Why Linux anyway?

if you feel ok using windows and like it, then linux is not for you. you are setting youself up for dissapointment. linux is only for people that are looking for an OS with completely different traits than windows. with linux, you control the OS, the OS doesn't control you (to steal a quote based on communist ideology ). linux gives you MUCH more control over your computer than windows will ever give you. it's also much more secure than windows will ever be (there's a reason that most websites are hosted on linux). lastly, linux is much less bloated than windows and is a lot faster as well. I can emulate programs in windows with wine and they end up running as fast, if not faster, than they do in windows for me.

the bottom line: if windows works for you and you like it, linux is not the OS for you. if you're up for a challenge and don't mind trying new things that don't necessarily work the way you expect them to then you may very well end up liking linux!

i started out with linux as a toy, just fooling around, but here we are a few years later, i use it more often, and more seriously than i ever used windows.

the only reason i keep windows around still is for some games (since lately i've been playing ET, which is available for linux, no need for windows games i suppose) and to sync my pda (I wont lie....synce still needs some work).

now as to why do i use linux:

If setup correctly it is:
-fast
-secure
-flexible
-just works!

i mean it really really just works better for me. my favorite distro is ubuntu, scratch that, xubuntu when i can get it to work right. my 2nd favorite is pclinuxos when works right (i have a conflict with power management and sound on my hardware, i can get one or the other to work at a time, not both). and of course everbody loves gentoo, eventhough i only successfuly managed to get it working all of never! haha...it requires work i dont have time to do...maybe over the summer sometime i'll do it.

I think that if you're happy with win, stick to it. I get paid to be a sysadmin. I work for a MS shop. I know Win like the back of my hand. If you want to learn something different go for linux. Don't be fooled in thinking the two have nothing in common. It quite the opposite, both have many similarities in the function. It's just how it is done that is different. Kick it around a little and see what you like. Whatever you do go into it with an open mind.

you sound like you want something you're used to, and that you're not willing to spend time to learn a whole new way of doing things. If that's true linux will simply frustrate you. If you want to have control of your computer, and what happens to the data on it, and you're willing to spend a significant amount of time and effort to learn it Linux is a very worthwhile and rewarding exercise. I basically started with one of the "hard" distros, and personally think it's the way to go. IMHO, the "newb" friendly distros just dont give you enough impetus to learn. I started with Slackware and have learned a LOT. From what I hear Gentoo will also force you learn a lot (difference being you have to do the learning to get Gentoo to install at all, Slackware will install e-z as pie, but to get it set up nice it takes some effort.)

So in a nutshell if you dont want to put in the effort to learn something new, stick with Windows, if you WANT to learn a new (and better) way, then dive in, and give Linux a go.

I too would like to learn how to use linux. I have played with a few flavors in the past. Usually had problems with video drivers. I gave up regular use of a desktop and became a mobile user. I have knoppix live on a usb drive but i have a broadcom wireless card and dont have the knowledge to install driver. Anyone know of a good site just to learn linux commands. I know alot of users will find it a challenge and want to try it, but there is a lack of support for linux for newbies.

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=21715

and I learned a lot from the rute users tutorial

wpa2 is not impossible


i have been using WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK TKIP AES for long time

to setup wireless, the broadcom native drivers are still in very uber early alpha stages (...or in english: don't touch n00bs). so your best alternative here is to setup ndiswrapper, there are THOUSANDS of tutorials available online, so i am not even gonna bother explainging it

to setup nvidia is a piece of cake.....once you get it once, you'll get it forever. it took me a while how to setup my ati drivers, but once i did it once, i've done it dozens of times since and it worked almost like magic almost every time. and mind you nvidia is easier than ati to setup. again, google some linux forums (linuxquestions, ubuntuforums).

its really not all that hard.

Ok so I have been using Linux for about, well lets say a fair while. I am fairly sure I am over 5 years now, I think around 8.

I do have windows boxes still, primarily for my wife.

My honest opinion? Linux is best used when you KNOW what you will be doing with a computer and what to set it up specificly for that purpose. I just recently came to that conclusion however, the main factor in it though was using a Mac.

In all honesty, if you want to learn your computer, and expand your knowledge on technology go with Linux. It will require time and effort to do, but after you have done so it is amazingly flexible and customizeable to allow you to set up a box to do practically anything. Want a new DVR? See MythTV. Want an audio recording machine? How large? Serious mixdown/recording work? See ardour/jack/whatever other software you want. Something smaller just to do one or two tracks that can be controlled from buttons on the front of the machine? Havent done that myself yet, but chances are a Mini-Itx box, Linux, and alsarecorder would do this for you, or alsaplayer for playback, map those buttons to shell scripts to launch the appropriate process and you have a nice machine set up. New wireless router/access point? Linux and an embedded board. The same basic concepts to linux apply no matter what the project, it is extermely flexible, runs on a large variety of hardware(Not thinking just x86 Intel hardware here as some of that is not supported at times, think PPC, SPARC, MIPS, etc hardware, and even more specialized stuff I believe)

I dont think Linux on the desktop is dead, but I do think its strong suit at the moment is in its flexibility and ability to be customized for a specific desktop. My desktop for instance is going to be going throguh the process of turning it into a straight Mixdown recording station(I do audio for a living). I am not going to be doing anything else on it really, it will have a web browser and other basic internet tools so I can transfer my work as needed but that is about it.

My Mac Laptop though will be where my calendar/email/general use goes. And when I need to I can do smaller audio projects on it with decent success.

I really need to spend some time and type out a full document on this to post up, but I hope this gives you the basic idea. Can linux be used for a general desktop for your average user? Oh heck yes, Ubuntu does a great job of this IMO. But its true strength lies along a more focused path at the moment I believe. Buisness Desktop with email/calendar/web browsing and not much else is extremely doable and easy in linux most of the time though so if that is all you are doing, then feel free to try it out. If you have more specialized focueses though take some time and explore what you can do with it.

Seablade

i too am a linux noob but ive been spending a few hours a night reading up on it. i think most noob linux users just get frustrated by the lingo because they have not done there homework. i know ive gotten frustrated everytime i try to do an install (notice i said try, ive yet to get a working install), but i am not discouraged. i will get my gentoo up and running somehow, even if it takes me a year :P. but back to what i was saying, the lingo. everyday i come on these forums and have to google half of the stuff the linux guys say, esp when they are talking to eachother and not the noobs. hell, i even have a friend who is willing to do the install for me but i think that in the long run it will only hurt me. now i have asked ppl to help me with a walk through but i think that is different then having my buddy install and emerge my system will i sit back and wait. i want to learn the command line, and this is proving harder then i thought. but like i said, im not discouraged, i just realize i need to learn more. my reason for wanting to goto linux is multi-layered. first off, windows sucks and is completely frustrating. nothing is open source and is set up to keep us out of the in's and out's. secondly, i seek a challange and eventually want to build my own distro's (gonna be kewl). another thing about linux is almost everything is free. its made by computer users for computer users, and who doesnt love that. bottom line, i dont like being at the mercy of billy boy gates and microsoft useing us as lab rats. all os's are going to have bugs, but i feel much better not having to pay a priemium price for crappy software that wont even begin to work correctly until the second or third service pack.

i know this probably sound like a rant, espcially for a noob, but i had to get this off my chest. windows has drivin me to linux.

*forest gump voice* well thats all i have to say about that**

I am surprised no one has said this "TRUSTED COMPUTING" ! Microsoft's (and others) plan to control what and how you use YOUR computer ! Soon if corparate america has any say in it , they will not allow what they see as non profitable use take place on your desktop . Paranoia ? Did you hear about Sony's rootkit adventure ? Any others out there ? Who knows for sure ? Anyway knowledge is power and by using Linux or any other alternative OS you will learn something , and have some fun along the way . I know I can live without my computer as most of can if we had to . I use it for FUN !

i didnt switch to linux because of this, but once i found about about ms's plan with vista, i've double my love for linux! hopefully i'll never have to install vista.

Linux is flexible and challenging, and it can be fun to work with. Like anything else in life, you get out of it what you put into it. I also use Linux as a back-up OS and a diagnostic tool to help me determine if problems I am having in windows are hardware or software related.

For anyone who wants to learn exactly how linux works, I'd recommend installing Gentoo Linux (and configure the kernel manually). It will be a pain, but if you force yourself to make everything work, it will turn out to be a great experience.

if everything else works and wifi is your only bother, just resolve the issue. if you have intel 2100/2200 card, just rebuild the kernel to include the support if you have atheros just install madwifi http://madwifi.org/wiki/UserDocs/FirstTimeHowTo if you have broadcom, ndiswrapper to the rescue its really not all that difficult. have fun with it. make linux only as difficult as you want to. i forexample am messing around with sourcemage right now (for advanced users only! dont use sourcemage noobs) and its fun, really learning a lot, and its fast like a mofo (hello building from source + optimizations) but you know how these things are....

I have been a UNIX admin since 1985 so Linux is very easy for me to install and maintain.

Alex

I'm suprised that no one has mentioned VMWare's VMPlayer, and the images of ubuntu that they have made available.
A perfect way for a lunix noob to dabble, without potentially compromising their windows installation.

Sounds like a problem on your end. Nvidia video hardware is supported very well in linux (compared to ati). My 7800gtx go performs phenominally. I have no noise issues.