Whats the coolest thing you can do in Linux you cant in windows or mac?

[Hortinstein]

I always hear about people missing stuff that they could do in windows, and I was just curious what you like doing in Linux you couldn't do in windows...

to get the ball rolling I like the control I have with terminal commands like sed/grep/awk for use with programming and shell scripting.

[BOBSONATOR]

beryl, woot first post

[aysiu]

Don't those terminal commands (sed, awk) work in Mac OS X?

These are the cool things I can do:
1. Upgrade to the newest version legally and without paying money
2. Have the latest version of the OS run faster than the previous version on the same hardware
3. Easily install and run different graphical interfaces (I tried LiteStep and all the other Windows options--not easy--sorry, Windows enthusiasts)
4. Install twenty programs with one command
5. Have the system automatically update all my installed programs for me.
6. Install the same copy of Ubuntu on multiple computers without worrying about license restrictions or activation keys

[beefcurry]

I have to second Aysiu

[Hortinstein]

dam...i cant beleive beryl wasnt the first i posted either....and now that I think about it your right, you probably can use those for mac, but linux was first.

[sweemeng]

how about hardware virtualization? don't think windows have that.

[igknighted]

I'm gonna go a little more low-key...

1) Highlight to copy & middle click to paste ... any time I touch a windows computer I do this out of habit

2) Alt+click to drag windows

3) Infinitely customize the looks... without paying for a 3rd party app like window blinds

4) Virtual Desktops (ok, Mac just added this... weve had it forever)

and lots more little touches like this. The linux GUI is just so much more user friendly. My g/f (not a computer power user by any stretch, but spends a lot of time on it none the less) used linux for a matter of days and fell in love with how user-friendly the gui was. If only our school's music subscription service worked under linux she'd be primarily a linux user... but thats another story.

[koshatnik]

I always hear about people missing stuff that they could do in windows, and I was just curious what you like doing in Linux you couldn't do in windows...

Run a viable operating system that doesn't corrupt my files, crash constantly and fall victim to a virus every 30 seconds.

[karellen]

update the entire os with a single command
install a lot of applications with a single command
not being dependent of the gui
have multiple desktop environments
be free of viruses/spyware/malware and so on
be free

[cunawarit]

By far, THE coolest BEST thing that you can do in a Linux box and not (easily) on Windows or Mac is to have a machine that is only running software that has gone thru comprehensive testing to make sure it all works with each other well.

In terms of stability, security, usability, it is all much of a muchness... With only relatively small variations.