My gal asked me...

[raynskitty]

My Gal asked me why is Linux free, and how is it better than windows if its free? I did my best to explain what it was free and why i think its better because it free and open-source. But i know someone can answer these questions better than i can!

[vasa1]

Ask "Your Gal" to sign up here and ask for herself

Anyway, linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

[oldos2er]

http://www.tuxradar.com/newtolinux

[1fallen]

http://www.tuxradar.com/newtolinux

That was a nice read...I hadn't seen that one before.
Kind of a needed wake-up call to me...when helping others.

[oldos2er]

It's getting a bit long in the tooth, but most of the points are still valid.

[sp40140]

1] Better and free is not related in any way. Free can be exceptionally good and non free can be utter garbage quality. Good is good and free is free. Bad is bad and paid is paid.
2] Linux is better than Windows is really loaded statement. It is very subjective. So, it's true or false depending on the use/user/context.
At the end of the day, you use what works best for you. If it's linux, than linux is better, if it's windows, windows is better.
Technically you can't compare two either. Sure you (and everyone) can look into linux code. But you can't do that for windows.
Now, you can comment on the way windows manages things and linux manages things. And here again, it's subjective. You can find people on both sides with valid arguments from their point of view.

The best thing to do is to let your GF try linux for a while and let her come to her own conclusions.

[apple+]

My gal's grandpa has ran Fedora for years. She loves her Mac to much to try it though. I am running Ubuntu/Mint on everything minus one Win10 Box.

[Michael_McKenney]

Depends on what your needs are on using Linux vs. Windows. I have Windows XP Pro, 7 and Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS is my virtual web server for 4 web sites. Easy to setup. Free compared to setting up a Windows Server for IIS. Uses 2 cores and 6 GB of RAM. IIS would require 4 cores and 10-12 GB of RAM. I can add more web sites to it in minutes. I was able to run it under VMware 6 on my HP DL 360e GEN8 server. Simple install. The problem is finding quick answers to problems in it. Sometimes you need to wait a while for responses. My suggestion is backup your data and files. I have had to reinstall Ubuntu a few times because of issues after upgrading it.

XP Pro 64-bit runs Symantec Backup Exec 2010 for my three tape drives to backup everything including my Ubuntu web sites. I backup to tape because I am old school. I don't like hard drive backups. They can fail at any time. Tapes are easily replaced and can be taken to other locations when I vacation. I setup shares on Ubuntu and backup the web sites. I have a copy of the few setup files backed up.

Windows 7 64-bit is my main workstation. I have too many applications that are not Linux ready. They require Windows and high end hardware with optimized drivers. More people know Windows than Linux. Windows is used by most businesses.

The argument that open source is better breaks when you think about Microsoft and Apple. They provide one secured source for patches that they test. Not all open source stuff is safe unless it is recommended by a trusted source. A lot depends on what you use your computer for and what you expect to do with it. Most games won't run on Linux. The interesting thing is even Microsoft is starting to switch to Linux. Azure is Linux based. I think in the future you will find companies getting comfortable with a Linux GUI platform. It is getting companies like Microsoft to port over Exchange, SQL and other apps to it.

[leelawangleelawang]

glad to see such active and helping members here

[grahammechanical]

And then there is human nature.

A potential customer has two choices. Cheap or expensive. Human nature says that cheap = poor quality & expensive = good quality. And so, people pay inflated prices because they think that they are paying for a quality product.

I do admit that when I first read about Linux and its distribution method I could hardly believe what I was reading. On the other hand, If I decided to buy a new laptop or tablet and I paid for the pre-installed OS (as we are forced to do) I most likely would be inclined to use the OS I had paid for. The desktop machine I use is a self-build. It has only run Ubuntu.

Regards