Windows v Linux

Hello.

I'm in no mad rush to pick one or anything like that, but I've heard a lot of good coming from the Linux end of things and thought I'd at least get an opinion from yourselves.

As you can imagine I'm running Windows at the moment but often wondered what it was like on the other side of things. The grass is greener on the other side - sorta thing.

Would it make sense to change over or be a waste of time? I'm honestly happy enough on Windows but as I said, I'm just interested to know, more than anything.

I imagine this to be the type of topic that comes up all the time, but I've browsed the first 8 pages and the search facility doesn't seem to agree on two browsers. Also, it seems like the right forum, but if it isn't I apologise.

Just general opinions and views, would be useful to me.

Cheers.

 

i've been running Fedora 4 for a bit now and it's a whole different beast than windows. the real power in linux lies in the command line.

it's a bit more difficult to learn in a way. you can eek your way by using just the GUI but like i said above, the real power is learning and mastering the command line. (think DOS on steroids).

if you don't mind learning something new, i'd suggest downloading Knoppix. Knoppix is a "live cd" distro that you pop in your cd drive and it boots into a working linux enviroment without installing anything on your computer. great for givin' 'er a test run or troubleshooting.

depending in your hard drive size, you can always dual boot windows with linux. thats not out of the question.

and as far as apps go, there are enough alternatives in the linux world that will take place of the MS apps you are used to using (open office for MS office, thunderbird for outlook, firefox for IE, etc, etc).

i think shadow_puter_dude is running a version of Fedora, and i know there are a few more of us floating around

good luck

 

Windows - easy to setup and run.
Linux - not easy to setup and run.

Windows - some cool tools to use.
Linux - a gazillion cool tools to use.

 

I'll start with saying Windows is not Linux, and Linux is not Windows. Both Operating Systems have their place in the market and fulfill specific needs. If you goto into your 'Linux Experience' thinking Windows you will be disappointed.

Yes I am running Fedora Core 3, and I am preparing to migrate to CentOS4. Not because I am disappointed in FC3, but the simple fact is I am migrating from a developmental distribution to a production distribution.

Mainstream Linux distributions have become much easier to install and setup. Linux makes it much harder to do the things you are used to doing on Windows. By default a USER on Linux cannot install or delete software, cannot make changes to the system configuration. Where as the default USER account on Windows allows any USER to do these things.

 

for me, Fedora 4 was a breeze to install. very simple point and click. only hardware problems i encountered were the printer which i was expecting. but that is all sorted out now and it wasn't too painful.

another downside to fedora 4 though, and i think some other distros, is the lack of MP3 support. you have to find your own plug-ins to get mp3s to play.

SPD, i'm a little curious as to how you like Cent when you get it set up. drop me a line when you get it running.

 

Cheers for the replies, so far.

I'm not really experienced in terms of operating systems so Linux does sound a lot more complicated than I first thought it would be.

I'm only ever used to working with Windows O/S' (95, 98, ME & XP) and they're easy to use as you've said. Is Linux really 'that' hard to work with?

Dualboot probably makes sense for someone in my situation.

In terms of stability, performance and safety - which would be the better of the two?

Or is it a case of weighing the two up between eachother?

 

It's going to be a few more weeks before I bring CentOS on line, I have some hardware issues with my Linux Box that I have to deal with first. CentOS is the Clone of RHEL4.

 

Linux just like Windows has a learning curve. I have found Linux to be the more stable of the 2 Operating Systems. In terms of performance that really depends on your system hardware and configuration. Safety, neither Windows or Linux is 'Secure' out of the box, both have to be hardened. Linux just has fewer security issues then Windows, and what problems that are found are normally fixed very quickly. I would suggest that you use a 'Live Linux System' such as Knoppix or SimplyMEPIS before making a decision on whether or not you want to install Linux on your hard drive.

Dual Booting Linux and Windows is certainly an option and if you decide that you want to do that then I can post instructions on how to configure a Dual Boot System.

Linux Distributions for your Consideration
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CentOS 4.1 i386 (http://mirror.trouble-free.net/centos/4.1/isos/)
CentOS 4.1 x86_64 (http://mirror.trouble-free.net/centos/4.1/isos/x86_64/)
Debian 3.1_r0 i386 (http://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian-cd/3.1_r0/i386/jigdo-cd/)
Debian 3.1_r0 ia64 (http://carroll.aset.psu.edu/pub/linux/distributions/debian-cd/3.1_r0/ia64/jigdo-cd/)
Fedora Core 4 i386 (http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/4/i386/iso/)
Fedore Core 4 x86_64 (http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/4/x86_64/iso/)
Gentoo 2005.0 x86 (http://gentoo.osuosl.org/releases/x86/2005.0/installcd/)
Gentoo 2005.0 amd64 (http://gentoo.osuosl.org/releases/amd64/2005.0/installcd/)
Knoppix 3.9 (ftp://ftp.cise.ufl.edu/pub/mirrors/knoppix/)
Slackware 10.1 (ftp://slackware.mirrors.tds.net/pub/slackware/slackware-10.1-iso/)
SimplyMEPIS 3.3.1-1 (ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/mepis/released/)

Debian, Gentoo, and Slackware tend to be more difficult to install and configure. Knoppix 4.0 is available in DVD.

[EDIT] This is by no means a complete list of Linux Distributions. Just some of the more popular ones.

 

I've heard that it's the internet that Linux excells, it's said to be alot more secure than Windows. It's a good idea if you want to learn more about operating systems too. I'd say give it a go with Knoppix like the others have said.

There's a really interesting distro called "Damn small Linux" It's about 50MB, good if you're on dial-up(It's also live-cd). If not, try Knoppix. Then decide wether you want it for the long term.

Good luck!

 

Everything S_P_D says is spot on. my Fedora 4 seems very stable, and as far as security goes, it's only as secure as you make it. the thing that makes linux more "secure" (and i can see the rebuttles now...) is that in a sense everyone's distro is different.

what i mean is that most everyone sets up their linux box a different way. it's sort of hard to explain, but if you ever give it a go, i think you will see what i'm saying.

and popularity has to play some role. Microsoft products i would assume are used way more widely that *nix and open source products. but that is all just speculation on my part.

i've been running FC4 for a few months and so far no complaints left. once you start to a get a basic grasp on the command line, things really begin to pull together. so far i've been enjoying my linux experience.

as stated in other posts, giving Knoppix or another live cd distro a go is a great idea. if you are on dial up and can't download the cd, there are a good number of places that sell it for less that 10 bucks.

*edit* there are actually a number of "windows friendly" distros. ditros that seem to cater more towards people who are used to working in a windows enviroment. i've heard that SuSe, mandrake (although i think it's mandriva now) and linspire seem to be fairly user friendly as far as setup, install and usage go. *un - edit*