Can the household pc convert to Linux seamlessly

[Canada EH]

Been using W7, all the talk today about W10 got my riled up with its spyware, how ppl dont like the interface. I love W7, but I wonder if the household pc can really survive on a Linux distro.

 

Internet

Mail

Office

Gaming - Steam, Indie Games, low graphic intensive games, but every now and then a good game like World of Tanks (which is an online game, but needs ok gpu setup)

 

 

 

 

[Tsuki]

as long as you dont do any real gaming, you shouldnt notice a major lack of capability.

but i highly suggest trying it for a little while using like a live disk or dual-booting before just making the switch.

[doomsriker]

15 minutes ago, Canada EH said:

Been using W7, all the talk today about W10 got my riled up with its spyware, how ppl dont like the interface. I love W7, but I wonder if the household pc can really survive on a Linux distro.

 

Internet

Mail

Office

Gaming - Steam, Indie Games, low graphic intensive games, but every now and then a good game like World of Tanks (which is an online game, but needs ok gpu setup)

 

 

 

 

Just use hard drives for mass storage and switch between windows and Linux via hot swap front drive bay ssds. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Bay-2-5-SSD-Mobile-Rack/dp/B01N0CUF6U/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1517888094&sr=8-16&keywords=hot+swap+ssd

[keskparane]

Just remember that for every 1 person who complains about windows there are thousands who aren't complaining.

[wasab]

1 hour ago, Canada EH said:

Been using W7, all the talk today about W10 got my riled up with its spyware, how ppl dont like the interface. I love W7, but I wonder if the household pc can really survive on a Linux distro.

 

Internet

Mail

Office

Gaming - Steam, Indie Games, low graphic intensive games, but every now and then a good game like World of Tanks (which is an online game, but needs ok gpu setup)

 

 

 

 

yeah, just dont use some totally outdated hardware or the opposite end of the spectrum, totally new hardware that literally just launched yesterday. 

[wasab]

27 minutes ago, keskparane said:

Just remember that for every 1 person who complains about windows there are thousands who aren't complaining.

for every one windows user who gets a virus there are thousands who arent. BUT that one alone is scary and risky enough for me to ditch windows. 

[keskparane]

23 minutes ago, wasab said:

for every one windows user who gets a virus there are thousands who arent. BUT that one alone is scary and risky enough for me to ditch windows. 

Is that why linux doesn't have any virus programs? /s

The difference with linux is that most people who got a virus on Linux would probably never know.

IMO you are susceptible to virus etc mostly through user behavior. Doesn't matter what the device/medium.

[Wild Penquin]

Most probably you can not convert seamlessly, whatever that means. Every user and use case is different, and it is impossible to give a definitive answer.

[005grn]

9 hours ago, Tsuki said:

as long as you dont do any real gaming, you shouldnt notice a major lack of capability.

Milestones of Linux as a gaming platform

 

Linux game play videos

[wasab]

8 hours ago, keskparane said:

Is that why linux doesn't have any virus programs? /s

The difference with linux is that most people who got a virus on Linux would probably never know.

IMO you are susceptible to virus etc mostly through user behavior. Doesn't matter what the device/medium.

I have anti virus installed on my machine actually. It’s Symantec Endpoint protection for Linux. 

 

Linux just have little virus. I can still torrent lots of pirated files filled with windows malwares but they won’t run. It’s so safe that most users just use a firewall(which you don’t actually even need if you are on wpa protected home network)

 

Linux server administrators get malwares all the time. How do you think those criminals distribute their malwares? They have to upload it to a website for someone to download and these sites are usually hosted on Linux or Unix servers. Most of them however are windows malwares so they do nothing and are taken down before they infect the consumer pc.

 

[Tsuki]

13 hours ago, 005grn said:

Milestones of Linux as a gaming platform

 

Linux game play videos

im aware that there are a lot of games on linux.  its still inferior as a gaming platform as it doesnt support DirectX(using WINE doesnt count) and nomatter how many indie games that it supports, it will always be the worst option for a pure gaming PC.

[Wild Penquin]

About Linux and viruses:

 

The most important reason why there is no viruses for Linux, is because there is no demand ;-). That may sound like a joke, but seriously, in this regard viruses (and malware in general) is really no different than for other software (aimed at desktop users). There's a lot more computer illiterate users browsing via a browser running on Windows than on Linux, that's why they are a way better target for malware writers!

 

There are other reasons, too, but these are less important; things like not so many services running per default, and a longer history of separating userspace and kernel space, and more restrictive permissions on the (file)system in general. However, for most malware (targeting destktop users) the data they are after is the users data (and this is by far the most important for desktop users, since the system is trivial to restore, but family photos, work documents and the thesis one has been working on for 3 years are not). From malware point of view, there is not really that much that can not be done as a regular user, if a malware gains access to run arbitrary code (as a regular user; i.e. root access is not actually needed).

 

TL;DR: Linux is (practically) virus free. But that may not be true anymore if Linux gains a more significant market share some day in the future on the desktop segment.

 

EDIT: As mentioned earlier, it is of course possible to get Windows viruses on Linux, and even though it is true they wont run (unless you are using Wine, in which case they might!), you may inadvertently pass them on to other users. Depending on what you do on the computer, a virus scanner might be needed (they do exist, clamav is an example). Use common sense while working with computers, despite what OS you are using.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Wild Penquin
A few typos and a bit rewording

[wasab]

11 hours ago, Tsuki said:

im aware that there are a lot of games on linux.  its still inferior as a gaming platform as it doesnt support DirectX(using WINE doesnt count) and nomatter how many indie games that it supports, it will always be the worst option for a pure gaming PC.

Directx isn’t the dominant graphics API until the 2005. OpenGL used to be more commonly used. Microsoft however played dirty and had been slandering the OpenGL and using their desktop OS monopoly to scare the game devs to jump ship and switch over to directx.

 

valve, the company that owned steam had once stated that OpenGL is simply superior to directx. 

[Wild Penquin]

As someone gaming on linux semi-regularly but non-seriously (for years), it's definitely getting better, but slowly. There are more new games released every year. Serious gamers (competitive ones) want to stay away from Linux for the time being - unless there is a native port for a certain game (or it is a turn-based game where performace is not critical, provided the game can run at all in wine).

 

As for games without native ports:

 

In retro-gaming, Linux can even be somewhat better, or at least on-par with Windows (better tools OOTB, more control over system in general etc.). That being said, retro-gaming is always kind of hacking - even on Windows. But Linux has better tools for hacking stuff!

 

Wine can give mixed experiences for running windows games. For old Windows games wine can sometimes surpass current Windowses. For example (I've heard / red) that current windowses can not run 16-bit applications at all (but wine has the functionality OOTB). I've heard that (pre-)XP-era compatibility can in some cases be better, sometimes worse on wine than modern windowses. But for never games, which can be run on a modern Windows without any intervention from the user, windows will of course be the best bet. Also, using something like wine is never "seamless" in my opinion.

 

OP doesn't sound that serious about gaming, so chances are Linux will be just fine for his(her) gaming needs. But if it is imperative to get a certain (windows-only) title running, that can be a gamestopper (no pun intented).

Edited February 7, 2018 by Wild Penquin
I definitely coudln't not remove a double negative

[005grn]

On 2/6/2018 at 11:24 AM, Tsuki said:

as long as you dont do any real gaming, you shouldnt notice a major lack of capability.

but i highly suggest trying it for a little while using like a live disk or dual-booting before just making the switch.

 

On 2/6/2018 at 9:22 PM, 005grn said:

Milestones of Linux as a gaming platform

 

Linux game play videos

 

13 hours ago, Tsuki said:

im aware that there are a lot of games on linux.  its still inferior as a gaming platform as it doesnt support DirectX(using WINE doesnt count) and nomatter how many indie games that it supports, it will always be the worst option for a pure gaming PC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wild Penquin]

@005grn, I believe all in this thread know you can run games on Linux, and you have already linked videos here previously. What's your point?

[Tsuki]

7 hours ago, Wild Penquin said:

@005grn, I believe all in this thread know you can run games on Linux, and you have already linked videos here previously. What's your point?

hes trying to convince people that linux is a legitimate gaming platform. instead of just an os that happens to be able to play a few games. but windows will always dominate the market, for good reason.

[wasab]

9 hours ago, 005grn said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Games that are developed nativity on linux(not just ports) like Dota 2 actually has better fps than windows. Metro last night is another example, fps is higher than windows on the same hardware so is most indie games. Linux is lighter wright than windows for a reason. 

[wasab]

9 hours ago, Wild Penquin said:

@005grn, I believe all in this thread know you can run games on Linux, and you have already linked videos here previously. What's your point?

know whats funny? PS4 actually runs on BSD kernel which technically means it is a BSD OS. 

https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/159476-ps4-runs-orbis-os-a-modified-version-of-freebsd-thats-similar-to-linux

windows isnt the gaming king lol