Any reason to install Linux?

[Limewater]

Free, yes, but you get an OS free on any computer you got

I don't see where you're getting this. When you buy a computer that comes with Windows, you're paying for the Windows license. When you buy a Mac, the OS is part of the cost.

[arion]

I can't see a reason to bash linux at all. Now i don't use linux on a daily basis but knowing about it has helped me from time to time.

For one the wireless network card im using now would have been useless because i did not have the windows drivers for it. And i did not know what model it was or anything. So what i did was boot up a livecd and linux was able to find out what card it was and i downloaded the windows drivers.

And being able to run linux of a usb flashdrive is also very useful. I was able to make a laptop with a busted hard drive useful again.

Also like the post above Windows is not free i was helping a friend of mine buy a pc and just by skipping Windows he was able to use the money saved by that to get a bigger hard drive.

[noiseredux]

And being able to run linux of a usb flashdrive is also very useful. I was able to make a laptop with a busted hard drive useful again.

yoooo... I didn't even think of that. I have a laptop with no harddrive in my attic!!

[arion]

And being able to run linux of a usb flashdrive is also very useful. I was able to make a laptop with a busted hard drive useful again.

yoooo... I didn't even think of that. I have a laptop with no harddrive in my attic!!

http://puppylinux.org/main/index.php?fi ... tarted.htm

Thats the distro i use.

[noiseredux]

awesome. Thanks man.

[Hatta]

Kingmohd, the major reason I use Linux is because I find typing:

Code: Select all

$cd ~/ga[tab]/emu[tab]/NES
medna[tab] Bub[tab]Bob[tab]

a lot easier than

Code: Select all

click, scroll, click, scroll scroll scroll, click, scroll scroll, oops scroll up, click, click click

[the7k]

Free, yes, but you get an OS free on any computer you got

I don't see where you're getting this. When you buy a computer that comes with Windows, you're paying for the Windows license. When you buy a Mac, the OS is part of the cost.

Yes, exactly. Not to mention if you are buying a computer with a "Free OS" on it, then you are buying from the factory. You may as well throw your money into a bonfire.
http://www.destructoid.com/my-guide-to- ... 2820.phtml

[fast]

The best breakdown I have seen on the three OS's is this:
Take five tasks, the difficulties of these will be:
On OSX these are easy, easy, hard, impossible, impossible
On Windows these are easy, medium, medium, hard, impossible
On Linux these are medium, medium, hard, hard, hard

I will keep a windows box or two around for gaming, no question, but over the past few years I have migrated my daily home use to Linux almost completely. Now I am no programmer - the last time I really programmed anything was on a Apple ][, but I am quite capable to get around in most versions of Linux. I use to consider Linux only as something to recover data lost on Windows (Knoppix being my favorite distro by far still). But when I realized how much I could do in Linux that I didnt think I could (thanks netbook), I swapped over several of my primary pcs to it. Now I run Linux on four of my pcs (my fileserver has been running it for a while).
I do not use it for stability, Ive had an xp machine run for five years with no major issues.
I do not use it for price, I own several keys for both home and pro XP, and one for OSX (I dont even on a mac capable of running it).

I do use it for its lightweight and speed (especially on the netbook).
I also use it for its lesser malware/virii (again netbook).
I do use it for the fact that if I need a computer to do one thing and not change or deviate from that one thing and I can change that via remote admin or even a textmessage, I can. I use this setup at mmy older brothers church who has a live feed playing in one of their rooms and they had it on a Vista box that had issues with the stream (not enough ram). Now it runs xubuntu and I can update the machine as needed from anywhere in the world - I am not savvy enough to set it up in the text message setup. I could set it up with xp, lock it down, and run something like tightVNC or radmin on it, but this method was alot easier for them (mainly since I can maintain and update it from a state away).

[RCBH928]

Kingmohd, the major reason I use Linux is because I find typing:

Code: Select all

$cd ~/ga[tab]/emu[tab]/NES
medna[tab] Bub[tab]Bob[tab]

a lot easier than

Code: Select all

click, scroll, click, scroll scroll scroll, click, scroll scroll, oops scroll up, click, click click

Well you are an advanced user,
I was speaking for the average user

As for price, you are correct you pay for it within the price of the computer but you are paying for it any way when you buy it.
I know you can make a custom desktop, but can you make a custom laptop?
The casing would be a major issue

[Limewater]

r

As for price, you are correct you pay for it within the price of the computer but you are paying for it any way when you buy it.
I know you can make a custom desktop, but can you make a custom laptop?
The casing would be a major issue

Customization options are pretty limited for laptops.

You can order pre-built desktops and laptops without Windows from some suppliers (including Dell) and save money.