What is Digg?654 Comments
- brstilson, on 10/10/2007, -24/+112This is one reason to use Windows that keeps me from switching:
games - Salgat, on 10/10/2007, -43/+116If you're willing to put aside a few hours to learn the basic functions of Linux and how to operate it, and you're not constrained to Windows apps that haven't don't have OS clones, then there isn't much reason to use Windows. Linux is more secure, stable, cheaper, and provides a lot of nice freeware.
- curt082480, on 10/10/2007, -2/+54Last year I ordered a server from dell with the 'No Operating System' option because I was going to put Fedora on it. I must have received atleast 3 phone calls from Dell guys trying to explain to me that the OS is "what the computer is" and that I needed one.
- waterdrop, on 10/10/2007, -46/+94No. Windows XP SP2 is the perfect OS for me.
- Irfit, on 10/10/2007, -40/+77No.
- snoopdogg, on 10/10/2007, -36/+72LOL, 30,000? versus the millions of windows computers they sell? yeah time to switch! not.
- fkr3, on 10/10/2007, -23/+57Up to 30,000 people requested Windows while I waited for my coffee machine to fire up.
- loconet, on 10/10/2007, -7/+38FTA:
"No killer application: while Linux users say it does things better, the system does not do anything major that latest Windows versions cannot"
Actually, one of the reasons I use Linux is for the things that Windows does that Linux does not. Such as try to control what I do with my own computer, nag me with security warnings, expose me to spyware/viruses/adware, waste resources on DRM, etc, etc, etc. While it could be argued that that there is little that Linux can do that Windows can't (on the a day-to-day desktop that is), it is those very "extra" features that Windows does that people should pay closer attention to. - eternal, on 10/10/2007, -8/+33On my home PC I run Linux.
I just want a machine that can access the internet, get my email, and play some music.
Linux can do all of that and at a cheaper cost. - Waterrat, on 10/10/2007, -8/+29A few hours!? it didn't take me a few hours to learn Linux!
And yes,games is the stickler here..The only reason I duel boot is so I can do a few games in Windows...Everything else is done in Freespire Linux,which I will use till Klikit Linux goes beta.
I have been using Linux for over a year and a half now and I truly do enjoy it.
Had I know Linux was *this* good,I'd have started using it a lot sooner! - BrandonMills, on 10/10/2007, -17/+35If we could somehow bribe the game developers to get onboard. -.- *sigh* But lets face it, they aren't even onboard the Mac yet, and the Mac is booming lately, so we have a chance in Hell of getting them over to Linux.
- dark_helmet, on 10/10/2007, -3/+19Dual boot, a duel is something you challenge people to. I don't like being a spelling Nazi, but too many people make that mistake
- Piedramente, on 10/10/2007, -19/+3530,000? That's it. Windows is officially dead.
*cough* - szembek, on 10/10/2007, -12/+28Windows XP Pro is very good. I don't have any problems with it and it's compatible with a lot more software than Linux. People still talk about windows as if they are getting blue screens of death.
- rebopper, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14Been living under a rock?
- loconet, on 10/10/2007, -13/+25wow, judging by the comments/moderation on this story, it seems like the the ms-fanboys are out in full force today! .. Their main pc must still be rebooting...
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13This Linux versus Windows is a lame duck argument. A computer is only an appliance. 99.99% of the population are only appliance operators. They would not know what an operating system is or its function. They are point and clickers. If you work in a technical field you use the OS as a tool for debugging. In other words you are making a living out of people screwing up their machines. Then you have to be competent with the OS and its workings. Both Linux and Windows have different applications. It depends what you are doing with the OS.
- abandonedhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11I'd like to see Microsoft and Apple duel with boots for weapons.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -3/+14Windows 2000 Advanced Server is perfect. I get so bored with it's stability I make it crash just for something to do.
- khorbin, on 10/10/2007, -12/+23I'll probably get the uber-digg-down for saying this, but where are the results? From reading Digg stories, I would be lead to believe that The Evil Windows Empire has been dead for years (Replaced by an army of XBox 360s, no less), and that Linux and Apple now control the entire market. But that's not the case. So, what I'm trying to say is wake me up when it actually happens. Ok, you can digg me down now. Thanks!
- MassaYoda, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10To be fair to Linux, just because Microsoft puts out fewer security updates shouldn't be a sign that it's more secure. They don't push out their updates until "Patch Tuesday" once a month, which means that once a flaw is found it can go as long as a month without being fixed. They can also bundle their patches together on said patch tuesday, which would give them a lower security patch count, even though they're fixing a months worth of flaws.
At least with Linux and OS X you get the patches as soon as they're ready. - rudy23, on 10/10/2007, -35/+45of those 30,000 I can assure you 25,000 have wiped of teh linux to install windows. They get the linux option cos it cuts the price of windows from the final price tag and use their own . . . ahem copies of windows.
- OBKenobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Most consumers out there use their PCs for three or four basic tasks:
1. WWW & Email
2. Watching movies, and listening to their pirated music.
3. M$ Office, and perhaps some financial stuff.
4. A few do stuff with photos, using their pirated copy of Photoshop
There is a smaller subset that plays games. This is about the only thing that's really missing from Linux at this point that would be a major turn off for consumers. Otherwise, if the hardware is compatible, I really don't see why a noob would have trouble using Linux, it's gotten to the point where it's easier to install some apps in Linux than it is in Windows! There's none of that registration and activation nonsense. - lyzz, on 10/10/2007, -7/+16Linux not being ready for mainstream use is your personal opinion. There are many others who would say the same thing about Windows.
I agree on the software support. There are many awesome apps for Linux though. The problem is that commercial providers haven't written for it yet due to lack of profitability. - TeamWookie, on 10/10/2007, -11/+20I used to do tech support for a major PC manufacturer and it would be scary seeing the common user trying to operate Linux. Face it guys, windows is gonna be here for awhile
- chris9902, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11I'm not sure if that is a joke or not? PC games have been HD resolutions since the 90s.
- manstein01, on 10/10/2007, -4/+13"and it's compatible with a lot more software than Linux"
Correction, a lot more software is written for it than Linux. OS's are not compatible with software, more the other way around. - MasteRR, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11You installed UT2k4 on Linux lately? It is a piece of cake. The installer is pretty much identical to the Windows installer. The one difference? If you want it installed system wide you have to run the installer with sudo or as root. But that should not be considered a downside. Ever try installing a game on Windows as a limited user? The devs just need to put a little effort into it and not just blow off Linux as harder. With OpenGL and SDL development isn't any harder than on Windows.
- Xanium4332, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10OK, so those 'Ubuntu security updates' are for ***every*** application you've got installed. I bet if you were to check whether there were security updates for all the pieces software on your Windows pc (not just for windows), you'd probably get more than Ubuntu. But of course, the companies making those pieces of software won't call them security fixes, just 'enhancements'. The commercial aspect of Windows applications causes many of these problems just to be covered up.
Also, the reason there are lots of security fixes is because there are lots of people checking the code. With Windows, it's up to the company developing the software to check for problems, where with Linux 1000s of people are checking the code continuously. It's like admitting there's holes and patching them vs. turning a blind eye and not acknowledging them. It's not that there's more security problems in Linux, it's just that with Windows they're covered up.
Oh and if you need proof of how secure Linux is, just ask the viruses... - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1430,000 buyers... you don't say... out of how many sold a year worldwide... millions? I like Linux too, but lets be realistic about it. You've got to imagine that people that bought it probably don't know much about Linux to begin with, because they could just install it on the machine they already own. There is a time and place for every OS.
- TexanPsycho, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12ATM I'm on Vista, I just reupgraed the other day. I wish I hadn't now, XP was so much better: faster, easier. Vista is just a graphics whore.
- MWeather, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12What was that? I was too busy playing UT2004 on my Ubuntu box at higher framerates than the Windows version on the same hardware.
- xspinkickx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8What basic commands, most people use a computer to surf the web, read emails. My father, who is old, and confused uses linux, granted I set him up for it, but he is able to do everything he needs to and I don't need to worry he can't install anything or nothing will install on it self. I have setup the system to automatically download security updates, so he I know at least he is up to date on security. Dell has done to linux what manufacturers have been doing for windows, pre-installing the OS. How many windows users know how to install windows??
Also with a stable userspace API, we (linux) users can see more driver support as that means lazy manufacturers can now write drivers that are in userspace, with out having to worry if the next kernel update with kernel API changes will break their driver. - SteveMax, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10My fiancée installs software, configures and generally maintains a Kubuntu installation in our home computer. She never used a command line interface, and there hasn't been anything she couldn't do (even Wine is running without problems).
- jambarama, on 10/10/2007, -5/+13I disagree completely. Linux is not only a geek's OS, it is ready for mainstream use. Ubuntu & SuSE are great examples of easy Linux ready for anyone. There are some things it is not ready for though, such as (and I'm sure I'm missing a few):
PC Gamers - While there is no reason Linux can't be a great platform, everything is written for Windows (with some notable exceptions)
Creative Professionals - Photoshop will run in Wine, but Illustrator & much of the rest will not. Certainly no good video editing software runs in Linux.
Lastly - Windows ricers. You know, the type of person who installs every little tweak, runs beta software, and thinks they know their computer stuff when they really just know Windows tools.
Linux IS ready for those who want a free, stable system capable of web browsing, email, & office (word & whatnot), that is reasonably secure. Which is what I'd say "mainstream use" is. Not every program needs to be ported over, there are great replacements for about everything (exceptions above). Mac OSX doesn't have every app ported over, but everyone knows OSX is "ready for mainstream use." - Seph7, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9The reason its got better security is because of those countless updates, because a large community of people work on linux rather than a single company security flaws are found quicker and are updated quicker. Security updates are good.
- lyzz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8What you need to look for is NetworkManager. It simplifies wireless on Linux to the point of equality with Windows for most wireless devices.
- Wyzard, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8When you install Windows, it replaces your system's MBR code (which may contain something like GRUB or LILO that lets you choose which OS to boot) with Microsoft's MBR code, which just loads Windows directly without giving you any choice in the matter.
The result is that if you reinstall Windows on a dual-boot system, you lose the ability to boot the other OS until you put the correct bootloader back in place. (This generally involves booting a Linux installation CD and using some sort of repair command rather than doing a normal installation.) - richard2, on 10/10/2007, -6/+14Excrement is also free.
- Wyzard, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7"Don't forget the fact that you have to install a new kernel on a daily basis due to the daily list of exploits being patched."
A few times per year would be a more realistic number for that.
"but the true issue is that they can't seem to patch anything without creating additional security problems."
No, security fixes are generally fairly minor code changes, and don't cause further breakage. New security flaws will always be found, in any OS, but they're rarely caused by the earlier fixes.
You can bash Linux for the number of package updates, but it has a pretty respectable real-world track record for security. No history of crippling worms that infect half the installed userbase, as seems to happen to Windows every few years.
I'm actually reassured by the number of updates -- it's a sign that potential issues are being fixed as soon as they're noticed. On Windows you get the patches that Microsoft releases, but you have no idea what other potential problems they may be aware of internally, but don't consider important enough (in their cost/risk analysis) to pay programmers to spend time fixing. On Linux I've seen security patches for code that someone thought looked dubious, even though there's no actual exploit currently known. Better to fix it *before* it becomes an exploitable hole. - MasteRR, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9More programs? You haven't checked out what is available have you? It may not be the propriatary software you are used to, but 95% of the programs out there have OSS equivilants. And there is a lot of propriatary that does have ports. And as for games, there are quite a few. UT, Unreal, UT2k3/4, Doom 1,2,3,3roe, RTCW, Enemy Territories, Quake 1-4, Second Life, Duke 3d, Neverwinter Nights, Savage 1/2, and much more. Plus a buttload of games run under Cedega, Wine, or Crossover. And don't forget all the little knockoff games based off the open sourced engines from doom, quake, and duke.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10The whole 30,000 thing is a total sham as well.
Remember, these aren't linux PCs shipped, they're expressions of interest, not actual sales.
And I'd bet my last dollar that about half of those 30,000 are stupid 'leet haxor' script kiddies who hate 'teh evil M$' and so went to dell's site and filled in one of the lame questionaire things claiming that they want linux installed. Of course then they had to get off dad's computer so he could finish his business report. - lyzz, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8Things are not gaurenteed to work under WINE. It's much less of an inconvenienced to dual boot at this point. That is improving for sure, but for now it's YMMV. See http://appdb.winehq.org/ for details.
- Waterrat, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10 It used to be scary maybe but it's not now. Linux is as easy to use as a OSX or Windows...it has the same friendly GUI interface and is quite intuitive.
- chris9902, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9PC may get less games but they are much higher quality. People play a PC game for years (CS:S, Unreal etc).
Plus PC gaming always drivers hardware improvements. The next big thing is always on the PC first. - tech42er, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Nope. We'd be talking about Ubuntu 27.04 Zesty Zebra.
- oirvine, on 10/10/2007, -3/+9i installed Ubuntu last night on a laptop with tons of software. I didn't use the command line once. That said, I don't think linux is quite ready for prime time yet.
- CoolioVendetta, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Im using Linux and it has nothing to do with screwing big corporations out of money. I also don't find it very attractive.
Your comment is very Windows fanboyish, quite ironic really. - hypershadow147, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Ummm.... I didn't think that there was a 64-bit flash player on any platform
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Beyond.
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