[DON'T KnOW MucH]

Im wondering, would Linux be a better operating system than XP???

Eg, does it support more, quicker, better looking, easier to custermise?????

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I think XP is a pretty good operating system overall but I'm on Linux right now and have been for a couple of years. It doesn't have problems with trojans, doesn't significantly slow down with use, I haven't defragmented it, there really isn't any defragmentation software, yet it's going as fast as it did when I installed it. A lot depends on what you do, but something you can do is set up a dual boot with Windows and Linux and use each for what is best. In my experience Windows was getting slower and worse while Linux is getting faster and better. If you have an older machine around you can put Linux on it and try it that way.

[Tyger]

I think XP is a pretty good operating system overall but I'm on Linux right now and have been for a couple of years. It doesn't have problems with trojans, doesn't significantly slow down with use, I haven't defragmented it, there really isn't any defragmentation software, yet it's going as fast as it did when I installed it. A lot depends on what you do, but something you can do is set up a dual boot with Windows and Linux and use each for what is best. In my experience Windows was getting slower and worse while Linux is getting faster and better. If you have an older machine around you can put Linux on it and try it that way.

[trucker]

I myself like UBUNTU 7.10 no need for anti virus or defrag. its pretty much a no brainier OS. most all the things i use are found and best of all free. never had a sys crash, and its not a command line install. things install alot like windows. plus the forum has fast response. it will run off the CD and its easy to install a duel boot sys until you make up your mind. Ill more than likely be removing windows from all my PC's

[silverbeard]

Im wondering, would Linux be a better operating system than XP???

If you mean better as in no need to pay for third party security programs and no need to pay for a productivity suite (MS Office).
With Linux you don't have to worry about pirated software.
Have you ever reloaded a system and had to load or hunt down drivers? I have loaded Linux without having to find a single driver and everything Just Worked!
As mentioned no need to defrag.
Would a smaller drive footprint count as better? How about less than 3 gigs for most of the systems I've installed. I have a hard time keeping XP under 4 gig after updates and the added software to make it usable for more then just surfing the web and reading your email.
Would installing the complete system, formatted and partitioned and working, in thirty minutes with updates be better?
Would access to more than 20,000 applications at no cost be better?

Eg, does it support more, quicker, better looking, easier to custermise?????

Customize? Have looked at the screen shots TCS?

Bet you can't do THIS with XP.

[Damien Kane]

I've been using Ubuntu for a while and it's fantastic. I also use a program called Virtualbox to run XP 'inside' of it. It's called a virtual machine. At full screen, not one person I've shown it to knew I was running Linux. So, I get the best of both worlds. The speed is unbelievable for a virtual machine.

Linux is much safer on the net - I've never had a hacker attempt (I have in Virtualbox though, but nothing a good firewall can't handle), and because it's a different structure than Windows, there's very few (if any) viruses or malware.

Linux has different flavours called distributions or distros for short. If you go to www.linux.org, you can choose which one is right for you. I think Linux Mint or maybe Fedora might be best for people looking to switch from Windows, but I always recommend Ubuntu. The new Ubuntu comes out in about a week (www.ubuntu.com). You can download it and burn it to a disk. If you then boot off the disk, you can literally test drive it. Most - if not all - of the popular Linux distros have this function now.

Yeah, for the most part, it's free and there seems to be a huge surge in freeware evolution at the moment. I'd love to see Windows especially Vista, kicked out of the park and replaced with Linux.Some of the big computer companies seem to be coming to terms with it, like Asus and the revolutionary eee-PC. Hopefully this will increase market demand for Linux based machines, more people and companies will donate to various projects, and it'll grow from there. I'm always trying to at least get people trying it!

Oh, if you can't download it, you can always order a free disk from them - how good is that!

Sorry. I get excited talking Linux.

[trucker]

Im wondering, would Linux be a better operating system than XP???

If you mean better as in no need to pay for third party security programs and no need to pay for a productivity suite (MS Office).
With Linux you don't have to worry about pirated software.
Have you ever reloaded a system and had to load or hunt down drivers? I have loaded Linux without having to find a single driver and everything Just Worked!
As mentioned no need to defrag.
Would a smaller drive footprint count as better? How about less than 3 gigs for most of the systems I've installed. I have a hard time keeping XP under 4 gig after updates and the added software to make it usable for more then just surfing the web and reading your email.
Would installing the complete system, formatted and partitioned and working, in thirty minutes with updates be better?
Would access to more than 20,000 applications at no cost be better?

Eg, does it support more, quicker, better looking, easier to custermise?????

Customize? Have looked at the screen shots TCS?
anks
Bet you can't do THIS with XP.

You da man graybreard
if people just knew what there pc's were capable of they would toss windows out. kinda like uncle sam he know whats best for you! thanks for all your help