Are You Ready to Switch to GNU/Linux?

[Renegade]

Saw an article:

How You Know When It’s Time to Switch to Linux

If you're considering giving Windows the boot here are 10 signs the time is right to give Linux a try.

Source

And thought I'd post it before Zane.

Just kidding.

But the stuff in the article is more candy-floss BS.

1. You’re Tired of Paying for Software
2. You’re Tired of Upgrading Hardware
3. You’re Tired of Malware
4. You’ve Seen One Too Many Patch Tuesdays
5. You Don’t Have the Time
6. You Like Speed
7. You Like Sharing
8. You Don’t Actually Love Internet Explorer
9. You Want to Be in Control
10. You’re One of a Kind

Sigh...

So, the rant is here.

Well, not really a rant. Or not much of one.

The long & short of it: I hate dumb lists by bored tech writers. The presumptuous question is "are you ready", along with some questions to ask.

Now, for a non-idiotic approach to the question…

ARE YOU READY TO SWITCH TO GNU/LINUX?

This is crucially important. But you can answer this question with a little thought and reflection.

First, take inventory of the different tasks that you do and the programs that you use to do it. Next, look for replacements for them that run on GNU/Linux. Next, and this is the hard part, verify that the replacements work for your purposes. An example will help…

Pretty much the only REASON to switch seems to be "freedom". I can't think of another legitimate reason that isn't blatantly controversial.

[sri]

The last time I genuinely wanted to try Linux, I remember having to write 3 lines of code to eject a CD from the tray or something. I thought that was pointless.

Windows 7 rocks! I am not sure if there are tools (that are as good) similar to Breevy, windroplr, Directory Opus, ClipX, StrokeIt, Direct Folders that make me productive (i.e., work faster and smarter) in Linux.

[Renegade]

The last time I genuinely wanted to try Linux, I remember having to write 3 lines of code to eject a CD from the tray or something. I thought that was pointless.

Windows 7 rocks! I am not sure if there are tools (that are as good) similar to Breevy, windroplr, Directory Opus, ClipX, StrokeIt, Direct Folders that make me productive (i.e., work faster and smarter) in Linux.

Hmmm... Better than the last time I had to eject a DVD on my Mac. Ended up taking it in for repair... Only had about 20 or 30 disks in it too.

Agreed on Windows 7 -- it's really very nice.

Try out a VMware Linux distro though. It's a great way to play with Linux. VMware has lots available.

[app103]

Am I ready to switch to Linux? No.

Is Linux ready for me? No...it doesn't have a taskbar that behaves similar to the one in Windows, and until it does, it's not ready for full time use by me. 

1. You’re Tired of Paying for Software

I buy very little software. Most of what I use is freeware.

2. You’re Tired of Upgrading Hardware

You will still eventually have to upgrade hardware, no matter what OS you run.

3. You’re Tired of Malware

What's that? I never get any. 

4. You’ve Seen One Too Many Patch Tuesdays

Actually, I have seen one too many "reboot just to make sure Ubuntu is up to date, update it, then reboot back to Windows".

5. You Don’t Have the Time

Time for what? Oh yeah...see my answers to #4 and #6. 

6. You Like Speed

Ubuntu is actually slower than Windows for me. Slower to startup, slower to find the shortcuts to the apps I want to run, slower to start the apps, slower to close them, slower to find valid info on how to do something I want to do, slower to shut down, slower to download and install updates, slower, slower, slower.

7. You Like Sharing

Sharing what, exactly? I can't think of anything I'd want to share that could be shared better, faster, or easier on Linux.

8. You Don’t Actually Love Internet Explorer

I don't, and that's why I can install plenty of other browsers and pick the one I like best. I currently have 10 different browsers installed and except for Firefox, none of them have Linux versions, to my knowledge.

9. You Want to Be in Control

I am in control.

10. You’re One of a Kind

And so is my Windows desktop. 

[sri]

Quote
9. You Want to Be in Control
I am in control.

Quote
10. You’re One of a Kind
And so is my Windows desktop.  cheesy

haha! made me chuckle.

[Renegade]

Am I ready to switch to Linux? No.

Is Linux ready for me? No...

Hahaha~! Good answer~!

[40hz]

#9

Priceless! 

[Bamse]

I blame whole Linux pimping community for me not using Linux. I sense BS posts/reviews/"opinions" are decreasing though, probably due to Windows 7. Ok to focus on Microsoft evil doings of course but these arguments are of low quality. Those who can't see where they come from cannot handle Linux in any shape or form. Takes a bit more than getting rid of Windows annoyances. Truth could be such communication is not meant to sell tickets to Windows users but to help confirming those who struggle have made the right choice. I have problems with that attitude but no way to avoid it because not possible to explore Linux world on my own - knowledge of weird details and workarounds required when you want to tinker and modify Linux. Might be ok out of the box for grandmas and sysadmins who just want things to work

[Renegade]

I blame whole Linux pimping community for me not using Linux. I sense BS posts/reviews/"opinions" are decreasing though, probably due to Windows 7. Ok to focus on Microsoft evil doings of course but these arguments are of low quality. Those who can't see where they come from cannot handle Linux in any shape or form. Takes a bit more than getting rid of Windows annoyances. Truth could be such communication is not meant to sell tickets to Windows users but to help confirming those who struggle have made the right choice. I have problems with that attitude but no way to avoid it because not possible to explore Linux world on my own - knowledge of weird details and workarounds required when you want to tinker and modify Linux. Might be ok out of the box for grandmas and sysadmins who just want things to work

Yeah... I know how you feel. The jeering crowd of smart-mouthed ones really ruins things.

But it's actually easier than you'd think. Try out a VMware image. Here's a link for Ubuntu 10.10. You'll find MANY more there as well.

Just install the VMware player, then download that image and "play" it.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at it.

If the "Ubuntu" screamers tick you off, try SuSe here (VMware image link).

It's really worth taking the time to play with as there is some VERY cool stuff in there. It's also very quick as it's little different than running a program.

[Tuxman]

The title is misleading. All the items listed have nothing to do with GNU. 

BTW:
Of course Linux has bars similar to Windows. Or, in case of Ubuntu, OSX. Anyway, the whole thread leads into the wrong direction. Why switch when Windows fits my needs?

[KynloStephen66515]

1. You’re Tired of Paying for Software
- Not really, I dont generally pay for much in the way of software, and when I do, its generally "Donation Ware" so I pay what I want...because I wanted to.

2. You’re Tired of Upgrading Hardware
- Actually...no...thats one of my favorite times of the year

3. You’re Tired of Malware
- I think I had malware once...
4. You’ve Seen One Too Many Patch Tuesdays
- wtf is a patch tuesday?  I have automatic updates turned off, and have done since M$ decided to ship a crap load of viruses with one of the XP SP versions (dont recall which exact one)

5. You Don’t Have the Time
- To learn a new operating system?  No

6. You Like Speed
- Yes...this is why I have good hardware, backed up by a good internet connection...

7. You Like Sharing
- Yuhuh, thats why I have MSN, Dropbox, Facebook, DC, and P2P software........

8. You Don’t Actually Love Internet Explorer
- Hell no, I hate it...and the only time it ever gets loaded is if some crappy ass peice of badly coded crap that I have the misfortune of finding, decided to open it cause the coder was to goddamn lazy to simply open my freakin default browser, like any SANE person would do.......

9. You Want to Be in Control
- There is no spoon...

10. You’re One of a Kind
- I might be unique, but using *nix doesnt make you one of a kind...it makes you opne of a bunch of other people who use that OS...




Also, why the hell do people switch to *nix then do things like install WINE to run everything...tbh, if i was gonna install *nix, i would do command line only, no desktop enviroment...desktop enviroment/gaming is for microsoft, command line/servers is linux, anything "edity" like "photoshop" or "pinnacle studios" which _can_ run on windows, should be run on mac.

[Tuxman]

- wtf is a patch tuesday?

Microsoft decided to patch once a month only. I wonder how people can be tired of that but not of the daily Linux distro fixes...

[Josh]

Daily? Shoot, I can update once in *buntu and check again 3 hours later and have more. And I've seen a total of 80 patches appear 24 hours later after "fully patching" a system one day prior.

[Tuxman]

Well, that's Ubuntu, Debian's criminal cousin... 

[Renegade]

The title is misleading. All the items listed have nothing to do with GNU. 

BTW:
Of course Linux has bars similar to Windows. Or, in case of Ubuntu, OSX. Anyway, the whole thread leads into the wrong direction. Why switch when Windows fits my needs?

I understand what you mean. People usually just say "Linux". However, that is incorrect:

The combination of GNU and Linux is the GNU/Linux operating system, now used by millions and sometimes incorrectly called simply “Linux”.

From here.

While it would increase readability and understanding to use the common term "Linux", I purposefully went back and edited it to read "GNU/Linux" for philosophical reasons.

The source article for my rant used "Linux", and the first "reason" was "1. You’re Tired of Paying for Software", which is an entire misunderstanding about what "Linux" is. It's the most common misunderstanding and the worst one. It debases the reasons for GNU/Linux and reduces it to the level of commercial whoredom. The reasons are much deeper and more important than just "no money". From GNU.org:

“Free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech”, not as in “free beer”.

I think that's very important, and cited that as my/the only reason to switch to Linux.

With the shenanigans at Google and Apple this year, this should be readily apparent and more poignant now more than ever.

To be absolutely clear, the reasons/motivations behind GNU/Linux are entirely political/philosophical, and NOT financial.

Yes. The title would be clearer if it were simply "Linux", but it would also then be reinforcing a WRONG perception of "Linux".


As for switching, you are entirely correct. If Windows suits your needs, there is no reason to switch, unless you are motivated by the same motivations for GNU/Linux.

In my rant there, I confess that my primary system is Windows. I also state that I am not ready to switch because of the work that I do. (I do not have a real choice.)


@Stephen -- I like the list answers! Especially #2 -- I suppose I'm not the only one here that suffers from perpetual gear-lust~!

[Tuxman]

To be absolutely clear, the reasons/motivations behind GNU/Linux are entirely political/philosophical, and NOT financial.

Yep, so "GNU/Linux" is the wrong term. Tell me one major GNU/Linux distribution without a "non-free" repository or blobs in the kernel.

[Renegade]

To be absolutely clear, the reasons/motivations behind GNU/Linux are entirely political/philosophical, and NOT financial.

Yep, so "GNU/Linux" is the wrong term. Tell me one major GNU/Linux distribution without a "non-free" repository or blobs in the kernel.

Did you mean, 'Yep, so "Linux" is the wrong term'?

And did you mean, 'Tell me one major GNU/Linux distribution with a "non-free" repository or blobs in the kernel'?

I think you're pointing out a core problem between the GPL and commercial software (the commercial software business model). Because the GPL forces source to be opened, it makes having commercial versions very difficult. The only way organizations can differentiate there is with brand value and support services (the route Red Hat went).

Brand is simply too difficult to base a business on for small companies that are not established. Nike can do it, but they're large and have been around for a long time.

Support is a more realistic route, however, it's still a difficult model. IBM has shifted a lot of their business to consulting, which is similar. But again, they have a lot of products, are very large, and really know what they're doing, which makes it more realistic for them as they have the brand value there to sell their consulting services for them.

[KynloStephen66515]

Daily? Shoot, I can update once in *buntu and check again 3 hours later and have more. And I've seen a total of 80 patches appear 24 hours later after "fully patching" a system one day prior.

In *buntu, spoon bend you


The final factor which stopped me doing a perma-move to linux was the lack of people willing to help.  Looking on forums to see thousands of "RTFM n00b" and "wtf...stupid question...gtfo my forum" kinda put me off.  I know this happens with Winblows as well, but at least there are a few that you can find decent info on (like here); Makes you wonder if theres a forum, like DC, but for Linux...... Unlikely...anyway, the same reason goes for Mac...my main reason for not using them, is the insane pricing they have, and the fact theres a new one brought out every 16 seconds, which means, if you bought one when you started reading this, chances are, your 18 versions behind when your gonna get to the end.  That, and the fact that, I think most mac users are WAY to "up themselves" to ever ask for help on a forum, so finding good, usefull information, that is up to date, and actually works, is going to be a bigger task than saving £1200 to give to Apple.

Linux, IS, a viable option for a whole lot of people, even ones who don't even know about it, or say "nah, its not for me", but if your anything like me, then you can simply install VMWare, load a linux distro, play with it, use any software that doesnt come on winblows, and then when your done, close VMWare, and load windows back up to play those games that would require 6 hours of coding drivers for your linux distro, so they work.

[Renegade]

That, and the fact that, I think most mac users are WAY to "up themselves" to ever ask for help on a forum, so finding good, usefull information, that is up to date, and actually works, is going to be a bigger task than saving £1200 to give to Apple.

I've found that when looking for problem solving information for my iMac, most of the stuff doesn't work or is way out of date. Apple has a bad habit of changing everything and letting people find out on their own. They quite frankly don't care about backwards compatibility. Microsoft is the opposite there -- they almost care too much about backward compatibility.

[KynloStephen66515]

That, and the fact that, I think most mac users are WAY to "up themselves" to ever ask for help on a forum, so finding good, usefull information, that is up to date, and actually works, is going to be a bigger task than saving £1200 to give to Apple.

Microsoft is the opposite there -- they almost care too much about backward compatibility.

Thats the sad but true fact, M$ seem to focus more on keeping old stuff working (down to like Win95) rather than focusing on creating greatness

[Tuxman]

Did you mean, 'Yep, so "Linux" is the wrong term'?

And did you mean, 'Tell me one major GNU/Linux distribution with a "non-free" repository or blobs in the kernel'?

Debian. It has both.

So "GNU/Linux" I S plain wrong. "Linux" is the right term here.

[Renegade]

Did you mean, 'Yep, so "Linux" is the wrong term'?

And did you mean, 'Tell me one major GNU/Linux distribution with a "non-free" repository or blobs in the kernel'?

Debian. It has both.

So "GNU/Linux" I S plain wrong. "Linux" is the right term here.

I'm not familiar with what you're referring to.

I find that odd though as the GPL is very clear in being a viral license, so I don't see how it can't be free without violating the GPL.

[TucknDar]

The final factor which stopped me doing a perma-move to linux was the lack of people willing to help.  Looking on forums to see thousands of "RTFM n00b" and "wtf...stupid question...gtfo my forum" kinda put me off.  Makes you wonder if theres a forum, like DC, but for Linux......

I've "pushed" this forum before, but I'll do it again...: http://crunchbanglinux.org/forums/ I find it to be a very friendly linux centered forum. Obviously mostly concerned with all things CrunchBang Linux, but all kinds of general Linux stuff (and other things) are discussed as well, and in a nice, friendly tone. Can't say I'm "ready" to switch to Linux, but I find CrunchBang ideal for my netbook, and I'm considering installing Qimo ("a desktop operating system designed for kids") on my old laptop for my daughter to use.

[Bamse]

Linux world do have a communication problem. Seems to me 90% of for example Ubuntu users don't know more than most can pick up in a day or 2. Last 10% do know a lot (can be blank about Windows though) but have trouble delivering info. Becomes too much hunting wikis, read and carefully apply "code" stuff. There also seem to be an acceptance of stuff crashing in a very bad way if you experiment. I can run a Windows installation for years with heavy tweaking and what not. Linux? I don't think so. Probably has to do with what paranoid System control with privileges, sudo fun, spoon fed/idiot proof repositories. You can install a shortcut like Ubuntu Tweaker, you can modify all you like but you are on your own and you are not supposed to! When used to Windows Linux tinkering will of course seem odd but I don't think that many distros are prepared for it. Step up to being able to joggle with Linux is huge I think. If you asked those in charge of Ubuntu I bet their core target group is just grandmas and the average hopeless Windows users. Possible trick is to forget about the more popular distros and look at alternatives, can start with the top 25

Another complaint. The suggestion that Linux repositories has so much more useful software than is available for Windows is BS Yes there is a lot and some distros have nice GUI where you can pick and chose, see ratings even, but there is a long way to go to beat Windows apps. And again a feature I think would sell better if "they" acknowledged the obvious fact and instead promoted Wine, Virtualbox etc. as solutions to stuff not yet available or not yet as good. The more reasonable Linux fanatics have no problems with Windows or not so much they have a need to mirror them self in the beast all the time. Online apps might make these concerns redundant to some degree but because a Linux app has same functionality as a Windows ditto does not mean it works as good.

[f0dder]

6. You Like Speed

Shouldn't you be in rehab, then, rather than getting all buzzed up and energetic about installing linux?