Linux vs Windows 7

cumulusjames · 19 Nov 2010 at 19:16

I realise there may have been many debates on Windows 7 vs Lynx but Im new here. I have been wondering about Linux for a long time but I dont really understand it. Does it have less features than Windows 7? What merits does it have over windows 7? Im not into programming oor CADs or whatever those programs are called so would it really make any diffrence to me anyhow.

I am wondering because I am on windows vista right now and I think the price is way over the top for windows 7 and I resent giving Bill Gates any more money. Nasty little man he is.

iNPUt · 19 Nov 2010 at 19:19

Do you play games, then get windows...

Simple as that, spose you could duel boot with vista / linux..

Just install it have a play, its great but until the apps and games get there its a bit stuck..

I am still praying for steam on linux would be immense..

Outcast · 19 Nov 2010 at 20:03

B.G Retired some while ago too.

The only way to see if you like it is to suck it and see. But as Input has stated.... It aint for games.

If you wish to try it then decide what distro/s you wish to sample (how many cd's do you wish to use?) then download and burn AS AN IMAGE the relevant distro.

Then reboot your computer with the cd in the drive. You might have to press F8 to bring up boot options when you switch on to boot from cd though.

JHeaton · 19 Nov 2010 at 21:21

Best way to try it is to run it in something like Oracle VirtualBox so that if you decide you don't like it, you haven't got it stuck on a partition somewhere and can easily remove the virtual machine. It also means you would be quite safe from overwriting any important data with it.

I'd say it's worth a try if you're curious. Be warned, it's different, so don't try to approach it exactly as you do with Windows (otherwise, you'll just find yourself wishing for Windows rather than seeing what Linux is capable of) and you should be fine. And of course, you can always ask for help.

I would suggest checking out Ubuntu or Mint to start with. Mint is based on Ubuntu, but has extra tweaks and multimedia packages for people.

RickST · 19 Nov 2010 at 21:55

Games = Windows
Productivity = Linux
Mix of both = Mac

robinbredin · 19 Nov 2010 at 22:36

RickST
Mix of both = Mac

Serious,

JHeaton
Best way to try it is to run it in something like Oracle VirtualBox so that if you decide you don't like it, you haven't got it stuck on a partition somewhere and can easily remove the virtual machine. It also means you would be quite safe from overwriting any important data with it.

That's what I do, and get the best of both worlds.

Toaster · 20 Nov 2010 at 00:02

iNPUt said:
Do you play games, then get windows...

Simple as that, spose you could duel boot with vista / linux..

Just install it have a play, its great but until the apps and games get there its a bit stuck..

I am still praying for steam on linux would be immense..

With regard to Linux vs Win, I use a dual boot for when I cba to wait for 5 minutes for Windows to boot. in under 45 seconds from pressing the power button I have a usable system

3dcandy · 20 Nov 2010 at 00:15

I run a Ubuntu server, but it also has to be a "general" puter, internet email etc. I have customised it to be a bit like Windows 7, but it's just as quick on an Atom 330 with 2 gig ram as my main machine which is Win 7 Q6600 and 6 gigs...
Games support isn't good, and Flash performance sucks a bit if you like your silly Facebook games...but other than that it's a great little server that can be used to browse stuff

Hairybudda · 20 Nov 2010 at 00:37

They're both good in their own domains, if you don't game then it's a pretty logical choice if you dont want to pay for an OS. There's nothing apart from gaming you can't do better in linux over windows and on a positive note you can hack the hell out of it!

Valentino · 20 Nov 2010 at 00:47

Aero snap!

That is pretty much all i have to say about win7. That feature alone is worth tens and tens of pounds.

Linux can do it...kind of. It isn't as good though. The only reason imo to use linux is because you either can't afford/won't dl win7 or you do programming like pearl.

Linux has a certain fun to it, i always like to have a linux partition on any pc i own jus to load up occasionally and get a hard-on because it is different but since the release of Aero Snap i don't think linux will beat it for a while.

_TubbZ_ · 20 Nov 2010 at 00:51

Personally I have been trying to move to ubuntu for a while and a few things keep making me wait for the next one

* First time I installed it I could not for the life of me get my wifi working.
* Waited for next release, got the wifi working but wasn't like it out of the box. A lot of things were like that and i just couldn't be bothered with having to fix things all the time.
* Next install was a year later I believe. This time on my pc, everytime i booted it knocked my RAID array out of use which was a pain as it took me 10 minutes and some command prompt app in windows to get it back afterwards. I then stuck it on my laptop, Gnome kept messing up and i kept losing a lot of icons on the main panels. Annoying. But everything else worked, then my laptop died

* Now I tried the latest one 10.10 on my new laptop its all great until I do a fresh boot. It loads into tty which is a pain! It also eats my 8 hour+ battery in less than 3

I know I could try something other than Ubuntu so I also tried openSUSE. This also knocked my RAID array out on my pc so I dropped it. I also wasn't a fan of KDE - I guess i should have also tried Gnome too, so many distro's and configurations :0

I personally consider myself to be rather good with PC's and spend a lot of my time with them. But for me I keep going back to windows because it "just works" (sorry Apple!!) Although I did use CentOS at work for development work for like 6 months...

*Notes no actual direct advise given, but hopes the OP gets that he may just end up tinkering forever and ever (then when a new version is released in 6 months do it all again)*

Hairybudda · 20 Nov 2010 at 01:37

Valentino said:
Aero snap!

That is pretty much all i have to say about win7. That feature alone is worth tens and tens of pounds.

Linux can do it...kind of. It isn't as good though. The only reason imo to use linux is because you either can't afford/won't dl win7 or you do programming like pearl.

Linux has a certain fun to it, i always like to have a linux partition on any pc i own jus to load up occasionally and get a hard-on because it is different but since the release of Aero Snap i don't think linux will beat it for a while.

you're a well oiled troll

JonJ678 · 20 Nov 2010 at 02:16

Different tools for different tasks. Windows is aimed at the lowest common denominator, so if that's you, you'll love it.

Essexraptor · 20 Nov 2010 at 18:12

Valentino said:
Aero snap!

That is pretty much all i have to say about win7. That feature alone is worth tens and tens of pounds.

Linux can do it...kind of. It isn't as good though. The only reason imo to use linux is because you either can't afford/won't dl win7 or you do programming like pearl.

Linux has a certain fun to it, i always like to have a linux partition on any pc i own jus to load up occasionally and get a hard-on because it is different but since the release of Aero Snap i don't think linux will beat it for a while.

Doh!

Install Ubuntu Tweaks and really adjust your desktop settings

makes Aero Snap look like a wet Mars bar!!!

Double Doh!

cumulusjames · 20 Nov 2010 at 18:19

Hairybudda said:
They're both good in their own domains, if you don't game then it's a pretty logical choice if you dont want to pay for an OS. There's nothing apart from gaming you can't do better in linux over windows and on a positive note you can hack the hell out of it!

But if i can hack the hell out of it then surely so can others....

Essexraptor · 20 Nov 2010 at 18:23

cumulusjames said:
But if i can hack the hell out of it then surely so can others....

I think he means "hack" as in alter the source code to suit yourself - than run a non changeable program from Microsoft

Hairybudda · 20 Nov 2010 at 18:28

Essexraptor said:
I think he means "hack" as in alter the source code to suit yourself - than run a non changeable program from Microsoft

Yeah that's the angle I was working, you can make it as light or as bloated you want and specialise your install to do exactly what you want it to do with a little programming knowledge/skills. You can customise windows a lot with 3rd party apps and the likes just not to the degree that you can with linux, it's a lot more intuitive with linux too.

The Mad Rapper · 21 Nov 2010 at 08:52

JonJ678 said:
Different tools for different tasks. Windows is aimed at the lowest common denominator, so if that's you, you'll love it.

Nice

Deleted member 77746 · 21 Nov 2010 at 18:44

Here we go again, I wish people would just stop this silly little immature debate. The OS are not aimed at the same people.

I'm a user of all desktop OS Windows/Linux/Mac. As stated, want to game get Windows. What to just surf, shop get Linux Ubuntu want music production graphic production get a Mac. Stop with your childish debates and use whatever you want to use. Theres more to life than this. If it works great! If it doesn't move to a different OS.

cumulusjames · 21 Nov 2010 at 19:10

iDroid84 said:
Here we go again, I wish people would just stop this silly little immature debate. The OS are not aimed at the same people.

I'm a user of all desktop OS Windows/Linux/Mac. As stated, want to game get Windows. What to just surf, shop get Linux Ubuntu want music production graphic production get a Mac. Stop with your childish debates and use whatever you want to use. Theres more to life than this. If it works great! If it doesn't move to a different OS.

If you do not like the thread then just ignore it and don't take part. No need to get out your pram. Some of us are new here and debating OS's is intersting to us.