What are the advantages of using Linux over Windows for PC desktop users?

[symbolipoint]

Maybe I should have presented this as a poll: But what are the favorite computer operating systems among Mathematics, Physics, and Engineering enthusiasts (students, professionals, teachers, researchers)? Any particular or general reasons why?

 

[radou]

Do you really want to know? :tongue:

Well, MS-DOS is one of my favourites. Nostalgy, I guess.

 

[ranger]

As a student I use linux based systems in my computer engineering courses for hardware based programming in assembly and C/C++. The reason is becuase it comes with all the needed libraries right from the install so there is no need to go looking for them. And also there are no licensing issues to worry about.

 

[Dr Transport]

All the *nix flavors...

 

[Anttech]

IOS... But it was actually made from Unix I believe.

I use *nix at home along with xp and osX. My preference depends on what I am trying to do.. I use osx the most however, and I like the interface, and even more so I like what is under the hood... For Buisness application I prefer Unix or Solaris.

 

[robphy]

I like a cygwin-windows combination.

 

[neutrino]

I've been sticking to Linux for the past few months. I've not tried out all the flavours, so I'm still a newbie. I still have XP sitting for a few things. Once I find apps that can do stuff that I rely XP for, then I will bid farewell to Windows. (Actually, the rest of the world would do that too, if they can find the suitable programs that run on Linux )

 

[ranger]

I've been sticking to Linux for the past few months. I've not tried out all the flavours, so I'm still a newbie. I still have XP sitting for a few things. Once I find apps that can do stuff that I rely XP for, then I will bid farewell to Windows. (Actually, the rest of the world would do that too, if they can find the suitable programs that run on Linux )

If you want to try all the flavors, you have a long way to go. There are over 350 distros out there ;) If you are looking for win32 equivalent apps, you can look through this list for some suggestion.

 

[neutrino]

I don't want to go through all the distros, at least not right now...I'm not that adventurous. May be the most popular ones, with a large user base and support, in the near future, say FC, openSUSE, et.al. In fact, new ones are popping up like mushrooms on a daily basis. There's one distro, and there are two others, which are same excpet for desktop environments, and the one with closed-source stuff pre-installed, and one with no closed-source stuff at all, and then there's one with a religious bias!

 

[ranger]

...and one with a religious bias!

Could this be Ubuntu for Christians (Ubuntu Christian Edition)? :rofl:

I tend to stick with the only open source software (even games!). I dislike having any closed source software on my [linux] machine. IMHO, it goes against the philosophy of GNU/Linux. I tend to limit myself to rpm and pkg based distros only. It helps in the decision process of figuring out what new distro to use next.

 

[neutrino]

Could this be Ubuntu for Christians (Ubuntu Christian Edition)? :rofl:

Actually, I listed all the off-shoots of Ubuntu there, including Ubuntu CE. K/X/Ubuntu, Linux Mint, gNewSense and Ubuntu CE.

I tend to stick with the only open source software (even games!). I dislike having any closed source software on my [linux] machine. IMHO, it goes against the philosophy of GNU/Linux. I tend to limit myself to rpm and pkg based distros only. It helps in the decision process of figuring out what new distro to use next.

I just have a few proprietary software on borad (Ubuntu 6.10). Acrobat Reader, Opera, although I Firefox is my browser of choice.

 

[Moridin]

My opinion is that Windows is the worlds best operating system based on the fact that even though it has its downs, it is still designed to be usable for a variety of users ranging from retired to beginners and it isn't that shameful for programming either.

However, as a not-so-generic computer user, I would have to say any open source (ish) system designed for programming, modeling and overall computations. Take your pick.

 

[Anttech]

My opinion is that Windows is the worlds best operating system based on the fact that even though it has its downs,

Actually it really does depend on what systems you want to operate, right? Windows wouldn't be the worlds best operating system for a fridge or perhaps a space shuttle now would it

Anyway I disaggree and would say that a Mac is far easier to use than windows, (for a desktop pc)... But easy of use for me doesn't equate with best

 

[Moridin]

Actually it really does depend on what systems you want to operate, right? Windows wouldn't be the worlds best operating system for a fridge or perhaps a space shuttle now would it

Anyway I disaggree and would say that a Mac is far easier to use than windows, (for a desktop pc)... But easy of use for me doesn't equate with best

True.

What I meant to say was that Windows is one of the most all around versatile operating systems.

 

[ranger]

True.

What I meant to say was that Windows is one of the most all around versatile operating systems.

It depends on your perception of "all around versatile".

 

[Dr Transport]

Waiting on my dual boot Fedora Core--XP laptop right now...

 

[NoTime]

It depends on your perception of "all around versatile".

:rofl: Versatile is what's available that gets the job done with the least amount of aggavation on my part.

In the case of uPs there is no OS, you write your own.

I might note that MS DOS could be considered a variant of UNIX. :tongue2:

 

[Anttech]

I might note that MS DOS could be considered a variant of UNIX.

Why?......

 

[graphic7]

Here's several pictures of my new laptop that will run my "preferred" operating system -- Solaris.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85894987@N00/sets/72157594511620201/

 

[neutrino]

And now we have distros working together
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7103672739.html

 

[ranger]

I might note that MS DOS could be considered a variant of UNIX.

Not really though. A command line based OS is not like Unix just becuase of the command line. Its methodology is far different. The only OS that comes close to Unix is Linux (not sure about OSX).

 

[NoTime]

Not really though. A command line based OS is not like Unix just becuase of the command line. Its methodology is far different. The only OS that comes close to Unix is Linux (not sure about OSX).

With the exception of multitasking, I don't think the methadology is all that different.
Having worked with both, many of the commands and internal functions seem much the same.

Somewhere along the line I seem to recall that UNIX(LINUX), CPM(obsolete for years) and DOS all have roots in IBMs VM operating system.

 

[ranger]

With the exception of multitasking, I don't think the methadology is all that different.
Having worked with both, many of the commands and internal functions seem much the same.

Somewhere along the line I seem to recall that UNIX(LINUX), CPM(obsolete for years) and DOS all have roots in IBMs VM operating system.

I'll counter that by saying, having worked with both, the internal functions and commands arent the same Just a quick example, Unix manages its physical devices and hardware components in a different way than DOS- things such as mounting, the /dev directory, physical storage mediums treated as "real" directories.

Unix (1970's) was developed in Bell Labs(AT&T) using the C programming language. Linux was developed in 1991 (independent of IBM). I can only recall that MS DOS, OS/2, and Windows being developed as a result of IBM. IBM had nothing to do with Unix and Linux.

 

[mattmns]

Ubuntu for Christians? Ubuntu has gone a long way since the "porn distro" or was it "nude distro," I can't remember. Ahh, those great ubuntu wallpapers, best time of the month

 

[ranger]

Ubuntu for Christians? Ubuntu has gone a long way since the "porn distro" or was it "nude distro," I can't remember. Ahh, those great ubuntu wallpapers, best time of the month

They had a "porn distro"? wow! (And I promise I won't go looking for it). They also have Ubuntu Satanic Edition

 

[mattmns]

:rofl: Nah, it was a monthly wallpaper that featured semi-nude models. They stopped using it 2 years ago or so. Because of this some people jokingly called Ubuntu the "porn distro"

*cough* search google for "ubuntu calendar" and you can find some of the wallpapers.

 

[NoTime]

I'll counter that by saying, having worked with both, the internal functions and commands arent the same Just a quick example, Unix manages its physical devices and hardware components in a different way than DOS- things such as mounting, the /dev directory, physical storage mediums treated as "real" directories.

Unix (1970's) was developed in Bell Labs(AT&T) using the C programming language. Linux was developed in 1991 (independent of IBM). I can only recall that MS DOS, OS/2, and Windows being developed as a result of IBM. IBM had nothing to do with Unix and Linux.

I did find this

ironically enough, DOS 2.0 eclipsed CP/M largely because Microsoft's co-founder Paul Allen merged in Unix features including subdirectories and pipes).

 

[graphic7]

IBM was, indeed, fairly late to the UNIX game. They stayed true to the mainframe way until the mid 80s, when they decided to hire several UNIX vendors (Bull and INTERACTIVE UNIX Systems) to integrate various bits of SVR3 and BSD 4.2 and 4.3, where the end result was AIX.

 

[graphic7]

Not really though. A command line based OS is not like Unix just becuase of the command line. Its methodology is far different. The only OS that comes close to Unix is Linux (not sure about OSX).

OS X is actually much closer to UNIX than Linux is. OS X derives from NeXTSTEP, which was essentially Mach plus various bits from BSD 4.2 or 4.3, and thus can be traced back to one of the Bell Labs' releases of UNIX. Linux, on the other hand, shares no code with any of the derivatives of Bell Labs' UNIX.

 

[neutrino]

*cough* search google for "ubuntu calendar" and you can find some of the wallpapers.

coughr search the top-rated wallpapers at gnome-look.org:cough

 

[Anttech]

Not really though. A command line based OS is not like Unix just becuase of the command line. Its methodology is far different. The only OS that comes close to Unix is Linux (not sure about OSX).

Mac OSX is Unix, so it is closer than Linux. The windowing system is aqua, but under the hood it is a Unix, in fact it is open sourced Darwin.

http://developer.apple.com/opensource/index.html

 

[Anttech]

With the exception of multitasking, I don't think the methadology is all that different.
Having worked with both, many of the commands and internal functions seem much the same.

Somewhere along the line I seem to recall that UNIX(LINUX), CPM(obsolete for years) and DOS all have roots in IBMs VM operating system.

Sorry that isn't true, you still have crossover now with some of the shell command, like cd for example. The whole file system is structured different, the kernal is different, Dos is not a mulituser enviroment, Unix is, security wasnt implemeted in dos, it was in Unix.

Yes M$ stole some part of the Unix code, but its a far streach from saying its a variant of Unix.

 

[NoTime]

Sorry that isn't true, you still have crossover now with some of the shell command, like cd for example. The whole file system is structured different, the kernal is different, Dos is not a mulituser enviroment, Unix is, security wasnt implemeted in dos, it was in Unix.

Yes M$ stole some part of the Unix code, but its a far streach from saying its a variant of Unix.

It's my opinion is that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck...

In the sense that you mean, that actual original code was imported then ok.
Under your concept the generic Intel machine bears no relation to the original IBM PC since the BIOS was developed independently to avoid copywrite restrictions.
The new BIOS was, however, developed to work identically.

As far as the file system goes.
When DOS 2.0 was released a 5meg HDD cost as much as a new car.
That they added the UNIX structures to the existing floppy drive access system for some compatibility, was IMO, more of a concession to the existing user base.

 

[Anttech]

It's my opinion is that if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck...

Its a cow pretending to be a duck?

 

[NoTime]

Its a cow pretending to be a duck?

:rofl: Put your favorite UNIX(LINUX) core on a 4.5mhz x86 processor with 64k of memory and tell me which one is that :rofl:

Every tool has its place.
Just because you have a hammer doesn't mean that everything is a nail