Linux Anyone?

[bobbyshane]

Any linux users out there? I've been a part time linux user for years now however I'm running Ubuntu right now and so far haven't logged back into windows in a week now... the only reason I havent formatted my windows partition is because I'm a musician who uses my computer to record my music and lets face it... linux still has an unfortunate lack of audio hardware compatability and windows quality multitrack,sequencing, and mastering software... I personally use Nuendo in windows so it will be awhile before anyone makes an equal competitor on the linux market... as far as I can tell... anyhow this is a ramble and most likely boring to all..

[bobbyshane]

I think I hear an echo in here....

[Sparq]

I have used Linux (Red Hat 3.something, Fedora Core 2 and 3 as well as some distro of SUSE during the course of my studies and co-op work term. They have some features I enjoy, but overall I remain a Windows user. The time and effort involved in some installations turn me off of Linux as I am an impatient gamer.

 

I have an Ubuntu distro on the desk behind me, I just haven't tried it yet.

[bobbyshane]

you should really try it out... it really removes alot of those obstacles that usually come with installs and such... plus it comes with firefox as the default browser out of the box...

[ToadMan]

I love linux... until you recompile the kernel.

 

Needless to say I can give you a long winded rant about why windows sucks, and why you are a noble human being for using linux. But I won't.

 

Peace

[bobbyshane]

yeah the last time i tried to recompile a kernal was the last time... at least for awhile... i think i popped something important in my cerebral cortex that day.. heh... and yes if it werent for all of the promotion windows wouldnt have near the software and compatability it does and would shine through for what it truly is... a shiny, gleaming piece of shit...

[garsk]

i am in the same boat as sparq, namely cause we are in the same program. but i like linux, when i get a new computer i am planning to make my laptop into a Fedora computer.

[Sparq]

I won't argue that Windows sucks. Clearly it does. But due to compatibility and laziness issues, it's still the best out there for my purposes.

[Spritzup]

Thats just it though. If Linux had all the features/ease of use/compatibility that Windows does, it would be the better OS. As it stands, it doesn't and in a world where 90% of computer users know the bare minimum ease of use counts for much more. Combine the 2 and you'd have the perfect OS.

[Sparq]

As it stands now, phone support of Windows is bad enough. Phone support of Linux, I suspect, would be akin to ritual suicide.

[garsk]

is there such a think as phone support for linux? i have only seen web posting for linux support.

[Spritzup]

There is, but you have to sell your soul to get it. Seeing as microsoft owns all our souls... well you see the problem.

[Azalroth]

I've been using linux for 2 years now, on and off of course and through my course here at College. I have Ubuntu, Knoppix, DSL (Damn Small Linux)....all the above are Live CD's but still great. Also I've used: Fedora Core 2 & 3, Redhat 7.3 & 9, Mepis, Suse (well haven't really used this one...but I have it to use just for kicks). I thinks thats my extent of the list.

 

As for the usability of Linux VS. Windows, I'd switch to Linux completey if it was more user friendly, had more software built for it (although that's picking up now a days), and was supported by more companies as a normal OS. I still thinkg that Linux is a better OS, it's more secure, if you know what your doing you can get it to do ANYTHING, you can make your own OS.

 

Compiling a Kernel....ugh don't even wanna go there.

 

As for phone support....didn't know it existed but good point not being able to sell our souls for it but hey I don't have a soul, the devil took that a LONG time ago...and he can keep the blasted thing.

[bobbyshane]

souls are definately overrated...

[ToadMan]

Ok, I'm now annoyed with this "it's not user friendly" argument. Linux, as a decent out of the box install (I'm thinking Mandriva), loaded with KDE or GNOME. Is just as easy as Windows. The fact is that most window managers are point and click like windows. Software installation can be tricky, but for most software these days you can get an automated installer.

 

The fact is that Linux is a superior operating system at the base level. Security is not build on top of the OS (al windows), but is actually part of the core systems. Memory management, and process scheduling are hands down better. The Kernel, unlike the windows kernel, does not posses several thousand lines of unused code. The code is stable, and in my experience I have rarely seen linux crash in the way windows crashes. POSIX is awesome. Software is free. The system API is clean, and makes sense, unlike the windows API, which is akin to a barrel of snakes.

 

The only real reason that people are still using windows is legacy. Both people and software. People refuse to learn it, and developers refuse to dev for it.

[Sparq]

Yeah, that's what I mean - the setup is at least as easy, it's the adaptation of windows-based software that is (or can be) difficult. I can't just play Tux Racer all day, I need real games, when they're released, without waiting for instructions and fighting to make them work.

 

Though come to think of it, I had to do that for HL2 anyway.

[Spritzup]

@Toadman - I hate to burst your bubble but comparing Linux to Windows in the ease of use department is no comparison. Windows cleans up. Give a Linux box to an average computer user (your mom or dad lets say) and see how easy they find it to use. Linux is written by geeks for geeks.

Windows is written by geeks for marketing people.

[Russell]

Give a Linux box to an average computer user (your mom or dad lets say) and see how easy they find it to use. Linux is written by geeks for geeks.

Shit, I'm a geek and I still hate Linux. I don't care how stable/secure/fast/whatever it is behind the scenes, the UI of every single build I've ever used is an absolute piece of shit. Sure, it's just as easy to use as Windows if all you want to do is open a program and click on shit in it. Beyond that, god help you if you want to change settings or get anything done. The fact that it is written by geeks is the problem -- geeks don't give a crap about how user-friendly the GUI is because they don't give a shit about the average user. They write it to cater to themselves and themselves alone. POS.

[Sparq]

I dunno, I think a basic home or office GUI distro of Linux would be almost as easy as Windows as far as basic stuff goes. You've got your word processor, internet browser, a music player, e-mail...If you're starting with zero knowledge of either OS, I doubt it'd be alot harder. It's when you get to hardware installations and even vaguely uncommon software that windows pulls ahead in the ease-of-use department.

Edited January 25, 2006 by Sparq

[bobbyshane]

as far as ease of use it all boils down to several factors... first you have about a dozen thousand different linux distro's and all of them are different... so trying just a few really doesnt show you how easy some of them can be... second most people who have trouble with linux have trouble with it simply because they're used to how windows is setup and if its not the same or remotely the same they think its difficult... ubuntu actually has a much easier gui for setting stuff up than windows... but it's so fucking easy that you think its hard at first... mainly cuz at first we all look for the usual windows shit... either way to each his own... all i know is i wish i would have started out on linux... if it werent for the lack of audio software (which is slowly being rectified) I would gladly switch to it cold turkey, right now... however.. i'm not a gamer... so i can see a gamer's problem right off the bat... but then again that isnt a problem with linux thats a problem with the companies who make games/software... it all boils down to money... linux is free... so what software company is going to get any kickbacks from supporting it? it just comes down to what lewis black said referring to water since it has become a commercial product "when water was free it was like 'take a sip' now it's like 'it costs so fucking chug, prick'"...

[ToadMan]

One day Bill Gates will die and go to hell.

 

The whole point is that windows is bogged with so many problems. Yet you (like everybody else) continue to use it since you're afraid of the change. Who will throw the first stone. Once there is demand for linux software, it will get there. You'd be surprised at what is already out there (WINE is rapidly becoming a fill windows API library).

 

If you want a truly user-friendly OS buy a mac. Apple actually pays people to do HCI (Human Computer Interaction).

 

The end all of it is, that next windows could be an absolute POS, and hard as hell to use. But you would still buy it and use it.

[Spritzup]

I have no problem using linux, in fact I different distro's on a regular basis. But nothing I've seen yet offers the ease of use that Window's does. And in a world where the majority of users have been brought up using Windows, ease of use will be difined by how Window's like the interface is. To have any sort of market penetration that should be a distro's ultimate goal. The closest I've found to this is Ubuntu.

[jmwilson529]

why not try and break away from the standard windows setup though? i personally think if your going to make something good its going to be original...

[Azalroth]

Valid point, I kinda like that idea. I'm more of a fan of a customized interface than anything. Albeit that the windows interface is good, and I prefer it to most linus distro's. I'm actually going to turn my laptop into a Linux Box when I get my desktop built, just so I can start to get used to it and maybe even switch right to linux afterwards. I just wanna be able to do ALL the things I can do on windows but using Linux first before I switch. I enjoy music too much to switch right away and as for gaming, well not too much support in linux gaming is there.

 

Oh and Toadman, I'm not afraid to switch right to Linux...I just prefer the Windows I got. It hasn't crashed on me yet and I've fully customized it nicely, as well as shut down most of the stupid background programs.

[ToadMan]

touch