5 Reasons not to use Linux.

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n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
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Originally posted by: chcarnage
2. You have a kind friend who fixes your OS problems

That seems like a good reason to use Linux. It's free and someone does all the work for you? :Q
 

The Pentium Guy

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2005
4,327
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What's with those idiots that say windows isn't stable? Hell I've never had windows crash on me before.
When did you start using Windows?

I understand what you're talking about. I'm not denying that Windows 95, or 98 get you those dumb illegal operation errors. However let's forget about past problems and focus on the present. Provided you meet the recommended requirements for XP (512MB ram, other stuff I don't remmeber) you really shouldn't be having a problem. Unless of course you've got spyware, viruses, or if your registry goes fubar'd.

Dunno. It's just my take on windows dude. I mean linux is great, I use it as a server downstairs. But you can't bash windows to the extreme and claim that it's a "useless nonfunctional peice of garbage made by M$". Come on - get real.

If you want to talk about buggy software, what kind of software is without bugs? As a programmer I know this first hand. Bugs will pop up, and software sometimes reacts to hardware differently. Windows has bugs, but so does linux.

Point 1: To Linux users: Don't bash windows as if it's the end of the world.
Point 2: To Windows users: Don't bash linux as if it's useless.
Point 3: Again, every OS has its own purpose. For the average user, and a regular gamer, Windows will suffice. For a server environment, or for a database environment, use Linux. Every OS has its own purpose.

-The Pentium Guy
 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
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Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
I understand what you're talking about. I'm not denying that Windows 95, or 98 get you those dumb illegal operation errors. However let's forget about past problems and focus on the present.

People only remember the bad things there on page 1. The good things get pushed to page 26 between apple pie recipes and tips for cleaning your toilet.
 

nweaver

Diamond Member
Jan 21, 2001
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Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Unless of course you've got spyware, viruses, or if your registry goes fubar'd.

-The Pentium Guy

yeah, and that only happens....all the damn time? People have moved to SELLING/THROWING WINDOWS MACHINES AWAY instead of fixing them...that is a sign.

I have now moved to using linux for all my needs, except interaction with some windows softare, and I use rdesktop to hit terminal servers for that.
 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
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Originally posted by: nweaver
Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Unless of course you've got spyware, viruses, or if your registry goes fubar'd.

-The Pentium Guy

yeah, and that only happens....all the damn time? People have moved to SELLING/THROWING WINDOWS MACHINES AWAY instead of fixing them...that is a sign.

I have now moved to using linux for all my needs, except interaction with some windows softare, and I use rdesktop to hit terminal servers for that.

With a small bit of setup spyware and viruses don't really affect Windows.
 

pcthuglife

Member
May 3, 2005
173
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I think the most under appreciated linux feature is the detailed startup.
Service 1 - OK
Service 2 - OK
Service 3 - FAILED
Service 4 - OK
hmm, I wonder where the problem is.

Now windows XP/2003 - "Applying computer settings"
Me - I know you've been applying the damn settings for 45 minutes! What the hell is going on?!?
 

Velk

Senior member
Jul 29, 2004
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Originally posted by: pcthuglife
I think the most under appreciated linux feature is the detailed startup.
Service 1 - OK
Service 2 - OK
Service 3 - FAILED
Service 4 - OK
hmm, I wonder where the problem is.

It is, in fact, so underappreciated that recent distros have started covering it with a graphical splash screen.


 

pcthuglife

Member
May 3, 2005
173
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lol yeah I'm starting to notice that. but as long as they keep that "Show Details" option available then its alright with me. you can't blame them for trying to make their OS look pretty.
 

mdchesne

Banned
Feb 27, 2005
2,810
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about the "few applications on linux"... well, maybe once software manufacturers realize how great linux is, they'll stop spending money on developing microsoft progs. once the progs start going linux, people will follow. once people follow, they'll have no need to go back. once that happens, bill gates won't have money to stop the rampaging mobs. once that happens, i shall smack his corpse head with my shoe...like the iranians and the statue of saddam.... I CAN DREAM!!!
 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
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Originally posted by: mdchesne
about the "few applications on linux"... well, maybe once software manufacturers realize how great linux is, they'll stop spending money on developing microsoft progs. once the progs start going linux, people will follow. once people follow, they'll have no need to go back. once that happens, bill gates won't have money to stop the rampaging mobs. once that happens, i shall smack his corpse head with my shoe...like the iranians and the statue of saddam.... I CAN DREAM!!!

Problem: software manufacturers won't be convinced about the quality of Linux until the market moves to it.
 

kamper

Diamond Member
Mar 18, 2003
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Originally posted by: Nothinman
Why is this thread still going on? The article was obviously a joke.
Maybe I missed something? I took him to be quite serious when he said "There just aren't any good [reasons not to use Linux]."
 

daniel49

Diamond Member
Jan 8, 2005
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Originally posted by: nweaver
Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Unless of course you've got spyware, viruses, or if your registry goes fubar'd.

-The Pentium Guy

yeah, and that only happens....all the damn time? People have moved to SELLING/THROWING WINDOWS MACHINES AWAY instead of fixing them...that is a sign.

I have now moved to using linux for all my needs, except interaction with some windows softare, and I use rdesktop to hit terminal servers for that.

Have not seen any virus/adware problems that cannot be controlled yet with a couple of good apps and some common sense.
That being said am switching to broadband soon so may be more vulnerable with a static address.
Common thought is your best firewall in that case is hardware I have heard.

I have always used software firewalls do I need a router now for that purpose?
or is that overkill?

And before you say it, no I don't want to set one up with linux. theres just too much I don't understand about it and I could not properly use it.
I do a happy dance when I can get anything in linux to do what I expected
 

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
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Maybe I missed something? I took him to be quite serious when he said "There just aren't any good [reasons not to use Linux]."

But that's the point. He listed 5 semi-popular reasons for not using Linux, expanded on them sarcastically and then said that's the tip of the iceberg and that there are plenty of reasons not to use Linux, just not any good ones.
 

Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
18,998
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Para.: "Articles such as the topic of this thread won't convert anyone..."

Actually there are still plenty of people out there that think Windows and M$ is all there is. These types (at least the few still actually capable of critical thouht processes) need a whack with a 2x4 to get their attention. An article such as "Five Reasons..." might provide the necessary whack (salved w/ a bit of humor) to set the wheels in motion.
The hardware costs of upgrading to the next "Big M$ Thing" (Vista or whatever it will be called next week after it loses more of the promised features) may provide another...

.bh.

Here, have a :beer: !
 

spherrod

Diamond Member
Mar 21, 2003
3,897
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www.steveherrod.com
Originally posted by: kamper
Originally posted by: Nothinman
Why is this thread still going on? The article was obviously a joke.
Maybe I missed something? I took him to be quite serious when he said "There just aren't any good [reasons not to use Linux]."

Yep, you missed something - definitely a joke article
 

Seeruk

Senior member
Nov 16, 2003
986
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I wish people would stop writing articles like this. People who use linux will use it, people who use windows will use it. People who are interested in switching will try linux out and possibly switch. It doesn't need to be any more complicated than that and evangelistic arguments and articles will just get you into endless and largely pointless discussions on why people use the software they use.

Absolutley SPOT ON!

Why aren't there games for Linux? There are, you just don't pay attention. Why aren't there more? Because you're using Windows.

There are awful games for linux, and atrocious games for Linux... end of story.

And the reason there aren't more games for Linux? Because its hardware support is T E R R I B L E for gaming. Its great if you want to use an 18 month old laptop but not a cutting edge rig required for most games.

I do understand it's a chicken and egg situation, but to be frank I don't see the effort being put into the areas required to change the situation in Linux distros. Until it happens there is a large swathe of home users who cannot even contemplate moving to linux.

quote: Unless of course you've got spyware, viruses, or if your registry goes fubar'd.

-The Pentium Guy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



yeah, and that only happens....all the damn time? People have moved to SELLING/THROWING WINDOWS MACHINES AWAY instead of fixing them...that is a sign.

Seriously you must be the dumbest person using a PC (and your friends that throw them away).

Tick 2 boxes to enable windows update.... you even get nagged by the OS to do it from the point of install and I promise that as long as you are not a porn surfer, or a gambler, or click those flashy banners telling you that you won a prize.... you will not get adware, or spyware unless you are stupid enough to download it.

If you want to be extra safe - download MS Antispyware (Free) or one of the 3-4 others that are free... But really you gotta be perverted or dimwitted to get stung these days.

I havent had a single piece of spyware or a virus in 3-4 years, I have no AV installed. Just not being a mug is the way to avoid it.

Reason number two: Linux is a pain to set up

It's true. After all, with modern Linuxes like Xandros Desktop or SimplyMEPIS, you need to put in a CD or DVD, press the enter button, give your computer a name, and enter a password for the administrator account.

Gosh, that's hard.

On the other hand, with Windows, all you have to do is put in a CD or DVD, do all the above, and then immediately download all the available patches. After all, Symantec has found that an unpatched Windows PC connected to the Internet will last only a few hours before being compromised.

Unpatched Linux systems? Oh, they last months, but what's the fun of that?

So freaking laughable

Installation of Linux and Windows is near identical, disk in, create and format partitions, choose components, sit and wait.

On SUSE, Ubuntu, Red Hat, FC4, Solaris, and the many other *nix systems I have set up - THE FIRST THING YOU DO ON ALL OF THEM IS DOWNLOAD A CRAPLOAD OF UPDATES FOR BOTH OS AND APPLICATIONS. Partially to get the broken packages to work, secondly to get the packages you need, thirdly to get new packages that do a proper job of what the originals do.

Compare that with Windows where, it's possible -- not likely, but possible -- that you'll need to use a command line now and again, or edit the Windows registry, where, as they like to tell you, one wrong move could destroy your system forever.

And of course disaster isn't possible for a CLI command using root in Linux now is it? :roll:

The article is a crock of sh1t and should be an embarrassment to all Linux evangalists. I am a 50-50 user of both Win and *nix and yet it embarrases me merely as a member of the IT industry. This childish cr@p is all over the IT industry - is there any other as immature?

 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
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Originally posted by: Seeruk

Why aren't there games for Linux? There are, you just don't pay attention. Why aren't there more? Because you're using Windows.

There are awful games for linux, and atrocious games for Linux... end of story.

Quake 3 was awful? Doom 3 was awful? UTwhatever was awful?

And the reason there aren't more games for Linux? Because its hardware support is T E R R I B L E for gaming. Its great if you want to use an 18 month old laptop but not a cutting edge rig required for most games.

nVidia's cards work. Athlons work. Gigabit NICs work. Hard drives work. Sound generally works. What am I missing again? And most games do not require a bleeding edge system.
So freaking laughable

Installation of Linux and Windows is near identical, disk in, create and format partitions, choose components, sit and wait.

On SUSE, Ubuntu, Red Hat, FC4, Solaris, and the many other *nix systems I have set up - THE FIRST THING YOU DO ON ALL OF THEM IS DOWNLOAD A CRAPLOAD OF UPDATES FOR BOTH OS AND APPLICATIONS. Partially to get the broken packages to work, secondly to get the packages you need, thirdly to get new packages that do a proper job of what the originals do.

I've never had a broken package. I've never had a problem with having to get a different application because the one I use doesn't work properly. I have had to install 3rd party software after an installation on EVERY OS I'VE USED. Now, I havent used a lot of OSes/distros though, so maybe I'm missing something.

And of course disaster isn't possible for a CLI command using root in Linux now is it? :roll:

You don't use root.

The article is a crock of sh1t and should be an embarrassment to all Linux evangalists. I am a 50-50 user of both Win and *nix and yet it embarrases me merely as a member of the IT industry. This childish cr@p is all over the IT industry - is there any other as immature?

You don't like fart jokes either, do you?
 

Seeruk

Senior member
Nov 16, 2003
986
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You know that none of those games were developed for the Linux market - developed for Windows 1st and Kindly they are putting out Linux versions. I would also argue that Doom 3 and every UT version apart from the original are crap tech demos with no soul!

Games specifically developed for Linux we are talking the quality of 1998 games, no better.

Certain
nVidia's cards work.
but ATI is an uphill struggle and the driver support is very very limited and half-functional

Athlons work.
Well duh - as a processor based on x86 architecture I would hope they would or there would be not much of an OS.

Some
Gigabit NICs work.
but if you use wireless or worse still Pre-N it is a lottery if you are lucky

All
Hard drives work
with some coaxing you may or not be able to get the drive working at SATA150 if your motherboard's chipset is one of the chosen few and of a specific revision!

2D
Sound generally works.
with a certain bit of coaxing again you may be able to get 5.1 working in some games.

What am I missing again? And most games do not require a bleeding edge system

Apparently a huge amount of knowledge about the capabilities and requirements of a modern PC game.

And lets not forget this is all before you have to recompile kernels to get your machine to see more than 900mb of your RAM!
 

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
1
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Originally posted by: Seeruk
You know that none of those games were developed for the Linux market - developed for Windows 1st and Kindly they are putting out Linux versions. I would also argue that Doom 3 and every UT version apart from the original are crap tech demos with no soul!

Games specifically developed for Linux we are talking the quality of 1998 games, no better.

IIRC, Quake 3 was developped on Linux. Wasn't the Linux version released first?

And they're games, of course they have no souls.

Certain
nVidia's cards work.
but ATI is an uphill struggle and the driver support is very very limited and half-functional

That's ATI's fault, not Linux's. ATI sucks anyhow.

What nVidia cards don't work?

Athlons work.
Well duh - as a processor based on x86 architecture I would hope they would or there would be not much of an OS.

Well Windows doesn't support common processors, so it's not entirely a surprise.

Some
Gigabit NICs work.
but if you use wireless or worse still Pre-N it is a lottery if you are lucky

If a gigabit nic doesn't work it's the fault of the manufacturer. The important ones work: SysKonnect chipset based cards. Nothing else is worth it. :p

Is pre-N fully specced out now? I figured the "pre" prefix meant it isn't quite an official standard yet. If that's true, what's the point? Why not wait for the standard. Also, do the proper developers have the proper hardware? What about the proper documentation (the hard part to get)? If not, hook'em up. It is a community effort after all.

All
Hard drives work
with some coaxing you may or not be able to get the drive working at SATA150 if your motherboard's chipset is one of the chosen few and of a specific revision!

Again, it's the fault of the manufacturers. nVidia is very quiet about the stupidest things. It's ridiculous. But if you're smart you check out compatibility before you buy.

2D
Sound generally works.
with a certain bit of coaxing again you may be able to get 5.1 working in some games.

If the games are using open standards, I don't see a problem.

What am I missing again? And most games do not require a bleeding edge system

Apparently a huge amount of knowledge about the capabilities and requirements of a modern PC game.

You didn't say modern games, you said most games.

And lets not forget this is all before you have to recompile kernels to get your machine to see more than 900mb of your RAM!

Most distros should come with a kernel prepared for this these days.
 

makken

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2004
1,476
0
76
ugh bad article.. but here are my 5 reasons for not using Linux:

1) Lack of spare hardware.
-I don't exactly have a bunch of spare parts around to throw together a rig for Linux.

2) Lack of space for said hardware
-Even if I did have the spare hardware to throw a linux rig together, I don't have the space to put it anywhere.

3) Distro confusion
-I've used a RedHat briefly (actually my dad's) after getting fed up with windows98 and before 2000 came out. Now, there are so many floating out there that I honestly don't know which one to choose, and I can't find a good helpful site that lists the pros and cons of each.

4) Lack of driver support
-If it wasn't for this, I might actually consider setting up linux on my main box and dual booting.

5) Gaming
-So I'm writing a term paper at 3am and I get writer's block. Decide to grab some cookies and fire up a few rounds of counterstrike to clear my mind... WAIT, I have to go boot up my other box just to have a few rounds of counterstrike.. UGH.

And finally, WindowsXP does everything I need it to. I admit the days of windows95 and windows98 left me wanting more (stability etc), which led me to try the MacOS and Redhat at the time. But with Windows2000pro and WindowsXP, that desire is basically gone. I've had about 15 crashes on WindowsXP to date, all of which are fault of hardware (2 because of bad hard drives, others involve me playing with CPU voltage). I've never had a problem with viruses or ad/spyware, and I admit I partake in more 'high risk' activity than the average user. So what can linux offer me that windows can't? (besides justification for a l33t attitude? :D)
 

M00T

Golden Member
Mar 12, 2000
1,214
1
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Originally posted by: The Pentium Guy
Yeah what the hell. This article is so god damn biased.

Example:

Who the hell says GAIM doesn't have problems? Has anyone EVER sucessfully completed a file transfer on GAIM?

-The Pentium Guy

Not to make any excuses, but here's the plans for fixing file tranfers in GAIM. http://gaim.sourceforge.net/summerofcode/

UPnP NAT Traversal - Adam J. Warrington

Tons of people have difficulty transferring files or otherwise directly connecting with Gaim because they're behind a NAT device. NAT devices allow more than one host to share a single IP address and are very useful for users with multiple computers but a single Internet connection. These devices are usually sold as "broadband routers." Unfortunately, because multiple hosts share a single IP address, neither can be addressed specifically without additional (confusing) configuration.

UPnP is a protocol from Microsoft that, among other things, provides NAT traversal: a way to allow each host behind the NAT device to receive incoming connections. Implementing this in Gaim would fix most file transfer problems for people with UPnP-enabled NAT devices (most currently sold are). Your task this summer is to implement just enough of UPnP in Gaim to allow for NAT-transparency.

 

Nothinman

Elite Member
Sep 14, 2001
30,672
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3) Distro confusion
-I've used a RedHat briefly (actually my dad's) after getting fed up with windows98 and before 2000 came out. Now, there are so many floating out there that I honestly don't know which one to choose, and I can't find a good helpful site that lists the pros and cons of each.

What's wrong with distrowatch.com? The main pros and cons generally boil down to personal preference and commercial support.

4) Lack of driver support
-If it wasn't for this, I might actually consider setting up linux on my main box and dual booting.

Odd I only have 1 device in 5 machines that I know for a fact doesn't work and it's the SD slot in my notebook which I wouldn't use anyway.

5) Gaming
-So I'm writing a term paper at 3am and I get writer's block. Decide to grab some cookies and fire up a few rounds of counterstrike to clear my mind... WAIT, I have to go boot up my other box just to have a few rounds of counterstrike.. UGH.

Of course if you want to play something that runs on Windows you'll need Windows (or WINE, supposedly CS runs well in WINE), just as if you wanted to use iDVD you would have to buy a Mac.

 

groovin

Senior member
Jul 24, 2001
857
0
0
most IT departments cant figure out what their own current and historical operating costs are let alone accurately project future OS based TCO. in all the studies in linux vs windows every single one always convieniently leaves out some crucial points about the OS it's biased for. this debate is endless. most people cant even figure out what they want to eat for lunch let alone make a decision on their OS.

moooooooooo....