Author Topic: Shift to Linux (Read 28352 times)

tosim · « **on:** May 28, 2013, 07:49 AM »

I thought I would write this up to maybe help those who are tired of Windoz. I've used Windoz since 1998 and have a small computer repair business, so I am fairly savvy in Windoz. After toying very slightly with various versions of Linux over a few years, about 9 months ago I downloaded the "live CD" of Linux Mint 13-MATE.By booting with the "live CD" you run it from RAM, so nothing affects your regular install(of Windoz). I liked it so much that I've installed it and running(on 3 of my computers) it, dual booting with Win7. I'm using Linux probably 99% of the time, and really prefer it to Windoz. To further inform you-Linux is completely free, as are over 31,000 programs for it. Another thing I particularly like, using the dual boot is that I can go in Windoz partitions using Linux.You don't even need to run an anti-virus program.
Try it, you'll like it!

Ath · « **Reply #1 on:** May 28, 2013, 10:28 AM »

You're quite late to the (Linux) party, but welcome

40hz · « **Reply #2 on:** May 28, 2013, 11:48 AM »

Late, early, or in between - it doesn't matter much once you've arrived.

Welcome to the penguin party fellow DoCo member Tosim. Always glad to greet another 'Nix' user!

kilele · « **Reply #3 on:** May 28, 2013, 01:11 PM »

I prefer Mint11 with the good old Gnome2 desktop manager. Unfortunately, it is not supported anymore so I looked for distributions with Gnome2. I can recommend SolusOS adn Stella(CentOS).

Another good distro based on MATE (and Debian) is Pointlinux.

Tinman57 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 28, 2013, 01:34 PM »

I'll be following your footsteps before too long. I'm going to do a dual-boot with Linux as the primary. I've still got a lot of investigating to do before I figure out which flavor of Linux that I want. Either way, I'm kind of excited about it...

sword · « **Reply #5 on:** May 28, 2013, 04:22 PM »

tosim, yes, it is fun

barney · « **Reply #6 on:** May 28, 2013, 09:16 PM »

You don't even need to run an anti-virus program.
-tosim (May 28, 2013, 07:49 AM)

Hm-m-m. That was Apple's claim for years. Then they got big enough, in terms of users, market percentage, to be interesting.

No OS is malware-proof if it is interconnected or allows 3rd-party access.
(FWIW, been multi-booting since early [pre-commercial] Red Hat.)

Sorry to harp, but I keep seeing folk mention things that cannot be corrupted. Ain't none. What Man can devise, Man can destroy: the only variable is time-frame.

panzer · « **Reply #7 on:** May 29, 2013, 03:03 AM »

One more Distro with Gnome 2:
http://www.gnewsense.org/

Tuxman · « **Reply #8 on:** May 29, 2013, 03:26 AM »

Why not BSD?

Tuxman · « **Reply #9 on:** May 29, 2013, 03:27 AM »

Also, while we're at it: Why exactly are Linsux users too dumb/lazy to spell "Windows" correctly? Can't Linux stand out without having superior operating systems bashed verbally?

You don't even need to run an anti-virus program.
-tosim (May 28, 2013, 07:49 AM)

Good luck.

Mark0 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 30, 2013, 01:46 PM »

I too am starting to use Linux more and more.
Before, I happens to use it only occasionaly, mostly as part of some recovery procedure involving a live Linux distro of sort, or to try some cross compilation.
Then in recent times I started toying with a Raspberry Pi and his Raspbian first, and then I built a new home server with Ubuntu 12.04 -I thought it would be less confusing to remain around something Debian based while I was learing how to move around.

I have to say it's a very pleasant experience. Finding doucumentation about anything is very easy. In near no time I had a mirrored Zpool setup, Samba shares, media server for the Squeezebox, the works.

40hz · « **Reply #11 on:** May 30, 2013, 02:47 PM »

^One thing that tends to surprise most regular Linux users is how much their hands feel tied when they need to go back to Windows in order to do something. Like use a program you can't get to run under Linux. That, and just how inelegant and rigid the whole Windows environment starts to feel once you've experienced something else to compare it to.

I'm amazed how many people (especially the real "power-users") haven't gotten on board with Linux yet.

barney · « **Reply #12 on:** May 30, 2013, 04:17 PM »

I'm amazed how many people (especially the real "power-users") haven't gotten on board with Linux yet.
-40hz (May 30, 2013, 02:47 PM)

Prolly 'cause the power users have to do things that can't be done in Linux distros - I have to revert to Win in order to use Visio, for instance - at least, not yet. Wine does a fair country job of running a number of Win progs, but some of 'em just don't function well or completely under Wine. If your job involves Win-centric corporate activity, sometimes Win is the only option. And a lot of IT sections won't allow dual boot or virtual Win 'cause they don't have a clue how to deal with Linux, thus their first trouble-shooting determination - read accusation - is that it's the OS.

When I was working at MCI, I had Red Hat on a laptop that I carried into work - and used - on a daily basis. As soon as IT discovered that (about three (3) months later) I was accused of corrupting their network. Actually, it was a toss-up 'tween me and another guy who was doing the same thing with OS/2. Turned out the cause was a failed/incomplete server upgrade, but they didn't look that far, just pointed a finger and stopped checking.

skwire · « **Reply #13 on:** May 30, 2013, 06:57 PM »

Also, while we're at it: Why exactly are Linsux users too dumb/lazy to spell "Windows" correctly? Can't Linux stand out without having superior operating systems bashed verbally?
-Tuxman (May 29, 2013, 03:27 AM)

Freudian slip, perhaps?

Tinman57 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 30, 2013, 07:57 PM »

Also, while we're at it: Why exactly are Linsux users too dumb/lazy to spell "Windows" correctly? Can't Linux stand out without having superior operating systems bashed verbally?
-Tuxman (May 29, 2013, 03:27 AM)

Freudian slip, perhaps?
-skwire (May 30, 2013, 06:57 PM)

Methinks OS Envy.

40hz · « **Reply #15 on:** May 30, 2013, 10:28 PM »

Also, while we're at it: Why exactly are Linsux users too dumb/lazy to spell "Windows" correctly? Can't Linux stand out without having superior operating systems bashed verbally?
-Tuxman (May 29, 2013, 03:27 AM)

Freudian slip, perhaps?
-skwire (May 30, 2013, 06:57 PM)

Methinks OS Envy.
-Tinman57 (May 30, 2013, 07:57 PM)

No, just some VCIW snarkiness. Apparently it still annoys some BSD fans that they're using it - and nobody is impressed - or even cares that they do.

Tuxman · « **Reply #16 on:** May 31, 2013, 06:45 AM »

I am not annoyed. I pity the fools.

barney · « **Reply #17 on:** June 01, 2013, 12:47 AM »

I am not annoyed. I pity the fools.
-Tuxman (May 31, 2013, 06:45 AM)

That's insulting. That I/we do not use your OS of choice does not make us fools. We are using whatever OS that allows us to get our respective jobs done!. That you do not care for our respective OSes does not give you the right to denigrate us, nor to denigrate an OS that we may have no choice but to use. To quote an old sci-fi phrase, Curb thy tongue, impious fish.

TaoPhoenix · « **Reply #18 on:** June 01, 2013, 03:47 AM »

I am not annoyed. I pity the fools.
-Tuxman (May 31, 2013, 06:45 AM)

That's insulting. That I/we do not use your OS of choice does not make us fools. We are using whatever OS that allows us to get our respective jobs done!. That you do not care for our respective OSes does not give you the right to denigrate us, nor to denigrate an OS that we may have no choice but to use. To quote an old sci-fi phrase, Curb thy tongue, impious fish.
-barney (June 01, 2013, 12:47 AM)

There are over 100 things I cannot get done in Linux, not the least of which is some coding snacks here.

I'd use Linux ... wait for it ... if it just was as easy as Windows. I got a horrible mood when I just could not update a few things because of bad libraries or something...

40hz · « **Reply #19 on:** June 01, 2013, 04:17 AM »

I got a horrible mood when I just could not update a few things because of bad libraries or something...
-TaoPhoenix (June 01, 2013, 03:47 AM)

Just out of personal curiosity, which distro were you using? What were the things that wouldn't update? And how long ago was it that you ran into that?

40hz · « **Reply #20 on:** June 01, 2013, 04:19 AM »

That's insulting.
-barney (June 01, 2013, 12:47 AM)

PDFTT

barney · « **Reply #21 on:** June 01, 2013, 09:05 AM »

PDFTT
-40hz (June 01, 2013, 04:19 AM)

Sorry. Sometimes my fingers get ahead of good sense $:-\$

.

mahesh2k · « **Reply #22 on:** June 01, 2013, 01:31 PM »

1 year 6 months and counting, no firewall and anti-virus needed so far on ubuntu. I am using few windows apps via Crossover (got it from the last novembers giveaway. Tired of linux is not ready for desktop rants, tbh. If you are using computer mostly for browser and few stuff here and there, then I don't think switching to linux ( or mac) is that hard.

40hz · « **Reply #23 on:** June 01, 2013, 02:12 PM »

no firewall and anti-virus needed so far on ubuntu.
-mahesh2k (June 01, 2013, 01:31 PM)

FWIW there may not be that much malware targeting Linux machines to date (compared to Windows) - but that will change once Linux becomes a target with a high enough value for the blackhats to dedicate sufficient resources to hacking.

I still use an antivirus scanner on every machine I own. Windows machines because they need one. Linux and BSD machines (especially servers) because I don't want to spread infected Windows files that may be stored on them by other machines - even if the Nix boxes themselves won't be directly affected by it.

There's also all those cross-platform Java programs we can worry about if we ever feel left out...

TaoPhoenix · « **Reply #24 on:** June 01, 2013, 03:09 PM »

I got a horrible mood when I just could not update a few things because of bad libraries or something...
-TaoPhoenix (June 01, 2013, 03:47 AM)

Just out of personal curiosity, which distro were you using? What were the things that wouldn't update? And how long ago was it that you ran into that?

-40hz (June 01, 2013, 04:17 AM)

Two different versions of uBuntu messed up bad on me.

The last time when I gave up was when my test box very specifically didn't like one of the then-new versions. It was something like 4-10 was fine and 10-10 hosed my box so bad it wouldn't boot the screen driver. A Sub-Sub-Distro fixed that, but about that point I just began to lose interest in it all.

A couple years earlier Dapper Drake (X-06?) created its own problems and ran itself into the ground on a Dell box. Then in general I just tried to update some stuff A' La Windows and got into DLL Hell. I'm gonna get a bit aggressive here and say no it's not okay for that to be "way back when", ... when Windows 2000 and its pony child Windows XP were *five years earlier* and are still the measuring sticks of Windows, *five* versions later. So no, I won't put up with *twelve* versions of Ubuntu, half of which are reported to cause problems per the forums and two of which caused severe problems for me personally.

Not insignificantly, I have a few Snacks from here, and they ... wait for it ... run on Windows. Plus a ton of other stuff that's Windows Only.

So I get the philosophy, I really do, but MS won. They played the long game and held on tight, and they won.