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Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

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Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#521

Post by Ygg2 »

3np wrote: post #331
alphachloride wrote: post #132

I am a sample size of 1. For me, the inconveniences of using linux are far greater than the inconveniences of using windows. This article is targeted at the developer community mostly. As a programmer, I cannot recall being hindered by file name conventions, un-resizeable dialog boxes, bug trackers etc., as much I have been inconvenienced on linux by poor driver support, and regularly dropping to command line for con…

When was the last time you gave it a serious try? I've been Linux only for several years now and things have stabilized a lot in past years. Ubuntu's kind of lost its way recently though (snaps/apt mess, went a tad bit early with pushing Wayland as default). The derivatives like Mint, Manjaro, PopOS and Zorin seem to be the way to go for the average user. The one thing that might trip you up is (these days rare) hard…

If you try anything remotely exotic, it's a no go on Linux.

E.g. I remember nVidia drivers always being crap. Even the blob ones.

Latest example for me is Swiftpoint Z mouse. Doesn't work on Linux.

From what I understand, either drivers are in the Kernel and thus open source. Or the drivers are outside of Kernel and thus break on every kernel update.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#522

Post by josephcsible »

anonymou2 wrote: post #441
heavyset_go wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Really, most modern Linux distros are pretty god damn nice. I agree, and what really sold me was Plasma Desktop, as someone that couldn't stand KDE 3 & 4. It used to be that GNOME was the desktop environment you could turn into a Windows or macOS clone, but it looks like that switched with GNOME 3 and KDE 5. I have Plasma Desktop set up[1] to take advantage of my macOS muscle memory when it comes to the GUI and key…

So you install Linux to install a bunch of proprietary software on it? I don't get the point.

Even if you keep all of your proprietary applications, switching from Windows to Linux still means your system is less proprietary than before, so it's still a step in the right direction.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#523

Post by modo_mario »

AntiImperialist wrote: post #472
sysrpl wrote: post #44

Linux runs better on both new and older hardware. Better as in programs open faster, the file manager opens faster, the task manager opens faster. Everything uses less memory and less CPU cycles. Everything is snappier. Linux users don't have to worry nearly as much about malware, trojans, viruses, exploits. It's more secure. Linux distros generally don't annoy users with stealthy automatic forced updates. Linux dist…

I have used Linux as the primary OS for over 15 years in the last 20 years and I am not sure I agree with all of that. Linux runs better on both new and older hardware. Better as in programs open faster, the file manager opens faster, the task manager opens faster. Everything uses less memory and less CPU cycles. Everything is snappier. Simply untrue. It could be true for some distros, some driver versions and some h…

>Simply untrue. It could be true for some distros, some driver versions and some hardware... but if you consider everything, Windows runs better than Linux. Mostly because most hardware is designed to run well on Windows. The Linux versions are either an afterthought or built and maintained by third-party.

You mean drivers instead of hardware right? Typically performance is roughly the same. Sometimes better sometimes worse. The issue is where they don't exist or are an afterthought indeed and then it's quite frustrating.

>Windows updates aren't stealthy and they can be disabled. If you really don't want an update, it is MUCH MORE straightforward to avoid installing the optional update in Windows than it is for Linux distros.

What? What are you on about? I have yet to install an update for Linux that I didn't specifically give my permission for. Automatic updates are turned of by default on any distro I've tried and they don't come as bundled as they do for windows where a recent random update I just checked includes some changes for input devices, office products, basic operations security and the DST start date for the Fiji Islands.

>Which Linux distro has a better App Store than Windows? Since Microsoft launched the Windows App Store, it is the best App Store in any non-macOS computers.

It looks neat but.... For some reason it uses a different language (that I've never selected to be used) in most of it's UI. Is a common problem in Belgium apparently and I guess same in other multilingual countries which is weird because that's not an issue anywhere else in the OS. Why am I looking at some loading ring for 3-4 seconds when i click on an app? Where do I add alternative sources? Can I do stuff like build something differently on install if I want to?

>Some distros do. Ubuntu has it, for example.

An outlier more than anything and one that asks you if you want it on install and later disabling it is a checbox away.

>This is true. However, this has been a problem, which is why something like Ubuntu which has good defaults which they stick to has been so much successful than anything else.

Fully agree it has been a problem and still is for it's adoption. I don't think it's what notably contributed to Ubuntu's success in the past tho.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#524

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

sgtnasty wrote: post #502
MrDresden wrote: post #491

Who cares which is better. If it works for you and your situation, great. Stop trying to make me change what works for me because you believe it would somehow be better. Also can we just stop this endless bickering over irrelevant things like this. I say this as a Linux user for a little over a decade, and someone who can not tolerate using Windows with its extreme need for bad system gui to be able to achieve anythi…

I get what you are saying and agree. However the reason these types of articles appear in the internet is because the linux desktop needs more market share. More means the ability to get better support from other organizations OR to get open source replacements of apps and drivers. Linux needs better market share to get better, so you get stuff like this posted.

> However the reason these types of articles appear in the internet is because the linux desktop needs more market share

Then Linux Desktop people should actually try to address the reasons people say they are staying on Windows/MacOS. I have been watching this show now for 20 years and very little has changed. Linux Desktop evangelists keep telling people they should use Linux Desktop, and keep get told by potential users why they aren't using Linux Desktop, then they ignore it. Linux Desktop evangelists have tied Linux to their identity in such a way that they interpret any criticism as a personal attack and defend themselves with the same tired old stock arguments. These types of articles appeal to the Linux Desktop evangelist because they soothe them.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#525

Post by duxup »

imtringued wrote: post #379
duxup wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has been ages since I had to reinstall windows. I was a thing I just did once in a while more than a decade ago but I haven't had to on multiple systems for a long time now.

Unfortunately I always got my windows updates as soon as possible which meant lots of bricked systems because Microsoft doesn't test their updates.

Generally I install as soon as I get a notice, never had that issue.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#526

Post by cycomanic »

jamaicahest wrote: post #489
jamaicahest wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as long as you buy a system with known good Linux support And that is where the problem lies. With Windows I can buy pretty much any laptop and expect it to work with. With Linux I have a limited selection of laptops, if I want it to work fully. I'm a developer and I know my way around Linux pretty well, still I usually run into "missing drivers", "package management is broken", "hardware working mostly but not ful…

Did any of you replying actual read my comment or did you just auto-reply "buy a supported Linux laptop"? I said ". With Windows I can buy pretty much any laptop and expect it to work with", and you are saying "Just research if the laptop you want to buy works with Linux", you are completely missing the point. I do not want to have to bother researching if a specific laptop will run Linux and research if all the hard…

Except that's not true, you can buy a laptop that has windows installed and it typically works. However trying to install windows yourself, you often run into all sorts of issues.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#527

Post by mcjiggerlog »

Osiris wrote: post #223
rubyn00bie wrote: post #214

I just moved to Linux as my primary OS; been fucking great. 11/10 Overall, everything seems to "just work" at least as well as on MacOS and is not quite (for me) as endlessly frustrating as Windows. Gaming has also been effortless and honestly just the most delightful surprise about the whole thing. I can write code AND play games... on the same machine... and it's running Linux?! I would've lost that bet ten years a…

I'm using PopOS (with i3 instead of Gnome) on a System76 laptop. I have some serious issues with resume from sleep. All browsers and electron apps have significant rendering issues after I resume and I have to close them down and restart them. I was able to fix Chrome and Firefox by enabling Vulkan, but Slack still requires a restart after every resume. My external monitors periodically stop working due to an NVIDIA…

I have this exactly same problem - Chromium, Firefox, Electron - and it's apparently an unfixed bug in the nvidia drivers. For me it only started a few months ago. I'm on Ubuntu 20.10 and it's still a problem.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#528

Post by HumanMusic »

MrDresden wrote: post #491

Who cares which is better. If it works for you and your situation, great. Stop trying to make me change what works for me because you believe it would somehow be better. Also can we just stop this endless bickering over irrelevant things like this. I say this as a Linux user for a little over a decade, and someone who can not tolerate using Windows with its extreme need for bad system gui to be able to achieve anythi…

The danger is that this discourages improving. Would you say the same to a college student? To an athlete? Just Working should not be the goal, until it is clear that the point of diminishing returns has been reached, people should strive to improve

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#529

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

alekq wrote: post #492
billyjobob wrote: post #305

Linux on desktop used to be great, but does anyone get the sense that it is going downhill? I don't even touch proprietary Nvidia drivers, all my machines are Radeon or Intel GPU and they used to work fine. But currently on Radeon I have to revert back to kernel 4.19 to get sleep to work. On Intel anything newer than 5.6 won't even boot. I don't get it. Maybe kernel devs mostly care about servers and VMs and are lett…

Yes, Linux and regressions, it is quite common and frequent annoyance. Many times I regret for not using some LTS distro, but stalled/outdated software stops me from making the switch.

If only you could have an LTS base system with up to date applications. Sadly, the distro+repo+package model does not handle this obvious use case well.

Re: Reasons to prefer Linux over Windows (2014)

#530

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

StavrosK wrote: post #37
ajkjk wrote: post #16

None of these reasons have anything to do with user experience -- no wonder none of these reasons have earned Linux any market share outside of picky developers.

* Astronomically lower probability of catching a virus. * No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it. * No phoning home with you being unable to launch an app when your manufacturer's server is slow. * No shuffling about trying to install drivers for a thousand components before your computer is usable. How's that?

> * No bullshit forced updates when the OS feels like it.

Eh... kinda, actually. I can recall many times wanting to try out an application only to discover that my LTS distro which was gasp 4 years old didn't have it in the repo, so I was forced to upgrade in order to get it without setting up a build environment and recompiling.

If AppImage were more widely embraced this sort of thing wouldn't need to happen.

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