Wasn't sure where to put this as their isn't a forum for it, so this seemed like the best place

Hey. I've used Windows since I first sat at a computer (not by choice, it's just what was available to use) and I've known about Mac's and Linux for ages, but never really considered bothering with them. If I had the money, I'd def get a Mac, just because I could and we all should know, Linux is free, but theirs so many distributions out there! I've heard the name Ubuntu pop up a lot recently, and questioned my friend about it, who's a bigger geek than me and he told me it was really good. I eventually downloaded it, burnt the ISO and ran the OS from the disk instead of installing it (which is such an ace idea).

My first thought of it was that it was just another Operating System, probably not that much different from Windows, except it can do all these nifty effects. I had a good play around with it, but nothing made me go "Wow... 1337, C:\Run\Install now!" Now I haven't gone Googl'ing around the web looking for articles on why Linux is better than Windows, instead I'd rather just ask here to you guys, and ask, have you ever used, or do you have Linux on your machine and what [in your option] are the benefits of having and using it?

I'd like to "cross over" just for the sake that I can say that I've used Linux, but also to get a different experience, because as I've said, I've used Windows all my "computing" life.

Opinions please!

__________________
Not quite a n00b...

I dual boot with ubuntu 7.10. its a bit faster at doing most things but its buggy really buggy. Ever since the install i just been fixing bugs. I had the 7.04 before it and it worked pretty well. but i dont think i will completely convert to linux there is no reason. But it is fun to play around with, and it has its perks, I would mess around with it for a while and eventually it could be better (when you can fix most things without going to the damn command line) but for now its XP for me.

__________________
iSearchNotes.com - Share College Student Notes | Blog

I have dual boot on my Laptop with Ubuntu. I mainly like the package manager, just click an application and it will download and install automatically.

A few weeks ago i talked about it with a teacher of mine who is a very good programmer. I asked why he didn't want to consider programming for Linux. He told me he likes Linux, but a common problem with linux is that many applications only work for a certain distro. He had a point there...(even while most applications have sources available)

__________________
Nunchaku! Who doesn't like martial arts? =)

linux owns winblows and mac.... well im not going to get started.. again.
once you get to know the terminal commands, everything is much quicker, and also because its open source bugs and security holes get fixed much quicker.
and most of all ITS FREE unline windows and mac where you have to pay through the nose to get an operating system thats gonna crash every 5mins.

__________________
mysql> SELECT * FROM `users` WHERE `users`.`clue` > 0;
Empty set (0.00 sec)

Sorry but i don't agree with that. Saying that Windows crashes all the time just means the guy behind the keyboard does not know what he's doing at all. If you don't download virusses and spyware a fresh Windows installation can last for a long time.

Don't get me wrong though, i love Linux.

__________________
Nunchaku! Who doesn't like martial arts? =)

im not sure if i should respond to that with what i was going to, i may offend sum1

__________________
mysql> SELECT * FROM `users` WHERE `users`.`clue` > 0;
Empty set (0.00 sec)

After my years of experience with Linux I would never use anything else than Linux for servers. As for workstations I still use Windows.

I have gived Ubuntu a try a few times, but I don't like that distribution. I prefer to use Gentoo.

As for stability:
00:35:31 up 215 days, 8:08, 5 users, load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00
And I havent had a problem with that machine yet.

Yeah I have recently tried using ubuntu dual booted with my xp system, but I really do not care for it. I will be reformatting it again with a different distro, not sure which one yet o_O

__________________
stewart::howe
Web Developer & Programmer
CelerMedia.Com | iAmStewart.com | CelerLabs.com

I use Windows XP at home (cuz vista sucks big time), and Kubuntu 7.10 at work. I can't say that my work linux is better than my home windows, simply because they serve different purposes. I'm a webdev, so linux is an easier approach for what I do, but I don't see why I would use linux at home. My advice is, use what ever you feel more comfortable with, and stick to it. Linux is not a replacement for Windows, it never was and will never be (although Microsoft has tried to compete with linux with their shitty windows server editions, which suck, in my oppinion). They are two majorly different operating systems, therefore I don't see why they should be compared.

__________________