Why do you choose Ubuntu over Windows

[NoSmokingBandit]

good support is not the problem with linux, the problem (in my experience) is that there is always something going wrong. If i have to work for a whole day just to get a new monitor working then i have successfully wasted a whole day. On windows i would just be able to plug it in and go.

[dustman]

good support is not the problem with linux, the problem (in my experience) is that there is always something going wrong. If i have to work for a whole day just to get a new monitor working then i have successfully wasted a whole day. On windows i would just be able to plug it in and go.

or not "plug it in and go" :) . I have a toshiba laptop and windows doesn't recognize my sound card and video card. + i've had enough of window's crashes and all sorts of bugs. the only thing i miss is gaming :-\"

[joe.turion64x2]

or not "plug it in and go" :) . I have a toshiba laptop and windows doesn't recognize my sound card and video card. + i've had enough of window's crashes and all sorts of bugs. the only thing i miss is gaming :-\"
A Vista laptop, isn't it?

[RebounD11]

or not "plug it in and go" :) . I have a toshiba laptop and windows doesn't recognize my sound card and video card. + i've had enough of window's crashes and all sorts of bugs. the only thing i miss is gaming :-\"

A friend of mine has a Toshiba laptop (a 17 inch wide-screen one - don't remember the name exactly) with Windows XP (the one that came installed along with the laptop, not one that he installed, or got from a friend). His network doesn't work (wired or wireless, not even bluetooth), Device Manager doesn't even detect them.

Yet he won't switch to Linux (not even try it)... his loss :D

[213374U]

I also run dual boot with XP and Ubuntu. I prefer Ubuntu over XP due to ease of use. If you take the time and set up Ubuntu to run the way you want, using your computer becomes fun again. Whenever I boot into XP to run a Windows native program, the OS makes me feel "trapped" in a way.

I don't know how long you've been using Ubuntu, but take the time to sit down and set up your system the way you want..... you'll hate booting into XP :P

[SouthernPott]

I dual boot with XP home right now. Mostly I put Ubuntu on for curiosity after reading about Linux for the last few years. Much of it is still way beyond me. For the most part the set up went pretty smoothly once I made up my mind to reformat the hard drive and reinstall everything. That was the most difficult decision as I wasn't sure I knew enough to put one OS on let alone two and then to make sure I put everything back on the Windows partition that I was used to. I would put my skill level at somewhere between a casual to average computer user.

Haven't had any big problems with XP, no BSDs, but it has never seemed to shut down cleanly, something always holds it up. I have always gotten a lot of those "error report" messages. Nothing catastrophic, just annoying.

I don't use anything that requires Windows so I am not finding Ubuntu a hardship at all. On the contrary, I find it to be a much more efficient system from startup to shutdown. Barring hardware breakdowns Linux should offer me something for years while Windows has pretty much maxed out my computer. I think I just meet the requirements for running Vista. The next MS operating system will bypass me completely.

Linux in general probably isn't as user friendly as it needs to be in the long run but then neither is Windows. Take two plain box computers with no OS or software installed to any reasonably intelligent person and ask them to put Windows on one and Ubuntu on the other(pick a person who has never installed anything on a computer). I think they will both be equally easy and equally complex. The terminology is confusing on both sides until you take some time and learn it. Not every piece of hardware works smoothly. Some adjustments have to be made even in recognized hardware.

Windows has to keep increasing so that MS can keep selling software along with other vendors and computer manufacturers needing to sell new packages. Linux takes a different tack, realizing there is already plenty of perfectly good hardware out there that just needs to have a better way of running.

I don't have anything against MS or any other big company but if they work to leave me behind because I don't need a quad core processor and 4 gigs of RAM, I have to find another option. Fortunately, besides hardware costs, it will also save me maintenance time and subscription costs if I change over completely.

Learning Ubuntu hasn't been error free for me but if I recall learning to use Windows wasn't either. I am not sure if I will ever operate Windows free but I am working toward Windows less. Just because I can.

[Tavorisch]

honestly the only reason to use xp is for games,,... being raised up
on computer gaming,, wolfenstein quake 1 etc.. you can do it with wine.(half life 2 and mods etc)
and I don't care what anyone says.. it is not nearly as nice looking as windows.. but they ported it over to open GL 3.0 (DUH ORANGE BOX IS ON PS3) just use linux and let valve know!! i would buy orange box again if they ported it to linux! if enough people do it.. eventually the question will be, If you are running linux, why do you still have that xp cd and key lying around you silly goose.

[Martyn Thomas]

Why? why not. i mean both are perfectly good OS. i find Linux to run smoother, and is far more attractive than Xp or Vista, the mac OS X seems somewhere in the middle of windows and Linux, with you being able to play a larger selection of mainstream games, but still have the sheer beauty of Linux.

Linux isn't problem free, but you seem to find far less problems while running linux.

I myself have a dedicated installation of Ubuntu (gutsy gibbon) on my laptop, which i use for college work, and a dedicated Xp desktop computer, for gaming, which i'm hoping to throw away soon.

I think its down to preference, some people don't seem to want the freedom of Linux...

Though i must admit it is fun pointing out windows flaws to the narrowminded people that instantly despise Linux and OS X, even though they havent used them.

[lvleph]

good support is not the problem with linux, the problem (in my experience) is that there is always something going wrong. If i have to work for a whole day just to get a new monitor working then i have successfully wasted a whole day. On windows i would just be able to plug it in and go.

Try downgrading from Vista to XP and tell me everything just works. It took me a week to get my sound and wireless to work. It took me one day to get them working on Ubuntu. Oh and as far as support, I never get much help when I call into support. They never seem to know what is going on. When I got my Gateway with Vista, and wanted to downgrade, they wouldn't help me with drivers, because they didn't support XP for my machine.

[evil316]

Gaming was the only thing keeping me on Windows. Now with all the gaming consoles I see no reason to keep windows. It's slow, a memory hog, and everything you do in windows you do the windows way. With Linux you do things your way. Linux speaks MY language instead of me having to speak the windows disfunctional language. My wife and kids agree as well. They prefer Ubuntu to Windows XP/Vista. No more constant lockups, hiccups, etc. Plus I can run all the software on Ubuntu I ran on windows and it's free instead of paying $1000 which is what it would cost if I paid for it. The only advantage now is that you can get a lot of open source software for windows and frankly, now that Linux is so user friendly I wish that stuff didn't even work on Windows so people would use a real operating system like Linux. As far as support goes, I'll tell you this much, any problem I've run into with Ubuntu, a quck google search and I've got my answer, now that's on demand support if you ask me. Windows software creation is driven by the financial market. Is there enough money out there to support software for this? If not, sorry you won't see it. With Linux if someone is smart enough to create it and wants it then everyone has access to it. When it comes to desktops the choice is simple. GNU/Linux wins hands down. Oh, and I've been a system administrator on Windows, Unix, and VMS for over 10 years so I do know a little bit about computers.

[burt_57]

honestly the only reason to use xp is for games,,... being raised up
on computer gaming,, wolfenstein quake 1 etc.. you can do it with wine.(half life 2 and mods etc)
and I don't care what anyone says.. it is not nearly as nice looking as windows.. but they ported it over to open GL 3.0 (DUH ORANGE BOX IS ON PS3) just use linux and let valve know!! i would buy orange box again if they ported it to linux! if enough people do it.. eventually the question will be, If you are running linux, why do you still have that xp cd and key lying around you silly goose.
Agree ...I only use WinX for game......beside that Ubuntu al the way :guitar:

[linfidel]

I have two computers, XP and Ubuntu, with a KVM switch, so I can use either, or both almost at the same time if I want. I mostly run Ubuntu gutsy, because
1. It's nicer looking with the desktop effects;
2. It's more productive with multiple virtual desktops;
3. It's quicker for much of what I do, such as web browsing. This may be because I don't need to have a resident anti-virus program running all the time.
4. It's easier to customize everything the way I like it.
5. It's free. This may not matter now, since I have XP already, but I don't have Vista, and I don't want to pay for it (for me, my wife, and my son).
6. It has a powerful command line, which is sometimes handy.
7. I'm a programmer, and linux is a great development environment.

There are still a few things I need to do in Windows, but that will eventually change. I have a Canon color printer, and Canon scanner, which don't work with linux (guess what brand I won't buy again!). And, of course, there's Quicken.

If I needed to, I'd install an XP VM on linux to run those things I need, but so far, I don't need to do that. I don't play action games - I'm more of a puzzle solver, and linux is one big game for me, just like Windows used to be.

[Photonic Nature]

If I needed to, I'd install an XP VM on linux to run those things I need.

Convert Physical Machines to Virtual Machines – Free!

Use the intuitive wizard-driven interface of VMware Converter to convert your physical machines to virtual machines. VMware Converter quickly converts Microsoft Windows based physical machines and third party image formats to VMware virtual machines. It also converts virtual machines between VMware platforms. Automate and simplify physical to virtual machine conversions as well as conversions between virtual machine formats with VMware Converter.

* Convert Microsoft Windows based physical machines and third party image formats to VMware virtual machines
* Complete multiple conversions simultaneously with a centralized management console
* Easy to use wizards to minimize the number of steps to conversion

Download the data sheet for more information or download the free VMware Converter and try it for yourself.

:KS http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/

[DonLorenzo]

His point against windows was that the user HAD to buy ms office. Thats simply not true. I hate it when people use blatantly invalid points to win an argument.

The NoSmokingBandit does, indeed, have a good point. There is lots of open source software that has been ported to Windows. This is a good thing.

For the last 2 years or so that I ran Windows full time I replaced a number of Windows applications with open source equivalents. Doing this helped make the conversion to Linux much easier. In the end, I had only two Windows applications that I did not have Linux equivalents that met my needs: Quicken and Keynote.

Interestingly, Quicken is a closed source proprietary application. Keynote, however, is an open source application, but it is Windows only. See: http://keynote.sourceforge.net --- The conversion issues for both Quicken and Keynote are going to take quite a while to solve.

Begin Rant

The real underlying issues for me in driving my conversion to Linux were these:
Microsoft is in bed with the entertainment industry to lock you out of music and video you already own. Further, new material will come completely locked down such that you can only use it on "approved" hardware, only on one platform, only when and where they see fit. Worse, new stuff you've paid for can be taken from you without compensation, never to be viewed/heard by you again ... See "Plays for Sure (http://ubuntuforums.org/newreply.php?do=postreply&t=57494)".

Microsoft's business practices with respect to both customers and competitors is so mean-spirited and predatory as to have caused the entire company to be convicted in US federal court of felony anti-trust violations. Their worst practices persist even in the face of court oversight.

The EU (European Union) has fined Microsoft hundreds of millions of dollars for anti-competitive practices.

Microsoft has paid hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars to settle patent infringement lawsuits in which Microsoft is said to have stolen ideas from others to gain unfair advantage. ... ok, ok, don't get me started on the patent system. True, some of their settlements were based on unknowing infringement, others were not.

Microsoft has attempted to stack standards bodies (ISO) to get its flawed specification of OOXML approved as a "standard" for office application data formats.

Microsoft, by hook or by crook, have gotten state employees investigated (unsuccessfully) because they had the good sense to recommend ODF as a document standard.

Microsoft have paid for "impartial consulting reports" that promote their products as "better" than competing products.

Microsoft appears to have coerced and/or paid to have domain registrars host parked domains on Microsoft servers where registrars were formerly using Linux or BSD (GoDaddy comes to mind here) to get the stats for IIS (MS web server) to look better.

Microsoft rattles its sabres about how Linux violates 200-something Microsoft patents, but won't disclose the patents. FUD: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Their goal is to slow the adoption of Linux in business (ok, maybe not illegal, but certainly unethical).

Microsoft appears to be using proxy agents, such as SCO, to cast further FUD on Linux by having an "expendable ally" sue over the true ownership of Linux (see: http://www.groklaw.org).

The list of Microsoft's illegal and/or unethical behavior is long, ugly, brutal, unethical, immoral, deceptive, coercive, illegal... I cannot think of enough adjectives to describe it. Worse, I cannot imagine just exactly how Microsoft would/could screw me next. Worst is that my government lets them continue the unlawful practices in the face of obvious anti-trust violations(!) Judge Jackson where are you now that we need you!

Microsoft's prices are out of bounds for what you get. There is no reasonable justification for their pricing.

The fundamental design principles for Windows are hopelessly flawed such that it can never be fixed. The security issues caused by the design principles used, to wit: use of scripting languages in both web and applications exposes the core operating system to privilege escallation attacks; buffer overflow attacks; ... Worse, by integrating Internet Explorer with the operating system directly to control system function, no privilege escallation faults even needs to be exploited by the bad guys to compromise the system: a simple buffer overflow attack using malformed data input will do the trick in many cases. This cannot be fixed in any reasonable time, for any reasonable amount of money. Broken as designed. I simply will not tolerate the exposure.In the end, my motivation for converting to full time Linux were for reasons other than simply: "Windows does the job I want". Moral, ethical, and cost issues drove most of the decision for me. --- If Windows works for you, then, by all means use it. At the same time, I'd suggest that you keep glancing over your shoulder to try and figure out exactly how Microsoft is going to stab You in the back..

End Rant
Thanks for listening. This of course is JMHO, YMMV. Form your own opinion.

[NoSmokingBandit]

The NoSmokingBandit does, indeed, have a good point. There is lots of open source software that has been ported to Windows. This is a good thing.


Why thank you! :)
I use windows (gasp!) because linux always screws up something. I love open-source and try to use it as much as possible, for example OOo is installed on every machine i own, i love that program, but at the same time i have to use windows because its the only os that actually works for me. I love linux (specifically ubuntu) but i find that i troubleshoot all sorts of stupid stuff when im using it (like the fact that i have never successfully written a cd under any ubuntu release).

[Brian Dempster]

It works!
It is fun!
It is easy!
My kids love it!
I love the Cube!
No Viruses!
So the question is, if you have Ubuntu, why do you use linux?:confused:

[criskat777]

Man i just don't think i can add anything new but i will try to do my best : No virus and buy that i mean no antivirus need, no defrag and i don't mean every wensday at 3:00am i mean no defrg. ,no cost for new software, security. If you don't want to replace Win. just install it in virtualbox in Win. i have it like that on a triboot Suse, Ubuntu with Win in virtualbox and Windows Vista with Ubuntu in virtualbox. it works sweet just make sure you install Guest Additions it makes life so much easier.

[Flying caveman]

Because my Linux doesn't spontaneously F. up. If something breaks I'm pretty sure I did it, and I have an idea of what I did to cause it.

Actually I went out to the garage to use my XP computer to transfer some VHS tapes to mpeg. I thought it would be easier, WTF windows media player can't play mpeg?

XP chokes if I plug in my ntfs formatted external usb hard drive. totally hangs until I unplug it.

To hard to figure out how to share folders over the network with Windows.

So generally, I would say I find my Ubuntu easier to use.

Why do you use XP?

[ubutufan]

I used to be a so called "experienced xp user". In the past year or so, I decided to play around with a number of distros. It took a month or so to realize that using Linux, sky is the limit. I then forced myself to a laptop with feisty only. For business purposes everything was working.
But if you want some more stuff like games (I don't but my son does) or camera working properly then you may be disappointed.
Today I have a triple boot laptop. Gutsy as default, XP (with virtual Vista installed-waste of time believe me) and PCLINUX. The last one only for practicing reasons with KDE. XP is there because of the games my son is playing and because of the webcam that I use to chat when I travel. Regrettably the webcam function in Gutsy is not -YET- up to par.
The most controversial of all issues relating to Linux vs Windows is free vs. paid software. For those of us that like and enjoy Linux, it is a big mistake to argue on the free issue. We are -unintentionally- undermining the beauty and hard work done by all the Linux programmers in this world.

[linfidel]

... I love linux (specifically ubuntu) but i find that i troubleshoot all sorts of stupid stuff when im using it (like the fact that i have never successfully written a cd under any ubuntu release).I understand what you're saying - but it does get better, at least it has for me. I still have 2 systems on a KVM switch, and I use both regularly.

But I wonder why you have trouble writing CDs; I don't know much about it on ubuntu, but I've written several with no problems. I just use whatever program comes up, usually. For ISOs, I love being able to right click, and select write to disk.

I also love how fast Firefox runs on my ubuntu system compared to XP. But still, there are things I do on my XP system that I either can't do on Ubuntu, or just not as well.

[mellowd]

I use ubuntu as my server. Still using XP on my main box mainly because I use it mostly for games

[salefish]

I have not read every post on this thread. I will none the less reply with a few very good and obvious reasons to switch to Ubuntu.
1. Windows XP, and Vista cost more than 100 each to "rent". Yes I mean rent. That long and arduous license agreement no one ever reads in Windows states that you do not fully own that copy your are just granted the use of it. Ubuntu is free, to own
2. Vista is a black mark on computing, it lets the computer tell you what to do, regardless of what you want. It updates when it wants, it shuts down when it wants. If you decide to tell XP to wait it will bug you till you are harassed into doing what it wants. My computer is not in charge of me. Ubuntu asks for permission, just once
3. XP was a resource hog, and Vista is much much worse not to mention Office and most of the other Microsoft products. I bought a new Toishiba laptop with Vista preinstalled, the processor was working so hard it burned the bottom of the computer and my leg with the heat coming off of it. I switched to Ubuntu and no heat issues what so ever

[NoSmokingBandit]

I understand what you're saying - but it does get better, at least it has for me. I still have 2 systems on a KVM switch, and I use both regularly.

But I wonder why you have trouble writing CDs; I don't know much about it on ubuntu, but I've written several with no problems. I just use whatever program comes up, usually. For ISOs, I love being able to right click, and select write to disk.

I also love how fast Firefox runs on my ubuntu system compared to XP. But still, there are things I do on my XP system that I either can't do on Ubuntu, or just not as well.

Firefox is amazing on ubuntu. I've been using my computer without anything unix-based for almost a month now... Its tough, so i decided to give osx86 a try. It actually works fairly well. I havent had time to really work at it but its very promising. Unix can do some things better and NT can do other things better, so why not utilize them both?

[hodge24]

I've been using computers for a good few years. I've been through Sinclair's ZX81, Spectrum 48k, 128k, Commadore Amigas, and finally 386, 486 etcetera...

When I first started using Windows (henceforth referred to as Windozzze), I thought M$ were joking, but battled on none the less. Through various incarnations of bad code, I waited for a stable, usable version, but unfortunately, and conversely, the joke has gotten worse over the years, with no punch line to sweeten a bitter wait...

I've been experimenting with Linux on and off for the past 10 years or so, and have worked many times in a Unix environment, and have always found, with no exceptions, that *NIX environments generally defecate, from a not inconsiderable height, over every version of Windozzze combined, multiplied by an incomprehensibly large number.

I'm now incredibly happy that I've installed and successfully configured Ubuntu 64 bit on my laptop, and am able to use the computer to its full potential. (For a laugh, I tried installing 64 bit Windozzze. My sides still hurt...)

So, to conclude, Linux is stable, robust, secure, fast, easy to use, opens the full potential of your computer, does everything you need better (with the exception of gaming, but I'm confident that even this won't be an issue soon), and {insert your own superlatives here}.

Windozzze is, well, it just is. Unfortunately.

Hasta la Linux Victoria Siempre! Or something.

[Blessed_Coffee]

With windows I felt like I didn't own a copy of an OS, but microsoft simply lent it to me to use my computer.

Besides, it was just annoying.

[lisati]

I'm a fan of dual-boot on my laptop.

Amongst other things, I like Ubuntu for the following reasons:

Previously mentioned security issues (significantly less risk of something nasty sneaking on to the system unannounced, etc etc etc)
\ Choice of GUIs available
Baffle the non-technically-minded friends and family members
Stability
Great support through forums such as this


I keep XP around for software that I can't be bothered finding Linux equivalents for or that I can't be botthered trying to get up and running with a Windows emulator; and just in case someone else needs to borrow my machine who would be baffled by a different operating environment.

[Shinbu-Otaku]

might aswell add my 2 cents here (what an american expression coming from a Londoner lol)

there are 2 reasons me and my dad dual boot XP and Ubuntu (we have seperate computers btw)

1) My brothers school uses M$, as at the moment this is the main OS supported by companies/government institutes, so i had to dual boot for him, i point-blank refuse to use Windows, except for when i am at work (once again, my point applies here)

2) My dad has a couple of programs that i am in the progress of debugging to get working on Ubuntu via Wine, as he needs these for his day-to-day usage.

Other than that, i would quite happily drop M$, as to be honest they annoy me and they way they throw there money around, like 'We know Vistas rubbish, but theres a big pile of money on that table and a copy of Vista Premium, when i turn round i wonder if they will go' or in the case of the game console market 'oh, the ps3 and Wii are obviously better than us and they both have quite loyal long-time fanbases, but here is a large pile of money, im sure you can make extra/exclusive content now mr games company', it angers me soooo much.

Also, Linux NEVER make stupid problems for themselves, like the Vista 'Kill Switch' that is now stopping legitmate users from using it as it thinks they are illegal, or the plentiful holes in IE.

(i think my last statement alone justifies using Linux over Windows, but once again, it all goes down to opinion and your want to expand your computing horizons)

[perixx]

I use ubuntu as my server. Still using XP on my main box mainly because I use it mostly for games

I've been into playing around with GAMING under LINUX a little lately... although it's sometimes a bit tricky to get things running, many modern (paid) games run under Linux - I've not tested all of them, of course.

But Doom3 is really an easy one and works almost as fluently as under XP (with ATI drivers!) - maybe at 88% performance - good enough for me. Only annoying thing is that savegame-info is written into some doom3.dll / doom3.x86 file, which prevents using savegames of one OS in the other.
And that my new Eizo S1931-SH TFT needs V-sync, which slurps away a few FPS, naturally.

From what you can read on the Unreal Engine's homepage, this game engine supports Linux by standard! Unfortunately, not many software vendors make use of this (e.g. obviously, Ubisoft isn't)!

Serious Sam 1st,2nd and 2 will be the next project - let's see how they perform - seem to be a little more tricky to install. Also DosBox will be interesting!
UT4 is said to be natively supported as well...

Freedroid and FreedroidRPG ARE Linux-native, as MANY other cool games.

WoW is also playable very well with Wine I've heard (though I don't know, if natively). Feel ya free to add some of your own experiences and info on Linux-gaming!

perixx

[linfidel]

Something new happened with a friend at work that makes us both appreciate Linux even more. He was installing Ubuntu into a VMWare player VM, and it hung up for some reason near the end, before getting grub installed. Yet my friend was able to mess around with it, and get it to boot. I'm pretty sure that there's very little chance of that happening with Windows.

It's a nice feeling that if something goes wrong, you can still probably get the system to run. I love being able to put in a CD with grub, or something like the RIP CD, and boot the system from that.

[weblordpepe]

http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=52639&d=1197166645

[mohomeboy]

After using ms os's from ms dos to windows xp, started playing with ubuntu couldnt get it to work on my nvida card. played around with other linux distros, got to know the system. learnt some commands and setting configs, went back to ubuntu, got it working. Have it on my pc and my laptop, loving it especially compiz. dual booting for now on my pc, and have no ms shytems on my laptop - going to install vista (only because I fix pcs for a side income), only reason windows on my pc is for games and usenet, once i figure usenet out it will be just for games.

Anything windows can do Linux can do it better! (besides games for now, developers will start making games for linux soon, as everyone is switching to linux insted of vista these days.

Ironically, I posted this from windows - only because I needed to download something from my newsgroups.

[Kementari]

Games are the only reason I keep windows. I do pay attention to the progress of games on WINE, but the games I play don't run smoothly enough.

I did however setup a kubuntu file server/firewall/router on an old HP that was tossed my way.

[sloggerkhan]

I think the question should be 'If you have Ubuntu, why do you use Windows XP?'

For me, Ubuntu overall works much better, is much more customizable, makes more sense, is easier to use, and is easier to maintain.

[linfidel]

. . . Ironically, I posted this from windows - only because I needed to download something from my newsgroups.So, out of curiosity, what app do you use for newsgroups?

I've been a big user of newsgroups for about 15 years, although I've slacked off with the discussions the last couple of years. Started with rn in unix, then tried them all in Windows, but Agent is the one I used for discussions. Still do sometimes. I've used linux readers, which do for simple discussions, but, IMO, nothing beats easynews for binaries. It costs a little, but it's worth it to me.

[afljafa]

Linux for Mythtv and SMEServer.

Windows for the Desktop (simply because at the end of the day the various nix desktops can`t compete in the real business world)

[chips24]

linux is fun lol

[afljafa]

linux is fun lol

Hah - It`s fun until something goes wrong - Then it sux.

[chips24]

ummm its fun

[chips24]

yeah .......i agree 6-6

[perixx]

Linux sux if something blows up and you don't know your way around (speaks: using the bash/terminal, permissions and filesystem).

I'm just beginning to understand a few things here and there but I've already been able to iron out quite a few dents (I've inflicted my system with myself mostly) so far, using the great forums here!
:¬]

On the other hand, if Windows jerks it'll probably be much more serious; e.g. if system files get corrupted. Interestingly enough - I've yet got to see a system restore point actually working like it's supposed to do under XP; a 'saved' registry isn't worth anything usually, unless you use some serious tool (like 'erunt') instead of Regedit's backup mode. And you don't want to do a repair with your XP-CD. Using the recovery console is at least as cryptic as the Linux console for the normal user.

Because of the modularity of Linux you can easily maintain it and even repair or modify components while the system's running - imagine to exchange the explorer-integrated desktop in Windows this way... Windows is fancy - Linux is magic =]

If you don't know Windows you are likely one of the many re-installation candidates out there, that set up their system new every time they get error messages at startup or similar. Even if you're as ignorant in terms of Linux - this one installs a lot faster and also sets up the apps quicker again, due to the excellent repository-support! :)

perixx

[MoToR]

1st of all the answer to the question:
The actual reason I installed Linux is that I'm taking an Intro to Systems Programming course in a university where we (students) are forced... well, strongly encouraged to compile our homeworks on UNIX.

There's a server provided and terminal access granted etc. etc. But Linux on my laptop sounded to me like a much better idea, since we get i386 Linux object files for our home assignments as well as server x64 versions.

Now my 5 cents to the Windows/Linux discussion - I'm well experienced with Windows and new to Linux. When a new Windows comes out I install/reinstall betas frequently, but after RTM I usually reinstall Windows once a year+ and it mostly happens because of hardware upgrade, rather than because of any kind of problem. Which means it is possible to live with Windows in peace especially with 2k/XP/Vista.

I don't reaaly understand people saying Windows is unstable/bugs/crap/problems, that's why I'll switch to/I work on Linux. IMO they work on Linux, becuse their tasks can luckily be performed on Linux with it's "volunteer development" and still rather limited (really no offence) functionality. It's not wise to deny that Windows is a working system that has vast variety of powerfull software for it and thus provides almost any kind of home/small business and even corporate functionality.

However, I installed Linux on a spare HDD of my IBM ThinkPad X20 and I'm extremely glad that I've finally entered Linux community because 1st of all - it's always good learn something new, 2nd - because Linux is developing and there's a hope it will be as fucntional as Windows one day, and when it will be, maybe, I'll be a bit experienced with it too which can be only good. 3rd - even today there're real tasks that can be performed well on Linux by user like me (there's no need to mention, that majority of super-computers and lots of servers run Linux, because we discuss switching from _WinXP_ to Linux here).

I'm glad I have Linux on my laptop and I play with it and work on it every spare minute, but it seems to me as a long way (not endless hopefully) till I and users like me will be able to completely "switch" from Windows to Linux on their main computer.

[perixx]

Hi there...


Linux with it's "volunteer development" and still rather limited (really no offence) functionality.

Hm. To be perfectly honest, I can't make sense out of this statement. In Linux, there is much more diversity than what you describe here. I really don't see how commercial distributions like Redhat and Suse are "volunteer development" in any way.

Apart from that, in many aspects, Linux is less limited and restrictive than Windows (e.g. when it comes to DRM-content) and it will be even more in future. Not to mention that you keep in control over your own PC and your personal data - Windows is made for making money, regardless how (or if) that serves your needs.
Maybe most important: in terms of personalization, Windows is at the losing end, even more with each new version.


It's not wise to deny that Windows is a working system that has vast variety of powerfull software for it
Who's denying implicitnesses? While being on the market for over 20 years, with hundrets of corporates working on software for Windows, one should be able to expect that.

:-s I think you should mention that the open-source community has achieved almost similarly powerul applications in some disciplines - often in a shorter time and naturally at the fraction of the costs of Windows-related companies - (e.g. Gimp, Blender, OpenOffice) even if not that ergonomically advanced, at times. One also has to count in commercial Linux developments like Cedega and Linux-native games - you really can't deny there's ALSO a lot of powerful software availible for Linux... and most of it is FREE - like in 'free beer' :)


Linux is developing and there's a hope it will be as fucntional as Windows one day, and when it will be, maybe, I'll be a bit experienced with it too
Well, I'm no Linux-crack myself (far from that) but consider the follwing:
I've been using Windows for years - now only for games (transferring more to Linux each day) and for certain programs I bought for XP. I'm using Linux now for about a year or so and Ubuntu for a few months. Feeling ready to make the final switch soon - XP will only reside for nostalgical reasons on the HDD :tongue:

While Windows 'just works' (actually that's simply not true - codecs, third-party-software, configurations and updates needed),
with Ubuntu 'I just FEEL SAVE', knowing an altruistic community watching my back =]


perixx

[KD6TZF]

there are a lot... really

a few practical ones:
no viruses, adware, spyware... whatever all that is called
you don't need to reinstall, just keep upgrading. at least debian based distros such as ubuntu
stability. it just _is_ more stable.

and once you know more about linux, you'll realise that you can tweak it as you want it, customize it to your needs.

plus you don't support an unethical monopolistic company.

my suggestions if you play games: dual boot with windows (games) and ubuntu (everything else)
go here: ubuntuguide.org

I agree whole heartedly. I switched when my version of XP suddenly lost track of its boot loader. I was unable to access any of my files. All I could figure out was a virus attack. A relative just happened to visit and suggested using Linux to retrieve my Windows data before reinstalling any OS. Before then I'd never heard of Linux. It worked!:)

I had him install Ubuntu Linux instead of XP and have been using it ever since. That was about 4 years ago. I love it. No more BSD, no viruses, etc. I've had to learn some Unix Commands, simular to when MSDoS first came out. I love the control I now have over my computer. If something is not quite like I like it, I can change it. It's great. :popcorn:

[perixx]

No more BSD, no viruses, etc.
:shock::-P
haha! don't let the BSD-developers read that..! =]
to be on the save side, better stick to the term BSoD !! (sorry no offence) ^^

[LinuxIsInnovation]

Hardware support, visually soothing, speed.. and an urge to change!!

[dargles]

Just a few thoughts on the debate.

1) I still have an MS windows partition (XP) on all my machines simply because MS make it extremely hard for non-MS systems to do certain things with an MS server. Although the list is now tiny.

2) I have preferred linux to MS for some time now, because MS *does* fail disastrously from time to time, and switching to the linux partition is sometimes the only way to recover my most important data.

3) I have, in the last few months, installed ubuntu (7.10) as the *only* working system at home (the MS partition won't boot), and my non-ITgeek family have found no problems whatsoever in handling linux. Apart from the fact that it won't talk to my Lexmark printer :(

Basically, it seems to me that ubuntu 7.10 is a seed-bed change in usability and, a few small niggling remaining problems notwithstanding, it is ready for use by anyone as their only system. Apart from the fact that it won't run your favourite MS games. But then MS won't run my favourite linux games... ;-)

That's my two pennyworth, anyway...

Regards, David Argles

[inversekinetix]

I keep seeing DRM mentioned as a reason not to use windows. I have serveral TB of media and have never run into one DRM related issue. Could someone explain where the DRM issues stem from?

[perixx]

perhaps not stemming from, but chained to:

Sony-media rootkits, Apple i-pods and video-portals :)

perixx

[recluse2]

I like to learn for one thing, and I see Linux as taking over the desktop market because of price, development, security, and Microsofts' business practices.

The reports of countries putting linux on computers in schools, in my opinion, is very bad for Microsoft. When these kids get older and buy their own computers, they will want what they are familiar with. That is the way for linux to become mainstream.

Another reason I use it is that it runs well on older computers. I have nothing but older computers due to lack of finances. I am running Ubuntu 7.10 on an old Dell 450 Mhz Pentium 2 processor. No there is no compiz, but it runs as well as XP Pro on my HP 1.6 Ghz P4 if not much better!

The thing that angers me about my windows machines are, the hardware requirements to run MS OS's, the inflexability of the OS's. if you want good security, you have to spend about $50 to get the program. If you want to change the interface there is another $30, if you want to upgrade to the newest OS, there is another $150. If you want the newest office software suite there is another wad of cash, and the list goes on.

Its not just about the money either. If there is a flaw somewhere and it needs to be fixed, you have to wait a month sometimes or even longer for the patch where as with the Linux community, there can be a workaround in as little as hours. but my biggest gripes are DRM, WGA, and if I think about it some more, I could go on for hours.

Bottom line is: I wanted alternatives. I tried tons of different Distros and fell in love with Ubuntu.

[Roasted]

I'm glad I have Linux on my laptop and I play with it and work on it every spare minute, but it seems to me as a long way (not endless hopefully) till I and users like me will be able to completely "switch" from Windows to Linux on their main computer.

Very interesting and 'professional' response there, might I say. I however can be one to stand up and say I DID switch from Windows to Linux as my main operating system. So far in my experience, Linux seems to have DAMN good support on desktops. I've encountered so few desktops with issues that are unfixable due to lack of support at that time. Now, experience with laptops is different. And quite frankly, I think it's been this way for quite a while now. You say that it's not wise to deny Windows as a working system, and I say the same about Linux, with the exception of laptops (wireless, laptop sound cards, etc).

So, the discussion goes both ways, with a few exceptions at either end of the rope. :) But in the end, I still dual boot on both of my systems. Ubuntu/Win2k pro on my desktop, with Ubuntu being my main I'm on 99% of the time except for when I want to play Counterstrike for a little bit, and my laptop is running Ubuntu/Vista dual boot... which me using them both equally. :) I do, however, prefer Ubuntu by a long shot over a system like Vista. But at the same time, I acknowledge Vista is existent, so I tolerate it. ;)

[radlations]

I've pretty much had it up to here with Ubuntu. So I wanna see why other people choose this OS over the functional OS that is Windows. To me it seems if you want Ubuntu to work correctly, you have to tweak a bunch of errors. It's like having a good looking son who doesn't know how to do ****.

So Please. Tell me why you choose Ubuntu. And you can't say compiz or beryl.

[jba6511]

i personally like the avoidance of dependency hell that is associated with MS. have you ever wondered why an error with internet explorer can crash the entire system? Plus ubuntu is light on resources, software apps are free to be modified and redistributed, security is much better, no spyware, malware, etc. the list goes on for me.

[Steveway]

It just works, it's faster, nicer, more stable.
And it is free, not only free of charge but really free.
Why would you use Windows if you can use a better OS, like Ubuntu?

[KhaaL]

It's more customizable, flashier (compiz fusion & avant), gives better performance, my apps of choice works on it, easier to maintain thanks to the package system (also, no need to reformat/reinstall or defrag a la windows), it's more modern (6-month release cycle), it's free and opensource... Did I forget anything? :p

EDIT: I see the OP has some issues, you should try typing out the errors so we might be able to help you out!

[kernel tom]

Ubuntu is not for the weak of mind. It is a challenge that many enjoy trying to master. Linux in general has been a much more stable and reliable operating system than any other. One of the best aspects of Linux is the complete custimazation that any user can have on his system. But with this great oppurtunity comes a great responsibility of learning the in's and out's finding and eliminating bugs in code. You have to remember that the code for the os and for the programs are not being written by money hungry, power starved, over payed employees, and that it is just a community of people writing code to try to help others with new features and applications.

To say that Windows is the "functional" OS is naive. To an experienced computer user, I'm personally a computer engineer, Windows limits much of the creativity and flexibilty I look for in my every day computer use. You can never be 'root' on a Windows machine, not in the true way that you can on a Linux box and that's a limitation many Linux enthusiasts can't stand.

Ubuntu is a great oppurtunity to be the computer user that you've always wanted to be, and if you are dedicated enough you can truly realize how constricting using an os like Windows is. And to mention the use of Linux has been growing exponentially, especially since Dell started offering Ubuntu desktops and notebooks. Most if not all of University computer networks, business networks, etc, etc run on a Linux back end, with just a Windows front end to help decrease the computer knowledge neccessary for their everyday users to use the network.

This is long winded, and I am extremely biased. There was a point in time I almost threw my Xubuntu loaded laptop right out the window our of pure frustration, but I kept working on it and now I can load any personal computer that would do everything a Windows machine could do and more without any fuss. It just takes time and patience.

I saw this somewhere before... "In an open source world, there are no needs for Windows, doors, or Gates"

[KhaaL]

Ubuntu is not for the weak of mind. It is a challenge that many enjoy trying to master.


Actually, I'd rather say that ubuntu is what you make out of it. It can be tweaked to a exteme measure as linux is known to be, or it can be out-of-the-box inuitive.

[bowens44]

I don't use Ubuntu but I do use Linux. My distro of choice is Fedora 8. I have used Ubuntu in the past and as with all the distros I've used over the last couple of years, I found it much more stable, easier to keep up to date and easier to install/remove software. I love the fact that there ares thousands of free/open source applications available for the taking, I like knowing what I am getting in my software ,knowing that the liklyhood of my software spying on me is very, very low. It's more secure, virues and spyware are all most non-exsitant. Other then gaming and photoshop, I haven't found anything that I was able to better in windows then in Linux.

Why shouldn't we mention compiz and beryl? They're great, they're free and they blow away anything MS has for eye-candy, even on a low end system.

[staticvoid]

I like ubuntu.

Trust me.

:)

sv

[diego1188]

It's open source, it's virus-free, it's more customizable, many apps are better than the respective ones for ms, I don't pay money for software, I don't struggle for crackz, it's aesthetically smarter and more relaxing, I'm part of a community which gives me solutions to any problem I might find.
And, most of all, penguins are cuter than those strange coloured squares.

[SunnyRabbiera]

windows functional?

:lolflag::lolflag::lolflag::lolflag::lolflag:

look just because your experience was bad doesnt mean linux is inferior, maybe you should try another linux flavor?

[sub2007]

Using GNU/Linux is a choice, like Windows is a choice. The tweaking is the thing that I like best about it. It's satisfying to know that after a lot of tweaking that you have your system working exactly as you want it to. You can change every last detail (even the kernel if you're that way inclined) and that's what's fun about it! It's the freedom that is the most exciting and best reason to use it. It's not for everyone, you have to be prepared to put in a bit of work. For the people that do put the work in reap the rewards (increased stability, increased speed, more security). But that's my ultimate reason - I can't say anything bad about my Ubuntu. I am absolutely satisfied with every part of it because I've made it like that. I love being able to compile the most up-to-date software if I want to. I guess I just find a lot of playing with it fun, almost like a hobby as well as being a superior platform for working and playing on. The amount I've tweaked it make it feel like it's my own, my unique Ubuntu. It works exactly how I want it to and that's why I couldn't go back to Windows.

There's this old joke about "Linux Airways" where on checking into the airport you get given the components to make a seat and a how to guide. After you spend five minutes assembling the chair you have the most comfortable flight of your life. When you step off the aeroplane you eagerly tell everyone about your great experience but all they can say is "you had to do WHAT with the seat?" :P And you know what, it couldn't be more true (OK you don't have to build it from source now but there is always going to be an amount of tweaking needed).. And there's a whole community here to help if you need it, which is the other main thing we love about it - the real community feel. But if you can't see a reason to use it over Windows then I don't think you should - it's your OS and you should have one you are happy with. It's not hard to say why I use Ubuntu but they're my personal reasons, I can't say why you should. You obviously had a reason to try it in the first place though...

[boast]

I do miss the (almost) bug-free software. Although yes it is commercial,

[SunnyRabbiera]

windows bug free???

what is this, opposite world?

[radlations]

I appreciate all of your posts, escpecially Kernal Tom's very detailed post. And that quote you stated is real nice.

I suppose I'll give Ubuntu a couple more tries.

But as I was reading your post and replying to it, I came upon an Ubuntu problem.

My wifi connection randomly died. So thats the start of my issues.

Firefox freezes when I close a streaming movie. (I heard this was a flash issue and is unavoidable)
Folders are difficult to arrange. (Im running Gnome which I hear is supose to be a cure for OCD freaks like myself)
Photoshop doesnt work. (I get some hardware error when using Wine)
Games are limited to whatever Wine's DB has. (So It seems if you wanna play games, then dual boot with windows)

[kernel tom]

Start posting your problems individually in the Absolute Beginners Talk part of the forum, and we can get you started on a working linux box.

Cheers,
kt

[steveneddy]

I've pretty much had it up to here with Ubuntu.


To where, exactly?

I find that Ubuntu is great as a stock OS as long as you get the correct codecs and stuff like Flash and Adobe Reader installed. I use it for work every day on my laptop and it works wonderfully for me. We even use it for streaming music for the office because there isn't a Windows machine in the house that will stream for more than two hours before crashing, requiring a restart.

I like the security, dependability, stability and customability of this fine OS.

I also find that a mostly stock Ubuntu runs best.

I have Compiz-Fusion, Flash, Adobe reader, all of the DVD and media codecs and that's about it. I tweaked a little to get suspend to work in Gutsy, but it took a 5 minute search and a 20 second hack to get it working.

I go between 6 or 7 wireless networks and I can suspend and go to another wireless network and it still hooks up. Flawless.

My boss's new Vista laptop won't hibernate OR suspend, and I grill him about it every day.

Why do I use Ubuntu. Because I can. It is easy. I am free, and so is my computer.

[SunnyRabbiera]

My wifi connection randomly died. So thats the start of my issues.

Firefox freezes when I close a streaming movie. (I heard this was a flash issue and is unavoidable)
Folders are difficult to arrange. (Im running Gnome)
Photoshop doesnt work. (I get some hardware error when using Wine)
Games are limited to whatever Wine's DB has. (So It seems if you wanna play games, then dual boot with windows)

well yes that first issue is a little rough right now, wifi is still a little loose but progress is always being made here
for the firefox issues, yeh there is an error in flash, but firefox 3 when it comes out (hopefully by the time the next ubuntu is ready) is supposed to fix a lot of issues seen in firefox 2... then again it depends on what you loads and how much memory you have.
for re arranging folders, well moving stuff around in nautilus is no different then moving stuff around in windows, can you explain your issue in more detail here?
photoshop, well thats a tough one, it really depends on the version you are tying to load.
I know the more later version of photoshop do not work very well under wine, so maybe you might need to invest in crossover office... what version are you trying to run might I ask?
as for games there is little help there, please keep in mind that most games have windows in mind only, we can only do so much you know...
always remember: ubuntu is not a windows replacement, it is a windows ALTERNATIVE so if everything doesnt work do not act like Ubuntu is inferior, really most issues are no fault of ours.

[werewolfzx8]

"It just works"

I really didn't have to do to much tweaking to get my box to function properly, although I did do a lot of tweaking cause I wanted to get it just the way I wanted it.
After installing Windows, I have a crap load of drivers to install, and a lot of tweaking to do, but I can never get it just the way I want it. Then after all that's done, I have to worry about viruses, and random crashes. Ubuntu does crash on me, but that's mainly my fault for digging around in files I should stay out of... >.>

I feel much more secure using Ubuntu, and it has all my needs met:
Gaming - Second Life, ETQW, UT, WoW, and other various Linux "mini games" (WINE helps)
Productivity - OpenOffice.org is exactly what I need, at the perfect price... FREE
Image Editing - I've always used Gimp
Entertainment - Totem/VLC for movies, Banshee for mah music
Messenging - Pidgin of course
Internet - Firefox and IEs4Linux
Look and Feel - Gnome is perfect for me, and I get the choice of other Enviroments as well. I can also customize it just about any way I want, unlike windows.

There's a bunch more reasons, but I don't feel like typing them ALL ^-^

If Windows works for you, but Ubuntu doesn't, then good! You found an OS that works for you, and meets your needs. Linux is a choice, and you can choose NOT to use it. Ubuntu, Fedora, and Wolvix all work for me, and I love all three! :biggrin:

[CJ56]

Pretty simple, really. At the start of this year, I was quite happily using Win Xp. Then Microsoft launched Vista and announced the gradual closing down of Xp. This obliged me to consider some new and not always agreeable options.

1) I could stay with Microsoft. This meant either continuing with Xp, an obsolescent OS which is perfectly good, but long in the tooth, pretty inflexible and, sometime in the next few years, not going to be around. Or I could go with Vista. Now, I've never used Vista. It may be very good, once you set it up. What I do know is that it's provocatively expensive - either to buy a full-featured version on DVD, or to buy a whole new PC with it pre-installed. If I buy the DVD and install it, I can only do so a couple of times. It comes with various DRM issues I don't like the sound of. It's had pretty spotty reviews in the months since its release. Given all this, it didn't sound like a sensible choice, even leaving aside all the other issues concerning Microsoft's possible monopolistic abuses.

2) I could switch over to a Mac. Very nice kit, very nice OS, and I'm sure Leopard will come good soon; as will the reported hardware snags with the new iMacs. But at least as pricey the Vista options: so it ruled itself out on cost.

3) I could try again with Linux. I had pretty awful run-in with SuSe a couple of years ago, but as it turned out, about the time I started to look around the Linux world again, Ubuntu 6.10 came out. I burned a disc, ran it as a live CD, found to my amazement that it worked. I installed it, found that I could do everything in Ubuntu that I was doing in Xp, and usually a bit better. I then went throught the Linux Distro Tart phase and played around with maybe 10 different Linux flavours. I came back to Ubuntu because it works well on my kit, it's already way ahead of Xp, it does everything I need, its evolving and improving all the time (in the eight months I've been using it, it's made many small but very satisfying steps forward), I just find it much easier to get on with than its rivals. And it costs the price of a blank CD.

Given these options, what would be the smart thing to do? I think I would have had to be exceptionally perverse to go for 1). I would have been a bit too carefree with the finances if I chose 2). As it happens, I really like Ubuntu and the way it works; and it's not difficult to feel extremely grateful to the people who put it together.

I think it's what they call a logical imperative...

[chris4585]

Ubuntu is free, and is cool, also micorsoft is the devil LOL!

[radlations]

It seems everything is built to favor Windows, but with patience and the willingness to learn, I can make ubuntu work for me.

[SunnyRabbiera]

It seems everything is built to favor Windows, but with patience and the willingness to learn, I can make ubuntu work for me.

yes, for the most part.
i admit its not perfect, just think of linux like how apple was a few years ago...
it took some time for apple to get people working for it, but it works the same way here.
One can only hope for the best when concerning the future of linux

[Jergar]

I hate MS. Ubuntu is much more better.

[pelle.k]

ubuntu is not a windows replacement, it is a windows ALTERNATIVE
Good point SunnyRabbiera! Gold star to you :)

I use ubuntu (and linux in general) because i love my gnome. It looks freakin wicked after i've themed it. I had an affair with KDE too, but i lost interest. KDE4 may light the flame again.

Also, if you've been using ubuntu the last few years, you must have noticed how quickly desktop linux is catching up with windows/macos. udev, xorg (esp 7.3), initramfs, hal, dbus, pulseaudio, dkms, compiz, kde4, gstreamer, good nvidia drivers (and now ATI is catching up)... I can go on forever. Things are REALLY happening. This is also where a bit of unstability comes from. It'll get better when things calm down a bit.

[boast]

windows bug free???

what is this, opposite world?

Adobe photoshop, premiere pro, foobar2000, trillian, rocketdock, movie maker, media player classic, cdburnerxp pro, etc...

I'm not talking about the OS.

[omegamike3]

One thing to remember as well is, why did you try/switch to Ubuntu in the first place? No matter how many reasons are listed for or against, only you can decide what's best for you.

[KhaaL]

* What is your wifi chipset? unfortunatly wifi support is not the best in linux, unless using a wifi card with linux support or using ndiswrapper. You might get lucky with the restricted drivers that comes with ubuntu though

* You might want to try another filemanager, or maybe even KDE? it might have a better logic for folders. What is it you're trying to do, and how? explain that to us and we might be abke ti help you.

* Yes, most games are made for windows. Though some works in wine almost flawlessly, and others work well with some tweaks. With wineing comes the true test of patience ;)

[SunnyRabbiera]

One thing to remember as well is, why did you try/switch to Ubuntu in the first place? No matter how many reasons are listed for or against, only you can decide what's best for you.

right, but hey there is no harm or crime in a dual boot...
If you dont feel that ubuntu does everything you want then there you go, but Ubuntu is good to have around anyways as soon XP will be obsolete and you may have to either:
A: ditch it
B: upgrade your computer for Vista, and this is a option that is harder then it sounds due to vistas high demands
C: get a new computer, or if you want to try it go apple as these days apples are not that bad
or D: dual boot


Option D sounds good to me :D

[macogw]

It's all nice and customizable and lets me work exactly how I want without getting in the way. Getting it to work is no effort at all if your hardware is well-supported (as mine is). I like having multiple desktops and being able to set a window above all others so that if I need to reference it while working in another, the one where I'm typing doesn't keep blocking my view. Windows does that to me *constantly*.

[fuscia]

windows is soooooooooo damn boring.

[macogw]

I appreciate all of your posts, escpecially Kernal Tom's very detailed post. And that quote you stated is real nice.

I suppose I'll give Ubuntu a couple more tries.

But as I was reading your post and replying to it, I came upon an Ubuntu problem.

My wifi connection randomly died. So thats the start of my issues.

Firefox freezes when I close a streaming movie. (I heard this was a flash issue and is unavoidable)
Folders are difficult to arrange. (Im running Gnome which I hear is supose to be a cure for OCD freaks like myself)
Photoshop doesnt work. (I get some hardware error when using Wine)
Games are limited to whatever Wine's DB has. (So It seems if you wanna play games, then dual boot with windows)

Photoshop up to version 7 works with Crossover Office. The CS's don't. You can "sponsor" a program to get more attention from Crossover devs. Wine can run the CS's a little, I think, but not well...everything functions pretty much, except you can't register it.

What do you mean by the folders are difficult to arrange?

What kind of wireless card do you have? You can just type "lspci" in the terminal and copy and paste that here.

Maybe try firefox-3.0 instead of Firefox 2.

[stchman]

I've pretty much had it up to here with Ubuntu. So I wanna see why other people choose this OS over the functional OS that is Windows. To me it seems if you want Ubuntu to work correctly, you have to tweak a bunch of errors. It's like having a good looking son who doesn't know how to do ****.

So Please. Tell me why you choose Ubuntu. And you can't say compiz or beryl.

I disagree, Ubuntu pretty much worked out of the box and is free. I don't have to worry of my AV or AS is updating properly. There is no expiration on software that you use, etc.


If you are not up for the challenge then head back to windows. I personally don't find Linux at all that difficult to use. A few years ago I played with Linux and found it's usability a bit lacking, but Ubuntu is really user friendly.

[aysiu]

I've pretty much had it up to here with Ubuntu. Then don't use it.
So I wanna see why other people choose this OS over the functional OS that is Windows. I find both Windows XP and Ubuntu to be functional. I choose the latter functional OS over the former functional OS, because Ubuntu is free and easy to manage, includes all the software I need, and looks nice.
To me it seems if you want Ubuntu to work correctly, you have to tweak a bunch of errors. And to me, Ubuntu works straight away without a lot of extra tweaking. Can you believe people actually have different experiences? Yes, it's true. Believe it.
So Please. Tell me why you choose Ubuntu. And you can't say compiz or beryl. I don't use Compiz or Beryl. It's fun to spin the cube a few times, but then it's pretty much useless. I use IceWM and love it.

[dgoosens]

hi,

really nice to read through all these posts... and I was wondering what I could add to all this... kernel tom really says it all, well nearly...

there is one magical word that I am missing though in all this, it's choice... you don't choose to work on Windows. Most of the time you work on Windows because you got it with your new computer or because the company system administrator is VB-freek (my case).

choosing a Linux ditro really is choosing for freedom... it is choosing to do what you want with your computer AND choosing to be part of a increasingly fast growing community of, mostly, great and OPEN minded people...

one final thing though, particulary for all ex-Windows users like me. Remember the time you spent on looking for cracks for those "great" Windows programs? I did... and nowadays, on Ubuntu, I just ask my computer to install this or that program to do what I want...

have a nice Ubuntu !!
dGo

[kylekeeton]

I chose Ubuntu over Windows because, Ubuntu is vastly superior! :-k

Kyle

[conehead77]

The "killer application" for me is the ease of software installing aka packet management.

When i was in school i always searched for free programs and i usually installed a bunch of buggy applications with tons of ad ware or illegal copies. If i remember correctly, you even had to pay for something simple like Winzip?
With Ubuntu its so much faster and easier as i try out lots of programs.

There are a lot of more reasons, but i couldn't live without the (Debian-)packet management any more.

[mmb1]

I choose Ubuntu for freedom. Freedom to customize, freedom to choose what software i really "need", freedom to not have to have a license, freedom to do whatever I want on my computer.

[tech9]

Why do you choose Ubuntu over Windows

I believe it is quite obvious - performance alone :)

[tech9]

I choose Ubuntu for freedom. Freedom to customize, freedom to choose what software i really "need", freedom to not have to have a license, freedom to do whatever I want on my computer.
huge +1 :KS

[shae]

This is why I now only use linux:
I was tired of the one hour/week devoted to keeping my windows free from viruses, spyware, and running quickly.
I was tired of having to reinstall windows every month to keep it running as quick as it does when it is new.
I was tired of having to reboot daily to keep my computer quick.
I was tired of the boring interface.
I was tired of trying to find a program to do X, Y, or Z.
Honestly the list goes on and on.

There has not been a problem which I could not fix in Ubuntu or get help fixing. Let's look at some of the things that Ubuntu can do that Windows cannot:
Stay free from viruses and spyware with minimal effort.
Stay at the same speed whether the install is days or years old.
Stay on for months at a time without slowing down.
Tweak the interface to look however I would like.
Updates and upgrades are forever free.
Package management is Ubuntu is vastly superior. Whenever I need a program, Google does not need to be your first stop, Synaptic is.
Rather than tracking down updates to every program you ever have installed, 90% of them are taken care of by Ubuntu and if you can find repositories for your other programs, even more can be.

To me these things are enough. Not to say things have not gone wrong in Ubuntu, but I have worked these things out, with the help of this community and Google. I am pretty handy with computers so perhaps this is why I like Ubuntu more, but it is not for everyone. Good luck and I hope you to give Ubuntu and Linux another try sometime.

[Xanghi]

Because I have learned alot on Windows and on OS X so I was asked by My computer Five teacher To work on Ubuntu for one semester and c how i liked it and well Im not goin back.

[tech9]

It just works, it's faster, nicer, more stable.
And it is free, not only free of charge but really free.
Why would you use Windows if you can use a better OS, like Ubuntu?

+1

[AnonCat]

I use Ubuntu because you wouldn't catch me dead entering my credit card number in those malware servers known as Windows. MS really needs to be held accountable for not designing and implementing adequate security measures in their OSes.

[bobbocanfly]

- Its better looking (Customizable)
- Its faster
- Its more stable
- Its MUCH more interesting
- It has a community
- Its DRM Free
- Its Secure

Most importantly:
- Its open-source

[tech9]

This is why I now only use linux:
I was tired of the one hour/week devoted to keeping my windows free from viruses, spyware, and running quickly.
I was tired of having to reinstall windows every month to keep it running as quick as it does when it is new.
I was tired of having to reboot daily to keep my computer quick.
I was tired of the boring interface.
I was tired of trying to find a program to do X, Y, or Z.
Honestly the list goes on and on.

There has not been a problem which I could not fix in Ubuntu or get help fixing. Let's look at some of the things that Ubuntu can do that Windows cannot:
Stay free from viruses and spyware with minimal effort.
Stay at the same speed whether the install is days or years old.
Stay on for months at a time without slowing down.
Tweak the interface to look however I would like.
Updates and upgrades are forever free.
Package management is Ubuntu is vastly superior. Whenever I need a program, Google does not need to be your first stop, Synaptic is.
Rather than tracking down updates to every program you ever have installed, 90% of them are taken care of by Ubuntu and if you can find repositories for your other programs, even more can be.

To me these things are enough. Not to say things have not gone wrong in Ubuntu, but I have worked these things out, with the help of this community and Google. I am pretty handy with computers so perhaps this is why I like Ubuntu more, but it is not for everyone. Good luck and I hope you to give Ubuntu and Linux another try sometime.

good points :)

[Mateo]

minimalism.

[ugm6hr]

It's like having a good looking son who doesn't know how to do ****.


Funny that. That's what I thought of Windows :lolflag:

At least I could teach my Ubuntu how to do stuff, Windows just didn't want to learn :)

[tech9]

Funny that. That's what I thought of Windows :lolflag:

At least I could teach my Ubuntu how to do stuff, Windows just didn't want to learn :)

:lolflag:

[anjilslaire]

I tweaked a little to get suspend to work in Gutsy, but it took a 5 minute search and a 20 second hack to get it working.


Mind posting that, btw? Its the last thing I need for my 1420 Inspiron :)

UPDATE: Fixed it, thanks

[Lostincyberspace]

#1 its free.
#2 its good and free.
#3 its super and free.

[gn2]

Tell me why you choose Ubuntu.

Because I like it.

[napoleon3665]

well lets see, its free, virus free and alot faster than any ms os's, plus, it comes with cool programs like openoffice nd stuff, tht should be enough, only ppl ask tht question when they get fed up with linux bc they are not familiar with it

[Bluesharpman]

I installed Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon 7.10 yesterday as a dual boot with SUSE 10SP1. I began using SUSE three weeks after purchasing and installing Windows Vista - Vista simply didn't do it for me. I have found Vista disappointing in many areas; one of which is how bloated it is - meaning resource hungry . I love SUSE and will continue to use it but wanted a change. I had read very good things about Ubuntu and had actually tried out 7.04 via Vmware. I also had a few questions about installing 7.10 as a dual boot. I jumped onto IRC and had my questions immediately answered. The Ubuntu install went seamlessly. I just installed my hp printer after finding out there was an issue with it. That issue was addressed and a fix documented on one of Ubuntu's forums. I find a wonderful sense of community here much the same as I found when I first began experimenting with the internet about ten years ago. This all comes down to attitude. Ubuntu's approach seems to be very service/progress oriented - let's work together to make it better. I like that.

[Lord DEA]

I CHOOSE LINUX OVER WINDOWS TO GET TROUBLED WHEN TRYING TO PLAY A CHESS GAME WITH 3D VIEW!!!!:mad:

Anyway, that doesn't mean I still don't love Ubuntu.

Here's one thing few people might think about:

Ubuntu is way BETTER than Windows because I'm the only one in my house who dares to deal with an OS other than WIndows, so I can keep all my passwords and secret documents safe, and still not hidden.

PD: Hey every1, seriously!!, I still can't get to play 3d chess and no one helps me:( I'd love to get a solution to this problem.....

[klange]

Many, many years of Windows. That is why I switched to Linux in general.

[boast]

Photoshop[/B] doesnt work. (I get some hardware error when using Wine)


what photoshop?

I have Photoshop CS2 working fine with wine 0.9.51

[ankitb4u]

Its more over a learn as you go experience.
I had a sony vaio vgnfs640/w whose specs were intel centrino 1.6ghz with a intel wireless chip and intel graphic card i think it was 128mb. And 512ddr ram. I used ubuntu 7.04 it ran beautifully. I learnt a lot than from that I didnt know how to install a program to start out with and than i read a post on life hacker about top ten ubuntu hacks and than i started going into this stuff. Actuallly, I convinced my manager at work to load it up and we shared alot of info. You learn a lot from ubuntu. starting from sudo ending to .sh scripts. Than I had a acer aspire 5100 which had the wiked specs ATI graphic card which does not go along with ubuntu but the open source drivers got it to work and copiz was fun to get it to work. Also my broadcom chip would not work with it but than i used ndis wrapper but now i can do all that at night in sleep so i learnt alot.

[Bromo]

I have used Linux, OSX and Windows (and Unix in the late 80's and early 90's). I prefer the *nix style of command line interface, as well as the large amount of custimizability.

Although many of the things I have found in Linux require a bit more attention, I am finding I learn about my computer a bit more which I like. My ultimate goal is to be able to do everything I do for work in Linux as well as all personal things.

[klange]

what photoshop?
I have Photoshop CS2 working fine with wine 0.9.51
I've been told CS3 works fine too. I stick to my PS7 because I'm so used to it and too lazy to go out and spend the time to get a newer version, since this one is illegal anyway and I figure better not tempt fate by delving into the subject further.

[akiratheoni]

If Windows 'just works', then why do I need to hack a driver and add in a whole bunch of incomprehensible hexadecimal numbers just to get a 1680x1050 resolution with an Intel card? For Ubuntu, it's just adding "1680x1050' to the xorg.conf.

Configuring Ubuntu to the way I want it is a lot simpler than configuring WIndows to the way I want it -- oh wait, I forgot! Windows doesn't provide ANYTHING to configure if you compare it to Ubuntu, or even Linux in general.

[money2themax]

do you realize that "windows" logo is SUPPOSED to be a window who was their artist windows are square not their crazy shape and we have a penguin Tux, a chameleon, ect an like kernel tom (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=307899) said "In an open source world, there are no needs for Windows, doors, or Gates" and it's true i have so much more fun with this system than i ever had with windows and because i'm aspiring to be computer repair man and programmer Linux offers the tools that i need and they are small also i write notes in a text file to remind me on what i need to know and i read about something before i dive into it like i'm buying the book that was advertised with Edubuntu you need to want to learn with this OS

[AaronLS]

Basically I dont see any advantages to using linux over windows xp, Im dual booting windows and ubuntu. Ubuntu is nice and all but I dont see anything that would make me prefer it over windows.The only thing i have been using ubuntu for is web browsing playing music/movies (cant play games) which I can do better/hassle free in windows.

So what are the advantages of l using linux over xp?

There are things linux is better for, but I wouldn't see any reason to dual boot in your case. Only reason that I have linux is because I had a spare box.

I put it on an older box to use it as a server, since I believed that linux is probably less of a resource hog than windows. (FYI, I just found a chocolate chip on my keyboard)

I wanted to setup several server apps such as ssh and a webserver. These seemed to be most commonly hosted on linux.

I like the idea of being able to ssh into my linux box at home from anywhere I want to.

It's kind of a novelty to. It's good experience for me since I am a programmer and may need to develop for it one day(actually I have programmed for linux, but it was really trivial stuff).

[weblordpepe]

Did you eat the chocolate chip? I want chocolate now.
Anyway, if theres no reason to choose either Windows or Linux, go with Linux by default. Thats my motto anyway. If you're going to spend 10 minutes gawking at a screen in bewilderment - make it a Gnome/KDE desktop and not a Vista one.

[dgoosens]

"In an open source world, there are no needs for Windows, doors, or Gates"
... and one should not have to pay the Bill

[graabein]

I like GNU/Linux over Windows because I have full control over my personal computer and all the programs are free of cost. It's also a lot easier on the resources and I don't have to have antivirus programs running full time. Hands down Linux wins! :)

[kenan6346]

Actually, I didn't chose Linux over Windows; I'll always be a Windows user because its easy; a couple of pages ago some guy said that he prefers Linux over Windows because Windows needs so many dependencies....I don't know why anyone would think that because in my week or two of experience, Linux needs so many dependencies its unbelievable!

But, I like to experiment so I downloaded Ubuntu so I could get a taste of Linux. I now dual boot Linux along with Windows XP so I can go back any time I need to. Linux has its short comings (as does Windows), so I can go back to the familiar Windows environment if I ever need to.

Other than trouble with dependencies, I've really enjoyed Linux, especially its ability to be modified; Windows just has explorer.exe, but Linux has Gnome, KDE, Xfce plus all the windows managers like Fluxbox and Enlightenment.

[nikolas68]

I've started with the live CD....liked it...installed....NOW i'm never using Window$: i still have it installed....in case there's something i cannot do with Ubuntu (so far hasn't happened :))

Great to be free....

[Wharf Rat]

I played with Xandros for about a year and it just did not do much for me. OK but no fireworks.
PCLinuxos was better - a few more fireworks, free. I was impressed, especially with the price.

I decided to try Ubuntu about six months ago. Wow. It was like putting ointment on a rash. I spent days playing with settings, installing and removing software.. . tinkering. Of course I had a few foul ups that scared me. To my amazement, I worked myself out of several WITHOUT reinstalling the OS. You cannot survive video driver corruption in Windows without a reinstall. I managed to work my way back to a good gui in Ubuntu. I was really impressed.

I still have XP on my main PC at home so I can go back if I need something. Funny thing is, with XP dormant I now actually feel it is safe from a virus. Funny thing is the machine runs MUCH faster with Ubuntu than Windows/Anti-virus/Anti-Spam.

Now my laptop is only loaded with Ubuntu. I am still tinkering through a home server. This isn't working too well, I may have to look at another distro.

Most people have already covered all the points to using Ubuntu.


I do miss a few things. There is NOT a native package that compares to Quicken. I pretty much tried them all. Moneydance is close. I use it, but it has issues.

[Skorzen]

It just works, it's faster, nicer, more stable.
And it is free, not only free of charge but really free.
Why would you use Windows if you can use a better OS, like Ubuntu?

Answer given. It's also prettier.

[bomanizer]

It's more fun :)

+ I have the DIY-attitude on almost everything.

[Tomosaur]

Actually, I didn't chose Linux over Windows; I'll always be a Windows user because its easy; a couple of pages ago some guy said that he prefers Linux over Windows because Windows needs so many dependencies....I don't know why anyone would think that because in my week or two of experience, Linux needs so many dependencies its unbelievable!

But, I like to experiment so I downloaded Ubuntu so I could get a taste of Linux. I now dual boot Linux along with Windows XP so I can go back any time I need to. Linux has its short comings (as does Windows), so I can go back to the familiar Windows environment if I ever need to.

Other than trouble with dependencies, I've really enjoyed Linux, especially its ability to be modified; Windows just has explorer.exe, but Linux has Gnome, KDE, Xfce plus all the windows managers like Fluxbox and Enlightenment.

I think that poster meant 'dependencies' as 'X part of the system is dependent on Y' - so that if Y crashes, so does X, which is why you get things like IE being able to lock up your whole machine - why if an explorer (the file manager) window locks up and you have to kill it, your whole desktop and taskbar disappears, and so on.

This is very different from Linux - where a lot of effort is put into modularity and software 'independence'. The only reason software packages in Linux have dependencies is because it is far more efficient, and is also the reason why, should you ever install anything via command line, you'll see that a LOT of software in Linux is split into several packages - usually the application binaries, then application libraries, etc. If software X needs a library from software Y, then you only need to install the 'lib-Y' package, and not the whole of software Y. The upshot of all of this is that while software shares libraries and system daemons and stuff - they are mostly independent of the OS itself. The OS / kernel just sits there in the background and does what it needs to do. When one application crashes, you just kill it and move on. When a Windows application crashes, it could send your whole system down.

Windows software packages tend to bundle everything together so that packages are 'self-contained', and a single .exe contains everything it needs for that software to run. This 'looks' great to the end user, but in reality that .exe contains stuff which is possibly already on your system, maybe even under a different file-name. This leads to redundancy and waste. A repository system would improve Windows a lot, but I just don't think it's possible given the primary development model for Windows software is proprietary and closed.

[jtkirk]

It runs perfectly fine on low-end machines. Allows recycling old hardware. No viruses.

I have 3 ubuntu installs at home, 1 for my teenage daughter. All bought on Ebay for under 100$.

If computing needs are internet-based (and what ISNT, these days?), then Linux/Firefox is enough. You don't need a high-end machine.

More simple user interface, in my opinion.

Support for muitple workspaces (avoids creation of tons of windows that clutter the desktop)

I think Gnome is better than windows because it's SIMPLER and more intuitive.

Then, of course, there is the TONS of command line tools that are built into linux ....

[Humph]

Why I have ditched Windows XP in favour of Ubuntu.

When I started reading about the, err, "features" of Vista I decided that the time had come to move away from Windows after a stay of 17 years.

No DRM, no WGA, no viruses, no spyware, no being forced to pay through the nose for the same functionality I get for free and by default with Ubuntu, and I'm much more confident that there is nothing in the OS that monitors my actions or reports home without my consent.

I now have my old copy of XP running as a VM under VirtualBox purely for humour value.

[money2themax]

this is my thought: "It's not yours if you can't do as you wish with it"

Windows:
1. DRM
2. 1 CD/DVD per person [meaning you can't give it to your friend after you install it]
3. Expensive $200~$400 for something that you NEED is not what most people want to hear
4. viruses, malware, ect
5. defragmentation of HDD
6. Expensive Virus Protection
7. Bloated programs
8. Vista 15GB for the OS
need i go on?

[el_ricardo]

I started using linux because my windows broke completely, and i had lost the xp install disk, at first i booted a live CD to back up my data, (slax to be precise) and just started using that instead of traking down my xp install disk, not on purpose, just because it was there, and everything worked. Then i thought "why not just install linux properly and be done with it?" so i did, and haven;t looked back since!

despite all that i did eventually install windows again and now i dual boot, but i chose to use linux basically because it was more convenient!

[Cannaregio]

I CHOOSE LINUX OVER WINDOWS TO GET TROUBLED WHEN TRYING TO PLAY A CHESS GAME WITH 3D VIEW!!!!:mad:

Anyway, that doesn't mean I still don't love Ubuntu.

Here's one thing few people might think about:

Ubuntu is way BETTER than Windows because I'm the only one in my house who dares to deal with an OS other than WIndows, so I can keep all my passwords and secret documents safe, and still not hidden.

PD: Hey every1, seriously!!, I still can't get to play 3d chess and no one helps me:( I'd love to get a solution to this problem.....

A solution could be to install fritz-7 through wine.

It's a 2001 software edition that still kicks. 3D and everything you may need.
It has a connection to playchess com and everything a good chess program should have. And it works flawlessly in ubuntu.

You can download a Free ten-day trial version of Fritz7 PlayChess client at http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=237 or easily find some abandonedware copy on the web. Just google for it adding -demo and +plus07 (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=opera&rls=en&hs=gLv&q=fritz+7+-demo+%2Bplus07&btnG=Search) and/or use directly your deluge.

Instructions here (http://www.braillechess.org.uk/games/fritz7/fritz7.htm).

[BLTicklemonster]

For me, it's like choosing a tinker toy over a brick. You can do all kinds of things with a tinker toy, but a brick just .. well, it's a brick, always will be.

And of course the whole idea of ownership, customization, free, etc. If I want something, I don't have to go looking all over the place to see what the cheapest program I can buy is, or see if there's shareware or freeware versions of it, I just go to synaptic and get it. That alone is worth any headaches one might encounter with Linux.

And something new to learn.

[grokwik]

First because it's much much faster, doesn't "eat" all the cpu time... Second because it's collaborative, when I have a problem (or a solution) I can have the solution (or solve the problem) very quickly and efficiently.
A community will always be more reactive than a f$%#ing hot line.

[Ux64]

Yeah. I also got fed up with Vista.

I have been using Windows since 3.1 and 95 a lot. Before that I used to use DOS and Linux at times.

10 years I used only Windows. But when Vista came out, it was time to make change. Vista is slow, ugly and full of Microsoft $pyware, phone home features, license junk, DRM crap etc.

Before I ditched Windows. I started to look for open source programs. After a while I noticed that I actually didn't use ANY commercial products... Except... Windows. Then it was quite easy to get rid of that too.

7-Zip, Open Office, Thunder Bird, Firefox, VLC, eMule (aMule), uTorrent (Deluge)

So why I would like to have commercial os, if I don't use any other commercial software? And most of good open source programs are also available for Linux naturally.

P.S. I still want 7zFM ... ;) And Q7Z (http://k7z.sourceforge.net/7Z/Q7Z/) isn't correct answer.

Resistance Is Futile. You Will Be Assimilated!

http://media.monstersandcritics.com/articles/1317621/article_images/billgborg.jpg

[jan quark]

After experiencing how my new Dell laptop with Vista preinstalled grew bigger and slower for no obvious reason, I switched to Ubuntu.

The differences are amazing. Its like if you allowed fresh air into your laptop. Suddenly everything is possible. Every problem you may encounter broadens your horizon and you become wiser, so to speak. I am rather new in the Ubuntu community but I start to feel the unique attraction emanating from Ubuntu.

Its rather a spiritual thing I guess....

:lolflag:

[bruce89]

Why do you choose Ubuntu over Windows

This seems the wrong question. "Why do you choose Ubuntu over other other Linux distributions" is the one that should be asked.

[ExpatPaul]

I've pretty much had it up to here with Ubuntu. So I wanna see why other people choose this OS over the functional OS that is Windows. To me it seems if you want Ubuntu to work correctly, you have to tweak a bunch of errors. It's like having a good looking son who doesn't know how to do ****.

So Please. Tell me why you choose Ubuntu. And you can't say compiz or beryl.

Well, each to their own. For me, Ubuntu did work right out of the box with no errors and no tweaks (unless you count installing a restricted driver for my graphics card).

I've found it to be fast reliable and stable but the real selling point for me is the package management, which is superb. I love the fact that whatever I'm trying to accomplish, a range of options are no more than a few clicks away and really can't see myself wanting to go back to hunting through endless pages of trialware, demo programs and dodgyware.

[hessiess]

mainly becouse blender renders faster

[kodak]

Why do you choose Ubuntu over Windows.

Because Windows is high risk

[misfitpierce]

Thats like asking why you ask this... It's just stupid to ask... lol :) just messin but Ubuntu is 100X better simply put.

[R_T_H]

I prefer Xubuntu, but I use both. It's certainly not out of the box ready in my opinion (oh-so-close, but not there yet). I quite like it because it's much lighter on resources than most Microsoft products, but it's also very rewarding. I get quite a buzz out of using the CLI, because it makes me feel "hacker-y". :D

Thinking about it, the reason I feel the need to fix it is probably because with Linux I feel that it should work perfectly, and I fix every little thing, whereas with Windows I'd just leave it.

[lespaul_rentals]

Actually, I kind of see where the threadstarter is coming from. For the average desktop user, Windows really does work better. However, for a power user like me, someone who wants configurability, features, and isn't afraid to tackle problems, it's great!

Linux is like opening up the hood of your car. Don't you want to know how your car works on the inside? Well, most people (such as the threadstarter) don't care about such things, they just want to push on the gas pedal and go somewhere. Linux, on the other hand, is about opening the hood and tinkering with your mechanical parts, checking the oil and transmission fluid levels, and maybe replacing a fan belt. While the typical Windows user panics when something goes wrong, then pays a monkey from Microsoft to Remote Desktop into their computer and fix the problem, Linux is all about more power to the user. Obviously, with more power comes more responsibility, which is something 95% of computer users aren't ready for.

EDIT: Oh, and to those who say that Windows is more vulnerable, yes, it is, most definitely. However, I think a lot of people exaggerate how vulnerable Windows really is. So long as you are smart about what you download, use a good firewall and anti-virus protection, and actually use your brain, you will not get infected. Now, when I say you need to be "smart," that includes disabling unneeded Windows Services, making some registry modifications, blocking vulnerable ports with a firewall (139 and 445 for example), using a standard User account, and not using foolish software such as Limewire. Yes, Windows will take about a day to get installed and secured properly, but so long as the person who is using it isn't a complete moron, you are usually pretty safe. I went for about a year without suffering from virus or spyware infection, and that was just with a periodic scan, no active anti-virus software.

[nOoOoOb]

For Freedom !

[tehet]

So long as you are smart about what you download, use a good firewall and anti-virus protection, and actually use your brain, you will not get infected. Now, when I say you need to be "smart," that includes disabling unneeded Windows Services, making some registry modifications, blocking vulnerable ports with a firewall (139 and 445 for example), using a standard User account, and not using foolish software such as Limewire. ... so long as the person who is using it isn't a complete moron ...
Yeah, but "For the average desktop user" that's really difficult! "For a power user" unlike me it's great!

Windows is like opening up the hood of your car. Don't you want to know how your car works on the inside? Well, most people (such as me) don't care about such things, they just want to surf the web and go somewhere. Windows, on the other hand, is about opening the registry and tinkering with your mechanical parts, checking the firewall and virusscanner updates, and maybe blocking a WGA patch.

:P

[aysiu]

Everyone I know (co-workers and friends) who has gotten any kind of malware has had a firewall and anti-virus protection and anti-spyware protection.

That anti-* protection doesn't work if you can be easily socially engineered and if you always run as administrator.

The best way to lock down Windows is to run as a limited user and use the administrator account only when you have to. It's annoying to do (there's no sudo in Windows, and Run as is crippled), but it's the best approach to security XP has.

[seaofpepsi48456]

ubuntu is great :) free apps galore,free upgrades every 6 months,virus and spyware free..the list goes on and on and on.
Trust me when you get using ubuntu,your gonna love it and forget about MS windows...MS is expensive junk.

[lespaul_rentals]

That ant-* protection doesn't work if you can be easily socially engineered and if you always run as administrator.

Anyone who fits the above categories is not savvy enough to use a computer. Linux, Windows, BSD, I don't care...no operating system is good for them.

[aysiu]

Anyone who fits the above categories is not savvy enough to use a computer. Linux, Windows, BSD, I don't care...no operating system is good for them.
I agree. But my point was mainly that anti-malware "protection" doesn't really do them any good.

[boast]

Everyone I know (co-workers and friends) who has gotten any kind of malware has had a firewall and anti-virus protection and anti-spyware protection.

they needed a HIPS

:popcorn:

[lespaul_rentals]

I agree. But my point was mainly that anti-malware "protection" doesn't really do them any good.

This is true.

[money2themax]

Yeah, but "For the average desktop user" that's really difficult! "For a power user" unlike me it's great!

Windows is like opening up the hood of your car. Don't you want to know how your car works on the inside? Well, most people (such as me) don't care about such things, they just want to surf the web and go somewhere. Windows, on the other hand, is about opening the registry and tinkering with your mechanical parts, checking the firewall and virusscanner updates, and maybe blocking a WGA patch.

:P

i disagree the hood is welded shut you can't look at it's parts the source code is its parts every thing else it a tool

[eagletip]

Khello.....
Thought I would share this with all of you. I have dual boot. Gutsy and XP. Now I was never able to get wireless working properly on xp until I installed it on Gutsy. THEN windows xp installed it right.........something to think about eh ??????
Is it possible that windows xp is trying to convert to Gutsy ??????

[the_darkside_986]

For me, Ubuntu recognizes more hardware out of the box. Each time I do a fresh install of XP, the first things I must do is hunt my wireless card driver CD, then I gotta manually find and download my sound card drivers. Then I must manually download and install the nvidia drivers. Of course, Ubuntu has to download and install the nvidia drivers but it does that automatically without any real effort from the user.

My friend had to choose Ubuntu over Windows XP when he could no longer be hassled to reinstall XP every 30 days. But any O.S. that locks out a user from their own computer for ANY reason is unethical and not suitable for use.

The only hardware trouble he had with Ubuntu Gutsy was his wireless card, so I brought him the ndiswrapper debian packages. I noticed that the gtk frontend for ndiswrapper doesn't seem to work. And when I used the command-line tool, it didn't automatically modprobe the ndiswrapper kernel module. So I had to do "sudo modprobe ndiswrapper" and add the word "ndiswrapper" to /etc/modules. (I'm just stating that in case anyone else is having the same issue.)

But on topic, I like the design of Ubuntu much more than Windows XP. I mean, the Windows 9x series was just horrible with security, and while Windows NT tried to change that and add some multi-user POSIX stuff to Windows, it seems more like a cheap hack more than anything. No Windows application developer seems to know how to write applications that do not require Admin priveleges. No user seems to have enough common sense to set up a non-Admin account for everyday use. Even when I tell people to do that they ignore my advice and then whine about getting a virus.

But Ubuntu is a true mult-user system, not a cheap fix for an ugly insecure shell that was originally written for some insecure single-user single-task OS.

EDIT: I noticed that somewhere in this thread someone mentioned Flash player freezing in Firefox. This is indeed the fault of Adobe and an example of the problems with proprietary software (Flash player). It is closed-source so no one in the community can apply any bug fixes or examine the source code for security problems and other issues. Some might argue and say that it is a Firefox problem because it doesn't do this in Konqueror. But the only reason that Konqueror doesn't crash from it is because AFAIK Konqueror launches a separate process for plugins like that.

[yowshi]

ummm not gutsy no. gutsy came out in october or septtember this year and XP was out years ago

[Linux Daddy]

I just built a new computer. I didn't want to pony up $$$$$$ for XP. I also like to be able to add programs for free.

[tiachopvutru]

I like the "feel" of Ubuntu more..

Wonder if that's even a reason....

[ExpatPaul]

Linux is like opening up the hood of your car. Don't you want to know how your car works on the inside? Well, most people (such as the threadstarter) don't care about such things, they just want to push on the gas pedal and go somewhere. Linux, on the other hand, is about opening the hood and tinkering with your mechanical parts, checking the oil and transmission fluid levels, and maybe replacing a fan belt.

A lot of this, though, comes down to the fact that Windows is pre-installed on the vast majority of PCs which are configured - in the factory - to run Windows. If more PC manufacturers start to pre-install Ubuntu - or any other Linux distro - and make hardware choices accordingly, there will be less and less need to look under the hood.

[hetbeest]

I was quite happy running XP on one computer and Mandriva on another (oldie), until... I was stupid to upgrade to Vista. Apart from the hardware problems (soundcard, webcam), it is ssslllloooooowwwww. I tried installing Mandriva, but again soundcard roblems, Mandriva didn't even start and I wasn't aware that the soundcard was the problem. (K)Ubuntu did start, showed my the problem and after installing some additional Alsa-stuff it works fine. Although there is a flaw in the ATI-driver. I still have dual boot for Photoshop and my printer (canon Pixma iP5000), the latter does print high quality with TurboPrint, but the program is too clumbersome.

I do like the new explorer in Vista, having BIG thumbnails of all pictures an be able to go through them quickly, but...

By default I boot Kubuntu and I hardly ever boot Vista. Kubuntu is fast, Kubuntu doesn't have problems with virii, etc.

[litnsio2]

I use both. People cannot use Linux (and any other operating systems except Windows) with no obstacle in South Korea.
When I try to use internet banking or e.government, I must download active x controls for security purpose those can be implemented in other technologies. But there's no option for this.
Fortunately, there is a good effort to fix this (http://openweb.or.kr).

The reason why I choose Ubuntu? That's simple. Ubuntu is good, easy and stable. \\:D/

[lespaul_rentals]

A lot of this, though, comes down to the fact that Windows is pre-installed on the vast majority of PCs which are configured - in the factory - to run Windows. If more PC manufacturers start to pre-install Ubuntu - or any other Linux distro - and make hardware choices accordingly, there will be less and less need to look under the hood.

This is correct. I think if companies like Dell start distributing Ubuntu with good hardware for Linux, there will be fewer and fewer problems and times you have to "look under the hood." However, this will bring about yet another generation of idiot computer users, ones that don't even care about how their computers work. The difference is, Windows was designed for the idiots so they wouldn't have to learn. Linux was designed for the advanced users, or the idiots who do want to learn. If we have a bunch of noobs moving over to Linux, I predict there will be problems.

[Linuxratty]

windows functional?

look just because your experience was bad doesnt mean linux is inferior, maybe you should try another linux flavor?

I agree with this sentiment..If I had $100.00 for every time Ive said that to someone.
I used to be a Linspire/Freespire user and now use Klikit Linux...
There are lots of wonderful distros out there and before giving up,I would strongly advise you try them.

Now,as to the Firefox freezing when you run streaming video this is NOT a problem in Klikit Linux...I do not know how Chris fixed this,but he did.

Ubuntu is not for everyone...Different strokes for different folks, as they say.
In many ways,I. find Linux to be way more intuitive and user-friendly than Windows ever was..I can tweak to my hearts content and if I really mess something up,a reinstall takes less than a half hour and I don't have to contact the mother ship and beg permission to reinstall and I don't have to re-purchase Linux after X number of installs...I don't have to re-purchase it at all!
Except for some games and playing DVD's (yup,not overcome that hurdle yet) I can do anything with Klikit that a Windows user can with their buggy,virus craving OS.
Or at least anything I want to do.
So don't be so quick to discount Linux..it's a very powerful OS and I find it superior to Windows..So there you have it,my rant for the day..
.

[perixx]

Mostly, I'm tinkering around with Ubuntu, trying to get some more features working and personalize it bit by bit. I can do everything from chatting over surfing and watching films to gaming.

But native Win-Games do make more fun under Windows; that's why I'm keeping my XP - and because I can keep up with things and help friends with problems this way!

perixx

[Envergure]

I always liked Windows until I tried to learn Microsoft's APIs. That was it.
Now "Microsoft Works" is more of an oxymoron for me than an office suite :biggrin:.

[Cifra]

Why I chose Linux (sorry, Debian) over Windows?

With Windows, it takes less tweaking but you never get exactly what you want.

With Debian, I have to tweak stuff a lot, but I also learn a lot in the process, and the result is welll worth it.

Plus, Awn AWNS navigation and I still don't know why Microsoft doesn't get rid of Notepad.

[boast]

everyone hear seems to talk about tweaks and mods.


What do you speak of exactly? I must be out of the loop. (well, unless you guys are programmers, than nm :))

[jeffus_il]

1. You can't beat the price of Ubuntu.
2. It's built like an OS should be, has a kernel, is always used multiuser, all windows users I have seen are always admins, otherwise you can't do anything.
3. I can always fix Linux using a live CD, I can access and change any file , no matter how bad I messed it up.
4. Things happen in Linux, by natural supply and demand, because of the great multinational community who contribute from their hearts.
5. We don't have to accept what the monopolistic giant in Seattle dictates, You have a lower risk, having the possibility of reading all the code on your machine.
6. I have never had a virus or spy ware on Linux.
7. Linux breaks down borders through international cooperation.
8. You can tailor it to your needs, you only install what you need.
9. It's easier to install Ubuntu than Windows
10. I don't have to buy software to play a DVD

Any many more reasons
...

[money2themax]

everyone hear seems to talk about tweaks and mods.


What do you speak of exactly? I must be out of the loop. (well, unless you guys are programmers, than nm :))

That can be anything from changing the appearance to messing with the source code

[iPower]

Becorse it isn't Microsoft Windows :popcorn:

[hhhhhx]

There are too many things to list:lolflag:

[iammeagain]

avoid viruses
show off compiz
saves my windows system files during crashes
allows me an OS all the time (live cd)
Im a nerd
The problems it does have are fixable
People are intrigued by it
It doesn't overheat and fry my motherboard when running word pad
It gets me ladies... one day hopefully
Because I can and it's free.

[Scarlett]

At the start, I choose Ubuntu because all my anti-ware on Windows needed more money to keep updating and protecting me from all the Bad Things out there on the internet. I was tired of all my programs, and the operating system itself, wanting to phone home with updates of god-only-knows-what, and I wanted to have more control over my machine.

It was not an easy transition and I frequently wished I could go back to the familiar Windows. There was a rather steep learning curve and a huge shift in how to approach the whole desktop experience. It was only the sheer hatred and paranoia of feeling completely out of control of what my system was doing and who it was communicating with that drove me to learn something new.

Now that I've been using Ubuntu almost exclusively (at home) for about a year, getting used to the CLI and how to make it work for me and figuring out where things go and how they interact, I find Windows very constricting. I'm frequently frustrated at work when I have to fix something on my Windows machine and I start thinking how much easier it would be if the system had more transparency and if I had a support network like Linux offers. I like that Ubuntu is secure and stable right out of the box and I love that it's almost infinitely customizable. Most of all, I love that it it's free and I don't have to pay a dime to upgrade or get help or keep the system safe from malware.

Oh.... and not that it's important or anything... but I absolutely LOVE the way I've been able to customize the look of my desktop. Nothing that Windows or OS X offers matches what I consider to be the almost perfection I've managed with all the options available on Linux. (YMMV)

[reincarnut]

what about "i'm poor. i can't afford most windows programs, including the operating system." i can do almost everything on free software, legally, with the help of my trusty hylobatida here.

i know, i know it is 'almost' but then hey, "it is not the piano that makes music, it the guy at the piano".

PLUS i love the look on the faces of die-hard windows fans/users when they try to use my laptop, especially my 'big shot at microsoft' friend/classmate.

[Musky Melon]

Truth is that you can pretty much do anything on any platform. I used Linux mainly for exploratory reasons. I really have no intentions of switching unless I need to completely overhaul my computer and just want to give using only Linux a spin. Currently, I've had more problems running Linux than I have had running Windows. I'm not saying anything about either OS, I'm just stating what my experience has been thus far. The other gripe I have is that the fonts don't look good on my monitor. I've seen them look pretty good on other monitors but not that one I own.

[radlations]

Everytime I'm about to give up on Ubuntu, I come back to this thread and it keeps me going.

I hope I'm not the only one benefiting from this.

[pkid]

I love Synaptic and Ubuntu runs faster on my machine than Windows does.

[barbedsaber]

Why did I chose linux over windows, where do I start. Oh wait, my docter told me not to type pages and pages so I can't answer that question.:lolflag:

new answer

Why did I chose linux over windows, where do I start... oh wait, whats this written on my brand new keyboard, good for 10 million key presse only.

[KD6TZF]

This is why I now only use linux:
I was tired of the one hour/week devoted to keeping my windows free from viruses, spyware, and running quickly.
I was tired of having to reinstall windows every month to keep it running as quick as it does when it is new.
I was tired of having to reboot daily to keep my computer quick.
I was tired of the boring interface.
I was tired of trying to find a program to do X, Y, or Z.
Honestly the list goes on and on.

There has not been a problem which I could not fix in Ubuntu or get help fixing. Let's look at some of the things that Ubuntu can do that Windows cannot:
Stay free from viruses and spyware with minimal effort.
Stay at the same speed whether the install is days or years old.
Stay on for months at a time without slowing down.
Tweak the interface to look however I would like.
Updates and upgrades are forever free.
Package management is Ubuntu is vastly superior. Whenever I need a program, Google does not need to be your first stop, Synaptic is.
Rather than tracking down updates to every program you ever have installed, 90% of them are taken care of by Ubuntu and if you can find repositories for your other programs, even more can be.

To me these things are enough. Not to say things have not gone wrong in Ubuntu, but I have worked these things out, with the help of this community and Google. I am pretty handy with computers so perhaps this is why I like Ubuntu more, but it is not for everyone. Good luck and I hope you to give Ubuntu and Linux another try sometime.
You hit the nail squarely on the head as far as I'm concerned.

I switched to Ubuntu about 4 years ago when my XP ware died on my laptop. Unable to find Boot Loader. A friend helped me recover my data and installed Ubuntu at my request. I was sick of virus issues and wanted to get away from having to constantly pay for upgrades and other software.

My only knowledge of other flavors of Linux is second hand but seems to indicate that Ubuntu is probably the best flavor available - at least for me. I don't have time to experiment. I have a farm to operate and can only work on the computer after all the animals are taken care of.

I do remember the stress I used to feel with Windows and that is part of the reason I bought a farm - to reduce stress. That is also why I use Ubuntu - it reduces stress.
:smile:

[tomjennings]

There is a community of users (like this one) and of developers (like this one :-) and while linux is often "messier" to adjust tweak and install, you CAN tweak and adjust. "Commercial" stuff for Windows sometimes does appear simpler -- because there are usually fewer choices. When things go wrong, you're often screwed.

I've used linux and unix on "PCs" since the early 90's. It's much more transparent -- you can,if you care, know what's going on inside the box, and get rid of crap you don't want, and add what you do.

It can make some people a bit insecure, since there isn't "one best way" do do a thing, or a mandatory option, or comes-with-one-browser, so you kinda have to make choices in places where you don't with microsoft or apple.

iTunes sucks too; it's really bolted to an economic model, rather than just helping you with your music collection. It's terrible at ripping CDs (eg. naming problems) and it puts things in seeminlgy random places.

On linux, there's all sorts of choices. Most of my music is DJ'd compilations at which iTunes is TERRIBLE. I use amarok, but rip using very old fashioned GRIP, which lets me not only control where and how things get named, but lets me... CONTRIBUTE! names to the freeDB of some names unlike iTunes and the horrible Gracenote.

(here's unix/linux vs commercial for you: long long ago in a galaxy far far away (around 1998) there was a thing called the CDDB, CD Data Base, whichdid what gracenote does; it was build ENTIRELY out of usor mac.er (you! me!) supported data. Programs like GRIP rip a disk, try to ID it in CDDB, if so, names your music for you. If not (new disc!) you would type the data in yourself, cick SEND, it you'd update the CDDB for others to benefit.

CDDB was "open". Long story short, the data got swiped by the Gracenote people and made commercial!

But freeDB itself spun off from the same data, and now has more explicit control (CC I think) over the data.

That pretty much sums up the philospohical and practical differences. I

[yaknowwat]

better processing power quite nice neat things that you can do what to learn more than one OS its also nice I don't really need an antivirus...

Ubuntu can easily be made so that the entire family can use it easily.

[software pimp]

Ubuntu has done what Napoleon could not do - bring people together -
I'm not completely done with Windows (shame on me ) - but the more i get to use Ubuntu - the more i get through the pains of adapting - the more i luv it -

LINUX helps you free your mind - a la Matrix -

[baxterdog]

My main reson is that the system makes more sense. Ports closed untill opened...etc. The file sysem makes more sense... c'mon, it's just better (than what I am not going to name names\

[eXcentra]

For me, it's more quick and efficient and, similar to baxterdog's response, it makes a lot of sense. It also just works.
But also because it's just more darn fun to use. :D It makes for a great user experience.

[thecure]

I've pretty much had it up to here with Ubuntu. So I wanna see why other people choose this OS over the functional OS that is Windows. To me it seems if you want Ubuntu to work correctly, you have to tweak a bunch of errors. It's like having a good looking son who doesn't know how to do ****.

So Please. Tell me why you choose Ubuntu. And you can't say compiz or beryl.

I don't want to call you a troll but are you serious? Try the whole phlosophy of open source including Ubuntu. Windows- pay for it; have to upgrade your hardware with each upgrade; how many licenses do you want for that server - pay for each user; device drivers - have always had more problems with windows; oops you need to pay for every piece of software unless you want some spyware/malware; reregister your copy of Vista - call them each time because you updated your hardware; visit a webpage and bring home nasties of all kind; workig with sharing printers and files is actually easier with linux; ubuntu is much more functional then windows out of the box... open office installed; every piece of software is updated automatically; less down time; faster boots; run servers on machines that won't run xp. Never defrag your drive - how much time do you spend with that?

[Ocxic]

don't forget if your change your OEM motherboard that came with your computer you need to buy a new copy / license of / for windows.

[maestrobwh1]

It's free, and loads 3 times faster, and if you need a program to do something, its free and someone made it.

New version? It's free too. No need to buy SP1, SP2, etc

I was so annoyed the last time I used XP on my system. It looks cool and all the way I have it configured, but it had to download virus updates, the firewall HAS be be on so that slows things down.

What an odd question. I have been using Kubuntu for so long, I really can't imagine using another OS, especially something I would have to buy.

The ONLY thing I miss is the iTunes interface with my iPod. Linux stuff hasn't pulled off that level of seamless.

[Wiebelhaus]

Because windows sucks and that comes from a person that fixed 4800 of them this year.

[cas118]

I've used MS software since the big bad DOS days. I didn't know there was anything else out there. It was simple - you had a computer, then you likely had Windows 3.1 as well.

And then Windows 95.

and so on.

But since the explosion of the internet, and Windows XP being released everyone seems to be getting more savvy.

I'm not going to whine about Windows - I'll admit that I've had my difficulties with Linux and still do to this day. I frist tried SuSe 9.3 and had a hhard time with it. I ran it on my PC for 6 months and was grateful when I uninstalled it and returned to my familiar Windows XP environment.

Windows ran all the programs for me, and the thing that has it remaining on my system is 2 reasons:
- Microsoft Office
- Games

Everything else in Linux I love. As some have mentioned the package management is an absolute joy. Need a program? No problem - go search for it in the Add/Remove programs tool. Know the name? Bang it in the command line. You can have a program installed in 10 seconds! It takes almost 30 seconds for Windows to start the MSI engine.

I know you've said no compiz mentions - but lets face facts. If you like it - it is a beautiful window manager. It is versatile yet functional. It stands up well to Apple's X and makes Vista's DWM look like a school project.

On top of this - I can run XP in a virtual machine thanks to VirtualBox - which meets my Office fix. I hate to say it, but Office 2007 really shines for me. The new UI is radical and well thought out (except for the lack of customisation).

File access is incrediably swift in Ubuntu - have you tried unzipping in XP? The native zip application is a joke. It took over 30 minutes to unzip a 1.5MB zip file full of 16x16 png images. Linux - about 5 seconds. Whatever happened at Redmond when they were working on the new kernel, file access speeds were clearly not at the top of the list.

I dual boot into Vista to play games. It's also there as a convenience. I need to know Vista's workings as I work with Windows PCs. If I don't have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Windows 98 -> Vista, then I can't do my job well. That's a fact of life. The clients I work with can't switch to Linux. They are primary schools that don't have the resources to manage a Linux network and deal with the problems of file types, educational software written only for Windows (sometimes Macs), and the learning curve involved in using new applications. Note applications - not operating systems.

The thing I really like about Ubuntu - it goes out of its way to keep out of your way. When you need something, you scratch the surface and it is revealed to you. In Windows, and predominantly Vista, it insists itself upon you. It has to get in your face and tell you what it's doing all the time:

Playing a game? Screw that! I'm going to defrag your drive and do a spyware scan while you're online!

Installing an update? I'm going to irritate you until you're so fed up that you reboot out of anger rather than being a convenient time.

I'm no Microsoft fanboy - and I'm not biased about Linux either. I think they both have their pros and cons. It was using Vista that finally made me try Ubuntu and Linux generally again. I'm glad I did. I feel I can do so much more, in an indescribable way. It's already been mentioned how you have to scour freeware and shareware sites trying to find a tool to do a specific job. Coming to the close of 2007 - you'll be hard pressed to find there isn't a Linux app already sitting in a repository that wouldn't do the same thing cheaper, with more versatility, and 9 times out of 10 better.

So that's it really - there's other stuff - but I don't have time. Humorously, I booted into Vista yesterday. It told me I hadn't ran it in 32 days!

I choose Ubuntu because I had a good initial experience (Edgy Eft), and decided to crack on.

I choose Ubuntu because it runs super-fast on a computer that's 3 and a half years old.

I choose Ubuntu because it is more customisable and versatile than both Windows and Macs (Macs are a closed bonnet of their own kind - but I wont start that rant).

and mostly...

I choose Ubuntu because it doesn't frustrate me as much as other operating systems have.

[pkid]

New version? It's free too. No need to buy SP1, SP2, etc

To be fair to Microsoft I have not had to pay for Service Packs. But if you do want the next version of Windows you do need to pay for it so you are correct that major upgrades are not free like they are for Ubuntu.

[weblordpepe]

Nobody likes when a new version of Windows comes out. But everyone loves when a new version of Linux kernel comes out :P

[money2themax]

switch to Openoffice.org and use wine no more windows yay! ^^

[Wiebelhaus]

Usability , Stability , Freedom , Security , Control , Reliability and it's fun.

[mdsmedia]

In summary, because I've used Windows, and Ubuntu is just better.

With Windows it feels like you're always wrestling with the system just to keep it manageable. Linux/Ubuntu doesn't feel like that.

In Windows, you're always looking for that shareware tool to do the job. After using a cut down app for 30 days (never long enough...or too long) you have to decide whether to fork out money to continue with it, and pay for upgrades to make it a little less unworkable. In Linux, find a tool in the package manager, see if it works for you, if it does, keep on using it. If not, find something else that might be better.

Linux is not perfect. Ubuntu isn't perfect. Windows isn't perfect. But at least in Linux you can improve your experience without having to jump through hoops just to find something that works. If it doesn't work, try something else.

[vexorian]

I've pretty much had it up to here with Ubuntu. So I wanna see why other people choose this OS over the functional OS that is Windows. To me it seems if you want Ubuntu to work correctly, you have to tweak a bunch of errors. It's like having a good looking son who doesn't know how to do ****.

So Please. Tell me why you choose Ubuntu. And you can't say compiz or beryl.
Windows is not functional.

I reserve my right to include compiz and beryl in my list of reasons to use Linux.

Linux is just a more effective OS for the things I do, I like to deploy cross platform C++ games, join programming contests, browse the web, play simple not over done games. And customize my stuff like crazy since I like my individuality (And therefore I include compiz-fusion in the list of things I like) Linux is simply much better at this than windows. I also need to do homework every once in a while and openOffice suffices for that or even tops MSOffice regarding writing math stuff.

I also love the fact that no unexpected issue is gonna affect me, none of my problems are surprise and once I fixed the "errors" I don't have to setup my machine over and over again, in windows some esoteric virus can end everything or a driver could make windows freeze during boot after an antivirus update requiring me to , in the best case scenario use the ultra unfriendly and limit "recovery console" to fix stuff and in the worst case it would require me to reinstall windows, a process that takes ages. I can just count on Linux, if anything very bad happened I couldn't boot it again (not like it is likely) I would just insert my live-cd and still get to do my homework.

It is also free open source software, so I don't lock anyone in to expensive technologies by using it. So, I must say I love ubuntu in all its dimensions. Any more questions?

[Eddie Wilson]

If you had ever really worked on any computers running Windows then you would see what an inferior operating system Windows is. I hope that people keep using Microsoft Windows. It puts a lot of money in my pocket repairing Windows installs.
Eddie

[Wiebelhaus]

If you had ever really worked on any computers running Windows then you would see what an inferior operating system Windows is. I hope that people keep using Microsoft Windows. It puts a lot of money in my pocket repairing Windows installs.
Eddie

Right! I on the other hand will enjoy seeing their demise , even if it means I have to go drive a fork lift.

[mdsmedia]

Right! I on the other hand will enjoy seeing their demise , even if it means I have to go drive a fork lift.I don't work in IT, but I do have to work on Windows. I have to wrestle with it every working day, because that's what is on my work computers, because accounting software is written only for Windows, and Accountants (my bosses) know nothing but Windows.

So, the demise of Windows would be a breath of fresh air for me too. Then, maybe, people would see what they're missing and software would be written for Linux.

I don't make my living because of Windows, but it sure slows me down every day.

[Wiebelhaus]

I don't work in IT, but I do have to work on Windows. I have to wrestle with it every working day, because that's what is on my work computers, because accounting software is written only for Windows, and Accountants (my bosses) know nothing but Windows.

So, the demise of Windows would be a breath of fresh air for me too. Then, maybe, people would see what they're missing and software would be written for Linux.

I don't make my living because of Windows, but it sure slows me down every day.

I actually know a accountant who converted his whole office to Gnu/Linux , I'm not sure what he's using but I could find out , anyway I like the way you worded the end , lol no kidding....

I might be being a little exaggerative , But I've been feeling like the guy at the end of "Office Space" dreaming about taking it a little easy with hard simple work , I don't know I think I may be getting a little burned out , honestly.

[jfank]

The way I look at it is Microsoft is a monopoly. They try to control everything. Now what I mean by that is when you look around the world what types of new technology is operated by a MS program? When I drove a semi, my 2005 Freightliner Classic's computer had Microsoft Windows in it. That is just one point right there, but with Ubuntu you don't have to buy a brand new computer every 3 months to keep up with the new script in the OS. Ubuntu is 100 times faster than Windows is, and Windows will never have the security that Linux in general has. You read in the newspaper or hear on the news all the time about viruses that attack computers to destroy data, and sadly all of those computers are operated by Windows. Plus I like the ability to tweak the OS and change things to how I want them, or completely re-write the kernal and make my own version of Linux.

[money2themax]

now don't take this the wrong way but i think the reason nobody makes viruses/malware is because the ppl making the viruses are running Linux [or don't know how to right them for Linux cuz we evolve, adapt, survive] plus most [if not all] of the Linux community are smart enough to stop them cold and fix the problem right away unlike Microsoft who take forever and a day to even think about solving the problem and then its only half assed attempt at a fix.

P.S. I'm not trying to say your all hackers or anything like that i know that you guys are out to make the world a better place

[Wiebelhaus]

now don't take this the wrong way but i think the reason nobody makes viruses/malware is because the ppl making the viruses are running Linux [or don't know how to right them for Linux cuz we evolve, adapt, survive] plus most [if not all] of the Linux community are smart enough to stop them cold and fix the problem right away unlike Microsoft who take forever and a day to even think about solving the problem and then its only half assed attempt at a fix.

P.S. I'm not trying to say your all hackers or anything like that i know that you guys are out to make the world a better place

I am and I can recall the first underground how to I read many years ago , the very first line was something along the lines of " First , Get a real operating system like Slackware" lol

[money2themax]

hey i read that one too but i'm not in to viruses they aren't what i'm interested in i'm more repair [IE working with ppl and helping them solve there computer repair problems i'm really good at it even when I don't have the computer in question in hand]

[mdsmedia]

I actually know a accountant who converted his whole office to Gnu/Linux , I'm not sure what he's using but I could find out , anyway I like the way you worded the end , lol no kidding....

I might be being a little exaggerative , But I've been feeling like the guy at the end of "Office Space" dreaming about taking it a little easy with hard simple work , I don't know I think I may be getting a little burned out , honestly.If you can find out, that's be great. Not sure that it'd make much difference at work, but I've got some clients of my own and I'd love to be all Linux.

[mdsmedia]

hey i read that one too but i'm not in to viruses they aren't what i'm interested in i'm more repair [IE working with ppl and helping them solve there computer repair problems i'm really good at it even when I don't have the computer in question in hand]Did you have to mention IE? :lolflag:

[money2themax]

well yah know lol no but i figured i keep you all on your toes

[mdsmedia]

The way I look at it is Microsoft is a monopoly. They try to control everything. Now what I mean by that is when you look around the world what types of new technology is operated by a MS program? When I drove a semi, my 2005 Freightliner Classic's computer had Microsoft Windows in it. That is just one point right there, but with Ubuntu you don't have to buy a brand new computer every 3 months to keep up with the new script in the OS. Ubuntu is 100 times faster than Windows is, and Windows will never have the security that Linux in general has. You read in the newspaper or hear on the news all the time about viruses that attack computers to destroy data, and sadly all of those computers are operated by Windows. Plus I like the ability to tweak the OS and change things to how I want them, or completely re-write the kernal and make my own version of Linux.Not to mention, or should I say "not forgetting", that most of the spam that hits your mailbox every day is spawned by insecure Windows computers.

Windows fans (I didn't say fanbois) usually forget that it's not the technically competant Windows user who creates these problems, it's the other 99% of Windows users and their machines.

Put a technically incompetant person in front of an Ubuntu (or any Linux) machine and you're FAR less likely (not impossible) to have it used as a zombie.

[money2themax]

Not to mention, or should I say "not forgetting", that most of the spam that hits your mailbox every day is spawned by insecure Windows computers.

Windows fans (I didn't say fanbois) usually forget that it's not the technically competant Windows user who creates these problems, it's the other 99% of Windows users and their machines.

Put a technically incompetant person in front of an Ubuntu (or any Linux) machine and you're FAR less likely (not impossible) to have it used as a zombie.

Don't forget Chain Letter/ E-mails god those get annoying fast

[mdsmedia]

Don't forget Chain Letter/ E-mails god those get annoying fastAnd the HOAX virus emails that keep being dredged up after 5-6 years.

[jfank]

See when i first started using Ubuntu I was of course questionable on the operating system, but it was also a brand new OS system to me, and I had to learn how to use it. Now that I've made the switch I can honestly see just how worthless Windows actually is. People may make viruses on a linux OS, but they might also have a windows operated system in the background to use as a testing target to see if the virus actually works, then it is spread over the world. I doubt viruses will ever be able to be made to crash a Linux based machine, because of the security behind Linux, and that it does change everyday.

[phillywize]

Maybe it's been said already, but exploiting compromised windows machines is kind of a big business these days. There's money in it because windows is ubiquitous and vulnerable. I wonder if there were as much moolah to be had in compromising linux systems, whether the purveyors of spam would have found some exploits. But for the potential profit to be there, my guess is linux would have to be more way more widespread than it is.

Anyhow, as to the general thread topic, I run Ubuntu because I got a new computer to replace my old dual booted machine, and never got around to installing windows...kept planning to do it, and then one day realized that with virtualization as mature as it is, I just didn't need to have a native windows install. So now I just run linux and have a virtual windows machine for that killer app of killer apps, itunes (ok, I can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth already. But the FOSS universe hasn't beaten itunes yet, imho).

[money2themax]

meh armaroK and if i want movies or music i go to a move store like Suncoast or a music store like F.Y.E.

[staticvoid]

because Its just too cool.
i guess you have to use it to believe it :)

[cmat]

It does everything Windows can do without being Windows. I guess not games but really that's an low priority for me. I would like to see AutoCAD on linux in the near future though.

[Peyton]

Actually, I'd rather say that ubuntu is what you make out of it. It can be tweaked to a exteme measure as linux is known to be, or it can be out-of-the-box inuitive.

Right on.

[Trymic]

Ubuntu is amazing faster, reliable and safe.
The only problem is that some apps still are not having linux version like AutoCad. This is the only thing that prevent me to delete my windows partition.
ALSO UBUNTU IS FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[stephenbrazier]

can you visit this thread please. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=648973

[phillywize]

Re the great Linux vs. Windows debate, where we all get to be trolls...I propose that linux is morally superior to windows -- FOSS has more highmindedness to it, and it really gives power to the people (or at least those who use it). Windows is way more, I don't know, bourgeois. That said, most of us in the bourgeoisie who would criticize bourgieness are hypocrites for doing so.

I think windows is, for the average home user, technically superior to linux because it's more likely to work out of the box, and easily provide the functionality people want.* I wouldn't try to install it on my parents' machine; they'd flip. Linux offers more, but needs more in terms of technical knowledge to really make it sing. I love my Ubuntu setup, but have had to do more than a little text editor/command line hacking to make it go. Never had to do that with XP. Not a knock to linux, but to my mind, it says a lot about the two worlds.

For power users, admins, etc., it's a question of need and preference. Obviously linux and FOSS generally are serious players offering real advantages.

*Admitted: Windows also supplies lots of functionality many people don't want. E.g., all the crippleware, adware, and garbage that usually comes with an OEM windows install. I think the biggest piece of cr*p out there is MS Works. Phew. What an awful package. Can't understand why that monstrosity still exists...

[Spirotot]

Haha, my reason is kinda funny.

My Dad installed a demo of some parental controls on my computer (he was planning on buying the full version of the program, later). The program was working fine, but I had installed Ubuntu on a partition on my laptop, to get around the parental controls completely (I didn't like him logging/being able to read my IM convos! Plus, it had a keylogger, so he could pretty much get all my passwords...). But I still HAD to do some stuff on Vista (the original OS), like using Microsoft Access, etc. (Yes, I know that OpenOffice does all the same stuff MS Access does, but it doesn't do it as easily. Plus, it was for a test, and I didn't have time to figure out how OpenOffice works.) But, as it turns out, the parental controls had an "internal error" (hehe, don't know how that happened. I didn't delete any important files... ;)), and it wouldn't let me on the Internet at all. So, I asked my Dad to uninstall the program, but he couldn't, because he forgot his password. (Convenient, eh?). It's been more than a week, and he still hasn't called the company to retrieve his password, so I've been on Ubuntu since. And, although I don't like it quite as much as Vista, I do have to say that it's VERY close. One of the biggest reasons is that it's much, much faster than Vista. I have a mid-range laptop, and Vista was somewhat slow on it, but Ubuntu is very fast on it. The biggest disklike that I have is that alot of Microsoft games/programs don't run on in (even in WINE), but it's tolerable, and probably fixable, in the future.

Edit: Also, I had a heck of a time getting sound to work with Ubuntu, and it still doesn't work 100% (the regular speakers don't cut out when I plug in headphones...), but I'm sure it's fixable. I just haven't taken the time to figure out how.

[argie]

Why? Funny you ask.

1. I don't have to worry where my programs are installed.
2. I don't have to worry about where my settings are kept.
3. Things just work.
4. Keeping up to date is extremely simple.
5. Installing programs is extremely simple.
6. I get multiple workspaces by default.
7. The shell is easy to access.

The terminal is so important to me now, I can't believe I once lived without it. I'm just a normal user, no linux expert, but damn, nothing beats the console for usability once you cross the initial learning hurdle.

[money2themax]

ple.
5. Installing programs is extremely simple.

I don't know about that if you have to install something through terminal installing programs can be a chore

[fatality_uk]

Because it just works :)

[AgentZ86]

Because it just works :)

I like this answer too, but here is more of my reasons

It works, I like it, it's free, I'm free from software bondage, and it feels like I'm sticking it to the man when I use Linux LOL

Ha, Ha, Ha Up yours MS:guitar:

Anyhow I also like the fact that when making donations to a linux OS development that I've actually paid for something I wanted and not because I was forced to pay for it.
And it feels much better that way.

Not to mention that when I'm forced to pay for something that does not really work well, and then I'm forced to purchase other things to make it work well. Like Virus Protection, and popup blockers, and spam blockers, and mal-ware blocker and orphan file cleaners and registry cleaners, and AHHHHHHH It's a paradox !!!!!! Where do I get off of this merry go round.

Well I get off on linux LOL
Once again Up your MS :guitar:

Well anyhow thats my 2 cents on things.

Thanks for reading.

P.S don't get me wrong I don't like MS but I do like Bill Gates, he's very smart and a great business man. He also makes big donations to worthy causes. I don't believe he totally controls all the negative things about MS that most of us don't like just fyi on that.

[sh1v]

It's free, and loads 3 times faster, and if you need a program to do something, its free and someone made it.

New version? It's free too. No need to buy SP1, SP2, etc

I was so annoyed the last time I used XP on my system. It looks cool and all the way I have it configured, but it had to download virus updates, the firewall HAS be be on so that slows things down.

What an odd question. I have been using Kubuntu for so long, I really can't imagine using another OS, especially something I would have to buy.

The ONLY thing I miss is the iTunes interface with my iPod. Linux stuff hasn't pulled off that level of seamless.

I would really like to see where you purchase the Sp1 and Sp2 updates. As for me, i got them AUTOMATICALLY from microsoft.

Regarding the virus updates, not sure which software you have used but nod32 virus protection software automatically downloads the latest virus definations. Same goes for most of the anti-virus software out there

[isurf]

I installed Ubuntu along with XP and now, I decided to remove XP and to keep Ubu alone. It just works fine for me...

[JT9161]

I've got several reasons
1.Security especially after getting hit w/ the ultimate Defender trojan
2.Cost basically I'm broke
3. 2 random reboots and a error message telling me it couldn't find My Documents before the first one

[master5o1]

Ubuntu works so much smoother on my system than Windows XP and Vista ever did.

[cartisdm]

To be honest, I don't have a problem with MS. I might be in for a world of insults from some linux users out there but really, Microsoft created a great product and business is business and they excel at it. They might go over the top on things and create a monopoly to an extent, but people use their product.

As a knowledgable computer user you might feel Windows holds you back, but look at it from the rest of the worlds point of view - they don't know what the heck their doing anyway. With the exception of Ubuntu most distros have at least a moderately high learning curve.

As for my reason to switch....linux is just cool to tell people about. I know I don't use it to it's full potential but it makes me feel good learning things constantly and I def. can't complain about all the free stuff:)

[leoplanxxi]

Sorry for my English :P
I think Linux is more secure than Windows XP.
In early 2006 I discovered Linux, because a friend lent me a copy of Mandriva Linux 2006, and I installed it on my PC, but I couldn't get my sound card work :(. So, I uninstalled Mandriva and returned to Windows XP. Then, my father told me about Ubuntu. Also, he told me about its features, and its resistence against viruses. That's why I am using Linux on my PC.

When I used Windows XP, my PC often were infected with a common virus called "Brontok". So, every month I had to format my PC to fix that problem. With Ubuntu, I had never been infected with Brontok... So I don't have to format my PC anymore :).

[sh1v]

Sorry for my English :P
I think Linux is more secure than Windows XP.
In early 2006 I discovered Linux, because a friend lent me a copy of Mandriva Linux 2006, and I installed it on my PC, but I couldn't get my sound card work :(. So, I uninstalled Mandriva and returned to Windows XP. Then, my father told me about Ubuntu. Also, he told me about its features, and its resistence against viruses. That's why I am using Linux on my PC.

When I used Windows XP, my PC often were infected with a common virus called "Brontok". So, every month I had to format my PC to fix that problem. With Ubuntu, I had never been infected with Brontok... So I don't have to format my PC anymore :).

have you ever tried to find the source of the problem? Do you visit porn sites often? i mean if the virus infects your computer automatically no matter what you did then i should be having the same problem here.

Have you tried installing a decent anti virus program?
There is AVG anti virus, Nod32 anti virus, etc

Do you use firefox or IE? if you use firefox do u use adblock?

Why not put some effort into figuring out the source of the problem before giving up on the whole OS?

[tonytraductor]

Windows sucks.
If you're having trouble with bugs and stuff, you should stick with the LTS version of Ubuntu (currently Dapper Drake).
Very stable, very secure, it works great.
And, you can't beat the price!

With ubuntu I have all the software I need for all of my work, productivity is up (without wasting time rebooting every 5 minutes for updates or messing with viruses and crap), and my overhead is low (same software I use in proprietary equivalents would cost me thousands of dollars).

What's not to like?

[BLTicklemonster]

After much thought on the subject, I'd have to say that it goes pretty much like this:

I buy my computer, and it's mine. I can do with it as I please. Therefore, it bothers me that I normally would have software on it that doesn't allow me to do this. Let's say Microsoft built computers. Imagine an EULA that stated that, once running, the computer could not be used at any other place than exactly where you plugged it in, and in the exact physical space it occupies at the first boot. You can't unplug it and move it to a new space in your house, nor can you take it with you to a new house when you move. (not exactly the same as the EULA for the software, I know, but I'm being dramatic here)

Plus, over the years I've read all the hype about how Microsoft forces other businesses out and assumes their product line. This is the dark side of America, and I am against the entire Greed for Profit's sake thing. (such as CEOs getting bonuses that equal more than the amount of money they saved in the fiscal year by laying off a whole tier of workers)

I own my computer, I want to own my software. I can do with as I wish with my computer, so I want to do as I wish with my software.

Besides all of that, Ubuntu is just way cooler. There's so much cool stuff you can do with it.

And in the end, once you try Ubuntu and get used to it, then you find that, generally, there's no reason to have Windows in the first place, so it boils down to spend money to be restricted, or obtain freedom for free.

I'll go with the free option anytime.

[perixx]

i mean if the virus infects your computer automatically no matter what you did then i should be having the same problem here.

Erm, sorry, but... I always thought that's the very advantage of Linux -
that it can't get 'automatically' infected by a virus, due to quick security updates and most especially because of its security-architecture that prevents apps from running as 'root/admin'?

So far I've only read about a handful of 'proof-of-concept' virusses (not in the wild) under Linux and the possibility to catch a rootkit when using insecure repositories...

Maybe Firefox can get messed up when using old/insecure versions, especially along with using javascripts, but not the system itself, I suppose.

perixx

[Achetar]

I honestly don't see your point. I mean, once it is working in lin, you never have to mess with fixing it again.Ever.

I have a better question, "If you have Linux, why do you use Windows XP?"

The only reason I still have XP is Swords of the Stars, MoO2, and CnC Generals refuse to run on Ubuntu (well they do, but then they run slooooow or crash).

The Battle for Wesnoth is a great game for Linux, so is OpenArena, and Cube/AssualtCube/Saurbraten.

[afderrick]

Ok so I have been reading this for several days and finally decide to thrown in my two cents. I originally made the switch to Ubuntu because
(reason 1) I needed to upgrade my computer and was out of Windows XP licenses. I understand that I can call Microsoft and they can give me another activation if I ran out of them but I wasn't interested in doing this.
(reason 2) I also didn't want pirated software on my computer. Which is reason 2, as a poor college student (I now have a job but didn't a few years ago) I never had the money to buy the software I needed so I ended up having illegal versions of the software to do school work and other simple tasks that I needed or maybe wanted to do. I have morals I don't want pirated software on my computer dangit!
(reason 3) I have heard enough horror stories about windows vista and the cost alone was enough to scare me away from getting that thing on my new computer, and support for Windows XP will be coming to an end soon enough.
(reason 4) My sister used to put tons of viruses and spyware and adware on my parent's computer, with the new linux I don't have to worry about these things anymore, now she has her own laptop that is a walking security vulnerability so this doesn't really apply to me, but the security is nice.
(reason 5) I've enjoyed having the new Ubuntu on my computer. I have been able to get my girlfriend to enjoy it and it does everything I want it to do. I have tried to get other people to like it but haven't had much luck. But my last reason is I just like using it, it's nice and effective.

[Mad_Dawg]

After 2 trojan horses in 6 months, courtesy of my niece, I decided to try something different.

[mdpalow]

I'm gonna have to jump in on this one... :)

1. I freshly installed Ubuntu 7.10 and everything worked out of the box (Internet, sound, hardware)

2. My install time has gone down from a couple hours to less than a 1/2 hour (fresh install). When I use my back-up, I can restore my entire system including VMware w/ Windows XP, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver in 19 minutes.

3. I wrote a script (see signature below) that allows me to restore every time with no fuss. I could NEVER get a restore to work properly on Windows. ALWAYS ended up doing a fresh install.

4. No viruses or anything like that to worry about. I don't even waste time installing all that stuff anymore.

5. Ubuntu doesn't bloat up like Windows with its registry; not to mention all the problems with registry.

6. Updates come out every 6 months, which means I download new version, burn to disk and all my updates start over, which means any re-install is quicker again.

7. The best forum I've ever been in where people are there to help you with almost ANY question/problem you have AND you usually get an answer in a few minutes.

8. It's free

9. Open Office is already installed when you install 7.10, which saves more time and MONEY.

10. All the free software.

11. I can run windows IF I need to run something that just isn't available in Linux or as good.

12. Synaptic... install all the software you want and it REMOVES it when you don't want it anymore and doesn't leave stuff everywhere to bloat up your system.

I'm sure there are more, but in the interest of keeping this somewhat short...

Yes, there's a learning curve, but had you never seen Windows before now, you'd be complaining about it being difficult and problematic. I've had enough family and friends ask for help with windows to know this is true. It's all about what you know.

Yeah, there are some issues with having to install Flash, Codecs files/drivers and such, but if you like Ubuntu and just need a little help, then check out my script by clicking on my links below. They will help you and make things easy and quick for you.

For everyone else, I'm REALLY NOT trying to 'plug' my script, but it does help new users and even experienced users to get up and running much more quickly, so you can spend more time doing what you like.

Lastly, Linux (Ubuntu) is a challenge to some degree, but I imagine a lot of people enjoy a challenge to see what more they're capable of learning about their computer and OS. I know I do.

Linux (Ubuntu) will only get better. I'm predicting a "REVOLUTION!" ;) and that it will dominate Windows in a few years. If so, you'll be a veteran by then and maybe even get a chuckle out of it when you think about your post.

Don't give up... just take a break.

good luck

[genesis2seven]

I personally switched to Ubuntu because as a "Super User" Windows Vista, XP, and OSX have gotten to the point that they've dumbed things down so far that I have to go through 30 extra steps to accomplish simple administrative tasks.

The aforementioned operating systems all seem to be greatly sacrificing performance for non-functional visual enhancements. Ubuntu was a happy medium for me. The GUI's are pleasing to the eye and functional without gobbling up my performance.

It worked pretty much out of the box on 3 completely difference laptops and one old dinosaur of a desktop I had laying around. Only took about 10 minutes to get comfortable enough with the bash command line interface with some help from the forums to efficiently install necessary codecs for restricted media formats and I was off and running. Definitely wasn't as much of a pain to get up and running as Windows, is more stable, and does everything needed.

[Chayak]

Hrm, lets see. I like linux because it's so flexable and stable. Yes Ubuntu has it's hickups but thats because it's a bleeding edge distro and there are going to be bugs. Look at something like Debian or CentOS if you want stability without flashy features or desktops. Ubuntu is progressing at a rapid pace. I mean look how much it's improved in the past few years? Now take a look at Vista, that took what five years? Why are so many people downgrading to XP again or crossing over to linux?

I was on nuclear submarines for a number of years and you know what most of the vital systems are run on? Yup, linux. It's on aircraft, missiles, rockets, satellites, warships and robots.

Will linux take over the desktop? Realistically not anytime soon, but it's here to stay and the user base while not dominate yet will still continue to grow and hopefully become a major OS in the industry's eyes so they shift to making more software and hardware with native linux support.

[genesis2seven]

Ubuntu is more stable, runs faster, and does everything I need it to with the same amount of modifications or less than XP.

I do however second the sentiments that playing games is a pain and there isn't any solution I've found that I've felt like dealing with consistently. At the end of the day I don't see why so many major game vendors have gone so far as to develop their games to run natively in OSX but won't for Linux.

[Northsider]

Ubuntu doesn't feel as "heavy" as windows does. Xp just feels so sluggish and heavy, I really only need it for video games (can't seem to get Wine working...) and other Windows programs like ArcGIS that I can't get to work in Linux. I hate how windows just locks up on me for no apparent reason.

[perixx]

I've installed UT2004 today and it runs really great - nearly as good as in XP! Thanks to the lokifiles installer, it was as simple as inserting a CD into a player! Just needed 6GB of disk space temporarily, to install the game.

Funny enough, not the graphics is a bit problematic (apart from the fact that there's no Antialiasing - ATI?), but the sound output is a bit awkward and leaves to be desired - but that's probably because of Alsa drivers...

perixx

[mick222]

I tried red hat a few years ago and gave up in a matter of weeks, recently i thought i'd give linux another go tried fedora liked it but getting codecs and plugins for firefox was a bit of a pain the terminal seemed difficult to use went for Ubuntu everything was so simple even i could understand and no other distro seems to have such an active and hepful commuity. Now i boot mandrive, fedora, mintand Ubuntu I'm turning into a total geek and love it . Using vista on my daughters laptop to write this and must say it is a very annoying operating system awkward to configure and macafee pops up every time i move , i know this will stop after a while but it's bugging me no end today. If i was you i'd keep trying with Ubuntu maybe try mint which comes with codecs installed .
I love my cube which impresses the hell out of my sons friends when they see it .

[darksidedude]

linux is better than windows because of the No's

No spireware
No love letters to bill gates ( error reporting)
No DRM
No Price
No Licencing
No Problem:lolflag:

the good thing about windows

compatability
and errr umm, Cant think of anything...!

Not a bash, but all thats good is compatability

[Acidpunk]

You know i've been reading through some of the posts here and quite frankly some of the stuff that gets said is just plain absurd, I've been recently toying with the idea of going back to linux and actually using it on my laptop instead of XP due to the Performance issues recently and the just challenge of trying something else but,

When I see people give lists of Benefits of Linux as

" Don't have to spend one hour a week protecting against virus's and spyware "

That really annoys me, I have 3 computers 1 Vista machine and 2 Xp machines and i do Not run Anti Virus or Anti Spyware software and all run perfectly fine, I never get spyware on any of them unless someone else is using my computer.

The other thing that gets to me is the Restart twice a day crap that i've seen on here, lets be serious i run vista on my Machine which is a E6600 2gb of PC8500 Ram and i tell you what lol i run that computer for 6 days every week without a restart.

Now dont get me wrong im not bashing Ubuntu because im downloading it as we speak to run on my laptop but dont lie about the benefits, Yes its free and Yes its different and a challenge but that crap about slowing down and spyware and virus's is terrible, sometimes it just makes me think did people even try to use windows ???

just my say

[money2themax]

Now dont get me wrong im not bashing Ubuntu because im downloading it as we speak to run on my laptop but dont lie about the benefits, Yes its free and Yes its different and a challenge but that crap about slowing down and spyware and virus's is terrible, sometimes it just makes me think did people even try to use windows ???


nicely put acidpunk i like how you pointed out the pros and cons of ubuntu, alos the reason they use windows is because the are uneducated on the fact that more OSes are out there and that they are free. Bill Gates tries to hide the fact that more OSes exist and that they might be better suited for the users needs no Microsoft's motto is "Windows is the only OS you'll ever need" which we all know isn't true. So the users never know that more is out there for them most regular users don't know what BIOS is or Command Prompt they see no use and there for are crippled when some thing minor goes wrong and they think it's the "nerds" duty to fix the problem and they end up paying $100, $200, $300 to have a simple problem fixed or in some cases have things installed [Hard Drives, Optical Drives, Floppy drives, ect.] when for no cost [minus the cost of a philips screw driver] they could have installed it themselves with little or no effort and thats ware cooperations like geek squad and firedog make their killing in consumer stupidity.

[Praadur]

That's an interesting question and this has been a fun thread to read, I must say. This also looks like a good place for a first post too, as I never was much good at introductory threads/posts, I just jump in... but I digress.

Anyway, if the original poster doesn't mind, I'm going to primarily take this as why I chose Linux over Windows.

On the practical side of things, I suppose the biggest draw is the ability to cleanly set a global font (in both Gnome and KDE), something that I've discovered that Windows cannot do (and I put months of research into confirming that). Not only that but there are free accessibility tools available aswell, and for someone like myself who has poor vision, those are a boon.

I suppoe the most important reason though goes beyond that, and is in fact something of a--errr... pseudo-technospiritual reason, for lack of a better term (or any term that would suit).

The symbology of Windows doesn't sit well with me, you see? I consider my computer as an extension of myself in some respects, as it remembers things I cannot, and holds my stories, art, and randomly scribbled ideas. The DRM, licensing, idiot-proofing, proprietary-based software, phoning home, lack of source access, and so on all gives Windows the symbology of the Dragon chained, and that's not a good image.

With Linux, the Dragon soars. The only limitations then are those imposed by what today's hardware is capable of, but aside from that I'm able to do whatever I please. To paraphrase Iron Maiden's The Journeyman: "I know what I want, I do what I want, and no one can take that away.".

That said, one might ask why I use Ubuntu instead of another distro. I won't say that it's because Ubuntu is the best, because I think that trying to figure out the best distro is playing semantics. After a distribution has been customised enough, it inevitably becomes saveur de vous anyway, that's the nature of Linux (and a good thing it is too). What I will explain however are my primary three reasons for originally choosing Ubuntu as opposed to any of the other choices.

i.) Of all the distros I tried, Ubuntu left me with the least amount of frustrating work to do, such as configuring drivers and cleaning up menu structures.

ii.) Ubuntu has repository servers in Britain. This is an absolute boon for me as my internet connection can get particularly poor when dealing with overseas transfers.

iii.) It has a great community and one that I use to help me solve problems. Usually when I have a problem with any part of Ubuntu, the first thing I do is hit up Google with 'site:ubuntuforums.org problem description'. It's a great place with a lot of good people, and it's definitely worthy of merit. Yes, I love you people, you're all bloody fantastic.

So that's my overly long-winded and circumlocutory explanation of why I chose Ubuntu.

[BLTicklemonster]

You know i've been reading through some of the posts here and quite frankly some of the stuff that gets said is just plain absurd, I've been recently toying with the idea of going back to linux and actually using it on my laptop instead of XP due to the Performance issues recently and the just challenge of trying something else but,

When I see people give lists of Benefits of Linux as

" Don't have to spend one hour a week protecting against virus's and spyware "

That really annoys me, I have 3 computers 1 Vista machine and 2 Xp machines and i do Not run Anti Virus or Anti Spyware software and all run perfectly fine, I never get spyware on any of them unless someone else is using my computer.

The other thing that gets to me is the Restart twice a day crap that i've seen on here, lets be serious i run vista on my Machine which is a E6600 2gb of PC8500 Ram and i tell you what lol i run that computer for 6 days every week without a restart.

Now dont get me wrong im not bashing Ubuntu because im downloading it as we speak to run on my laptop but dont lie about the benefits, Yes its free and Yes its different and a challenge but that crap about slowing down and spyware and virus's is terrible, sometimes it just makes me think did people even try to use windows ???

just my say


Absurd to you, maybe, but many people here aren't the only ones who use their computer, keep that in mind. I have a friend who uses XP, and he never has a problem til his son in law "Billy" (he of the bleached streak down the middle of his dyed jet black hair and the huge piercings in his ears and all kinds of - he thinks - really cool looking stuff. Oh, and he thinks he's a computer pro) gets on his computer, then it's virus mania. But I can't talk him into trying Linux, and his son in law (probably the whole reason) thinks Linux is a joke. Oh, and he's (Billy) a Microsoft day camp whiz kid, btw....

[runningwithscissors]

Because it fits my needs, silly.

I am a developer and find it easier to learn/program on *nix-like systems.

If I were a drooling, you-tube frequenting addict or a counterstrike kiddy, who absolutely "needs" flash support and games, then perhaps I'd think about shelling out for an OS.

[BLTicklemonster]

Because it fits my needs, silly.

I am a developer and find it easier to learn/program on *nix-like systems.

If I were a drooling, you-tube frequenting addict or a counterstrike kiddy, who absolutely "needs" flash support and games, then perhaps I'd think about shelling out for an OS.

Great point. I'd bet the overwhelming majority of the people out there purchasing these outrageous machines would do just fine without Windows.

[runningwithscissors]

Great point. I'd bet the overwhelming majority of the people out there purchasing these outrageous machines would do just fine without Windows.
Perhaps. I think Windows is a decent OS. Just that I don't really feel like paying for something that I don't need. There are free alternatives available that provide me with pretty much all I need from my software.

[X40nick]

I got fed up with Windows and the rubbish it brings with it. So I just switched.

I did own a Apple Mac, but I didn't like it so I sold it and got a PC laptop. I have been using Windows since 95 but gave up after XP.

I really enjoy using Linux, and I am planning on buying a cheap laptop so I can just use Linux and no Windows.

Nick.

[dburnett77]

About when I saw that 2 million liines of code were dumped on the I-net before Vista's release. Into the hacker's pool. Microsoft chose not to address this, and hoped for the best.

2 days after Vista's official release, I see there's a security risk in turning on your speakers. As, a hacker may use voice commands to run your system.

Now, since they've had to revamp so much, that MS option of security requires paid subscription, and there's rumor that the first software patch will cost money, somehow someway.

Not to mention, the hardware push is phenomenal. First onboard will be functional. Then dedicated 128MB Graphics. Now, 256MB of a high-level. And, it's still not stable.

Poor coding. Granted, you can throw it on and do something, just don't try and push it. Unless, you like 'tweaking' as they say, and turning off essential functions to 'dance' with your desktop.

[zhouxing]

Honestly guys, it is the game that most of people have to use windows. Almost all of us will play computer games, and the platform to play games on is on Micro$oft windows. It is the games that first appealing to youngsters how then get in love with computer world. but his world would be windows not linux coz most of the games are playable only in windows.

The widespread use of the linux has to be associated with the game support from game makers. or it would never be popular enough to take over the position of windows or even OS X, no matter how good Ubuntu is, as long as its game support is poor, it just can't out-beat windows completely.

Besides, new users of Ubuntu has to have some computer knowledge, how to use bash, how to compile source in order to install some programes. it is way too much for very young or very old people, who have no knowledge about these technical things. The usability also need to improve. why should everyone to be a above average (at least) computer knowledge and skills, in order to use a Operation System? How many users of windows really understand what is behind these nice windows shells? how many OS X users understand what is behind Leopard?

I do believe that Ubuntu is an excellent OS and it is improving. For guys who post here and who are using Ubuntu, there is no problem to stick to Ubuntu. But we need to attract new guys (loads of them) to make ubuntu stonger and beat Windows eventually. I think the developer probably need to thing how to achieve that.

[cartisdm]

" Don't have to spend one hour a week protecting against virus's and spyware "


Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with Acidpunk. As linux users I'm almost positive you're an above average computer user. And as an advanced computer user what are you doing getting bogged down with spyware? I wouldn't go as far as to not run an anti-virus software but I certainly wouldn't say that more 1% of my total time on the pc is even close to bothered by spyware/viruses.

And windows is a great system that won't run too slow as long you keep it under control. I must admit that ubuntu does a great job at not bogging down my system even after the tons of things I've added to it

[beast2k]

I've pretty much had it up to here with Ubuntu. So I wanna see why other people choose this OS over the functional OS that is Windows. To me it seems if you want Ubuntu to work correctly, you have to tweak a bunch of errors. It's like having a good looking son who doesn't know how to do ****.

So Please. Tell me why you choose Ubuntu. And you can't say compiz or beryl.

For me I got tired of the same old, same old. Windows is boring, it works with all the games and apps but it's still boring you can't do much with it.

[Roman27]

For me I got tired of the same old, same old. Windows is boring, it works with all the games and apps but it's still boring you can't do much with it.

I agree completely. Also, I feel that you can do more in Linux without having to fork over $30+ for each individual shareware application that should have been included with the OS anyway.