[scottwww]

A few months ago I switched from MS Windows to Linux. Now I run the Novell openSUSE 10.3 distribution on all my computers. Does anybody else on this board use Linux?

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by scottwww

A few months ago I switched from MS Windows to Linux. Now I run the Novell openSUSE 10.3 distribution on all my computers. Does anybody else on this board use Linux?

how was the learning curve? I personally have never seen a linux machine so curious about the learning curve for switching over from those who done it.

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by txusa03

how was the learning curve? I personally have never seen a linux machine so curious about the learning curve for switching over from those who done it.

On an off-the-shelf PC it is very easy to install. There is an awful lot of high quality software available right off the install media. Online update is very effective and easy to use. It is a little quirky on some details (coming from a Windows perspective).

SUSE is easily a lot more satisfactory than Windows for speed, functionality, and reliability. It is rather complex if you need to install something from source code. Thankfully most of what I care for is available through online repositories with YAST (that's the SUSE installer utility that I normally use). Some stuff requires a bit of research (such as determining what CODECs you need to install to be able to play a DVD movie). Networking is far superior, but there is a learning curve if all you know is SMB (Windows shares).

[Ninjaneer]

Haven't gotten around to testing Linux out yet, but I figure when I do I'd try Ubuntu, seems to get a lot of praise lately.

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by Ninjaneer

Haven't gotten around to testing Linux out yet, but I figure when I do I'd try Ubuntu, seems to get a lot of praise lately.

I have a co-worker that swithched from Windows to Ubuntu at about the same time I went to openSUSE. He swears by it (not at it).

[The_Blob]

I've been using Slackware Linux since '94 but I quit in '99 because most of the apps I use everyday are for Windows.

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

I've been using Slackware Linux since '94 but I quit in '99 because most of the apps I use everyday are for Windows.

Which Windows apps didn't have a suitable Linux substitute?

[Hawkeye]

I have used RedHat a lot and it is alright. Ubuntu is good for a beginner as well. It just takes time and patience... I would keep a windows machine around while learning just incase.

I personally like my Mac OSX the best though Which kind of counts since it is linux based.

[Chunga]

Are you using Lixus of political reasons? for fun? Or do you think its a real alternativ - mb a better one?

I had serius problems and returned to windows. The spredsheat in OpenOffice was not the same. Codes was destroyed when other people opened it in MSOffice. It was only me who could read the txt documents. I know i could save as ms - but spend time on that?
And the time to solve problems in Linux was to big. The Linux help is much more expensive then ms help. And to find some (and some who take baths more then once a month) is a real .....=
Linux is not grown yet - not to do well in business relationsship.

[AndrewAZ]

I used it for a while but OS X is still the best all around OS. The only reason to use linux is when your doing stuff on the computer you shouldn't be doing (hacking ect)

[The_Blob]

Apps like MS Office and IE Explorer.

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by Chunga

Are you using Lixus of political reasons? for fun? Or do you think its a real alternativ - mb a better one?
I had serius problems and returned to windows. The spredsheat in OpenOffice was not the same. Codes was destroyed when other people opened it in MSOffice. It was only me who could read the txt documents. I know i could save as ms - but spend time on that?
And the time to solve problems in Linux was to big. The Linux help is much more expensive then ms help. And to find some (and some who take baths more then once a month) is a real .....=
Linux is not grown yet - not to do well in business relationsship.

I switched for a few reasons.

First - the money. I was going to install Vista on my computers. For four home computers that is a lot of money for Ultimate Edition.

Second - the money. I would have to upgrade two machines and replace two.

Third - the money. I would have to spend a lot more money to upgrade to Adobe CS3 and other apps.

Fourth - security. In Linux I'm not concerned about all the viruses out there. I have better control of user rights.

Fifth - speed. Everything runs faster on Linux.

Sixth - updates. Microsoft will leave flaws in their software for years and carry it forward to new versions. Perhaps in Linux, being open source, people will fix the things that bug them. Fixes make their way into updates.

Seventh - networking. I have always hated MS networking. To get it to be reliable you have to run MS Server... more money. Linux seems to be better for working with FTP and P2P as well.

Eighth - No more complaints. Everyone I know, including myself, complain about Microsoft's software. I hate Office 2007. Now I get to tell everyone about the alternative.

Ninth - Looks. I like the way openSUSE Linux looks on my desktop.

Tenth - Something new. I tend to like a good challenge.

There are many other things I like better about Linux. The drawbacks are that some of the Windows software I would like to use I haven't figured out how to setup in WINE, but not a big deal. Interoperability with MS Office is not seamless.

I have no political motivations for switching.

[The Cleaner]

Tried it and hated it, installing anything is such a major pain.

[UncleWede]

I tried four times to get SLED running on my personal computer, after nearly flawless installs at a 1-day class. I was excited by OpenOffice and the 3-D desktop

When I got home I couldn't get it to run right. Installation kept failing on BASIC apps in the default.

Then I went out and bought a new MB specifically with an ATI chip, more RAM, and a SATA disk. Got it installed once, and the first update I ran only wnated to update the ATI driver. CRASH!!! Could not get it repaired. Went back one more time from scratch and it wouldn't run at all because of the ATI driver issue from the default install, so I'm typing from XP.

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

I tried four times to get SLED running on my personal computer, after nearly flawless installs at a 1-day class. I was excited by OpenOffice and the 3-D desktop

When I got home I couldn't get it to run right. Installation kept failing on BASIC apps in the default.

Then I went out and bought a new MB specifically with an ATI chip, more RAM, and a SATA disk. Got it installed once, and the first update I ran only wnated to update the ATI driver. CRASH!!! Could not get it repaired. Went back one more time from scratch and it wouldn't run at all because of the ATI driver issue from the default install, so I'm typing from XP.

If your system is still starting up and gets to where it asks for your login on a text mode (DOS-like) screen, you can login as root, then type YAST.

This will give you the YAST installer/configuration module, whatever it is called. Then you could set the Community Repositories under Software to include ATI Repository.

Once you have done that, you should be able to install what you need. I don't know if you would then do that in YAST from Hardware/Graphics Card and Monitor, or if you would first need to go to YAST Software/Online Update or Software/Software Management.

If you are good with a little troubleshooting, after installing the right drivers, you might be OK.

Unlike Windows, at the console (text mode DOS-like interface) you can do essentially anything you can in the GUI (Konqueror or Gnome) for configuration. Learning how to do it is a trick. It helps to have another working PC nearby to refer to the Linux user groups.

BTW: I would recommend openSUSE over SLED if you are still in your trial period. openSUSE is FREE. SLED costs money. If you want to pay for support, you can still do that with openSUSE. I think there is a lot more available in RPM repositories for openSUSE than SLED.

[TMNT]

Linux on a home PC? I'll pass.

In a business environment?....tell me where to sign.

[The_Blob]

Due to the extreme power of today's PC's at low low low prices, the reason to use Linux pretty much expired. I remember back in the days when people had 486's and entry level Pentiums and people would run Linux and it would be comparable to a low end Silicon Graphics workstation for general use, like programming and doing basic task surfing the internet. Now, you can get powerful systems at low prices... RAM memory is so so so so so cheap now. I still remember the days when one megabyte of RAM cost 50 dollars. It was in 1993 and I had to upgrade a computer to play a game called DOOM. DOOM needed 4 megs of RAM in order to run. I had to spend 150 dollars in memory for an extra 3 megabytes of RAM just to play DOOM on my 486.

[The_Blob]

I forgot to mention the fact that I used to wear a Linux t-shirt that said "In a World with Gates, who needs Windows?" I wore that t-shirt so much that it ripped like crazy, I had to throw it out. I truly don't enjoy Linux anymore, I must say it was a fad if you don't use it for programming.

[scottwww]

Originally Posted by TMNT

Linux on a home PC? I'll pass.

In a business environment?....tell me where to sign.

Gamers should either dual boot or just stick to Windows, although I hear that there are Windows games that run faster under Linux. I am not a gamer.

For business, you can still use openSUSE FREE for all your PCs. You could use SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) for something like $50 per client if you wanted to have telephone tech support included. I haven't checked what it costs for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) or Red Hat. I expect it would cost far less than Microsoft Server and do a far better job. You probably know that most of the internet is run on Linux/Unix/BSD or some variant of Unix.

Oh yes... the link: http://www.opensuse.org/
Here is my current desktop:

[The_Blob]

Anyone here use QNX? I think QNX is better than Linux but there are a lack of apps for it. I mean, there is a lite version of QNX which is basically a full operating system with internet brower, word processing program, graphic program which fits all on a 1.44 meg floppy disk. Amazing but true. The full QNX is super solid, even more stable than Linux.

[Hawkeye]

scottwww... BibleGateway in your browser.. nice cover. I see all that porn hidden away on Desktop 3

[UncleWede]

I spent a lot of time in email with the instructor trying to fix the update via YAST, and it was just too much hassle. I'm normally a bulldog once I get my teeth into something, but this one was just too sour to hold one, unfortunately.

SLED is free unless you want the support from them, you can get all the support you need online for free.