[madsnipes]

Ok so I sent out my laptop a couple of weeks ago to get serviced because the screen was going dim at random (kinda got annoying) and was running a bit slow, but it was under warranty so I figured that i might as well send it out. Well I have been getting annoyed with Windows lately a few people had suggested that I just get rid of Windows and run Linux on my laptop.
I had been considering this idea for a while but I really don't know too much about Linux besides there is a lot less BS and that if you know what your doing then its a much better operating system.

My knowledge of computers is "meh" at best, but I have friends, family and co-workers who are hardcore Linux users so if i run into issues it shouldn't be too hard to get it sorted out until I have a good knowledge of Linux myself.
All I really do right now is browse, and play a couple of games now and then (Minecraft, N64 emulator, etc.)


So anyways what do you guys think of Linux vs Windows.

[PacosTacos88]

I like Windows 7, W8 is taking forever to learn. You can always dual boot. On my desktop computer I'm dual booting W8 and Ubuntu

[Steephill]

Dual boot. My main rig runs strictly Windows. I ran W7 forever but have been using W8 for the past few months, I like them both. Personally I like W8 better for all the little features they've added. My laptop is continually switching between various forms of Linux and Win7 or 8 though. I've tried Ubuntu, Puppy linux, Backtrack5 and various forms of Mint. Mint is probably my favorite OS I've found for my Laptop so far. As long as you dont play video games, or use really important programs only available on Windows I'd say switch. My main rig stays on Windows since I want to be able to play all my games, kinda a waste to drop a couple thousand on a computer and games and not be able to play them lol.

[Stix]

What steephill said. I VM most of my distro's though, not all, the rest I have installed on spare hard drives for my desktop and laptop.

[Blade of grass]

Stix, on 10 February 2013 - 10:58 PM, said:

What steephill said. I VM most of my distro's though, not all, the rest I have installed on spare hard drives for my desktop and laptop.

Same.
Favorite VM software?

[Stix]

Blade of grass, on 12 February 2013 - 11:15 PM, said:

Stix, on 10 February 2013 - 10:58 PM, said:

What steephill said. I VM most of my distro's though, not all, the rest I have installed on spare hard drives for my desktop and laptop.

Same.
Favorite VM software?

VMWare by far, but for freeware, Virtual Box is quite the contender.

[PbGoods]

You are better off setting up a VM to see if you even like linux and if you go with something like Ubuntu then you won't have a hard time adjusting to linux. Once you actually decide to use linux then I would suggest dual booting so you never run into a moment where you wish you still kept your Windows.

[paintballfreak907]

Dual Boot! its the best of both worlds

[TechPB-Mike]

if you plan to have some sort of career in computers, I DEFINITELY think Linux is a great skill to have

Everyone runs on Linux, even Android is Linux I believe

But like anything, there is a learning curve

[Blade of grass]

Mike, I believe your thinking of Unix.

Unix
^ ^
Mac. Linux
^
Distroes

Also, the majority of the computer industry does not depend on Linux, it depends on Windows, so knowing the ins and outs of Windows would help someone thinking about going into the industry much more.

[PbGoods]

@Blade of grass - The majority of the software/computer industry does in fact depend on linux. It is mostly the sales people in a company that are using Windows but all the important technical processes are run on a linux machine. Linux powers nearly all the web servers out there.

[fatalll]

Blade of grass, on 04 March 2013 - 11:01 PM, said:

Mike, I believe your thinking of Unix.

Unix
^ ^
Mac. Linux
^
Distroes

Also, the majority of the computer industry does not depend on Linux, it depends on Windows, so knowing the ins and outs of Windows would help someone thinking about going into the industry much more.

no i believe hes thinking of linux.

and i know for a fact you are incorrect about windows, but it is still something you should be required to have knowledge in.

[TallThing]

Blade of grass, on 04 March 2013 - 11:01 PM, said:

Mike, I believe your thinking of Unix.

Unix
^ ^
Mac. Linux
^
Distroes

Also, the majority of the computer industry does not depend on Linux, it depends on Windows, so knowing the ins and outs of Windows would help someone thinking about going into the industry much more.

Uuuuhh...

If you're working on fixing computers in the personal sector, yes, you need to know windows, but anything else.. Linux dominates.

Servers, supercomputers, and many large businesses depend on Linux.

Getting an easy distro (Linux Mint highly recommended) you can run Minecraft natively, I think there's also a few N64 emulators. (also, anyone who says Linux has no good games, look at this)

Also, other than passwords and such, you pretty much won't have to worry about security at all.

Been running Mint for months, lovin' it.

EDIT: I forgot this: http://arstechnica.c...-powered-rifle/

This post has been edited by TallThing: 02 April 2013 - 07:41 PM