Linux vs Windows: What Do I Choose?

[daniel_i_l]

A specious argument. You are right that open-source OSes like Linux and FreeBSD allow users to inspect their source code, to read and modify their system at the kernel level. This is also utterly useless to the 99.99%+ of computer users who don't even know or care to program, let alone muck around with a messy million-line codebase of C.

Writing kernel code isn't the only way to configure Linux. For example. the /proc file system let's users configure many aspects of the kernel without even rebooting.
Also, a lot of the userspace configuration is much more accessible to users and scripts through /etc than through the registry editor. I admit that I don't have a lot of experience installing XP so correct me if I'm wrong, but linux gives the user a many ways to configure the installation that arn't available in the XP installation.

 

[John Creighto]

Writing kernel code isn't the only way to configure Linux. For example. the /proc file system let's users configure many aspects of the kernel without even rebooting.
Also, a lot of the userspace configuration is much more accessible to users and scripts through /etc than through the registry editor. I admit that I don't have a lot of experience installing XP so correct me if I'm wrong, but linux gives the user a many ways to configure the installation that arn't available in the XP installation.

You can change the registry through scripts but maybe it is safer to do so on linux.

 

[Tacomablack]

I perfer linux, mostly for programming reason.

Problem 1.
The thing that really annoy me is that windows really does care about most convents. Opengl with vista is one issue that annoys me a great deal. OpenGL is acedemic and industry standard. And IE has a problem with CSS also, but you can use Firefox instead.

Problem 2.
When using windows it a must to use a virus scanner and firewall. This isn't windows fault that i only have a gig of memory but when my computer spends more time sniffing packets than doing actual work .

Problem 3.
Installing windows is painless but when i comes to adding programs that you need it takes forever. Install XP for my job, it took me 4 hours to install the programs that i need. When installed arch i had my system running in an hour with all that applications that i need thanks to the package manager.

I understand how people can like windows better than XP, however i just perfer Linux because there is better online support and it fits my needs. Those of you who think that linux is too confusing you should try MINT or Nubuntu, there probably the easiest ones to use. I use Arch linux(one of the fastest distros) and Backtrack( for pentration testing).

 

[tony134340]

I perfer linux, mostly for programming reason.

Problem 1.
The thing that really annoy me is that windows really does care about most convents. Opengl with vista is one issue that annoys me a great deal. OpenGL is acedemic and industry standard. And IE has a problem with CSS also, but you can use Firefox instead.

Problem 2.
When using windows it a must to use a virus scanner and firewall. This isn't windows fault that i only have a gig of memory but when my computer spends more time sniffing packets than doing actual work .

Problem 3.
Installing windows is painless but when i comes to adding programs that you need it takes forever. Install XP for my job, it took me 4 hours to install the programs that i need. When installed arch i had my system running in an hour with all that applications that i need thanks to the package manager.

I understand how people can like windows better than XP, however i just perfer Linux because there is better online support and it fits my needs. Those of you who think that linux is too confusing you should try MINT or Nubuntu, there probably the easiest ones to use. I use Arch linux(one of the fastest distros) and Backtrack( for pentration testing).

1. No retort there, I mostly agree.

2. I use no AV nor software firewall, though I do have a router. 10 years of using Windows and only one major virus in the napster days. If you use common sense, it's not generally a problem.

3. I keep commonly used apps in a folder so during any new install, they're there. Also, I keep images so installing with all my most commonly used apps can take less than 30 minutes.

I use both but mostly Windows. I just recently installed Mint and must say, I liked it and very pleased at the progress Linux has made. I've used Linux on and off for 6 years but it never really fulfilled all my needs as Windows has. If it weren't for gaming and lack of scanner driver, I would probably be using it full time. I'd like to recommend Linux but it really just depends on what you want to do.

 

[RiseAgainst]

I've been using Ubuntu 8.1 for a few weeks now, it's nice having the feeling of being a part of a community that actually cares about you. I like the look of Gnome, and the fact that nearly everything for Ubuntu is free.