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Someone please explain why I should use Linux...

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TommyHolly

TommyHolly

Member
​
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Location
Chicago
Hey everyone,
I read through the entire Wikipedia article as well as a few threads here. After all that, I still have no idea why I should even try Linux out? I'm mainly interested because I hear F@H SMP program runs so much faster.

I am familiar with Windows and not too much with Apple. Linux seems like trying to learn a whole new operating system that I have no idea how it will turn out and work.

Here are a few questions:
1. Does it look the same as Windows? (Same desktop screen or is it all command prompt and take me back to the Commodore-64 days?)
2. Can I play games on it? For instance will Call of Duty 4 work or Crysis?
3. Just what option do I choose to install when I need to install something. I usually only see Windows Vista, XP, or OSX 10...
4. Will the internet work the same?
5. Is it hard to understand and use?
 
1) Both.
2) I doubt it.
3) Please ask more clearly I don't understand.
4) Yes, but linux has better network stacks than windows, so possible a little faster.
5) It can be easy, it can be hard, there is a huge community, and lorry loads of documentation.



If you feel you still need to use windows you can always dual boot using a bootloader called grub, this comes with most linux distributions, Instead of booting from the windows bootloader, it boots to grub, letting you choose windows/linux/anything else. This can be pretty simple and with beginner operating systems such as ubuntu and PCLinuxOS they offer automatic partitioning and dual booting which makes it so much easier.


Linux is very accessible.
 
I would suggest ubuntu since for you to start with since it is so easy to understand. Hell, even my mom got the hang of it after a few days.
 
TommyHolly said:
1. Does it look the same as Windows? (Same desktop screen or is it all command prompt and take me back to the Commodore-64 days?)
2. Can I play games on it? For instance will Call of Duty 4 work or Crysis?
3. Just what option do I choose to install when I need to install something. I usually only see Windows Vista, XP, or OSX 10...
4. Will the internet work the same?
5. Is it hard to understand and use?
Click to expand...
1. Looks however you want.
2. There's lots of games that work on Linux.
3. It varies, most software uses installers just like in Windows/OSX.
4. FireFox, Opera, IE clones.
5. It depends on what you want to do.

Just download Ubuntu and take a look, you can boot right off the CD, and installing is just as hard as Windows/OSX.
 
If you make linux out to be a homework assignment it won't be an enjoyable experience.
It should be a fun experience learning a new OS not a pain in the *** experience, if you go into it having alot of doubt/hate towards it, you won't ever enjoy using Linux over Windows.

I work with several OS's, Linux, Unix, Windows, OS X, z/OS, and out of all of them, I would still use Windows because I love to game. Gaming is key for me, which no other OS can do as well, so I'll stick to windows but I still use everything else at work.
 
TommyHolly said:
Here are a few questions:
1. Does it look the same as Windows? (Same desktop screen or is it all command prompt and take me back to the Commodore-64 days?)
2. Can I play games on it? For instance will Call of Duty 4 work or Crysis?
3. Just what option do I choose to install when I need to install something. I usually only see Windows Vista, XP, or OSX 10...
4. Will the internet work the same?
5. Is it hard to understand and use?
Click to expand...
1. There are infinite possibilities for desktop setups.
Here is my current Openbox setup:

(Openbox requires you to setup 90% of everything from raw text files.)
2. Not without a lot of hacking. If that's your thing, then go for it. If you expect to pop a CD in and play, and become frustrated easily, then it may not be for you.
3. GNU/Linux distributions typically do not require you to google search software to download and install. Generally the distribution's package manager will be utilized to install everything. Say you wanted to install Firefox:
In a Debian-based distro, you would open a terminal and do
Code: 
apt-get install iceweasel
(Iceweasel is Firefox with all branding stripped)
In Arch I would do
Code: 
pacman -S firefox
or
Code: 
pacman -S firefox3
In Gentoo
Code: 
emerge firefox
In CRUX:
Code: 
prt-get depinst firefox
The console will then spit out some information about how it is grabbing and installing the software on your machine, and in a few moments you are ready to run it. Easy and simple.
There are exceptions, though. Some distributions, like LFS and Slackware, do not work this way by default.
4. Yes, as far as browsers go. There are a lot of versatile command line tools for network configuration and manipulation that Windows does not provide.
5. Yes, if you are used to Windows, it will be foreign. If you learn to like it, it can be fun and gets easier when you become more familiar with its methodology and principles. If you are a serious gamer and use your computer for 90% gaming, then it may be a waste of time.
If you like to hack at things and enjoy challenges rather than avoid them, it can become addictive.
If you expect it to be like Windows, you will be disappointed.
 
Last edited:
The command to install Firefox in Gentoo would actually be "emerge mozilla-firefox".

TommyHolly said:
I'm mainly interested because I hear F@H SMP program runs so much faster.
1. Does it look the same as Windows? (Same desktop screen or is it all command prompt and take me back to the Commodore-64 days?)
2. Can I play games on it? For instance will Call of Duty 4 work or Crysis?
3. Just what option do I choose to install when I need to install something. I usually only see Windows Vista, XP, or OSX 10...
4. Will the internet work the same?
5. Is it hard to understand and use?
Click to expand...

F@H might, might not. I had some rather large problems lately, my Linux F@H keeps getting unprocessable units that sit for hours without completing a single frame.

1. Can look however you want it, you can use a basic GNOME desktop for a Mac feel, or KDE for a Windows feel, with "start" menu and such. My KDE in Gentoo is set up with compositing, and does many more effects than Vista Aero does :) Morphing windows, multiple virtual desktops that can be rotated as the inside or outside of a cube, etc.

2. Some yes, some no. Some games have native Linux versions available, such as UT2004, Doom 3, ET Quake Wars, and pretty much anything by iD and Epic (UT3 doesn't have a Linux version, yet :()
There are many Windows-only games that can be run via Crossover Games (which I'd recommend over Cedega any day. Not only is it only a one-time fee rather than a subscription, but they actually offer real support) or plain WINE, if you have the time to set it up. There are also several games that have ports available, google Linux Game Publishing to find them. If you have the latest & greatest video and/or sound card, you may have a few issues getting it set up.

3. Use your package manager. Most Linux distributions have a tool that allows you to select pretty much any program you could think of from a categorized list. There's YaST on SuSE, apt on Debian, yum/up2date on Fedora, and portage on Gentoo. They all have the ability to add extra "repositories" beyond the defaults included, and many third-party developers will have a repository link that you can add to your package manager to include their packages in that list. With YaST on SuSE this is extremely easy to do, and is all GUI. Haven't done much with apt/yum/up2date, so can't say about those. With portage, adding overlays does require some effort.

4. Basically. Almost all distros have a graphical tool to set up your network. Gentoo requires command-line setup when installing.

5. Depends. If you use SuSE/OpenSuSE, you basically stick the DVD in, select your install options, and let it do its thing. You then reboot to a working Linux desktop. SuSE will automatically install alongside Windows and let you dual-boot, if wanted. Fedora and Ubuntu both have a similar setup process. Gentoo requires you do everything manually. It may be hard, but it forces you to learn. If you're looking for an easy system to set up for the first time, Ubuntu is good. If you're looking for a mostly easy setup but the ability to actually control your system and like to tweak things, OpenSuSE is very good.
Code: 
WARNING TO THOSE PREPARING TO BASH RPM AT THIS MOMENT: GET A LIFE AND TRY A RPM DISTRO RELEASED WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS RATHER THAN BASHING 10 YEAR OLD DISTROS
If you want to be forced to learn, and like to be able to control EVERYTHING, Gentoo is for you :) Everything gets compiled from source in Gentoo :)
 
TommyHolly said:
Hey everyone,
I read through the entire Wikipedia article as well as a few threads here. After all that, I still have no idea why I should even try Linux out? I'm mainly interested because I hear F@H SMP program runs so much faster.
Click to expand...

Quite frankly it was F@H that got me interested in using Linux, because as I set up more and more machines, the prospect of buying more Windows licenses became untenable. Once I got my "free beer" the "free as in freedom" started to click in my mind, hearkening back earlier in my life when the Counterculture Revolution was unfolding.

TommyHolly said:
Here are a few questions:
1. Does it look the same as Windows? (Same desktop screen or is it all command prompt and take me back to the Commodore-64 days?)
2. Can I play games on it? For instance will Call of Duty 4 work or Crysis?
3. Just what option do I choose to install when I need to install something. I usually only see Windows Vista, XP, or OSX 10...
4. Will the internet work the same?
5. Is it hard to understand and use?
Click to expand...

Response to above Q's:

1.Your choice-desktop GUI or CLI.
2. Some, I dunno.
3.Not sure what the question is..
4. Yep.
5. No more so than beginning to use Windows.
 
Wow, yeah it seems pretty in-depth to use. I think I'm gonna pass on this one. I don't have the time to learn how to use it just to use it.
 
how about looking to your sig for a reason to use linux...

Freedom is not free. This is not just some bumper sticker or slogan. The cost of freedom is the blood, sweat, and tears of the people who fought for it.
Click to expand...

whether you are looking for free as in beer or free as in speech, you can't get it with windows or mac, you have to go linux or *bsd. the majority of linux distros are free as in speech, and most of that stems from the free as in speech ideals.

really, the only leg-up that MS has is in the gaming market. Otherwise, linux, BSD, and OS X are just as good, if not better.

just remember that the beauty of linux is choice, but it's also a thorn. Sometimes there are too many options, but it's great that you can customize the OS to fit you perfectly.

one thing to help ease the transition is to start using programs that are available for both Linux and Windows, like firefox and open office.org. www.sourceforge.net is a great place to start looking for replacement software.

as for what distro to start using...you'd probably feel most comfortable starting out with Ubuntu, Fedora, or openSUSE. then you can explore all of the other options from there if they don't seem to fit your needs the best.
 
PCLOS 2008 is also a good one... i would be using it right now but i had some issues with compiz that i couldnt be bothered to figure out so i went back to Gutsy

to the OP honestly I think that you are scared for no real reason. Depending on what your usage is. My fiance uses linux by her choice. Linux Mint to be precise. She is about as far from a computer person as one can get. Yet she does some light graphic editing with Gimp, she surfs the web, does word processing, digital photos from her camera etc and well hell she hasn't booted into windows in almost 6 months.

Now if you are heavy into games you could do what I do and dual boot. I still get MOST of my gaming from linux but for that odd one that just won't work I use windows. I do EVERYTHING else in linux for a few reasons:
A)I honestly like the file storage better
B) no spyware or viruses makes it idiot proof for surfing the web
C) testing out most demos and things like that is good here (see point B)
D) better security... for more then one reason... i tote my laptop around and there is NOTHING that works as a better deterant for people trying to use your computer then CTRL + ALT + F1... they have no idea what to do when looking at the command prompt
E) SSH ... 'nough said
 
Most people who start working with Linux use dual-boot systems, so they can switch between OS's. Virtualization is also an option.

1. Does it look the same as Windows? (Same desktop screen or is it all command prompt and take me back to the Commodore-64 days?)
Click to expand...
You can control everything from a command prompt or from a wide variety of graphical user interfaces that range from extremely simple/minimalist to a great deal more polished and elaborate than Windows. (Think 3d graphics, transparency, rotation of virtual desktops on a polyhedron, visual stretching and distortion effects in moving windows, etc.) Linux 4 years ago makes Aero look prehistoric.

2. Can I play games on it? For instance will Call of Duty 4 work or Crysis?
Click to expand...
Linux plays games just as well as Windows and at roughly the same frame rates. However, using an ATI will result in some speed loss and more headaches- nearly all committed users use nVidia because it runs so much better and just works out of the box. Finally, Linux plays games that are compiled for Linux. A program written for Linux doesn't run in Windows, and a program written for Windows doesn't run in Linux. They are not binary compatible OS's. (They use different drivers too.) Sometimes you can play Windows binaries using the free Wine or the proprietary, subscription based Cedega. If it's DX10-only, it won't run in Linux yet. (Linux uses opengl instead of directx, and there are libraries in Wine and Cedega that map DX <=9 functions to opengl functions.)

3. Just what option do I choose to install when I need to install something. I usually only see Windows Vista, XP, or OSX 10...
Click to expand...
If you do not see a Linux version, either there isn't one, or it's not on the site. Linux often installs things from central package repositories. The basic model for Windows is that you go out to the web or store, obtain the software, then run an installer program. The basic model for Linux is that you run a generalized program that lists tens of thousands of programs you can install in different categories (you can also search it). You select it, and it will find the software, download it, and install it. Rebooting is not necessary after installing new software.

4. Will the internet work the same?
Click to expand...
If by "internet" you mean "world wide web," yes, it will be the same for the most part. I use Firefox regardless of which OS I am using, so I see no difference. Internet Explorer (not surprisingly...) has no Linux version. Once in a while a site will actually check to see what the OS is and complain it's Linux, which is stupid since there is no difference in how Firefox on one platform or the other would interpret data. An example is that CNN used to not play videos if you had Linux, even though there was no technical barrier, but FoxNews did. Now it's the other way around, and FoxNews complains, but CNN works. I can't explain why that happened. I change news sources to whatever works with free software products personally. It's quite rare though to find a site that gives problems in Linux... My mother was using Linux once (I set hers up with a dual boot for when I'm there and need Linux) since I forgot to start back to Windows. She used it for a week or so and didn't know that she was using Linux. She does two things though... word process and websurf, and the difference to her was not noticeable. (Very computer illiterate.)

5. Is it hard to understand and use?
Click to expand...
It's not any harder than Windows, but it is different. For me, it's easier, because I am familiar with Linux and increasingly less so with Windows. For you, since you are familiar with Windows and not Linux, it will initially seem harder as it is new and different (same would be true for a Mac). You should start with a distro that is more focused on user friendliness.
 
Last edited:
Except you'll gain performance instead of losing it, and it won't require product activation and windows genuine disadvantage.
 
If you just want Linux for SMP_FAH then install Ubuntu x64 in VMWare Server and you still have Windows for all the games you want.

I run Debian Etch in a VM and it just cranks out the WUs 24/7 but I get to run all my Windows programs without any special configurations.

For a quad core you would run 2 VMs. Install Linux in one and clone it to another folder with a different name and then just point VMWare Server to it.

Make sure that each FAH instance starts fresh or the .dat files will be the same and you'll only get credit for one.

OTOH if you are building a new box and want to save the $140 for OEM XP or Vista, then Ubuntu is free and easy to install. You can still avoid the quad core only FAH server if you install VMWare Server and run two VM's with Linux in them.
 
Is the Linux FAH client superior to the Windows version now? I remember when Arkaine used to actually run the Windows client in Linux under Wine and he still got more speed than running the native Linux client.
 
MRD said:
Linux plays games just as well as Windows and at roughly the same frame rates. However, using an ATI will result in some speed loss and more headaches- nearly all committed users use nVidia because it runs so much better and just works out of the box. Finally, Linux plays games that are compiled for Linux. A program written for Linux doesn't run in Windows, and a program written for Windows doesn't run in Linux. They are not binary compatible OS's. (They use different drivers too.) Sometimes you can play Windows binaries using the free Wine or the proprietary, subscription based Cedega. If it's DX10-only, it won't run in Linux yet. (Linux uses opengl instead of directx, and there are libraries in Wine and Cedega that map DX <=9 functions to opengl functions.)
Click to expand...

While the above is technically true, I would like to reiterate that if you are, indeed, a serious gamer, then I can assure you with 95% certainty that GNU/Linux gaming will be a miserable disappointment.
On the 5% chance that your game of choice falls into the thimbleful of native games available for GNU/Linux, and assuming that your performance is on par with Windows (and it should be), then you may be satisfied with GNU/Linux.
Other than that, there is no substitute for a barebones or slipstreamed install of XP for a serious gamer.
Wine is not an alternative. It isn't.
Even the so-called "Gold List" games offer partial functionality. Every one of them has user comments like "Everything works great, except I can't see my mouse pointer in the game menu" or "Everything works great, but no AA"
Now, am I going to spend $300-$600 on a video card, invest hours every night practicing and honing my gaming skills, replace my $80 mouse whenever the microswitches wear out, only to accept playing a game at lower than native resolutions without a mouse pointer, AA, or without any other feature for that matter?
Now I am talking about serious gaming. If you are a casual gamer, who doesn't mind hacking or even enjoys it, then that is a different story. If you are a WoW nut, you may also be in luck, because supposedly WoW players accept the Wine idiosyncrasies just fine.
 
The problem isn't that Linux is in any way inferior for gaming, the problem is that many games are produced for Windows and not for Linux, and when you try to find ways to run a Windows binary in Linux, it's bound to be buggy (as would running a Linux game in Windows).

Personally, I only purchase or play games that have native Linux versions or work flawlessly with Wine (the free one, not Cedega). This is because I am more committed to Linux and free software than I am to any particular game, and I'd rather not get into a game that will continue to tie me to an OS and company that I loathe.
 
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