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Making the Switch-05: Ten Great Ideas of GNU/Linux

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matt_man22:
I started running Arch Linux about 5 months ago (after learning on Ubuntu).  I removed Windows within one month and have never had the need to install it.  The only problem I have is with work (they use Windows-only software), but they supply a Windows laptop for me to use.

While the 10 great ideas about Linux seems arrogant (as a lot of Linux users are), it really is so customizable that there is no reason a downside cannot be solved.  The only downside I have run into are having to pay close attention to upgrades.  Programs are rapidly developing for Linux and a lot of things can go wrong if you do not pay attention to the the install notes.  But upgrades are really needed only once or twice a month. 

As zridling is discovering, it takes time to learn the new commands/filesystem, but in the end I recommend everyone at least try some distro out, it's worth it.

mikiem:
RE: "(01) Live CDs/DVDs."
I used to run Linux off a parallel port Zip drive!  ;D

That said, if I was going to turn my wife, mom, sister on to Linux, it'd be one of the Linspire distro's. If I was going to use it for actual work I'd need more of the apps I buy for XP/Vista to be ported to Linux... while there are some VERY remarkable niche apps, I don't hate MS so much that I'm going to shoot myself in the foot using software that's almost there. And regardless anything else, the debate over licensing  might make it wise to take a wait and see attitude, at least for anything other than a server role.

urlwolf:
anything like dopus for linux?
ahk?
onenote?

Those three would cover 95% of my needs.

zridling:
urlwolf, not that I can tell. GNU/Linux will greatly benefit from the many Web 2.0 apps out there like MindMeister (online version of Mind Manager). And note, these are great "ideas" not great apps. In my mind there's no question that Windows wins that battle over any platform, but not in every area (web admin, for example). But until someone builds an AutoHotkey for GNU/Linux, then I'm not going to even try. There's an alternative to everything, but to me, that's not the question. The goal is for the operating system to be transparent; i.e., just ran the apps without adding problems or slowing them down. Perhaps the best reason to choose a particular OS is the apps themselves, since 90% of my entire day is spent among a half dozen apps:


* Opera (has a Linux version, and I don't mind using Firefox at all)

* NewsLeecher (does not, though there are decent alternatives)

* XYplorer (no real alternative to this or Directory Opus, period)

* EmEditor (Emacs and vi are high-end, but their usability suffers by comparison. gEdit for Linux is like a light TextPad)

* XnView (has a Linux version)

* PhotoFiltre Studio (although I'm really liking GIMP now, a lot, and may switch to it on the Windows side, too)
On the other hand, almost all GNU/Linux distros come with tons of games, can run most multimedia "out of the box" (or one download away for a driver or codec), they build in little things like a screen capture app, CD/DVD/ISO burning tools, keyboard shortcut (for the system, like a lot of WIN key apps) office suite (okay, OpenOffice), and image editing. Another app I'm really liking is Quanta Plus, an HTML/CSS/PHP editor.

Lashiec:
Frankly, the only idea that nothing like xplorer² or the other file managers exists under Linux gives me the creeps. But the idea of installing and uninstalling apps without worrying about leaving debris always amazed me.

I think that besides the idiosyncrasy in some Linux software and the lack of alternatives in certain type of software, the only thing I would find disturbing is that a piece of software is not in the repository, you have to compile it yourself for your own distribution, because there's nothing like one size fits all like in Windows (with caveats, though). On the other hand, that's pretty much impossible.

I wonder, if Linux rose to great presence in desktop computers overnight (say a 15% market share), would it be possible to maintain such huge repositories in most distributions?

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