digg

The right-wing, Microsoft-loving community of Digg will surely appreciate this eye-opening article.

great article on explaining even more in depth linux without going to in depth. ^_^

I have installed multiple versions of Linux but somehow keep ending back with windows. I think it was the fact all of my games had to be run on windows, and why dual boot just to surf the internet (since I do not program or use photo editing software like the GIMP or photoshop). I have no problem with Linux and one of my near future goals is to build a HTPC and run Myth TV using Linux. Right now I have a modded Xbox running XBMC, but the PIII and integrated graphics can not support HD content playback.

I just got my mom a laptop with ubuntu on it, it does everything a non-gamer needs and she can't much tell a difference. It shaved a bit off of the price tag as well.

If Linux OS' support games the way Windows does, I swear I'll use it right away.

everytime i install a linux distro something doesn't work. ubuntu is on the right track. but the wireless card i have in the laptop i installed it in is evidently satan's asshole in linux land. i spent 8 hours trying to get it working. ended up installing tinyxp instead. =/ i don't think games is the direction linux needs to take. b/c games is in the business of money as well as microsoft. i think if they could make it easier at the n00b user level.. instead of having to do stuff in the command line people perhaps would pick up on it. anyone who isn't at least intermediate working w/ computers is not going to get ndiswrapper going.. ubuntu definitely get's an F in wireless.

If I would have read this article ten years ago, I would have switched to Linux then, in stead of only 3 years ago..

I used linux for a while until I realised how much you have use terminal and manually edit config files. I went back to xp after spending a weekend trying to make it do what I want.

Will try again in a few years. When ubuntu learns lessons that microsoft learned in windows 95 and has gui alternatives for commandline and config editors, I will try it out again.

"My siblings were still asking me to install software for them after 5 years of Windows."
I know what he means! Double clicking on an executable file is so bloody hard! He mentions installing software by clicking a couple checkboxes... earth to author: that's about what installing most software on Windows is like.

Don't get me wrong... I love Linux and use it daily. But that's a jackassed comparison.

He lost about 20% of the readers when he said "I don't like OSX"...whoops.

But what’s with that penguin up there?

there is an article about this exact subject that makes the front page weekly on digg. seriously, stop preaching to the choir.

I freely admit I still don't get it.

As many have said before, and many will say again, we need better gaming support. (Yes, dual booting is the alternative, thanks for missing the point.)

Why hasn't there been a direct hardware access API built for Linux like they have for Windows? (DirectX) Ideally, DirectX would be an open spec so that hardware manufacturers can just build their card for one standard, instead of multiple. However, fat chance of that happening. The Linux community as a whole has reverse engineered many proprietary methods before (MS Office documents), why not for this?

Honestly, I really think MS opening up some of these proprietary methods would be a good thing for MS. Why? They will be forced to innovate, improve, and expand on their capabilities instead of trying to lock consumers into only being able to use their product. Perhaps they are afraid that if they do this, they will fail. I think MS has a lot of smart people working for them, they can make it happen.

Microsoft needs some 'healthy' competition. Linux security is great for now. Might change later, hard to say how much. If you have been tracking the development and rise of Linux for the last 10 years you will see that it's getting better and better. Above all, if you don't like it, go back to your other OS. No OS is perfect, they all have their drawbacks.

have a look at VMware, its free and you can run as many virtual machines on your PC as you like of any OS.
http://www.vmware.com/
Virtualization is the future :)

I tried Linux about 5-8 years ago when I was in junior high and high school and I had a ton of free time. That's something Linux needs, is free time. To figure out how to install a program, make a driver work, or hell just launch the program from a command prompt. I had to google to figure out the command just to get to the GUI from a command prompt. I don't want to use a OS where I have to google to figure out every task. I even tried it again 2 years ago and everything was the same...no simple installation file to make a driver work or install a program....gotta type in this command or that command to tweak it this wya or that. I have better things to do with my free time.

Freedom - not price, features or security - is the only reason to run Gnu/Linux.

You can't blame GNU/Linux or any particular distro for a lack of hardware support. You have to blame the manufacturers. Broadcom is the worst of the bunch, but unless manufacturers release specs about their hardware so that Linux devs can write drivers for them it becomes an extremely difficult process. They have to reverse engineer everything, which the manufacturers usually aren't too pleased about. If you want to run Linux without a bunch of issues, do some research up front. Buy hardware that's supported -- then you won't have to bitch and moan nearly as much.

I'm considering making the switch on my next computer purchase (maybe Dell's Ubuntu system) but I'm not exactly sold. I'm not a power user, but I'm not techtarded either. Will my 6-year-old printer work with it? What about a USB wireless card? New mp3 player? Can I easily install and run essential software like acrobat, photoshop, utorrent, firefox, winamp (or equivalent)? Can I open and edit .doc, .xls, .wpd, .ppt and other windowsey files? Are java script and flash any problem? Do I have to learn a programming language to customize the interface? I nearly failed C++, and that was 10 years ago.

i want to try Linux now, great read

Haha, can anyone offer me insight on how to dual boot Ubuntu or Kubuntu on my iMac. I already have Windows via Bootcamp. (Only reason I have windows is for GW)

It's easy to switch to Linux if you have a friend who knows how to install/use it, and is readily available to answer questions for you. I want to read an article from someone who has used Windows his whole life and tries to switch to Linux by himself, without the help of any RL people.

Buried for comma abuse.

Linux? it's the perpetual "OS of the future"!

Disclaimer: Linux/OSX user. ;)

when does the next release come out?

"You are free to study the program and adapt it to your needs. Even if you can’t code, if there’s something you want changed, there’s probably a 12 year old down the street who could make the changes for you. "

Therein lies the reason Linux will never garner a mainstream audience. Sad but true.

Mac is like a car you'd never touch, like a toyota or a vw. Philosophically, it doesnt break, you really cant mod it, and if you, your pretty much an idiot. When it does break, it pretty much trash, cause its unrepairable, too expensive to repair, or the manufacture doesnt care....like apple...

Windows is the general purpose car. The car you take to work and change to oil. If you don't change your own oil, see the mac section. You can have some fun in it, but you can drive the kids to school in it too..

Linux/Unix is basically the kit car. When you put it together, you have to understand automobiles inside out, not to mention mechanical engineering. It has a knob and switch for every setting. Fully programmable AWD to 4WD, low fuel consumption, large engine and very fun to drive. It can even run windows and mac inside itself, and even their respective server components if the computer is powerful enough. Windows is limited by its software, but linux is fully expandable to any sort of crazy system configuration and architecture.

There is a great appeal to Linux. The world (of tech) sees this appeal, and like moths to a light, are moving towards it. Linux won't be the revolution everyone wants it to be but a slow evolution to a world with more freedom. Look at what Microsoft is dishing out in API's these days. They would have never have thought of something like that just a few years ago.
l

Inaccurate, it was written by a chick. ***** or GTFO

/joking

I've been an Ubuntu user for almost a year now. While many of the avant-garde Linux proponents consider Ubuntu a dumbed-down or "too user friendly" OS, I think it's the best alternative to the Microsoft monopoly. What people seem to miss, and what I think is the most appealing advantage of the idea of Linux, is that it's open-source software. It's a progressive force, belonging to no one, yet available to all. It's simultaneously communal and democratic, sans the tunnel vision and polluted sponsorings of profit and capitalism. I think the answer to "Why I should try it?" isn't necessarily about Linux being better than Windows (though this non-gamer thinks it is), but rather about the advancement of open-source. Open-source promotes cooperation, participation, and efficiency simply because the active user has the option of tailoring certain features to their needs, as well as the needs of others. It's a concept and a philosophy the world, especially the good ol' US of A, really needs to embrace.

Ubuntu represents an attempt at meeting the needs of consumers who are not hard-core geeks, rather than forcing "The Linux Way (tm)" down their throats. But like someone mentioned, maybe in a few years it'll be there. Open source projects take a very long time.

Most people do not like to use the CLI or edit config files (like we had to do with Windows 3.1 -- that was fun!!! Let's turn back the clock to those good old days) or fart around configuring devices which in XP and OSX are plug-and-play. I'm a pretty hard core geek, but as I get older I realize I have better things to do with my time.