New Intro

[tomgallagher]

C'mon guys, is Linux that much better and what's the big difference..?

[TheTrucker]

G'day Trucker, welcome to SBG!

Thanks mate.

[TheTrucker]

I'm a 46 year old straight trucker

If you only drive straight........  how do you get back home???   

LMAO good one.

I normally include that small, unimportant piece of information to help people who might otherwise subscribe to silly stereotypes because of my knitting, thus keeping them from embarrassing themselves.

[TheTrucker]

C'mon guys, is Linux that much better and what's the big difference..?

"Better" is a subjective term. It's better for me and a lot of other people, it may not be better for you.

Linux is a Unix based operating system. It's quite stable and not subject to virus or spyware infection. It's an open source operating system and 100% free (both as in beer and speech).

Those of us who run Linux don't need to waste system resources running anti-virus and other malware detection software, unless we're  running a mail server that serves Windows machines and then we'll run them to protect those Windows machines.

Linux is a 100% customizable operating system. You can run it purely from command line or have your choice of dozens of different GUI desktop environments and window managers and can make it look and act any way you want. You have complete and total  control over your system as opposed to having everything hidden behind layers of GUIs.

Basically, whether Linux is better or not just depends upon the needs and wants of the user. I think people should always use the tools that best suit their needs. For me that's Linux but for others it may be BSD, Windows, or even Mac OS.

[DaveDorm]

I could not have said it better myself. Good on ya, Trucker!

What you may not know is Linux and UNIX pretty much dominates the server world. Microsoft Windows has been playing catch-up for many years. The backbone of the Internet speaks UNIX. Most routers use some sort of *NIX to speak to one another.

Almost everything you can do with commercial software for Windows can be done for free in Linux. Even Microsoft Office files can be manipulated with products like Open Office, there is DVD production software, audio editing, video editing, image manipulation, and, of course, programming tools.

The only place where Linux falls a little short for home desktop users is in the world of PC gaming. This is not really the fault of Linux. Game manufacturers build games for the masses, and the masses use Windows. To keep them hobbled, Microsoft releases developer kits free of charge to the software companies to encourage them to make games that **only** work on Windows. Stuff like ActiveX, DirectX, etc.

However, there is hope for gamers. There are many sites dedicated to Linux gaming. There are also "emulator" systems that allow users to run many Windows programs on their Linux systems. Finally, you can do what I do. I run a "virtual machine" in a window on my Linux desktop that has XP installed. I use it for the handful of application that I must run in Windows, and also so I can be reminded of how the other half lives.

I highly recommend trying it. And you do not have to erase your existing PC and go cold turkey. You can download the live CD image (iso) of Ubuntu Linux and burn it. Then reboot your PC to the CD-ROM and let it load. You can kick the tires and test it out without changing your current PC.

If you like it, you can install it. It will even install in the remaining free space and configure the PC to "dual boot" so you can choose which operating system to use at power-on.

Also, there is an application called Wubi that installs Ubuntu right into Windows as simple as adding an application to your current Windows PC. Sets up the dual boot and everything with no formating or partitioning. To uninstall it, just remove it from Control Panel.

Hope this helps anyone that was curious. Please use your Google-Fu for more info on any of the products mentioned.

[PigPen]

Glad you found us trucker, I commented in another thread about one of your hats. Never officially gave my welcome though.

[tomgallagher]

Hey if you guys are happy with it that's all that counts.

[TheTrucker]

Glad you found us trucker, I commented in another thread about one of your hats. Never officially gave my welcome though.

Thanks!

[TheTrucker]

Dave,  I agree with your additional points and would add that folks who are curious should also try out the PCLinuxOS LiveCD. I'm not knocking Ubuntu at all as I feel it's a fine distro, but I personally like PCLinuxOS better.

But then that's why we have so many Linux distros out there, there's a flavor to suit just about anyone.

[xnewyawka]

A late welcome to you Trucker, good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.