Is there any reason to go with Linux over Windows?

I'm building a new PC and trying to decide the OS. I have a XP PC so I was thinking of gtrying Suse Linux for the new one. What do you guys think bad idea...?
 
It probably depends on many factors, like
- the applications you (want to) use
- the hardware (which may not be supported (that well) by a particular Linux distribution)
- your affinity to the shell and interest in / necessity of the development of open source software
- how many buttons you need to play with
- price
 
1) It is free (support your favorite distro with donations if you want)
2) Most distros come with a ton of once again free development tools
3) Allows for greater flexibility of user experience. You can use a linux distro as nothing more than a windows box sans gaming, or explore the innards of linux as much as time/talent allow.

It certainly can't hurt to expose yourself to another OS with a decidedly different philosophy behind it. Linux is fun, much much easier to install and configure than it was even 5 years ago, and certainly worth tinkering with if only to gain a broader understanding of your software/hardware.
 
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If you really have to use Linux, make it dual boot. Linux alone is still a few years away from being a viable desktop OS for everything.
 
If you want to try out Linux without having considerable prior experience, go with dual-boot. Install your preferred Windows version first, then your preferred Linux version (the other way around tends to cause trouble). You will normally need to divide your hard disk into 3 partitions: one for the Windows installation, one for the Linux installation, and one for files that you wish to share between the Windows and Linux installations (the 3rd partition should be using FAT32; format it from Linux if you can).

You should also probably try Knoppix just to get a feel for what Linux is like before going through the hassle of installing it - I keep hearing good things about it.
 
Does it have to be linux ?
Cause if you're just after a free alternative OS, I would rather recommend PC-BSD (www.pcbsd.org) or DesktopBSD (www.desktopbsd.org), which have been far more user friendly to me.
Also on the non free side you can look for an updated BeOS called Zeta made by a german firm yellowtab (www.yellowtab.com)
 
Ingenu said:
Does it have to be linux ?
Cause if you're just after a free alternative OS, I would rather recommend PC-BSD (www.pcbsd.org) or DesktopBSD (www.desktopbsd.org), which have been far more user friendly to me.
Also on the non free side you can look for an updated BeOS called Zeta made by a german firm yellowtab (www.yellowtab.com)

I also recommend PC-BSD.

If your feeling adventurous, try intalling Gentoo or Slackware :devilish:
 
I should have mentioned that I'm already familiar with Linux because I use it all the time at work.

But I'm wondering about it's usefulness on home PC. I'm thinking about using it as a web server. I think adminitsration would be easier on Linux than Windows. I think I'll give it a shot since I already have a Windows machine.

So I guess slackware is the free Linux that I should be using?
 
seismologist said:
I should have mentioned that I'm already familiar with Linux because I use it all the time at work.

But I'm wondering about it's usefulness on home PC. I'm thinking about using it as a web server. I think adminitsration would be easier on Linux than Windows. I think I'll give it a shot since I already have a Windows machine.

So I guess slackware is the free Linux that I should be using?

Slackware is (in my opinion) one of the most stable Linux distros out there. Although, its not the most user friendly Linuxs though but your posts tells me that, that shouldn't be an issue. I like Slackware and Knopix.
 
seismologist said:
I should have mentioned that I'm already familiar with Linux because I use it all the time at work.

But I'm wondering about it's usefulness on home PC. I'm thinking about using it as a web server. I think adminitsration would be easier on Linux than Windows. I think I'll give it a shot since I already have a Windows machine.

So I guess slackware is the free Linux that I should be using?

If you want to run your own webserver, any of the free *nix's are great. Mine's a Linux box, just because my first system was a RedHat 4.2 box (don't laugh).

But there's a ton of OS'es out there you could try. I'm partial to Centos (http://centos.org), which is a community driven version of RedHat Enterprise, just because I'm more familiar with the guts of a RH style Linux. The BSD's are great too, I run NetBSD from time to time on oddball hardware.

Most all of the Linuxes are availible free, so I'd recommend you stick with whichever you run at work and are familiar with. If you want to experiment and have a fast internet connection, just start trying a lot of things! You just might find something you like.

What you want the computer to do is a lot more important than what it runs to get the job done. Figure our your goals before picking a platform, and there's lots of people that'll give suggestions.
 
arjan de lumens said:
the 3rd partition should be using FAT32; format it from Linux if you can.

What is the benefit of formatting it from Linux versus doing it in Windows?
 
Humus said:
What is the benefit of formatting it from Linux versus doing it in Windows?
Windows won't let you format a FAT32 partition of more than 32GB. Or something silly like that. An acquaintance here called me one night, needing to reformat his USB hard drive into a format that he could move between a Windows machine and a Mac. I think, "FAT32, duh." I go over there, bringing my Ubuntu laptop with me just in case, and after trying to force command line formats and Disk Management and even formatting from a Mac, NOTHING was working. Finally, I attached it to my laptop, created a VFAT partition, and happily formatted it. Connect to Windows, dandy. Connect to Mac, dandy.

Yeah, if you want total control over everything that's happening, it's hard to beat a decent *nix.
 
I might have to try centros. The system we use at work I think is Redhat version 9.

I think I'll make a Knoppix boot disk first just to get into my ssystem. Seems like the easiest method to get up and running.
 
seismologist said:
I might have to try centros. The system we use at work I think is Redhat version 9.

I think I'll make a Knoppix boot disk first just to get into my ssystem. Seems like the easiest method to get up and running.

When you really think about it, Knoppix is amazing. That's a lot of software to have ready to go right off a CD. I use it at work all the time for testing and data recovery.

If you are familiar with RedHat 9, Centos is the best freely downloadable distro I can think of. But be ready for a BIG download. I like to get the DVD .iso and burn that so I don't have to switch disks. And once you get Centos installed, setup Dag Wieers Yum repository. (http://dag.wieers.com/home-made/apt/) That adds so many nice new packages, it's great. That'll add mp3 support back in, he's got clamav and spamassassin nicely packaged up, etc. I can't say enough nice things about Dag.
 
well thanks for the tips guys. I'm finally up and running on Centos. And it's flat out amazing. Just like Redhat, and it's so much more user friendly than Windows (if you know Linux).

It feels so much faster too.

The only dowside so far is that you can't play games. Oh well, my GPU sucks in this PC anyway.
 
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