Why Linux ?

[gvpraag]

Maybe I hurt some feelings, but what could be the advantage of using Linux?

To me it seems a little like buying a car: every car is good (otherwise it could not be sold) and everybody has his reasons why to buy a specific type.

I am from the very first software-developer generation and from a time where OS's even didn't exist at all.

First we had to develop our own and later we had to learn to work with many of them because every computer manufacturer had a completely different one.

IBM had the habit to overcomplicate things and for the OS (including Job-control) of the IBM mainframes you needed a whole wall of manuals.

Now I have two computers, one with OSX Lion and one with Windows7 Ultimate. Both excellent OS's and so easy to handle. I think that the majority of users did not even need to read the manual in order to be able to work with either of them.

In my PERSONAL opinion Mac OSX looks more smooth and beautiful and I prefer it above Win-7. However if you ask me about really important advantages or disadvantages I don't have the answer.

I played with computers all my life and I still like to experiment and to learn new things. So is there anybody who can explain me why I should try Linux and what I get more by implementing it.

Please do not come with speed issues; most computers have 80% idle-time already.

Gabriel.

[dharmabm]

your analogy is a bit flawed, to use it to explain you are talking about the difference between buying a bmw and getting a mercedes for free

[Crushdepth]

Why not just try it and decide for yourself? Just stick it on as a virtual machine and if you dont like it, delete it. Personally I use it for programming and server management, but office type stuff I use Windows. Virtualbox lets me have both running at once.

[rakman]

Linux is a "white box" implementation of Unix. Mac OSX is derived from another "white box" implementation of Unix, BSD. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Software_Distribution

RedHat and Ubuntu are implementations of Linux with a friendly graphic user interface (or command line; user choice) similar in concept to the Mac OSX.

There are many variants of Linux, some use more AT&T System V concepts and some use more of the BSD concepts.

Solaris is a Sun implementation of Unix a mix of BSD and AT&T System V. You can get a free copy of it as well.

It's really a choice of what you want to do with it and what you're familiar with, what tools and programs are supported with the variant you want to use.

Knowing more can give a spark to the creative process depending on what you're interested in.

Many networking appliances use BSD as the core, with modifications as necessary to accomplish the manufacturers needs.

[dmsnsa]

An OS is all about control and delivery.

You like your current OS's, one more than the other. I work with the stuff every day on BIG IRON environments, and I've been working at it all too long (I don't pre-date OS's, not by a long shot but even it I did it would be irrelevant). An OS provides two things: 1) control of an environment, and 2) a method to deliver information across a device. I like Open Source OS's as I'm able to: (i) Pick an OS that has the signed on to an OPEN disclosure of bugs/vulnerabilities/changes/improvements ( ii Provides all source code to everything within the Kernel space, and User Land, ( iii) Provides regular updates to both OS and packaged applications within its distribution set and (iv) It's free (and don't talk to me about experience of use required because that's a commonality that all OS/APP/DEVICE ...etc share). Linux does that for me, as does OpenBSD OS I use as well. In the end, the OS is just the table to lay the tool box.

I'll leave the subjective evaluations aside and just smile because what I need to do gets done and I do an awful lot with my OS / Application selections.

Edited January 6, 2012 by dmsnsa

[Richard-BKK]

In my company we have a good amount of computers, if I would install MS Windows on all 24 computers it will cost me at least 100,000 THB. Plus that you will need some extra software like Antivirus, firewall and a few more utilities to get things on the workable level.

From Microsoft we all hear things that it's more difficult for users to work with Linux, Microsoft even says that Linux is less productive – trust me every time I visit another company where they use MS Windows people seem to play games the whole day... or sorry I lost the data because of a virus...

We use Ubuntu with Gnome 3.2, maybe not the best looking and most efficient version to work with, but I works perfectly we have never a problem that people install unauthorized programs, also all programs we run are 100% legal.

Most people who compare MS Windows with a Linux distribution compare it with using a illegal version of MS Windows. We sometimes use huge amounts of data and our computers are equipped with a minimum of 8GB of internal memory, therefore we need to use an 64-bit operating system (not so long ago you could only use Linux if you wanted to use more than 3.5GB). Currently MS Windows is also available in 64-bits version, but where are the programs? Which programs are truly capable to use the benefits of 64-bits running under MS Windows.

[Heimdallr]

If compatibility with different programs (and games) is a priority, Windows 7 is difficult to beat. For a small business the biggest obstacle is cost, making Linux an attractive alternative with little or no costs for obtaining the most important tools. It's really become about what you need. Win7 is obviously an easy choice. However, if you don't play, you can do everything on Linux with similar efficiency (and significantly better security).

[justsumhelp]

Because it does an awesome job hiding your secret Pr0n

[mungostjohn]

One use of Linux is with old PC computers that would be slowed down using the Windows OS to the extent that you'd end up throwing the computer out.

It also takes up a lot less space in the memory which is limited in the older computers.

[HAL9000]

It depends on the application. If you need to run Windows applications, a virtual machine on Linux just isn't the same. I particularly found the latest Mint Linux distribution to be very trouble free for installation, much like Windows with everything coming up and just working right away. I still have a few Windows tasks that I don't know how to do in Linux, so I haven't migrated yet, but I hope to before my Windows 7 becomes obsolete to avoid another use-tax payment to Microsoft. I'm sorry about the person above who said not to talk about speed, but I work my computer hard, and I can tell you that Windows 7 lags on my Core 2 Quad. Mint seems a little snappier, but I haven't spent much time with it. Also you will find Linux running commercial and industry workhorse systems. For example, the backbone of the internet is highly dependent on Linux. I don't even know if Windows is used at all in that type of heavy-duty work. Open Office is a free product because Sun didn't want customer desire for MS Office to be a reason for them not to buy Sun's extremely large and expensive IT solutions. With that much money at stake, they could afford to maintain and give away a free office suite.

[Gary A]

The biggest reason is that Linux is free. It works well and is fast, The problem is that most programs are Windows based and they won't work with Linux. If all you need to do is to get on the Internet, it is great.

Edited January 8, 2012 by Gary A

[bkk_mike]

You choose the operating system for what you want to do...

i.e. If your work forces it (like me), you end up with Windows as that's what the office VPN software is for.

But if you want to use photo or video editing, you usually end up with a Mac. Not because the hardware is any better (it's usually worse), but because there's a better choice of software for doing that on a Mac.

Similarly, if you want to set up a server, for backups etc, then, I'll be honest, you're likely to end up with a distribution of Linux of some sort (either by buying a NAS box which happens to run Linux behind the scenes, or by setting up your own server...)

(I will admit Windows Home Server was a reasonable server choice - until they announced the removal of Drive Extender. With Linux alternatives like Amahi, which are free, and which have a Drive Extender equivalent (called Greyhole), if you're up to the task of setting up the server yourself, there's no reason to pick something other than Linux for it).

Linux also has that great advantage of being free. - Which means no product activation to deal with. (I have a "Pantip" copy of Windows installed on a laptop that had a hard drive failure and didn't ship with backup disks, just a recovery partition - and I have fully legit windows (bought from Amazon) installed on my kids desktop PCs. - Guess which give me problems with Windows activation complaining that the version of windows isn't valid. - Hint - it's the ones that cost a lot more than 200 baht)

Edited January 8, 2012 by bkk_mike

[dharmabm]

The biggest reason is that Linux is free. It works well and is fast, The problem is that most programs are Windows based and they won't work with Linux.

no offense, but can you give some examples of these programs? i'm 90% sure anything you come up with i can give you a linux alternative for!

k

[dharmabm]

i.e. If your work forces it (like me), you end up with Windows as that's what the office VPN software is for.

vpns are platform independent, you don't need a windows client to connect to a micrsoft vpn

But if you want to use photo or video editing, you usually end up with a Mac. Not because the hardware is any better (it's usually worse), but because there's a better choice of software for doing that on a Mac.

this may have been true 10-15 years ago, but i challenge you to give me an example today.

[Schnitzel]

While Microsoft is trying to get their systems work, Linux is trying to spread over the world

[Gary A]

The biggest reason is that Linux is free. It works well and is fast, The problem is that most programs are Windows based and they won't work with Linux.

no offense, but can you give some examples of these programs? i'm 90% sure anything you come up with i can give you a linux alternative for!

k

Open Office is a great substitute for Microsoft Office so that is not an issue. What is an issue is Autocad and Garmin programs such as Map Source and Base Camp. I listen to and subscribe to Audible books and Linux won't run the Audible programs. I bought my wife a new Acer laptop that came with Linux. I changed it to Windows 7 Ultimate because Linux would not run any of her English learning programs.

Since most programs for Linux are free, I have found that they usually don't amount to much. They are about what you would expect for free. I will admit that if I had started with Linux and had never seen Windows, it is quite likely that I would be getting along just fine.

[wimpy]

If it weren't for Garmin Mapsource and Turbotax, I would be completely free of Windows. Fortunately, these run just fine on an old copy of Windows XP in Virtualbox. Maybe it is just what I am used to, but whenever I use Windows, it is such a relief to get back into Linux Mint.

[thaimite]

If it weren't for Garmin Mapsource and Turbotax, I would be completely free of Windows. Fortunately, these run just fine on an old copy of Windows XP in Virtualbox. Maybe it is just what I am used to, but whenever I use Windows, it is such a relief to get back into Linux Mint.

I too am Linux fan, and I think that the free alternatives for the Windows programs are usually of a very good standard.

Unfortuantely there are a few windows programmes that I cannot find good replacements for the main one being Visio. Open Office does all I need for normal office work except I am a heavy user of Excel Macros and VBA and in these cases I either have to rewrite the VBA in open office Basic or run Excel in a Virtualbox session.

There are good CAD Programmes but a Linux version of Autocad would be good. I know of a few people would love to switch to Linux are unable to because of their need to run Autocad.

As Gary A has stated many proproiatry programmes are unavailable in Linux. In my case Kies (which is a terrible programme) but is required for firmware updayes of my Samsung.

I use Virtualbox in these cases ut it is not perfect. I have never had much success with Wine. Wih regard to audible books I have found there are better and cheaper alternatives which use a standard MP3 player. This of course dooes not play titles you have already purchased.

The upside of having a stable, cheap and fast OS and programmes means 95% of my personal computing time is with Linux, and I hate it when I have to go back to Windows even in a Virtual session.

Edited January 9, 2012 by thaimite

[Lannig]

i.e. If your work forces it (like me), you end up with Windows as that's what the office VPN software is for.

vpns are platform independent, you don't need a windows client to connect to a micrsoft vpn

Not all of them are, by far. Both Checkpoint and Juniper offer VPN solutions for which only Windows and Mac clients exist. Although they're based on standard protocols, they've added enough nonstandard stuff in there to prevent interoperability with open-source clients.These vendors are very popular in corporate environments. Not the whole world runs OpenVPN ... I regret it as much as you do, but that's the sad truth.

[dharmabm]

ok, you guys got me on the garmin stuff, it is a very proprietary technology and they do not release any source or drivers, there isn't a viable alternative there. turbotax - you can do it completely online with all the features of the desktop client, plus there are lots of viable alternatives in both online and desktop (i've used both turbotax and taxact online, and like taxact better). as for CAD software i'm afraid you've got me again, the only thing i have tried is blender, and it sucks. we use rhino for design and i have been desperately seeking an alternative for years, but no luck. i've heard good things about the grabert product, but it is commercial and i haven't tried it. so i'm down 2 to 1, but the average user often falsely assumes they cannot do more common tasks without windows.

[dharmabm]

i.e. If your work forces it (like me), you end up with Windows as that's what the office VPN software is for.

vpns are platform independent, you don't need a windows client to connect to a micrsoft vpn

Not all of them are, by far. Both Checkpoint and Juniper offer VPN solutions for which only Windows and Mac clients exist. Although they're based on standard protocols, they've added enough nonstandard stuff in there to prevent interoperability with open-source clients.These vendors are very popular in corporate environments. Not the whole world runs OpenVPN ... I regret it as much as you do, but that's the sad truth.

hmm, a quick search found an ubuntu client for juniper and tunneling possibilities for checkpoint (although full 'office mode' functionality (whatever that is) is not possible). i suppose anyone can build layers of proprietary code to make accepted industry standards unusable, but why would anyone in their right mind use them? :-)

[aussiebebe]

I run Ubuntu on my PC, use Windows 7 Ultimate on my laptop and Apple's latest OS on my ipad so I can see two more advantages of linux; Ubuntu has an integrated apps store unlike Windows and there is one software updating system whereas with apple, some apps may not auto update which potentially leaves them vulnerable. (I should point out that apple has a comprehensive updating and I've never had security issues).

Overall, it's possible to run both windows and ubuntu on the same machine, choose from boot or one within the other. It's really still a Window's world we're living in and it's hard being exclusively linux - always converting stuff. Likewise apple; updating a samsung smartphone is a windows job and you can't play quicktime files on a samsung tv via HDD for example.

[Lannig]

hmm, a quick search found an ubuntu client for juniper and tunneling possibilities for checkpoint (although full 'office mode' functionality (whatever that is) is not possible). i suppose anyone can build layers of proprietary code to make accepted industry standards unusable, but why would anyone in their right mind use them? :-)

You sound like you've never worked in a corporate IT environment.

Most of the time, you don't have a choice. And the people who decide to buy this or that for the corp. VPN don't even have a clue that someone might not be using Windows. More, they don't give a hoot (borrowed from the Night Owl ... hi Bernard, wherever you are). Sad fact of life.

[jacnl2000]

How’dy. Put on the red hat for a few months. Worked like a charm for me a few years ago. That splendid fitting material delivered me goosebumbs. So, personally, I think, in whatever mind, that is, and /or will [not yet to] be, a quite exciting jolly good learning experience after (-1) initially getting the newest added hardware behave. Just as what has been said before by other posters surfacing within this threads scope (+1), due to its customizable kernel architecture, that red hat OS worked excellent, well for me, especially on relative small memories positioned within already existing favourate niches consisting of known hardware mixs. Overall ret hat deserves a neutral validation (1-1=0), over here, given by me, in name of the power of certainty. No wanted cat in whatever tree I can think of. No problems. No worries. Bravo. A few years ago for me a real eyeopener.

[justsumhelp]

class <deleted> {

public static void main(String[] args) {

System.out.println("I like your prose please continue");

}

}

How’dy. Put on the red hat for a few months. Worked like a charm for me a few years ago. That splendid fitting material delivered me goosebumbs. So, personally, I think, in whatever mind, that is, and /or will [not yet to] be, a quite exciting jolly good learning experience after (-1) initially getting the newest added hardware behave. Just as what has been said before by other posters surfacing within this threads scope (+1), due to its customizable kernel architecture, that red hat OS worked excellent, well for me, especially on relative small memories positioned within already existing favourate niches consisting of known hardware mixs. Overall ret hat deserves a neutral validation (1-1=0), over here, given by me, in name of the power of certainty. No wanted cat in whatever tree I can think of. No problems. No worries. Bravo. A few years ago for me a real eyeopener.

[Samsonite]

Linux has come a long way since Linus Torvalds wrote his "Unix like" operating system for the personal computer 20, or was it 21, years ago when he was a college student in Finland.

It has developed into a very powerful and secure operating system and has become the OS of choice for the vast majority of companies running servers on the Internet.

There is a desktop for every taste, but the best known are KDE, Gnome and Xfce. Many in the Linux community think both Gnome and KDE are getting too bloated and "windows like," but KDE does seem to appeal to former ms-windows users and many feel the lastest version, 4.7.4 (4.8 to be released next week) is better looking than win7 and certainly has more bells and whistles.

That old canard, if it is free it isn't worth much, has never been more untrue when it is applied to today's Open Source software. Many of the programs are every bit as good as their commercial counterparts and in some cases, better.

I have found that the md-windows scanning software for my HP scanner, of course, does a better job than Xsane and Sane, but that varies from chipset to chipset (in each scanner), so I run VirtualBox (a virtual machine) on my Linux desktop and in that XP, SP3, and therein, the scanning software. XP runs better in VirtualBox than it does as a "standalone" on the same computer. It, XP, thinks it is running on a standalone box hooked up to a lan (local area network), but, as I said, it is just another application.

I have the entire ms-office suite running perfectly under WINE, just to show people it can be done, as I use LibreOffice for all my word processing, etc.

I haven't had to boot over to ms-windows for over a year.

There are literally hundreds of Linux distributions, but currently the most popular one is Ubuntu and its siblings.

Years ago when I first started using Linux, off and on, Slackware Linux was the most popular distribution. Over the years I've tried many others, but have always gone back to Slackware. It lets you control your computer, is secure, and noticeably faster than some of the others. It is not just for "geeks," a reputation given to it by those too lazy to do more than point and click. Their loss.

Here is a good site to start to learn more about Linux,

http://www.http://distrowatch.com/

a little history about Linux distributions,

http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7651/1/

Some applications,

Firefox, Thunderbird, Opera, and Chrome are all available for Linux.

HP provides Linux drivers for all their printers and multi-purpose office equipment. Unfortunately they don't do the same for their standalone scanner.

Flash, Adobe Reader and others are available for Linux and are free. There are some commerical version that do charge a fee, e.g., Nero.

K3b, for CD/DVD burning, copying, etc.

LibreOffice, as previously mentioned.

Picasa and GoogleEarth are both available and run perfectly well.

Gwenview, from KDE is an excellent graphics/image viewer.

The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is not quite Adobe Photo Shop, but it is getting there and does everything I need to do and far more.

Amarok, consider by many to be the best audio player, regardless of platform.

VLC, an excellent video and audio player.

MPlayer, another good video and audio player.

It is a long, long list.

To sum it up, with Linux, especially Slackware Linux, I can accomplish everything I need to do with a computer, both business and personal, and it does well, it does it securely, it does it quickly, and it is as stable as a rock.

Edited January 22, 2012 by Samsonite

[bkk_mike]

i.e. If your work forces it (like me), you end up with Windows as that's what the office VPN software is for.

vpns are platform independent, you don't need a windows client to connect to a micrsoft vpn

Not all of them are, by far. Both Checkpoint and Juniper offer VPN solutions for which only Windows and Mac clients exist. Although they're based on standard protocols, they've added enough nonstandard stuff in there to prevent interoperability with open-source clients.These vendors are very popular in corporate environments. Not the whole world runs OpenVPN ... I regret it as much as you do, but that's the sad truth.

hmm, a quick search found an ubuntu client for juniper and tunneling possibilities for checkpoint (although full 'office mode' functionality (whatever that is) is not possible). i suppose anyone can build layers of proprietary code to make accepted industry standards unusable, but why would anyone in their right mind use them? :-)

I work for a bank. The VPN software has additional in-house security checks in addition to the basic VPN connection. And the software is for windows only.

[RKASA]

I run windows in vitualbox with a fixed IP on my LAN just like it is another PC - because linux has up to 16 desk tops you can do that. It is there running all the time and auto starts when I start the PC. Things like a modem stupidly designed to only talk to IE6> I can still open the gateway with a simple click. Most any software that works only on windows outside of highend games is right there all the time.. I can leave the connection to the internet off on that windos OS and use linux for the internet and mail etc plus many of the things it does best like the apache server etc etc etc.

Why linux - why not is the real question or maybe why windows for everything if you can have both anyway.

[volk666]

I just got bored of Win XP and so tried Linux. All my computers have dual boot on them but I rarely use Windows anymore, and when I do I get pestered with updates to Avast, Windows Defender and what not. By comparison, all Linux updates are done as one single task. To make it even easier I open terminal and type "zypper up" in my OpenSuse - that is really all that is needed to update the OS and every single program on the entire computer. There are, of course, automatic updates, too, but they require slightly more clicks.

Another thing that bothers me about Windows is dealing with pirated Win 7. I've done it a few times myself but there were always some problems with "evaluation period" or "activation" or serial numbers and updating the OS itself. Maybe it's gotten easier, I don't know, Windows that comes preloaded with notebooks here is only marginally more reliable in that regard.

As KDE user I can't give Win7 acknowledgment even for the looks, it's great, yes, but there are many little nifty things in KDE that look even better, and in every other aspect it beats Win 7 hands down.

Recently I gave a try to Gnome 3.2 and I must say it's a refreshingly new approach to desktops. I can see how it might drive old Gnome users nuts and Win users might feel afraid of switching to such a radically different design, but it has its pluses, too. I even got myself Applelike dock as an eye candy. Don't think it's easy to get something like this on Windows. Cheap trick but still nice.

As for software - I've never learned to use Adobe Photoshop like a pro. All I need graphics wise I can do with GIMP. For office documents there's Open/Libre Office, but I've recently migrated to Google Docs in the "cloud". Now it doesn't matter which computer or which OS I'm using, I always work with the same spreadsheet, which I can also share with anyone I want.

Maybe it's not as fancy as Excel but after writing quite a few scripts for my spreadsheets I feel like I'm never going to fully explore the possibilities of Google Docs anyway.

CD/DVD burning - there are free tools for Windows but, like with Photoshop, everyone here lives on pirated Nero, and even if I got a genuine Nero disk with DVD drive I bought once it still doesn't have access to all the capabilities. On Linux these things are fully expected part of the OS.

Image viewing here is also usually done via pirated ACDsee, there are free tools, too, like FastStone, but on Linux image viewers are also part of the OS, no need to search the Internet for "free" software - and that's a major headache in itself.

To be fair, I've used free Linux derived substitutes for many Windows programs for years before I actually made a switch and after the switch to Linux I still use some of Windows based software in Wine. Not all Windows programs work like that but those that do run just like any other regular Linux applications without any visible overhead. I've been thinking about setting up a VirtualBox and running fully blown Windows inside it, but when I think about installation I just shudder - WinXp takes about an hour to install on it's own, Win7 needs tons of free space, and the serial and activations - I don't need this aggravation, really.

Actually, at least two of my Windows installs are perfectly set up to do everything I want and they are quite snappy and nice but not nearly as much fun as I have with Linux. One might say Linux is for those who like to endlessly tweak their system. To this I can answer that most of my guests don't fully realize they are using a completely different OS - the browsers are the same, file managers looks and work the same, music and video play the same and so on.

[kujirasan]

I been using Linux for 10 years, the ones I started with all got eaten up by the corporations, Red Hat , Mandrake, one day I was going home and in front of a News Agency there were this packets left for free! So I took few home!

Linux is difficult system and there are far too many distributions, or Distros , if you don't know anything about programming, C language etc you have to learn a bit otherwise it is frustrating and you will spend lot time in the forums to get help!

It is very easy to use it now, compared with few years ago! It was hell installing and even worst trying to connect to Internet! When the ADSL game , it was terrible to get Internet going!

It is like a car, many people drive it, but don't know what is under the hood or how to deal with the engine electrical etc! In Linux you got to know how the engine runs!

In some areas there far more software than for Windows! For example Music, Disk Burning , Desktop Environment etc.

Most large corporation run Linux behind the Windows, Banks completely run on Linux! I used for Finite Element Analysis, Date Base, Internet and Mathematics!

It is free from hassle of license etc, and no virus, no freezing no slow down! It is horses for courses!