Linux talk

[havoc]

So, lets have a talk about it. Noticed lots of linux people around (and hope to convert more ).
What made you go linux?
What you like and do not like about it in general?
What linux/bsd distro you use, for what (like server/desktop/whatever), and why?
Feel free to share whatever thoughts you have on the subject.
Also, please be kind to windows users. Remember, we need more drones, not to exterminate them with "LINUX > M$ BULLCRAP" kind of flames.
Explain them the benefits. They are just lost and confused people.

[Cookie]

ahahaha like this fineprint.

oke, i use dualboot. tried linux cause i had an old pc which i wanted to convert to a home server. started messing with linux and i mess with it still... i use it on my netbook, laptop (dualboot) and on a home server. both netbook and laptop use ubuntu 10.04. server...errr...idk which distro i have there cause i was testing debian and suse there

[AimMe]

My brother made me use it. And windows, of course. When i got new PC, Natirips already had Ubuntu, and i tried to install windsws xp, SP3. Since they detected 1/10th of my disk, for safety reasons i stopped install and installed Ubuntu (8.04).
I realized it wasn't so bad, when i found Urban Terror i said: i don't need windows ))

In general, i like speed, less errors, repository, effects, multiple desktops, simplicity and functionality.
I don't like that i can't play all games, and that sometimes when i mess with something whole install may crash... And sometimes i come pt point where i don't know what to do.

ATM i use Ubuntu 9.10, amd64, desktop edition. Till now i used Ubuntu 8.04, 8.10, 9.04, Debian Lenny, Sid and Sqeeze, Paldo (didn't like it) and Ubuntu 9.10. I will sqitch to Mint when i get some time .
I left Ubuntu 8.04 because 8.10 came out, same when 9.04 came out. I didn't like 9.04, so i tried Paldo, where i was confused. I switched to Debain Lenny, but when you updated mumble, i updated client, but that was messing with repository and manual packages, so my install crashed . Then i used Sqeeze and again i crashed it . I had Sid for some time, until 9.10 came out. Ubuntu is good, but if you ask me, every edition is worse and worse.

All in all, i like it (and i can't use Windows normally anymore)

[natirips]

Windows made me use Linux.

Here's my opinion: GNU/Linux sucks big time, it's unstable, it sucks, it's complicated, it's prone to cascade problems, nothing works on it, it's impractical to use, yet, still it's the best thing out there.

I used to be a Windows user (and an MS-DOS user before that). However, I'd crash my Windows install each now and then (usually every few months). It was the same from 3.11, over 95, then 98, then 98SE, then XP. For the longes time I did not know there was anything other than Windows and Mac (wich is not PC, and was not so popular here at the time). At some point I saw Red Hat. I liked it (then), since all I saw before was M$. Aimme just did the lemming thing. HAHA!

Since I switched to Ubuntu myself, a new world opened for me. I later tried some other distros (Kubuntu, Xubuntu, UNR, Paldo, Knoppix, DSL, Puppy Linux (failed to boot it though), Fedora, and a few more). They have OpenSuse installed on most computers at my university, and my opinion is that is sucks.

Since then I've also tried Syllable, ReactOS, Nexenta, Debian GNU/Hurd (and failed to install this one though :p), but Debian GNU/Linux seems the best to me so far.

What I like about Debian GNU/Linux is:
- documentation
- stability (yes, I know it's very unstable and craches easily, still it's much better than most stuff out there including proprietary OSes)
- the fact that there are other programs for the same purpose in case one doesn't work (well)
- an easy to use repository
- unlike Windows, you don't have to install drivers for every single component of you computer, only a very few of them (= only for GPU in my case, but some WLAN card and a few more stuff requires that too) (**hint hint** most of the drivers you'll ever need (and that are not already in your kernel) are in the repository)
- it actually works for the most part

[dmmh]

today I formatted my main HDD, switching from Windows 7 to OSx for good
Why? Because OSx fuckin rocks!
And because I have very little need for Windows.

I will later create a new 15 gb Windows 7 installation, just to play Urban Terror with normal mouse and video drivers (driver support IS in fact much much better for Windoze); I can aim better with default Windows drivers plus my FPS is way better on Windows. I might also need the partition for AutoCAD.
Sure, there's CAD programs for OSx, but I know AutoCAD and it takes way to much time to learn another, CAD's complicated.

For almost every Windows program there's a decent OSx alternative, except for Tag&Rename, there's nothing for OSx that comes even remotely close (and trust me, I've tried ALL programs out there).
So maybe I am going to write it myself, fuck that shit.

It took me 4 hours to get my OSx on PC working -in the past week I installed it within 20 minutes, dunno what went different- but it was all worth it. I fuckin love this OS.
One thing sucks about OSx: don't run out of diskspace on your bootup drive, or you will have massive problems with the OS/ applications; it doesn't warn that u'r running out of disk space lol

Still kinda feel bad I sold my iMac.
But.....I am gonna save for a Mac Pro with 16 GB of RAM and 8 TB of HDD's, which I need for music production and the fuckin massive sound libraries

[Crusher]

Currently I use Ubuntu 10.04 on my laptop and Windows XP SP3/Windows 2008 Server on my desktop... like many others things on my life like religion I am also an agnostic person regarding OS. I just prefer to pick up the best things that each OS offers.

The best thing about Linux is that you can customize the whole OS, something that you can't with a close source OS like Windows. I am planning to use a more advanced Linux distribution in the future but for now I don't have time to test new ones. At the same time I think the main disadvantage of Linux is there are too much distributions to choice which makes you more and more confuse, especially if we are talking about people who are educated with Windows first. And if the 100% Linux users pretend that Linux some day will catch Windows in terms of domestic market share... sorry to dissapoint you but it will be always a loosed battle, two reasons: Windows 7 and this diverging philosophy which exists on Linux.

But yes, if we are talking on the server side, Linux itself has a lot of potential and prove many times why it exists on many things like a simple router. On the last months I have learned a lot about Linux and I am very happy with that.

[Deviant]

I've always used Windows (Windows 95->XP pretty much sucked ass). Vista was a step into the right direction but it was too heavy and had too much useless/unwanted stuff eating memory etc. But Windows 7 is pretty good. I have also tried Ubuntu twice + I used Linux at school on some Linux course I took. With this experience I can say that Windows is the one and only OS for me.

With Linux it's like...
- If you're doing anything more complicated than installing TuxRacer, you're going to have to write 3256 lines to the command line.
- When you DO write those lines you have the constant feeling that you're gonna fuck the whole OS up if theres even a minor mistake.
- It's very very very hard for a linux n00b to find out what the heck he's supposed to do EVEN if he's 'advanced' computer user and knew for example that he should get graphics card drivers installed etc.
- If you use computer for playing games, stick with Windows... Nuff said.
- Driver support is baaaad.

Now then... Linux propably doesn't crash as often as Windows (btw. my Windows crashes maybe once a month so I don't really care...), but even then I kinda doubt that it is as good as the linux users make it sound... And this is because when I was taking that Linux course at school, I played some crappy tabletennis game which crashed, so the teacher came there and opened the command line somehow, typed stuff for like 5-10minutes and after that the computer was working normally again and the teacher turned to me, grinned and said "See, I told you it didn't crash" and the way he said it was same as he couldve said : "SEE? IN YOUR FACE YOU FUCKING WINDOWS FAGGOT, LINUX TEH SUPREME ZOMG". Buuut I guess Linux is far better for running servers etc. since I feel like I have to boot my Windows up at least once every 2 days just to make sure it runs perfectly.

Soooo... For me personally, is there anything I could do better on Linux than on my Windows? Even if there is, I don't think that the difference is that big so it would be worth the trouble to install it.

And I'll end the wall of text with one of my personal experiences with Linux. I installed Ubuntu to my computer, and somehow it fucked the whole bootsector of my hdd up. I couldn't boot up to that Ubuntu OR Windows anymore. I tried to reinstall Windows but guess what, Ubuntus dualboot shit somehow prevented Windows from writing a new one. After trying just about everything, I managed to get a software that wrote the whole hd to 0's installed on my USB stick. Yay, I only lost ALL MY FUCKING FILES FROM THE WHOLE HD. Thanks a lot, fucking... Svarox's fault... or something.

[dmmh]

I've always used Windows (Windows 95->XP pretty much sucked ass). Vista was a step into the right direction but it was too heavy and had too much useless/unwanted stuff eating memory etc. But Windows 7 is pretty good. I have also tried Ubuntu twice + I used Linux at school on some Linux course I took. With this experience I can say that Windows is the one and only OS for me.

With Linux it's like...
- If you're doing anything more complicated than installing TuxRacer, you're going to have to write 3256 lines to the command line.
- When you DO write those lines you have the constant feeling that you're gonna fuck the whole OS up if theres even a minor mistake.
- It's very very very hard for a linux n00b to find out what the heck he's supposed to do EVEN if he's 'advanced' computer user and knew for example that he should get graphics card drivers installed etc.
- If you use computer for playing games, stick with Windows... Nuff said.
- Driver support is baaaad.

Now then... Linux propably doesn't crash as often as Windows (btw. my Windows crashes maybe once a month so I don't really care...), but even then I kinda doubt that it is as good as the linux users make it sound... And this is because when I was taking that Linux course at school, I played some crappy tabletennis game which crashed, so the teacher came there and opened the command line somehow, typed stuff for like 5-10minutes and after that the computer was working normally again and the teacher turned to me, grinned and said "See, I told you it didn't crash" and the way he said it was same as he couldve said : "SEE? IN YOUR FACE YOU FUCKING WINDOWS FAGGOT, LINUX TEH SUPREME ZOMG". Buuut I guess Linux is far better for running servers etc. since I feel like I have to boot my Windows up at least once every 2 days just to make sure it runs perfectly.

Soooo... For me personally, is there anything I could do better on Linux than on my Windows? Even if there is, I don't think that the difference is that big so it would be worth the trouble to install it.

And I'll end the wall of text with one of my personal experiences with Linux. I installed Ubuntu to my computer, and somehow it fucked the whole bootsector of my hdd up. I couldn't boot up to that Ubuntu OR Windows anymore. I tried to reinstall Windows but guess what, Ubuntus dualboot shit somehow prevented Windows from writing a new one. After trying just about everything, I managed to get a software that wrote the whole hd to 0's installed on my USB stick. Yay, I only lost ALL MY FUCKING FILES FROM THE WHOLE HD. Thanks a lot, fucking... Svarox's fault... or something.

Knoppix boot CD for file recovery FTW!
Oh wait...it's linux...teh irony

[Deviant]

Knoppix boot CD for file recovery FTW!
Oh wait...it's linux...teh irony

Can you burn cd's with the Ubuntu you boot up from the installation cd? I didn't think so.

[dmmh]

Knoppix boot CD for file recovery FTW!
Oh wait...it's linux...teh irony

Can you burn cd's with the Ubuntu you boot up from the installation cd? I didn't think so.

FAIL!

you can access ext(3), NTFS, FAT and lord knows what kind of other file systems/partitions (probably even HFS) AND you can burn anything you find to CD & DVD