Web Hosting Talk : Other Forums : Web Hosting Lounge : Taking the plunge with linux

[phill2003]

I am going to take the plunge with linux soon, I am buying a cheap lappy to use and would like to have some thoughts from you experts as to which one i ought to try, bearing in mind i will need a gui and not to much command line although i will get better its going to take time.

What do you think, is there anything that a die hard MS user should know and am i going to regret spending the 50 quid on a lappy?

[okihost]

I recently switched my main desktop and laptop to run Fedora and dropping XP.

Needless to say it still takes some getting used to but overall I am very happy so far and now just have a XP box which I play my games on and thats it.

Basically I was just sick of issues with XP and sick of M$ in general and finally decided to make the move after thinking about it for several years.

[bow-viper1]

Knoppix if you are looking for a bootable OS, Mandrake seems to be the most user friendly, which is why most Linux Gurus aren't big fans of it, but if it gets the job done, go for it. I personally use Slackware.

[Ishutan]

I took the plunge not even a week ago phill2003, and so far I am extremely happy, I switched from Windows straight into Xandros, running KDE for my desktop operator, it's freaking fabulous, so much more powerful, smoother, cleaner, all around a much better OS...I think you'll be much happier with Linux, I know I am.

[SniperDevil]

Mandrake is horrible. If any of those, try Fedora.

Also, KDE eats up resources like Winblows, try Gnome.

[case]

I recommend suse 9.1 for desktop use, ive used it and its pretty solid. Once the macromedia and adobe suites are available for linux...ill be a full convert.

Wine and crossover office just arent there yet.

[BennyG]

I quited Linux. Was getting used to it and very fun with the system. But KDE for me isnt stable.

[tehtech]

SuSe 9.1 Pro for Desktop usage.

[Blankwire]

how much command line knowlege do you have? have you tried using bootable os's?

[ub3r]

FreeBSD's better than linux. Most of the stuff you learn with freebsd can be applied to linux, but that doesn't apply to linux.

[Dan L]

Try SuSE. I'm going to test a CD of it I got later this week.

*will have an awesome media server

[ilyash]

I am currently using linux about 50%
Its great..
but i gotta say that windows is much more compatible.
I mean.. to install a simple thing you need to get a million other things [for dependencies]

People... Linux is not made for a desktop OS
It is just not smart to use Linux..
Until there are more programs ported for it..
windows is the way to go....

Linux is a server operating system.
It is more stable than windows and has many benefits..
But using windows for a desktop is just not right.
I mean.. sure.. you have openOffice and all that..
But many of the programs i use daily are not available ...
For example [most games]
And Itunes
[nothing is better.. there are no alternatives]

Itunes will soon be ported to Linux .. so not to worry
[For now i use xmms .. and its alot worse than itunes]


I use Linux for two reasons..
1. To learn
2. To program on and to host small things [game server/test webserver/mailserver]

Sure sometimes if im up to it i can use openoffice or browse the web.. even listen to music..
But it just doesnt feel right..

Linux imho is a great operating system.. way better than windows.. but for its purpose.. to be a server..

I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion..
but i feel you should use both..

[Ishutan]

Meh, my Linux use is personal opinion, I've had windows dump me or give me that damned blue screen of death on far more than ten occasions...I haven't had anything with linux yet, I'm not claiming I won't, it's just been, so far, much more stable, plus i really like the applications...

But I will agree that it is probably best to run both os's, I have a windows box set up in another room, I don't use it much, but it still comes in handy for office work and such...

[cywkevin]

Windows xp has yet to crash dump or anything to me. Although I do keep it fully patched.

Linux is an awesome server system. Some day I will use it as a full on desktop.