Linux, any good?

mickc22

Granddad!
Getting increasingly cheesed off with MS
thinking about switching to Linux
whats the Pros and Cons? Anybody on here using it?
discuss...... :D
 

Ogrebane

Active member
Its an OS for nerds. It depends on what you want to use your PC for. There are some very good packages out there and there are some very bad ones. Also drivers for hardware can sometimes be an issue. But it is fun to play with and you will learn fast.

Good luck.
 

breadhead

New member
You won\'t be able to use photoshop!

Which I guess us only important if you do use it now.

A friend of mine runs linux on his laptop and uses Ubuntu which he was pretty taken with.
I believe linux is a lot more secure than Windows, partly because of the way it is designed and also because less virus\' are designed to work on it. (I may be completely wrong on that front though).
 

Mr.S.Marbo

New member
Originally posted by mickc22
...thinking about switching to Linux
whats the Pros and Cons? Anybody on here using it?

I use Linux SUSE 10.2. I quite like it although I still use XP because of the games I play and a couple applications I still use that need windows.

I do pretty much all my picture editing on Linux in GIMP which is a free linux based photo application which has a hell of a lot of features. If you wanted to use photoshop on linux then I think it\'s possible. There are programs that run on Linux that emulate windows and allow windows programs to work to a degree... some of these you have to pay for though.

I had no problems installing Linux and the Linux version I had even installed a ton of applications from the same DVD.

I think you still have to be reasonably good with PC\'s to use Linux though, because not everything is plain sailing. Trying to get my ATi graphics card to work on Linux in 3D was to put it mildly not easy at all.

I think if you are fairly good with windows E.g put windows drivers on and know your way around you\'ll be ok with Linux.

There are less viruses that are made for Linux and generally people think it is more secure.
 

squidders

Active member
WOW - this is the most measured I have ever seen responses for this question... Usually people fly off in one direction or another and it gets ugly - fast.

For me, Linux is out of my comfort zone, I work on Windows Server farms and large infrastructures for a living and have always worked on Windows based machines. As people have said, security is an issue and keeping up to date with all the threats and security holes is a pain in Windows environments. Add to that the large cost associated with getting current with your Windows and Office version and you have a compelling argument to move to, or at least try Linux.

The cost of Windows Vista Ultimate and Office 2007 is just a little terrifying!

Linux does require a good level of understanding to make it run right... that is, to get good value from it. I would say Windows is easier to get more from, that\'s not to say it\'s better but that there are vastly more applications for it and the number of people who use it is also massive so getting help is often easier.

If you\'re really set on having a go and fancy a toe in the water, you could do worse than downloading a copy of VMWare server (Free) and setting up a virtual Linux machine from a cover disc or download and have a good play around before overwriting your machine with Linux. If you\'re fairly knowledgable you can dual boot your machine and have both, it\'s not hard but needs some planning.

The bottom line is that for home use, it\'s all down to personal taste and availability of applications you like or need.

I need MS Office 2007 because, and I hate them for this, it is the best office product bar none and I also need Paint Shop Pro because the learning curve on Adobe is more than I can be bothered with lol

like Dr Pepper, linux is: Try it, you might like it
 
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