Should I get Linux?

[Rorschach II]

I've only just heard about Linux and am interested in using it as my new OS instead of Windows Vista. The only problem being I know nothing about it.

If someone could give me a quick summary on Pros and Cons of Linux I would be very grateful.

 

[mikecoulter]

Google "Ubuntu" that's one of the more popular choices.

 

[Nimbus]

No commercial games or windows based programs, unless the wine compatability is high.

Works great with old machines.

 

[Bigeyez]

If you don't know much on the technical aspects of computers and software I would tell you to stay away from linux. While it isn't to hard to figure out, weird things can and do happen to your programs in linux sometimes. If you know a little bit then you can get linux or linux based OS' for free pretty easily. (just google for em) I would suggest you get one and run it as a dual boot to try it out before you commit to it.

 

[MusicalFreedom]

first, let's establish why you're moving away from Windows. if you don't really have much of a reason, I'd recommend sticking to Windows, or dual-booting.

then, get another hard drive / set up a new partition on your existing hard drive so that you can dual-boot both Windows and Linux.

for a linux distro, I recommend Ubuntu [http://www.ubuntu.com/], it's the easiest one to use (it's linux for windows users, basically). you could also try out variants on ubuntu, such as xubuntu [http://www.xubuntu.org/] or kubuntu [http://www.kubuntu.org/] - they work in the same way, but look different. (I use Xubuntu [http://www.xubuntu.org/])

you can also burn a live CD, meaning you can run the OS from the CD without having to install it, don't forget that it'll run quite slowly because, as I said, it's running off the CD.

wine compatibility is an issue, but it's getting better.

 

[Viperus]

Judging from your post, you dont seem like a computer expert. I wouldnt recommend it to you.

Linux is a great thing for a power user, but if you just want to send emails, browse the net, play games and watch the anime and enjoy the aero glass, then dont bother. Really, dont. Because Linux is not cooler then wins/mac in any way, nor it is great for playing games. I know a few people who installed linux, cause they saw the word on the net and got interested, and didn't know what to do with it the next day.

However, it is great if you're into programming, it allows you to control your hardware more freely, plus its open source, and most applications are open source, so if you ever want to check see how something is working, you can easily do that.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

pros : virus free, highly configurable, it's free, runs good on older machines and even better with the more ram and cpu speed you toss at it, no 4 gig barrier for the 32 bit version

cons : not a lot of native games (all the id ones work great), can be thought of as not userfriendly but as long as you can RTFM you'll do fine, has the occasional compatibility issue

i'm going to suggest you get wiki [http://www.archlinux.org] that tells you how to install and configure stuff and it's pretty well written

also arch linux doesn't have the hangups that ubuntu does, ie if you want to install kde, but it gives you the same flexibility

 

[megapenguinx]

Ubuntu would be a very good first step into linux territory. It has a pretty easy to use graphical interface and is light weight. Try to do a live boot off a CD before you decide whether you like it enough to install. If you do decide to keep it, use a program like Partition Magic to make a partition for you to install it on.

 

[Crimsane]

Are you much of a gamer? If no, Linux. If yes, dual boot, using Windows for most gaming and Linux for pretty much all else.