On a serious note for once, from me.
I am sick and tired of everything being microsoft based lately and failing me. XP doesn't, but many related products do. MSN messenger is useless lately - as it is now Windows Live Messenger ; another bi-product of Gates and his team. Somebody mentioned to me if you really had enough try Linux, military and government use it, is that true?
I can't be bothered to google (yes I SHOULD) so would like opinions from experienced users. What exactly is Linux? Can my laptop, which is all XP based suddenly adapt to this system? Will my outlook e-mail still function normally, as additionally programs like Catia V5, Adobe, etc - my other normal programs.
Is it feasible to just change to Linux based operations and continue normal functions or do I need to re-download everything. Do any people here use Linux and, if so, do they think it is a step ahead of microsoft operations? Are there benefits or bad experiences?.....
I would appreciate serious answers.... thnx.
-Mike.
if you love tinkering around to get your software working, linux/unix is for you. if you hate tinkering and absolutely don't want to know anything about computers, there's apple. and if you're in between there's windows.
all have their relative strengths and weaknesses, and you'll get around after the initial learning curve. and yes, you almost always need to learn a new software to do the same thing on another platform.
Originally posted by wormwoodLinux is awesome. I use Linux at home on a limited basis since there is little support for it outside of the freelance programming community.
if you love tinkering around to get your software working, linux/unix is for you. if you hate tinkering and absolutely don't want to know anything about computers, there's apple. and if you're in between there's windows.
all have their relative strengths and weaknesses, and you'll get around after the initial learning curve. and yes, you almost always need to learn a new software to do the same thing on another platform.
Firefox, which is based on Linux is an excellent substitute for IE and is much more secure, but it does not render all webages correctly.
As you mentioned that it's mainly MS applications rather than XP that annoy's you have you tried non MS alternatives.
There are many good (and free) alternatives for most MS apps that will run on XP (Same goes for most on Linux as well).
Switching to Linux is a bit extreme just because messenger get's on your nerves.
If you really want to have a look at linux have a play about with something like Knoppix which boots and runs completely from CD. That'll give you an idea of what it's like without touching your much maligned XP install on your hard disk.
Originally posted by mikelomThere are a some fairly easy to use and customize linux distro's available
On a serious note for once, from me.
I am sick and tired of everything being microsoft based lately and failing me. XP doesn't, but many related products do. MSN messenger is useless lately - as it is now Windows Live Messenger ; another bi-product of Gates and his team. Somebody mentioned to me if you really had enough try Linux, military and government here benefits or bad experiences?.....
I would appreciate serious answers.... thnx.
-Mike.
now (Ubuntu and Knoppix to name the most popular). You can download
and run them directly off a CD/DVD to see if they're for you or not. If you
do decide to go with such a distro, you can easily install it to the
hard drive.
But like Crowley pointed out, judging from your attitude you won't like it,
because if there's one thing you cannot be with linux, it's lazy or reluctant
to further your computer skills. Linux (once you get down and dirty)
demand that you understand more about computers than Windows does
(though the distro's mentioned - and a lot like them - shields you from
the gory details quite well, there will be moments when you wish you knew
how to really mess with compilers, configure scripts, the command prompt
and such).
I know a few people who's used linux for a couple of years now without
learning a single text-based command, but that's only because they've
got me to turn to when the crap hits the fan (and I'm growing a bit tired
of that to be honest). If you've got friends who are into *nix-based
systems (and it's strong friendships - very strong), you will find it a lot
easier to get ahead in your strives for computer perfection.
Whatever you choose, I wish you good luck with that. 🙂
Oh, and did I mention that there are plenty of open-source alternatives
to the applications in windows? Like for your messaging purposes there is
Pidgin (supporting not only MSN Messenger, but ICQ and a whole lot of
other messaging protocols). Check this out:
http://pidgin.im/
http://www.opensourcewindows.org/
Originally posted by Scotty70firefox isnt based on linux... i dont understand what you mean by this... i use ubuntu, its okay... you will have to find linux drivers for your hardware if you wanna go that route... i wouldnt do the microsoft bashing too much... if you install linux after a few months you'll find bits that annoy you, just like xp, or osx... they all have their good points and bad
Linux is awesome. I use Linux at home on a limited basis since there is little support for it outside of the freelance programming community.
Firefox, which is based on Linux is an excellent substitute for IE and is much more secure, but it does not render all webages correctly.
you can try ubuntu on a cd... pretty impressive, a whole os on a cd... download it, burn it, boot from cd and it will run off the ram... if you like it you could then install it.... it's a learning curve though as its a whole different os
Originally posted by eatmybishopI learned about Linux using the Knoppix platform.
firefox isnt based on linux... i dont understand what you mean by this... i use ubuntu, its okay... you will have to find linux drivers for your hardware if you wanna go that route... i wouldnt do the microsoft bashing too much... if you install linux after a few months you'll find bits that annoy you, just like xp, or osx... they all have their good poi ...[text shortened]... like it you could then install it.... it's a learning curve though as its a whole different os
