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Switching to Linux; how do you not flop back to the world of Windows??

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Dormouse:
Please, if you do one thing to flatten your learning curve in Linux, learn to use the command-line tools. The gui tools that exist are easier for new users, but you're missing out on so much power...
from LinuxCommand.org
Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are helpful for many tasks, but they are not good for all tasks. I have long felt that most computers today do not use electricity. They instead seem to be powered by the "pumping" motion of the mouse! Computers were supposed to free us from manual labor, but how many times have you performed some task you felt sure the computer should be able to do? You ended up doing the work by tediously working the mouse. Pointing and clicking, pointing and clicking.

I once heard an author remark that when you are a child you use a computer by looking at the pictures. When you grow up, you learn to read and write. Welcome to Computer Literacy 101. Now let's get to work.
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-Edvard (July 02, 2008, 11:54 AM)
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I know this is one of the last refuges of commandliners in Windows, but this is complete nonsense in a grown-up OS.

The command line is fastest if you always have your hands on the keyboard and if you have learned all the commands and if you are a very accurate typist. If the command line were better for most people and uses, neither the Mac nor Windows would exist.

I am a fast and accurate typist and I know (knew?) a lot of commands going back to mainframes, CP/M, DOS etc but there is no way I would switch back. I always had to read and look things up in manuals. If I misremembered a command I had to look to see if there was a typo, whether I had slightly misremembered the spelling of a command etc. etc. Now on Windows, and to some extent on Linux, I can load a new program and be using it reasonably well in a few minutes; just using the help to answer questions about what it can and cannot do. Speed on a keyboard is no match for a mouse, dictation software and a spare hand for sorting through papers etc.

OTOH, I wouldn't argue that some use of the command line is necessary with Linux as is - but that is NOT a good thing.

jgpaiva:
Dormouse: Even though i really love windows, one thing i really recognize is that linux's command line is great, and i really like to use it. Also, i wouldn't say it's a bad thing to use the command line. I would really like to have such command line in windows, complementing it. The closest thing that comes to it would be.. Find and Run Robot :) (even though it isn't that much similar.. lol :P)

Dormouse:
i wouldn't say it's a bad thing to use the command line.
-jgpaiva (July 02, 2008, 01:18 PM)
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I don't think it is a bad thing to use it, and it will always suit some people best. And there's a number of things you can do much more efficiently with a command line - as long as you have memorised the commands.

What I would say though is that the choice is a matter of preference and style, most people have proved they prefer a good GUI by the choices they made/make, a GUI does have some advantages over a command line and that the Linux GUIs still have a bit of a way to go. There won't be an equivalent number of good programs in Linux until the user base is there, and that won't happen until everything can be done well through a GUI.

Dormouse:
The closest thing that comes to it would be.. Find and Run Robot :) (even though it isn't that much similar.. lol :P)-jgpaiva (July 02, 2008, 01:18 PM)
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Absolutely :) . And one of the reasons I don't use FARR.  ;)

40hz:
I like the idea of open source and "freedom" software, and how you can get more done with less...
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But Windows has all the games, and all the software that I use. All my settings. I program on Windows - ...
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I think, in some ways, you've answered your own question. Because no matter how much time you're willing to put in, the simple fact is that Linux is not Windows. And it looks like you currently need Windows to do some of the things you want to do. So why pick one or the other when you can have both? Especially when one of the options won't cost you anything?

I spend close to 90% of my time working within the Linux environment. I understand Linux. I like it. I recommend it. I even believe in the whole FOSS thing.

But have I scrapped Windows?

Nope.

Will I be able to scrap Windows?

Nope.

Not anytime soon...

Because: (1) Almost all my clients use Windows. (2) Almost all my friends & family use Windows. (3) There are a lot of applications that I love/need/like that will most likely never be ported to Linux. And (4) there is no such thing as a perfect Windows emulation under Linux - and there never will be if Microsoft has anything to say about it!

So for now I'll continue on with Windows. And Linux...and OSX ...and whatever else may come along that does something better than what I'm currently using.

One thing I would recommend is to scrap Xubuntu. It's more bug prone than the other Connonical flavors. I'd suggest you pick a more mainstream desktop until you're more comfortable with the environment. I'd suggest Ubuntu (i.e. Gnome - and please NIX people - no flames!) since there's more documentation out there for it than anything else.

If you need specifics on how to do something, cruise over to www.howtoforge.com for specific project type stuff. I'd also suggest getting a copy of the Linux Administration Handbook 2nd Ed (ISBN-13: 978-0131480049) and A Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux (ISBN-13: 978-0132360395) and working your way through them.

I think once you're more comfortable with Linux as an OS, you'll be able to wean yourself off Windows as much as is currently practical. Just don't be disappointed if you can't completely kick the habit. 

For what it worth, a lot of us will probably be forced walk away from Windows eventually. If Microsoft remains adamant that WinXP is over and done with; and their upcoming replacement for Vista turns out to be another dud; then we'll all be forced to shop elsewhere.

And where the money goes, hardware & software development will follow... 

Can hardly wait! 8)

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