Linux Whats the Fuss about Linux?

Ummm, this is going to sound like a stupid question but what is sooo good about linux? Alot of people tell me that linux is better, safer and easier to use than windows. I use windows 2000 pro and am thinking of switching, but I dont want to buy a game etc and find that it wont run on my laptop because linux wont run it so should I switch and if so why?

 

Linux is liked for quite a few reason:
1) its free
2) you can edit the source code so you can change stuff if you want
3) It has a rigid permissions system so that even if a malicious program executes it is unlikely to do any damage.
4) It assumes nothing. i.e. It wont ask "are you sure you want to do this" and then "are you realy sure your sure) like windows does. If I want to delete my entire file system then fine it will.
5) Different interface and file system layout

On the games front quite a few games now run with wine or winex so that side is improving quite alot. However setting linux up on a laptop could be a pain especailly if it has an ati graphics chipset (not linux's fault blame ati for being idiots). The main reason I switched was the pain of windows crashing and not doing what I wanted it to do.

 

You can try Knoppix it runs from cd, so u can try and see if u like it.

 

Ubuntu also has a live-CD version. Ubuntu Linux Home - I think they'll even ship you the CD set for free.

I'm actually running Ubuntu now; XP got stuffed up last week and wouldn't even re-install, so my beer-powered tech support (my younger brother the Linux geek) came over and got me onto Ubuntu.

I like it a lot, actually. Still getting up that initial learning curve, but it's at least as powerful as XP and much, much more secure. And free, of course!

One thing I am going to miss is Photoshop. The GIMP is free & OK, but Photoshop is still far better. Might try a dual-boot w/ XP & Ubuntu, to get Photoshop back, along with a few other Windows apps I miss.

 

I think the best way of summing up Linux is Distrowatch's moto:

"Put the fun back into computing: Use Linux or BSD."

That's what first got me into Linux ('98), and what got me to finally switch full time to Linux ('00) was the BSOD. But then I'm not really a gamer.

 

Get Codeweavers product and you will be able to use most of your favorite MS apps. And then there's another one for the games... forget what it's called. Mandrake is great, Redhat is annoying, Knoppix is just plain insane. I haven't tried ubuntu though. I was told to try slackware but haven't had a reason to with Mandrake 10. There's a program called GimpShop that makes it look and feel and act like Photoshop.

 

Ya, I need to look that one up. I really, really dislike how the GIMP spreads itself out over three or so windows, each with a different taskbar entry, and then dumps each photo into another window with more individual taskbar entries.

It's messy, confusing and makes it impossible to work with more than three or four open images at one time.

Even if all GIMPShop does is force the app into one sane window, it'll be worth installing!

 

I completly and totaly agree with you about gimp. Gimpshop is awsome though it acts alot like photoshop. IT puts all the tools and all that in one window. Not as easy to use as photoshop but still a HUGE step up from gimp.

 

Well, I've been using the GIMP in Ubuntu for a few days now, and haven't installed GIMPshop; it turns out there are a bunch of options in the GIMP already to make it behave - you can force the various pallette/tool windows to remain in the foreground at all times, for instance, and that one change is a HUGE help.

I've also started to figure out the GIMP's many, many windows, and their windows-layering/tab system. It's also possible to do custom keyboard shortcuts, so it is possible to bring the GIMP closer to what I'm used to.

Mostly, it's a matter of remembering that it isn't Photoshop - everytime I get into trouble w/ the GIMP it's because I've started to use the reflexive PS shortcuts & such...

And hey, you can't beat the price!

 

The word your looking for is cedega and yes it works pretty well, mind you not as smoothly as a native windows install, but smooth enough for most people. Now you may flame me about saying the name which not be said, but i use both windows and linux. Linux = Servers, Windows = Games. And if Linux =Servers+Games, then MS=Gone

 

http://freshmeat.net/projects/gimpshop/?branch_id=57360&release_id=192296

link for gimpshop