Stay with windows 10 or go with Linux

[RedRum69]

Good Day.

I currently am running windows 10 on my Laptop & Desktop. I do enjoy it though I would like some customization with my OS. I was thinking of Linux (Ubuntu, Zorin, RedHat) as I can further my System administration work and progress to cyber/information security. For information security; I use Kali Linux in a Virtual environment.

What I currently use my PCs for:
- Programming.
- Video & Photo editing, rendering.
- Gaming.
- University work (Physics & computer Science)
- Business work (IT Systems administrator [Window])

All I ask is for your opinion :)

 

[S.G. Janssens]

By "Red Hat" do you also mean Fedora and CentOS?
EDIT: Similar question for Ubuntu and Debian?

Sorry for being picky, but this way I can vote better.

 

[RedRum69]

I do , apologise for not including that.

 

[Routaran]

My personal bias is for Debian. I tried Fedora, Ubuntu and Mint before that and ran CentOS on one of my servers for about a year. I've been using Debian for the last 2-3 years and I've never been more satisfied. There's some windows programs that will simply not work under WINE but these are far and few between. Most of them work under WINE.
The problem (if you want to call it that) with Debian is that they tend to stay behind the latest developments. Take the linux kernel for example, Debian Stable is running v3.16 while latest kernel is 4.7
The tradeoff is stability for bleeding edge features. I don't remember the last time I had to reboot my machine or encountered a crash. But this stability comes at a price. If you were to go out and purchase the latest and greatest from the hardware world, you may have some issues getting it to work. I combat this by staying 1 generation behind the latest tech (keeps your wallet from getting too light) Just do your due diligence and make sure the hardware is supported under linux before you buy it.

For the tasks you outlined:
Programming - I'm using my Debian box to develop with PHP/MySQL and with C++. With a couple extra packages, I can write code in C++ and then compile it as a windows executable no problems.

Multimedia - My experience here is limited. I just use GIMP for images and OpenShot to edit videos but they can't really compete with Photoshop and equivalent paid programs but still good in a pinch to do all your basic stuff.

Gaming - Steam + WINE - I can't complain with my experience. I wasn't able to get the new Starwars game to work because of some checks that had been implemented by the developers that failed under WINE. But outside of that, everything I have tried works great.

University Work & Sys Admin - Depends on your programs you're supposed to use

 

[livialivia]

I`d like to choose windows rather than linux.But no matter which one you choose it is important to keep privacy security and now I protect my windows privacy by password tool http://[url=http://www.passwordmanagers.net/products/Password-Manager-7.html ']http://www.passwordmanagers.net/products/Password-Manager-7.html[/URL] and it works very well.It seems free now you can try if you need.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Use both and dual boot

 

[Svein]

I have tried several flavors of Linux in the past, and have never warmed to it. My conclusions are:

• As a hobby project, it is fine
• As a tool for doing basic PC things like surfing the web and writing documents it is adequate
• As a tool for doing whatever strikes your fancy at the moment, it is pretty near useless (no large software firm will spend millions to develop a super application and then give it away for free - that is a sure way to bankruptcy).

 

[nvoucye]

For programming (Not tied to MS), then linux is a better option as it has matured and open source tools for that.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

Use both and dual boot

This is my unfortunate situation, because I can't get away from a few Windows programs needed in the laboratory for instrumentation.

But if you don't have any need of applications only available in Windows, I would stick to Linux. But given your uses, that seems unlikely.