Why did you go Linux?

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There are many reasons:
  • The majority of the software is free
  • The operating system is free
  • It is a fact that it is much more stable than certain microsoft operating systems
  • There is a lot more support with linux, there is an extensive range of documentation and forums to provide help
  • It is easier for develping. PHP, C , perl are much easier to use on a unix based platform
  • Its fun :p
 
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Why did I decide to go Linux?

Well thats quite a tricky one, I just came across this forum by chance one day and then delved in from there. I'd had a dislike for Bill Gates and Microsoft for a while and wished I had an Apple Mac. I started to do some research into what MacOS was based on. I didnt really like the sound of the PPC processor but didnt like MS. I found LInux, tried SuSE Live Evaluation and was hooked.

I found out that it was free and then became fascinated by it. Now if anyone asks me why I use Linux there are a list of things that I can tell them:

  1. The power of choice - on Windows you're limited to a certain number of different preferences, on Linux I can change my preferences and then also have a completely different distro to try if I like. I also have the choice of 5 or 6 desktop looks, and loads of software
  2. Open Source Software - Im a keen programmer and I love to look a the source code from other people's projects, I found that with Linux I can look at other people's code and learn from it, I can also test it on my machine and run it exacltly how I like
  3. The price of software - there was a time when I found myself with quite a need for certain programs, now being a student I couldnt afford this and therefore was forced to look for them in other places on the internet, I started to get paranoid about this software that I owned, I also had the problem that I need a varied amount of tools. Linux allows me to have these tools FREE of charge
  4. A hate of Microsoft - lets face it no-one really likes Microsoft at all, they invade your privacy and really dont let you get your freedom of use of the computing stuff that you own. I can choose to submit information on LInux and there isnt much spyware (in fact I only know of one piece and that is Limeware for Gnutella), Linux allows me to be free with my computer
    [/list=1]

    I guess thats about it, Ill add anything else if I think of it

    Oh and also Im a geek, I wanted to get further into my computer and be able to interface with it more directly

    Stabilty wasnt something that convinced me to start with, but now that I use it it is more stable than the Microsoft systems, when I first got a PC I did notice the problems, but I grew used to restarting.
    Shak
 
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<snip>There is a lot more support with linux, there is an extensive range of documentation and forums to provide help</snip>

I disagree with that there is a lot more Windows support out there, you can go down to PC Earth and get your Windows checked out, there are an infinite number of Windows help sites, etc. On the whole there is more support for WIndows products.

Just go into a bookshop, and look at the shelves there will be 90% Windows software books there.

Much more support for Windows.

Shak
 

Ben

Ben

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"Something to do, innit?" :)

I realised what I did in Windows, I could probably do in Linux.
Although I've had quite a lot of command line linux experience, desktop experience was minimal. I wanted to try something new and different.
So I cleared up my hard drive a bit (~40Gb is a bit right? ;)) and installed it in the hope that this time it would be my main OS, whereas before it was just something to experiment with when I felt like it.

I don't have much hatred for Windows OSes. Nor did I enter the Linux desktop world like a lot of people do - in the hope that they'll get Windows. I knew that I'd need to find new software to use, and I have for the most part.

Windows things I still use through Wine:

Trillian - I never liked the AIM Interface which GAIM has inherited. Also I had many years using ICQ, where I had new messages flashing in the tray rather than taking the foreground.

mIRC - Used this for most of my Internet Life, I grew attached to it, so I've had no reason to change, tried it in wine and did everything I wanted it to, so still no real reason to change :)
 
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For me it comes down to stability, being able to fix problems without having to resort to re-installing the OS, and finally; the freedom of having the OS as i want it, not how someone else wants it.

I'm forced to use Windows though becuase i need to use Visual Basic at uni. :(
 

Grumpy

G

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][ \/\/4]\[73|) 70 83 4 |337 #4><><0:¬ !!!!!

*ahem*

Well...errmm...reason...reason...I need a reason..ok:

I don't have a license for an OS really...made my brother a PC and he's using my copy of Win98SE

Linux can now do everything I need to do...and more....

LBreakout2 rocks
 
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Originally posted by Grumpy

LBreakout2 rocks

bzFlag is the winner ;)

I agree that people having a licence for every OS in their house is not a good idea, but with Linux I have a legal licence for every computer I own and every computer I will ever own.

I'm also disowning every M$ product!

StarOffice 6.0 1 - 0 Microsoft Office 2000 Pro

Shak
 
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Originally posted by Shak
No, StarOffice is not free but it worth the cash you pay for it. OpenOffice.org is the nearest equivalent and is pretty good IMHO

Shak

Why do you think it's worth the money? How different is it to Openoffice.org? I hope one of the features is that it loads faster, as i find openoffice takes ages.
 
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Originally posted by Altered Corpse
Why do you think it's worth the money? How different is it to Openoffice.org? I hope one of the features is that it loads faster, as i find openoffice takes ages.

The program take a little while to load )10-20 seconds) but then runs fine. I'd pay for it any day. Ill just show you some screenies. This was posted in GD the other day as a .pps file. I loaded into StarOffice Impress and it came out perfect:

hah.jpg


Shak
 
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After reading your reply i decided to do a search on deja to see what the difference was between the two. Basically, after reading countless threads there doesn't seem to be any, apart from Staroffice provides support. Think i'll stick with Openoffice.org then.
 
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Originally posted by Altered Corpse
After reading your reply i decided to do a search on deja to see what the difference was between the two. Basically, after reading countless threads there doesn't seem to be any, apart from Staroffice provides support. Think i'll stick with Openoffice.org then.

IMHO I find StarOffice a little quicker for my machine, no idea why. It also seems to be more stable than the last version of OO.org I used

Shak
 
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