Anybody here use Linux?

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 18:49:32 GMT, "GlueGum" wrote:

If I ask this question at a Linux ng, they'll say XP sucks. If I ask at an
XP ng, they'll say Linux sucks.

From what I've read Mandrake is the best for desktop apps and for newbies
(like me). I've been using windows since 3.11(currently XP home) and was
wondering if anybody here uses Linux, and how does it compare to XP?

Yup, but if you check the headers here you'll see I'm on Windows.
Some programs like Agent are superior to anything I've found yet on
Mandrake 9.2. However Mozilla e-mail and browser seem to beat Eudora
and IE respectively.

Nice to have both!

Yup, but if you check the headers here you'll see I'm on Windows.
Some programs like Agent are superior to anything I've found yet on
Mandrake 9.2. However Mozilla e-mail and browser seem to beat Eudora
and IE respectively.

Nice to have both!

I don't understand your point. I have used linux in the past almost
exclusively. I currently use Mozilla as my only web browser. If Mozilla
runs on linux, I haven't tried it on linux yet. (I run mozilla on Windows
XP Pro) -Dave

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 18:49:32 +0000, GlueGum wrote:

If I ask this question at a Linux ng, they'll say XP sucks. If I ask at an
XP ng, they'll say Linux sucks.

From what I've read Mandrake is the best for desktop apps and for newbies
(like me). I've been using windows since 3.11(currently XP home) and was
wondering if anybody here uses Linux, and how does it compare to XP?

BigGG:

Any *nix is sure a PITA. Figure on 2-3 years climbing the learning curve,
and then you will still know nothing ( but will demonstrate many amuzing
byteboyz_type skills ). You will NOT be a better person. Sound like a waste of time?

Sure would be, except for M$$oft gropy paws trying to own yer
azzwhole. Hollyweird & the Feds, too ... same folks, actually, but you
know that.
SOOOOOO. How else -- beside *nix -- ta bi*chslap Unkil Bill$$ and teach
him manners?

on Sat January 24 2004 1:49 pm, GlueGum decided to enlighten us with:

If I ask this question at a Linux ng, they'll say XP sucks. If I ask at
an XP ng, they'll say Linux sucks.

From what I've read Mandrake is the best for desktop apps and for newbies
(like me). I've been using windows since 3.11(currently XP home) and was
wondering if anybody here uses Linux, and how does it compare to XP?

I'm a big Linux fan. I use both XP and Linux.

In my opinion, SuSE has the best Linux. Mandrake isn't bad, but I think SuSE
is a lot more polished. It's installation is just as easy, and once Linux
is up and configured, most Linux distros are very similar. The similarity
stops where administration is concerned. SuSE uses a nice suite called YaST
for administration duties. Mandrake, on the other hand, has a "drake" for
every purpose that is tied together only in the graphical interface. If you
end up screwing something up, YaST is still integrated, but Mandrake's
"drakes" are all over the place. Have fun... Other distros like Debian are
for geeks only and shouldn't even be attempted by anyone not very familiar
with Linux.

With Linux, you'll find that some hardware setups are supported better by
Mandrake, others by SuSE, others by Xandros, etc. Some have had difficulty
getting Mandrake installed, while SuSE installed right away on their
particular machine. Some, the other way around. Others have had
installation nightmares. Now, on Linux's behalf, I must say that some
people have had Windows installation nightmares too.

SuSE does one thing I don't like. They ship some applications that are
purposely reduced in function due to the fear of patent infringement
litigation or licensing restrictions. The widely used DVD player, Xine, is
one of them. You need to go to a website hosted by a 3rd party called
Packman and download rpm files that have full funtionality. It's not a
really big deal, but it's not as nice as having fully functional software
installed from the get-go. It's only a couple of applications, so it's a
minor quibble.

SuSE is now owned by Novell. It has deep pockets and is financially stable.
Mandrake finally recently made a profit, but for a long time hounded users
for more money. They had serious short term financial problems for awhile.
This worried me when I was a Mandrake user.

I also found SuSE a bit more stable than Mandrake. However, Mandrake offers
a really nice program that you have to pay for called Mandrake Club. They
offer downloads of rpms for Mandrake from Mandrake themselves, so you know
their high quality. They offer other benefits too. Sometimes 3rd party rpms
are a little "iffy". However, there are some solid 3rd party rpms like
Packman for SuSE and Texstar for Mandrake. Mandrake Club has some benefits,
and I like the idea.

As far as comparison to XP, check out my signature below. My SuSE Linux
install has been up since the day I installed the newest version. When
Linux acts up, you often can go to text mode, whip out the manual or get
online on another computer and get manuals, man pages, or whatever and fix
the problem without ever rebooting. Linux itself, aside from the GUI, is so
rock solid, you'll probably never reboot your computer once it's correctly
configured and you learn how to fix things from the command line.

There is no registry in Linux. All configuration information is usually
found in a .config or .rc file. Everything in those files are in such plain
english, a child could figure them out. You can modify them easily with
little experience in Linux. However, be warned, that when you do, you risk
messing things up. Only the "root" or administrator can alter important
system files. You don't have to log in as root, but can get temporary root
priveledges from your usualy account. If something does get messed up in
one of those files, you just delete the file and the system or the
application involved just builds a new one and all is fixed, usually. Try
that with the registry...

Linux doesn't have to be defragged either. First of all, it prevents most
fragmentation by the way it organizes files within the filesystem.
Secondly, it defrags in the background while the machine is unattended.

Linux is far less susceptible to viruses, trojan horses, worms, spyware, and
other sorts of nasties. It's not impossible, but the way Linux is setup is
highly secure and there are very few people writing nasties for Linux.
Windows nasties don't do a thing in Linux.

What Linux lacks is polish. While the OS itself is very polished in most
areas, the applications you use often seem to be missing the spit and shine
polish jobs that Windows counterparts have. However, Linux apps are free.
You get by just fine, often, and spend far less than in Windows. The distro
ships with multiple applications for just about every need you'll ever
have. You could very easily get by never using Windows again. The best
thing? It all installs with the operating system. Forget installing the OS,
drivers, and software one at a time. Click your way to the packages you
want to install and an hour later, you have all of your apps, drivers, and
the OS all installed. It took me a couple of nights to install XP and
everything else on my other system.

Give Linux 3 to 7 more years and it'll be stealing away marketshare from
Windows on the consumer end. It's already making leaps and bounds on the
corporate/government end. It just needs some more development time in the
application area to really do damage to Windows' marketshare.

Any specific questions I'd gladly answer...



--
Big Daddy Ruel Smith

My SuSE Linux machine uptime:
7:57pm up 48 days 4:43, 2 users, load average: 0.27, 0.45, 0.70

My Windows XP machine uptime:
Something less...

on Sat January 24 2004 7:07 pm, jimbo decided to enlighten us with:

Well, I have tried to use Linux twice. (I read the hype and wanted to
try something other than another Windows.) But, both times I gave up
in disgust. Linux makes even simple tasks such as adding new software
very difficult. And despite claims that there is a lot of software
available, there isn't. (But someone is working on it and it might be
available sometime in the future.) I think Linux is fine for real
computer geeks who want a "kick ass" operating system and maybe for
servers, but for the other 90 percent of us it just doesn't work.

Well, what Linux does is require you to know a little more about what's
going on in your system. Linux applications ofter require other
applications from another source in order to run, hence the dependency
problems. Windows applications are pretty much self-contained from the
ground up. The big difference is that Windows uses Wizards to do the setup
part and everything else is taken card of for you in the background. Linux
just isn't like that.

You just have to make sure to take care of all the necessary dependencies
when installing a Linux application. Once you get the hang of it, it isn't
a big deal, but definitely more work than installing a Windows application.

Free software, but more work installing or expensive software and brain-dead
installation. It's your choice to make.



--
Big Daddy Ruel Smith

My SuSE Linux machine uptime:
8:30pm up 48 days 5:15, 2 users, load average: 0.59, 0.50, 0.48

My Windows XP machine uptime:
Something less...

on Sat January 24 2004 7:16 pm, Jim Strand decided to enlighten us with:


Yup, but if you check the headers here you'll see I'm on Windows.
Some programs like Agent are superior to anything I've found yet on
Mandrake 9.2. However Mozilla e-mail and browser seem to beat Eudora
and IE respectively.

Agent? Never heard of it. Have you tried Knode for newsgroups? I really like
it a lot.



--
Big Daddy Ruel Smith

My SuSE Linux machine uptime:
8:34pm up 48 days 5:20, 2 users, load average: 0.16, 0.32, 0.40

My Windows XP machine uptime:
Something less...

on Sat January 24 2004 8:00 pm, Anon decided to enlighten us with:


Yup, but if you check the headers here you'll see I'm on Windows.
Some programs like Agent are superior to anything I've found yet on
Mandrake 9.2. However Mozilla e-mail and browser seem to beat Eudora
and IE respectively.

Nice to have both!

I don't understand your point. I have used linux in the past almost
exclusively. I currently use Mozilla as my only web browser. If Mozilla
runs on linux, I haven't tried it on linux yet. (I run mozilla on Windows
XP Pro) -Dave

Mozilla, Mozilla Firebird, and Mozilla Thunderbird all work in Linux.
Firebird and Thunderbird are awesome!



--
Big Daddy Ruel Smith

My SuSE Linux machine uptime:
8:35pm up 48 days 5:21, 2 users, load average: 0.06, 0.26, 0.37

My Windows XP machine uptime:
Something less...

on Sat January 24 2004 3:42 pm, Phisherman decided to enlighten us with:


I just started using Fedora Core 1. I thought about Mandrake, but
since it's made in France I decided to go with the American product.
Linux takes a little more know-how than XP. If you like of games use
XP. If you want lots of security, use Linux. There are many flavors
of Linux (see http://www.distrowatch.com/index.php ), only two kinds
of XP. Most Linux O/Ses are free, XP is not. You can easily get
the source code of Linux, but not XP. Linux is community driven, XP
is M$ driven. More choices of application software for XP than Linux.

Cheers on you decision to avoid French products. I started to go back to Red
Hat possibly due to the whole deal with the French/German/Russian thing,
but I thought I'd wait for Fedora to mature a bit before I tried it. Maybe
by Core 3 I'll give it a look. Besides, I really like SuSE...

Depends on what games. Frozen Bubble is awful addicting... )



--
Big Daddy Ruel Smith

My SuSE Linux machine uptime:
8:37pm up 48 days 5:22, 2 users, load average: 0.07, 0.23, 0.35

My Windows XP machine uptime:
Something less...

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 20:42:34 +0000, Phisherman wrote:

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 18:49:32 GMT, "GlueGum" wrote:

If I ask this question at a Linux ng, they'll say XP sucks. If I ask at an
XP ng, they'll say Linux sucks.

From what I've read Mandrake is the best for desktop apps and for newbies
(like me). I've been using windows since 3.11(currently XP home) and was
wondering if anybody here uses Linux, and how does it compare to XP?


I just started using Fedora Core 1. I thought about Mandrake, but
since it's made in France I decided to go with the American product.
Linux takes a little more know-how than XP. If you like of games use
XP. If you want lots of security, use Linux. There are many flavors
of Linux (see http://www.distrowatch.com/index.php ), only two kinds
of XP. Most Linux O/Ses are free, XP is not. You can easily get
the source code of Linux, but not XP. Linux is community driven, XP
is M$ driven. More choices of application software for XP than Linux.


BigN::

A bit of story-telling here, eh pad're? But experienced Linux lusrs know
better. So to tell the truth:

1) Only byteboyz can get free *nix versions to run. Everybody else pays
for a lusr-friendly distro.
2) only uber_byteboyz can read_with_comprehension the *nix source-code.
3) *nix is byteboyz-driven, not community(lusr) driven. Thus TUX often
takes the shape of a dweebish electro-mechanic blo-up dolly.

So do NOT fool yourself. In most ways that count, *nix is even more
"closed" than M$$oft OSs. At best, a casual lusr would hope to balance
the infectious, brainrotting, corrupting, $$lime_ball M$$oft worm against a wild,
strutting, jack-booted penguin. May they eat eachother ....

Not to mention you don't get to put that state_ o_ the_ art vidcard in either...

"ray hartman" wrote in message newsan.2004.01.25.01.49.12.980102@SPAMBEGONEqwes t.net...
On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 20:42:34 +0000, Phisherman wrote:

On Sat, 24 Jan 2004 18:49:32 GMT, "GlueGum" wrote:

If I ask this question at a Linux ng, they'll say XP sucks. If I ask at an
XP ng, they'll say Linux sucks.

From what I've read Mandrake is the best for desktop apps and for newbies
(like me). I've been using windows since 3.11(currently XP home) and was
wondering if anybody here uses Linux, and how does it compare to XP?


I just started using Fedora Core 1. I thought about Mandrake, but
since it's made in France I decided to go with the American product.
Linux takes a little more know-how than XP. If you like of games use
XP. If you want lots of security, use Linux. There are many flavors
of Linux (see http://www.distrowatch.com/index.php ), only two kinds
of XP. Most Linux O/Ses are free, XP is not. You can easily get
the source code of Linux, but not XP. Linux is community driven, XP
is M$ driven. More choices of application software for XP than Linux.


BigN::

A bit of story-telling here, eh pad're? But experienced Linux lusrs know
better. So to tell the truth:

1) Only byteboyz can get free *nix versions to run. Everybody else pays
for a lusr-friendly distro.
2) only uber_byteboyz can read_with_comprehension the *nix source-code.
3) *nix is byteboyz-driven, not community(lusr) driven. Thus TUX often
takes the shape of a dweebish electro-mechanic blo-up dolly.

So do NOT fool yourself. In most ways that count, *nix is even more
"closed" than M$$oft OSs. At best, a casual lusr would hope to balance
the infectious, brainrotting, corrupting, $$lime_ball M$$oft worm against a wild,
strutting, jack-booted penguin. May they eat eachother ....