[scotsboyuk]

Recently I have been considering making the switch from Windows to Linux and I would like to hear your opinions on this. I am thinking of making this switch because of the miriad securityproblems Windows seems to have as well as the fact that it appears to be slowing down more and mor eno matter what I do. In addition the release of new patches and updates for Windows only serves to make it even more bloated than it already is.

What I would like is to hear an argument for against moving to Linux. Ihave no prior experience with Linux, but I am a quick study and I am willing to learn. I am just fed up with Windows at the moment, but should I stick with it?

[BrightSpark]

if you want to know anything, just ask . i can't solve all your problems, but i use linux myself, so i should be able to point you in the right direction.

sometimes rebooting the machine is the key because that helps to 'reinitialise' things. a defrag is also meant to help, although i have never ever noticed any difference in speed.

my advice is to get rid of windows and use linux. you have nothing to lose(apart from one or 2 applications. however, using wine, you can just as easily run these on linux. for example: MS office runs quite nicely on linux) and everything to gain.

gone are the days when linux was for geeks only, although that element is still there as the command line will always give the user even more power. these days, its a lot easier to use than windows in many respects. you'll be pleasently surprised.

a handful of the many things that you have to gain by switching to linux:
-naturally significantly more secure
-naturally significantly more stable
-applications are free and readily available.
-application bugs are fixed at lightning speed whereas windows takes forever and a day.
-much more freedom of choice
-much easier to theme and customise to your hearts content
-easier to install the OS
-easier to maintain
-no need to defrag the hard drive every now and again. with JFS, defragging isn't necessary whereas it is with NTFS.
-easier to install drivers (no faffing about with the registry etc)
-can leave your machine on ad infinitum without it slowing down
-much nicer looking GUI
-can have it so that its as bloated or as minimal as you want. with windows, you only have one choice: ie bloated.
-there is a sony ericsson theme available

for a newbie, i recommend: mandriva, ubuntu, and SuSE.

[Max_87]

I can't say I know a lot but here's my 2 cents.

There are many versions of Linux which you can choose from. Like BrightSpark mentioned, mandriva, ubuntu and SuSE are a few of them. Not all versions of Linux are free, but the versions that you have to pay will get more support (e.g. patching discovered bugs). I have personally tried Fedora Core 3 and it's great. You may be interested in this page about the popular distributions of Linux.

As many people are presented with better choices like Linux and Apple Mac OS, Microsoft is trying to do better with its Windows to regain momentum. The next version of Windows, Windows Vista (available in Q4 2006) is "said" to be a great improvement in terms of security. The appearance of Vista is also improved and may seems to look like Mac OS X (transparency effect, minimizing windows effect...). Windows Vista is also improved in terms of performance.

This is quoted from http://bink.nu/Article4840.bink :

Quote

Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista will allow users to add memory to the operating system through the use of USB memory keys.

The option is part of a technology called Superfetch designed to make the next version of Windows faster to use over time.

Superfetch will monitor the data and applications accessed by the user in recent months and preload those into its memory. This allows for faster access to data and applications.

In current Windows versions the software loads applications and data only as the user asks for it. This takes time because Windows has to load not only the application itself after a system reboot but the drivers and other auxiliary applications.

Superfetch adds the memory on the USB key to the system's virtual memory, which in turn is used to preload applications and data which the user accesses frequently.

The USB option offers the ability to upgrade the system's memory even if there are no physical memory slots, allowing laptop users to increase system speed, according to Alchin.

The user can still remove the memory key at any moment without affecting system stability. To prevent security issues, the information is encrypted on the key to prevent data leaks.

Superfetch is one of several new ways in which Windows Vista is designed to increase system performance.

Other technologies will automatically defragment the hard disk, and provide a visual tool to allow the user to spot possible bottlenecks in the system's performance.    

I personally use Windows more although I hate about it's security and performance like scotsboyuk and many other users.

There really isn't an operating system with no flaws (they are not made by God, ok?). But hackers tend to hack Windows more because it's widely used. I am personally waiting for Windows Vista and if I have the money, I will switch to Mac OS X instead of Linux. If you are indeed switching to Linux, tell us about your experience with it.

[stepdown]

I actually quite like Windows myself, probably because it's the easy option. I would probably consider Linux more if I was building a system from scratch, or was looking to convert all my machines to the OS.

I don't think it's that big a deal. With two hardware firewalls and a software firewall on each system, the risks don't really worry me all that much. It could possibly be a pain to connect to the Windows 2000 server at work with Linux as well.

As all my systems have Windows on them, I just can't see the advantages being worth days of work. Like I said, if I had a standalone system that that wasn't going to have to use Windows protocols to converse with the rest of my network it might be a good idea, but it isn't for me really.

Sorry this isn't much help ScotsBoy, but everything I hear about Linux is good, apart from when it's from Mac or XP fanboys

[Cornholio_666]

the way i see it everyone is getting ripped off by microsoft because they are selling incomplete OS's. look how you have to constatly update to try and keep your system safe and secure and fill holes in the code that they should have written properly in the first place. the only problem so many games and applications have been written for windows that it may be hard to switch OS without losing all the games and applications because they are incompatible.

[Max_87]

A long time ago, I read something about the operating system the army uses. I can't find that article but I think it is US Army switching to Linux. Does anyone know anything about it?

[Cornholio_666]

i don't know about that, but i do know that microsoft uses linux to run their servers!

[stepdown]

Now that is a good fact to remember

[scotsboyuk]

@BS & Max

Thank you for the information, I am leaning further and further towards Linux. The security issue does bother me, but not as much as the performance issue. The constant slowing is a real drag (pardon the pun) and I am getting rather fed up with it.

[stepdown]

My XP install had gone to sh*t and I had lost one of my hard drives. Backed up all the data, one format and fresh install later, and it's as quick as ever.

This is an alternative to Linux if you want your speed back, and it's just as free

[Ginz]

Cornholio_666 said:

i don't know about that, but i do know that microsoft uses linux to run their servers!

Some of there servers do use Linux. Not all

[Eggy]

Out of Windows I quite liked W2k whereas ME was absolute crap. I like Windows XP for the nice themes that are around. I haven't had any problems on this computer yet either and I try and keep it clean.

[scotsboyuk]

@stepdown

That's one option, but I would prefer a system, which doesn't become quite so slow in the first place.

[Cornholio_666]

i've had to do 2 reformats on xp within 6 months (1 was because of stylexp and the other xp on D: drive turned to crap and messed with windows 98 SE on my C: drive too) Windows does run its best after fresh install.

[scotsboyuk]

I am considering doing a fresh install to clear things up, but I just wonder whether I might be better overall with a move to Linux.

[Eggy]

You can try Linux out on one of your machines. I think Ginz tried installing Ubuntu recently too but failed :S

[BrightSpark]

scotsboyuk said:

I am considering doing a fresh install to clear things up, but I just wonder whether I might be better overall with a move to Linux.

well you won't know until you actually try it.....so try it . if i were you, i would go for mandriva as its the one that i've found to be the best all round. its also the one that i've always used (although i have tried many others to compare).
you have nothing to lose because its free. and it has proven better performance than Mac OS X. click here and here for the tests.

Eggy said:

I think Ginz tried installing Ubuntu recently too but failed

did ginz say why it failed?

[gelfen]

tbh i don't think the security issues with Windows are insurmountable provided you take the relevant precautions. having said that i would be interested in a move to linux, but not until i have a dispensable pc and a lot of free time to play around with it. i have no real interest in trying to run linux on a laptop.

if it's performace you're worried about you may want to try something like Crap Cleaner or another registry cleanup tool. a defrag may help, but i've usually found them more useful for freeing up disk space than anything else.

you may want to have a look at this article by Mozilla's Asa Dotzler - Why Linux isn't ready for desktops - not just for the article itself but also the reader responses. while there are certainly a few generalisations, some of the issues raised which bear thinking about.

[BrightSpark]

gelfen
i read that article in your last paragraph previously. and for the same reasons, neither is mac OS X. i'm surprised that he used fedora core 4 as a model, because that is one of the worst linux distributions of all. i have the dvd myself and i installed it recently to test. in a recent review, it got 4/10. i gave it 3/10.

[gelfen]

somehow i just knew you would say something like that

i would disagree about it having "no value". if an average pc user installs a crappy linux version and finds it hard to use then s/he usually won't bother to try finding a better one, but will return to familiar territory. since you're more of an expert it's easy for you to say that he used the wrong one, but an average pc user won't know that there is a "wrong one" - they'll just see linux and assume they're all the same.

when reading that article it helps to remember he's talking about mum and dad users, not people who know something about computers and OSs. i thought the points were worth considering, but there's a bit more of interest to be found if you dig through the talkback.

i was posting it from the perspective of "be aware of these potential issues", not don't use linux because of them. a switch to any version of linux requires a bit of research and a reasonable learning curve, although most people don't have the time or inclination for either.