Linux isn’t for everyone, but it might be right for you
That’s something I say to people when they ask me the inevitable questions about Windows 8, which generally go along these lines…
“If Windows 8 is so different, I may as well try something else entirely, like a Mac.”
My argument is this, if Linux is free and you can run it from a live CD or bootable USB stick, then try it before making a decision. Better to be informed than ignorant and it could say you money.
Anyway, that’s exactly what I did over a year ago, before taking the plunge and setting myself a challenge to start using Linux in earnest. You can read about my experiences in the article below.
Have you given Linux a chance?
It’s always great to see more Linux users. I moved about two years ago and it’s been great. I still have windows for a few odds and ends but I generally use Kubuntu full time.
Tjaart Blignaut I have one application that I still need Windows for, but even that is being relegated to the realms of the past.
Alan Stainer Linux is easier to support too, since everything is logged by the system it is easier to find issues.
I really don’t like booting into windows, so I really need a good reason to do that. Most of the time I get by just fine.
MS Access is the only Windows program I need to use myself to support a legacy application. Other than that I also support some IIS/VB web sites but generally just use Linux now. I can go for months at a stretch without booting Windows at home for any reason.
*save you money (typo)
It’s less of a shock than Windows 8 to use Linux – Mint, Lubuntu or Zorin. It’s only when you switch completely that you realise what you needed it for.
Linus Torvalds created Linux because he wanted a better desktop. Ironically Linux has totally dominated everywhere else from supercomputers to smart phones but it has not yet dominated the desktop because of monopolies by Microsoft and Apple. We must have a large choice of Linux computers such as Linux Mint 17 KDE pre-installed available for sale in stores and online at reasonable prices. Linus is now making a big effort to finally have Linux dominate the desktop as well.
Good Job. I’ve ditched Windows completely years ago. The only attachment for me was Games. I simply got rid of games from my life an about a year later valve came to Linux. Now the majority of my Steam titles are enjoyed within Linux.
I justy cannot wait until the Steam controller comes out and fixes the whole controller issue that Linux has… Everything done with a controller up to this point has been sort of sucks imho.
Oddly the MS controller atm is the best bet and with the Steam controller approaching I do not want to waste my money on what I forsee as a company on the verge of death. They’ve made some powerful choices in the near future.
J. William Hunt Steam has the same features in windows that it does in Linux. It’s full featured.
Ryein Goddard Linux has better hardware support than Windows. Manufacturers just don’t always create drivers for Linux. This is changing however.
Joel Carlson “Linus Torvalds created Linux because he wanted a better desktop.”
Actually he wanted a minix clone. I don’t think desktops bothered him at all. :)
“Linus is now making a big effort to finally have Linux dominate the desktop as well.”
Not really. He endorses the goal but he works in the kernel as he always has.
Yes I am an unapologetic fanboi. Sue me… or sudo sue me. :D
See http://www.zdnet.com/linus-torvalds-still-wants-the-linux-desktop-7000032805/
Tjaart Blignaut
Linus may not be working on working on a new distribition that creates a new standard of how we are doing things but I am sure someone is so I am not too worried. It is inevitable ;)
I think the author makes a great point. I would put it as “don’t allow yourself to get indoctrinated”. If you want to try something new, do it! If you don’t like it, don’t use it. But go into it with an open mind… I think our educational system could benefit from diverse offerings, allow young minds to try many different ideas, to compare and contrast all of the differences as well as the foundational similarities.
I’m on Linux right now. Have been for three years. All my critical daily tasks are performed in Linux. I run a sandboxed W7 in Virtualbox for the occasional W32/64 dependent application, which as time goes by, is becoming rarer and rarer. I love it.
A nice, unbiased (albeit brief) look at Linux. I’m always happy to see people making the switch.
Venger Atzu what Windows-specific content are you referencing exactly? Games or something else? Not trying to troll you at all…It’s an honest question. I’ve been dual-booting Linux with Windows 8 for almost two years now, and I can count on one hand, the number of times I’ve actually booted back into Windows. Whether it’s documents, coding, Web browsing, gaming, or icon design, I haven’t found a use case that Linux can’t satisfy. If you explain what you’re looking for, maybe I can suggest a solution.
Venger Atzu you’re right. MS has decades of connections and development behind their gaming platform, and tons of exclusive titles. I see why it’s a deal-breaker for you. Steam has tons of potential, and they’re adding new titles all the time, but it does need more support. Hopefully we’ll see gaming companies step up their Linux support within the next 5 years.
Venger Atzu great points. Can’t argue with any of that. Microsoft has cornered the market, and hardware manufacturers either play ball, or face home computer purgatory.
Tried a few distros lately. They are looking quite good compared to a few years ago. Especially compared to the jarring aesthetics of Windows8.
Reasonable article. I don’t see any reason to try it myself, for three reasons:
1. I like gaming, and in speaking with those heavily into Linux, gaming is inferior on Linux compared to Windows.
2. I have to use Windows at work, and so I’m left with a no-win scenario. If I hate Linux I’ve wasted time and effort, and if I love Linux I’ve created a system where I’m going to be annoyed all day at work.
3. I don’t have a problem with Windows 8. I like it, and I find it easy to use and not aggravating like some people find.
I have no issue with Linux, I just haven’t found a reason to use it yet.
all the software and games are for windows, there’s like zero shit for Linux, why would I want to use linux? just because its free? pfft..
Ryein Goddard no they are not, but not because Windows has good hardware support. Windows has horrible hardware support. Manufacturers do all the work. Once hardware manufacturers chip in all will be well. That said ALL my hardware is supported on Linux, and gaming performance is excellent. In fact in L4D2 I got better performance on Linux than on Windows last time I checked. I can’t emphasize enough how this has improved over the years.
When hardware has trouble it is often because of the hardware, not the linux support. Some hardware manufacturers do silly nonsensical things with their hardware that is hard to decipher.
Joel Carlson yeah, Linus wants to see the linux desktop dominate, but that is not something he originally aimed for, nor is it something he is directly involved in. Ubuntu and The KDE Community are amongst those working toward that goal. So it is worth supporting their efforts.
Venger Atzu well there are more than 600 Linux titles on steam and that number is growing. Hopefull EA and Rockstar will get on board. That would pretty much be a sign that the Linux gaming scene has arrived IMO.
Aaah, games and proprietary applications. Well I suppose when your use of computers becomes a little more advanced, you’ll find less use for Windows and more use for Linux.
Xmetalfanx I used to use Dreamweaver, but have switched to a combination of Netbeans IDE, Filezilla and Geany. I only ever used the code view in Dreamweaver anyway, so it’s no hardship.
Ah that video, I think I shared that a couple of months ago. It is a good comparison.
For me one of the downsides to Linux is lack of support in terms of new software. For instance, I started testing TunnelBear yesterday. It has a Windows client, a Mac client, Android and iOS clients, but not Linux! Why? It’s free, so they can’t exactly claim it is because the numbers are too small. I feel it is simply a lack of awareness about Linux as a platform.
Now, having said that, my main beef with Windows is the absolute pigs ear of a situation with respect to malware. I fix computers for a living and the majority of the time it is due to a virus infection of one type or another. I am just amazed that businesses rely on an operating system that is so wide open to attack.
It is precisely because of that wide adaptation by the business sector, coupled with the otherwise large user base, that the Windows platform is such a common target for malware. I’m sure if the role was reversed and Linux was the dominant adaptation, it would be the primary malware target.
Chase Hatch I don’t doubt that. Microsoft has painted itself a very big target in the form of Windows. However, the diversity of Linux distributions, coupled with tighter security and peer review, makes it much harder for criminal organisations to make their presence felt on Linux. They will try certainly.
Haohmaru HL
Ah, Ignorance is bliss. The majority of Software that people use on Windows are usually open source software… But there is no software on Linux right?
Ryein Goddard not everything requires the command line. Maybe 20 years ago, but not today. To say that everything requires the command is a misrepresentation of reality and one of the reasons why there is a misconception that Linux (and Unix) is for geeks, nerds and technophiles only.
Ryein Goddard “I don’t want to deal with crappy things that break. I want something good that works out of the box with a click of a button.”
Well that rules out Windows before you even get to the starting gate. Also, there are times when you need to use the command line in Windows too, so I don’t really see your point.
However, we do need more and better support from software and hardware vendors. It has got a lot better, but there is always room for improvement.
Ryein Goddard I say that about Windows, because installing Windows from scratch on a brand new machine is completely different to buying a brand new machine with Windows already installed. If there were vendors selling Linux based machines on a large scale with Linux pre-installed, then they would also work straight out of the box.
Ryein Goddard that was partially my point. Most people buy a Windows machine and do not need to go through installing it. Linux doesn’t have that, if it did there wouldn’t be a case against it.
Venger Atzu 2% is worth it if you are already making games platform independent. Another port is usually not that expensive. That said the number of steam users on Linux matters, and what they are buying.
Ryein Goddard
Something entirely corporate created. Be realistic and do not blame Linux for these shortfalls. Starting Phoning the hardware manufacturers and demand support and give your voice if you do not like it.
My theory is that Linux has a much higher acceptance rate than anyone wants us to know. That Microsoft actually fudges a lot of numbers, How? Nearly every computer sold is a number on Microsofts little ticker, You think that little tick on the market disappears when Microsoft Windows does?
J. William Hunt
Lack of understanding. I’ve ran Fallout 3 through POL before. It is a very simple process.
Tjaart Blignaut
Thats why I only buy Linux compatible games. I made my choice ‘before’ games came to Linux, The choice of games come to Linux or they have my boycot. A year later Valve moved Steam to Linux.
Ryein Goddard
Who says its blame game. I am simply stating why it is not an equal playing field.
Provided people are smart about their hardware purchases then Linux is not an issue at all.
I personally choose to support companies that are Linux compatible. If others do the same then we ‘can’ shape the market. The problem is this is combatted by the corporations because they control their pricing.
The argument about hardware compatibility is a non argument, because we are looking at the problem from the wrong angle.
If a hardware manufacturer or PC retailer decided to start selling PCs with Linux pre-installed, they would choose hardware that was compatible. The consumer wouldn’t have that worry and would just assume everything worked.
That is effectively what Microsoft has done with Windows and it is was we really need to happen to Linux.
Alan Stainer
exactly the point. Another reason this has not happened has been due to the fact that Linux lacks certain ‘standards’ that are just a given in Windows or Mac.
In order to change things so Linux has a standard… well someone needs to make one that makes sense and it has not happened yet.
‘yet’ being the keyword.
Ryein Goddard I probably have since I have been using Linux for 10+ years and I do not acurately remember when I switched everything in my household from windows.
I am not stating Linux is perfect but for a long time if you did a little research prior to purchase you could make out pretty well. It is not at the point that I would expect it to hit the laptop/desktop market though. It has been attempted multiple times by multiple companies. They all seem to attack it at the same losing angle with no ‘proper’ standard set in place.
The main issue is that while ubuntu and others have done a whole bunch to improve things they seem to have skipped 90% of the important stuff and gone with fluff that appears to do a whole lot but in reality does not.
The entire ecosystem needs a overhaul with a layer added in that does not exist imho. Most do not get it when I say this but the back end needs a lot of work before the front end can even thought of being improved upon.
That is why no matter what front end they seem to make it doesnt work right and they cannot get it to work right. Because they are trying to uncomplicate something at the entirely incorrect layer of things.
J. William Hunt as far as I know there is no Linux port for Fallout. If you are trying to run a Windows DRM game on Linux then maybe the windows part is the problem. Steam is basically a DRM platform, so I find it hard to believe that DRM is not allowed on Linux.
Tjaart Blignaut
He needs to run it through either Wine or a Wine wrapper such as Play On Linux. IMHO POL fixes a lot of issues that wine has. It allows every program to have its own wine version so you do not have conflictions that you may in pure wine. It also does a bunch of the winetricks and gekko stuff for you.
Pretty much the only thing you have to do is check winehq to see which version is known to work with whatever program you are trying to run and make sure the versions match up.