Linux......Come of age!!!!!

foofi22

Dread wrote: »

I don't think Windows can do anything Linux can't except look pretty.

I'm not a 'power user' and neither are the majority of users in the world never mind on this forum so to continually laud Windows over Linux as a power user is to simply destroy the point of the forum.

Linux can look amazing! Just check out beryl/compiz

The second point is a very valid point. The majority of Joe Public simply play music/dvds surf net etc, nothing Linux can't handle...no dispute there...but it's getting these users to try it out in the first place thats's the problem...

user: it's free?!
linux dude: yes, no licence codes, just use it as you like.
user: but if it's free it must be bad.
linux dude: no, it's made by people who believe in free software.
user: made by who? It must be bad...
linux dude: do you know who coded windows...?
user: [slams door shut]

Dread

foofi22 wrote: »

Linux can look amazing! Just check out beryl/compiz

The second point is a very valid point. The majority of Joe Public simply play music/dvds surf net etc, nothing Linux can't handle...no dispute there...but it's getting these users to try it out in the first place thats's the problem...

user: it's free?!
linux dude: yes, no licence codes, just use it as you like.
user: but if it's free it must be bad.
linux dude: no, it's made by people who believe in free software.
user: made by who? It must be bad...
linux dude: do you know who coded windows...?
user: [slams door shut]

LOL, well said and you obviously have a firm grasp on the practicalities of computing in general and who actually uses them and what they do. MS has had a virtual monopoly on software distribution because Bill Gates was smart enough to recognise there was room in every house for a PC. He has virtually given we non tecchie's the internet and we grabbed it with both hands.

As for gaming on PC's, I'm sorry and I don't mean to be insulting, but that naive observation could only have come from a geek. I would be prepared to bet that gaming forms a tiny proportion of computer users and is restricted to MAINLY males under 20. The rest of society have better things to do than wast our time on Doom or whatever and require no more than a machine that will display a movie at the most. People on this forum are unlikely to be immersed in gaming, they would rather save their hard earned cash.

superscaper

Dread wrote: »

As for gaming on PC's, I'm sorry and I don't mean to be insulting, but that naive observation could only have come from a geek. I would be prepared to bet that gaming forms a tiny proportion of computer users and is restricted to MAINLY males under 20. The rest of society have better things to do than wast our time on Doom or whatever and require no more than a machine that will display a movie at the most. People on this forum are unlikely to be immersed in gaming, they would rather save their hard earned cash.

You shouldn't base your preconceptions on stereotypes. The average age of a gamer is well over 20. Percentage share of female gamers is more than 40% in every age group.

But even excluding gaming I found linux (every distro I tried) insufficient to do what I wanted (there are no alternatives for much of the software) and wouldn't even work with all my hardware. I'm quite happy to keep using Ubuntu but it'll not be my main OS for the forseeable and I really can't agree that's it's an adequate replacement yet for anything but the most basic or specific requirements.

gordonstights

Dread wrote: »

As for gaming on PC's, I'm sorry and I don't mean to be insulting, but that naive observation could only have come from a geek. I would be prepared to bet that gaming forms a tiny proportion of computer users and is restricted to MAINLY males under 20. The rest of society have better things to do than wast our time on Doom or whatever and require no more than a machine that will display a movie at the most. People on this forum are unlikely to be immersed in gaming, they would rather save their hard earned cash.

:mad:

Whilst money saving is the basis of this forum and it's great that you are trying to spread the word about Linux, you are getting very annoying with name calling/stereotyping.

I use Linux because I like a challenge. I like it that I have to figure stuff out. I still need my windows pc for programs that don't work on Linux but my fifty-something year old Dad finds his Mepis distro sufficient for what he uses it for. Reading articles on the internet without being bothered by security updates/virus checks/firewalls etc. He can't watch movie clips as he can't be bothered to figure out how to install Java, but that's fine.

deklan99

For linux equivalents for windows software this list is fairly comprehensive - http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html , there's usually at least one alternative.

BillScarab

Sorry Dread but you said that

"but I do object to having to buy a licence for Windows that costs a fortune and exposes you to criminal prosecution if you let someone else use that disk"

Using Windows does not expose you to the risk of Criminal Prosecution, breaking the terms of the license does though. It doesn't matter whether it's Windows or OSX, or any other copyright product.

As for the moneysaving argument, yes Linux is free and so are the Apps that run on it (the ones likely to be used at home anyway) but that doesn't mean we should all use it. This site is actually about getting the best value for your money, not saving money at all costs. Most people don't see the cost of Windows anyway as it's built into the price of the PC they buy and due to volume licensing is a relatively small part of the cost.

I use Windows at home because it does what I want without any problems, it's also what my children use at school and what my wife uses at work so it is simpler for them. I'm sure they'd cope with Linux if I installed it but why make life harder? Also I play games on my machine and although I'm male I'm a lot older than 20.

I spend enough time with Unix and Linux machines at work anyway.

Conor_3

Antexter wrote: »

But you wont see the amount of viruses windows has on linux due to the way its built and manitained.

Oh yes you will. The only thing stopping Linux getting infected is the fact a virus would need to be run as root. Do you honestly think Average Joe isn't going to tap in the root password to install "that cool game" he's just downloaded when the permissions box comes up?
As for maintenance, most studies show MS to come out with security patches the fastest.
Vistas security is designed the same way as Linux yet Average Joe is complaining about UAC and turning it off. Linux will suffer the same fate. Sorry, I'll rephrase that as it's not technically correct. Popular Linux distributions and distributions based on those which share a similar file layout will suffer the same fate.

Dread

superscaper wrote: »

You shouldn't base your preconceptions on stereotypes. The average age of a gamer is well over 20. Percentage share of female gamers is more than 40% in every age group.

Those are interesting statistics, where would I go to find that research? I would be interested to find out the actual numbers of gamers Vs PC users.

superscaper

http://open.bbc.co.uk/newmediaresearch/files/BBC_UK_Games_Research_2005.pdf

UK only research. The USA's age averages (33 for game player) are much higher.

[Deleted User]

What you're going to see with Linux is as Ubuntu and other distributions make the crossover to attract users from Windows, you're going to pull an entirely new generation of Linux user who thinks that because it's not Windows it must be secure. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Once this crossover starts snowballing, then focus is going to be shifted towards Linux for Malware/Spyware/Viruses to target these people. Historically, the users of Linux have been those who know how to lock a system down and maintain it in a secure fashion.

It will happen as it already does happen, ableit on a much smaller scale because the return on the effort simply isn't worth it at the moment. Not when you still have people running Windows 98, IE5, not updating patches, not running Anti Virus software, not knowing what they are installing on their Windows machines.