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Author Topic: Is Linux really all that great....  (Read 7970 times)

  • Offline Dave

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Is Linux really all that great....
on: March 17, 2006, 14:00:56 PM
...or is it just for people with too much time on their hands?

Ive not had any major problems with windows XP (I couldnt care less if XYZ version of linux loads up 20 seconds quicker or microsoft is evil) & all the bits of software Ive bought seem to work fine - it is easy to use and it does the job.

Yet there do appear to be a few linux fan boys on here so I was wondering what is so great about it  - IMO it just seems like extra hassle.

What is it that you guys do that means you need to spend time faffing about with linux rather than simply using windows (Im mean aside from server side stuff - just on a personal computer level).

I may be wrong but IMO it just seem that people use linux more as some sort of hobby than for any real practical reason & then use the whole "its more stable" "it loads up quicker" "yes you can use xyz bit of software hardware as long as you add these bits of code & spend half an hour doing  this and that"

I guess some people like collecting stamps, other people like train spotting and some people like Linux.
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #1 on: March 17, 2006, 14:19:20 PM
Yes, its bloody fantastic.

Its about freedom. With windows, Im treated like a criminal and required to pay for a closed secretive system, where I have to pay even more to get it to look anything short of fisher price.

I get a more usable gui, with more flexibility, better software management, far smaller installation footprint, etc.

Its also got support for cooler stuff like svg icons, actual document/image thumbnails on the desktop, and much much superior window management.

Its a far superior OS than XP.

Is XP lousy? Not really, but its closed and creepy, I use it every now and again for stuff like Google earth and to operate the scanner bit of my 3:1.

Linux is a hobby the same way that XP is, and in a way, its easier to find solutions for Linux problem and fixing a problem is most often more straight forward.

So between something thats, in my opinion, just easier to use, has a sharper community, and offers me freedom of every kind, and something thats OK, but is artificially limited, has closed code and treats me like a bloody crook, Ill take Linux please.
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Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #2 on: March 17, 2006, 14:26:19 PM
I agree with maxxi about Micro$oft being a rip off, however all i use linux for is coding at uni..... its easier than using XP..... not sure if i could use it as my day-to-day OS tho, mainly because ive never tried!
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #3 on: March 17, 2006, 14:45:52 PM
Quote from: maximusotter
Yes, its bloody fantastic.

Its about freedom. With windows, Im treated like a criminal and required to pay for a closed secretive system, where I have to pay even more to get it to look anything short of fisher price.

I get a more usable gui, with more flexibility, better software management, far smaller installation footprint, etc.

Its also got support for cooler stuff like svg icons, actual document/image thumbnails on the desktop, and much much superior window management.

Its a far superior OS than XP.

Is XP lousy? Not really, but its closed and creepy, I use it every now and again for stuff like Google earth and to operate the scanner bit of my 3:1.

Linux is a hobby the same way that XP is, and in a way, its easier to find solutions for Linux problem and fixing a problem is most often more straight forward.

So between something thats, in my opinion, just easier to use, has a sharper community, and offers me freedom of every kind, and something thats OK, but is artificially limited, has closed code and treats me like a bloody crook, Ill take Linux please.



All that he said  :D
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #4 on: March 17, 2006, 14:46:25 PM
yeah, if youve gotten used to a certain set of programs, habits can be hard to break.

I just never got into dows at all. Used it back in 93 at school a little and thought it was pretty rough. Then got a 98 box which I used for all of a month before slapping Suse on it. It wasnt that Suse was a more capable OS at that point, about six years ago, it was that 98 pissed me off--it seemed like a very hostile environment. So I switched to something that was initially a bit more challenging, but also more rewarding once I understood a few basic concepts.

Its been ready for general desktop use for going on five years now, but its been in the last two, where hardware recognition and things such as lappie sleep have really become polished.
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #5 on: March 17, 2006, 14:47:53 PM
Quote from: brummie

All that he said  :D


Even after your death match with dist-upgrade?

:D
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  • Offline Serious

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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #6 on: March 17, 2006, 15:27:25 PM
The only reasons I dont use it is that so far every version I have tried has problems with USB, limited plug and play with memory devices :(. I have Windoze but dont fancy upgrading to the next one.

Doubtless maxi will say if there has been improvement in the last few months.
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #7 on: March 17, 2006, 15:33:17 PM
Quote from: maximusotter
Quote from: brummie

All that he said  :D


Even after your death match with dist-upgrade?

:D


Yeah, fortunately i have my /home on a different partition for all my little learning mishaps  :P
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #8 on: March 17, 2006, 15:34:16 PM
Quote from: Serious_
The only reasons I dont use it is that so far every version I have tried has problems with USB, limited plug and play with memory devices :(. I have Windoze but dont fancy upgrading to the next one.

Doubtless maxi will say if there has been improvement in the last few months.


Honestly mate when dapper releases you should give it another go as it has become so much better now.

Im using widows now till the next release as i borked mine last night and would rather wait for the final product thatn have to upgrade later.

Im missing it already  :(
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #9 on: March 17, 2006, 15:46:02 PM
Quote from: Serious_
The only reasons I dont use it is that so far every version I have tried has problems with USB, limited plug and play with memory devices :(. I have Windoze but dont fancy upgrading to the next one.

Doubtless maxi will say if there has been improvement in the last few months.


USB plug and play has been flawless on most distros for years. With Ubuntu, gnome-volume-manager allows you to choose what happens when different varieties of devices are plugged in.

Perhaps your motherboard has problems? If your device mounts as mass storage, it should and will automount. It its a device with proprietary drivers like the awful Kodak cameras, usually gphoto will deal with it.





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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #10 on: March 17, 2006, 15:48:16 PM
Quote from: brummie


Im using widows now till the next release as i borked mine last night and would rather wait for the final product thatn have to upgrade later.

Im missing it already  :(


man, it sucks that it went wonky on ya. I must have the greatest luck in the world, as I dist-upgrade daily to get the most recent snapshot and the worst thing thats happened is that I got the log-in sound when I logged out. :lol:

Anything wierd about your old configuration?
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #11 on: March 17, 2006, 15:51:22 PM
it was pretty untouched.

Its the GDM that wont start

I boot failsafe and get to the prompt. Type "GDM" and it tries to start and hangs  :(
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Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #12 on: March 17, 2006, 15:55:13 PM
Ohh, I had GDM be a little sucky after one update.

Might not be a big deal, perhaps you just got a crap snapshot.

Can you simply login at the console, then "startx"?

You dont need GDM, bitchslap it and leave it by the wayside till you can do a fresh update.

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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #13 on: March 17, 2006, 16:06:18 PM
startx does the same, just hangs :(
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Re:Is Linux really all that great....
Reply #14 on: March 17, 2006, 16:17:00 PM
Quote from: brummie
startx does the same, just hangs :(


hmmm, probably a wonk /etc/X11/xorg.conf file.

Id:
$ sudo apt-get install nano
$ sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

and have a look at the vid card section.

you can alternately:

$ sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

You might have to reinstall any special drivers for 3D acceleration, but it doesnt sound like your install is hosed.

You can also install the latest snapshot:

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
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