Why do YOU use Linux?

[Endre]

I can see several reasons to use Linux, but of course most of my friends thinks I'm an idiot for even thinking in Non-MS ways :)
I would like to know your best reasons for using Linux, the number one reason why Linux is your no1 choice!

My No1 reason is strategical. I believe that Linux will be the most widely used OS in business and public sector within a couple of years. When I walk into my university, or any office, I look around and count the number of Windows-licenses they pay every year. I can't help but think "why don't you idiots change to Linux and save a whole load of money!".
So by learning and using Linux, I will have an advantage in the future to others :D

[deanrantala]

1)Infinitely customizable
2)Best hardware support
3)No spyware
4)Its free (although I did purchase Mdrk 9.1 just to show my support):)
__________________________________

the punguin says so.....

[moojuece]

i use it because it reminds me why i fell in love with computing in the first place.....when i started it was dos....i knew nothing....and there was so much fun in find ways to do things.....with linux i finally have to learn how to do things again....i dont mean in a class...thats no fun but just sitting down in front of my computer and exploring and seeing what different things do and how different files/commands interact with eachother and the rest of the os.....it brings back the newness and joy of discovery

[Nuada Storm]

Plain and simply.... Because I want to.

There are six computers in my house currently and four of them have Windows XP on them with Microsoft Office and other programs. All bought and paid for.

My computer was dual boot until last Saturday when I took off Windows XP and Red Hat and simply reinstalled Redhat on it. However by doing so, I can work better now and test my Internet development projects on two platforms and six different browsers. By using Konqueror under KDE, I can get a rough idea how Apple's Safari browser displays webpages as well.

My last computer is a webserver running Redhat Linux 7.3.

Who knows in the future I might purchase a Mac. It really is no big deal to me who makes the OS, whether it is commercial or Open Source as long as it has the tools I need to get the job done. Windows and Linux are comparable in that regard.

[Syntaxis]

My number one reason is that it's so easy (comparatively!) to pinpoint the cause of problems. In Windows, the error messages are so vague and generic that it's often impossible to tell what the cause of the problem is - and of course, the problem's often impossible to fix short of an official Microsoft patch...

The other major reason I like it is that by and large it costs me nothing, though I do plan to make a donation to Debian via SPI.

Also, from a stability point of view, I feel far more comfortable setting my home server machine to automatically install Debian security updates than I would automatically updating through Windows Update. Yeah, automatic updating is never a preferable option compared to human supervision, but I'm short on time and it's not mission-critical.

Of course, it's also a hell of a lot of fun just trying out new things. :) With any luck, it'll be an asset when I seek employment, as well.

Most of the above arguments apply equally well to the BSDs as well, apart from automatic updates. I chose Linux over any of the BSD flavours primarily because of better hardware support.

[anmaxp]

My reason: SWEET FREEDOM

freedom to compile, debug, update, scripting, programming, do whatever the hell I want cause its my system and I am the admin... and how about the term: customizable (bet windows users dont know the meaning of that word, well maybe they could if they downloaded windowblinds :rolleyes: )

also how about costs, performance, no virii, spyware, adware, shareware.... its all about open source baby!!!

Still I think windows is not all that bad (still use it to run my games), But I prefer my good ol' linux when I want to get the job done...

[undeadska]

Networking.... plain and simple.

I am a very experienced Network Administrator and Linux does WHAT I need it to and WHEN I need it to, no questions asked. I jam about 2 gigs across my network interfaces in a weeks time and I sure as hell can't demand that type of performance on a Windows machine without constant intervention and preventative maintenance.

Don't get me wrong I still use Windows for games but when it comes down to business there is no better platform.

[AlexPlank]

WINDOWS SUX. I CANT STAND THE SLOWNESS OF WINDOWS XP EVEN ON A PENTIUM 4 WITH 384 MB RAM!!!!!!!! Some might say redhat is sluggish, but you cant tell the difference between rh9 and gentoo if you use such a fast processor(in most cases) I like Red Hat 9. also, ONLY IDIOTIC MORONS DO NOT USE GNU/LINUX! REPRESENT!!!

OH YEAH, I FORGOT TO MENTION,


I DONT WANT MICROSOFT CONTROLLING MY PROPERTY AND DELETING STUFF FROM MY COMPUTER!!!!!

[RWiggum]

I've got a real good example. I was just compiling 2.4.20 for my Ultra 5. It wouldn't compile, and exited with an error about "conflicting types" for kernel_thread. I'm not even a programmer, but I was able to follow the error message to the source files and line numbers with the problem. I compared the source with 2.4.18, found the discrepancy, commented out an offending line, and I was on my merry way. Compiled just fine, and I didn't have to reinstall the OS, download 17 different driver updates, or even a patch for the kernel. Problems in Windows leave you helpless - you are completely at the mercy of the hardware vendors to supply you with bug-free code. With Linux, you can fix the bugs yourself - sometimes even if you can't program C.

[chatins]

Linux is like a five speed high end sports car with finely tuned mechanicals and high quality fit and finish.

I have xine tuned so it beats windows media player by a mile. Also my ultra 160 scsi stuff works better on linux. Did I mention no virus or spyware problems.

Steve Balmer says linux is a challenge for ms.
Go on being a commercial software company, open source rules. Free transfer of ideas beats an army of drones any day.

[skinner422]

i use linux cus they have a penguin for a mascot, not some unidentifiable multicolored flying banner.

[Drago]

It's just awesome...... and that's reason enough.:D

[Gertrude]

Its fun.

[Ryochan7]

Just because it's new (to me), fun, and has a great community behind the great penguin.

[canon006]

I've said before I have to agree with alex up there, I don't like MS controlling what I've got, it fits my college student budget but mostly, it's just fun to use and learn. I feel like I'm ten years old again using my old DOS box or Windows 3.11 learning how to do everything all over again. I've recently moved over to exclusively Linux on my desktop and Mac OS X on my laptop(iBook) and I'm able to do everything I did before, but without the Windows hiccups.

Oh yeah, one last thing that's just to cool about Linux, and Mac OS X--->

Desktop uptime- 18 days 15 hours 38 minutes
(sadly, I had to reset that today when I installed a firewire card)
Laptop uptime- 26 days 3 hours 46 minutes
try that with Windows :)

[ZenelithCalling]

1) Because I'm tired of paying high prices for software.
2) Working in the I.T. industry, the more operating systems I know, the more I'm under the illusion/dellusion (sp.?) that I'm more marketable.
3) I can run a home/work network for virtually free or cheaply.
4) Stabilty.
5) Cost/ Return On Investment (See number three).
6) Because I'm tired of the arrogant attitudes of the so called "Gurus" of Linux and Windows (Those people who are willing to patiently teach and not simply shove you out the way and insult you are the true Gurus. The people here on this site defined that definition for me. Thus endth this sermon).
7) Because there's nothing good on television or the radio anymore.
8) I have one more excuse to drink (due to frustation in getting Linux to do what I want it to do).
9) I can spend the time outside of work being focus on learning Linux and avoiding the fact that I have no friends I see on a regular basis and no girlfriend.

At first, after reading this list, I thought I was kidding. But then I realized that all of its true.
-Z-

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Originally posted by AlexPlank
WINDOWS SUX. I CANT STAND THE SLOWNESS OF WINDOWS XP EVEN ON A PENTIUM 4 WITH 384 MB RAM!!!!!!!! Some might say redhat is sluggish, but you cant tell the difference between rh9 and gentoo if you use such a fast processor(in most cases) I like Red Hat 9. also, ONLY IDIOTIC MORONS DO NOT USE GNU/LINUX! REPRESENT!!!

OH YEAH, I FORGOT TO MENTION,


I DONT WANT MICROSOFT CONTROLLING MY PROPERTY AND DELETING STUFF FROM MY COMPUTER!!!!!

Settle down there, killer. Just so it is known, I have no problem using Windows on my machine. In fact, by your definition, I would be an idiotic moron.

I use FreeBSD. I dual boot between Windows 2000 and FreeBSD 4.8. Not a single version of Linux is installed, at least not on my main machine. I do, however, use Debian Linux on all of my Macintoshes. I've installed Debian on Macs that I don't think I was even supposed to install it on...

Truth is, Windows XP can run nicely. Personally, I wouldn't dare use it unless I had a packet filtering firewall/proxy in front of it, and I had personally tuned the services on it. If you do this, you can have a nicely running XP system, one that actually doesn't run slowly. If you also remove all of the pretty GUI effects, it's just as responsive as a Win2k box. In fact, I've run Windows XP on a 700mhz machine with no problems at all.

Sure, Windows is buggy, it can be insecure, but if you use it in an unobtrusive fashion, you can acheive desirable results. Did I buy Windows 2000? Yes. I have applications I need to run in it. I'm actually happy using Windows 2000. It's decently stable out of the box, and I can make it do what I want. But, I spend most of my time in FreeBSD.

I know I was just siding up with you on correcting people, but I will have to part opinion here. Don't go rushing headlong into something, even if it is an opinion. That's a good way to crack your skull on something hard! If you're working in a corporate IT environment, you're going to run into Windows in a big way. From end users who would die even at a similar looking Gnome desktop, to server admins who only know how to point and click at a problem, it's there. I'd just deal with it, and try to fit free/open tools into the mix when they fit.

Only idiotic morons don't use FreeBSD. REPRESENT!!! ;)

addendum: Why do I use Linux? Because it's more stable than Mac OS 8.6 or 9. These days I pretty much only run it on my Macs. Did you know that a Mac OS 9 CD can still cost as much as $100 US???

[Nuada Storm]

[i]Oh yeah, one last thing that's just to cool about Linux, and Mac OS X--->

Desktop uptime- 18 days 15 hours 38 minutes
(sadly, I had to reset that today when I installed a firewire card)
Laptop uptime- 26 days 3 hours 46 minutes
try that with Windows :) [/B]

Hmmm... Until I switched my PC from Windows XP to Redhat Linux last weekend, my computer had been up and online for 128 days without a reboot.

Worked just fine.

[iGuy]

Why do I use Linux?

To be honest, all the entries thus far have a reason I use for rationalization. Rationalization. However, if I really want to be honest :

I know then, this is not going to make sense to some. Yet, I also know some will understand.

Why do I use Linux?

Because I can.
Can, can can can can.
Because I can can can can can!

Please use responsibly.

[DragonHead]

I think I'm going to spend some time making a really creative answer and save it to a text file. That way, every time this question gets asked, I can just copy and past it into place.

This is about the 500'th time a variation of this question has been asked...

[Tulluin]

Originally posted by canon006
Laptop uptime- 26 days 3 hours 46 minutes
try that with Windows :)


That's just plain scary man...turn it off!!
I've read about laptops melting to desks.

[raz0rblade]

More stablilty. Free tools. As where I wanted to get a decent IDE in windows i was sol. With linux i got kdevelop. Also because they have ssh, yes a simple reason but it makes a hell of a diferance when copying files from linux to linux. Also freedom to what i want to do without ms looking down my back. Plus the console. I love it, there is no equal in windows. To do something to a windows server i would have to plug in a monitor keyboard mouse just to change a setting or properly reboot it or restart networking or sumthing. With linux i can just ssh into my box and do everything. Plus its a LOT more faster than windows on slower boxes. I just love linux because its linux :)

[canon006]

Hmmm... Until I switched my PC from Windows XP to Redhat Linux last weekend, my computer had been up and online for 128 days without a reboot.

Worked just fine.

that's impressive, i never had that kind of luck with XP

[deanrantala]

XP can run fine on systems as low as 450 mhz and 192 megs ram. (Actually M$ says minimum 233 mhz, 64 meg ram - what the hell were they thinking?!) - I Sell machines like this in my store from time to time. A few bugs I've found with XP (surprised?) is that

A)It hates AMD K6's
B)It hates all EDO ram (and 72 pin for that matter)
C)It ends up running faster (I sh*t you not - nearly twice as fast) if you don't activate, but just install an activation crack. I really would like to understand that, too.

What I favor about linux is that it might not boot as fast as windows at times, but once it is running, it can wipe the pavement with that evil four colored logo.
_________________________________

AND....
Tux would kick Bill Gates as*
When Gates dies, and Balmer resides, We will CRUSH those that have opposed us.

"resistance is futile"
__________________________________

the penguin says so...........

[retoon]

Because in order for me to interact with my computer, an operating system is necessary. I figured i would use one and it just so happened to use the linux kernel.
Run Windows XP on an athlon processor. Windows XP was streamlined for the Athlon XP. Running it on any P4 sucks. We just got a new P4 system by HP in Staples. The thing has 512 MB of ddr-sdram (I think pc333, but could be 266mhz), P4 2.6ghz w/ HT, Nvidia Geforce 4 MX440 64MB agp8x, selling for $1000 (has other neat toys like built in memory card readers, and DVD+RW drive) and the $500 compaq with the Athlon XP 2000+ and 256 MB of ddr 266 allows for much faster navigation with Explorer. I don't know exactly what MS did with AMD, I know they worked together. My guess, which could be wrong, is that MS took a liking to the Athlon's 10 stage pipeline, and didn't make much of the P4's 21 stage PL.
P.S, My real reason is to make myself more marketable. I know Win 3.11 - XP pro-2003 server, its not a bad idea to know all OSes. I am just starting to work with Novell. Don't really know anything about it. Im going to get my hands on a copy of the OS, and just play around, buy a book on it, read it, and hopefully master it.

[drunkpenguin]

**OFF-TOPIC SLIGHTLY**
I have one dispute with your post. I have clocked my machine booting to windows and it booting to linux. For me at least linux has booted faster. May be it is just me, or how i have it configured. I don't know for sure, but it still clocke faster.

**ON-TOPIC**
I use linux for many reasons. Here is a list of some of them:

1) Stability and Reliability. No BSOD and BS here in linux, just hardcore computing.

2) Price. Hmmm lets see $99 for Windows XP Pro upgrade (Academic license as I am a student) $199 For office xp pro (again academic license) plus utilites and other software, or $80 for SuSE or NO MONEY if I wanted to SPEND time downloading it for a complete package that does all the tricks windows can do and more out of the box.

3)*SEEN THIS ON A T-SHIRT* Your copy of Windows comes with FreeCell, My copy of Linux comes with Doom. You can have your deck of cards, but I have a chain saw that will cut through anything.

4) FREEDOM! In linux I can see what is being put on my computer right down to the source code. And hey I can mdify it too. Plus people appreciate me for sharing those changes too. In windows if I were todo that, I would be sued for the clothes off my back for violating patents and the most horrible law on the books, the DMCA.

[retoon]

Suse comes with Doom?

[drunkpenguin]

No :(, but it was a cool Tshirt, but it does come with descent which isn't bad at all. It also has a snood like game called frozen-bubble, and probably everyones favorite clasic, tux-racer. Doom can be downloaded though, it is open source now. But still I think you get the point.

[sixdemonbag03]

I started using Linux just for the simple fact that it was free, but have come to see that this OS is not only free but stable, flexible and powerful . I could'nt count the times windows would crash on me in a 1 hour period on both hands and feet . Linux has NEVER crashed on me!

[Gertrude]

ONLY IDIOTIC MORONS DO NOT USE GNU/LINUX!

Shut up.

[Stween]

Originally posted by AlexPlank
ONLY IDIOTIC MORONS DO NOT USE GNU/LINUX!

:rolleyes:

That's the craziest thing I've heard in a while. I don't think you know what you're talking about.

I, however, use Linux mainly because I enjoy experimenting with Operating Systems. I used to experiment with various things on my Atari ST; it was cool having a full multitasking operating system under 4MB of RAM on an 8MHz CPU.

I first tried RH6.0 on a Pentium 200MMX, which was a nice departure from Win95, and have tried various incarnations of both Windows and Linux over the years, aswell as other things such as FreeBSD and BeOS - if BeOS handled ACPI power management, it'd probably be my primary OS over Linux :)

[AlexPlank]

Don't you guys have a sense of humor? (even though it wasnt really that funny you should have realized that i was not serious.)

[Kai99]

Choice is probably the biggest factor for me. There is somthing for everyone in Linux. If you have old hardware or a blazing fast new computer you can still run Linux and are not forced to upgrade your hardware.

I also like it because it doesn't hide anything form the user and you can become as involved in your computing experience as you like. From checking email to application development ....there is somthing for everyone !!

:)

[blackbelt_jones]

What else is there?:p

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Originally posted by AlexPlank
Don't you guys have a sense of humor? (even though it wasnt really that funny you should have realized that i was not serious.)

I'm pretty sure we all have senses of humor. It's just that usually, things we're supposed to look at as funny have cute little smilies (:p :D :) :cool: <--- These guys) or, some other way to tell it's a joke.

If you use ALL CAPS LIKE YOU DID, PEOPLE THINK YOU'RE SERIOUS UNLESS YOU DO SOMETHING TO INDICATE OTHERWISE ;)

:D

That's the only reason I responded the way I did.

[nextbillgates]

I use Linux because it's a more flexible and powerful desktop. I'm able to fine tune my fonts to my liking, rather than being stuck with the three font settings that Windows XP has. KDE also has a large variety of customizations available, all of which can be gotten for free. KDE also takes full advantage of my hardware without necessarily being bloated. Last but certainly not least, Gentoo's portage system makes getting new software and keeping existing software up to date very easy.

I could go on and on, but those are the big reasons.

[janet loves bill]

I use Linux because I can!!

took one of my boxes(i have 3) it's a P3 850 chip, Slackware, 5.1 sound card, 2 boston acoustics 735 speaker sets and made the Coolest Jukebox you ever heard.......put ALL my CD's on it, around 9 gigs of music in Ogg files. he he, Hey RIAA, come and get me....urp

[AlexPlank]

Originally posted by janet loves bill
I use Linux because I can!!

took one of my boxes(i have 3) it's a P3 850 chip, Slackware, 5.1 sound card, 2 boston acoustics 735 speaker sets and made the Coolest Jukebox you ever heard.......put ALL my CD's on it, around 9 gigs of music in Ogg files. he he, Hey RIAA, come and get me....urp

That is an invalid argument. While it is true that you can use linux, it is also true that you can use windows. You can do just the same things that you mentioned on windows.:eek:

[Endre]

you could use windows, but why pay $100 for a jukebox when you can have it for free? And why send your playlist to Bill Gates so he can monitor your musical taste?

[Grig]

Because i don't like being ordinary

[Frox]

Simply put, windoze is BORING!
It does everything for you and usually sets things up different than i would like.
With Linux, it actually feels like i'm using a computer. I have complete control of everything that goes on. Plus, there's always something new or something to do in Linux.
Then there's all the stability, freedom, and political reasons.
And penguins are great! :D

[myshkin]

b3cause im, the great h@X0r! wind00s is like s0000 not cool! 0nly NooBy uses it. i could typ3 elite commands into my t3rm on my slack/flux box to open wine and play CS. can YOU do that with wiNeir? i thought so. feAr Me cause i use LeeniX..and YOU d|=0nT!!!!!!

[Syntaxis]

LOL! Classic! :D

Great post, myshkin... way to take the piss. :)

Btw, "elite" = "l337" in l337-speak... ;)

[mr orion77]

i use linux cos:
its customisable
free software and os
efficent
teaches u stuff about computers
lots of options with distros and window managers
fun to tinker with
good on principle

and the reasons why im using win2k (grrrrr)

flash
dreamweaver
never winternights (linux installer coming soon wooohoooo)
illustrator

[anothereffengee]

In one word
Palladium.........

[rwtoften]

why is their another o/s to use inside my box?
:cool:

[serz]

I use Linux because of many reasons already mentioned. And the main thing is.. that I wanted to try something "good", something different....

[mage492]

I first started learning about computers before I was in Kindergarten, when we got a Commodore64. It was a wonderful computer. I'd gladly trade in just about any other computer, just to have it back. Why? Well, because of how much I could do without a hard drive, cable modem, or even a mouse!

I like Linux for the same reasons. Using technology from the '70s (shells, command-line, etc.), I can do things that astound me. For instance, I have this ancient Toshiba laptop. I put Tiny Linux on it (17 floppies, after which you can use ftp to do the rest), which didn't even have a GUI. I learned about powerful tools that were now available to me, that I didn't even know were possible. ("HOW did they fit all of this stuff into so few disks?!") It came with an ftp client, telnet, and all these nifty features pre-installed and ready to use!

I also like the lack of spyware. It's not that I do anything illegal, online, but I'd rather my computer was NOT watching my every move.

Finally, hardware trouble happens. Let's say I've got a computer with the monitor built in as a one-piece unit. Now, let's say that monitor goes out, suddenly. If you're like me, you don't want to just kill the power without shutting down. Got Linux? A simple SSH session, and you're done! If you want, you can even keep using the computer as a "headless" server. Linux (and *nix, too) gives you this kind of reliability. If I were using Windows? I'd be dead in the water, without commercial utilities. In Linux, it's built right in!

[diving_penguin]

My first reasons were that it sounded interesting, and I wanted to try something new. I did some research, and found out a bit more about the OS. Of course, not nearly enough not to be completly lost and inept with my system for some time ;) Not to mention how frusterated I was getting with lock-ups, sluggishness, BSOD...I thought I would have to reinstall windows pretty soon, it was having a lot of issues. So, I just installed something complety different *grin* I've also learned a lot more about computers in general, since i switched. I've really found my niche. Took me long enough ;)

[deanrantala]

Its funny, because Windows XP costs around 200 - 300 bucks, wile Mandrake or SuSE costs only 30 - 60 bucks. But yet, you pay the price you pay for windows not not for quality, not for included software, and definately not for security (or privacy for that matter) - but you are paying 200 dollars for that OS for nothing more than compatibility. Microsoft feels that compatibility with the mass market should cost you 200 bucks. The linux community fells, however, that compatability should be free and that it should be freely available (if you make the initiative). Of coarse, if you want to pay 40 dollars for a distro, fine. But at least you are not paying for the ability to speak freely (in a digital sense) but for the additional service that the company feels should be offered to make your existence in this community just a little bit nicer..........This is why I love linux.

PS: I think anyone can agree with me on this one point - If if all of the comercial equivilants to software that comes with......say....Mandrake, were packaged with Windows XP - you would be spending a little over $1,500 at the least

[gretchen]

I first started using Linux because it was a challenge, and it was a rush to solve all problems with it. Now Linux is much easier to use, and I still use it because:

1. It's free - my friends rebut this with the fact that they can pirate Windows for free, but the general public, and more ethical of us don't have that option.
2. Most software for it is free as in open source, which just plain makes much more sense if you want a quality program. (More people finding bugs and fixing them)
3. Virus protection never gotten SirCam, or anything like it. I work in tech support and the number of computers we get in with viruses is terrible.
4. My #1 Reason
Windows XP install - One CD You get:
OS
Few simple games
WordPad for a document editor
IE and Outlook Express (the virus portal)
Windows Messaging
Windows Paint
Windows Media Player
Sound Recorder
A few system tools, scan disk, defrag, disk clean up are the only marginally useful ones
System Restore - which can be very effective for reversing stupid things Windows or user did


Knoppix-which can be installed to hard drive - One CD You get:
OS
Tons of games - including Frozen Bubble
OpenOffice.org, AbiWord, KOffice, and tons of text editors
Konqueror, Lynx, Mozilla, Kmail, Evolution, pine, mutt (I'm sure there are more but can't remember)
GAIM - connects to all popular IM protocols - several IRC clients
The GIMP
Xine - and some tv tools
Audacity
Tons of system tools for partitioning, scanning the disk, backing up the disk to a disk image, memory checker
Lots of network tools (I've never used but know they are there)
Complete IDE(KDevelop)



Plus when you install Knoppix to your hard drive you have access to apt-get which has all sorts of software avalible. The only thing I've wanted for linux and haven't found was video editing. (cutting out clips) linuxvideostudio should be able to do this once it's had a little more coding done.


PS I think $1,500 should have at least one more zero behind it. Consider the prices,
Windows XP Pro (full) $300
Microsoft Office XP $500
Adobe Photoshop $600
Adobe Acrobat $450 (create PDF files Scribus does this for Linux)
Microsoft Visual Studio $700-$1,000
Not to mention server software and network tools Maybe I should do a webpage about this...

[deanrantala]

____________________________________
PS I think $1,500 should have at least one more zero behind it. Consider the prices,
Windows XP Pro (full) $300
Microsoft Office XP $500
Adobe Photoshop $600
Adobe Acrobat $450 (create PDF files Scribus does this for Linux)
Microsoft Visual Studio $700-$1,000
Not to mention server software and network tools Maybe I should do a webpage about this...
____________________________________

True...
I was giving a basic estimate based on the prices I pay (as a system builder). I also didn't even include visual studio or acrobat in that figure, thanks for pointing that out........

_____________________________________

the penguin says so........

[glussier]

PS I think $1,500 should have at least one more zero behind it. Consider the prices,
Windows XP Pro (full) $300
Microsoft Office XP $500
Adobe Photoshop $600
Adobe Acrobat $450 (create PDF files Scribus does this for Linux)
Microsoft Visual Studio $700-$1,000
Not to mention server software and network tools Maybe I should do a webpage about this...


OpenOffice is also available under windows, so OfficeXP is really an option.

Adobe Photoshop is also an option since TheGimp is also available on the window platform

Acrobat Reader is also another option as you can use pdf995 to genera pdf files in window

Don't do a webpage on this subject, because it's clear to me that it wouldn't be accurate.

[retoon]

OpenOffice is also available under windows, so OfficeXP is really an option.

Adobe Photoshop is also an option since TheGimp is also available on the window platform

Acrobat Reader is also another option as you can use pdf995 to genera pdf files in window

Don't do a webpage on this subject, because it's clear to me that it wouldn't be accurate.
You mean Microsoft includes The Gimp, pdf995, and open office with their installation cds? Wow. I didn't know that. :rolleyes: I think this person was comparing the prices of commercial software to that of open source software. There are already websites that list commercial applications and their rival linux clones. The fact that those linux apps have been ported to the windows platform just makes Open source the "bigger man" in the game. Im tired, so if any of this is stupid, I apologize in advanced.

[RaGe2012]

I use it for a multitude of reasons. Personal education being one of them, with hopes that I'll be able to totally switch over from Windows to Linux one day (I'm dual booting WinXP and Linux). Also, I like the fact its free, open, and also that Big Brother Bill can't do what he pleases with my machine.

[zonkerp]

I use Linux because Windows has driven me crazy. I bought this computer mainly so I could install Linux. There was not enough room on the HD to do so, along w/ Windows, which my needs in order to play online games she loves..

OOPS

XP's NTFS makes it imposible for me to use a HD sharing Linux system. I went as far as to buy Phat Linux XP, which claimed to go along with Windows XP. Wrong! Don't ever buy this stuff unless you enjoy having that take 2 months to be delivered, does not work, and gives no replys at all to emails.

I wound up with Mandrake after buying Partition Magic, which does work.

I tried Red Hat which was slow and not as stable as Mandrake. RH was not slow because of my computer (Celeron 1.1G, 256, 40G Hard drive).

I'm in the progress of learning my way around, especially trying to figure out what I am doing wrong attempting to install tgz software. But ANYTHING is better than Windows. Especially if you want some stability in your system. Many programs that fail in Windows freeze the machine up. If a program freezes in Linux that does not happen. The worst thing I have found so far is having to save stuff then restart. That is much better if you are doing stuff you really do not want to loose because of the rotten stability of Windows.

[noidea]

Because I want to get work done!

That simple!

[mage492]

Oops. Forgot my favorite reason! (This could go on, a little while.)

Old hardware! I collect old computers (we're talking <100 MHz computers.). To me, 100 MHz is fast. My 700 MHz iBook is pure speed! Hard drive space is similar. To me, 40 Mb is a lot! It always ticks me off when software developers stop supporting these old computers. :( My Mac Classic probably still has 10 years or more of useful life, left! I plan on fixing it until the motherboard goes out, too.

So, I've got these abandoned computers. Why were they abandoned? Well, because Windows, Apple, etc. stopped supporting them! The hardware, itself, is nowhere near dead, yet. With Linux, though, I took an ancient Toshiba laptop with 12 Mb of RAM and turned it into an awesome little computer! It even runs fast, on hardware that can't even handle Windoze98.

My friends buy new computers because "My old one was too slow." Know what? It's no slower now than it was when you bought it. Those soft- and hardware companies own you, if you think like that.

Linux is wonderful, though. zonkerp gives a great example, here. RH's too slow? Just try something else, no need to buy a new computer!

Linux keeps old computers alive! (Except the Classic I mentioned. "Foxicle" is even too old for Linux. (any distro))

[deanrantala]

not only does it run on old computers, but it gives you most funcionality on that old PC that a shiny new xp machine would give you.

XP minimal requirements:
233 MHz Pentium (400 recomended)
64 MEGS Ram (128 recomended)
1.8 gig HD (4 or more recomended)

My Peanut Linux Box (with same functionality and similar speed)
P166
64 MEG ram
1.8 GIG HD (with 1.2 GIGS currently free)
"did I mention linux is FREE"

[Sepero]

The reason I use Linux is because I don't support *bsd's. The reason I don't support them is because they aren't safe from being improved as closed-source. What that means is that they will never truely be able to compete against anything closed-source. Don't get me wrong, though. I don't think every program should be open source, but any program you expect to be secure should be. That includes 100% of my OS and all of it's basic tools.

(how do you think ol' billy was able to finally improve windows stability? i think we should all thank the *bsd's for helping MS to better compete against us.)

PS
I apologize in advance for my sarcasm. I'm usually much more civilized than this. :)

[ortiz.michael]

I haven't gotten my Mandrake installed yet, but I will soon...(refer to sig for more info :p ) I want to learn Linux because 1) I love the idea that it's TOTALLY CUSTOMIZABLE!! That really sparks my interest! 2) CLI also sparks my interest! I've grown to hate the mouse so far because I like everything accessible at my fingertips, without having to move my hand off the keyboard. :D

That's why Imma learn Linux!

[ColeSlaw]

I use Linux because of my superior intellect to most other individuals on this planet :D

But seriously though, I use Linux, because it is something new and different. I could complete all my tasks that I need to do in Windows. I know that Linux can be made to run faster then Windows, etc, but that's not something I'm overly concerned with. What I love is the expirence of gaining knowledge on my own. After playing with Linux for a few hours, I feel that I understand not just Linux, but computers in general a little bit better. You don't get that difficulty level in Windows. There are 12 and 13 year old kids out there setting up home networks and having LAN parties with their windows machines. (Granted, there are probably 12 and 13 year old kids out there networking their Linux boxes, and I apoligize to the child savants that are 5 years old and administering networks, I mean you no offense) Windows is made to be simple and user friendly and does it rather well. Linux can be that way too, I'll be the first to say it, but you must admit that it takes a higher understanding of computers to perform high level tasks in Linux then in Windows.

So, long story short, Linux challenges me. That's my main reason. Oh yea, and I like Penguins, they're freakin' awesome. :)

[RoninAfro]

i wanted to try something new. i'm pretty new to linux, but i already like it a lot.

[ICQRaiD]

I have used linux for about three years, but only heavily in the last year.

I like the idea of open source and what it does for the community and the reason I use linux is that I have the power to control my computer not someone in Redmond, WA.

Boy, I really need to post more.

[linuxnewbie42]

My no. 1 reason is because of old hardware.

Case in point: My uncle gave me this old toshiba laptop that he had to give away because it was to "slow for his work enviorment." I slaped Gentoo on this thing and it stund me how fast the machine was. Here are the specs.

PII@266Mhz
96M of RAM
4.1 gig Harddisk

Desktop Specs
PIII@ 1ghz
512M of RAM
2 40gig harddrives

Almost anything I can do on my desktop and can also do on this laptop! That is under Linux

[BertBert]

I teach math on the college level, and so I use computers A LOT. About a year ago, it struck me that although I use computers all the time, I really didn't know much ABOUT computers. How do they work? What's going on inside that box? And so on. About that time I read an article about a person switching to Linux so that he'd be forced to understand what's happening in his computer. That sounded like a good idea, so I started reading and got ahold of a CD with a 7.something version of RedHat on it.

A year later and I have no regrets and use Linux whenever I can get away with it. My workplace is still a "Microsoft campus" which means that I can't use Linux for everything. But I have liked and appreciated:

- The fact that you really do have to learn something about computers to use Linux -- hard disk partitions, file systems, etc. I am no longer a mindless user.
- The non-commercial stance that (most) Linux distributions have. It seems like Windows and related software are just one subscription service or advertisement after another. I don't WANT to have to pay $60 for reasonably full-featured cryptography software (such as GPG, which is free) or $300+ for decent office software (such as OpenOffice, which is free). Just give me something that works and doesn't have all the hype. Chances are I will pay less if there is less hype.
- The more serious approach to computing Linux takes. Windows assumes you don't have the capacity to understand how your computer works -- it's the OS version of those awful "For Dummies" books. What if you're not a dummy? Linux on the other hand seems to respect your intelligence while making things easy when it can on the better distros.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[phiber]

When I was fourteen I managed to get my hands on a CD containing Redhat 5.2. Since then, I've been using Linux (mostly Slackware) sporadically over the years. For some months I've been using Linux exclusively on my system, now running Fedora Core 1.

My reason for using Linux is quite clear - I like having control over what is going on inside my computer. A clean installation of Windows XP which have never been connected to any network may occationally burst into frenetic reading and writing from/to harddrives, create non-replicable bugs or simply just crash. Fusing Windows XP with the Internet creates a whole new layer of security hazards - as virii and trojans.

I'm now in college, and at my school (Royal Institute of Technology) we are allowed (and encouraged) to choose for ourselves which operating system we want to use in the computer labs as all the computers are dual-booting Windows 2000 and Debian.

[Sepero]

Originally posted by BertBert
What if you're not a dummy? Linux on the other hand seems to respect your intelligence while making things easy when it can on the better distros.Well said.

[EnigmaOne]

Why do I use Linux.....?
Hmmm......

I suppose it was a logical follow-up to using DR-DOS. (MS-DOS was ripped-off from SCP, and basically sucked rotten eggs.)
I never did get around to using win-anything until I was stupid enough to allow myself to be conned into teaching a win98 class.

Linux is far more lucid, secure, reliable, stable (never crashes), faster, more apps available, gives me the freedom to control the machine and OS in the way I prefer; and it's simply fun to use.
Servers run forever and networking is a cake-walk.
Time to patch/fix is typically on the order of mere hours.
I've never found a system that it wouldn't install on; but then again, I got rid of all my old 8088/86/186/286 systems a while back. (Yes, there *was* a brief '186 Intel uP iteration, a very long time ago.)

Win-whatever is one BSOD (or outright machine hang) after another, insecure, slow, ineffeciently coded, reliant upon apps written specifically for its buggy API, heavily ET-ed out of the box, locks you into doing things "the microsoft way," and a counter-intuitive pain to use.
Servers typically didn't run long enough to be considered reliable peer-systems, and networking was/is a pain in the butt. Server uptime *has* improved somewhat, but can't come close to Linux uptimes.
Time to buggy patch/fix/SP is in the region of a week to over a year--when microsoft actually gets around to admitting that there's an issue to be addressed.
It doesn't install correctly on a wide-range of equipment (even those on the HCL), and has ridiculous hardware requirements--no wonder so many hardware manufacturers are so firmly on the ms bandwagon!
Certainly not worth even the $37.00 price-tag that Redmond offered to the Thailand ICT PC Project, back in November. I fail to see the justification for their pricing structure in the United States.

[mengle]

Why do I use linux?

1) It's open-source. That means I can trust no backdoors are built in and I can do what I want with it.
2) It's a great way to learn about computers (gentoo has taught me more than I ever imagined, for better or worse).
3) It's minimizing a monopoly (Microsoft)
4) Options. I can even choose which windows manager I want. That's cool. I can also remove all the unnecessary/unwanted "utilities" that I don't want. Too bad they're often hard-wired into windows.
5) Geek props. (especially with gentoo).:D

[Davy]

no back doors. microsoft can snoop into your activities and be a tattle-tale on your ...cough ...illegal ....cough activies. not that I would of course. :D but it's nice to know you can trust your computer to keep your secrets.

[voidinit]

A long, long time ago, at a job 4 miles away, I was a young padawan learner working a helpdesk on the swing shift. Since I was on the swing shift, I did less Win95/98 support and more HP-UX/VMS operations, like backups and such. I instantly fell in love with VMS but really resented Unix because of its usability. Thus I brought my complaint to my manager, Jenny Ilkovsky. Jenny was a russian immagrant who didn't see a windows desktop until she stepped foot in the U.S. As far as I was concerned she was a goddess. She had a 200 user VMS system with 100% CPU utilization that stayed up day after day along side a Unix system with a minimum of 500 users at any time boasting more than a year of uptime. (This was a hospital) She recommended I try linux for free to learn Unix. Now, I hope, I'll never see a windows only work environment again.

The real reason I choose linux:

1) Back in slackware 8, I was having trouble with a (then) bleeding edge Intel i845 integrated video card. I contacted the XFree86 project and recieved a response from David Dawes, the Intel chipset programmer. That's right kids, the actual programmer dropped me a note telling me to hold on a few days and he would have a beta patch released. In a few days I had the patch and it worked.

2) I'm tired of flunkies! Call Microsoft's tech support, pay through the nose, and what do they give you? A McDonalds clerk with a headset! I like good support and there is no better support than the open source community.

3) Stability. I started linux when Win2k was new and as unstable as NT 4. Win95/98 crashed when you looked at it funny. 2k and XP have come a long way since then, but they still don't hold a candle to the stability of a Unix environment.

4) Open Standards. The open source community does not take a good standard, extend it, then make those extensions secret. The GPL forbids it! Microsoft will take a good standard, like XML, extend it, and forbid anything non-microsoft, from using those extensions! Therefore, if you want www.thiswebsite.com to work, you have to be using a microsoft browser on a microsoft platform. That mentality really rubs me the wrong way. If everything were microsoft, like the company envisions, then everything would go to crap because there would be no competition to ensure development.

5) If Unix weren't around to light some fires under Redmond's ***, do you really think WinXP would be here today?

6) Features vs. licensing. I want a workstation, I buy WinXP.....I want a Server....I buy 2003 Server., then client connections. Horse crap!! If I want a workstation, I install linux then appropriate software. If I want a server, then I install linux plus appropriate server software. Do you know how many licenses you have to have to run a DNS server, DHCP server, logon server, SQL server, IIS server, J2EE server, mail server, share point server, and remote desktop or RAS sever? A bundleof****load! I am not willing to deal with the overhead, forget the cost, of tracking those licenses.

P.S. We've all heard this argument:

"I don't need to learn to use linux because I pirate windows software. It's so much better than open source because it's not as hard to use and it's still free. In this way, I can use windows for free and not have to pay for it, and I don't have to learn linux"

That argument drives the crap out of me! Sure, it may work for your home, and by all means use it, but don't bring that into any business environment without lawsuit insurance! Microsoft or any proprietary software company WILL sue!! Plus, they WILL win said suit!!

[lrhogusa]

My servers at work used to use UNIX and a few years ago they were migrated to Linux. Our workstations are right now migrating to Linux.

Actually, the workstations are really bridge toll booth lane controllers on the bridges that span the Hudson River in upstate New York.

Since I use Linux at work, I started using Linux at home so I could connect to my work boxes and run Linux apps locally and remotely.

At home I have RH Linux Enterprise Workstation and Lindows. Lindows is for the rest of my family. Plus I have WIN4LIN so that MS Windows can be used as a Linux app and keep the family happy.

My editorial of Lindows:
The main reason I bought Lindows is because a few people had blasted it. The blasting gave me inspiration to buy it. $50 is a lot cheaper then $179.00 for RH's Linux Enterprise Workstation. (I didn't spend the $179.00 for the RH product-that's another story) If you want Lindow's Click-and-Run (CNR) that costs you $50/year. If you want RH Network Support that costs $60 /year.

I wonder why people have this idea that Lindows can only be run as root. I'm running Lindows with 5 users and root.

Lindows is a distro designed to get MS Windows users to try Linux. It doesn't bother me that Lindows has the look and feel of MS Windows, renames Linux GPL apps in their CNR site and lacks basic tools like ssh and man pages in their distro package.

Is Lindows a source for free Linux? No. It's a buisiness selling a distro and offers a service where you can select Linux apps to be installed for you by that service. Are you forced to get that service (CNR)? No. An alternative way to get the Linux apps is to use apt-get. They do talk about apt-get in their support forums. That's good cause I'm used to RH rpms.

At least with Lindows you get a family lisence which means with the lisence, you can legally use the proprietary (can't spell very well) stuff on all your household computers not just on one computer. StarOffice is an example. The GPL stuff is a seperate issue.

CNR stuff:
I bought CNR so that I could see how well it works. I downloaded their configured DVD Player (is that really Xine?) for $4.00 and it didn't work. I had to make a link "ln -s /dev/cdrom /dev/dvd". Everytime I reboot, my link disappears. In my limited Linux wisdom, made a bootup Perl script to always put it back in.

I downloaded an Army wargame simulator and that didn't work. Must be a configuring problem. I believe the app has to get out to the web for multiplayer stuff.

That's it. I just got bored. See ya!

[gpa]

1. It's free
2. It's stable
3. I don't have to use pirated software anymore :)

I still use Windows as well, but that's just for stuff for web browsing and chatting. I use my Linux system for software development ;)

[blackbelt_jones]

One night about two years ago, I was surfing the WINAMP com forums where I came upon a thread that was called "PALLADIUM: The end of Privacy" What I read disturbed and sickened me enough that I emailed Microsoft that very evening:

"Just found out about Palladium, and I'm switching to Linux. Thank you and goodnight."


That was the beginning. Learning to run Linux has been a challenge for me, I'm not a geek by nature (well, not a COMPUTER geek anyway) and I don't like to read the fabulous manual. Whenever I look at the page, it seems that what I'm reading is completely basic and obvious, so I check another page and I'm completely lost. The only solution is to read the entire eleven hundred page muther focker-- sorry, not in this life.

Fortunately, I've grown comfortable living at my own personal bleeding edge. A big part of it is that I'm not married to my data-- until I get to point the where I can get one Linux version to do everything I want it to, I am perfectly happy to reinstall and reinstall and reinstall. (This has cut significantly into my illegal song downloading time. The RIAA would be pleased.) It means I can try anything, cause I can always wipe it and try again. It also means that I'm not sure where I am on the road from Newbie to guru. I know how to install and run five seperate distros; I have installed 3 distros together on this hard drive, and recently I upgraded and installed a new kernel... and it worked, though not perfectly... but I still need windows to burn my CDs.


:rolleyes:

I'm now running Linux about about 75 percent of the time. Independence from Microsoft is still the number one reason why I run Linux, but there are other reasons. HELL YES, IT'S FUN! You get to the point where you don't know what you'd do without a nasty tech problem to solve. Fortunatly, I'm a long way from that point. Right now much of my life revolves around the fact that the distro I prefer (Debian) uses an out-of-date kernel that doesn't support my soundcard or ALSA.. In typical Linux fashion, there's more than one solution. Do I keep trying to install a new kernel? Do I get a new soundcard? Do I try the unstable version of Debian? Or maybe I can keep trying distros? The beauty part is that sooner or later, this problem WILL resolve itself. Not only is the software getting smarter at an astonishing rate, but thanks to Linux, so am I!

Part of it is aesthetic. True Linux Geeks are supposed to shun X, but I think those GUI interfaces are beautiful, turly elegant next to WIndows. And I love the X Screensavers! Windows, even XP always seems drab by comparison. I love the choice of desktops, browsers, and office applications. Windows comes with one browser. Most Linux distros come with at least three, four if you count lynx.

I could go on. On my income it's either run Linux or run pirated software, and I don't like to break the law unless I have to. Linux will complete the job of bringing computers to the masses that Windows began. Ilove being a part of that.

And to think I oew it all to Palladium!


:p

[deathadder]

3. I don't have to use pirated software anymore

Maybe you shouldnt admit that. Anyway I use Linux because I just got bored and wanted to learn more about my computer. Something that Microsoft doesnt seem to promote :) Also the idea of opensource is something that I couldnt agree with more!!!

[thaddaeus]

I use linux as a file server and webserver. Easy as pie to setup and very secure, and much faster then file sharing in windows. Also i started using rh when was 14, who ever says linux is hard to learn needs to try it, it was a lot nicer to me then any MS OS and i actually learned somthing. Now i use Slackware and mandrake (testing mandrake) and have had it running for almost a year, no problems, even with server running 10-base T and the rest of net using 10/100 and 54G wirless, i have seen no problems, or bottlenecks, i do use 2 ethernet cards but still windows would never be able to do anything as efficiant as what i have now.

[Onzic]

One of the main reasons for me is that I want to be a linux server admin when Im a bit older (not many people hire a 14 your old server admin :p)