Why is linux any good ?

Ok, maybe i was a little harsh. But there are versions of linux that you buy. I see them in computer stores. Right now i'm looking at freespire as my first linux os. I've been to the boards and they say it should support my hardware. Also they now offer cnr basic for free now. I know alot of linux users look down on freespire,but it would be a good one to learn with. For me anyways.

While I have used many different distros over several years, my favorite is Mandriva. I cannot recall a time when my hardware matched any of their "official" lists and have never had an issue with my computer.

I did learn early on the difference between real modems and printers and "win" modems and printers, but today many of these devices work with drivers written by the linux community. The hardware frustration is really from the manufacturers, and not from linux. Hence, I only buy devices that work with linux.

More manufacturers are writing linux drivers, so the business is improving. Still, if I call Verizon support concerning a dsl issue, they are lost if I tell them I use linux! Of course, my os is irrelevent to their connectivity problem because tcp/ip is tcp/ip. What they don't know doesn't hurt them, it just makes them look a bit silly.

Linux is choice. Don't apologize for what you like.

"I know alot of linux users look down on freespire,but it would be a good one to learn with." Yes, a lot do, but not as many as before, and the ones that are left are just holding on to sour grapes *Linspire has a bit of a nasty history to it which if you get into Linux you will learn eventually*. I personally think Freespire would make a great beginner OS for the migrating Windows user. Good choice!

I would like to point out your participation in the discussion within the topic YOU started. From my Review, you have made the opening comment and then this follow-up.

You have decided to go with a product that you buy from a store for Linux. I would make the observation that you feel more comfortable with paying for a product because ? - you feel that this is a more supported product ? (I am guessing) As several others in this thread have pointed out, your choice is a good one for a starting point to learn.

I would like to present to you that most of the popular and better supported Distro's are not sold necessarily through stores and some are depending on management decision, and that it is personal choice as to which Distro's are best. I am talking about popular as decided by number of users actually using the products for various reason.

For excellent support of hardware and easy of use, even for the elderly, people have suggested to me Unbuto (sp), Gentoo, and for you GUI leaning people - Mandriva (others also have suggested some of these distros too).

When you become more serious you may want to look into Suse, Red Hat/Fedora, Debian, or go with what Apple used as their foundation of FreeBSD. On the internet large ISP websites like - HotMail, Yahoo, Google all have their Servers, I am told, setup on NetBsd or FreeBsd. That is interesting that even Microsoft's HotMail uses these unixes for their stablity.

If you wish to obtain a DVD/CD to intall these Distro's you might want to consider purchasing a magazine that includes this media for your install. This way you do NOT need to have a high speed internet access. The publication even provides instructions on how to get started and where to go for driver or other issues. Even if you pay $25.00 for the issue it still should be less than a store pricing and can be found in the same store if they sell magazines. I have found this true in several states in my travels and in Canada. At least in fairly large cities.

Once you get the hang of how to handle this system, I believe that you will be happier with its' use. If you wish to have personal contact for assistance, seek out a linux User Group. If you need the URL to a LUG reference site, I will respond to your reply requesting this information. I just do not have it handy right now.

I have been a solution provider using Xenix since '83 and promoting this solution over networks prior to '83 with Altos systems. I have been using Linux since the mid '90s

I hope you have found this helpful information.

I agree; use a Free-As-In-Beer-And-Speech distro, and definately get a couple of magazines with coverdiscs.

It's spelt "Ubuntu" I disagree with the suggestion of trying Gentoo. I know people sometimes recommend it to newbies, but they only recommend it when the newbie says "I want to learn as much about Linux as possible". Gentoo is not for the faint hearted, and that's the way its fans like it.

If you really, really want a store-bought product, Xandros is reputed to be good. If you don't want to learn much about a new operating system, and if you don't mind lying about what distribution you use whenever anyone asks you , then I suggest Linspire.

Dear sir ,
I would like to know, how you could install the Canon Printer on Linux, I have recently installed Ubuntu 10.10, some of the technical terms which are in use I could not understand. Please help me.
My e-mail ID is mathurpradeep48@gmail.com
Thanks.
Yours Sincerely,
Pradeep Kumar Mathur

Don't bury your posts in an open discussion like this. This discussion topic is not about printers.

Dear Sir,
If you could help me to explain how to install Canon PIXMA - iP1200 in Ubuntu - 10.10 or on Linux as you have mentioned. Thanks a lot. - Pradeep. e-mail ID: mathurpradeep48@gmail.com

Your post is a little lacking in details. So how did you judge Linux to be "faster" than Windows? What common benchmark did you use?

And as for being "free" -- can you compare the amount of time it took you to get it working with appropriate drivers and applications versus the time it took to setup a comparable Windows platform plus changing default security to something more Unix-like?

My Linux distro is faster than Windows, because it gets more tasks done in less time.

I stop-watched Windows and Ubuntu opening file browser windows. Ubuntu was noticably faster. Here's a post that I sent to another forum regarding speed:


Opening Open-office.org was faster on Ubuntu; it only took about 5 seconds, cold-start. I wait longer than that for MS Word 98 on my iMac. I know some people would say that 5 seconds is unacceptable, but those are just impatient people.

Nexuiz - higher frame-rate on Ubuntu when running full-screen, slightly higher on Windows when testing the game in a window. No idea what this was due to. I'm currently running with a gig of RAM, but when I had 256 megs and was quitting a full-screen game, I could actually see Windows loading up my desktop icons one-by-one. Ubuntu had instant redraw even with 256 megs.

Starting up GAIM was slower than starting MSN Messenger on Windows, but then the latter only contacts one network and is partially loaded at startup anyway.

Killing a program on Ubuntu: Instant. Killing a program on Windows: A minute passed.

Windows does start up faster, and I'll admit that I have two optimisations installed; but these optimisations are pretty standard for Linux (Prelink and Preload) and I don't believe there are any equivilants for Windows. My testing with 256 megs of RAM was done without these optimisations.

The optimisations make the computer start up slower, but hey! I just suspend the computer anyway, so I don't see any slow startup times.

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As for being "free" - if you install Windows from scratch, you have to load more drivers and applications manually than you would when installing a Linux distro. Plus, the time-savings really do add up when you take into account the time you would spend running a virus scanner and spyware cleaner as part of your monthly routine. The cost-savings add up when you consider that you won't have to buy the aforementioned programs, and that updates to the operating system are also free.

People who haven't used Linux don't really appreciate the benefits that being "free as in speech" has. Less anxiety about what your programs are doing, the ability to get a deep understanding of how to use a program, the ability to make modifications or hire someone to do a security audit. The ability to request that the developer adds new features.

Oh, don't get me wrong. There are still things I boot into Windows for. But over 90% of my time is spent in Linux.

For the record, I started using Windows AFTER I started using Linux. Although Windows was preinstalled on this machine, I spent more time trying to make Windows usable than I did configuring Linux on it.

Is an excellent distro. Some nix puritans gripe about it, but they don't have to use it. I think Ubuntu is one of the faster distros "out of the box".. It really flies.. In my experience there have not been many video cards that the kernel doesn't support. Same with sound cards. come to think of it... Linux supports more hardware then windoze does.

My Linux distro is faster than Windows, because it gets more tasks done in less time.

I stop-watched Windows and Ubuntu opening file browser windows. Ubuntu was noticably faster. Here's a post that I sent to another forum regarding speed:


Opening Open-office.org was faster on Ubuntu; it only took about 5 seconds, cold-start. I wait longer than that for MS Word 98 on my iMac. I know some people would say that 5 seconds is unacceptable, but those are just impatient people.

Nexuiz - higher frame-rate on Ubuntu when running full-screen, slightly higher on Windows when testing the game in a window. No idea what this was due to. I'm currently running with a gig of RAM, but when I had 256 megs and was quitting a full-screen game, I could actually see Windows loading up my desktop icons one-by-one. Ubuntu had instant redraw even with 256 megs.

Starting up GAIM was slower than starting MSN Messenger on Windows, but then the latter only contacts one network and is partially loaded at startup anyway.

Killing a program on Ubuntu: Instant. Killing a program on Windows: A minute passed.

Windows does start up faster, and I'll admit that I have two optimisations installed; but these optimisations are pretty standard for Linux (Prelink and Preload) and I don't believe there are any equivilants for Windows. My testing with 256 megs of RAM was done without these optimisations.

The optimisations make the computer start up slower, but hey! I just suspend the computer anyway, so I don't see any slow startup times.

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As for being "free" - if you install Windows from scratch, you have to load more drivers and applications manually than you would when installing a Linux distro. Plus, the time-savings really do add up when you take into account the time you would spend running a virus scanner and spyware cleaner as part of your monthly routine. The cost-savings add up when you consider that you won't have to buy the aforementioned programs, and that updates to the operating system are also free.

This is a very detailed comment about windows vs. linux. I think i might have that as a second partition on my HD, Can you tell me more about linux and its pros? I would really like to be part of the linux comunity. I have the Unbutu Linux cd, But never tryed it out.

It is almost anything you want it to be. Seriously. There are so many distros out there for so many different wants/needs that there is practically one for everything. There are also so many different desktop environments and programs for various tasks that you will probably find the perfect fit there, as well. I guess you could sum this all up as choice and power. You get a lot of choice in what your OS will be like and power over it.

On the power thing - it goes a bit deeper than just the GUI. Because it's all open source, a lot of the system is nothing but text files that you can easily edit if you so wish. In fact, this is encouraged - it's not uncommon to see notes in the text files giving you little how to's and quick explanations on how to edit them.

And because it's so open, it makes for a great learning experience if you want one, and is very easy to troubleshoot and fix *if you know how to fix it *. Even if you don't know how to fix it and have to reinstall, you can keep all your personal files and system settings/configuration because it's all stored on a separate partition by default on most distros *although you can install it all on one partition if you'd like, too*.

There's also almost zero maintenance. No defragging, no infection by viruses or spyware - by default.

If you have Ubuntu Dapper 6.06, it's a live cd so you can check it out without committing to installing it.

I downloaded the Ubuntu CD and tried it on an old PC that I had. (P3 866mhz, 256megs of RAM 30 gig hd)
It ran great off the CD! I went ahead and loaded it to the hard disk so I could tweek it some and install software/update etc.
I'm pretty happy with it. This is the first time I've used GNOME interface for any length of time. I have used KDE before. Both are easy to use if you are used to Windows. There is a bit of a learning curve that may be hard to deal with at first. Be patient.

The downsides are that being a sometimes gamer, I don't see the support for FPS gaming on Linux being what it is for Windows. (But, I have my gaming laptop for that stuff anyway my linux PC doesn't have the horsepower to be a gamer, and I knew that going in.)
I am having trouble finding a printer driver for my Brother networked laser printer. I can see the print server object on the network, but I can't print to it. Again, I can print from my laptop, so no real biggie at this point for ME but others may have issues with totally giving up Microsoft's OS.
I am going to experiment with WINE some to see what that can do to help.
"Patience are not just people in a hospital". Be patient and you will be just fine experimenting with Linux.

Your posting is a great summation for Linux: "It's a hobby for users".

So folks, there you have it from a (rare) honest Linux user: "It's a hobby for users ".

So if you don't need another hobby, avoid Linux.

The poster also said that it's not beginner-friendly.

In India, Linux is pre-installed on many computers, due to its low cost. People who have never used computers before often buy Linux computers, and take classes just like their Windows-using counterparts do.

My friend, who lives in one of the Linux-populated areas, says that beginners have no trouble using Linux, as they don't have to unlearn Windows nor get hardware to work (the hardware is selected by the manufacturer to work out-of-the-box).

Linux is great as a hobby, yes. It's sometimes too easy to fiddle around with it, customise it, look for new programs. But if you want to get solid work done on it, you can definately do that. You've just got to resist the urge to play

If you're a test-driver for a sportscar manufacturer, you're not going to restrict yourself to using it for the grocery shopping, are you?

Linux can be a hobby, but it can also be used as a productive desktop environment.

In offices, you don't need to play games.

I have gotten it to print since my first post. (all it took was some searching to find the correct compatible driver)
I can read and edit MS Office documents. Read PDF files, etc. Lotus makes a Notes client that runs on Linux. If I wanted to have an office using Linux, I could. It would be TONS cheaper than the associated Microsoft requirement. Also, when you factor in what Vista is going to cost businesses, Linux starts to look really good.

I must say I have read though this Thread, I have just started using SuSE 10.1. Well I run a modern Rig and 15-20 Mins after inserting the DVD and restarting I was on the internet surfing happily. All the hardware had the drivers installed bar the graphics card. And the batch was easy enough to install. After I installed Python and smart I got all the programs I needed.

I work in IT support and support Ms Windows 95 - Xp and I have to check the Internet to find "Fixes" just as much as I read up on SuSE and checked the forums. I do have a friend that uses SuSE all the time that give me the links to a few more Redepots to get more software but the software thats comes with the DVD/Install for SuSE does everything you should need it to. Codex's need to be installed (like Ms Windows) and the media players reinstalled but it is as easy as typing in the konsole( Command line for windows users):
smart reinstall kaffeine

If Kaffeine is the media player you choose to use. The Major Issue I that most of the people I know have with Linux is the Games. Most games are released for Ms Windows, but some are released for Linux aswell like UT2004 and others.

I moved to Linux because of Spyware/Adware and Virus. I just got sick of it. Another main reason is the networking that SuSE Linux does is far better than Xp will allow. One last thing NO blue screen of death!!!!

All in all Linux is NOT for most home users as most can't even tell you what browser they are using. Or even the OS that they are using. If you have time and an interest in computing, Linux could be for you.

Saying that Xp is a very good OS, Which I still use at home and and work.

Gazackly right!

Have been holding off for Longhorn-Vista-Vanish-whatever so long most of my hardware is past EOL and now it looks like it'll be a closed system that will restrict my temp-help service's operations.

I need 10 new PCs that connect to 3 servers, one running Novell, one running VMS and one running Apache Linux. We get up to 500 resumes a day in unamit formats and we do a lot of file manipulation. We live on our T-1 email.

Have a staff that exudes estrogen on perceived change ("It looks like it might be different.") They make relationships ("Just tell me what button to push!"). When in doubt they stop and shut up (that's a business killer!).

And much as I want to get away from Bill, I am scared to death of an OS without a well documented help function, because that makes ME "help." Will try Xandros as a trainer...thanks.

Rick