Why do you run Linux?

nggalai · 2005-01-29 08:09:20

In my case, it's a combination of "low cost" and "other," possibly "freedom," too. After the update to Windows XP and its associated cost I wondered why I got this little in return for my money.

The switch came gradually. I hated IE and Word, so I switched to Firefox and OpenOffice.org, even at work. I got more and more fed up with how the Windows desktop behaved, so I invested a lot of time in Lightstep and other shell replacements to turn the desktop into something I could work with. Then, one fine evening in December 2003, it hit me ... I'm mostly using OpenSource apps and even changed the desktop to be as un-Windows as possible, so why not switch for good? Well, made a backup of my data, installed Linux, never looked back.

93,
-Sascha.rb

kth5 · 2005-01-29 11:25:38

nggalai wrote:

In my case, it's a combination of "low cost" and "other," possibly "freedom," too. After the update to Windows XP and its associated cost I wondered why I got this little in return for my money.
The switch came gradually. I hated IE and Word, so I switched to Firefox and OpenOffice.org, even at work. I got more and more fed up with how the Windows desktop behaved, so I invested a lot of time in Lightstep and other shell replacements to turn the desktop into something I could work with. Then, one fine evening in December 2003, it hit me ... I'm mostly using OpenSource apps and even changed the desktop to be as un-Windows as possible, so why not switch for good? Well, made a backup of my data, installed Linux, never looked back.
93,
-Sascha.rb

AMEN!

last time i worked for a company at a desk in their house, i had to use windows. did i say had too? well, i always at least refused to use winxp and sticked with 2k (prolly the best of all win32 out there). then put cygwin on it and all the boxes i used to access with vnc just so i could easily use SSH, bash, grep etc. but what always stayed a mistery to me was how you could actually administer a win32 box w/o having physical access with a display? no ifconfig, no mount, no fsck, no iptables-like thinkg... damn...

one day i realized that most of my stuff was working in bash, php or perl... even make did do a great job for some none-compile stuff. only issue to solve: how to get rid of the hands-on support? pay for a MCSE or whatever or simply switch to a free (as in beer and speech), better documented, POSIX compliant, UNIX os like GNU/Linux? obvious, isn't it? lol

normc · 2005-01-30 03:17:16

It lets me feal that I'm in control of my box not ms.

xian · 2005-01-30 03:51:55

Well, it's not because I hate my WinXP or anything like that. I started using Linux because I was interested in learning about an alternative OS, and what I found was a completely new environment that actually allowed me to manage and direct what took place on my computer. But what really got me to hooked on Linux are the other users that I've met and enjoyed talking with on forums and other channels. They are among the most helpful, innovative, and interesting people I've ever run across.

But in the end it's just more fun.

cmp · 2005-01-30 10:43:20

@nggalai dito. - but I preferred blackbox for windows
I just like linux. The only thing you need windows for is gaming, but since I can't affoard decent hardware, I'm just fine with linux.

kth5 · 2005-01-30 19:21:57

cmp wrote:

@nggalai dito. - but I preferred blackbox for windows
I just like linux. The only thing you need windows for is gaming, but since I can't affoard decent hardware, I'm just fine with linux.

... and most professional audio/video software mostly runs best on windows (if on x86). haven't seen a version of Reaktor or Traktor Studio for GNU/LInux yet. ;.;

bauerber · 2005-02-02 11:49:09

Hmmm. I voted other and I guess it's a mix of reasons. But most important for me is the philosophy behind the whole thing. Security and stability come close second and as I no longer excessively play, Windoze is no longer needed.

Bernhard

slackhack · 2005-02-02 15:48:51

kth5 wrote:

... and most professional audio/video software mostly runs best on windows (if on x86). haven't seen a version of Reaktor or Traktor Studio for GNU/LInux yet. ;.;

not mac?

Gullible Jones · 2005-02-02 20:08:43

Because I got rather sick of Windows 98 giving me the BSOD. And because it's designed in a secure fashion, and malware that attacks it is uncommon. And because it's free... etc.

soffcore · 2005-02-03 16:39:09

I am an uber geek,
I am a programmer
Having a box that has php / apache / MySQL and the coolness of the choice of any desktop environment you want and not to mention the stigma of feeling "better than tho" when talking to dumba$$ windows users (Don't get me wrong, I still use Windows for 1 application : Swift3D) makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Not to mention, we linux users avoid all this Microsoft Anit-Piracy Crap

oscar · 2005-02-03 17:17:27

Gullible Jones wrote:

Because I got rather sick of Windows 98 giving me the BSOD. And because it's designed in a secure fashion, and malware that attacks it is uncommon. And because it's free... etc.

There are more hacked linux-boxes than windows-boxes out there, remember?
Linux is great, but a linuxsystem has a tendency to get hacked
And that's why Arch Linux is so great - due to the simplicity of keeping a system updated, we can easily avoid getting hacked by staying updated

soffcore · 2005-02-03 17:26:15

oscar wrote:

Gullible Jones wrote:
Because I got rather sick of Windows 98 giving me the BSOD. And because it's designed in a secure fashion, and malware that attacks it is uncommon. And because it's free... etc.
There are more hacked linux-boxes than windows-boxes out there, remember?
Linux is great, but a linuxsystem has a tendency to get hacked
And that's why Arch Linux is so great - due to the simplicity of keeping a system updated, we can easily avoid getting hacked by staying updated

Well of course, but with some thought behind how you set things up things are all good

oscar · 2005-02-03 18:26:41

soffcore wrote:

Well of course, but with some thought behind how you set things up things are all good

agree++

Gullible Jones · 2005-02-03 21:04:20

There are more hacked linux boxen out there? You're referring to servers, I assume?

(There are a lot of attacks that compromise apache and php... The ones I've encountered are mostly designed to deal damage to Windows users that connect to the affected server, though. Then again, I haven't encountered many.)

Well yes, you can get hacked on Linux... But it's probably harder to hack into a "simple" distro like Arch than, say, a complicated "user friendly" one like Mandrake.

And there are some simple rules to adhere to that make it harder for people to hack your system... like, for example, never running stuff as root unless absolutely necessary.

(Some distros, like Linspire, put you right in a root environment at first boot... with X running. And in Linspire's case, not just X but KDE as well, which means an instance of a browser (Konqueror) running... And all sorts of other crap, all as bloody root. Whenever I boot into one of these distros and discover that I and all my applications have been granted full God-mode access privelages, I feel like screaming out loud. Err... Pardon the rant, but I really had to get that off my chest. )

cactus · 2005-02-03 23:44:07

I would disagree that there are more hacked linux boxen than hacked windows boxen.
Unless, of course, you are referring to active hacking only. ie. people actively breaking in.
Windows boxen are more passive break ins (worms, viruses, trojans, etc.).

If you count each worm, virus, trojan, etc, as a hack, then your statement is false. If you do not, then it may indeed be true.

xerverius · 2005-02-07 15:28:52

I've got a linux server running... very stable.

And with the linux desktop you can edit EVERYTHING 8)
I only using windows for SolidWorks, MathLAB and office (for complex excel sheets)...mmmm and gaming

darkcoder · 2005-02-08 06:22:27

I use it primary because of work. Except one, all the servers on my work run Linux and is easier to interact with them from another Linux box. Also it's stability..

No more: How much do you want to crash today?

darkcoder · 2005-02-08 06:25:44

And I forgot price. A lot better than:

$200 for the buggy OS and a pain in the heck activation method.
$50 for a DVD playback software.
$70 for a CD burning software.
$60 for antivirus & firewall solution
$400 for a Office Suite to type 2 or 3 letters a year.

Thanks, but no thanks.

thegnu · 2005-02-09 22:50:13

It's free in concept. I'm a computer tech and I don't want to have to fix MY computer all the time, too. Now I only have to fix it when I break it, and that's how I like it.

It lets me tailor my experience and envirenment. It's interesting. The install doesn't deprecate like Windows, and become slower and slower. I'm learning every day about hardware AND software instead of bogus MS "tools" that "make the job 'easier'"

There's more where that came from.

Arch Linux

#26 2005-01-29 08:09:20

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#27 2005-01-29 11:25:38

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#28 2005-01-30 03:17:16

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#29 2005-01-30 03:51:55

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#30 2005-01-30 10:43:20

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#31 2005-01-30 19:21:57

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#32 2005-02-02 11:49:09

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#33 2005-02-02 15:48:51

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#34 2005-02-02 20:08:43

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#35 2005-02-03 16:39:09

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#36 2005-02-03 17:17:27

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#37 2005-02-03 17:26:15

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#38 2005-02-03 18:26:41

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#39 2005-02-03 21:04:20

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#40 2005-02-03 23:44:07

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#41 2005-02-07 15:28:52

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#42 2005-02-08 06:22:27

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#43 2005-02-08 06:25:44

Re: Why do you run Linux?

#44 2005-02-09 22:50:13

Re: Why do you run Linux?

Board footer