Yarin

Over time I have always heard nothing but bad bad bad about windows and nothing but good good good about linux and mac. I know that this isn't by chance. They must really be better. So I researched them and now I'm thinking of converting to Fedora 8 Gnome. It's almost a gig in file size, and I'm on dial-up, so I haven't gotten around to downloading it yet. I'm sorry if these questions seem stupid, but I know absolutely nothing about linux. I have never actually ran a non-windows computer before, and I have spent a great deal of my life on them now. Due to this I know so much about windows, and yet I don't even know one iota about mac or linux.
Only after research did I learn how linux was open-source and a simpler OS than windows and mac. This concept got me hooked on getting linux.
As a freshie to linux would I be able to learn about it's internals and systems quicker than normal because of my experience with windows?
Is linux really what I want? From your experiences, what sort of flexibility does linux have?
Seeing how linux is capable of running on the same hard drive and FS as windows, does this mean I can run my windows programs and code on linux? I ask because I have so sickening much code that was designed to run on windows. And I would hate to practically start over in my development of programs. And speaking of development, is it easier and/or smoother on linux than windows?
Opinions and suggestions are appreciated.

mike_g

I installed Ubuntu on my old laptop a couple of weeks ago, with no Linux experience, and so far I love it (My new computer dosent even get any attention now). There seems to be quite a difference in the file system, and where files are stored, but it doesent take long to get used to.

Installing things can be a bit confusing at first as its not like windows where you have an Installer wizard for everything, but you learn as you go. With Debian/Ubuntu installing a lot of stuff is very easy as you just use the auto package transfer, which does everything for you. EG:
Installs wordpress along with apache2 and PHP. Also its nice to be able to run any installed prog from any directory. A lot of windows stuff can be run through wine too, as you probably know. The only thing I have had problems with so far is getting my wireless drivers to work as they don't seem to be able to detect the hardware even with the drivers installed with no warnings and my interfaces manually configured to be correct.

Like I said I really don't anything about Linux yet, but its only been a short time, and its much fun to play with

whiteflags

> Over time I have always heard nothing but bad bad bad about windows and nothing but good good good about linux and mac.

Hmm. When and from whom? And why don't you like it?

I only say this because if you buy a decent version (like Home or Ultimate) you might actually like it. I know most of my friends do, and the tech community is coming around.

Most of Vista's early problems are going away, and, at least in my opinion, it's current problems are founded on misunderstanding. A lot of people were complaining about the performance, but, at least according to a podcast I listen to, that was because Microsoft doesn't use GDI to draw the screen anymore. It all goes through DirectX now. Most of Vista's security problems are fixed with the immenent release of SP1.

Not that I'm against learning and using linux. My school's IT program mandates at least XP Pro SP2, so I'm stuck with it (and need to upgrade). You may run into this problem. It's a windows world, so you might want to keep windows on your machine in some form.


> It's almost a gig in file size, and I'm on dial-up, so I haven't gotten around to downloading it yet.

You should do what my dad does: buy a book and use the CD in the back. Much faster, and you have a resource to learn linux from.

abachler

Ive given linux a shot several times over the years, and while it does run faster, Its just too 'differnt' to make it useful. I think mor epeople woudl switch if the linux community wasnt hell bent on changing everythign about the interface. It puts a lot of people off and its not like linux is just all that to where people will get over the differences. I think the ReactOS project has a much better chance at competing with windows.

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laserlight

To that I would reply, Linux is Not Windows. Honestly, I have difficulty adapting to various Linux GUI environments, simply because they are different from what I am used to on Windows. On the other hand, I never really got used to the Windows command line, because my first experience of using the command line was on a Linux box over SSH. Familiar is friendly.

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Bajanine

I wouldn't classify Home as a decent version although 2K Pro, XP Pro and even Vista Ultimate are good OS'es in my opinion. I run all three, I thought I would have more problems with Vista Ultimate (64 bit) but I have no complaints yet and I've been using it since June.

I would advocate dual booting Windows and Linux. Just don't give up and try as many different distro's as you can until you find one you like.

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Fordy

Most Linux magazines have a recent distro or two thrown with them every month. Last month for me was SUSE & Ubuntu, and in this month's I got PCLinuxOS & Fedora 8, so you dont have to rely on dialup. And as many of them are packaged as live distros, you dont even need to install them to give them a try - throw it in the CD-ROM & reboot

I'm a long time time windows advocate. I've used it to code COM, .NET, WSH, MFC, ATL, WINAPI and all sorts of stuff over the years, but after paying for Vista (which is a pretty dire upgrade in my opinion) I decided to move to Linux for a while. I'd installed Mandrake & Red hat in the past, but the recent distros are far better than what they used to be.

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SlyMaelstrom

Actually OS X Tiger has received as many complaints (if not more) than Windows Vista and I only hear modest acclaim for Leopard, so far.

Don't drop off the Windows bandwagon... it has far more support than any other operating system and if you know how to use it and what to use it for, it isn't all that terrible. I would personally recommend dual-booting with Linux, though, as it is first and foremost a good platform for program development and understanding of Linux is expected by most programming careers. Right now, I am triple-booting Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Ultimate, and Slackware Linux (which I personally use KDE as my desktop environment). It works fine for me and it allows me to develop properly in both Windows and Linux. However, I must admit, right now, I find myself using XP more than the other two for day to day stuff.

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psychopath

Like what? I tried OS X and Vista nearly at the same time after using XP for years, and I've had far fewer problems with Tiger (I haven't tried Leo yet). The only major thing was getting used to the UI mechanics, but now that I've gotten over that, I prefer it.

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dwks

I remember when I first tried Linux . . . it was MEPIS Linux, a live CD. I couldn't figure out how to search for files. In Windows, it's easy -- press Win-F! Finally, I found the menu item for "Find Files ..." . . . .

Now, whenever I switch over to a Windows computer, I miss so much stuff. What do you mean there's no KDevelop? No bash? No Valgrind? No logging on to computers remotely? No virtual desktops? No source for all of the programs I use all of the time?

I mentioned live CDs. I highly recommend you try one if you're not sure about Linux. They let you try Linux without touching your hard drive. If you like it, then you can think about installing.

As a dial-up user, I understand exactly what it's like. (My dial up is not even 56K -- it's 28K if I'm lucky!) I installed MEPIS for my first Linux distribution. Later, I ordered Debian 3.1 for AMD64 from a reseller of Linux DVDs. Now, I've downloaded Debian 4.0 and later Lenny (another Debian version), and I must say, it's the way to go. How did I download it? At public libraries. They usually have reasonably fast connections. You should see if your local library or university will let you download stuff. Or just grab a laptop and go to any wireless hotspot. Many places have wireless for free. It's not always very fast, but it beats dial-up, and you get recent software, and you don't have to pay much or wait for anything to be delivered.

Dual-booting is great! You have Windows; then you reboot, and you have Linux. Emulation is okay, too, for faster computers, but it can be a bit difficult to set up.

You should at least try Linux -- you never know, you might love it.

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telepatico

I do have Fedora 8. It runs very fast. Compilers are available and nice packages such as LAMPP. It does runs very or extremely fast on my dual core intel chip, when comparing to Windows. Open Office is ok. The e-mail software, antivirus and firewall are fine too.

The thing with Fedora is that, you have to set up things such as wireless, second monitor etc, through a configuration file, that make things messy if not set properly, or no compatibility.

The way that the file system is set up, provides a faster and more secure environment, but still have its weaknesses, like anything that exists. Beryl is a nice and great desktop effects package, like the rotating screen cubes etc. That is kind of the way Apple manage its software icons. Firefox works fine, and there are plug in players. LightScribe has a Linux version available, and for burning cd's or Dvd's, the OS is great with K3B.

The real truth is, that once Fedora has been set, up, and with the very frequent updates, Fedora works trouble free, as in my case.

string

How do you set up dual booting anyways?

I would've already done something like that by now except that the manuals I searched for to set up Linux didn't seem to do it that way.

Somehow, regardless of MinGW and Dev-Cpp at my fingertips, gcc still sends me a siren's call. I had it in computer lab at school and it hasn't been the same since.

laserlight

For many distros, you just follow the installer's steps and keep the Windows partition. The boot loader installed will then allow you to choose at startup.

Uh, MinGW means GCC. You know, Minimalist GNU for Windows, GNU Compiler Collection. Dev-Cpp means MinGW by default.

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SlyMaelstrom

http://www.appledefects.com/?p=261

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string

I had the idea, didn't know the acronyms in such depth until now, but using a command line with gcc instead of fumbling around with a DOS window was awesome. And the ttyl's! Good times. I'll have to find something that doesn't automatically start up with a GUI. And thanks.