Sorry if this has been asked before, I did a quick search (if there is such a thing), and didn't come up with much.
Can anyone tell me the pro's and con's of running Linux OS before I go ahead and install it?
I don't know anyone personally who uses Linux.
Are programs for Linux readily available and/or will most Windows programs work?
Thanks--- kirk

What flavor of linux are we talking about?

Myself I've come to like Ubuntu. They have a LiveCD (Bootable OS from CD) that you can download and try out. That way you don't have to install it unless you're sure you like it.

Pros for Linux - Free. Open-source. Active developer base.

Cons for Linux - Learning curve. Not for avid gamers.

Thanks- It's called X Windows (?!?) It's supposed to be faster and more secure than Windows, but that is just what the advertisement claims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Window_System

I think you need to do a *little* more homework. X-Windows is the GUI (graphical user interface) for most linux operating systems. Typing startx from a command line interface in Linux normally launches X-Windows. Read up on the various Linux flavors. In all honesty, the only people that I know who use linux on a daily basis are people that are quite knowledgeable with computers. You will really need to learn a whole lot about the operating system and you will spend a LOT of time getting to know Linux better.

I have my PC dual-booting Windows XP and Ubuntu. I can't say I've been into my Ubuntu partition in months. I don't have the time to goof around with it. I'm too busy goofing around with projectors!

http://www.ubuntu.com/
Try out the LiveCD of Ubuntu if you're still interested.

Great info- I appreciate you responding. I likely don't have the computer skillset to do stray away from Windows too far, I may check out Ubuntu just for the knowledge. Thanks again!-- kirk

The ubuntu series is very nice, but for a beginning, you may also want to try out freespire. Its an open source version of LINspire that supports a lot of functionality right out of the box and can be dynamically updated.
There is another one called Xandros that is aimed squarely at windows users. I have seen it in action. Its almost spooky how much it looks and feels like windows.

I think you should do a little more reading. There are SO many variations of linux out there and a bad experience on the first one will scare some folks. Dont let that get you down. There are plenty of easy to set up variants that work well and you dont have to have a PhD to operate.

That being said, it WILL be different than windows, but its something you can learn to live with...

...especially if its a choice between linux and vista...

I've installed linux on some older systems and I love it, but it's very frustrating. I have quite a few older model computers (P2, MMX, etc.) and I love to run Damn Small Linux on them because of the low system resources needed. The only problem is that most things in linux, with the exception of the new Ubuntu versions, are not just "double click install.exe" I'm still learning a lot about it and I've gotten frustrated several times trying to find ways to install things like wireless network cards or god forbid a video card. Thankfully there is a huge support group online, and a lot of groups will code things for you if you have the patience and ask nicely : ) I still prefer XP or OSX for my main system.

I use Ubuntu, I used to use SUSE 11 but it's too glitchy. The obvious advantage is that it's free, and you can get all of your software free and legal, where's Windows charges you for everything. And I believe the primary disadvantage is installing applications, you have to unpack them and go through a lot of trouble to get them working. I'm not very good with Linux since I hate installing applications with it. It's way better if you are trying to code or something, but if you want to play games then you should always stick with Windows.... You should also try slackware before trying to use Linux, SUSE has tons of features but it's not good for beginners, Ubunutu is a good distro for first timers.

I agree, I use ubuntu as well, and its a good distro for beginners.. The community is very large, so you can get lots of help. There are so many walk throughs on how to install, setup, and the best programs, apps, etc to install right away to help ease the transition.

Linux vs. Windows.... Quite the debate and hot heads on everyside. There are five computers in my household and only one of them runs Windows, my son's box, all the rest run the Gentoo distro. Granted it's not for beginners. I've run Slackware, RedHat, Mandrake and Gentoo.

I'd recommend the same as a few of the others start with Linsipre or Ubuntu and you'll probably like it.

If you have any specific questions or concerns just PM me.


Here is a page that has linux equiviliants of windows programs... it's a little dated but farily accurate.
http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html

Some windows programs will run under Wine (http://www.winehq.com/) but it's still a little hit and miss.

Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop)
Packages (http://packages.ubuntu.com/dapper/)

Thanks everyone- that's a lot of good info. Sounds like I need to be up to the challenge though. It'll be a good learning experience, I'll experiment.

Mandrivia is not bad It is very user friendly most apps can be downloaded and updated just as easy as any windows programs it can be setup to update in a similar way as any windows. Most of the propriatary programs can be obtained by joining membership. Compatable opensource programs can be downloaded with ease. The downside of Linux, crossover programs to work with windows will always be slower than what the world of fast fast fast demains. Microsoft will always find a way to keep free OS's one step away and behind them because they have access to opensourse and linux does not have access to their OS.

I am not a computer wiz ( onestep above computer illiterate) But in the last 5 years I have downloaded over 50 maybe 70 different flavors of linux. But I always come back to windows cuz it is were most of the new comsumer hardware ends up first

I wouldnt go for mandriva , to be honest the company is almost dissapearing out of existance.
Also its not like you have to choice one or the other , have both like me on a dual boot , works fine no probs at all.
I love using linux its enjoyable , and the real software is written for it , also if it has to be a question of vista or linux on the way it looks , just add beryl ,looks bloomin awsome

Hmmm
Installing applications with Ubuntu is really easy (if you have a internet connection) and even easier that with Windows.
Just open Synaptic (System->Administration->Synaptic)and select (or search) application you want to install and voilá it's installed with depencies. This is the way to do it, not from the source code, unless you cannot find the software from the repositories.

This is a big advantage to older distros, that used rpm's like Red Hat, Mandrake, which leaded to dependecy hell or back in the good old days, when you had to compile everything.

When installing Automatix, you can install players, codecs etc. you don't have to dig throught the internet to find some installing packages.

ubuntu is the only os I've ever installed that has so far picked up EVERY SINGLE piece of hardware and had it working immediately. Sound, network, usb wireless network, video, etc, on every laptop/desktop I've ever put it on has worked out of the box so far.

ubuntu doesn't require any knowledge to run and get on the web. Stick the CD in, let it boot into Live CD mode, and play around, you'll be surprised how easy it is and once you get comfortable, you can start changing things around. Our laptop on ubuntu 6.10 (edgy) looks very similar to Windows, anyone could use it.

i have played with 10 different distro's most wont run too well on my system. i dont know why though. suse, cant get it to verify things... aka no network access. and the distro browsing software was confusing, mandriva didnt like my video card, gentoo is more advanced than i care to have, knopix was just gay, redhat was also to developerish and freespire couldnt even make it past the startup screen, for some reason it dosent like my raid setup and freezes. but ubuntu was soo easy. i crashed it a couple times playing with beryl on edgy. but with this new distro feisty i am happy. it has out of the box easy to use interface. alot of noticable improvements. the software selection has improved. with over 16,000 peices of software to choose from yuo pretty much wont need windows for much anything, the only reason i have it still is for my gaming. and to sync my i730.

theres no true threat of viruses, adware, spyware and such. it has much better utilization of processing power as well.

the one thing i do not like about ubuntu, the upgrade system. by the time i installed edgy the last time before i gave up on it i had to download updates for 3 hours after installation. with feisty i hav installed maybe 15 minutes worth of updates

trust the crowds voice in this one. ubuntu is the way to go for somebody who wants a change but wants to make it an easy one. but make sure you get feisty fawn 7.04

the cool thing about ubuntu is the software, it comes with dvd shrink, open office, the gimp, audacity, internet radio, money management, internet browsing, self hardware and network install and a great feature you should like is that it will grab all of your settings from your windows box and apply them, it will setup your e-mail for you, your theme settings, your im accounts all of that.
the interesting thing is that i was forced into adding linux to my boxtop because my windows crashed for good and had no way to recover it. all i had laying around was knoppix. put it in booted up, downloaded a bunch of distros and kept installing 1 after another until i found ubuntu.

BONUS: built in 3d FX + the beryl library. put that on a 100" screen and people will be amazed. look up compiz or beryl on you tube

ive been using ubuntu for some time now it keeps getting better never had a problem with hardware, ive also been mucking around with the new mandriva its not bad but i think i still prefer ubuntu.



regards marc

I posted up above but I have been using it for a while now...
Ubuntu rocks very hard. I have yet to run onto any problems with this one and the stand alone boot have saved a few files for my friends. The oddest thing is that I have yet to run into a piece of hardware it wont recognize or at the very least provide base drivers for.

Fine piece of work.

Same experience as me.

I had a good friend lose his hard drive (for the second time in less than a year, covered under warranty again) that used his pc without a hard drive, just the Ubuntu cd for over a month while he waited for his replacement drive. It took a couple extra minutes to boot, but he was completely functional with it. Very cool feature.

It was announced on May 1st, that Dell would be offering UBUNTU on some desktops and laptops!

Score one for the little guys!