What's so great about Linux?

Question

Honesty, I want to know. I really -want- to like Linux. I'm very fond of the open source scene. However, after taking a spin with a couple different Linux releases, I don't really see why so many people love it so much. It feels like a strange and foreign version of Windows that doesn't support half of my hardware. Help me understand the passion for Linux. I want to believe!

Answer 1

When you are a big time computer programmer, Linux will give you a ton of free tools to work with where on the MS platform you got 2 spend about 3 grand to get started. Not very expensive but when you start having 30 -300 developers then things can get out of hand.

Free is Freedom in this case

RJ

Answer 2

Oh boy. There is just so much to say. I guess I'll start off by totally dis-ing the crap out of Windows. Well, as we all know Windows is very susceptible to Viruses, spyware/adware, Trojans, hackers and all that other good stuff. I'm still not sure if Bill did that on purpose or not, but Windows is just chocked full of security holes. Windows also sends non-anonymous statistics back to Microsoft, and who knows what they do with that information. And worst of all, the cost. You spend a hundred bucks on the newest version of Windows, just to learn that it's full of bugs, and doesn't even run on your computer right.... Gotta love that.

So, What makes Linux better? Just about everything! Free OS, free software. Better support. More frequent and regular release cycle (every 6 months). Almost daily updates, Very (very very) few security issues. Nearly no Viruses. No Pop-ups, no adware..... I could go on for hours.

You said that Linux seems like a foreign version of Windows... Well, that's easy enough to explain. You're just too used to Windows, and you're afraid to give Linux a chance. Don't worry. You're not the only one. I was just like you once. :)

But, I tried it anyways. And I fell in love. I'm a bit of a computer geek (I'm sure you couldn't tell) so I just loved the way you can control Linux. You can pretty much change every aspect of it to suit your needs and personality. You can even re-compile the kernel to load (or not load) the drivers and services you need (or don't) so your whole computer will run smoother. But, that'll come later for you. :)

You also mentioned that Linux didn't support half of your hardware. I would imagine that is because you had a distro that wasn't good for you. Try Ubuntu or Kubuntu (Or Xubuntu if you have an older computer) Ubuntu (the other 2 are based on it) is the easiest Linux distro out there for someone who is used to Windows. It is similar enough to the Microsoft world that you won't get confused by the change, but it's still Linux, and it comes with all the power and features that Linux does.

Ubuntu comes with tons of open source software pre loaded (an office suite, several media players, Firefox, Games, and more) and with the Synaptec package manager, you can search for and download tens-of-thousands of other free programs in the Linux world. Synaptec will even install them all for you.

But, for me, it's all the power. Linux runs programs better. It's faster, and smoother than Windows. Actually, Linux even runs Windows programs better than Windows. :-P I do a lot of graphic editing (with Photoshop) and a lot of sound recording (with Cubase & Protools) and Linux runs them cleaner than Windows ever did.

So, I say to you, Dual boot for a while. There is no need to just go head first into Linux. But try it. Try Ubuntu, and actually use it. Within a few days, you'll start to get used to it, and I'd say within a week, you won't even boot into Windows anymore. It's just a matter of getting used to the change.

But you will. :)

Hope this helps!!

Answer 3

Have you tried Mepis Linux? I have it on all my machines and haven't had a problem yet...even my kids like it.

Besides Linux doesn't report all of your computing activities to the government like MicroCIAsoft does.