I really didn't expect this to keep going as long as it has. 41 polls so far. That means we have almost reached the one year point with our polls.

Thanks for helping to keep things running.


This week, we are running a poll to see how many of our members have tried or are using Linux. I know there have been several people trying to get into Linux lately.

i used red hat 9 and did like it but i really didnt have enough software to keep it . i went back to xp. also was hard to relearn everything. if i knew someone who was experienced i would have kept up with it. maybe ill go back to it with a rig thats not up its a duron 1.2 a waste of electricity but maybe good to learn linux

Yep, used it as a primary for about 4 months or so, switch back to Windows so I could game.

Uh huh. Around the time of Slackware 7 had just been released and.. uhh RedHat.. 6.1? was the latest thing around? That was around.. 1999 apparently, which is 6 years ago, but I voted:

"Yes I have tried it in the last two to five years, but do not use it currently"

It's only one year off

Yup, RH9 on the secondary box with a KVM. I would use it more if I had more monitors. Unfortunately, I DO have more monitors, but I don't have the desk space. So I need a new desk. But my room's to small so I need a new room. Really, I just need to move. Then I'll use linux more... yeah!

Hehe, someday I hope to get an A64 for a dedicated gentoo machine and give that 64 bit linux stuff a shot!

I use it on servers, but not for a home desktop.

Slackware 10.1 on my laptop and Banana is my Gentoo box. I <3 Linux and BSD variants

I can't stand Windows anymore.

I use FC3 as a secondary system. It holds the majority of my file shares.

nope never, and i don't wish to try it

well i stopped using it currently. i woulda liked to see how linux would run on my main rig, but it seems like i always get errors during install on any distro on my neo2 board, few members had that issue like me btw.

Took the words right out of my mouth, but I tried Debian. I just don't have the time now adays to relearn everything.

Hienrich

Have not tried Lunix yet but might try it in the future.

I have not tired it yet, but I will if I get a chance

I used linux last year and the install coincided with my HD dieing, so I blamed it on linux (probably wasnt linux). Then I started again, but I am WAY too curious. I corrupted my windows filesystem TWICE. I will try linux again once I get 2 folding systems up next week (xp 1700+, a64 2800+)

I've tried so many distros, I think I've lost count. I have a bunch of LiveCDs and several install discs. I've been trying Linux ever since Red Hat 5.x and that was back in 1998 or 1999.

With every new distro, I keep hoping that my system will work right off the bat or with a few config changes. Unfortunately, it's never that easy. Some distros work better with certain hardware while others work better with other hardware. I can never find a distro that works perfectly with all my hardware. If that issue could be solved, I'd be all over Linux right now (I'd only use my Windows XP installation for gaming, and since I'm not a heavy gamer, I'd be spending about 97% of my time on Linux). I absolutely love the command line interface (started using computers with DOS 5.x), so that's another incentive for me to switch to Linux.

Yes, I run Yoper Linux as a secondary desktop.

Started with Mandrake, went to Fedora, jumped in on the Knoppix craze for awhile and then I found Yoper. I've tried others since, but always run back to Yoper.

Kubuntu (KDE version of Ubuntu) is nice too.

I had tried to set up a diskless farm but with the time to try and figure it out i just use 1 linux box for folding and to just toy with. Uses Red Hat 9.

I tried FC3 a little while back, but the truth is - windows does it all. If you just need a desktop for browing the internet, emailing, etc then linux would work great. But if you want compatibility and convenience then Windows is the way to go. And its not like Windows is insecure, it can be just as secure as Linux if you use it safely.

SuSe 9.2 Pro as my secondary Desktop

SuSE 9.1 as my secondary computer/server, i learn c++ on it (so i wont write windows-only software lol), and sometimes run a CZ server on it. I turn it on only like once a month tho lol.

suse 9.1, mandrake 10.1, red hat 9, fedora, xandros and linspire(just to see it)
out of them all, i think suse was my favorite. well maybe mandrake. not too impressed with the redhat guys, especiall with the new activation stuff. seems to be getting further and further away from their roots(ie opensource)
i love people who talk about how cool the mac os's look. i just smile and go home to one of my linux distros and laugh. not trying to mac-bash, but if i want an operating system that looks and acts like linux, i'll use linux.

Last time I tried it was as a Live CD version.
In short, what is the point. I have 5-7 machines running Win xp- pro, 2000, and one old laptop running Win 98. Doesn't do much, just displays stuff.

The point is, what is the point of wasting time with Linux?
I have no software for it. I am so tied into / Locked into MS Office it is silly. All my games are XP,
Is there a BF2 release for Linux ???? Didn't think so.

Maybe it is great for file server access, but my Raptors in Raid 0 do a pretty strong job under XP.

I just read that MS may soon release some Linux software.
I guess from Microsoft's stand point it is kind of like Office for the Mac.
A little known fact, if Microsoft terminated their Mac Office line, Apple would be in deep trouble. Yea, apple is suppoesd to be great, but without MS word and Excel, they have no software to offer ouside of Quark, which is great, but a limited sized user group.

My guess is MS releases Office Linux, which WILL NOT BE OPEN, and they tailor it to certain distributions, like Red Hat, which seems to have some financial meet on it now. That way, the next time someone says Monopoly, they can say....Hey, we are supporting the competition.
One thing we all know is if MS releases Linux Office, the OS will finally have a chance for significant PC addoption outside the "enthuisast" and or "server only" realm.
The catch is, you will still be paying MS for a key piece of PC software and they will be happy with that. Oh yea, and they won't ever tell any exactly how it works so good luck with that whole Open thing.

JMHO
CPU_Cooker

you do the math... worked for MS. MCSE... I'm not allowed to use linux


no just joking about that. I tried, it and there's only one version I really care for. desktop LX (a very scarsely used distro)

The only person that keeps you tied into MS Office is yourself. OpenOffice.org, Sun's StarOffice, and KOffice are all great alternatives. I'm sure there are others out there as well. OOo and SO also can open/save the MS formats (doc, xls, etc). I think KOffice can as well, but haven't used it in sometime. Thunderbird, Opera, Firefox, and Evolution are great alternatives to IE/Outlook. Evolution also has the ability to connect up to an Exchange Server. Of course, there is Eudora, The Bat, Pegasus, and a slew of other email apps out there that work just as good, if not better than Outlook/OE.

I use OOo on all of my home PCs. Haven't installed MSOffice in years, much less had a need to pay for it. Upgrades and new versions are free, why pay for something that you don't need? Hell, I'd use it at work if they'd let me.

Microsoft terminated their Mac Office line, Apple would be in deep trouble.

Not really. MS killed off IE for the Mac, and that didn't hurt them at all. Office is no different. There are so many other (and IMO better) products out there, who cares about MSOffice? With Mac's iWork they've already built a word processor. Rumor is they have their own office suite in the works.

BF2? Do you base all of your OS decisions on one game that you may or may not be playing in 6 months? There is currently no BF2 client for Linux, but there is the server version. Who knows, there may be a Linux client down the road. I haven't looked yet, but it may be possible to play BF2 using winE or Caldega. I know a lot of games are supported with the two. Other games are starting to come with their own Linux client.

D3,
I hear where you are coming from, but a lot of it boils down to time. The fact is, I am a big fan of Microsoft. (Don't kill me for saying that, Please)

But the bottom line is, though it has taken them 12 years to get here, in most cases, Microsoft works with relative ease. I have spreadsheets that are 4mb in size when they contain no data. They retrieve information from the Net, they link to other spreadsheets, word docs, and even other applications, several of them in fact. I know it would take a significant effort to get up and running on "Free" software.
Let's say my time is worth the average hourly wage of about $16.
Download and install "Free" OS and Software....5 hours. Maybe you can do it faster, but I have never had an easy Linux install, add in 2 hours for figuring out which distro of all the Free stuff to download. You know where I am going with this. Let's say I had a good couple of days and got every thing working in a tight 20 hours, two 10 hour days. That is $320 right there in lost wages, which is not far from the cost of XP + an office Upgrade.
Then don't forget all the time needed to learn how to do everything all over again. Hey, I can drive an MS product right out of the box, in most cases no RTFM needed.

FREE is a relative term, and does not always apply to the Dollar figure attached.

I do use FireFox though.
As for MS terminating IE for the Mac, A browser, of which there are 5 free ones competing for market share....Sorry, that is totally not the same as an Office application suite.

Hey, I like the linux reveloution, it keeps MS on their toes. If Linux can do it and people really like it, then soon, XP will do it. That is the way MS works.

CPU_Cooker

I've only ever used the Live CDs

I started back in the day of Red Hat 6 and destroyed a fair few Windows installations in the process!!

I recently switced to Debian as a secondary desktop from Mandrake (been usinf it since Mandrake 7.1) Its secondary purely because of Outlook 2003, if I could run Outlook 2003 on Debian, I would probabally use it all the time. (Provided I can get DHCP working for my network... Sometimes I miss Mandrake's graphical network config utilities)

I tried Knoppix. Didn't like it.


Personally, I like the plug and play style of Windows. It installs easily, has plenty of drivers so you can install and go, etc. Also, most programs are made for it.

I've never had issues with Windows XP crashing on me without something else contributing to it. It would "crash" (as in go to an IRQ error screen) sometimes while playing Kal Online, but that was because of a fault in the software I believe.

The only time I've really seen it truly crash, it was for either too high of an OC or too much spyware and viruses (on the family computer. You couldn't even boot into safe mode). Bad memory timings or too low of a vcore can lead to it crashing too, but that's a PEBCAK error entirely.

And, even though Windows is simple to use, it's actually a very flexible OS, with the tools included. I mean, spend some time in %systemroot%\System32, and you'll find a plethora of programs that you may find usefull. Such as Dr. Watson (logs any program crashes), the Windows Fault Checker, and eudcedit.exe (character editor). Also, the registry makes things easier for tweaking programs and program settings, including being more accurate with some Windows settings.


That's my opinion, though. I know that there are some people who prefer Linux to Windows for their own reasons. Most of the time, it's for a private server for people who can't afford the server edition of Windows, or when it's not practical to use that.




PS Linux != UNIX != world's most stable OS.

ya know, i don't use Linux alot but i do use UNIX. i have an iBook and OSX is based on UNIX. Most of the time im on the computer, i'm just using the UNIX terminal.

I don'thave a problemw ith windows.... I tried knoppix for a bit but i decided it's too much of a wasted effort to learn linux... since windows suites its purpose. Maybe somone can convince me otherwise though..

give me some time and i'll give it a go. otherwise, i like my pc the way it is it's nice to know that everything i like is the way it is etc.

although i know linux should get some of my attention some time....i just don't really know if i could make the time for it

Gentoo is the way to go!!

There is nothing wrong with Windows as long as you take care of it. To some degree you have to take care of Linux too.

I like Linux because our first family computer was a DOS box. No GUI, no clickety click. I cut my teeth on a command prompt, and I loved it. Discovering Linux and how much you could do from the shell was a refreshing experience.

Sure, Windows makes life easy, and I salute it for that. Microsoft has done a good job in that area. Linux can be a pain sometimes when it comes to doing certain things, such as installing software. But it's so much more satisfying after hours of profanity, wailing, and gnashing of the teeth to see your program finally start. Much more than Install-->Next-->Next-->Next-->Play.

Windows and Linux. Both have their strong points, both have their weak points. I guess it just kinda depends on what you're into.

yup, u've defenitly got it. each OS has its trong points and its weak. whether its OS X, Windows, Linux, or UNIX, or any other crazy OS. They all have good points and bad. I like all the capabilities of linux and unix but they are not nearly as easy as windows. ive spent the last couple days trying to get XTERM to run NEDIT. I finally figured it out (thank you google) and now its great I do agree it is much more satisfying when you install something on a linux/UNIX machine haha

I managed to get Mandrake installed a couple of times last year, and I've got a Knoppix CD around here somewhere. I never really invested too much time in it just 'cause there was usually something else I wanted to work on.

For me, Linux is like reading War and Peace: I'll get to it someday, but not today.

This post is filled with ignorance. I use Linux 24/7 and Windows on my laptop to play games (radeon linux drivers suck). With gentoo, my main box banana, my system takes only five seconds to boot up. Show me a windows system that can do that. I do not see the practicality of using Windows as it does not suit my interests plain and simple. I don't use it to run servers and I don't run it to provide services to others.

Use the registry to customize how programs run? Pfft... With Linux why not just manipulate the source of an application to change how it functions or to customize? As of yet, I have failed to see the source for Outlook or IE so that a user may customize it to their preferences.

As for the logging and hardware troubleshooting, dmesg and /var/logs has everything one could need. Who needs watson when you can monitor every single aspect of your system?

Seriously, you can praise Windows all you wish but when someone who has used Linux for a significant amount of time such that their knowledge is superior to the beginner these simple praises do not hold their grounds. If you like Windows, fine. If you like Linux, fine. However, do not blame the use of Linux on the Windows specific ignorance of its users.

no desire whatsoever

I think we should start a windows vs *nix ( being anything based on unix, including things like bsd and OS/2) thread, it could be really cool.

If there is one then I report my ignorance for not noticing it.

I have Linux Suse 9.3 running on my second PC and in my virtual PC in Windows XP.
I also have Mandrake 8.0 on my Virtual PC.
I also have Linspire waiting to be installed, When i get my laptop
(Fingerz crossed for friday)