thiussat

The main reason I use Linux is for security. Linux wins the security battle hands down for a number of reasons. No viruses, no spyware, nothing. There is not a SINGLE known *nix virus in the wild right now. Viruses just don't work very well on Linux due to it's user control system.

There is only one thing Linux can't do that I need to do (and it's not the fault of Linux):

1) I subscribe to Netflix and I watch their online movies. These movies must use WMP 11 and IE, so both Mac and Linux cannot be used to view them. This is a crock, but it's what we have.

Unless you use something like CAD or play games 24/7, there is nothing Linux can't do and do it better than Windows. And the lack of Netflix support, CAD, photoshop and gaming is NOT the fault of Linux -- it is the fault of the proprietary software makers who refuse to code for any platform other than Winblows. However, in almost all these cases, Linux has very capable open-source equivalents.

I am not an Ubuntu user, but the more this distro catches on, hopefully the proprietary closed source companies will begin porting more of their software over to Linux.

thiussat

Wrong. I knew I would hear someone use this old and misguided argument in an attempt to explain M$'s security weakness. The truth is, the market share has nothing to do with the security gaps between MS and *nix. Hackers have tried and tried hard to spread viruses on *nix and they have not been successful, mainly because of the way *nix is designed with tight user access controls. When Windows was created back in the early 90's, security was not at the top of the list. On the other hand, security has been one of the top priorities for *nix since the 1970's.

For a good explanation of why the "lack of market share" argument doesn't work, see this site: http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/index.php?page=virus

Quote:

Now does this mean *nix is impenetrable? Of course not. But it does mean that the average desktop user will have virtually nothing to worry about in regard to security and will not have to buy expensive AV software and keep it updated. In fact, you could run Linux without a firewall and likely have zero security issues to worry about. There is no need for AV on *nix unless you are running a server where Windows boxes connect.

What different GUI options are you talking about? You have two major desktops: Gnome and KDE. Then you have compiz-fusion if you want a 3D desktop environment on top of whatever desktop you choose to run. Compiz-fusion runs on Gnome and KDE (or any others).

As for .avis and mpegs and .movs, those formats are all playable with a single player like Kaffeine or Mplayer. I've never seen a Linux player that doesn't play all of the major video formats.

The Hundred Gunner

While I agree with that, there are people who can't make that excuse for Linux. Sure, it's not Linux's fault, but the fact of the matter is that it can't run their software.

Hmm... Should I expect a website called "Linux Mafia" to provide me fair and relatively unbiased information...?

__________________
"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

lattyware

People who say market share is the reason for Linux security are fools.

Think about it. A very high percentage of servers run Linux. Servers are much bigger targets.

__________________
Lattyware | Main (Sig) Rig: gBOX42 | Lan Rig: gLAN42
Scratched Disc? Read this! | Lattyware's Guide To LAN Parties
Wireless Access Points: How to make wireless networking easy.
Never been convinced by Linux? Here is a challenge.
Etching an image into your case.

Black Magix

I did Latty's Linux Challenge and I now hate Linux!

X-Fi card refused to work
Games ran at 10fps regardless of if I was using Cedega or WINE
Hard Drives started crashing upon loading.
Resolution refused to stick

My thoughts - Linux is great...if you can get it to load the first time around. I put linux on my laptop and everything runs fine. I put linux on my desktop and it took me a week of setting up to even get basic functionality like file management. Linux is not for the basic point and click user. It's for someone who knows their way around an operating system and can diagnose problems when they occur. I could never sort my problems out no matter how much I devled into knowledge about linux and turned to the Ubuntu communuity for help. There simply was no support for my particular issues and thus made the system unusable. This has been across 3 ubuntu distros and I don't see it changing anytime soon.

__________________

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
Gaming System:
Logitech Z-5500 (On the way)
Computer below

The Hundred Gunner

Bingo. If one wanted to see things go "boom," he would attack Lockheed's multi-terabyte systems running Red Hat.

The market share think is an excuse.

__________________
"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

lattyware

'Hard drives crashing?' what exactly do you mean?

As to your resolution and WINE problems, well, for one, it depends on the game, WINE is not, and can not be, perfect, but beyond that, did you install the nvidia drivers? If not, you can do so via the restricted driver manager. Once that is done, use nvidia-settings to configure your resolution, and hit save to xorg.conf. It'll work fine after that. X-Fis apparently can work, but They don't have official support, so you can't expect too much.

__________________
Lattyware | Main (Sig) Rig: gBOX42 | Lan Rig: gLAN42
Scratched Disc? Read this! | Lattyware's Guide To LAN Parties
Wireless Access Points: How to make wireless networking easy.
Never been convinced by Linux? Here is a challenge.
Etching an image into your case.

Iceman0803

I used this method to get sound working on my xtreme gamer (running 8.04)

__________________

karan.t

where do i get linux from?

and which one is best for me, as i have never used anything other than windows started with 3.1 upto xp

and love xp, wont thing of getting vista.

i need a linux which is simple and uncomplicated.

the first thing that comes into my mind when i think of linux is a softwear which requires u to do everything unlike xp, something for pro software people

thanx

__________________
Club 0pera VIP Member
Games That You Are Waiting For
Solution ASUS P5K Overclocking Bug
[Paint Job] Deepthought (Antec P182)
My BF2142 Stats
My Folding Stats
Q6600 3GHz
3DMark06: 11928 (Q6600 3GHz)

boydyboyd

i don't claim to be an expert but i dual boot with ubuntu which is fairly easy to use.

Just master the synaptic package manager for adding + removing programs.

it can be downloaded Here

__________________