Why do you use linux?

[sourc3]

I am a software developer.. I mainly use windows systems to develop on. This year however I built a distributed system on UNIX Solaris and Slackware. Well guess what, I find development on windows more "comfortable". There are some things where UNIX kicks windows' ass like piping remotely run programs. So if you compare it from a development perspective windows is better overall. As for the MONO Project it's really not 100% implementation of the .NET framework. It's a fairly experimental project if you ask me I wouldn't base a $200K on MONO. You just won't have the support if you encounter a problem.

As for the linux, I've used linux for the first time back in 1994. I used Slackware again, which is considered a UNIX variant actually. It was such a pain in the ass, you had to write a script to turn your modem on and dial ur ISP. (yeah dial-up...1994!).. So that was it for me I wrote the scipt but I figured I couldn't waste my time learning all that so I stopped using it for about 5 years. Then I installed Mandrake (I think they changed the name recently to Mandriva.?) damn there was a HUGE improvement. It was much more user friendly. Even a noob could install it. Ok installation was ok, but then comes the trouble. Like mentioned before after you install the system, you start looking for your good old software like MS Office, MSN, WMP, Visual Studio, and some other software. I know there are alternatives to all these, but lets face it they are not really competition just imitation. So unless you can give up those programs you wont get any "joy" out of using an OS that you own.

And something really amazes me..Some people want to actually learn how linux works, how to administer it, and that's a good thing. However, this doesn't mean there's nothing to learn in windows. Trust me there's more than that start menu and IE to windows too. Learning how NTFS works, how scheduling works really helps when you develop software. So if you want to learn an OS you might as well give a try to Win2K3, UNIX, Mac (it's FreeBSD based for those of you who dont know), and Linux.

Linux is a good thing, but not necesarily the best. So please consider options as well before making any comments on how it's flexible or not.

Fact: Did you know that many ATM machines that work all the time without crashing and letting you withdraw more than your balance are based on NT4? That doesnt make NT that bad of an OS then I guess : )

[berlamont]

Interesting point.

I don't know if that is reasonable, though, unless you turn over administration to someone else.

With Windows, the administration is pretty much handled by Microsoft.  The EULA agreed-to by installing and running Windows gives Microsoft the right to install any software they choose without the messy need of your approval.  In my book that makes them the real administrator.  You just do the on-site work of connecting to Windows Update.

But something what you asked for exists in Linux-land.    Linspire put a lot of work into taking the thinking and knowledge requirement out of Linux.  It makes it easier to use, but at a price of independence and ownership.

In the end, every user will have to decide for themselves what balance of administration/ease they prefer.

586008103[/snapback]

Your right, Microsoft is the admin with most pcs running windows. but I guess thats needed, atleast for A LOT of people. It sucks honestly, but I guess its kinda like expecting people to understand how their car works instead of just knowing how to drive it. I am glad that the main alternative in the OS market is FREE, not owned (necessarily) by a major corporation that has such a tight grip on it. But as I said I'm getting their, I did get apache/mysql/php5 to actually run on Suse 9.2. After finding out Bison and Flex weren't installed, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. :rofl:

[sp0rk]

i think it's a lot easier developing .NET in the environment it was built for.

586008091[/snapback]

I'm sure it is at this point, but that's the same mentality keeping a lot of useful people from helping projects like MONO.

[russellc]

i've used it on vmware and i have installed it on an actual partition before, but as much as i like it, i'm not capable of connecting to the internet at all when booting from an actual install. on vmware, internet works fine (obviously). linux hasn't supported my wireless network adapter since i first tried it. until now, i still dont think there's any support for it (easily configurable). i've tried ndiswrapper at one point, it gave me the biggest pain in the ass ever conceived by man. it would never work. there was some other program for linux that was paid for only which apparently worked perfectly.

i'm not going to pay for something JUST to get my wireless internet working (on linux, too). customization is also definitely more enjoyable on linux than on windows. just fiddling around with random stuff on linux is fun. if my wireless adapter worked, i would definitely use linux as my default operating system (and probably windows as my secondary)

i dream of the day that my linksys wusb54g will be supported by linux, and simple enough for me to configure. maybe i was actually the one too stupid to set up ndiswrapper properly, or maybe it was just....never going to work in the first place

[Fotix]

On a superficial appearance level, Windows and desktop environments like GNOME and KDE share a bit in common.

I'd found that over the years I've used less and less proprietary software in general enough to switch to a open-source OS kernel.

Now on Ubuntu I have Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, Azureus, Beagle, Liferea, The GIMP, GAIM, Konqueror, Evolution, Kontact, Nvu, iPodder, PAN, OpenOffice, and generally everything I need to get work done or make my life easier. And some proprietary stuff thrown in like Adobe Acrobat, RealPlayer, Macromedia Flash plugin, Quicktime/Windows Media codecs, and the NVIDIA drivers for my card.

Outside the incentive on playing some of my old Windows games, there was little reason to stay with Windows as the primary OS. And of course the multimedia DRM-lock-in schemes so that certain media will only play on Windows, which is unfortunate that more companies are adopting this and locking out non-Microsoft approved OSes for their website content.

For others (I don't have it), Linux is TiVo's operating system as well as other devices out there but a lot of people do not know that they are in fact using something Linux-derived. :)

[CaKeY]

...I did get apache/mysql/php5 to actually run on Suse 9.2. After finding out Bison and Flex weren't installed, it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

If you had just used YaST to install apache/mysql/php5 you would've probably found it to be alot easier than you thought it would be.

i dream of the day that my linksys wusb54g will be supported by linux, and simple enough for me to configure. maybe i was actually the one too stupid to set up ndiswrapper properly

I dont know if you're << removed >> but the wusb54g DOES work with ndiswrapper.

Edited June 3, 2005 by markjensen

[Djmutik1013]

I use linux because I like it. I like that I can see the progress of cool new programs without having to sign up for a beta program (Enlightenment Dr17).

[sp0rk]

I dont know if you're << removed >> but the wusb54g DOES work with ndiswrapper.

586008417[/snapback]

The reason people don't use Linux.

Edited June 3, 2005 by markjensen

[Djmutik1013]

All you people need to post your desktops, come on... its fun. Lets jump start the cusomization threads :)

586008447[/snapback]

I'd like too but sadly I do not have a network cable for that box atm. soon though

[thechitowncubs]

All you people need to post your desktops, come on... its fun. Lets jump start the cusomization threads :)

[russellc]

I dont know if you're << removed >> but the wusb54g DOES work with ndiswrapper.

586008417[/snapback]

it says it does, but i couldnt get it to work. no matter how close it was to working or what i did. i just gave up

i just looked something up about this prism54usb thing. maybe i'll try that out when i got the time to

Edited June 3, 2005 by markjensen

[parad0x]

All you people need to post your desktops, come on... its fun. Lets jump start the cusomization threads :)

586008447[/snapback]

Here's my linux desktop: :p

[andrew@linuxbox ~]$

[Xahid]

For All my Servers & firewall !

[benjaminzsj]

For studying primarily, but now I found it's beyond my estimation being so friendly.

[mgleason007]

The reason people don't use Linux.

586008445[/snapback]

Because everyone who uses Windows is nice :rolleyes:

[sp0rk]

Because everyone who uses Windows is nice  :rolleyes:

586008645[/snapback]

I rarely see Windows users call others stupid because they don't know how to use something in Windows.

[CaKeY]

I didnt call anyone stupid. Re-read my post, especially the text I quoted.

[LaNcom]

I am Linux only, for software development and 3D/ graphics stuff. For example because I use software that's not available/ buggy/ slow for/ on Windows. And because I have a 64bit system and want to run a 64bit OS and software and not that bad hybrid Windows x64 is. And because quite a lot of my hardware is not supported on Windows x64 but works perfectly on a 64bit Linux system. After using Linux only for a few years, you'll start to hate Windows if you have to work with it (I was quite a crack at Windows before I switched, helping people out, fixing problems - now I just tell people to ask someone else as I don't want to waste my time fixing systems that are broken by design anyway)!

And I like the community, it's very helpfull (if you stick to the rules - use Google, RTFM, and only bother people if that doesn't help) - I like being part of it, learning and contributing, helping others out and advocating something I believe in...

[Jayzee]

For development, webserver & security auditing

[saerdna]

i tried linux on the desktop several times, to findout i almost only used the console.

so im running some linux machines in the wardrobe and use putty to use them.

[mr_demilord]

I use my tux box for everything, listen music watching movies playing games, running ftp server.

I like playing around with linux becos it has no limitations.

Linux is just more stable and faster then windows, and I got sick of virusscanners and default windows aplications and reboots etc..

[rkv]

'cos it gives me bragging rights :p

[Alien Venom]

I run both a Linux firewall and a Linux file server.

I use Linux as a firewall because it is cheap (free). If I wanted the same functionality of a Windows system, I would have to purchase at least Windows 2000 Server and even then it would be a pain in the ass to setup. Yes, that's right, setting up a home firewall in Linux is very simple and I do not need to rely on GUI tools that Microsoft provides to set everything up. DHCP, IPTables (NAT, port fowarding) and everything else is very easy in Linux and can be easily configured through the command line. (No-joke because my Firewall does not have a mouse/keyboard/monitor attached. I can simply SSH (or Telnet + Encryption for you Windows dweebs) into it and change ****.)

I use Linux as a file server because it is faster (performance-wise) than a Windows server. Linux offers a variety of very different file systems, and you are not limited to any certain one, unlike Windows where it's either FAT32 or if your drive is larger than 32GB, NTFS. In Linux, certain file systems perform better for "large" files and certain files perform better if you wanted encryption, or something like that. In Windows ther's none of that, it's either FAT32 or NTFS.

NTFS for file servers is very slow. Plus the way permissions work in Linux do not interfere with file opperations like they do in Windows.

Also, with regard to the firewall or file server, there is no need to run a window manager. In windows you are forced to run Explorer which just eats away at processes even if you are not logged in.

With Linux/UNIX's transparent file system, mounting shares, and other partitions is so easy, it makes perfect sense. I cannot understand why people would want to use a Windows sytem as a server in the first place.

However, a Linux desktop is a completely different story. IMHO, Windows has Linux beat in the desktop area.

THIS MUST BE SAID: Regardless of what opperating system you use, a server is only as secure as you make it. Regardless of Windows security flaws (and yes, there are many) a Linux box can be equally insecure. My firewall blocks everything incoming, except for a few ports: BitTorrent, Gaim (AIM/ICQ/MSN/Yahoo -- for file transfer), SSH and terminal services to my Windows desktop.

Edited June 3, 2005 by Alien Venom

[nicedreams]

I use Linux mainly because there are no limits to what you can or can not do in just about any Linux based OS. I like how I don't have to get stuck with a clunky GUI if a computer can't handle it. I like being able to have a choice of what and how I want to do things. It's so much easier to do certian things in Linux than it is in Windows from the command line. Talk about flexability. The Linux command line just can do it all.

I don't like how I'm stuck with buggy and bloated Explorer Windows Shell. If I get tired of Gnome or KDE I can always switch to Fluxbox or IceWM or XFCE4.

One word mainly. NO LIMITS TO WHAT YOU CAN DO IF YOU USE LINUX. MS puts too many damn limits and I hate not having the option to not be able to switch to a more stable SHELL or Environment. It's also much faster if you configure it right and I haven't had any type of stupid crashes, slow downs or lag like I do in Windows.

I only have a Windows XP box for games since I love games and most run DirectX and emulation on Linux isn't that fast. Linux is my primary OS and Windows is on my other machine just for games and stuff that only works in Windows that I don't feel like eumlating...

[nicedreams]

I forgot to mention the best part of most every Linux distro. You can put your /home directory in either another drive or another partition and if you have to reformat or change distro's, you don't loose any information at all. I love changing between different Debian based distro's and then trying Slackware and Fedora and then going back to Debian or Ubuntu without loosing my customizations or settings or documents or anything. It's awsome.

Oh yea. Unlike Windows...... You don't run any programs with ADMIN rights so if you do happen to get a virus or spyware or anything crummy, then it can't screw your system since that same virus or what ever doesn't have ADMIN or Root access to the system so your safe.

Windows runs you at ADMIN rights so what ever crap you get, gets right in and screws your whole computer up.

Microsoft should get a clue and take after Linux or just make their own Linux distro to market like Apple has done with OSX.

And another thing. What is this about WinFS and they can't get it to work right. I laugh so hard because basically it is just GREP for windows... LMAO. GREP RULES!!! And Apple already can do what WinFS is suppost to do and Linux has been able to do it for years.

The SUSE 10 looks pretty damn promising also... Already has and beats most corporate features that Longhorn is suppose to have...