Windoz or Linux

[Billy23]

I looked for a thread about this but didnt see one, so here goes:

I mess with computers and repair them for my friends and have - a few years ago - tried Windows (of course) and Linux. Back then I thought that Linux was not for me, the other day, I wondered if I should, once again try Linux.

My question is, do you guys use Linux and if so which one? and do you prefer it to Windoz or have you ....gone back?

Just wondered

 

[hilldweller]

There are 10,000,000,000 windows users.

There are 34 linux users. And two of those can't get it to work.

That sums it up.

 

[TheBig1]

linux has its place and is great on older hardware, but not ideal for most as it needs constant tinkering and in many cases hard work sourcing drivers

have run systems with most generations of operating systems and being honest, windows 7 is the most reliable out of the box. especially if you remove some of the useless crap it loads by default. it just works, and thats all most people really want

 

[Billy23]

There are 10,000,000,000 windows users.

There are 34 linux users. And two of those can't get it to work.

That sums it up.

Thank you for your honest opinion, wonder if I will hear from the 32 just to hear what they have to say. I will put you down as Windows then.

Spose if you never try.......you never know what you may be missing. That's why I asked :thumb:

 

[tofo]

Thank you for your honest opinion, wonder if I will hear from the 32 just to hear what they have to say. I will put you down as Windows then.

Spose if you never try.......you never know what you may be missing. That's why I asked :thumb:

I use apple
but then
I know nothing about computers :Blush:
only how to turn em on or off :Cool:

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

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[Wissel]

I think a few more than 34 people have an Android phone

Linux is growing rapidly, so much so that major components for PC's are now being designed to work well with it.

I think a lot of the growth comes from Microsoft loosing touch with it's customers and getting too greedy.

Linux isn't there yet but give it another few years and I think it will be a serious mainstream alternative to Windows.

 

[GJH]

I think a few more than 34 people have an Android phone

Linux is growing rapidly, so much so that major components for PC's are now being designed to work well with it.

I think a lot of the growth comes from Microsoft loosing touch with it's customers and getting too greedy.

Linux isn't there yet but give it another few years and I think it will be a serious mainstream alternative to Windows.

The controlling factor has been, and will be in future, the OS which people write application software for. There is a limited set of applications for Android and iOS but a much wider set of applications for Windows so it will continue to rule for a long time yet.

As an example take the genealogy field in which we used to run a business. Quite a few packages for Windows, the odd one or two for iOS and Linux, none comparable for Android.

 

[mid4did]

To answer the original post,yes I do use Linux,but only in a need to know basis.
It is used on the various systems used by all the major firms I support in my work.servers and storage.in various forms at a command line form usually,its cheaper than Window$ and can be freely altered to suite the needs of the systems its loaded on.
Home users are used to gui,s so windows is king.
Try a free download of Ubuntu(google it) burn it to dvd and use it as a bootdisk see how you like it,you may be pleasantly surprised.It does use a gui and has freeware for most uses.

 

[Gromett]

There are 10,000,000,000 windows users.

There are 34 linux users. And two of those can't get it to work.

That sums it up.

Erm... I think you might have missed many many zero's off the end of your linux count. AND, flies like shit but you won't catch me hanging around it

linux has its place and is great on older hardware, but not ideal for most as it needs constant tinkering and in many cases hard work sourcing drivers

have run systems with most generations of operating systems and being honest, windows 7 is the most reliable out of the box. especially if you remove some of the useless crap it loads by default. it just works, and thats all most people really want

That is incorrect. Linux has most of the drivers built into the kernel.
On all the machines I have installed it on it has just worked no driver disks in sight nor do I have to search the internet for them.
All the big manufacturers work directly with the linux kernel guys.
I have not had a single device of mine fail to work out of the box so to speak. For example I have 3 3g dongles. A ZTE, A Huewai and some other make I don't know. I can plug any of these in to my box or laptop and they just work. On windows I have to wait for the drivers to install or even find the damn CD which I can't remember where I left them. Linux is far superior to windows in this respect.

It also works on modern computers just as well as the old ones. Intel even have full time developers as part of the kernel team updating linux BEFORE new processors even get released to production. Intel announced a few months ago a £1Bn investment in Linux. Redhat is the first Linux company to break the £1Bn revenue barrier. Linux is not a back street, data center only geeky OS anymore.

As for tinkering? I installed linux on the computer I am using to write this a year ago and have not done a single bit of tinkering on it. It just works.

I have recently been asked to "fix" or work on two windows computers and it reminded me why I am never going back.
On one of the computers, i got pestered every which way from sunday to do updates to adobe, Oracle, windows, HP plus more all wanting me to update this or update that. Windows even updated itself while I went to make a coffee and go to the loo. It then rebooted itself and I had to start again on the job I was doing. I missed the postpone option because I took too long making my drink :Angry:

On linux (the version I use), a little icon appears on the task bar letting me know that there is an update available. I click on it, enter my password and it updates the OS and all applications quietly in the background without pestering me. Unless there is a Kernel update no reboot is ever required. In fact I can't remember the the last time I had to reboot the computer to install or update software. Updates to all software are handled by one centralised system and it lets you know unobtrusively when updates are available.

Yes, My linux install on the desktop has the odd rough edge but it is no harder to use than a windows or Mac computer.

BTW: Billy23, I use Linux Mint XFCE edition on my desktop computers, I use Centos 6.4 on my servers and I use Android Linux on my Phone. I use XFCE because it is lightweight and gets out of my way. It has not fancy twiddles or doodads. However if you want a phone like OS Use Ubuntu and try Unity. If you want a fully featured slick desktop use KDE. The beauty of linux is YOU choose what you want to run. If one distribution doesn't work for you change to a different one they are all free of charge so find one you like. You can even run multiple desktops and swap between them. Use XFCE to get work done and use KDE, Cinamon, Unity or Gnome for leisure. No one tries to tie you down in linux. It is open in the truest sense of the word.

I run VirtualBox on my desktop and have a virtual windows 7 for when my customers have a problem with windows and I need to run outlook etc to help them. But other than that I don't touch microsoft any more.

I have been Microsoft free for over a year now and am Apple free as of last month.

Anyway, if you want to give it a try and have a bit of time it won't cost you anything and you won't lose anything. If you don't like it go back to windows or splash out on an OS/X system.

 

[Gromett]

This is a video review of XFCE which I use. He is a bit excitable but he does give a reasonable run through.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Zqh7TaqtE"]Linux Mint 15 XFCE - Outstanding - YouTube[/ame]

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[ShiftZZ]

I have an old dell laptop which is dual boot, windows xp and Ubuntu. If I am unsure of something, I may download it using the Linux partition and then make sure is ok, then and only then will I migrate it to the windows machine.

Linux has changed a lot, I hat Red Hat a long time ago, pre GUI and it was a nightmare,geekie in the extreme.
The latest version of Ubuntu is fast, easy to use and very stable. Dont be put off by its past reputation, it will take some getting used to, but its not too bad. As far as I know, its also not going to suffer with as much 'interference' from viruses and script kiddies etc. Not bad for something that is free.

I also used SCO Unix and informix when I worked, both were pigs, even formatting a floppy was hard work, when the system fell over you had to mount all the drives, and one package always gave us a problem when we users who logged on to it using windows who did not log off properly , the server would go gaga, using vasts amounts of memory, sometimes losing control of the server. Long story.

So as Karl said, try version, you may like it, but, take your time.

 

[Gromett]

Ubuntu was popular for quite some time but they have started making their own Desktop which doesn't follow the usual menu system etc.
It may be harder to get used to if moving from windows. So if you try Ubuntu and don't like it. don't just all Linux by that experience try some others, there are lots of flavours.

Linux Mint (and its various flavours) seem to be the most popular one at the moment due to their attention to detail.

 

[Billy23]

Erm... I think you might have missed many many zero's off the end of your linux count. AND, flies like shit but you won't catch me hanging around it



That is incorrect. Linux has most of the drivers built into the kernel.
On all the machines I have installed it on it has just worked no driver disks in sight nor do I have to search the internet for them.
All the big manufacturers work directly with the linux kernel guys.
I have not had a single device of mine fail to work out of the box so to speak. For example I have 3 3g dongles. A ZTE, A Huewai and some other make I don't know. I can plug any of these in to my box or laptop and they just work. On windows I have to wait for the drivers to install or even find the damn CD which I can't remember where I left them. Linux is far superior to windows in this respect.

It also works on modern computers just as well as the old ones. Intel even have full time developers as part of the kernel team updating linux BEFORE new processors even get released to production. Intel announced a few months ago a £1Bn investment in Linux. Redhat is the first Linux company to break the £1Bn revenue barrier. Linux is not a back street, data center only geeky OS anymore.

As for tinkering? I installed linux on the computer I am using to write this a year ago and have not done a single bit of tinkering on it. It just works.

I have recently been asked to "fix" or work on two windows computers and it reminded me why I am never going back.
On one of the computers, i got pestered every which way from sunday to do updates to adobe, Oracle, windows, HP plus more all wanting me to update this or update that. Windows even updated itself while I went to make a coffee and go to the loo. It then rebooted itself and I had to start again on the job I was doing. I missed the postpone option because I took too long making my drink :Angry:

On linux (the version I use), a little icon appears on the task bar letting me know that there is an update available. I click on it, enter my password and it updates the OS and all applications quietly in the background without pestering me. Unless there is a Kernel update no reboot is ever required. In fact I can't remember the the last time I had to reboot the computer to install or update software. Updates to all software are handled by one centralised system and it lets you know unobtrusively when updates are available.

Yes, My linux install on the desktop has the odd rough edge but it is no harder to use than a windows or Mac computer.

[HI]BTW: Billy23, I use Linux Mint XFCE edition on my desktop computers, I use Centos 6.4 on my servers and I use Android Linux on my Phone. I use XFCE because it is lightweight and gets out of my way. It has not fancy twiddles or doodads. However if you want a phone like OS Use Ubuntu and try Unity. If you want a fully featured slick desktop use KDE. The beauty of linux is YOU choose what you want to run. If one distribution doesn't work for you change to a different one they are all free of charge so find one you like. You can even run multiple desktops and swap between them. Use XFCE to get work done and use KDE, Cinamon, Unity or Gnome for leisure. No one tries to tie you down in linux. It is open in the truest sense of the word.[/HI]

I run VirtualBox on my desktop and have a virtual windows 7 for when my customers have a problem with windows and I need to run outlook etc to help them. But other than that I don't touch microsoft any more.

I have been Microsoft free for over a year now and am Apple free as of last month.

Anyway, if you want to give it a try and have a bit of time it won't cost you anything and you won't lose anything. If you don't like it go back to windows or splash out on an OS/X system.

Yes I understand Linux does come in several "Flavours", I did test several some years ago, including Jolicloud (as it was then called) and to be honest didn't think much of them. The other day, I realised that several years ago I wouldn't have given Android (on phones or tablets) house room, but as most will know Android is now very, very good. So going on from that I thought I would ask "The Forum" guys, what they thought of Linux. I am now just burning a DVD with Linux Mint and shall dual boot with that just to see if this Linux has progressed as much as Android has over the last few years.


All this....Most people use Microsoft, doesn't do it for me, I recon unless you check it out, you really don't know what you may be missing and of course you cannot really give an opinion.

Thanks for your input guys, and thanks Grommet for your posting, very helpful.:thumb:

Bill

 

[hilldweller]

Spose if you never try.......you never know what you may be missing. That's why I asked :thumb:

I had to use windows as a programmer for 25 years, all the tools I needed would run only on windows.

I have tried linux. On a very basic level it can look just like windows, but when going beyond "basic" it's totally alien. If you just wanted web browsing and emails you'd probably find it works. No better, no worse than windows.

I bought a very cheap micro PC to link to the lounge TV to view Eurosport on line. It was cheap because linux is free. But Eurosport use Microsoft encryption so it won't deliver pictures. I had to load Windows on to it.

I tried a home automation project with linux, but I just could not get my old head round setting up all the deeply hidden permissions needed. User friendly it is not. You might get "permission denied" comes up and then have to try and work out what is doing the denying. Again I loaded windows and did the project in days.

Strictly speaking you should totally ignore the operating system, they are just a background service letting you run the programs you need. Windows, being ancient, has more programs than any other operating system.

 

[hilldweller]

Erm... I think you might have missed many many zero's off the end of your linux count. AND, flies like shit but you won't catch me hanging around it .

You're getting slow, I baited that trap yesterday, what took you so long ?

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[Gromett]

I am now just burning a DVD with Linux Mint and shall dual boot with that just to see if this Linux has progressed as much as Android has over the last few years.

Thanks for your input guys, and thanks Grommet for your posting, very helpful.:thumb:

Bill

Which flavour of Mint are you trying? And you are welcome. I really hope you like but I won't hold my breath....

You're getting slow, I baited that trap yesterday, what took you so long ?

You posted a 21:52 I took the bait at 02:25. Not a long time considering some of us work and sleep

The problem most people have who try linux and don't like it is they run the live cd. Give it 5 minutes and walk away in disgust because you can't do everything the same way as you did in window/Mac or its too slow (running off a cd/dvd).

Others tried it 2-3 years ago. It has moved on a lot since then.

I have seen the same problem with people having a play with an Android phone and saying this is crap. Purely because they can't be bothered to put the time in to learn a slightly new way of doing things.

As for permissions problems Brian. I like the permissions settings on Linux. It adds to the security and means I can let people on my computer without any risk of them screwing it up. There are other advantages to its method of operation. It has been around since early Unix so is well tried and tested. Oh, and Brian it really isn't that hard to learn .

I would also guess that there is as much software for linux as there is for windows these days. Linux has a MASSIVE software database built right into most distributions and it's all free. Admittedly some of it is unadulterated crap but the same can be said for a lot of windows software.

As for programming. I find the Linux API's to be crystal clear and very easy to write to. Win32 and later was a nightmare the .NET framework was obscure and cludgy and I ended up deciding not to bother learning it. I came from writing software for the best OS API of all times "Intuition" :thumb:

Any way getting too technical now I guess oh:

 

[GJH]

I've tried several different flavours of Linux over the years but never stayed with them. These days I use a computer as a tool to enable me to achieve end results rather than programming the thing myself. Thus I want a tool that I can pick up and use reasonably quickly rather than one I have to build. That is even more the case for the man on the top deck of the Clapham omnibus, who probably has little or no technical expertise - so the dominant player will be the one which is easiest to use, easiest to buy and easiest for shops to sell.

In 10 and a half years of running a family tree printing business we never received a file created by a program running under Linux and only a few created by software running on Macs - and even then making sure the character set wasn't corrupted could be fun. Just as with VHS and Betamax it doesn't matter which is technically the best, it matters which is easiest to buy, sell and use. That is why the rise of Android on mobile devices is accompanied by the demise of Symbian and the difficulty that Microsoft has in breaking into that market.

The real world will always win against the technical one, whether rightly or wrongly.

 

[Billy23]

Which flavour of Mint are you trying? And you are welcome. I really hope you like but I won't hold my breath....

Well I am trying Mint Cinnamon Edition, I have loaded it and have to say quite impressed so far. Tried it straight from the CD and of course it was slow (has to read the cd), liked the look of it and so loaded it onto computer as a dual boot. Straight in, no problems whatsoever, most of the drivers already in place, download what ever software you want....free! and it works straight away.

Have to say this distro of Linux has, so far really impressed me. Early days of course, but I do like it.:thumb:

Seems to prove, you just have to check on things every now and again.....cos they change, but only for the people that want to change

Thanks again Gromett for your useful posts :thumb:

 

[cmcardle75]

I looked for a thread about this but didnt see one, so here goes:

I mess with computers and repair them for my friends and have - a few years ago - tried Windows (of course) and Linux. Back then I thought that Linux was not for me, the other day, I wondered if I should, once again try Linux.

My question is, do you guys use Linux and if so which one? and do you prefer it to Windoz or have you ....gone back?

Just wondered

I use both. If you have to ask, use Windows!

If you're adventurous and want to try anyway, use Mint.

 

[Gromett]

I kept trying Linux on the desktop pretty much since I started using it on servers back in 97. There has always been at least one major issue that has forced me back to windows. Initially it was software but over time even on windows I have moved away from MS and other Commercial software. I use LibreOffice, filezilla, firefox, thunderbird etc etc etc instead of the Microsoft alternatives.

I tried a couple of years ago on Ubuntu, but when I went full timing I found Ubuntu was too buggy and changed too often. It had major issues with wifi and 3G drivers which other desktop linux distributuions had already resolved. There were too many issue with it so back to windows I went.

A year or so later another attempt with another distribution (Arch Linux) and it all worked fine. Except I kept having to boot into windows to watch all the media I had bought from iTunes and to convert DVD's.
Now I don't like swapping back and forward so I ended up on Win7 all the time and cursing it more and more.

Finally 18 months or so ago I installed linux mint and loved it. Around a year ago I found a bit of software that allowed me to remove all the DRM from my £1,000's of iTunes media. This was then transferred to my Linux system and I have never looked back.

There is nothing I could do on my old win system that I can't do on my Linux box. There is however many things I can do on my linux box that I couldn't do on my windows box or if I could do it it was done badly.

I still don't think Linux is for everyone but each year it takes massive leaps towards getting there.

I would predict within the next 20 years that Microsoft will launch a linux Kernel based product with all their software stack on top of it.
Apple already use a cousin of Linux for their Kernel.

Because of the sheer power and versatility of the Kernel I can see it being the market leader in all areas before too many years are up.

The only difference will be the UI on top of it and the tool chain.

Everything from cars to washing machines, Supercomputers to individual sensors run linux. The space station has recently moved across to linux because of its reliability and openness.

I do not do the computer religious wars any more. Not since the 80's with the Amiga and ST debates However the development model of Linux is so good and powerful I can't see other OS's standing a chance in the medium to long term. I personally think that everyone should use what is best for them, however they should not automatically assume because it is best for them everything else is rubbish or substandard.

Apple fan boys get on my tits rattling on about how well designed their iDevices are. This is just not true. Apple have made horrendous cockups in the design of most of their products and not just one or two they have made many. These are glossed over by fan boys or just totally ignored. Lots of MS haters don't recognise the massive progress MS have made in security and reliability. In my view Win 7 was the best bit of software they have ever released. It was exceptionally stable considering the shakey foundations it was built on. Linux is criticised for being command line based where you need to make convoluted incantations to get it to do stuff. This was true in the 90's, less true in the 0x's and not true at all now. The vast majority of users don't even need to open a command prompt in Linux any more. BUT unlike windows it is there and available should you ever find the need to use some of the really really powerful tools under the hood.

My advice to anyone would be... If your computer does what you want it to do and you don't like playing with computers stick with what you have. However if you like trying new stuff and playing with technology. Keep giving Linux a try about once a year (4 release cycles) but give it a fair shake not just a quick look and a dismissal.

Bah, ended up writing a TL;DR didn't I oh:

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[Billy23]

I have loaded Linux Mint 15 onto my desktop as a dual boot, did it about 3 days ago and have to say, well impressed. I have just had a friend visit and told him that so far (Early days) I cannot see a reason to use Windows again.

Well pleased!:thumb:

 

[Gromett]

I am just wondering if this is worth doing?

I am pretty sure I could put together a USB drive that boots multiple versions of linux and include a virus checker/backup and fixer utilities on it as well.

Let me know if anyone would be interested in a USB flash drive that could do this?

 

[TheBig1]

I am just wondering if this is worth doing?

I am pretty sure I could put together a USB drive that boots multiple versions of linux and include a virus checker/backup and fixer utilities on it as well.

Let me know if anyone would be interested in a USB flash drive that could do this?

that would actually be very useful, especially if it also included an anti spyware program too. would get a lot of people out of trouble when their system stops responding:thumb:

 

[Gromett]

linux has its place and is great on older hardware, but not ideal for most as it needs constant tinkering and in many cases [HI]hard work sourcing drivers[/HI]

Sorry to come back to this but just as a point of interest.
Intel have just added the graphics drivers to Linux for the NEXT Intel processor which hasn't even been released yet.

What this means is that when the new processor is released you will have it working with a default install of linux using the latest kernel.

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=intel_broadwell_linux&num=1

Drivers really aren't the issue they used to be for linux. They are however still an issue with Windows.

Quick question to Billy23. How many devices did you need to find drivers for on your new install?

 

[TheHat]

I am just wondering if this is worth doing?

I am pretty sure I could put together a USB drive that boots multiple versions of linux and include a virus checker/backup and fixer utilities on it as well.

Let me know if anyone would be interested in a USB flash drive that could do this?

sorry to jump in but if Gromett is willing to put this together i for one would like to give it a go as the last time i tried linux was some years ago (tophat)
Bill

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[Billy23]

sorry to jump in but if Gromett is willing to put this together i for one would like to give it a go as the last time i tried linux was some years ago (tophat)
Bill

Like you Bill I tried Linux some years ago but thought at that time it had a long way to go to be as good/bad as Windows.

About a week ago I downloaded Linux Mint 15, copied it to CD, ran it from the CD (it was slow because it had to read the CD) I installed it on the computer, straight in, loads of free software, and I have to say I would need a VERY good reason to go back to Windows.

Try it, I think you will be impressed.:thumb:

Bill

 

[Gromett]

ok. I have two websites to finish and a registrar api module to finish then will crack on with it.

 

[Yorick]

For my job, nothing will do quite like Linux. In a past life I was a Unix Sys Admin, so do know how to get the best out of it.

But I am old school with just command line usage, none of these fancy GUIs

But still use Windows for home stuff and on my admin PC here at work.

 

[tick59]

Like you Bill I tried Linux some years ago but thought at that time it had a long way to go to be as good/bad as Windows.

About a week ago I downloaded Linux Mint 15, copied it to CD, ran it from the CD (it was slow because it had to read the CD) I installed it on the computer, straight in, loads of free software, and I have to say I would need a VERY good reason to go back to Windows.

Try it, I think you will be impressed.:thumb:

Bill

oh:oh:oh:
WHEN I HAVE TRIED TO DOWNLOAD LINUX MINT IT SAYS TO CREATE A DVD NOT CD????

 

[hilldweller]

I would need a VERY good reason to go back to Windows.
Bill

OK, so what does Linux do for you that Windows won't ?

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