Windows 8 anyone?

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Shaman said:
But there are really only a few "major" distributions today. Mint, RedHat, Debian, Ubuntu.
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Not true... there are still a lot of great distros out there. It depends what you are looking for. OpenSuse, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Zenwalk and of course, Slackware are still great options.


Rob MacLennan said:
... but still isn't ready for Prime Time.
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Not true.

I started using Linux when most of the wireless drivers needed to be compiled to work. Everything was manual and you could not get around without using the shell. For me it was great because I learned so much and now I have a job doing that. Nowadays there are many Linux users that use the OS without the need of the shell. Drivers (like wireless and video) work out of the box. Some distros (like Mint) come with pre-installed flash and audio/video decoders. Heck, lately I've been spending more time troubleshooting Windows than Linux.

But in case you do want to try Linux and you are wondering if it's the best OS, the right answer is, you won't know until you try. The same way you can't expect someone to tell you which is the best bike... it all comes down to what you need/want/like.

In my opinion, the main advantages of Linux for the average user are:
- No virus (yes it's true, you no longer will need AV or spyware software)
- Computer will run faster than Windows
- Completely free

You might want to stay away from Linux (or instead you can dual boot with Windows) if you want:
- Games
- Photo editing, as in simliar to Photoshop and Lightroom (I would stay away from Windows and just use Mac)
- Video editing
- Work (some software like VPN and MS Office are harder to get to work)
- You don't want to learn something new
 
95% of the people out there just want to turn the thing on and have it work the way that they expect it to. They don't want to have tech level knowledge of the OS and they don't want to have to tweak it for their needs/specific PC. Give people 'appliance' style PCs with Linux and they might accept it. As a tech, myself, I don't want it.

victorbrca said:
Not true... there are still a lot of great distros out there. It depends what you are looking for. OpenSuse, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Zenwalk and of course, Slackware are still great options.

Not true.

I started using Linux when most of the wireless drivers needed to be compiled to work. Everything was manual and you could not get around without using the shell. For me it was great because I learned so much and now I have a job doing that. Nowadays there are many Linux users that use the OS without the need of the shell. Drivers (like wireless and video) work out of the box. Some distros (like Mint) come with pre-installed flash and audio/video decoders. Heck, lately I've been spending more time troubleshooting Windows than Linux.

I was using it for web servers, years back. It served my needs for that, but little else.

But in case you do want to try Linux and you are wondering if it's the best OS, the right answer is, you won't know until you try. The same way you can't expect someone to tell you which is the best bike... it all comes down to what you need/want/like.

In my opinion, the main advantages of Linux for the average user are:
- No virus (yes it's true, you no longer will need AV or spyware software)
- Computer will run faster than Windows
- Completely free

Security can be an issue. I don't have the granular knowledge to be able to keep the holes closed.

You might want to stay away from Linux (or instead you can dual boot with Windows) if you want:
- Games
- Photo editing, as in simliar to Photoshop and Lightroom (I would stay away from Windows and just use Mac)
- Video editing
- Work (some software like VPN and MS Office are harder to get to work)
- You don't want to learn something new

Well as I'm making extensive use of video editing and photo editing, I would appear to not be the target audience. I also deal with MS Office files and access remote systems via VPN. My job requires me to learn something new in the computing world on a daily basis, so that isn't the stumbling block here.
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Rob MacLennan said:
95% of the people out there just want to turn the thing on and have it work the way that they expect it to. They don't want to have tech level knowledge of the OS and they don't want to have to tweak it for their needs/specific PC. Give people 'appliance' style PCs with Linux and they might accept it. As a tech, myself, I don't want it.
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And that's where you're wrong. Linux usually installs with LESS hassle than Windows and just works. Seriously - it's not what it was in the 90s.

I also much prefer Linux for VPNs or any other networking tasks, because it works and debugging it is possible which in my experience with Windows, it just isn't. There's also a lot more features.

And security-wise, Linux is vastly superior to Windows. No matter how you spin it, there are no successful Linux viruses out there. Network security is excellent - but the more you turn on, the less you'll be secure... there are NO completely secure systems out there but at least with Linux you have the option of coming as close as possible (if you can put up with the loss of ease of use - security and convenience are completely opposite things).
 
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Yes Rob... Linux came a looooong way since 3-5 years ago. The installs are so painless that makes it not so much fun me.. lol.

I see a lot of people who had issues with Linux when they fist tried it, and that seems to keep them away from it. I understand if you had issues with it at some point.. but as I mentioned in my post, I also work in IT with both Linux and Windows and I can tell you that lately Windows is a lot harder to troubleshoot and fix things than Linux.

As for the security, I'm not sure what you are talking about. I trust a Linux OS out of the box (without any security configuration) a lot more than I would trust Windows with AV and spyware. Of course, I'm talking about desktops and not servers.
 
Rob, in your case, because you deal with pics and video professionally, Linux may not be the right OS for you. For most home user's photo/video editing needs, there are Linux packages that'll do the job just fine.
 
victorbrca said:
I also work in IT with both Linux and Windows and I can tell you that lately Windows is a lot harder to troubleshoot and fix things than Linux.

I trust a Linux OS out of the box (without any security configuration) a lot more than I would trust Windows with AV and spyware. Of course, I'm talking about desktops and not servers.
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He works in IT, and finds it hard dealing with Windows.

Windows people have to keep mentioning security and viruses FOREVER!!!

I don't have these issues.....AT ALL!!!!!!

Mac.
 
Market penetration is a massive factor in how much you have to worry about hacking, spyware, and viruses. Why would anyone bother to try and write something for 5% of the market, when he could hit 80%? If Apple or Linux obtain equal market share, they'll have essentially all of the same worries.
 
Linux has close to 100% of the market for Internet servers. FYI.
 
Poser said:
He works in IT, and finds it hard dealing with Windows.

Windows people have to keep mentioning security and viruses FOREVER!!!

I don't have these issues.....AT ALL!!!!!!

Mac.
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Really? Think again:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/9355995/Apple-drops-virus-immunity-claim-for-Macs.html

Rob MacLennan said:
Market penetration is a massive factor in how much you have to worry about hacking, spyware, and viruses. Why would anyone bother to try and write something for 5% of the market, when he could hit 80%? If Apple or Linux obtain equal market share, they'll have essentially all of the same worries.
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Even if that argument would be correct (a lot of Linux gurus debate on the same), the conclusion is that at the moment, Linux is a lot safer than windows.
 
I stated in another thread, i see myself very capable of handling most troubleshooting and small fixes, when i used Windows.
A matter of fact, most issues happened so often, i became a pro at solving them....i was the guy to check, i knew a lot, without the use of a google search.

Windows is a difficult OS to configure and troubleshoot(i thought it was normal)....until i started using a Mac(problem solved).
All i do is use my computer, nothing to worry about.


I can talk, because i was there!!
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Well considering the fact that the only advantage that Windows has over it are spreadsheets and gaming and even gaming has a good chance of melting away thanks to Windows 8, I'm not surprised.. Linux runs everything, from the supercomputer in your nuclear power station to your TiVo to a good chunk of the smartphone market :cool:
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Maybe that's why Japan had a melt down after the tsunami

actally the systems that run the nuclear power plants here are not Linux, they couldn't get drivers and tech support wasn't available.
 
CruisnGrrl said:
Maybe that's why Japan had a melt down after the tsunami

actally the systems that run the nuclear power plants here are not Linux, they couldn't get drivers and tech support wasn't available.
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It's my understanding that they use QNX?
 
Hahahahahahaha I'd fire that guy so freaking fast!

Nobody puts Windows on a computer they have to count on until the first service pack. Forget WHICH version of Windows. This 4ssclown is clearly a tool - especially given that there is virtually no speed difference (good or bad) between 7 and 8... maybe he means some of the networking capabilities, which I grudgingly give him (if the OS around the network stack wasn't so feeping horrible).

Here's a good example of why you don't rush into a version .000 of Windows:

http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/public-sector/3408691/for-sale-windows-8-zero-day-vulnerability/
 
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Shaman said:
Speed? You're kidding yourself. Or it's on a newer, faster computer. Nobody has tested the two and determined that W8 is faster in objective tests. It's slower in some ways and minutely faster in others. I'm calling B.S. on this one.

What you're missing about "the cloud" is that it is ALL OVER THE COMPUTER. The store, the e-mail, Windows Live, Windows Games Live, Skydrive, Windows Mail Live, Skype, etc. etc. and if pushing it in your face doesn't constantly work, they'll just make it more and more difficult to ignore it with future releases. As it sits right now, Win8 represents a cash-cow release... it's obviously not well thought-out, it's half-cooked and there are about FIVE programming APIs/UIs on the system - .Net (1,2,3), Win32, Win64, Metro/Modern, PowerShell and you will need all of them if you use the same apps... and you'll have to know how to switch between Modern and Windows to get to features and programs. But, it's got a store... and it's got Windows Cloud... Not to mention that multi-desktop still hasn't arrived, so you can't reliably use both interfaces without having two monitors.

It's crap. If you can't admit it to yourself..... I'm telling everyone else the truth, because it's crap.
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Don't know about the apps you speak of as I have not noticed them but it's a lot faster. I run a production company and process large amounts of video and content every day. With most compression video com pression algorithms we're seeing around a 15 % improvement in FPS processed. For example, on the same box 4k J2K can be encoded at around 26 FPS with windows 7. With 8 it's over 30 FPS. Same content source as well. I'll take it.
 
You know that's not *Windows*, it's the *encoder*. It's probably not even much in the way of new code - just newer a newer compiler and possibly/probably support for current processor features. Not saying that's bad, per se... but it has very little or nothing to do with the OS. Only applications that use the OS' encoder will show that difference. Applications with their own encoders will likely be the same on either OS.

Just sayin'.
 
Shaman said:
Linux has close to 100% of the market for Internet servers. FYI.
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Again... speaking out of your *** without thinking.....

Server market share : Windows...36.10% Unix (including Linux)...63.9%

Server hardware (by revenue): Windows...47.9% Unix (including Linux)....40.5% Linux.....22.1%


Still think Linux is close to 100%??????
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