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View Full Version : Linux Conundrum.....



Chuck Wintle
04-26-2014, 8:58 AM
as much as I try to like Linux, Ubuntu, mint or other I never seem to like it and end up back using MS Windows. I imagine many like Linux but what are the main reasons to stick with vs. Windows and compatible programs for Windows that install easily, usually work ok. :D

Brian Elfert
04-26-2014, 9:03 AM
A big reason folks like Linux is because it is free. Some don't like Microsoft for whatever reason and refuse to run Windows. Some like Linux because they feel it is more secure. I am a server administrator for both Linux and Windows. I choose to run Windows personally because the software I use for home use only runs on Windows for the most part.

Curt Harms
04-26-2014, 12:00 PM
A big reason folks like Linux is because it is free. Some don't like Microsoft for whatever reason and refuse to run Windows. Some like Linux because they feel it is more secure. I am a server administrator for both Linux and Windows. I choose to run Windows personally because the software I use for home use only runs on Windows for the most part.

I think compatibility, hardware & software are a significant part of it. I use Linux 99% of the time but linux compatibility factors into my hardware purchasing decisions - particularly WiFi, to a lesser extent printers - and I don't need a high degree of file compatibility. I can open and save MSO files fine as long as they don't contain VBA code or too complex formatting. I do have the basic MS fonts installed which help with formatting. One thing I like about even the 'heavy' linux distros is that they run great on hardware that works okay with XP and might be sluggish with Win 7 or 8.

Ryan Mooney
04-26-2014, 12:34 PM
I like linux (and freebsd ;)) and the related ecosystem because if there is something broken I have a chance of fixing it if I care enough. This has proven valuable in a number of cases, one of which was a database wasn't sorting one datatype correctly - a quick 30m patch and I was back in business (and about 3 weeks later a slightly different solution was committed to the mainline sourcecode). With a commercial system I'd have been lucky to get it fixed in months. I do realize that that isn't an option for everyone (and its not practical in all cases).

paul cottingham
04-26-2014, 4:37 PM
I like Linux because it is much more secure, has much better memory management, is free, and is not a Microsoft product. I also like the fact that it has a powerful, usable, command line interface.

The file format issue is a red herring for the most part, as every new iteration of Word, for example, has issues with backwards compatibility.

Curt Harms
04-27-2014, 8:25 AM
Another issue is lack of familiarity and FUD. I've seen lots of advertising by Microsoft and Apple. When's the last time you saw an ad for a Linux distro during an NFL game or in Time Magazine? Me either. When's the last time a mainstream 'tech columnist' wrote an objective review about a linux distro (ad $ again?). Then there's the "what do you mean, there's no c:\ drive?!" hint: it's sda, most likely. sdb is the second drive etc. "No registry?! How can they do that?" etc. etc. Modern linux is not harder than Windows, I'd even say it's easier. it IS different.

Alan Gan
04-27-2014, 12:22 PM
My home Network is divided between 6 computers, 1 Desktop running Linux Cinnamon stand alone and my Laptop setup to run Ubuntu, Wife's Laptop with Windows 8.1 and 3 XP machines. I can run just about any application. Thinking about turning one of the XP desktops into a Linux Server. :eek:

paul cottingham
04-27-2014, 6:44 PM
Thinking about turning one of the XP desktops into a Linux Server. :eek:

A noble and worthwhile pursuit.

paul cottingham
04-27-2014, 6:50 PM
Another issue is lack of familiarity and FUD. I've seen lots of advertising by Microsoft and Apple. When's the last time you saw an ad for a Linux distro during an NFL game or in Time Magazine? Me either. When's the last time a mainstream 'tech columnist' wrote an objective review about a linux distro (ad $ again?). Then there's the "what do you mean, there's no c:\ drive?!" hint: it's sda, most likely. sdb is the second drive etc. "No registry?! How can they do that?" etc. etc. Modern linux is not harder than Windows, I'd even say it's easier. it IS different.

My favourites: "what do you mean it's free? Why don't I have to reboot all the time? I don't have to defrag? How is that possible? I want to run Freecell (btw it will run in Wine.) I don't want to have to learn a new interface (just like you do with any new version of an OS.)"

There are many more, many more indeed.

Curt Harms
04-28-2014, 8:26 AM
The UI (user interface) transition from Windows XP to Ubuntu's Unity or Gnome Shell is as difficult as Windows XP to Windows 8. XP -> Cinnamon or XFCE is no more difficult than Windows XP -> Windows 7 IMO. The difference is that the user has a choice. Of course if I needed Adobe CS or Autocad to continue to eat well and not deplete the toy fund, I'd do what was necessary.

Lornie McCullough
04-29-2014, 11:24 PM
Paul Cottingham has covered most of the significant points that I would have stated. (The linux aisleriot solitaire freecell is MUCH better looking, faster, cleaner playing than windows freecell..... played windows freecell over the weekend and it was horrible).

My favorite linux characteristic is that it starts up and then waits for me to use it. Period! Exclamation Point! It doesn't keep loading anti-virus and printer drivers and updating this or that and interfereing and interrupting what I am trying to do, the way windows does. I think most windows users have gotten used to being interrupted, and think it is normal....... but linux gives your machine BACK TO YOU. Trying to use the windows machines at friends houses reminds me over and over of how much I love linux (and hate windows)!!!

I have been using linux exclusively for eight years or more. I can look around and count four machines, all running linux. And a RaspberryPi running linux. I install linux on my friends machines when they ask, and MANY have asked.

I do not carry a smartphone, but if you do and it is android, then you are using linux.

There is nothing I want to do that isn't done better with linux. (in my humble opinion)

Lornie

Duane Meadows
04-30-2014, 8:16 AM
Four reasons I still use Windows 7(albeit dual booting with Fedora Linux)...

1. Tax preparation. No Linux software I am aware of.

2. Video editing/DVD creation. I suppose if you edit in one prog, transcode in another, and burn in yet another... won't talk about menu creation.

3. Need for interchanging data files with Microsoft Office. Good as Libreoffice is, it still scrambles the .docx file formatting I need to work with every week.

4. Photo editing/printing. Just can't do it as easy as I can in Photoshop Elements.

Audio editing is almost a fifth, I'm pretty much used to Audacity, but it really isn't as good or easy as say, Adobe Audition(formerly Cool Edit Pro).

I would really like to go all Linux, I spend 90% of my computing time in Linux. But for the above reasons plus Sketchup, I have to keep windows around.

Also I have some audio/video hardware that requires of all things Windows XP. But at least those apps don't require internet access, so I can run them safely.

I guess it just comes down to using the best tool for the job. Though I like technology(been an electronic tech for 40 years) computers are tools, not a religion for me!

Curt Harms
05-01-2014, 7:19 AM
Four reasons I still use Windows 7(albeit dual booting with Fedora Linux)...

1. Tax preparation. No Linux software I am aware of.
The only viable alternative I've heard of is using an online version. Whether you want to put info contained on your tax paperwork on somebody else's system is a question.
2. Video editing/DVD creation. I suppose if you edit in one prog, transcode in another, and burn in yet another... won't talk about menu creation.

3. Need for interchanging data files with Microsoft Office. Good as Libreoffice is, it still scrambles the .docx file formatting I need to work with every week.
What fonts do your MSO files use? If they use the default - Calibri - it might be worth installing Calibri on you linux system. The default fonts in linux distros might look very much like the Windows equivalent but the formatting will change. MSO 2010 can be installed using playonlinux and works well from what I've read. I don't have a need for MSO.
4. Photo editing/printing. Just can't do it as easy as I can in Photoshop Elements.

Audio editing is almost a fifth, I'm pretty much used to Audacity, but it really isn't as good or easy as say, Adobe Audition(formerly Cool Edit Pro).

I would really like to go all Linux, I spend 90% of my computing time in Linux. But for the above reasons plus Sketchup, I have to keep windows around.
Have you tried running Sketchup in WINE? I haven't but have heard it works very well and was one of the reasons Google, when they owned Sketchup didn't feel any real need for a linux version.

Also I have some audio/video hardware that requires of all things Windows XP. But at least those apps don't require internet access, so I can run them safely.

I guess it just comes down to using the best tool for the job. Though I like technology(been an electronic tech for 40 years) computers are tools, not a religion for me!
As always, use what works.