Why do you choose Ubuntu over Windows

[professor_chaos]

Besides all the great benifits of freedom, lack of viruses/spyware etc.... I was really blown away as a new linux user as to the almost endless supply of software I could install at the click of a button (sometimes a few clicks and a few lines in the commandline). WOW.
I love experimenting with new software, and in windows, I had to google and search through pages and pages of websites, while being bombarded with ads and popups to finally end up with software that I couldn't uninstall cleanly. Screw that. Linux and the GNU community is a godsend.

[Nequeo]

Personally, I'm amazed at how fast Windows XP can run when you don't install anything. I keep a Windows XP partition around for gaming. I do everything else on Linux. Write novels, develop software, put together business proposals, remote-administration of Windows 2003 servers... you name it.

There were some things I used to do in Windows that I could not do in Linux. These were 'want' things, though, rather than 'need' things. And eventually I found Linux had so many advantages that I stopped booting into Windows to do Windows things. I just stayed in Linux doing Linux things instead.

(At work I do a lot of server admin work. I switched from Windows to Linux, without telling anyone, and the boss didn't notice for a month! Linux plays nicely with other systems...)

I have nothing, absolutely nothing, installed on Windows XP that is not an integral system component or a game. (Or Nvidia drivers) No anti-virus, no internet access. No extranuous codecs, DVD-rippers or P2P software. Not even winamp. No printer drivers. No Microsoft Office. Nothing. I've turned off most of my Windows services, too. Just one straight-through network cable connected to my girlfriend's machine, so we can play Dawn of War together. (She likes Predator tanks best of all...)

It boots in about 10 seconds, and rips through anything I throw at it.

I am glad it is inconvinient to reboot to play games. It separates work and play to a much greater extent. NOT being able to just double-dlick something and start up a game while I'm working keeps me focused on the task at hand. (Which, right now, is posting on forums.)

That being said, I would not pay money for Windows just to play games. If there comes a time when PC games no longer run under Windows XP, I'd just buy a Playstation 3 or something.

[jyank]

Pretty much the same reasons others have said for me.

I started using it as something fun to tinker around with, and the next thing I knew I was editing my partions to make my NTFS xp partion smaller and my ubuntu partion bigger.

However, I still keep XP because I do play a good amount of games, and some days, like today, I was booted into windows all day playing some games.

The fact with linux gaming (mostly refering to native games) if you don't really like FPS games, theres not really much out there in terms of gaming. Of course you could use wine/cedega but not every game works through it. For me, I play some MMORPGs, mainly FFXI which doesn't work at all in cedega, even though it was voted all the way up with Point2Play, which kind of ticked me off that they completely ignored it.

I did get WoW working, though but with a serious dent to my FPS, and I found it unplayable. Yes I have an ATI card which I'm sure contributed to that, but when I bought the card I didn't think of using linux and it is a GOOD card and I can run games excellently in windows, so I'm not going to spend money just to buy an nvidia card to play better on linux.

I guess I won't make the full switch until gaming gets better, but really, gaming is the only thing I do through windows, everything else I can do just as well/better and even easier on ubuntu.

[weasel fierce]

I'd say the main reason is that its yours, not some company's.

[skoal]

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

Less pollution...More security...

Although not XP, I recently ran a fresh install of Win2k and was spammed to death by "messenger" service pop-ups without ever installing _any_ software. At least those pop ups didn't tell me it was time to re-finance my mortgage or add some more girth to my pants, so I guess no harm done there...

Of course, if not said already, the biggest advantage is that it's _free_, not "as in beer" however, like some like to advertise. I can sit back and enjoy a free beer. In linux, "free" means decyphering cryptic man pages or having the good fellows at Blechley Park decipher the Enigma config scripts for you. Drinking beer was never so hard. So, why the beer analogy?? I guess it's the young whooper snappers drinking imports - they're hard to swallow as well, at first...

But hey, if it's free beer, at least you don't have to pay 2 c notes for an easy swallowing, fresh and cold case of domestic Shiner Bock...

mmmm...beeeeeer...

By the way, if Linux wants to succeed in the marketplace, they need to rollout a Linux GT version, a lot like the XP acronymn. GT turbo, 6800 GT...you get the picture...GT rolls off the tongue like a double "r" in Spanish. It sounds cool. It's catchy. It's synonymous with better. It would be the perfect linux distro...

mmmm....GT beeeeeeeer...

\\//_

[drizek]

Freedom from bondage. No chance of being orphaned (in terms of OS or application support), provided the community continues to use & support the software. Try that with Windows down the road..

thats not really the issue. kde 3.2 is no longer supported in the same way that windows 2000 is no longer supported. the difference with linux is that kde 3.5 is free and actually runs faster than kde 3.2, whereas windows xp is $100-$200 and performs worse than windows 2000.

looking down the road, KDE 4 should be as fast if not faster than kde 3.5. windows vista on the other hand will have insane system requirements.

basically, with KDE/Gnome, you get increased features, increased stability and increased security every 6-12 months for free, whereas with windows you get more features, less stability(until a couple service packs later), worse performance and more secuiryt holes every 3-5 years(depending on how much time MS's employees actually spend working) and you get charged for it.

to put it simply, its like the difference between sex with a beautiful women and getting anal raped in a prison shower.

[johnistpropaganda]

Earlier this year i fixed my mother's old pc by switching out the power supply (i got a not too outta date machine for ten dollers!). i was in need of an OS, but i had just bought XP for my roomates' comp which i had previously trashed, and didnt want pirate it or by another liscence. so i bit the bullet and decided to try this Ubuntu thing out i had picked up with a magazine.

Since then i haven't really missed windows at all, except for itunes and photoshop, along with epson printer and scanner drivers, but all that was hooked up to thier comp if i ever needed it.

I'd have to say my favorite things about linux are:
*of course, no viruses or malicious software.
*customizability. it drove me crazy that i couldn't do this in windows without having to shell out more cash for another program.
*all the cool free software, which while i dont think it's quite up to par with software from major manufacturers (qimp is amazing for freeware, but photoshop and it's plug-ins are just about essential for proffesional work), is easily accessed.
*great community support. i think this one is more a ubuntu thing.
*and of course, it's free, free, & free

plus, using the command line is positively geeky!
-jp-

[Dolphin]

I'd honestly dump Windows entirely if it weren't for lack of game support/lack of good ATI drivers on Linux.

I'm using Ubuntu for gaming with ATI. Honestly, there's not alot I can't play on it. Some things require some tinkering to get them to work the way you want, but all-in-all, the only game I haven't been able to play so far (that I wanted to) is BF2....and I know support is coming.

As for ATI drivers, they've gotten ALOT better. Have you tried the 8.14.13's yet? Quite nice. They're not caught up to nvidia's linux drivers yet, but they're not too far off.

[poofyhairguy]

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

It runs my mom's Tivo, my sister's new phone, and my mom's wireless access point. Its flexible enough to run on 9 of the top 10 most powerful computers in the world, but delicate enough to be use in very minimal situations. Google depends on it for their searchs, and Pixar makes their movies using Linux. I can run on almost any CPU around, and I can see the soruce code.

Oh, you mean advantage as a desktop? Tons of free software (without piracy), its fun and can be slick. Many choices. Fast development times. New releases for every six months. Low cost. Runs off a CD easily.

[bin]

The registry ought to be shot.

Applications>SystemTools>Configuration Editor........

Tomorrow - THE WORLD!!!!! muahahahahahahahaaaaa

in light

bin