Reasons to use Linux

[OPSJono]

So, I have my main home PC running Windows 10, for games and such.

 

And I have a laptop which I use for work. (PHP Web development).

My Laptop runs Linux Mint. And I like Mint, had a good time with it over the past 6 months of daily use.

 

But I find that everything I can do on Linux, I can also do on Windows.

(SSH/general Terminal stuff is nicer on Linux).

 

The programs I use for my development are PHPStorm, and Vagrant/VirtualBox for the local server. So in essence the host OS doesn't matter for my job.

 

Are there any other reasons for using Linux on a day to day basis?

[YedZed]

Although I'm not an experienced user of Linux, I do admire the file organization. overall the system feels a whole lot cleaner than Windows.

[Starelementpoke]

2 minutes ago, OPSJono said:

So, I have my main home PC running Windows 10, for games and such.

 

And I have a laptop which I use for work. (PHP Web development).

My Laptop runs Linux Mint. And I like Mint, had a good time with it over the past 6 months of daily use.

 

But I find that everything I can do on Linux, I can also do on Windows.

(SSH/general Terminal stuff is nicer on Linux).

 

The programs I use for my development are PHPStorm, and Vagrant/VirtualBox for the local server. So in essence the host OS doesn't matter for my job.

 

Are there any other reasons for using Linux on a day to day basis?

It's free. That's all I got. Oh, looks good on a resume for an IT job as well I suppose.

[Darel321]

I find it just better than windows... if games worked on it I think many people would rather use linux than windows

[Curious Pineapple]

It won't steal your wheels and leave your car on bricks at 3AM

[vorticalbox]

Linux is good it's more secure for a start. problems that I have found we linux so far.

• no easy way to move my docs and such to a second drive without moving your home drive tot he second and hope that when it mounts your files are there, windows you right click, propites and location.
• when having multiple users, when a drive is mounted it cannot be accessed by a second user till the first logs off
• You need to make sure you set up folder permissions to allow a second user access to folders created on a second drive.

other than that it is a clearly better system, install most software from 1 command and not have to click "next" and hope you didn't accept so tool bar.

[OPSJono]

2 minutes ago, Darel321 said:

I find it just better than windows... if games worked on it I think many people would rather use linux than windows

The only thing I find that's actually objectively better is the Terminal, and apt-get.

 

apt-get is amazing.

Terminal for SSHing/git is way better on Linux than CygWin on Windows.

[YedZed]

Coincidentially I've been trying to VM linux distros recently.

 

[Darel321]

6 minutes ago, OPSJono said:

The only thing I find that's actually objectively better is the Terminal, and apt-get.

 

apt-get is amazing.

Terminal for SSHing/git is way better on Linux than CygWin on Windows.

ye and the good thing is you know what your system is doing... with win10 you never know wtf microsoft is doing

[Scruffy90]

14 minutes ago, Darel321 said:

I find it just better than windows... if games worked on it I think many people would rather use linux than windows

I would've moved to Linux if it had a good multimedia production suite.

[JoeCoke]

Two things keeping me from Linux:

 

1. Huge lack of games and software in general.
2. I hate having to use the terminal every two seconds.

It's a shame because I'd like to switch. I love Linux Mint.

[Julian5]

Only reason I used linux was because its free and because its a light OS for shit Pc's.

 

I do hate having to use terminal all the time and it took me ages to memorize all the commands

[vorticalbox]

1 minute ago, Julian5 said:

Only reason I used linux was because its free and because its a light OS for shit Pc's.

 

I do hate having to use terminal all the time and it took me ages to memorize all the commands

yeah but you become a lot more efficient in doing so, you'll be able to get stuff done faster. @2Buck with windows 10 free upgrade ending and people on 7 not moving them might just go to linux but I totally agree if more big titles supported it I am sure linux would catch up market share in the desktop. 

[JoeCoke]

7 hours ago, vorticalbox said:

yeah but you become a lot more efficient in doing so, you'll be able to get stuff done faster. @2Buck with windows 10 free upgrade ending and people on 7 not moving them might just go to linux but I totally agree if more big titles supported it I am sure linux would catch up market share in the desktop. 

You're right, I'm sure a good amount of people will migrate to Linux when 7 becomes too old. I know I am.

[riklaunim]

I use Linux daily and for my work. I don't have to use the terminal, and I don't find any software lacking in my case. For games and astrophotography I just use  Windows. You use apps/OS you want to use and fits you needs.

[Zegame]

12 hours ago, OPSJono said:

Are there any other reasons for using Linux on a day to day basis?

Are there any other reasons for using Windows on a day to day basis?

 

 

With Linux, you have better performance, because it is not bloated and does not need anti-virus.

It has free software apps, which are more reliable and lightweight.

You can customize the user interface.

Unless the app is very recent, if it is useful, it will work on wine.

 

[ErickS89]

Reasons to use Windows

* X Application

* Gaming

 

Reasons to use Linux

* Open Source

* Customizable Kernal

* Can compile the entire OS towards your specific hardware (either install Gentoo or go LSF)

* Interface Options

* File management options

* Free open source software (not all are actually good though...)

* Command line bliss

* No 8 year olds in a support chat +++++++

 

 

I'd use Gentoo but gaming, adobe, and serif keep me on Windows sadly... Gimp sucks it's not an alternative, and it's pretty clunky if you ask me...  At least my Game Creation software IS available for Linux GODOT

[vorticalbox]

2 hours ago, Zegame said:

Are there any other reasons for using Windows on a day to day basis?

 

 

With Linux, you have better performance, because it is not bloated and does not need anti-virus.

It has free software apps, which are more reliable and lightweight.

You can customize the user interface.

Unless the app is very recent, if it is useful, it will work on wine.

 

I doesn't need an AV because it requires a password for SU however should the tides turn and linux become popular then it would face the same problems as windows does now.

[Sauron]

Let's say this as clearly as possible: at this time there is nothing you can do on Linux that you cannot do on Windows, at least for desktop use.

 

However, there are multiple reasons to pick Linux over Windows if you don't need programs that are exclusive to Microsoft's platform. In no particular order:

- Linux distributions are mostly free. While Windows 10 has been a free upgrade for the first year, you still need a new license if you use it on too many different pcs or if you didn't own a non-oem Windows 7/8/8.1 copy. Sparing 100ish bucks is certainly not bad.

- The choice is always in your hands when it comes to your operating system when you are using Linux. You can use different graphical interfaces, customize each of them very deeply, or not use one at all and rock from the command line (which admittedly is a bad idea for web development). You could go as far as changing the code of every part of your OS if you so desired.

- It's open source. This is good if you care about the movement and/or your privacy - it's hard to slip that sort of thing through the cracks when the whole community can check the code for suspicious things.

- Speaking of privacy, you can be reasonably sure that your os won't be sending any of your information over to anyone. Sure, by using the internet you inevitably give away some of your privacy, however your local data and usage information are safe.

- Security can be higher if you know what you're doing. Aside from the fact that there are significantly less malicious programs around that run on Linux instead of Windows, the way the system is structured makes it inherently more resistant to attacks. It will also request root (administrator) password for any operation that could damage the system. This however is a double edged sword, because if you provide the password nothing will stop you from destroying your own system. The bottom line is use your common sense and triple check dd, rm and mv commands.

- Linux distributions are generally lighter on your hardware, which may result in lower power consumption and longer battery life on laptops. This is not guaranteed, but if the drivers all work and you are using one of the more lightweight desktop environments it's a safe assumption that the system is being taxed less than it would be under Windows.

- Depending on the distribution you choose, updates can be extremely frequent and close to the bleeding edge or slower and focused on offering stable packages. Both have advantages and disadvantages that would deserve a post of their own.

- If you run stable packages and do not wish to update often, your system could run for years on end without slowing down or needing to reboot. Many updates also do not require a reboot.

- Linux offers native support for better filesystems than what is available on Windows.

 

There are more but I think these are enough for you to make a decision.

[pinksnowmanshandle]

I like Linux because it's different. I like that I can do simple things to it or do real complex things with it.