VANITY: Is Linux Better Than Windows

[CodeToad]

“but if soemthign does go wrong- it’s dauntin”

Same with a Mac. Heck, not even Apple is very helpful when crap goes wrong on a Mac. They typically blame the user.

[scottteng]

Linux seems to require some degree of geekyness to use. Windows on the other hand is slower than molasses running up hill in a northern January especially on my admittedly older Windows box. All I do is surf the web, check e-mail, fb, fr, and order stuff online. I discovered reconditioned Chromebooks for as low as $50 you get to web surf infinitely faster than Windows for disposable money. Light travels well boots instantly cheaper than my smartphone and performs well on aforesaid phone’s mobile hotspot.

[Joe Brower]

Now that’s funny.

[Openurmind]

In almost three years now I have never once needed to update my mint 18.3 Cinnamon and Kernel. With linux if you have a version and kernel that runs everything well, the OS never needs or requires to be updated. Rarely some of the 3rd party program apps maybe, but not the OS.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Agreed. I switched when WinXP was being replaced/sunsetted/unsupported. I built a new box and put in some seriously big hard drives and loaded Linux Mint 17.2 and haven't looked back. Sure there are some Only-Runs-on-Windows programs I miss but most will run using PlayOnLinux or Wine.

Even my wife likes it better than Windows.

[Sodbuster]

I’m a basic user with technical background, but not a computer geek. I switched to Linux Mint over a year ago. I got tired of all the garbage on Windows that slowed it down. It seemed like the sole purpose of Windows was to expose you to advertising and sell you crap. It’s a crap OS IMO. I can dual boot into either Windows or Linux. I still have programs that require Windows. Linux is so much faster for basic browsing, email, banking, etc w/o all the garbage. No regrets and will only use Windows when I have to.

[Bob434]

We’ve all gotten used to my linux system- as it is very similar to windows really- we just like the linux better than windows really because windows you always had to be on your toes to try to avoid viruses- websites were always redirecting you to virus infected sites that tried to auto download viruses onto your computer- it was tirign keeping up with everythign to try to keep it safe-

We still hae to take precautions with linux- but not nearly as much- most viruses are written for windows- it’s just a lot better peace of mind using linux- and less work

Updates are super easy and quick too compared to windows updates AND we get to control our updates like we used to be able to in windows 7- but now windows 10 controls updates- what you get, when you get it etc- they’ve taken that control away from the user- not cool- -

linux mint is a very nice operating system- well all like it a lot now- (EXCEPT when something goes wrong- which i might add very rarely ever does- in several years, I’ve only had one single driver issue i had to fix- instructions weren’t easy- and in an earlier version of linux mint- ran into a boot issue that messed everything up big time- had to start all over from scratch- the ‘fixes’ were just way over my head-)

Realy though for many folks who don’t mess abotu with computers much- linux mint is just a ‘set it and forget it’ operating system- and there will be little to no problems for many many years- does nearly everything i need it to- and does it well- and it’s very safe- a big plus-

[DaxtonBrown]

I was only running my web server on Fedora Linux, but I went 100% Mint Cinnamon two years ago for desktop too. I don’t miss Windows at all. I was given a “worthless” 10 year old Windows 7 laptop last week that I reformated with Linux and it runs like a champ.

You used to need to be a geek to Run Linux, but not anymore. I’m sure there are better Windows programs here and there, but not enough for me to pay for. Savig big bugs, and it gets better each new free update.

[trebb]

These days it’s a matter of choice...Windows has some areas that are easier to configure but not many these days...LINUX has come a long way since when one had to be fluent in command line tweaks.

[Openurmind]

“True BUT- you need to be a geek to understand it and know how to use a terminal to fix things with code- aint easy- linux’s forums are great places to find info- but again- a lot of it is over my head- This is the one thing that intimates most people about linux-”

Know what I have found Bob? There are a lot of sources now that just lay it out in simple copy and paste format steps for you. The only time I had a technical adjustment was when I had to set custom values for my fan monitored temp variables because of my unique situation and slight heating issues. But... having that ability to custom adjust these values cured a common HP heating issue that all of these laptops had from the factory. This customization would have been much harder to do in Windows than it was with linux. :)

[wolfman]

It just isn’t viable to create sophisticated malware for an OS that has a 2% market share unless you have a very specific target in mind. Add to this that the average Linux user will have a better knowledge of what’s going on in their system and it just isn’t very attractive to bad actors.

[Bob434]

[[It seemed like the sole purpose of Windows was to expose you to advertising and sell you crap.]]

Yep- they sure did go down that road- with all their ‘app store’ crap-

As long as someone can learn how to dual boot- it really is having the best of both worlds- especially if the second os will be windows 7

I woudl suggest putting virtualbox on the windows machine, and running linux in that box IF one has to go online while in windows- will make it much safer-

only problem is i run a game online with my windows 7 os- iracing- can’t run it through a VM though unfortunately- but the site it runs through is safe- and likely will be while it is operational- I do not do any online browsing in windoes 7- but if i had to I’d fire up the VM and do so

[Bob434]

Yep- many do that now which is a big help- but finding out which lines of code you need for a specific problem can be daunting though- not for everything- some htigns are easy- but some issue solutions are quite confusing-

Had a ‘Xorg’ issue (on an update once) that was really difficult to figure out- it would do some really weird things on boot- I never did get it figured out- tried a bunch of command lines- course not knowing what i was doing i likely made things worse-

[atomic_dog]

Is Emacs better than vi?

[SunStar]

Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 > all other OSes. That is all.

[Openurmind]

This is your best reply here Ben... And Bob has played with the newest versions a lot as I have. Mint Cinnamon 18.3 will indeed be your best first time Linux experience. Stick to the older 18.3 version and update the kernel to what it suggests, the newer versions are having a few hardware driver issues, and 18.3 has worked everything like clockwork on everything both new and old I have installed it on. They even have this same version available for much older 32 bit machines too and it will take a 32 bit dinosaur brick and bring it up to current modern standards and capabilities.

[Bob434]

[[I was given a “worthless” 10 year old Windows 7 laptop last week that I reformated with Linux and it runs like a champ]]

Ahhh- ya shoulda kept the windows 7 too- and dual booted- windows 7 is getting very hard to find now-

[Paladin2]

"Can Linux run my DOS based software such as dBase5?"

Try it on a Virtual DOS Machine using VirtualBox.

[Linux Rules]

Yes it is.
Depending on the distribution: (I am currently using Linux Mint):

1. Faster
2, More secure
3. Change it anyway you want.
4. Many different distributions to select from.
5. Free
6. Fun to play around with. You will learn a lot.

The list goes on and on....

[Linux Rules]

I use LO and nothing else. It is amazing software for being free, Never had a compatibility issue with existing MS Office files.