I was wondering how many people on here use linux. I recently started looking into it (ubuntu) and omg they look amazing. So much cooler looking than windows vista and even Mac OS X. I ran ubuntu live cd and it's a lot faster and smoother than vista even when running off of cd. I've been thinking of switching to it but the only thing that's holding me back is the windows programs that I have to run and the fact that windows is a OS that has commercial value. I thought about dual booting but that'll just make things confusing and i don't want to partition my hard drive. I wish my laptop could fit 2 hard drives so I can dual boot but it's a laptop.:bang: Why can't Microsoft let its softwares run on linux?!?!?!

I think Linux is great if you are :
Emailing
Writing
Web browsing
Writing software
A System Adminstrator
Listening to music
Watching or recording videos.
On a budget.

If you are in a business to business enviroment Linux isnt really the way to go yet.....because the lack of Linux usually on the end of the person you are dealing with.

I am in the creative business & have to be able to send files back & forth with other 'creative' types & that means primarily Mac & then Windows.

Though alot of hardcore rendering systems for movie graphics are done on custom Linux boxes.

Usually I find with Linux there is alot more options to fiddle around with that I don't have time to even look at .

I like mac because it is a stable Unix variant like Linux & it comes with many of the common programs that you will actually use & they perform well.

You pay more, but its very complete & well organized.

Linux usually seems to attract people who love to fiddle around under the hood & have lots of time to do that.

I am not one of them, but Ubuntu Linux is a pretty stable slick distro & totally nothing wrong with it.

I think it depends more on the person you are & what your interests & work are.

I was wondering how many people on here use linux. I recently started looking into it (ubuntu) and omg they look amazing. So much cooler looking than windows vista and even Mac OS X. I ran ubuntu live cd and it's a lot faster and smoother than vista even when running off of cd. I've been thinking of switching to it but the only thing that's holding me back is the windows programs that I have to run and the fact that windows is a OS that has commercial value. I thought about dual booting but that'll just make things confusing and i don't want to partition my hard drive. I wish my laptop could fit 2 hard drives so I can dual boot but it's a laptop.:bang: Why can't Microsoft let its softwares run on linux?!?!?!

People often don't let their software run on Linux for licensing issues.

But I am getting fed up with Vista to the point where I am going to figure out how to run my few necessary apps which are Windows-only (and not fake Windows either) on Linux.

I should add the best part about Linux or Unix running on mac is that if an app crashes (rare) it does not freeze up the whole system like is very common with Windows.

You close the app & the os is fine... just reopen the app.

That rarely happens in Windows without degrading the stability of the system until you reboot the machine.

I use windows xp alot.....but on a mac using vmware. With 3gb of Ram they run side by side & I can drag files from one desktop to the other no problems.

I reboot my macbook pro about once every 6 months. Try that with a windows box. Linux is also very stable if you installed it correctly.

I recently started looking into it (ubuntu) and omg they look amazing.

First thing first: don't decide to run an operating system purely based on looks.

So much cooler looking than windows vista and even Mac OS X.

Xorg can be very pleasant to stare at for hours, but I wouldn't go quite that far.

People often don't let their software run on Linux for licensing issues.

:nod: That and the amount of work it would take to port these applications to the Linux kernel/X environment. Microsoft applications are usually so tied down to the Windows API that it just doesn't make any business sense for them to care -- especially when looking at the user base Windows has over Linux in the desktop space. However, that does not go for 3rd party developers/applications where things like GTK and QT exist.

I think Linux is great if you are :
Emailing
Writing
Web browsing
Writing software
A System Adminstrator
Listening to music
Watching or recording videos.
On a budget.

So, basically... 99% of the world?

I am in the creative business & have to be able to send files back & forth with other 'creative' types & that means primarily Mac & then Windows.

What is so different about email, ftp, network shares (smbfs, nfs, etc) in Windows/OS X than in Linux?

Usually I find with Linux there is alot more options to fiddle around with that I don't have time to even look at .

Very true, but now days those options can be completely transparent to the end user when running a distribution like Ubuntu. Stuff Just Works.

I think it depends more on the person you are & what your interests & work are.

Couldn't agree with you more. It all depends on what your specific needs are and how you are most comfortable doing them. If you don't require any Windows-specific applications and can get by running a Linux operating system, then by all means do it.

Why can't Microsoft let its softwares run on linux?!?!?!

That would defeat the whole purpose of them being a company no? If you want an alternative to MS Office I would recommend open office. As far as other windows related software is concerned I'd try and emulate it on wine.