We have any Linux users

[starseven]

I'd been playing around with the idea of switching to Linux. Anyone got any recommendations? I'd been messing Ubuntu a little here and there.

[drill]

Linux Mint. I'm actually waiting for the newest version, 16, to come out in November though, so right now I'm using Win7. I'm not really a fan of Ubuntu, but if you like it, then thats is good. Debian is a good distro, I've never used it, but its been around for a long time, and is very stable. Lastly, you could look at Zorin OS which tries to replicate the Windows experience as much as possible.

[starseven]

I'd heard about Debian. I'd watched some videos about Zorin OS as well. The real issue is finding a version that compatible with my Toshiba Laptop. I've used several live versions on it. I would say about half of them have problems with the video drivers.

[Xeno]

Most versions of Linux that are actually worth using are going to have driver issues. You'll have trouble getting video (especially from a disc) to play, you'll probably have audio driver problems, and who knows what kind of other problems you might run into. Linux is not the kind of thing you can just install and then go about your business. It tends to be a constant struggle to keep things working right, finding work arounds to programs you used to have, and just dealing with not being able to do certain regular things.

That said if you're wanting a system to do coding work or to run a server on, get Linux and do Debian or Ubuntu. Otherwise just stick with Windows.

[starseven]

The problem with Windows is it gets progressively slower over time. It also becomes less stable and more prone to crashing. I don't run many heavy applications generally speaking. I do regular maintenance on my system.

[drill]

You are experiencing Winrot. You are free to switch to Linux, but I would suggest to reinstall Windows.

[Xeno]

Yeah, if that is the reason you're wanting to switch, I'd say just tough it out. Back when I used Windows as my primary OS I usually did an annual format and reinstall of the OS. You're going to experience the same on any UNIX-based system (be it real UNIX, Mac OS, or Linux), just not to the same degree.

[Warrior4Christ]

Most versions of Linux that are actually worth using are going to have driver issues. You'll have trouble getting video (especially from a disc) to play, you'll probably have audio driver problems, and who knows what kind of other problems you might run into. Linux is not the kind of thing you can just install and then go about your business. It tends to be a constant struggle to keep things working right, finding work arounds to programs you used to have, and just dealing with not being able to do certain regular things.

I used to experience that problem... back in 2000.
In the years since then, I've hardly had issues with drivers out of the box. I may have had to get a specific wireless driver for my netbook (or download a software update or something?), but other than that, it's basically been good. You can download official (proprietary) NVIDIA drivers if you don't like the open source ones, if that's what your graphics card is.
A lot of distros don't have DVD playback by default, so it's something you need to enable or get by alternative means.

I use Ubuntu mainly out of habit. And I think Mint lags behind by a few months, and I'm not that patient to get official support for the latest compiler releases (someone should have told Ubuntu peoples that the Clang April release should have had enough time to prepare for the October Ubuntu... disappoint).

[starseven]

My Laptop uses the AMD processor with an ATI Radeon video card. I've yet to find full support for my hardware in the Linux versions I've tried. Ubuntu supports almost everything. Solaris seemed to work well with it too. I still had issues with the color schemes for the screen.

[Xeno]

I'm not sure how much Oracle charges for their support network, but Solaris just seems like a money sink-hole now (since you need that license to get monthly patches). The OpenSolaris project seemed cool back when that was going on under SunMicrosystems though.

[starseven]

I'm trying OpenSolaris. I know there are some other Solaris projects starting up as well. Some people seem to really go for Solaris. I think they had some cool ideas. I saw something about that they were developing a 3D desktop. It looked pretty cool but, I found out it was never finished.

[PandaPop]

I actually just downloaded virtual box and I'm planning on putting Linux mint, the cinnamon version (I was told it was a good switch for people who are use to windows), on it to try out. So, I have heard good things about Linux mint but I have no personal opinion, yet lol.

[shooraijin]

Solaris was nice, but, what Xeno said. Snoracle has done their best to take the joy out of it.

If you want a Unixy thing and want something other than Linux, you could always try one of the BSDs. If you have a regular PC, I'd start with FreeBSD. Personally, I've used NetBSD on a variety of systems for almost a decade.

[starseven]

I've tried PCBSD. It has a problem regulating the temperature of my laptop. It would overheat and shutdown.

[Xeno]

lol if you use a fan

Seriously have never heard of PCBSD before. Try FreeBSD (http://www.freebsd.org/) or NetBSD (http://www.netbsd.org/). I'd recommend using FreeBSD.

[FourFourSeven]

Puppy Linux, here. Then again, I'm not sure if it's user-friendly enough for a Linux newbie. I use it on my old Compaq V2000 series laptop. Come 4/2014, I'll be switching my regular desktop to Xubutnu.

[marcyu]

Try this link to test drive the different flavors of Linux out there:

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multi ... b-creator/

[shooraijin]

Puppy is nice, but yeah, it might not be what I'd start with.

PC-BSD is not as smoothed out as FreeBSD.

[Xeno]

SteamOS will be out soon. Just install that and you can video game all day. Productivity is for losers.

[Yuki-Anne]

I just want to jump in completely off-topic and say that I really like the ambiguous lack of punctuation in this thread's title. Like, it could be a question, but it could also be a weird advertisement.

On-topic, I used Linux once to play a weird penguin sliding game on my dad's computer a long time ago. My dad's a programmer and he would do stuff with Linux every once in a while.

[SilverToast]

I'm in sort of the same situation. I keep a laptop with Windows 7 on it if I need to use a certain program for school which has only happened once with Solidworks. I usually use Ubuntu with an older laptop with screen problems. I'm thinking of using a different linux distro when I figure out how to fix another laptop with power connection problems. Maybe ArchLinux for fun and a good challenge.

[Warrior4Christ]

I just want to jump in completely off-topic and say that I really like the ambiguous lack of punctuation in this thread's title. Like, it could be a question, but it could also be a weird advertisement.

On-topic, I used Linux once to play a weird penguin sliding game on my dad's computer a long time ago. My dad's a programmer and he would do stuff with Linux every once in a while.

Point 1: I agree.

Point 2: That's Tux Racer.

[drill]

Maybe ArchLinux for fun and a good challenge.

How is Arch fun? Arch makes me feel like this

[marcyu]

I'm in sort of the same situation. I keep a laptop with Windows 7 on it if I need to use a certain program for school which has only happened once with Solidworks. I usually use Ubuntu with an older laptop with screen problems. I'm thinking of using a different linux distro when I figure out how to fix another laptop with power connection problems. Maybe ArchLinux for fun and a good challenge.

ArchLinux is one of many Linux distros supported by YUMI - you could have almost every Linux distro on 1 flash drive and boot from it!

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multi ... b-creator/

[SilverToast]

Maybe ArchLinux for fun and a good challenge.

How is Arch fun? Arch makes me feel like this

haha I don't actually know. I haven't tried it yet. I just thought I'd try it later and see if the challenge would be fun.

[ArchLinux is one of many Linux distros supported by YUMI - you could have almost every Linux distro on 1 flash drive and boot from it!

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multi ... b-creator/

Oh cool. : ) I'll have to try that some time.

[drill]

Maybe ArchLinux for fun and a good challenge.

How is Arch fun? Arch makes me feel like this

haha I don't actually know. I haven't tried it yet. I just thought I'd try it later and see if the challenge would be fun.

Well, good luck, and I really hope you do have fun somehow.

[SilverToast]

Well, good luck, and I really hope you do have fun somehow.

Thanks man! I can see how it makes you feel . I stayed up until 5 a.m to do the installation. It turned out I had a bad iso image even though the checksums matched and it just took me a while to follow the installation guide. I still had some fun learning though. I'm confused about how the installation ended up successful and how I didn't mess up grub after setting up ubuntu on a separate partition. o.O haha