RoddimusPrime

I will make this fast and easy... I would love to switch to Linux... but, you know what? Third Party software makers don't support Linux all that much. I want to be able to do web design, graphic design, etc. and for that I will need Adobe. Tell me how I can install and run Adobe without a lot of headache then that is one point for you.

Second, music. I like to use iTunes and while there are players such as foobar they are terribly hard to operate and change for me. I like simply downloading a player that does it all in an easy and popular manner.

Lastly, gaming. If I could run good games under Linux then I would def. be considering Linux.

In summation, Linux lacks software and application support for what I need/use.

If you could solve music, gaming, and other software that I use personally and professionally then you have an argument.

thenailedone

...So many opinions... I'm sure 90% of them have some truth to them... I got Compiz working today (this morning after 12 hours of night shift) because I haven't been able to connect to the internet via Ubuntu (yet)... WOW... I love it...

The latest distro's are on par and exceeding the Windows interface in many areas... to all the anti-GNU/Linux posters that tried it a year or two ago... try again, it has changed a lot...

The Ubuntu forums are teaming with many users, experienced and n00bs and your questions will get answered... maybe not within 30 seconds (but then again judging the unanswered threads on this forum this is a natural occurrence that sometimes you have to wait...)

The thing that I can't understand is why their should be another round of I'm better than you going on in this thread...the OP was to challenge people to try it if they wanted to and give their opinions after. The amount of frustration I've endured I can understand criticism... yet I would prefer it to be educated by people that have tried to get everything going... and can talk out of experience and not hear say or ignorance...

Like many users on this forum has stated PC's are used for many things other than gaming and judging my the number of people on the Ubuntu forums their are many average users switching daily and GNU/Linux is definitely matured enough to make an impact on the desktop environment (with a lot of time and effort being put into making it even more viable)...

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vgplayer

2 things hold me back from linux. Just like many others gaming and the other is watching subbed anime when the subtitles don't use the font and format the file contains. Every player I have tried does the same thing. I get gigantic subtitles and have to manual change everything but its hard to get it exactly perfect. Though now I rarely use my PC for watching movies anymore since I got XBMC setup. I am getting the EEE PC soon and plan on running Ubuntu or some other flavour of Ubuntu since I won't be gaming or watching too many videos on it. Ubuntu is probably my favorite distro I have tried since it is very easy setup and it is easy to find out what to do on ubuntuguide.org.

The Hundred Gunner

I don't think you want to run anything but the Eee's proprietary Linux. I heard pretty much any other OS is going to be very slow. The Eee's Linux is very good looking, but I don't know how much it does when it comes to adding new software and stuff.

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"But you would be amazed by how many people think that the only reason to have a computer is to play games, and that playing games is all that anyone with a computer does." - dangerousHobo

"Linux is everywhere, it is all around us, even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. " - mbp

"I have used a mac before. And they still don't have right click I mean come on. - aakar

Namrac

So yes, at least for me, there is no point in running Linux as my main operating system, since everything I can do in linux, I can do with less effort in Windows, and there are things I really enjoy doing in windows that either can't be done in linux or can't be done without massive amounts of frustration. Plus, I KNOW all my hardware will work with windows.


Linux is nice, and works great for someone who 1) doesn't game, 2) already has a fair amount of computer knowledge, and 3) doesn't mind working harder to get everything set up right.

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Syrillian is my hero.

Audio Setup:
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OCN Headphone Club. Because computers don't suck up enough of my money.
Namrac's Favorite Games: HL2, GTA IV, Halo, Mass Effect, Splinter Cell: CT, Bioshock, Insurgency

nathris

Ok I'm not reading all 10 pages of this so sorry if this has been said, but you should add a disclaimer at the top telling ATI users to ignore this thread because Linux just doesn't work with it without either a having a linux tech with you or spending a week of sleepless nights modifying config files and reinstalling packages.

As for the whole stability thing, the only crashes I get are from overclocking, and at least when programs crash in Windows they have the common courtesy to tell you a little bit about it, rather than going silently, sometimes minutes before you even notice it, and if they do record some information, its usually hidden away in some log file that you have to google just to find, usually in a topic with over 100 posts of people having the same problem.

Windows just works, Vista aside, you're guaranteed any software and hardware will just work, or work after a simple patch. With linux I've found that the only programs that just work are the ones that come with the OS. Pretty much every other program will require you to install some dependency or modify a config file, and almost certainly google it. You seriously can't use linux without an internet connection, because when, not if, a problem arises you need to be one of those people who have read entire books on linux and know the exact command to fix it or you need to google it for one of those forum threads with 100s of other people having the same problem to look for a solution.

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Sir Humpsalot

I disagree. Linux works fine for someone who...

1) doesn't game

2) has, or is willing to hire, someone else to set up their computer initially and make sure things are working in a way that is appropriate to them,

3) doesn't want to learn how an OS works

4) doesn't want recurring ongoing tech visits for "routine maintenance"

5) doesn't switch hardware too often.


Note, this list describes a LOT of older users. Yup. You heard it here first. Linux is a better OS for your grandmother. It's also good for a small business machine, so long as you don't need to communicate with a lot of other high tech windows apps and aren't in some kind of tech industry (eg web publishing, design, etc). For the guy who sells eBay junk out of his garage, or sells bricks and mortar, linux may be the better solution.

And I want to reemphasize point number 3. Once they are set up for the specific user (which takes a knowledgeable person about 20 minutes) Linux is the better operating system for someone who doesn't want to learn an operating system. Linux Mint, or Kubuntu, or Mepis (the three I've used) are more intuitive than windows for general everyday use.

The reason you guys are better with Windows is that you are used to it. If you weren't, you would realize that now (and maybe this is just in the past year or so) a well set-up Linux machine can truly be easier to use than Windows. Linux is easier to dumb down for really clueless users. And, at the same time, it's also more l33t! Talk about the ultimate paradox, eh?

No defrag, we have "Add/Remove programs"- with one click you can add OR remove a program. "System Settings" takes you to things that any casual user can pretty much understand, just like windows does. Your "folder", as a user, has "home folder" and "desktop" Everything else, you create yourself- far less daunting than Window's maze of directories. FWIW, I usually do create a "my documents" and "my pictures" folder on the desktop as a tutorial. I also drop Firefox and a few other apps on the desktop, again, to show people how it works. Most people tend to like those additions and it's part of the hour or so I spend setting things up after a build.

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Put this in your sig if you are afraid I will kick your butt if you don't.

Criswell

Completely agree 100%, why boot back to Linux if you don't need to since you can do the same things in Vista..

I myself have used Linux and it was totally awesome, but the game support wasn't just there..

I have good enough hardware to do all the things I want to do at once under Vista so why switch to Linux again when I don't need to?

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DIABLO III

airbozo

The first time I tried to install the ATI drivers I wanted to kill someone. Now it is second nature and takes loading only the source headers, not the entire source package.

To be honest, when a customer requests a quote for a linux box I always recommend an nVIdia card over ATI for this exact reason. I have sent my comments to the ATI developer team (have a friend there), and they seem to be responsive. I am expecting the next round of ATI driver utilities to fix most but not all of the issues. Part of the problem is due to copyright legalities. ATI has been trying to release stable linux drivers for a couple of years now, since SGI started using the FireGL cards in their midrange graphics supercomputers. They are almost there (with the help of companies like SGI), but still have work to do. One company (M$) is resisting ATI's efforts to open source their drivers. Big surprise...

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"The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows. "...Frank Zappa...
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The Hundred Gunner

That isn't true. It's actually easier in Linux. Not only are there log files that can tell you what went wrong, but the Terminal will show the program's output. It'll report what's going wrong while it's going wrong.

Hell, I had a CD yesterday that wouldn't eject, and the OS even told me exactly which processes I had to kill to get it to come out.

And if you want to force-quit a program in Linux, it closes the FIRST time. Not on its own time.

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"But you would be amazed by how many people think that the only reason to have a computer is to play games, and that playing games is all that anyone with a computer does." - dangerousHobo

"Linux is everywhere, it is all around us, even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. " - mbp

"I have used a mac before. And they still don't have right click I mean come on. - aakar