[comanighttrain]

People say linux is hard to use...well i beg to differ now.

I got Slackware linux set up on my gf laptop because she wanted to learn C (which i can see her giving up in about 5 days). Anyway, shes been using it for 2 days and today she comes out with "I love linux, its so straight forward".

Anyway, just a short testimonial for anyone scared off by people saying linux is confusing.

Dave

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for a lot of people the confusing part is making everything work. for example wireless connections, usb pendrives (certain Linux versions only), winsoft modems (particularly Conexant Brand) and other little nuances that happen.

[Dragon]

for a lot of people the confusing part is making everything work. for example wireless connections, usb pendrives (certain Linux versions only), winsoft modems (particularly Conexant Brand) and other little nuances that happen.

[dsenette]

linux is just as "hard" to use as windows....the only thing that makes any opperating system difficult...is lack of knowledge...

[warriorscot]

Linux is only hard if you are using a script only linux or one that relies very heavily on it and you havent been used to a command script(even at that linux does have a quite akward command set when you last used DOS all the time).

But the linux GUI is great now and it is simple in the definition it doesnt have much to play around with compared to windows which is good it causes less confusion.

Dragon is right linux has only one major drawback and thats getting hardware to work properly with it, i cant get my wireless cards to work on linux because belkin dont do linux drivers that work.

[Dragon]

Dragon is right linux has only one major drawback and thats getting hardware to work properly with it, i cant get my wireless cards to work on linux because belkin dont do linux drivers that work.

just curious did you try ndiswrapper?

[warriorscot]

I didnt, had to much work to do to spend to much time trying to get the wireless working but ill give it a go after my exams are finished.

[Dragon]

if you need any help on that let me know, I'll be glad to assist ya

[warriorscot]

Yeah i might take you up on that, i like my hardware; software is just to fiddly for my liking most of the time, and drivers just seem to enjoy being akward.

[Kemasa]

One problem is that people often fear change.

It is important to realize that not all versions of Linux are created equal. I have seen RedHat not recognize the hardware, whereas Mandrake (now Mandriva) did and had no problems.

One thing that I have to laugh about is that people complain that it is too hard to learn how to use Linux, but I personally think that learniing all the spyware, virus and other stuff to be far more difficult, as well as other problems with Windoze. I think that if you look at the big picture people would realize that Linux is much easier to learn and use than Windoze, plus it is more secure and more reliable (look for the bug which caused Windoze to crash after 47.9 days and look how many versions it affected because it would never stay up that long to be noticed).

[comanighttrain]

truly valid points gents. But for a computer illiterate historian to be able to use (and just use, i installed it) linux effictivly, is quite a milestone.

However, a valid point was made about versions, and i used Slackware version 10.1, but im putting slackware 10.2 on it just because it is so much better.

Anyhoo, we have hit a few bumps, but iv smoothed them out, but no more than i had with win.

About the drivers, I have to agree, some companies dont bother with making drivers, which annoys me, however intel and reputable companies like that do a good job of making linux drivers, the only reason my pc works is because besides the AMD CPU, its mainly Intel chipsets (modem Etc).

[Dragon]

About the drivers, I have to agree, some companies dont bother with making drivers, which annoys me, however intel and reputable companies like that do a good job of making linux drivers, the only reason my pc works is because besides the AMD CPU, its mainly Intel chipsets (modem Etc).

Beleive it or not, Nvidia and AMD have been more supportive of Linux then Intel and Radeon. for example

Radeon does the same thing Belkin does, supplies crappy drivers for Linux OSes. They are trying to get better but they don't really seem to think that Linux has much of a future so they give all the premium perks to Windows users. for example, their latest driver doesn't give proper support for anti-aliasing and FPS. Nvidia on the other hand makes drivers that work right out of the box, and their forums support Linux as much as it does Windows.

AMD helped the Linux community make the kernel architecture for the 64 bit chipsets. Intel is reluctantly helping in that department. it has been found that AMD works the best on Linux OS. with Ubuntu if you truly want to have a good experience with an Intel chipset, you have to use a different Kernel then that standard one that is installed when you first put Ubuntu on your desktop.

enough of my rant on that subject, suffice it to say that I enjoy using Linux for everythign I do, including making Web designs, 3D graphics, and scripting.j I only use windows for training purposes here on the forums. I got tired of having to clean my system out constantly. 99% of the time when you see me at my computer I am running Linux not windows.

[warriorscot]

Yeah, the only reason i dont use linux is the fact that im a big gamer and i cant get my wireless to work, you can kinda see ATIs logic though there are like 4 games with linux version that need anti aliasing and only doom 3 is any good really. It would be nice if they could get windows games to work on linux or games would work on both to start with without you having to pay for a subscription emulator thing.

And i honestly dont pick up too much in the way of malware im pretty careful i have my firefox secured up the kazba, ive got avast running 24 - 7 and most of any attacks from other computers are stopped at the router(belkin make crap linux drivers but the firewalls on their routers actually work unlike most other routers ive used).

Edited by warriorscot, 02 December 2005 - 07:51 AM.

[magnus80a]

After running Gentoo for 6 months I think I'll give Slackware a try. I've noticed I don't really care about bleeding edge enough to bother compiling my system every week...

[comanighttrain]

if u spend that much time u aint gonna do much work:P slacky is nice

[sunny441]

Linux is as easier than Mac OS (atleast to me) anyday. Everything is str8 forward and everything works without a glitch. i have been runnin Linux for about a year now. it works great. I was a bit skeptical when i made the first switch - but now things have smoothened out and i actually enjoy it

cheers