Linux v windows

Sterlingtimes

I was interested in Linux and followed an Open University course which I passed. Regrettably, I concluded that it was all to much trouble for a non-expert user. Many program do not work with Linux and it is often not straight forward installing new applications. I wanted to love Linux but it was all too much trouble and Bill Gate won.

smudger1964

I installed Linux Mint when microsoft stopped support for XP first as a dual boot then when I got used to it got rid of windows completely.
I havent regretted the decision its a joy not having to run a virus scan or putting up with constant nagging from microsoft to update this or that.
I very rarely find I have to use the terminal to do anything in my case everything just worked straight out of the box so to speak.
The only problem I had really was getting a canon printer to work properly but that was quite old I got a HP printer which works well with linux
If there are any issues linux mint has a great help forum and its all FREE
In my case Bill Gates wallet is a little lighter

tronator

Gloomendoom wrote: »

This my problem. I keep hearing how wonderful Linux is but when you delve deeper, it turns out to be pretty useless if you want to run proprietary CAD or photo editing tools.

And this is Linux's fault why? Did Microsoft write your CAD or photo editing tools under Windows?

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I installed Mint on my Mum's laptop but had to replace it with Win 10 because even some of the software she uses wouldn't run on Mint.

Can you name "some software"? There is almost for everything an alternative under Linux, especially for software Average Joe uses.

Sterlingtimes wrote: »

Many program do not work with Linux and it is often not straight forward installing new applications.

I find it quite the opposite. Most software you'll ever need is in your distribution's package manager. Makes installatllng and updating easy peasy...

Cacran

no, not a business, just the laptops we have at home.

Cacran

we use laptops just for personal use. I have one, m husband has one and son has one.

motorguy

Cacran wrote: »

we use laptops just for personal use. I have one, m husband has one and son has one.

Relative to your comment that you like the fact that Linux can be installed legally, what are you running currently?

boliston

I have switched between linux and windows several times over the last 20 years.

I last switched to linux about a year ago as I was getting a bit annoyed the w10 seemed to run quite slowly on my 3 year old pc.

I seem to remember quite a few things that I had to trouble shoot and for people who simply want to use a pc then they might be better off using windows or mac.

I used to use ubuntu a few years back but it seemed to start getting a bit commercial with an app store etc so now have debian which is non-commercial.

forgotmyname

jmc160 wrote: »

I've never understood the need for Classic Shell (I used to work at a place that installed it as standard) - are people really that averse to the win10 start menu? I've always found it easier to use (and find things) compared to the "classic" menu, so I'm genuinely curious...

Also, have you tried leaving the R-Pi running and transferring files over the network using FileZilla? That's how I do it from Windows.

I've also considered setting up a Pi as a desktop, but I've got too many other headless projects in the pipeline Although I'd never thought about running one from 18650's - might have to look into that....

Transferring over the network is not always possible though, like running self booting emulators. Currently Amibian. Although there maybe a way. Not delved into that much yet. Just testing which games work at present.

And Win10.. oh my i hate it.... Its trying to be a touchscreen swipe interface but with a dekstop system that isnt touch at all. I admit whenever installing hardware you plug it in and it just works. (so far)

To me there is no improvement and its just awful. Although im the person that installed win 7 and instantly set everything to look like windows 98

My system probably still looks like win 98

Gloomendoom

tronator wrote: »

And this is Linux's fault why? Did Microsoft write your CAD or photo editing tools under Windows?

I'm not blaming anybody and it is irrelevant where the fault lies. The fact remains that Linux cannot be used for what I want it to do. It is useless to me.

Can you name "some software"? There is almost for everything an alternative under Linux, especially for software Average Joe uses.

Two that immediately spring to mind are Photoshop and Inventor Pro.

fenlander_uk

Do you remember how frustrating your first experience of Windows was? Everyone learns to deal with its oddities and bugs and we use whatever software is available to run under it and learn to make it do what we need.

Reset. Linux is also frustrating when you first meet it. No more and no less so than Windows. It has different oddities and bugs and while much of the software is familiar, some is different. Imagine you never used Windows: getting started with Linux is no worse than the alternative for the beginner.

If you're used to Windows, Linux initially seems a chore: if you use Photoshop, the GIMP is weird; if you were weaned on MS Office, Libre Office seems a little...rudimentary. You have to approach Linux with the same patience you needed when you started with Windows and had everything to learn. It's no harder.

A different point. I think it's a pity that every time this topic arises, Linux enthusiasts pop up to say that it's wonderful because there are so many Linux variants available and you really should try a few of them. To most people, that's a huge put-off, not something to get excited about. Most people want an operating system that just does the job of letting them run software. They do not want to get there via the command line and do not want to design their own desktop. They definitely don't want to install half a dozen operating systems before they find one that does what they want. Most Linux distros should be left to the anoraks. Many of them will never even be finished: the development teams fall out or discover that they took on more than they expected and they can't keep up because there are only two of them and a temp on Saturdays. Many Linux distros are in a permanent state of 'working towards'. Linux hobbyists love it, but it's not what most refugees from Windows are looking for. If they found W10 too much hassle, why should they want Arch Linux?

I'm typing this on a laptop that, until this morning, was running Windows 10. It is now running Linux Mint with the mate desktop. It has a full set of software applications installed, mostly my choices rather than the default software that comes with the installation disk. It's fully updated; it's networked; it's connected to a wireless printer and a scanner; it plays videos and music from my NAS; Opera and Chromium are synced and have all my familiar extensions and bookmarks; my Thunderbird data transferred from Windows with no issues. Scribus is a better DTP package than Publisher. I confess that I have a Windows machine elsewhere in the house with my copy of PSE on it, but I'm really going to get my head round the Gimp this time...

Setting up a Windows PC from scratch to this point would normally take me days; setting up the laptop with Linux was completed since lunch time. True, I'm not a Linux beginner but neither am I a guru and I definitely don't know all the answers.

BTW...Linux updates average about 2 minutes...and that includes updating all the software packages. And you do them when you want...