Linux vs Windows

[Carpaltunnel]

Hello there,

I am new here but not new to LTT, just decided today is a good idea to join the forums.

Well I just started an operating systems class in university, and was thinking of the advantages to making a move to linux compared to keeping it windows. Right now the class is taught using a Virtual Machine. So basically is the move worth it, and how much of a hassle would it be.

 

[LAwLz]

Just run it in a VM to start off with.

 

How much of a hassle it would be varies from person to person. Is it worth it? Depends on what you want to do. VM vs native is usually just a question of performance. If you're not doing anything resource intensive then it won't make a difference.

[Sauron]

It depends on what you need. The biggest downside of Linux is, by far, the lack of compatibility with some industry standard programs (and also a lot of games). If you don't need to use things like the Adobe suite or MS Office (there are alternatives to both, but in some situations that won't do) then go for it.

 

Before you wipe your hard drive, try to find out whether your laptop (or desktop?) might have some driver issues - maybe it uses an exotic wireless adapter or something like that. If you don't find anyone posting about problems with your hardware you should be fine.

 

The advantages are many. A linux based os will usually use less resources than Windows, have a far better structure and internal orgnization, it will not require you to manually download installers for your programs, it will not spy you or impose anything on you and using it will let you learn about how a unix-like os operates much faster. Don't be discouraged at the first obstacle, if something doesn't work as it should it's a great opportunity to learn how it should work and how to fix it. This is the prime reason to use it natively - forcing yourself to use it no matter what is a huge boost to your learning curve.

[ShadowCaptain]

Depends what you really want to do

 

Personally its too much hassle and linux offers me nothing that I need and does not benefit me, but for some people its invaluable - that said its worth keeping in a VM or dual booting if you want to learn the ins and outs

[Carpaltunnel]

I guess I'll stick to Windows, just checked and almost all the games I wanna play don't have comparability on Linux thanks for the advice, might consider getting a seperate Linux machine in the distant future 

[ItsTheDuckAgain]

On 20.9.2016 at 8:32 AM, Carpaltunnel said:

 might consider getting a seperate Linux machine in the distant future 

Yep! Linux is fun, go for it. Also you get a much better understanding of how a computer actually works, will start fiddling around with scripts, and before you know it you will spend nights on the machine having fun doing stuff nobody needs. gives you an advantage in the ICT world though. everybody does windows, fewer do linux and even way less then the aformentioned "fewer" do linux well. If you plan to make a living in IT linux will get you a long way in addition to MS OSes. Just don't put penguins everywhere, that joke is so 1990 and doesn't work anymore :-)