Post: #76

(12-29-2016 06:53 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  My experience of Linux was basically that it turned an old, slow machine that Windows was fucking into a new, fast machine that now does 90 percent of what I wanted it to.

It's that 10 percent that gets annoying over time though.

For instance, last week I was on the road and had access to good wifi. I went to open a movie in Netflix for the first time on the laptop.

Nope.

How to remedy it? Don't bother. By the time you've done it your two hours to watch the movie is gone.

Small annoyances like that can get under my skin from time to time, but having said that at least the machine boots up in less than ten minutes and responds to commands in less than 60 seconds. And I'll put up with it, until I can afford a gaming level PC and then I'll bite the bullet and go to Windows 10.

As suggested elsewhere, make a bootable USB of Linux and try it out before you switch to it.

That's it!

You can literally buy a $35 machine on ebay that would be bogged down with windows and it is as fast as a new $1400 WorstBuy special.

Here's a hint. Search for the term in quotes "NO OS" on ebay and you will find nice machines for nothing. Linux ready.

Post: #77

Alight, I will contribute my $0.02 here.
First some questions you need to answer to yourself:

- Are you techy? Are you techy curious? Are you willing to learn some of the coolest things about the OS and its nuts and bolts?
If you answered yes to at least one of the above questions then you should totally be using Linux, master the command line, learn how to leverage it to your needs and NOT be a slave of its learning curve. Linux/Unix is very friendly, it's just selective about who his friends are. You can do everything in Linux, from normal things like file management and browsing and media stuff to real engineering projects. I read above about netflix and other things like this...of course you can do them in Linux, it's just you need to know how-to...thus back to the questions above. Linux (or any other Unix-like) is your server and you're the master, not the other way around.

- Are you mostly a gamer? Are you into heavy software that need a lot of graphics and specific GPUs and high memory? Do you use the PC for media mostly?
If you answered yes to any of the above then Windows is for you, this is a business decision looking at this market. Linux never went into this angle, Windows did. Shoot the shit with Linux for fun sometimes but it's not for you. Stick to the flashy Windows and all its shitty things. No shame in this.

- Are you always bothered by the chores you need to do on your PC? Do you not care at all about how things are done, you just need the result?
If you answered yes then MacOS is for you. MacOS does everything, all you need to do is drag and drop stuff. You don't care what happens. You should not care if you're not interested to.
(A controversy here is that most tech people don't want to be their own help-desk so that's why you see a lot of engineers using Macs, shit just runs there, their projects are more important than setting up your own LAMP)

Happy to answer anything in specific here but there is no right or wrong OS, it all depends on what you're into and what do you want to do.
Cheers

Post: #78

Just found this threat and wanted to say this;

Been using Linux for about 15 years now. Never used Windows anymore. Linux is the perfect system to really learn about computers. Especially about servers, networking and programming. It is also worth to learn about OpenBSD and FreeBSD.

It is worth to learn how to build your own distribution and to fine tune it to your own hardware as best as you can. This is simply to learn more.

After learning about Linux and scripting in Linux and programming in Linux I instantly had a much better understanding about how the Internet works. This because the Internet runs mostly on Unix based systems.

Linux is pretty much ready for the desktop. It lacks certain applications and is not perfect for gamers. In all other endevours Linux is much more friendlier to work with than Windows or MacOs.

When I now look at a Windows 10 machine or a Mac I just look in horror. Those companies are doing horrible things to Operating Systems. You do not own your own data anymore when using either Windows Or Mac. You have no control over your own machine.

I seriously suggest everyone who is in the slightest a bit technical to at least try Linux and give it a serious chance. It can do much more than you think and is superior to Windows and Mac.

Post: #79

Ive been thinking of switching from windows after windows 7 is no longer supported because I hate windows 10. I hate how microsoft tries to force you into using their software that you dont want to use. I hate how they limit the users ability to tinker with the technology and really take full advantage of it. The entire time I'm using windows 10 I feel like I should be finger banging it on some icrap device. Then there's the privacy issues, not that we really have any privacy on anything electronic anymore, but Windows 10 is just so much more intrusive.

I have been running ubuntu in a vm to try it out but what I personally find to be the biggest obstacles to using linux is that almost everything is a pain in the ass to install if it will install at all without you having to screw around with it for 20-30 minutes. That and I don't know enough about the Linux file structure to be able to clean up mistakes I make while trying to get things that should work easily working properly.

Post: #80

(10-08-2018 02:55 PM)Thatguy88 Wrote:  I have been running ubuntu in a vm to try it out but what I personally find to be the biggest obstacles to using linux is that almost everything is a pain in the ass to install if it will install at all without you having to screw around with it for 20-30 minutes. That and I don't know enough about the Linux file structure to be able to clean up mistakes I make while trying to get things that should work easily working properly.

Where possible, use AppImage, Snap or Flatpak apps. Much easier to delete when something messes up since they're each contained in one folder.

Post: #81

(11-09-2012 06:30 PM)michelin Wrote:  Anybody using Linux here?

OK, this is kind of a nerdy topic, but geeks will love it. I just switched to this operating system LINUX after too many years of trouble with my Windows XP, VIsta and 7.

First impressions: Linux rocks!

FIVE ADVANTAGES:

1. FAST, blazing speed, even on older machines (I mean up to 10 years old)
2. No viruses and other shit that screws up your computer' s hard drive and system.
3. Free software, I mean really FREE: all applications come with the system or can easily be installed.
4. VERY User friendly. Linux made huge progress over the years to become user friendly and stable (it won't crash easily).
5. great support online and on forums

DISADVANTAGE
The main disadvantage is still compatibility with Windows, but the Linux teams have worked hard to fix that problem. I would estimate by now 80% of all file formats are compatible in Linux. ALso, you can easily run Windows on a Linux system.

Right now Ubuntu and Linux Mint are the top Linux versions. Here is a great review of Linux Mint.

Most people who have switched to Linux have the same feeling as those who have switched to Apple: you never go back to Windows! Actually, you kinda feel of screwed of having had all that trouble and paid expensive MS software over the years...

Anybody using Linux put your feedback in this thread.

I switched from Windows to Linux last year due to too many configuration issues with my IDEs and I have to say, other than Gaming, I never even boot to my windows partition anymore.

Truth be told, there is a bit of a learning curve for people coming from a windows background, but I imagine it's not as steep as moving from Windows to Mac.

All in all, Linux has been a blessing and I've been an unofficial advocate for it since I picked it up last year.