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Linux questions.


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#1
AdmiralCorey

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What are the benefits of having this OS installed?
What is it capable of doing, that XP, Vista, etc can't?
How difficult is it, to teach to someone that has never used a PC?
(Relatives use my PC quiet often, and don't know what they're doing.)
What are the cons of having this OS installed?

I'd like multiple opinions that google just wouldn't be able to offer.
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#2
Kemasa

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Well, while you might get some other opinions, Linux is a real operating system. It is properly designed to allow for different levels of security. While Win7 is getting better, the older versions often required users to be admins in order to run a program, such as the flight simulator. It works and it is much more stable that anything Windoze. You won't ever end up with a strange registry problem and it is much easier to contain the user's data to the home directory of the user, rather than being put all over the place. The main thing is that it works. For laughs, go look up the 49.7 day bug:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/216641

Notice how long it took for them to detect the problem and fix it, mainly because a Windoze machine is rarely up that long, whereas Unix/Linux based machines can keep running (literally) for years. This is the main thing that it can do that Windoze systems can't, stay up and running and more importantly working.

Linux is free with good support because many people who support it want to support it and don't like problems to not be fixed due to their egos, whereas companies often don't want to give you a free fix and would rather you buy an upgraded version.

In my opinion, if the person has no experience at all, it is easy to teach them how to use a Linux system, much easier than teaching them about all the spyware, malware, virus, etc. stuff that you need to know in order to protect a Windoze system. If they are familiar with a given platform, it can be more difficult.

A Linux system is better protected against users doing the wrong thing. While a user can mess things up for themselves, it is harder for them to do something to harm the system, especially if they don't have the permissions. Remember, Linux is designed to be a multi-user system.

The main negative issue is that not all programs run on a Linux system. You can use Wine or a Virtual Machine though.
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#3
calvert

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some benefits are all the software you could probably need is in the respective software manager,
free of charge, free of malware, free to do what you want with (open source)

i don't really like using wikipedia but it sums it up nicely

http://en.wikipedia....ndows_and_Linux

there is also no need for an antivirus or antispyware as there are no (or very few to non existent) 'in the wild' linux malware

to teach someone who has never used an operating system to use linux would be the same as teaching them to use windows,
my 8 year old daughter uses linux on her laptop, so its not that difficult

only cons i can think of are less support for games, but thats what gaming systems (xbox, ps2/3, etc) are for

maybe a quick few lines on what the relatives use the pc for would help as well,

office work ? - openoffice is in the software manager and compatible with microsoft office
email ? mine has kmail installed by default
firefox for browsing the internet, with plugins available from the firefox addons page and some available through your software manager

there is really not a lot linux can't do what windows can
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#4
rshaffer61

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ZYou could also put a dual boot on your system and then those that use Linux can and those that are comfortable with Windows can use that.
I have both Windows and Linux on this system and other then games I see no loss of use with Linux. In fact it is faster and as others have stated more secure.
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#5
Kemasa

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I prefer to run Linux and have a Virtual Windoze machine, instead of a dual boot machine, for web pages which have IE specific or Windoze specific requirements (government web sites typically). As long as your machine is fast enough and has enough memory, it works very well.
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#6
AdmiralCorey

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Well currently I'm using Vista and I've always been interested in Linux.
Thanks for your feedback guys.
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#7
Incoming

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I haven't read the replies but here's mine:

What are the benefits of having this OS installed?
  • Linux isn't an OS, it's a kernel. Its distributions are the OS's, and they offer lots of great things. There is nearly an alternative for every Windows program, though they might not be as appealing to you as Windows ones, such as itunes to Rhythmbox. Linux offers more potential for customising if you know what I mean, there are several DE's and WMs, etc.
What is it capable of doing, that XP, Vista, etc can't?
  • Install multiple things at once from terminal with a quick command? :)
How difficult is it, to teach to someone that has never used a PC?
  • It's not difficult
(Relatives use my PC quiet often, and don't know what they're doing.)
What are the cons of having this OS installed?
  • A few limitations, sometimes you can't play certain files due to restrictions, I don't run into any issues that effect me greatly though.

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#8
cbri

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This may be of some use to anyone interested in Linux. Eight months ago a neighbour brought their laptop over which was running Windows XP pro. It was having problems which I fixed, but I also installed Linux Mint 10 Gnome in a dual boot fashion. When the husband came to pick up the computer, I spent 10 minutes showing him how to navigate around in Mint, then what ever he remembered he explained to his wife. Now 8 months later they commented that they love Mint, and the only time they boot into Windows is to watch movies. They commented that Media Player seems to play the movies a bit smoother in their case then the one installed in Mint. I also use Windows and What ever Linux distro I feel like at the time in a dual boot, and I think it is the best of both worlds. The Linux can see all of my Windows files, and visea versa, so I always have access to them regardless which OS I am booted into. I find that I use Linux about 80% of the time. It seems to boot up and shut down faster, and be more responsive overall on my machine. If my Windows partition got nuked, I don't think I would miss it much. Both Windows and the linux distros I have used (ubuntu, mint, fedora, pcliuxos), are very good. I highly recommend downloading something like Linux Mint 11 Gnome, burning it to a cd and running it as a live cd and testing it for yourself. This will not install anything or make any changes to your computer, but it will give you a taste.

Edited by cbri, 23 September 2011 - 03:22 PM.

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