Linux appeal

[Amazin Caucasian]

What's the appeal of Linux? I don't get why people double boot Windows XP and Linux?? whats the benefit of that and how can it be used??

[ZeratulsAvenger]

Its something new. No Viruses, something good to have under your belt and say you can use, quite versitile in what ti can do and where you can put it, and it's free/open source so you can modify it if you like as well.

More but I am to tired.

[Ind-PC_student]

Originally Posted by ZeratulsAvenger Its something new. No Viruses, something good to have under your belt and say you can use, quite versitile in what ti can do and where you can put it, and it's free/open source so you can modify it if you like as well. More but I am to tired.

Best of all you have the freedom to make your own distro without the fear of a lawsuit.

You will brobably learn more about sytem software, and diferent configuration options then you will ever learn under the winslows.

The Added security the two password system 1 for the user and 1 for the root/admin
which you should never login as, you should only use the root password for installation of software and hardware temporarily.

[Auriga]

Linux is awesome!

* No runtime royalties
* Source code is available (and free)
* Linux has excellent networking support
* There are more drivers and tools available
* Lots of programmers are familiar with Linux
* Linux is more robust/reliable

Linux is more stable, reliable, and secure (Unix was developed in the late 60s/early 70s, and in these three areas it still surpasses any OS Windows has built to this day). Historically Unix based systems lacked only a user-friendly interface. Though that is slowly beginning to change.

[Amazin Caucasian]

ok, well why double boot then??

[mairving]

Main purpose is the try Linux without totally getting rid of Windows.

[doctorgonzo]

Originally Posted by Amazin Caucasian ok, well why double boot then??

Linux is a great OS, but unfortunately, it is still lacking in support for some software, mainly games. If you dual boot, you can get the best of both worlds; many people use Linux exclusively for their typical computer activities, booting to Windows only for games. Dual-booting is cheaper than buying a separate computer.

[Amazin Caucasian]

o ok, well how do you switch, do you have to restart the comp and change the boot menu or what??

[Ob1]

you have to reboot your system and a screen will appear after the bios screen prompting you to choose either your linux platform or windows.

[Amazin Caucasian]

I would view that as a pain....

[kilgoretrout]

It's all what you're used to. Personally, I find having to run multiple spyware and antivirus programs, keeping them up to date, reinstalling windows annually because it has slowed down or been infected with various spyware/viruses, paying an exhorbitant monopoly rent to MS for the OS and Office, and having various DRM shemes shoved down my throat by MS through their updates to be a pain.
If you restrict your windows activities to games(i.e. no internet) you can alleviate most of these windows annoyances that most windows users simply accept because they feel they have no choice.

[mairving]

Originally Posted by Amazin Caucasian I would view that as a pain....

If you view that as a pain, then you probably don't want to try Linux.

[Amazin Caucasian]

o i dont plan on it, I love WinXP and find no problems with it..Just curious why people choose Linux over Windows and why they double boot. Now I understand...thanks a lot guys.

[Karnevil9]

Linux is more stable. It doesn't have viruses written to it, but for me the biggest thing to keep trying Linux is that it doesn't charge you $200.00 to buy the software for each computer in your house and then charge you another 100+ for every program you buy to add on. It may surprise most people to find that the biggest expense in owning a windows computer is the software, not the computer itself.

[ffreeloader]

It may surprise most people to find that the biggest expense in owning a windows computer is the software, not the computer itself.

LOL. Yeah, this is especially true now that a lot of proprietary software manufacturers are trying very hard to make the "buy_a_new_license_every_year_or_your_software_quits" marketing plan work.

The way it's going it will soon cost close to a $1,000 a year just to keep your software working, and if MS really does go to the yearly subscription plan for their OS's it will cost more than that. As we all know a computer without software is just a boat anchor so those of you who plan on not learning Linux will be paying much heftier rental fees on your software than you're paying now. Good luck. I hope you enjoy keeping Bill in his billions.

[Ind-PC_student]

Originally Posted by ffreeloader LOL. Yeah, this is especially true now that a lot of proprietary software manufacturers are trying very hard to make the "buy_a_new_license_every_year_or_your_software_quits" marketing plan work. The way it's going it will soon cost close to a $1,000 a year just to keep your software working, and if MS really does go to the yearly subscription plan for their OS's it will cost more than that. As we all know a computer without software is just a boat anchor so those of you who plan on not learning Linux will be paying much heftier rental fees on your software than you're paying now. Good luck. I hope you enjoy keeping Bill in his billions.

At least for me that does not happenn any more !!

[Ind-PC_student]

Originally Posted by Amazin Caucasian o i dont plan on it, I love WinXP and find no problems with it..Just curious why people choose Linux over Windows and why they double boot. Now I understand...thanks a lot guys.

I would first research the subject before coming to a decision!

Subscribe to the PDF tux magazine -- www.tuxmagazine.com

It has good info and support for newbies and people curious enought to learn.
And provides good tutorials on the different apps
you should download all 5 editions.

[Karnevil9]

(As we all know a computer without software is just a boat anchor so those of you who plan on not learning Linux will be paying much heftier rental fees on your software than you're paying now. Good luck. I hope you enjoy keeping Bill in his billions.)

LOL. Rentel fees! Good one Freeloader. I never heard it put that way before, but that is what they are do.

[Ind-PC_student]

no they are plannig this market strategy but i wo'nt fall for it like you people will.

[ffreeloader]

LOL. Rentel fees! Good one Freeloader. I never heard it put that way before, but that is what they are do.

What else do you call it? When you purchase a license for proprietary software you don't own the software. You just purchased the right to use it, and even that is increasingly being restricted, until the license is no longer valid. I don't know about you but I call that renting. It's certainly not buying. The entire usage of the marketing terminology of "purchasing" software is simply to mslead the consumer into thinking he really "owns" his software. Why? Because of perceived value. No one in their right mind values something he "rents" as highly as something he "owns".

If you buy a house you can modify it as much as you want to, within reason. If you rent a house you have no say in modifying it. You are legally restricted from modifying it. And that's exactly what you get when you "buy" software. You can't modify it for your own purposes. You can't even see what makes the software go. If you do you are in violation of your license. If you modify it you are legal trouble, just as you would be if you modified a house you rented.

I detest the duplicity with which proprietary software is marketed. Buying software indeed. Bull. It's renting software, and that's all it's ever been. The software companies are just getting more brazen in their marketing strategies is all.

[catacon]

I agree. Linux has less software, but it's (for the most part) free. Linux can be harder to setup, but once it is, it's nice. It has a lot of nice features (like no viruses). I would try a live CD of Linux (like Ubuntu) and see what you think. Personally, I love it and do not have XP on my computer becuase I don't play games and don't have much of a need for it.

[Colonel Sanders]

First, I would like to thank whoever posted the link to TUX Magazine- I consider myself a good Winblows user, but the past few days I think I used my Linux PC more than my Windows PC.

I hate Bill Gates, plain and simple. I believe too many people are forgetting the common goal of Microsoft and all other corporations is to make money, who cares about what the consumer wants if they have no choice? The worst thing that can ever happpen to an industry is a monopoly.

The good news is Apple, and Linux exist. But Apple has a monopoly in it's own way, and Apple hardware and Software can be quite expensive. . .

On the other hand, the cost for a copy of Windows is by no means cheap, and through your purchase of windows, Microsoft tries it's best to shove Windows Media Player (and Windows Media Audio), Internet Exploder, MSN Messenger (and Hotmail), and Digital Rights Managment down your throat. Microsoft Office is also trying to create a standard, where has Corel gone in recent years? If I'm not mistaken (and my memory is a slight bit fuzzy on Microsoft history) Windows at one time convinced users that it was abesolutely necessary to have Microsoft Office installed with Windows which basically forced all competing wordprocessors off the scene, and ofcourse generated more revenue for Sir William Henry Gates III. . . (I used to like England until somebody knighted Gates )

Windows does do one thing right- it makes an operating system that any average person can sit down and use to an extent. They probbably have no clue what the difference between hardware and software is, but they can surf the internet by clicking on the little "E" so life is good (it's kinda fun when nobody knows how to launch the net on my PC using Firefox). I guess that does entitle Gates to own the worlds most technologically advanced house, which I'd bet my lifesavings that house is running off of Linux/Unix.

I myself want a PC that simply works. I don't want to have to install a new OS or software with "more features" (DRM and more ways to give $$$ to Gates) on a regular basis. When I setup SuSE, my knowledge of hardware did help a little, however I'm sure if I didn't know I could still have managed the install. After the install, I have added a couple programs and updated the system a time or two. One thing I haven't expereinced is the joy of a forced reboot, and the only application which has ever crashed was a beta release maked "unstable" (even so, I still use that program daily and plan to update it as soon as my internet connection cooperates again). The only thing I cant do on that SuSE PC is play The Sims 2 (Yes, I'm pretty much addicted to that game and don't want to pay for Cedega. Yes, I'm cheap.) or burn CDs, but thats due to the lack of a CD burner. . .

L J

[Ind-PC_student]

Originally Posted by catacon I agree. Linux has less software, but it's (for the most part) free. Linux can be harder to setup, but once it is, it's nice. It has a lot of nice features (like no viruses). I would try a live CD of Linux (like Ubuntu) and see what you think. Personally, I love it and do not have XP on my computer becuase I don't play games and don't have much of a need for it.

??? Less software is 4.7GB of software if you get a linux magazine with DVD distro
that has a squash fs that can uncompress the software up to 7GB of

Workstation, Server, Desktop, Base system and display managers less software then windows????

[rightcoast]

Just to clear up a misconception, Linux probably does have less software, but not in the way it has less functional software. There are fewer software programs, but it doesn't really matter. Yeah Linux might not have hundreds of cd burning programs (then again it might, counting homebrew ones), I don't think about that when I type cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=0,4,0 whateverfile.thisis.iso at the prompt though. It's there, it works, and while to some it seems like "I can't remember those commands", how is that different than remembering 5 buttons to click?

Then again you could use my friend hacnslash's frontend hacburn:
http://hacburn.sourceforge.net/
http://hacburn.sourceforge.net/scree....2-options.jpg

[Amazin Caucasian]

i love how people hate Bill Gates because he wants to make money. How many successful business care more about the money than the consumer....few to none. If you are all about the consumer your business will not be very successful and may even plunge. Don't you want to make money??

[LocoCoyote]

"I detest the duplicity with which proprietary software is marketed."


Great Line! Mind if I use it?!


Less software for linux? I strongly suggest you do a recount! While it is quite true that in some areas (Cd burning, media palyers for starters) there are fewer choices, in just about every other catagory there are so many choices that it is difficult to choose!


I don not hate Bill Gates or Microsoft for that matter. Microsoft provides a product that is easy to use (if a bit drain dead) and that is what average Joe user wants. Bill is just Bill (I would like to see him give a large sum of money to my favorite charity though.......what charity you ask? Why the LocoCoyote support fund of course)

It's the marketing hype and down right lies that Bill and his evil minions are constantly spewing forth. If Windows is so supierior, why then are the 'softies afraid of compation?

[Karnevil9]

"If you are all about the consumer your business will not be very successful and may even plunge. Don't you want to make money??"

Don't mean to get off topic but this is not true. All goods companies rely on consumers. If you don't "serve" them your company will not flourish. Look at Southwest airlines compared to all the big airlines. Southwest does well, while the others are going bankrupt. Southwest puts the cutomer first. Not the profit. Look at the auto industry when Japanese cars first came to America.

[ffreeloader]

i love how people hate Bill Gates because he wants to make money. How many successful business care more about the money than the consumer....few to none. If you are all about the consumer your business will not be very successful and may even plunge. Don't you want to make money??

LOL. I don't know who you are, but you haven't thought this one out at all.

1. Do you go looking to buy products from businesses that don't stand behind the products they sell? If so, you're the very first person I've ever met who doesn't care about quality of product.

2. When you go to a store do you look for stores with the rudest sales people and no service department for what they sell? If so you're the first person I've ever met who does this.

3. When you go to make a major purchase do you look to see what the warranty is, how the company is going to stand by it's product, or do you not care about that either?

4. When one of your friends purchases a product that turns out to be junk do you run right out and buy that product yourself?

5. If you go out to dinner do you go where the service is good or bad?

6. Do you ever research the products you buy to see which ones are the highest in quality?

All six of the above questions are based upon how a company treats it's customers. IOW's just how much the company respects its customers and how high the customer is in their list of priorities.

In your way of thinking the worse a company treats a customer the more money it makes. In the real world, the better a company treats its customers, the more loyal its customers are and the bigger it's share of the market. IOW's, it makes more money because it sells more product. Why? Because it taking care of their customers is high on their list of priorities. That happens to be why the Japanese absolutely killed the auto industry here in this country. The Big 3 didn't give a hoot about their customers. All they wanted was their money. The Japanese came in, sold a quality product at a reasonable price, and kicked the Big 3's butts. I guess you're just too young to know such "ancient history".