Who thinks Linux is better??

[Skymon Chuckles]

What I love about *nix Systems:

 

• Everything is a file and that you can interact with it in that way.

 

  Example: I have a large gzipped CSV file and need to import it into MySQL. However MySQL does not support gzipped csv files? Create a fifo buffer!

   

mkfifo data.csv; zcat data.csv.gz > data.csv

You can now import the data from data.csv and it all happens in RAM!

 

Another example: you can interact with sockets, kernel settings, etc via 'files'.

 

• Pipeing, xargs, etc

ssh 'mysqldump ...| gzip' | gunzip | mysql

Exports data from a DB on an other host, compresses it, sends it over the network, uncompresses it and imports it in the database - all in one step, all with in-memory buffers and without any hard disk access involved.

 

• Everything is organized

There is one place to look for logs (/var/log), one place to look for configs (/etc), etc. Whereas Windows is very, very messy.

 

• I can update all installed software + the OS itself with one or two commands

# sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

-- or --

# emerge sync
# emerge -uaNDv @world


-- or --

# whatever flavour your distro is

• Predictability

I know what is happening and when, whereas Windows tends to have it's own mind about what it does with your PC (e.g. updating at the most inconvinient times).

 

• Choice and customizability

Form the file system to the desktop environment you have almost endless choice about how you want your OS to look, feel and behave.This vastly increases productivity.

 

• It is open and free
• Virtualization options
• Hardware support (runs on virtually everything)
• And much, much more!

 

 

Edited October 21, 2019 by Skymon Chuckles
Fixed some of the many typos

[peon501]

I switched to Ubuntu in 2018 when I was done with university. I use my pc only for programming and sometimes I play 1 game.

• First thing I liked about Ubuntu is that you can update all your software by clicking update software.
• You can use your Android only headphones on your PC.
• Didn't had problems with drivers
• You can connect Google, Microsoft accounts to your system and use Google drive as external HDD and you can set backups to it.
• You can natively emulate Android devices.
• You won't catch virus.
• You have software centre where you can download software like in Android Google play without going to weird sites.
• Os shows my mouse power level, when windows never did that.
• Companies started to make great software to programm in c# net, netcore frameworks.
• Also you have great software from get go.

 

[Inversion]

Will preface this with that I have limited Linux use but have used Ubuntu a bit both personally and at uni:

 

• Lower system requirements (esp RAM)
• Very little bloat (at least in Ubuntu)
• Quick to setup
• Actually quite intuitive
• Doesn't have daddy Microsoft tracking me (although my uni probably does rip)

[jean730]

Customization : 
These are screenshots of my awesomewm config.

[Aier,]

Not $100

More choices in looks

Open sourced

Deepin looks nice.

[finest feck fips]

On 10/16/2019 at 5:09 PM, thug_life said:

Better OS design, no weird FS/filename quirks like on windows, kernel can be updated without a reboot (ofc you still need to reboot if you want the new kernel to go live, but it's not mandatory - you can keep running the old kernel if you're in the middle of doing something)

fun fact: you can use Linux to create files with colons in their names on NTFS filesystems that Windows users then cannot delete

[lloose]

Here's a different point of view - 

 

I started using Linux because I wanted to learn it and potentially open doors in my career. I've watched it change and evolve into something where you could barely get wifi working to something that I could install on my parent's computer and they wouldn't have issues with it. I still use Windows but my workload is split about 50/50 between Linux and Windows. I am a DBA that works in a lot in Oracle Linux and without me taking some initiative and learning on my own before I had this job, I wouldn't be where I am now. I have a college degree and a handful of certifications but my boss said I stood out from the crowd when he hired me because of my own personal initiative. At the time I just had a linux box and was learning networking using it using some old switches and a makeshift ubuntu server I set up to learn on but that was enough for me to stand out in the dozens of other applicants who were just as (if not more) qualified than me. I think a lot of people are really comfortable in Windows and could benefit from getting out of their comfort zone a little.

[pennguin guy]

i once was a sworn windows fan, (like really bad) when i discovered linux it took me a month maximum to just chanage side and take the communist penguin way and install it as the only system on my PC.
but im sure you have heard about all the good stuff about now i would just like to point out the price to performance of linux against windows or mac
 

also here's some good links
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/07/17/these-windows-10-vs-pop-os-benchmarks-reveal-a-surprising-truth-about-linux-gaming-performance/#533cff15e747

https://www.protondb.com/

[kelvinhall05]

This thread is almost two months old...are we getting a video on this or not?

[Touch My Hamm]

I love using Linux and mostly using a CLI but the fact that most games perform better on windows is why I still run it as my daily. But I do have a boot into Kali for testing. 

[kokakolia]

19 hours ago, kelvinhall05 said:

This thread is almost two months old...are we getting a video on this or not?

*Sigh* I would struggle to find reasons why Linux is better. It's constantly broken and requires constant hair-pulling troubleshooting. From driver issues, to codecs, to customization options which flat out crash your system (I'm looking at you Ubuntu Mate)... Even on older hardware like my Dell Inspiron from 2011, Windows 7 worked faster and with fewer bugs in my experience. 

[kokakolia]

@kelvinhall05 I know you found my post funny. But I'm dead serious. I am talking about my recent Linux experience in 2019. Most distros didn't work well at all, except for Ubuntu, Linux Mint Cinnamon and Manjaro. And even then, I found the XFCE interface absolutely hideous and unintuitive. Moreover, RAM usage didn't blow me away. We're talking about 1+ gb during idle (which is similar, although slightly less than Windows). Granted, I'm you're average person. I don't want to dive deep into distros, customization and troubleshooting etc... 

 

For what it is, I will say that my Linux experience in 2019 was tolerable, no 1 000 000 times better (especially with Linux Mint and Ubuntu) than it was in 2011. In 2011 I had major driver issues and my screen brightness was stuck at 110% and it gave me migraines. And performance was pathetically slow. At the very, very least Linux is actually usable in 2019. 

[kelvinhall05]

19 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

@kelvinhall05 I know you found my post funny. But I'm dead serious. I am talking about my recent Linux experience in 2019. Most distros didn't work well at all, except for Ubuntu, Linux Mint Cinnamon and Manjaro. And even then, I found the XFCE interface absolutely hideous and unintuitive. Moreover, RAM usage didn't blow me away. We're talking about 1+ gb during idle (which is similar, although slightly less than Windows). Granted, I'm you're average person. I don't want to dive deep into distros, customization and troubleshooting etc... 

 

For what it is, I will say that my Linux experience in 2019 was tolerable, no 1 000 000 times better (especially with Linux Mint and Ubuntu) than it was in 2011. In 2011 I had major driver issues and my screen brightness was stuck at 110% and it gave me migraines. And performance was pathetically slow. At the very, very least Linux is actually usable in 2019. 

I used both Ubuntu and Manjaro on over half a dozen different computers and the only issue I had was with Ubuntu on my desktop just straight up not working.

 

What hardware were you using? Did you ever try Manjaro?

 

Edit: I can't read, you did try Manjaro and it worked fine, right?

[kokakolia]

21 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

I used both Ubuntu and Manjaro on over half a dozen different computers and the only issue I had was with Ubuntu on my desktop just straight up not working.

 

What hardware were you using? Did you ever try Manjaro?

 

Edit: I can't read, you did try Manjaro and it worked fine, right?

Notebook: Dell Latitude E7440
Processor: Intel Core i5 4200U
Graphics Adapter: Intel HD Graphics 4400
Display: 14 inch, 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixels
Weight: 1.63kg

 

I had the model with the gorgeous 1080p screen, I upgraded to 8gb of RAM and I swapped the HDD for an SSD.

 

Manjaro worked fine, but I found it overly complicated. Out of all the distros Linux Mint Cinnamon worked the best and was the easiest to use. I only switched back to Windows because I wanted to play my favorite games. And yet, I found Windows 7 to be snappier. 

[kelvinhall05]

Just now, kokakolia said:

Manjaro worked fine, but I found it overly complicated.

What parts about it did you find complicated? What DE were you using?

Just now, kokakolia said:

I only switched back to Windows because I wanted to play my favorite games.

Did you have Proton enabled on Steam? Did you try Lutris for non-Steam games?

[kokakolia]

1 minute ago, kelvinhall05 said:

What parts about it did you find complicated? What DE were you using?

Did you have Proton enabled on Steam? Did you try Lutris for non-Steam games?

It was Manjaro XFCE. I couldn't figure out how to install programs on Manjaro. I got really confused with online tutorials talking about the various registries and command lines. I got fed up. I'm sure it's as simple as double clicking an installer icon. But I gave up.

 

Linux Mint had a very basic app center with most of the stuff I needed. Done deal. But is installing apps as simple as Windows? I never tried. And online people tell you to sudo apt install stuff. 

 

Further, the games I play are not on Steam. I'm talking about Hearthstone and MTG Arena. 

[kelvinhall05]

10 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

It was Manjaro XFCE. I couldn't figure out how to install programs on Manjaro. I got really confused with online tutorials talking about the various registries and command lines. I got fed up. I'm sure it's as simple as double clicking an installer icon. But I gave up.

 

Linux Mint had a very basic app center with most of the stuff I needed. Done deal. But is installing apps as simple as Windows? I never tried. And online people tell you to sudo apt install stuff. 

 

Further, the games I play are not on Steam. I'm talking about Hearthstone and MTG Arena. 

There is a graphical package manager for Manjaro. It really is as simple as search the app, click install, and type in your password for security. Not sure what you were looking at to find stuff about registries...if you were confused just ask on r/linux4noobs

 

Also, though I'm not familiar with those games I guarantee they'll either be on Lutris or run with Wine.

[kelvinhall05]

@kokakolia

https://lutris.net/games/hearthstone/

https://lutris.net/games/magic-the-gathering-arena/

Both games are supported on Lutris.

[kokakolia]

17 hours ago, kelvinhall05 said:

There is a graphical package manager for Manjaro. It really is as simple as search the app, click install, and type in your password for security. Not sure what you were looking at to find stuff about registries...if you were confused just ask on r/linux4noobs

 

Also, though I'm not familiar with those games I guarantee they'll either be on Lutris or run with Wine.

Thank you for your help! You’re very informative. But I can’t shake the feeling that this would turn people off from Linux. You shouldn’t have to find an app to allow you to install other apps. It should be as automatic as a download. I was struggling for hours with Manjaro for that reason. I was reading old forum posts and wikis and the complexity of the matter got severely increased that way. I just wanted to install my favourite apps. 
 

That said, I wanna give Linux another go.

[kelvinhall05]

4 hours ago, kokakolia said:

Thank you for your help! You’re very informative. But I can’t shake the feeling that this would turn people off from Linux. You shouldn’t have to find an app to allow you to install other apps. It should be as automatic as a download. I was struggling for hours with Manjaro for that reason. I was reading old forum posts and wikis and the complexity of the matter got severely increased that way. I just wanted to install my favourite apps. 
 

That said, I wanna give Linux another go.

I mean I use Deepin DE with Manjaro and the package manager is literally called "Add/remove software". I mean I find it easier than trying to find a download page online and running through half a dozen installers...you just select all your apps, click apply, type in your password, and boom. That's it.

[straight_stewie]

Because it prepares you for using the real best operating system: FreeBSD

[LeSheen]

I started working as a junior linux engineer earlier this year. I have worked as a general system engineer before with an active directory as well. So I can compare the two a bit.

 

- Easier to maintain a stable big environment.

- Uptime, our record holding server has an uptime of 1753 days. 

- way faster/easier to work with, once you have learned it. Something that takes me longer to learn and do in a windows server gui I can do with a few terminal commands. Usually even more control or flexible.

- Can update packages without having to reboot.

- In our case better support (redhat enterprise).

- lightweight and able to liveboot from USB (easy if you need to troubleshoot a problem)

- ....

[amdorintel]

i like that linux does not spy on ya or sell your info

[kokakolia]

On 11/23/2019 at 6:15 AM, amdorintel said:

i like that linux does not spy on ya or sell your info

That's a loaded statement! I recall Ubuntu doing that (but not to the extent of Windows 10). 

 

Anyways, I bet that hardcore Linux users use Arch anyways! Or at the very least Manjaro. 

[Fredrik Svantesson]

Is this thread even still relevant, correct me if im wrong but didnt they already make the video?