So, why Linux?

[Noah0504]

So, I'm a long time Windows user, and fan. I also consider myself an advance computer user.

Well, over the years, I've always heard talk about Linux. For the most part, it was all good talk. I always wanted to give it a try, but I was never really ever able to install it. This was only due to the fact that I was using the family computer, and even a dual boot would throw everyone else off.

Well, now I have my own laptop, and I was excited to give Linux a try. I wanted something easy. I consider myself an advance computer user, but Linux was completly new to me. I went with Ubuntu. I messed around with it, and liked it, but I have one question. What is the real advantage to Linux?

Obviously, you have a larger software base on Windows. That statement depends on a few things, but for the most part, it's true. I can run iTunes and Macromedia Dreamweaver on Linux via Crossover or Wine, but the performance isn't as good as running it on Windows. Now, I know if you look hard enough, you can find a nice application to serve any purpose.

Anyway, back to my inital question: Why Linux and not Windows? Someone convince me to switch to Linux for good. (I want to be convinced. I tried using Ubuntu for a few days, but I went back to Windows. I want to use Linux, but...)

Thanks,
Noah

[nemin]

Anyway, back to my inital question: Why Linux and not Windows? Someone convince me to switch to Linux for good. (I want to be convinced. I tried using Ubuntu for a few days, but I went back to Windows. I want to use Linux, but...)

Oh man, there are somemany reasons why to use Linux and not Windows: I could write books about it Well here's a short list:
- it's free
- it's faster
- it looks better
- it's easier and more productive to use
- it's easier to customize and tune
- it's more powerfull

[WildTangent]

because were l33t

nah, seriously, i started with a background like you, i consider myself competent with most things windows related. i have owned (and pirated ) every major version of their software to date, including longhorn. the reasons i switched to linux were mostly curiosity (i wanted to find out what half my web design class was talking about ), i wanted something new, something different to break up my monotonous windows usage, and i wanted a challenge. many of my geek friends didnt think i had what it took to stick with linux (which i promptly disproved about a month after installing Ubuntu, when i successfully installed Gentoo with nothing but their handbook to guide me. they havent called me a n00b since ). if those reasons arent enough, many will tell you because they like the freedom (personally i couldnt care less, i use whatever works for me, and i dont give a f*** about copyrights, and DRM). theyll also tell you that its free in monetary terms, but once again, what windows software i didnt aquire legally, i just pirate anyway (dont no one dare judge me, for thou shalt be ignored ). hope that gives you enough reasons

-Wild

[poptones]

Why do you need to be convinced? There's no reason for it. Why linux? Why Windows? You couldn't convince me to go back to windows under threat of imprisonment (no, I wouldn't go to prison I'd just leave the country).

It's like saying "someone convince me to like the blues." Either you get it or you don't, there is no right or wrong - only linux and all the rest.

[Noah0504]

Why do you need to be convinced? There's no reason for it. Why linux? Why Windows? You couldn't convince me to go back to windows under threat of imprisonment (no, I wouldn't go to prison I'd just leave the country).

It's like saying "someone convince me to like the blues." Either you get it or you don't, there is no right or wrong - only linux and all the rest.

Err, by "convince," I just meant tell me a lot of the advantages of using Linux.

[Kvark]

Why switch to linux. Who can better answer that then people who have recently switched to linux, that'd include me. A few of the reasons I switched was...

1. It's easy.
After getting used to features like multiple desktops and tabbed web browsing. Plus messing around with the panels a lot to find out whats best for me. And setting up other things like key shortcuts. It is a LOT easier to use then windows. That is, it goes considerably faster to do what I want to do.

What really made me feel like stepping 10 years into the future when trying linux was checkbox + apply in synaptic vs search + download + install + crack + reboot.

2. Less errors.
For me it is harder to troubleshoot, because I'm an expert at troubleshooting windows but fairly new to linux. But there is a lot less trouble to shoot in the first place. (in my experience, those who are unlucky with hardware support will dissagree)

For someone equally experienced in both it would be easier to troubleshoot linux though. Because windows is closed source, the registry is practically impossible to edit by hand, nobody except microsoft knows the purpose of all the dlls and stuff.

3. Multi tasking.
Windows slows down with too many windows open at once. Linux runs perfectly fine with 4 desktops filled with windows.

4. Security.
I used to be so paranoid that I've had viruses on windows only like twice or so, and never have they managed to cause any damage. I've never got hacked, lost an account in an online game or anything. On windows it was... Firewall, anti virus, anti ad/spyware, popup blocker way before web browsers had it built in, high security settings, email address that is so hard to spell I never get spam, never the same password on two places, and most importantly a lot of common sence.

After switching to linux I've ditched the paranoia and all the security programs (thats saying a lot). Well, except for variated passwords and common sence. The security is waterproof anyway as far as I could test it. At least as long as you are careful with the sudo password and don't have any server programs.

5. The Gimp.
Graphical design is a big factor for me personally. The Gimp beats Photoshop by a clear margin. On the other hand, getting my graphics tablet to work requires compiling drivers from source, something I have not yet figured out how to do.

6. Gedit.
Scripting is another of my interests, and gedit is a lot better then notepad.

7. It's good looking.
You get more then 3 themes, and the themes are not just different colors of the same one!!

[Adrenal]

When I first went over, I came imagining that there would be one clear cut benefit to using Linux over Windows.
Imagine my surprise, that, after weeks of using, there was not one, but several smaller ones.
However, thats just preference.
The reason I went over is philosophical.
All through school, I get told to share things. If you have a bag of candy, you can't eat all by yourself, you have to share it.
Then comes computers, and we get told about piracy. Suddenly, sharing is bad, sharing means you're a bad person. Sharing means you're a criminal.
Thats not the way society should function.
We need that goodwill, that desire to help people, thats what gives us a society and not a dog eat dog jungle.
I have nothing against Microsoft being there and selling their products. Nothing. But when it comes to the point where its 600 dollars for the operating system, and 700 for an office suite, and the only alternative to that is technically 'stealing', then it becomes duty of everyone who can do something, to do something.
As such, I learnt Linux, and, with the help of some of the excellent members of this community, became proficient in it.
Now I share it, set it up so no one needs my help. Runs fine on lower end comps (XFCE is literally GNOME-lite, with added awesomeness).
As such, I went over to Linux for philosophical reasons, as well as boredom.
I stayed for its community, its freedom and its customizability.

[l.tambiah]

I think the main point has been missed. The main reason to use Linux is to have Freedom. What we mean by freedom is the following:

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).

• The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).

• The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

STALLMAN, R (2005). The Free Software Definition.
Url: Free Software Definition
Accessed: 18th June, 05.

The use of Linux is usually a ethical and philosophical choice, towards these values, UBUNTU sees these values as key to producing a distrubution which gives the users these Freedoms. If we use proprietry software we miss the whole point. We should avoid proprietry software and use alternatives which comply to open source or free software values.

Imagine the scenario where there was no open source or free software we would rely on vendors to patch software, we couldnt rely on other support. Bugs could lay around for ever. How do we know what the code is doing behind the scenes, if we CANT SEE IT.

As a developer proprietry software gives us nothing to learn from, as we can't see source code so we would loose that essential learning opportunity.

Free Software or Open Source does not have to be free in price either, its just many choose to give it away and charge for support.

Linux is a community thing and thats a great thing be a part of, you wont find communities like this in the M$ Camp.

Free Software or open source is great for third world countries too, why should third world countries not benefit from technology. Many countries in poverty simply cant afford M$ products and this is where Linux comes in hand again. Shouldn't computing be for all nations of any creed or class. So you could say proprietry software denies the use for someone who cant afford to buy software, which is unethical in my eyes.

Last of all all Free Software and Open Source complies to WORLD WIDE STANDARDS, Micorsoft make there own, which causes an effect of uncompatibilties between platforms and even web technologies.

A certain concern for me at the moment is many new Linux users dont really understand the real importance of this ethical stance. When you do, only then you will see the real reason to use freesoftware or open source which of course is the base of a system like Ubuntu.

[poptones]

OK then... here's what I like about it.

I'm one of the (lesser) contributors to AVISynth. Actually I say that humbly, I'm the person who kept saying "it needs more tools for editing and compositing" and after listening to myself complain for about a year I added those functions - which, by their popularity, quickly proved how right I was.

So after fighting with yet another reinstall of 200 after yet another security breach from the net (I'm on dialup, a 48K connection, behind a router, and yet my windows box was cracked open and bled data at a whopping 3K a sec for hours as I slept) I finally gave up on windows and said "that's it, I'm not even dual booting I just have to find something that works." It took a while but I settled upon mandrake. Used it for several months and sorta liked it but it was butt ugly and support sucked. So then I read about ubuntu and that was that.

Oh.. anyway... the point about AVISynth and stuff. Well, I really like doing creative work. I've made some money at it but I do it whether there is pay in it or not, like any artist I create because I have to. And my favorite tool for chopping video was, of course, avisynth. And I thought many times of trying to port it to linux. After all, it basically uses the windows video api and that works just fine in wine, it seemed like there wouldn't be much to it at all. But I'm not much of a c programmer and the task just seemed way over my head.

Then one day it dawned on me: mplayer will spit out every frame into a jpeg. And once a video is chopped into a bazillion jpegs you can use image magick to do pretty much ANY damn thing with them. So, I tried it.

Linux is, to me, the ultimate video machine. Every damn thing I need is built in and runs right off the command line. Those complex functions are all part of image magick and if there's anything I need that's not it's a very manageable task to add it myself.

This is very old school so it's probably not a suprise to anyone and frankly I'm amazed I didn't think of all this much sooner, as I actually learned how to do video and 3d modeling work on SGI systems about a decade ago. But I don't think people have an appreciation for just how much power the command line, and all the tools accessible from it, really can mean to "right brain" people.

That's why linux is awesome: no matter where you want to go, there you are.

[Teroedni]

Reason i switched

Windows cost a lot opf money and i was beginning to wonder why i paid over 100£ for a product that wouldnt be stable.
And all the time installing the drivers!!!!!!!!.
Driver for Mouse!!!!!!!! Driver for keyboard Driver for sound Driver for Motherboard Driver for graphic board. You had to install atleast 5 different drivers and a lot of crappy programs. I had 10 cds with diffrent drivers for my windows
How many do you think i have i linux: Only one

I was also thinking to start learning html and different languages, but gave it up because it was difficult on Windows.

And whats up with the registry. How is it possible. If i was going to clean the registry for old programs i would use atleast 2 days. I think is about 1 million entrys in there or perhapse more

And what do i do when i dont have the patience to clean the registry every 60 days
Reinstall ofcourse...........But wait Activartion code argh!!
And i can only install 3 times . What if i upgrade Will windows work

And then the spam. Ohh Internet Explorer popup popup
Okay install Opera or Firefox A litlle to many windows ----->Crash
Great

The reason i switched was the activation code. I was sick of Windows little game with punish thoose that actually paid for the product

I was long an AMIGA fanatic and has always hoped for the Amiga to make an comeback. But now when i starting to use Linux i have discovered that it actually have the same magic that my old Amiga had. I actually found a system that reach up to the old Amigas exelency Yust look at the screensaver in Ubuntu
Marvelous Matrix Screensaver is really cool. And linux has a lot of Graphics program
to choose from. Maybe my creative side wakes up. You know raytrace is free

And last the command line. It is really much better than dos window in Windows