Linux: What?

[Jaker the Baker]

I have a friend, who tries to explain to me EVERYDAY in my computer networking class about how Linux is SO much better than Windows, but his best (and only) argument seems to be that "it's faster".
All he does for the entire class everyday is ridicule Windows, and it confuses me.

I never got the appeal, because it's like there's this big learning curve to the whole thing, and for what? A little more speed? Windows 7 is plenty fast enough, from what I can see.

So, what's the point of Linux? Cause I don't get it

 

[thenumberthirteen]

It's free and flexible.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

As I understand it, it's faster, free, has fewer virus's (on account of being less popular), and open. You can do whatever you want to it.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Linux suffers from a lack of corporate support. Microsoft is practically swimming in it.

Honestly, any benefit Linux may have fails miserably in the face of this.

 

[shemoanscazrex3]

I've used linux(ubuntu) and while I like it windows just offers me more but if you want a free OS or want to fiddle with a lot of crap linux is the way to go. Plus its helped me learn a lot dealing with terminal. When in doubt sudo!

 

[T 980]

If you know what you're doing, Linux can be extremely nice to have. I went through my Linux snob phase...but eventually grew out of it when I realized that Windows can just do what Linux can't at the moment, regardless of all the virus's and spy-ware out there.

 

[octafish]

It's free.

I've messed with Ubuntu, and a stripped down version called Moblin designed for netbooks. I also run a home server using Samba. I still use windows on my desktop and netbook though, because, I hate to say it, it works and I understand it. Linux is great but I don't understand the command line, uh commands, and it was a bit of a pain to have to wait for replies on forums to fix stuff.

 

[Shru1kan]

Linux suffers from a lack of corporate support. Microsoft is practically swimming in it.

Honestly, any benefit Linux may have fails miserably in the face of this.

Basically this. If you're ready to take care of yourself, fiddle with your own stuff, and be ready to troubleshoot incompatibilities on your own, go for it.

 

[Jaker the Baker]

Okay, I understand the free part, that makes things a TON more obvious. But since it's programmed in C/C++, couldn't you just use that knowledge to make programs in Windows?

 

[demoman_chaos]

It being free is the main selling point, so to speak. But there is a lot more that Linux does and Windon't (couldn't resist using the old Genesis slogan).
Big thing for me was the fact it is malware proof. Viruses and spyware do nothing due to the different kernal structure (big word for how the system operates). Going to sites like the infamous goggle.com would be PC suicide on Windows, but Linux is unaffected.
It is also getting more and more user friendly. The GUI (graphical-user interface) is getting cleaner and you have less work to do than before to get everything to work. Old Linux versions required a lot of CLI (Command-line interface) work. Now, the CLI is something you never need to use.
Installation is easy. Install the .iso onto a CD. Reboot to CD. Most all versions are live CDs, which run the Linux OS from the CD, so you can try it out before installing it. You can see what works and what doesn't. If you don't like it, reboot to your old OS and all you are out is a single CD and some time.
Installation is very quick compared to Windows. 10 minutes and you are done most of the time. Windows can take 2-3 hours, before you update which will take another 2-3 hours. The most recent .iso generally needs only a few minutes to update after install.
Installing software is easier as well. With Windows, you have to google around and see if you can find something. Linux has a package manager which you can search on to find exactly what you are looking for. In need of a video editor, type "video editor" in the search and it will bring up a list of options. Just click the checkbox and then apply to install it. Much easier and safer than how you have to do it with Windows.
The only downfall is most Windows programs don't work. Most of the time there are alternatives you can use (all of which are free), but mainstream PC games are an issue. PC gaming is the only reason I keep XP around (it never goes online though).

Here is a quick story: A friend of mine was wanting to dual-boot (Like I do) XP and Linux and get rid of Vista (which was causing a lot of problems). We installed PC Linux OS (the version of Linux I use) and got everything going in about 10 minutes. XP however, took me and a friend (both of us being nerds/geeks) more than 10 hours to get running right. 60x the time and effort to get XP running compared to Linux.