.
Url: Free Software Definition (http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html)
Accessed: 18th June, 05.

The use of Linux is usually a ethical and philosophical choice, towards these values, UBUNTU sees these values as key to producing a distrubution which gives the users these Freedoms. If we use proprietry software we miss the whole point. We should avoid proprietry software and use alternatives which comply to open source or free software values.

Imagine the scenario where there was no open source or free software we would rely on vendors to patch software, we couldnt rely on other support. Bugs could lay around for ever. How do we know what the code is doing behind the scenes, if we CANT SEE IT.

As a developer proprietry software gives us nothing to learn from, as we can't see source code so we would loose that essential learning opportunity.

Free Software or Open Source does not have to be free in price either, its just many choose to give it away and charge for support.

Linux is a community thing and thats a great thing be a part of, you wont find communities like this in the M$ Camp.

Free Software or open source is great for third world countries too, why should third world countries not benefit from technology. Many countries in poverty simply cant afford M$ products and this is where Linux comes in hand again. Shouldn't computing be for all nations of any creed or class. So you could say proprietry software denies the use for someone who cant afford to buy software, which is unethical in my eyes.

Last of all all Free Software and Open Source complies to WORLD WIDE STANDARDS, Micorsoft make there own, which causes an effect of uncompatibilties between platforms and even web technologies.

A certain concern for me at the moment is many new Linux users dont really understand the real importance of this ethical stance. When you do, only then you will see the real reason to use freesoftware or open source which of course is the base of a system like Ubuntu.

[poptones]

OK then... here's what I like about it.

I'm one of the (lesser) contributors to AVISynth. Actually I say that humbly, I'm the person who kept saying "it needs more tools for editing and compositing" and after listening to myself complain for about a year I added those functions - which, by their popularity, quickly proved how right I was.

So after fighting with yet another reinstall of 200 after yet another security breach from the net (I'm on dialup, a 48K connection, behind a router, and yet my windows box was cracked open and bled data at a whopping 3K a sec for hours as I slept) I finally gave up on windows and said "that's it, I'm not even dual booting I just have to find something that works." It took a while but I settled upon mandrake. Used it for several months and sorta liked it but it was butt ugly and support sucked. So then I read about ubuntu and that was that.

Oh.. anyway... the point about AVISynth and stuff. Well, I really like doing creative work. I've made some money at it but I do it whether there is pay in it or not, like any artist I create because I have to. And my favorite tool for chopping video was, of course, avisynth. And I thought many times of trying to port it to linux. After all, it basically uses the windows video api and that works just fine in wine, it seemed like there wouldn't be much to it at all. But I'm not much of a c programmer and the task just seemed way over my head.

Then one day it dawned on me: mplayer will spit out every frame into a jpeg. And once a video is chopped into a bazillion jpegs you can use image magick to do pretty much ANY damn thing with them. So, I tried it.

Linux is, to me, the ultimate video machine. Every damn thing I need is built in and runs right off the command line. Those complex functions are all part of image magick and if there's anything I need that's not it's a very manageable task to add it myself.

This is very old school so it's probably not a suprise to anyone and frankly I'm amazed I didn't think of all this much sooner, as I actually learned how to do video and 3d modeling work on SGI systems about a decade ago. But I don't think people have an appreciation for just how much power the command line, and all the tools accessible from it, really can mean to "right brain" people.

That's why linux is awesome: no matter where you want to go, there you are.

[Teroedni]

Reason i switched

Windows cost a lot opf money and i was beginning to wonder why i paid over 100£ for a product that wouldnt be stable.
And all the time installing the drivers!!!!!!!!.
Driver for Mouse!!!!!!!! ](*,) Driver for keyboard Driver for sound Driver for Motherboard Driver for graphic board. You had to install atleast 5 different drivers and a lot of crappy programs. I had 10 cds with diffrent drivers for my windows
How many do you think i have i linux: Only one:)

I was also thinking to start learning html and different languages, but gave it up because it was difficult on Windows.

And whats up with the registry. How is it possible. If i was going to clean the registry for old programs i would use atleast 2 days. I think is about 1 million entrys in there or perhapse more :roll:

And what do i do when i dont have the patience to clean the registry every 60 days
Reinstall ofcourse...........But wait Activartion code argh!!
And i can only install 3 times . What if i upgrade Will windows work

And then the spam. Ohh Internet Explorer popup popup
Okay install Opera or Firefox A litlle to many windows ----->Crash
Great

The reason i switched was the activation code. I was sick of Windows little game with punish thoose that actually paid for the product ](*,) ](*,)

I was long an AMIGA fanatic and has always hoped for the Amiga to make an comeback. But now when i starting to use Linux i have discovered that it actually have the same magic that my old Amiga had. I actually found a system that reach up to the old Amigas exelency \\:D/ Yust look at the screensaver in Ubuntu
Marvelous Matrix Screensaver is really cool. And linux has a lot of Graphics program
to choose from. Maybe my creative side wakes up. You know raytrace is free:)

And last the command line. It is really much better than dos window in Windows

[aysiu]

These are the reasons I tried Linux:
1. no spyware, adware
2. better eye candy/ ease of customization

These are the reasons I stayed with Linux:
1. The Ubuntu community
2. Quality free software
3 & 4. The same two reasons I tried it.
5. No activation/registration keys

Ultimately, though, you have to decide what's right for you. We can list all the reasons we use Linux, but if those reasons don't jive with you, stick with Windows. Nothing wrong with that.

[duffman25]

Hi.

I've been using linux/windows for a long time. I got to know Windows first (3.1 in a old 486). I was a huge fan of DOS in that time :D

I'm finishing my computer engineering carrer. In my faculty I had to work with unix systems, specially linux, and I've triyed many distros (mandrake, debian, suse, red hat, fedora...) My problem with linux was that no distro convinced me, everyone had glitches... rpm hell in rpm based distros, having to download a bunch of cd's every time a new version came out, different versions with fewer programs (community, pro, ...) and Debian was too outdated (woody). So I allways went back to windows.

I was using winxp in a unix manner (limited user account with runas scripts & similar things.) and never had mayor problems with viruses & spyware, BUT I have to say windows sw is NOT designed to work that way, (well... almost all) & it was a pain in the a**. Programs aren't supposed to be multiuser (so their installers do what they want & install thing where they want, no true console support (the console can scare newbies, but it's much more faster if you know how to do things), and MS didn't fit my needs so I had to go ahead & find something beter for surfing (firefox), mail (thunderbird), cdrecording (cdburnerxp), etc... (interestingly I always found in open source what I needed.)

Suddently I discovered ubuntu, and you can imagen the rest of the story: I've deleted all windows xp from my pc's (except my sister's because she need it to run uncompatible linux sw).

Now, when I go to a friends house and see their troubles with windows (viruses, spyware, slow startup, slow & defragmented HD, etc) and the difficulties to do things without 3rd party propietary sw... I end up thinking: What a relief!

I love the gnome/debian roots ubuntu has. I love the community, support & the fact that they give me the best of oss in 6 months :D.

[poofyhairguy]

Why Linux and not Windows?

I have a good answer. Sure Linux lacks viruses and spyware, is "free" in both senses, and is very usable.

The real reason for a normal person to switch to Linux is all the free (legal) software.

For example, lets say you need to burn a DVD in Windows. You can:

1. Steal Nero or something like it

2. Buy Nero or something like it.

3. Download a freeware program, with a REALLY high chance it has some spyware.

All of those options suck. You either have to open your wallet, give up your privacy, or lose you morals to do basic things in Windows. In Linux, the problem is solved by legally adding K3B.

So the big advantage of Linux is all the free software. You might say "Windows has even more free software" but most of that stuff is infected by spyware to pay for your use. There are a few good, safe OSS on Windows, but thats all there is on Linux.

Four years ago, I wouldn't have cared about this advantage because I would pirate any program I wanted. The problem with that is that in the fture it might not be tht easy, and then you will have already trained yourself to use pay for stuff. Piracy is how Photoshop got so big.

In Linux, all the software is free of restrictions and spyware. You can apt-get all day without fear. The rest of the advantages of Linux might go away, but the biggest selling point (free software) won't.

Tens of thousands of pieces of free software, for every need my nerdy ass has found.

[aysiu]

All of those options suck. You either have to open your wallet, give up your privacy, or lose you morals to do basic things in Windows. In Linux, the problem is solved by legally adding K3B. I totally agree. My computer came with a CD burner but no CD burning software. It also came with no office suite. Its only image editing program was MS Paint. For SFTP, I had to search around to find a free program that wasn't spyware-ridden (Filezilla). Windows lacks basic, basic applications.

[wrtrdood]

There's a lot of good reasons listed here and I agree with them all but the one that really pushes my buttons is even simpler: choice.

My number one choice? To avoid (or for some of you to escape) Microserfdom. I run the show, not some pickpocket company.

I can choose what type of software I prefer to use. I can sample a wide variety of that software from lots of very creative developers with unrestricted use. I don't always find something perfect but if it's close enough to my needs and fits my preferences I have the choice to modify the software as I see fit if I want to. Oh! And I might actually learn something in the process that opens up entirely new horizons to me.

I can choose what my interaction to this fascinating computing device looks like and how it operates. Whether I want a simple command line or an eye-candy store, the choice is mine and there are literally hundreds of varieties to choose from. Don't find what you like? Ha! Create something new. One of my big peeves in this arena is that it's enough being nagged by various people around me at work or home. I really don't need a machine doing it too. Take your "balloons" and stuff them!

I can run this lovely OS on any number of hardware platforms. I realize that this is not such a big deal for a lot of people but having common ground is a "good thing". Very little chance of any compatibility with an IBM Mainframe if you're running MS Windows. (yes, Linux runs on that too :) )

That's another thing that Linux gives you: ultimate control. Yes, it's quite possible to break things, sometimes with disastrous results. But hey, you can almost always fix it. The comments here about community are ablsolutely correct. Support in the Linux world is phenomenal. You are definitely not alone. I've visited and participated in a lot of different groups of that world and the folks that use Ubuntu are some of the friendliest and most helpful you can find anywhere. Remember that the next time you're on the phone to M$ tech support (Oh! That's right. Only the elite can do that.)

Seriously though, in the final analysis, you are the only one that can decide why you would switch. For me, M$ OSes are "johnny-come-lately" players on the computing scene. I'm biased. I never met a Windows I liked. But creating, experimenting, and learning to me is what desktop computing is all about and, IMHO, Microsoft squelches that.

[DarthBagel]

More stable
No Viruses
No Spyware
Free
Easier to customize
... And I don't have to listen to Bill Gates dictate how my computer should run for me.

Choice is a good thing.

[Noah0504]

You've all given me an idea of the many advantages of running Linux. I decided on running a dual boot between Windows XP and Ubuntu. I think I'm going to try to make Ubuntu my primary OS, while using Windows only when I really need to.

Also, Linux has given me the idea to get an older (15+ years) laptop up and running.

[qalimas]

There isn't one huge reason to move to Linux, but hundreds of smaller ones. One of the biggest being, Ubuntu is free ;) There are a lot of smaller ones that made me switch, such as malware -- who doesn't hate that? Everything I could possibly want is a few keystrokes and a click away with Synaptic. I don't have to go to some warez site and download a virus scanner just to keep my pirated copy of Windows safe. I can't afford that, I can barely afford my lunch! (I'm not of age you see) Anyway, the biggest thing that brought me over ath the time was Quanta Plus, as I was learning HTML, this was a good program to me. Many years later, when Quanta got better and better, I played more with it on spare computers. Well, needless to say I got curious, the speed was better, Quanta never crashed. Was all of Linux this way? I had to find out. I pulled so many all nighters, downloading and trying as mnay Linux distros I could. All of them were rock solid, none ever crashed on me.

In short, open source software is stable, it's updated more often, it's all around a better solution. Woudl you rather a team of people who get the same amount of money to make what they do no matter what to program your office suite, or hundreds of peopel who do it becuase they love it and want to be proud to say they made it. The second group sounds liek they'd do a better job, imo.

[bored2k]

More stable
No Viruses
No Spyware
Free
Easier to customize
... And I don't have to listen to Bill Gates dictate how my computer should run for me.

Choice is a good thing.
I completely agree.

Want to know my quick answer to "Why do you even bother with Linux?" ? Here it is: -Because _I_ can.

I'm a person that likes to learn new and productive things. I started to realize how I have been _NOT_ learning anything for years, and here I am, moderating the Linux distribution with the -currently- higher momentum.

"There is no knowledge that is not power." Ed Boon & John Tobias (Mortal Kombat 3).

[NeoChaosX]

It's fun to mess with. Love customizing my Linux install the way I want.

Free programs that do stuff I would've had to pay or crack for in Windows helps, though.

[benplaut]

Also, Linux has given me the idea to get an older (15+ years) laptop up and running.

i wish you my sincere best luck with that one...

i have no luck with my young 11 year old Thinkpad :roll:

--

i seem to have come from an almost identical situation as yours- i was very proficient at windows, but had to work with a family computer, and thee fore never got to install. i got my own laptop, and attempted a daul boot (mine, however, messed up the windows partition). my first impulse was to do a factory restore, but, [un?]fortunately, the disk kept crashing [-X . i decided to go in cold turkey and install Ubuntu (i was using SuSE 9.2). i haven't gone back since. alot of people say that the joy of linux is tweaking, but i tweaked for about a week, and have hardly done any since (i did some today, the first time in a month).

the reasons to switch:

Speed- much more efficient, especially while multitasking

Programs: installed from one central location (95% of the time, anyway), and all... FREE! (i did the illegal and cracks thing, but then a friend of mine got caught, so i stopped)

1337 factor/it looks cool to be running it: there's no denying it. even though it wasn't my origional intention, people respect me more when it comes to computers

iCandy: if your hardware is mid-high end new, or high end slightly old, the eye candy obtainable from linux is incredible. rivaled by Mac, but i consider Mac iCandy to just be overkill...

Viruses/Spyware/Adware/etc- none of it... you know that already

Hassle free: except for downloading software updates (all from one place- very convenient), i haven't done any maintenece on my system in about... 4 months? and that was when i stopped doing the major tweaking :roll:

[poofyhairguy]

Free programs that do stuff I would've had to pay or crack for in Windows helps, though.

It funny. when I was young I hated the BSA and other organizations that hunted down people for using pirated software.

Now I cheer them on, because the more people can't use warez then the more they will use free (both kinds) software.

Rock on intellectual property Nazis.

[Lord Illidan]

First of all..good luck with that 15 year old laptop..it is almost as old as I am!!

Second..

I took up Linux as a challenge, and I went through one and a half hellish years where I installed and re-installed distros all over the place...
you can read about it in my blog http:jeanazzopardi.blogspot.com, and post a few comments, please...

Also, I feel that Linux, apart from being a great idea, is also cool...
And, I have achieved something by learning it, also, I have learned more about computing..