what is the point of Linux?

[teh_pwnerer]

On every computer forum I frequent people rave on about Linux. I don't see the hype.

99% of games are not supported on Linux.

Even for things like browsing the internet, music, or watching movies I see no reason to go Linux.

I don't buy the "it's more secure" comments about it. The only reason it's more secure is 90% of the market share use Windows. No hackers care to waste time on Linux or Apple.

So what is so great about it? Do people just like how it looks? Because it's not like you can't overhaul the look of Windows.

What's the point of Linux over Windows 7.

 

[daveybrat]

2 Big postive points for Linux:

1) Lack of malware/infections. I would personally load Ubuntu 12.04 on my kids computers if i had kids....lol.

2) It's FREE, last i checked you had to pay for Windows. Ubuntu is a great OS if you just need a basic web-browsing/homework computer.

 

[lxskllr]

Linux is a kernel, GNU/Linux is the kernel with userland programs to make it useful. The most important thing is it's libre. If you don't control the code by having the source, you don't control the computer. With proprietary software, you're at the mercy of the dev, and they can install backdoors, restrict you use, or eliminate your use of the software altogether. GNU/Linux gives you freedom, and freedom is more valuable than trivialities like money or games.

 

[Jodell88]

On every computer forum I frequent people rave on about Linux. I don't see the hype.

99% of games are not supported on Linux.

Even for things like browsing the internet, music, or watching movies I see no reason to go Linux.

I don't buy the "it's more secure" comments about it. The only reason it's more secure is 90% of the market share use Windows. No hackers care to waste time on Linux or Apple.

So what is so great about it? Do people just like how it looks? Because it's not like you can't overhaul the look of Windows.

What's the point of Linux over Windows 7.

There's a reason why Linux makes the world go round. I'm almost positive that the servers that run Anandtech are running on Linux.

 

[hans007]

Do you realize how few people actually play games on computers these days. Linux is perfectly find for 95% of people. They just don't know it yet.

Android itself us proof of that.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm almost positive that the servers that run Anandtech are running on Linux.

Looks like CentOS...

http://web-sniffer.net/

 

[KillerBee]

I'm waiting for the vB 3.8 to vB4 or vB5? transition...hopeful it won't be too painful :^)

https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php/406853-Legacy-vBulletin-Versions-and-Support

 

[teh_pwnerer]

So Linux is better for servers, better than Windows 2008. Well I have never ran a server OS so I can't comment on that.

Linux is open source ok. That maybe is great for developers, useless to me or an average computer user.

Your average PC user goes and buys a crappy prebuilt with Windows already installed.

Your average gamer buys his parts online and already has Windows or can get it online cheap.

so what else am I missing?

 

[lxskllr]

Linux is open source ok. That maybe is great for developers, useless to me or an average computer user.

Everyone benefits from free code, even those that can't program. The strong protect the weak, and everyone gets improvements.

 

[KillerBee]

So convincing you to try a BSD distro sounds damn near impossible

 

[Jodell88]

So Linux is better for servers, better than Windows 2008. Well I have never ran a server OS so I can't comment on that.

Linux is open source ok. That maybe is great for developers, useless to me or an average computer user.

Your average PC user goes and buys a crappy prebuilt with Windows already installed.

Your average gamer buys his parts online and already has Windows or can get it online cheap.

so what else am I missing?

There's this company called Valve that want to bring their game platform called Steam to Linux. In porting their engine and games over, they learned a lot about optimizing their game engine and then brought those optimizations over to Windows. The Linux version is still faster however.

 

[Jodell88]

So convincing you to try a BSD distro sounds damn near impossible

Whoa, slow down there cowboy. If the OP can't see the advantages one OS has over the other, don't bring in a third.

 

[lxskllr]

Whoa, slow down there cowboy. If the OP can't see the advantages one OS has over the other, don't bring in a third.

Linux? BSD?? Too mainstream. EVERYONE uses those...

 

[Jodell88]

Linux? BSD?? Too mainstream. EVERYONE uses those...

It does have an Arch flavour http://www.archhurd.org/ :biggrin:

Seems to be dead though.

 

[lxskllr]

It does have an Arch flavour http://www.archhurd.org/ :biggrin:

Seems to be dead though.

I've been meaning to play with hurd, but haven't made the time. For a dumb end user like me, there probably isn't much of a difference from a usability perspective. I imagine the benefits of a fully fleshed system would be more attractive to developers, and for special use cases, and not the normal desktop.

 

[teh_pwnerer]

There's this company called Valve that want to bring their game platform called Steam to Linux. In porting their engine and games over, they learned a lot about optimizing their game engine and then brought those optimizations over to Windows. The Linux version is still faster however.

There are only a handful of games on Steam that run on Linux. Developers develop for Windows because 90% of the market share is Windows.

The only argument for Linux I see is that it's open source. Great for people who want to learn or program or develop. Not useful for me at all.

Windows 7 is where it's at for me. :thumbsup:

 

[Zxian]

Steam isn't running on Linux - Valve is porting their engine to work on Ubuntu. When it comes to gaming, you're still being pigeonholed into one OS or the other. General *nix support is a very long ways off.

Linux is an alternative OS, but IMHO, until a group becomes the clear forefront for *nix-based computing it will never pick up ground on the home computing front. When netbooks were first introduced, OEMs tried to sell systems with some flavour of Linux on them. Look at how far that got. When it comes to mobile devices (phones/tablets), it took a giant like Google to take one version of Linux and brand it as Android for it to become as popular as it has become today. Open-source is one thing, but money makes the world go round, and people and companies will pay for supported software. Most Linux distros are not yet in a position to be considered for non-server applications.

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for competition and improvement of software. I just don't think we're at the point yet where Linux, in all of its variants, is a viable option for a desktop or mobile environment. We're getting one version standing miles ahead of the rest for mobile devices, and it's taken a software giant in order to get it where it is today.

 

[WelshBloke]

What's the point of Linux?

It gives me an escape route that doesn't involve apple for when Microsoft bollock up windows as they appear to be doing with win8.

 

[teh_pwnerer]

What's the point of Linux?

It gives me an escape route that doesn't involve apple for when Microsoft bollock up windows as they appear to be doing with win8.

Who says you have to get Windows 8?

Apple or Crapple as I like to say, sucks. No reason to ever touch that operating system.

 

[Albatross]

Ubuntu is pretty noob friendly but if you like games or are working with some huge graphic package forget about Linux.
And Linux might be the superior OS but the average guy wants a next-next-next install of all things and doesn`t care about cml,repositories, hardened software and stuff like that.

 

[sourceninja]

I wouldn't use the hackers ignore linux argument for security. It may have worked in the past with apple (but with recently apple popularity more and more exploits are coming out of the woodwork), but linux makes the world go around. It has always been and will always be a large target for hackers.

There is a reason why apparmor and selinux exist. There is a reason for the very well structured permission system and file system layout. Trusted linux vendors and their package management systems also add to the security (one place to trust rather than a hundred and if I can't trust my linux vendor, why am I using their OS). There is also a culture designed with security in mind. You are taught from day one to not run as root, and in fact some distros even prevent logging into the GUI as root, limiting the exposure of exploits caused by the user (something windows didn't really have until windows 7), you have a system that is vetted by developers all over the world looking for exploits and ways to get their name heard. You have paid developers from multiple companies all using and working on the same source looking for bugs and exploits. You even have the ability to run minimalistic setups with nothing installed but the bare minimum to achieve your task. I do this with my VM servers, each server only has 'enough linux' to run the required application and login to a bash shell if there is a major issue. There is also 'more than one way to do it'. This makes targeting linux systems a bit harder. You don't know if you are looking for a KDE exploit, gnome exploit, unity exploit, what packages are installed, what package manager they have, where config files are located, how config files are managed, what filesystem type the user is using, or even what bootloader the system is setup with. Your attack will need to be much more complicated than an attack on a 'known system'.

All of this is still not perfect, nothing ever is, and if linux is more secure than windows 7/2008 server/8 is still debatable. However what is not debate is the security of linux being more than just "not targeted by hackers".

 

[lxskllr]

Steam isn't running on Linux - Valve is porting their engine to work on Ubuntu. When it comes to gaming, you're still being pigeonholed into one OS or the other. General *nix support is a very long ways off.

Once it's on Ubuntu, it's on everything. It may not be supported in the sense they're obligated to answer you questions, but it'll work.

Linux is an alternative OS, but IMHO, until a group becomes the clear forefront for *nix-based computing it will never pick up ground on the home computing front. When netbooks were first introduced, OEMs tried to sell systems with some flavour of Linux on them. Look at how far that got.

AFAIK, netbooks never came with a good distro on them. Mine wasn't in my possession more than an hour before I wiped Xandros, and put Ubuntu on it. They always seem to use crappy, third tier distros. For oems selling preconfigured GNU/Linux boxes... Who does? Where do you actually see it? The answer is you don't. You either get Walmart selling garbage hardware with GNU/Linux, or Dell selling marginal hardware, with GNU/Linux options hidden in the back corners of their site. Oems haven't made an effort, and the results of not putting in an effort are as-expected. There's a few makers that build GNU/Linux only systems, but the prices are higher due to them being boutique shops.

. Most Linux distros are not yet in a position to be considered for non-server applications.

Of course they are. Millions of people around the world use GNU/Linux for fun and profit every day, and that doesn't count Android, which isn't GNU/Linux, but is Linux. Windows isn't as essential as people think, and many are starting to realize that, including MS. I don't see GNU/Linux ever holding a majority share of desktops, but it gets more relevant every year, and MS' stranglehold on the desktop is slowly decreasing.

 

[TheSlamma]

Of course they are. Millions of people around the world use GNU/Linux for fun and profit every day, and that doesn't count Android, which isn't GNU/Linux, but is Linux. Windows isn't as essential as people think, and many are starting to realize that, including MS. I don't see GNU/Linux ever holding a majority share of desktops, but it gets more relevant every year, and MS' stranglehold on the desktop is slowly decreasing.

IMO the thing that would help linux get over the hill for the average user is getting it so apps that are not in the repository are easier to install. With Windows it's click click, next next next and done. With linux it depends on the app or plugin, but I can tell you now getting certain browser plugins into this linux mint I'm testing out have not been cool to do at all. With windows I go out to filehippo and grab the version I want and I'm running it in seconds. Don't get me wrong I love linux for many things, I support lots of ubuntu web servers and they are work horses that just never go down. But for an average user there is still a lot of pain in software land. Now of course if it's in the repositories it's simply awesome!

 

[Mem]

Linux is great because its free ,open source and thousands of applications,I use Ubuntu on one of my PCs,Windows 7 and 8 for PC gaming and Android Tablet(Android is Linux based as the other member previously stated and we all know how big the Android market share is) which has thousands of games/applications ,plenty free in Google Play store.


I would be 100% on Linux only if there was no Windows PC games.

Another plus point there is no registry in Linux .

 

[Jodell88]

Steam isn't running on Linux - Valve is porting their engine to work on Ubuntu. When it comes to gaming, you're still being pigeonholed into one OS or the other. General *nix support is a very long ways off.

All the videos and screenshots that I've seen running steam natively on Ubuntu means you're wrong.

No one is being pidgeonholed into using Ubuntu if they want Steam at all. I expected it to be available for Arch within a week of the official release.
I can also use Unity or Cinnamon if I want to, without using Ubuntu or Linux Mint. :biggrin: