neowolf Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 ;) So. Can neousers tell something about advantages and disadvantages of Linux. And Is any plus to change windows on linux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKer Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 IMO Windows is great on the desktop and Linux as a server, I have tried using Linux as a desktop client but really didn't like it due to the applications available. I have used Linux for a server for over 3 years and I find it exceptionally stable and have never had any major problems. You can do most things in Linux that you could with Windows, but with my PC the hardware was only barely supported and while I got 5.1 sound and great drivers in Windows it became 2 speaker and poor quality in Linux (because of nVidia's drivers beiong rubbish). Newer games can't be played but older ones can and I found the OpenOffice and Star Office suites did a poor job of importing MS Word documents as pictures and diagrams appeared out of place or didn't appear. As an advantage it is very stable, but I don't personally have any stability problems with Windows, so this is insignificant for me. XFree86 is slower than Windows at drawing the desktop, as it uses a client-server architecture and the same applies for games, however this is only a slight reduction in performance. On the plus side there are tons of different programs with a Linux distro, which can do almost anything you want, and there is loads of choice of what desktop you can use and there are up to 10 programs for each task, for example you have loads of different web browsers and email clients. Unfortunately there have always been features I need missing such as proper hardware support and as a result I've never done more than install, then remove later, Linux as a desktop solution. However, as a server it's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patch-rustem Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Linux gives you more choice. You choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaMan Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 I'm going to have to disagree with UKer when saying that I think Linux can make a excellent and arguably superior workstation OS. It takes a little more effort to get up and running with all your favorite programs installed, the correct drivers and such, but once set up I find it to be much more faster than Windows, and generally a lot funner too, as there's a WORLD of open-source Linux apps out there, completely free and often superior to the Windows equivalants. By using CrossOver Office or TransGaming WineX you can play a lot of recently released Windows games (GTA: Vice City, Morrowind, Simcity 4, Warcraft 3, etc..) or run your favorite Windows software (Office 2000 range, Macromedia Flash MX, a hell of a lot more). Also, you'll find that some games come with Linux binaries, such as UT2003, Quake III or RtCW. I suppose it comes down to what you're looking for in Linux. Why do you want to switch to Linux in the first place? If you want to switch because you feel like Windows could be doing more for you, or if you feel like learning something new and having fun with it, Linux is for you. If you want to switch to Linux for a free ride that'll provide you with a no-questions-asked interface, look elsewhere. Hope that helps! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snocked Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Control and Freedom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patch-rustem Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Has anyone mentioned virus? If you want to be able to run viruses then you should stick with Micrsoft. Although you can run some viruses with Cross Over office, I don't think that they're well suported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rezza Veteran Posted October 13, 2003 Veteran Share Posted October 13, 2003 Has anyone mentioned virus?If you want to be able to run viruses then you should stick with Micrsoft. Although you can run some viruses with Cross Over office, I don't think that they're well suported. hahaha nice one :D As for me, it just gives me more freedom about what is on my computer... and all my hardware is supported fully under linux so I don't have that problem :) It runs faster for me than windows 2000/XP/2003 did, and is a lot more configurable, so I can set it up exactly how I like it, not how someone working in Redmond thinks I should like it. Oh yeah, and its free: free as in speech, but also the vast majority of linux apps are free as in beer as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metal_dragen Veteran Posted October 13, 2003 Veteran Share Posted October 13, 2003 ROFL@patch-rustem. Anyway, I dual-boot at home - Win2K and Gentoo Linux. And I boot Gentoo 9 times out of 10. For my workstation/desktop needs Linux works much better for several reasons. I am a web developer and I can run all my necessary apps faster and more stable in Linux. I have Apache, PHP, and MySQL set up. The editors in Linux are much better - Quanta in KDE and Bluefish in Gnome. And the GIMP is pretty easy to use and provides a lot of the same functionality as Photoshop (even though GIMP's interface takes some time to get used to). For simple desktop stuff, there's Mozilla Firebird for browsing, Thunderbird for mail, gFTP for putting stuff on my server, XMMS and mPlayer for media files, X-Chat for IRC, and Gaim for IM. All th above software provides the same stuff I have under Windows, but it's more stable, which is why I boot Gentoo more often. If one app crashes, it doesn't take the whole system down, or make it unstable. If my X server crashes, I don't have to reboot, I just restart the X server. I've never had to reboot because an app crashed in about 9 months of running Linux. Also, I am a often times gamer on the weekends. The game I play most is Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, which has a native Linux version, and runs better and faster under Linux, than under Windows on the same box (we're talking a difference of about 40 fps between the 2 - 10-15 under Windows and 50-60 under Linux). The other games I play - RtCW and MOH:AA have native binaries available for Linux (just have to copy the .pk3 files from a retail install over) and they also run better under Linux. Anyway, that's my 2?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Personally, I just like it's stability. It does everything I need it to, whether it be a server, laptop, or desktop environment, but it doesn't give me errors up the wazoo and random crahes. Viruses also don't pose a threat to you unless you're prone to running as root, and even then most viruses are meant for windows, so they can't do anything to a linux install anyway. You also get a lot more control over tweaking your system to be exactly what you want, you can keep the installation to be A LOT smaller than windows, or roughly the same size, depending on what you install. As far as hardware compatability goes, well...the only one with the problem I've encountered is my laptop, because Toshiba made some VERY non-standard components with it. I have Jamd on there working flawlessly, and have found a few other distros that don't have a problem, but not many will get m pcmcia working by default. I don't know why UKer was complaining about the nvidia linux drivers...I have my a7n8x running fine with every installation, even sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neowolf Posted October 13, 2003 Author Share Posted October 13, 2003 Should I change win xp on Linux. i am using system to internet music and gadu-gadu and ut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patch-rustem Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Try a live CD like Knoppix that won't install anything on your hard drive. If you like it then dual boot until your windows partition get wiped out by a virus. You could then use the free space to experiment with different OSS distro's and never look back. (At least that's what I did.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeWolf324 Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 why linux? why not linux. after using it and be very skeptical at first, ive grown to love it. my first experience with linux was redhat and i was not happy with it. that gave me a bad outlook on linux, i then started using MDK and was much happier. linux is just as capable as a desktop and workstation and server as windows, if not better. not to mention all of the software is opensource and constantly getting better. my favorite distro is MDK. i setup a webserver with such ease it was embarrasing i couldnt figure it out. MDK has a feature for commandline known as urpmi. i was able to install my apache2.2 webserver by typing this command and only this: urpmi apache from there i had it fully up and running. if thats not easy...nothing is. try out the different distros..u are gonna see alot of people who like slackware, its not very newb friendly its nice..but i like MDK for new and power users alike. but thats me, find ur own distro of choice ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MulletRobZ Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Linux is a very good desktop system. Nearly all the hardware is supported in Linux and it is less susceptible to cosmic rays for some strange reason (Believe it or not, that's why 99.99% of all computer crashes occur) . Here are some of the things I really like besides stablilty: 1. Fast loading time (Only a little over a minute on a 500 MHz CPU) 2. Choice of GUI's and more customizable installation options (Unlike Windows 2000 and XP) 3. More customizable GUI's (depending on how you view it) 4. Automatically sets up a good portion of the hardware 5. The NVidia Drivers for Linux are really nice 6. No need to defragment the hard drive 7. Can boot from LILO or from a boot floppy (Can't boot via a floppy to run Windows 95+ in GUI mode) 8. Great for not only beginners, but also for advanced users 9. Easy updating in Mandrake (and maybe in Red Hat) 10. Can read almost any partition available, even NTFS. Here are some things I don't like, in which some are distribution-specific: 1. Slackware doesn't have direct TrueType Font Support 2. Mandrake cannot install programs via source too well 3. Somewhat lengthy shut-down times, especially under Mandrake and Red Hat 4. Lack of software available, but that's because Windows hogs 90% of the OS market 5. Certain types of hardware are difficult to set up But as for which distro I recommend, both Slackware and Mandrake are excellent, but Mandrake is more for the newcomer. :) At one point, I even ran Linux as a standalone OS until I had some minor problems with the Internet months later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 what I don't understand is why so many people say Slackware is not user friendly and is hard to set up....it was BY FAR the easiest one to install, while retaining full customizability. It detected all my hardware (even PCI wireless card) properly. I really don't see why people say it's so hard. It was really the easiest. When I was testing it out, and re-installing it often, it would take about 20 minutes to install it and customize it the way I wanted, this is a very insignificant amount of time, and the interface was ubber easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
negative_zero Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 two words: OPEN SOURCE. -0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKer Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 (edited) I don't know why UKer was complaining about the nvidia linux drivers Quite simply that I have a nice 5.1 setup and enjoy (in Windows) all my films and divx in 5.1 as well as MP3s in Pro Logic II, as well as loads of options like the creation of a centre and LFE channel, which I like. In Linux I get 2 channels and none of the programs that support 5.1, like Xine and Totem, will allow for 5.1 sound with either the nvaudio driver or the ALSA equivalent. With Slackware the stability of the driver was fine, but with RedHat it would often stop working for no reason, and would only work again when a reboot was done. I use Linux every day, only it is as a server to help support my PhD work which involves PHP/MySQL, and as a file server, and as that I can give the system nothing but praise, but when using it as a desktop it always seemed to take longer to find the right application. Also for binary newsgroup downloading I couldn't find anything like Newsbin - which I use 24/7, although BNR2 was OK (abeit the ugliest program I've ever seen). I think in a couple of years time Linux will be better than Windows, especially after playing with GNOME 2.4 in the new Slack, but I just don't feel it works well enough with my hardware to warrant switching. Out of interest what is it like with other 5.1 soundcards - do any programs support expanding of MP3s and 2-channel films to Pro-Logic II yet, as this is one thing I couldn't live without? Edited October 13, 2003 by UKer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapnuts_ox Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 i switched to linux my freshman year of college and ran nothing but linux for almost my entire freshman year. At this time linux was a good OS but was lacking in multimedia support and wine wasn't as mature as it is now. I reinstalled windows and waited till what is now my senior year to Install linux. I installed it again 6 months ago and was amazed at how far linux has come in that time. I will now keep linux on my desktop and continue to keep it. I recomend that you try either Linux Mandrake or Fedora Linux 1.0 when its released on november 3rd. They are both easy to use distros to start off with. If you don't like linux now or find it lacking in a few areas then just switch back to windows for a year or so and try it again. Linux has a very fast development cycle with most distros of linux having 2 releases a year. Normally this would suck but most distros are free and its very easy to upgrade from release to the next so this is not really a problem. Well i hope you give linux a shot and that you like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siim04 Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Has anyone mentioned virus?If you want to be able to run viruses then you should stick with Micrsoft. Although you can run some viruses with Cross Over office, I don't think that they're well suported. but if you get linux virus? you know - all linux antivirus programs are commercial (except for e-mail scanners). So far as I have searced I have not found shockwave for linux either. Personally I agree with UKer: Great as server but not for desktop OS. (but I haven't had any problems with nvidia drivers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 I have 5.1 surround with my audigy, and though I havn't fully tested my soundstorm (as I don't use it), I'm sure you can get it working aswell... and siim04, As long as you don't log in as root or su the file with the virus, you won't get one in linux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeWolf324 Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 why is that that there is no shockwave for linux? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tek Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 why is that that there is no shockwave for linux? Ask Macromedia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 there is the player.... but the shockwave editor hasn'tbeen made because Macromedia isn't a very open sourced company. You can search on the net and find a few instances where they've obliterated people who decompiled their programs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKer Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 (edited) I have 5.1 surround with my audigy, and though I havn't fully tested my soundstorm (as I don't use it), I'm sure you can get it working aswell... No you can't, I tried forever and many people on many nforce specific forums have also tried, the reason I want to stick with the soundstorm is that it has very low processor usage (20% less than creative cards), and has excellent drivers in Windows. On ALSA it claims that the card is 6 channel capable, just nVidia haven't allowed the source to be released and no-one can find a way to get it working. I am almost 100% sure of this after spending months trying to fix it, I am not a newbie and understand how ALSA and OSS work quite well. As for Shockwave, Flash is available, but for Shockwave the Codeweavers Plugin is the only solution - explained on http://www.codeweavers.com/products/crosso...hp?id=shockwave - but the crossover plugin works well, except on 3D games and some other things on Shockwave.com. Edited October 13, 2003 by UKer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MulletRobZ Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 No you can't, I tried forever and many people on many nforce specific forums have also tried, the reason I want to stick with the soundstorm is that it has very low processor usage (20% less than creative cards), and has excellent drivers in Windows. On ALSA it claims that the card is 6 channel capable, just nVidia haven't allowed the source to be released and no-one can find a way to get it working. I am almost 100% sure of this after spending months trying to fix it, I am not a newbie and understand how ALSA and OSS work quite well.As for Shockwave, Flash is available, but for Shockwave the Codeweavers Plugin is the only solution - explained on http://www.codeweavers.com/products/crosso...hp?id=shockwave - but the crossover plugin works well, except on 3D games and some other things on Shockwave.com. The CodeWeavers Plugin doesn't work for QuickTime 6.3 (Slackware 9.1). Also, the Windows Media Player Crossover Plugin doesn't have any sound to it, even when ALSA worked fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Crunch Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 Linux sux do not use it :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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