Shoutbox

I've used linux a bit and it messed up my pc really badly, switched back to winXp

You probably just changed the wrong setting or something: Linux doesn't hide its config files behind loads of GUIs, even if distro makers try to.

I used to Have Linux, Deleted because it was too confusing for me

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Originally posted by mad_onion
Would linux users please just give me an idea of the benefits of the linux OS. Details would also be great of:

• length of time using windows and linux
  
• when you changed OS
  
• did you buy a windows based system then change
  
• buy a PC with linux pre-installed
  
• or buy a PC without an operating system then install linux

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Windows: Since I was three. I am 13 now. Linux: A year? The first time I used Linux was in April 2003. I changed to Linux as default OS a few months ago. The PC I have now has been assembled by myself, and thus had no OS installed on it.

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Well i used one linux - linux knopppix and i would change to linux for sure IF there were as much softare for it as for linux thats the major reason why i don't use it.

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There is a lot of free (as in bear) software available for Linux, what software do you use in Windows, which isn't available for Linux?

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And/or kinda of wine better then the actual one that would make possible all the app's for windows work on linux..

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I haven't used Linux long yet, I'm more used to Windows. But a big advantage of Linux is offcourse the security and that you know more about what's happening on your computer. It's a big change from Windows to Linux and it's not really advised if you don't know something about computers.

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I do not agree. Linux is great if you know a lot about computers, or now nothing about computers. My 10-year old sister really likes Linux. She can easily type letters in it, and the games that come with the system she uses (SUSE Linux 9.1) are great

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The open-source is also a good advantage as more people workl o it all over the world and Linux is also being updated more often than Windows.

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I agree that's a good thing. Everyone who can program can look at the source and find bugs. And everyone with the technical knowledge to understand the source-code can make a fix, so fixes will be available very fast.

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Originally posted by blade

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Originally posted by mad_onion
That would be great but the problem is as soon as you try to make everything work on your OS like microsoft have done you lose some stability and it cant ever look are beutiful or seamless as macOSX. Its impossible.
Personally, i like Windows because of the combatibility and their stability and beauty is increasing alll the time.

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not necissarily...depends how they go about the coding...

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Blade is right, windows isn't instable because it is compatible, maybe a bit because it also is compatible with old DOS things and win9x, but you don't have to lose stability because of better compatability. For example, Linux is (in some sort of way) compatible with Windows, because it can run Win apps with Wine. But that doesn't make Linux more insecure, as the Windows-program can only destroy the fake windows directory (/home/*username*/.wine/fake_windows).

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Originally posted by Patchou
I don't want to take part into that disucssion, I'm sure all of you already know what I would say but

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As more programs are made to work on linux i think it will become more unstable and unsecure

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can it really go lower than what it is today?

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Patchou, do you mean to say that Linux is very unstable and insecure? Why do you think so? I think Windows is far more insecure and unstable.

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Originally posted by raceprouk
Interesting debate going on here, so I feel I must chuck in my two cents worth.

Linux stability falling with more support: Won't happen. This is for one very simple reason: Linux is the kernel of the OS, not the entire OS. If the stability falls, it'll be in X or bash or Wine or something, but the kernel will remain just as stable. Of course, it'll appear as though Linux is less stable, which I guess is the whole issue. At least you can just fall back to a text console and solve the problem, rather than reboot like in Windows.

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But why would X or Wine or whatever app become unstable? I agree with you on returning to a text console, though. If windows crashes, it's just "reboot the OS, if that doesn't work, reinstall the OS". If my system hangs, most of the time it's X. So I just [CTRL]+[ALT]+[BACKSPACE], and then type

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startx

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To start X again. In Windows I would have to reboot

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Combining Windows and Linux: I believe there is a Linux app they call Wine...
Linux using Windows .exe format: run Wine. It's getting better all the time.

Which is best? Depends what you want to use it for.
Speed and stability: Linux
Multimedia and app range: Windows

Of course if you can't decide, do what I do: use both. Dual-boot WinXP and Fedora Core 2 is what I run, and I have FreeBSD 4.8 on disc for an old laptop I want to get working.

Edit: Wow, that seems more like my £20-worth...

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Dual-booting is good. I also do that with various linux distro's, and WinXP, because I like to test things, and I have a 120GB HDD, so I have enough space I would also like to install Windows 98 and 2000 though. Too bad I don't have a win2000 license.

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Originally posted by raceprouk
Not quite. True, lInux is more stable as there are more people fixing the bugs, but you don't have to search for the patches. All changes to the code are handled by the project team. Code changes are only finalised when they have been fully tested (hence why they use CVS repositries). The latest stable code is usually a separate download. Anyway, most distros package some form of update utility (like RedHat's up2date), so all you have to worry about then is when the distro company release an updated package (you'll be notified).

Put simply, updating a mainstream Linux distro is like updating Windows: it can be (semi-)automated, and it all comes from a single source.

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Raceprouk is right, if you use an user-friendly distro, updating your machine is even easier then updating Windows, because a program is installed, so you won't have to launch that crappy IE browser. And you won't have to reboot.

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Originally posted by Vantage
I used to Have Linux, Deleted because it was too confusing for me

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Remember how confusing Windows was the first time you used it? Have you used a newbie-friendly distro? Like SUSE or Mandrake? Was it perhaps a few years ago? Remember that Linux is evolving very fast.

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Originally posted by Patchou

can it really go lower than what it is today?

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Lol patch how can you say that lol.

Ill be fair i use a Linux Server Edition & Knoppix because it can be run Live of a CD and its i have to say i like it alot... Also its usefull to play around its nice to say that you can use both main OS's (Windows and one of the Linux Clients). However i have to say a Server Edition of Linux is great as a server as its fee , i've had it running a radio stations for days on end with no problems. But i wouldnt swap it for everyday use i much prefere windows for my everyday use.... But if you just fancy a play go for it

a few things

>patchou just hates linux

>correct me if i'm wrong but this forum has been running on a redhat linux 9 server for years.

>most games are released on the windows platform first

>it depends on what you want. i would eventually like to run a redhat server on my lan for testing websites and stuff.

great i hate linux too so i guess its just patchou and me aganist the rest of the forum which seem to love linux. patchou rocks even more than before. but i dont agree with him about linux, it is more stable than windows. its just when someone like patchou hates it so much its hard not to bad mouth it

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Originally posted by TheBlasphemer
I dont think linux is better than windows, but i dont think windows is better than linux either.
It all depends on where you use it for.

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That's true

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I have 3 boxes, one I use as my router, with Debian linux installed, console only.
One with Debian and KDE installed dualbooting with windows 98.
And my main computer with Windows XP.
The reason why I use windows xp as my primary pc is because I am forced to... in school we use windows, we have to, I could take a knoppix cd, but then they'd charge me for hacking (yes, the sysadmins at school are n00bs ).

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Just the fact that you can boot from a CD says enough <_<

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Another thing is compatibility... Almost any utility there is for windows exists on linux too, mostly the linux version is even better, or the windows version is just a port of the linux version.
However, when it comes to games it's more difficult to play on linux. Not only are most games windows only, even the ones with a linux binary, like Unreal Tournament, are just ports of the windows app, mostly resulting in lower performances

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I haven't played UT, but I heard of some people that they have higher fps on Linux when playing UT, than on Windows..

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Anyway, I'm tired, I wanna go to bed, I've had this discussion before and I keep my opinion both OS's have their own speciality.
Linux for my server and internet stuff, windows for my workstation..

Oh, and about stability: I have reboot my XP machine every week or so because something crashed. My router hasn't been rebooted for:

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debian:~# uptime
01:07:54 up 115 days,  4:40,  1 user,  load average: 0.07, 0.02, 0.00

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That isnt much for linux terms, but it still beats my windows boxes
And dont get me wrong, this box isnt just doing nothing. It's running a webserver, mysql server, mailserver, ftp server, and sometimes a few peer2peer clients too
So don't you dare saying XP crashes because I do more with it...
If you dare to say that, I'll tell you my routers CPU and my XP's CPU

GRTZ TB

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Originally posted by PlusFan
I haven't played UT, but I heard of some people that they have higher fps on Linux when playing UT, than on Windows..

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That's because Linux has less running in the background I believe.

Gentoo Linux is by far the best Linux distro out there.  It is also one of the most complex and is harder to setup/install/configure than any other Linux distro.  Most others have a graphical install thats point and click.. Gentoo uses portage wich optomizes your system, you can make a powerful computer out of some old 166.