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Ten Tips for Windows users making the switch to Linux
zridling:
[f0dder]:
Linux is not great code. Kernel and other parts might be OK, but when you start digging into the other components that make up a distribution....
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Ah, but there's the rub. You're confusing Linux per se with any distribution. Two very different animals.
I don't want to go through a zillion hoops just to do simple things.... there's always been too much bloody work involved.
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I don't doubt you had problems. I haven't had very many at all, and the ones I have had, I've been able to easily google my way out of in minutes.
No filesystem hierarchy standard that everybody agrees on. And even when there's a somewhat similar layout, subtle (or not so subtle!) things are handled differently. A zillion different package managers, not to mention that Perl, Python and Ruby have their own systems.
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This confuses me. By "filesystem hierarchy standard" do you mean a particular one, such as Ext3, RFS, ZFS, Ext4? FAT, NTFS, or the traditional filesystem structure:
* /usr
* /etc
* /var
* /bin
* /proc
* /boot
* /home
* /root
* /sbin
* /dev
* /lib
* /tmp
The mere choice of file system is great to me, and for my old data. Microsoft never got around to implementing a new FS for Vista, if you recall. Linux lets you spread the file system over as many different hard drives and partitions as you want but still appear like a seamless whole. The /home directory is always /home no matter if it is moved to a separate disk. I've only come across two package managers, rpm and deb, and LSB4 has conflated their SDKs as we speak. I don't know enough to ask about perl,python,ruby having their own.
But for desktops? Too much bloody work, I'd have to spend time hunting for replacement software (some of it beta and/or pretty inferior to what I have - show me a competitor to Visual Studio that isn't half-baked), and to what benefit? Sure, "freedom" - whatever that means.
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Which software are you trying to replace? Isn't Visual Studio a Microsoft coding product for its OSes only? If it does C, then it should work, right? (I really don't know; I'm dropdead ignorant about programming.) For myself, freedom works in my favor:
- No DRM or interference with fair use content on your own system;
- no proprietary formats if I choose; open standards guarantee data portability;
- no licensing costs, i.e., no more paying for my OS. When you subsist in the lower middle class, this helps.
- freedom from Microsoft or Apple and its EULAs have been nice;
- free to read bug reports and their fixes;
- no data/email lock-in;
- freedom to choose which distro suits my needs (Windows/Mac give you one choice, theirs);
- freedom from blue screens, most all viruses, and best of all, from Microsoft's latest fiat;
- freedom from having to purchase new hardware to run every successive release;
- freedom from activation; product keys; validation; pay-per-incident support, and even a registry;
- freedom to install Linux on as many computers as I want, and have as many users on any one system, each with their own unique access, desktop setups, internet privileges (for the littlest ones) and software.
Sorry for the rant, but I get frustrated when I see people claiming it's easy and full of joy to 'switch over'. Sure, it can work for some people.... But for me it's just too much frustration to be worth it.
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I can understand that. At least you're honest with yourself. As for me, it's not nearly as difficult as I was told and frankly, I haven't had this much fun on a computer since the early 90s. Use what you love; love what you use. Either way, as long as you're happy.
f0dder:
[f0dder]:
Linux is not great code. Kernel and other parts might be OK, but when you start digging into the other components that make up a distribution....
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Ah, but there's the rub. You're confusing Linux per se with any distribution. Two very different animals.-zridling (October 16, 2008, 12:28 AM)
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I know that "linux" is the kernel and that you should say GNU/Linux to refer to the system, and use a fully qualified distro name, and use SI-approved units like MiBiBytes etc... but I refuse to take part in that sillyness.
If you say "linux", any sane person will know you're talking about a distribution. If you say "the linux kernel", well duh. As for software and quality, there's a large subset of software used by all the distributions, so meh.
This confuses me. By "filesystem hierarchy standard" do you mean a particular one, such as Ext3, RFS, ZFS, Ext4? FAT, NTFS, or the traditional filesystem structure:-zridling (October 16, 2008, 12:28 AM)
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Since I say hierarchy, obviously it's the layout/structure. And no, this hasn't been properly standardized. Yeah yeah, there's the FHS, but that doesn't stop distros for doing things slightly differently. True, there's some differences between Windows versions, but at least you can look up paths in the registry. On linux, only the distribution's own tools knows where things go.
The mere choice of file system is great to me, and for my old data. Microsoft never got around to implementing a new FS for Vista, if you recall.-zridling (October 16, 2008, 12:28 AM)
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And I'm glad they didn't - all that SQL junk ontop of NTFS sounded like a trainwreck to me. NTFS by itself is a pretty decent and well tested FS. Sure, some of the newer filesystems like XFS or ZFS or BTRFS could be interesting - but it's not like anything stops you from porting those to Windows. People just don't seem to have much interest in doing so.
Linux lets you spread the file system over as many different hard drives and partitions as you want but still appear like a seamless whole.-zridling (October 16, 2008, 12:28 AM)
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NTFS junctions...
Which software are you trying to replace? Isn't Visual Studio a Microsoft coding product for its OSes only? If it does C, then it should work, right? (I really don't know; I'm dropdead ignorant about programming.)-zridling (October 16, 2008, 12:28 AM)
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It's a pretty well-polished programming IDE with features that aren't useful just for windows development. I've looked at code::blocks, anjuta, kdevelop and eclipse, but many are slightly buggy or outdated, and arent't really in the same league.
For myself, freedom works in my favor:
-zridling (October 16, 2008, 12:28 AM)
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I snipped the list. But yes, some of those points are reasons why I wouldn't mind having a working alternative to Windows. I think the unconformity of distros is a problem, though, and I don't get viruses or BSODs on Windows (except for bad hardware or drivers, but that would cause kernel panics on linux anyway :)). The registry is a good thing, btw, and it's a shame linux is stuck with a cluttered mess of config files with different formats.
ak_:
Don’t be "that guy." Mac users have been this way and the whole routine gets old by the second sentence. Enjoy Linux for what it is — great code, stable OS, fast platform — not for what it’s not (Windows).-zriddling
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Amen :)
That said, i recently installed Ubuntu on my laptop and i'm really glad i did it. It very fast (i could spend hours playing with those elastic windows) and less obscure than i expected. Wine really impressed me too. As i mainly use Photoshop and Flash for work, i never considered using Ubuntu as my main OS but now i've seen both programs running via Wine, i'm actually considering switching to Ubuntu. VirtualBox is pretty impressive too, i loved running XP through Ubuntu (yes, i have simple joys).
40hz:
I don't know...
It's no harder for a person to become a "Linux Guru" (whatever that is), than it is to become an expert in any other OS or application suite.
I wasn't a big fan of Linux when it first came out. I had a ton of solid technical arguments as to why it wasn't really workable. But when I was being honest with myself, I realized that my real problem with Linux was that I felt threatened by it. I didn't want to have to learn a whole new OS. I was afraid my Windows credentials and work experience (both of which had cost me considerable time and capital to acquire) would suffer devaluation if Linux caught on. And even worse, to really learn Linux, I would have to become a novice again - a clueless newcomer. And that was a real problem because, quite frankly, I bathed in the glow of being The Guy people went to for answers instead of the other way around.
And then, there were all those horror stories from people that had "been there." Cautionary tales about ordinary people who innocently installed Linux only to discover that it set their computer on fire - or caused cancer in the family dog.
Scary stuff! Bad mojo, this penguin thing! :tellme:
But once I got past the angst (and my little ego trip), I discovered Linux was interesting, fun, and profitable to know. It was no harder to learn, or get good at, than anything else. And it was neither significantly better nor worse than any other family of software. It was just different.
And all the horror stories I was hearing turned out to be just that - stories. ;D
I personally find it rather interesting to hear how often Linux is criticized (usually by people that don't actually use it) for what can best be summarized as "Not Being Perfect." It's especially interesting when you consider most of the complaints are about problems with proprietary codecs and drivers (especially wifi), which are issues beyond any Linux developer's control. If Linux has compatibility issues with technology developed exclusively for Windows, it's because Linux is not Windows. (Ok Class, please repeat this three times: Linux is not Windows...) And to criticize it for that is no different than faulting a dog for not being a cat.
Well, the critics can rest easy. Linux isn't perfect. And nobody in the GNU/Linux camp that knows what they're talking about (including Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds, et al) would claim otherwise. But that was part of the original plan anyway. GNU/Linux is easy to bash because its commitment to "openness" was designed to make GNU/Linux easy to bash. And to fix. And to improve.
Linux is a perpetual work-in-progress. So is almost everything else. The only difference is that the Linux world is completely up front about it. They embrace the unfinished. Some might even argue they revel in the fact it will never be "done." If you can live with that, then all's to the good.
But if you're the type that feels driven to hit your head against a wall when confronted by a vast selection of choices and options, then Linux is definitely not for you. And that's fine too. Just continue to use Windows or OSX or whatever works best for you. The Linux community wishes you well no matter what since personal choice is much what we're about.
And should you ever change your mind...well...you know where to find us. 8)
:)
zridling:
[tangent]: ak_, you'll be happy to know that Adobe Flash Player 10 for Linux was released yesterday and can be downloaded. Microsoft continues its own Silverlight development.
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