Ralph Bromley

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Jun 1, 2012
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Consider this my nudge topic, since Linux here has been clumped together in this new section I am amking the best of it by making a controversial subject matter.
But the truth is that I do think linux is better then Windows and here is why:

1 It is developed by communities: Microsoft values self interest and self importance.
What you say about windows doesnt matter to them, they only care about the bottom dollar.
Linux however has no corporate interests, and even the distros maintained by companies such as Redhat offer an open ear.
2 Choice: Microsoft wants you to use whatever they want you to use, they dont care if you want it or not.
Linux however does offer choice and if you dont like it you can change it.
3 Ease of use: Yes I actually consider linux easier then windows, the only time windows seems easier is when you have certain hardware and need drivers for it.
But for codec installation and software installation I dare say Linux is easier.
The reports of windows being easy is merely an illusion.
4 open source: Open source is the best method when it comes to software development. It can take ages just to get a simple bug fix to communicate in a closed source environment.
I always get updates and never have to wait eons for security patches, Windows and its closed source model leaves so many opportunities to exploit bugs.
5 No need for antivirus, defragging, or any of the nonsense you see in windows: Sure Linux has its security issues, in fact its rather big news when it happens as seen with the Hand of Thief Trojan that has graced linux systems. But security issues are an every day thing in windows, thus why its not noticed.
No OS is bulletproof, but i often feel safer and more secure using linux.

As for some distributions you can try well I have quite a few that I think a windows can jump into with only a tiny learning curve:

1 Linux Mint: The easiest Linux distro for people to use bar none, with a windows XP like UI it is a system that comes with codecs and all the bells and whistles you need.
2 SolydXK: A new distro that offers stability and ease of use, both feature a windows XP/7 like setup
3: Zorin OS: Zorin is mainly targeted at windows 7 users and actually offers Wine to use some windows applications by default
4 Netrunner: A nice windows like distro, fast and clean.
5 Ubuntu: Ubuntu is the most popular linux right now, for those wanting to try something that doesnt look and feel like windows this is a good place to start.
While it doesnt offer codecs by default it has tools to get you media playback.
6 openSUSE: openSUSE is one of the key distros in linux, again not offering any codecs but it does feature a nice solid OS.


So there you have it, disagree if you want but I gave my honest opinions here.

Addendum: I had a forum hiccup and I didnt notice it until I posted.
Can the topic title be changed to:
5 Reasons why Linux is better then Windows and 5 distros to try out for beginners

Sorry about that, it must have happened when I was making the post.
 


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Solution
so if i just want a live CD to use for web browsing should i go with Linux Mint or zorion or something else ?
Try Luna (Elemetary OS). It is a install and run OS. All basic computing applications are pre-installed including office, web browser, music and video players with corresponding codecs, etc.
ah cheers also say you save documents , text files and video files to the default save location the files will be gone altogether next time ?
 


ah cheers also say you save documents , text files and video files to the default save location the files will be gone altogether next time ?

Yes if you are on a live image, on a actual or virtual drive everything you make will stick.
Unless you wipe the drive or erase your virtual drive.
 


k cheers reson i ask is because the first time i booted i had about 8 gigs of space by default now when i boot up it says like 6. something ....
 


Well its possible to run the entire OS just off a USB disk without installing, if you have a large enough USB thumb drive it can be done with ease.
(I have actually seen a 128 GB USB drive that was only $60 US.
But why do that, I have seen 1TB external drives as low as $70 witch you can install and boot linux from with no issue.)
There is persistent mode though, that can keep your linux based data on a USB each time on bootup as long as you have space on it.
 


A linux mint 15 installer is only about 1GB, Netrunner OS around 1.6GB, Ubuntu 0.8GB, Zorin OS 1.6GB, etc.. You don't need a large capacity USB to run a linux. A 4GB USB flashdrive ($5) is more than enough (assuming you are not going to load videos and music on it). I did it already with NetRunner OS.

Cheers!
 


A linux mint 15 installer is only about 1GB, Netrunner OS around 1.6GB, Ubuntu 0.8GB, Zorin OS 1.6GB, etc.. You don't need a large capacity USB to run a linux. A 4GB USB flashdrive ($5) is more than enough (assuming you are not going to load videos and music on it). I did it already with NetRunner OS.

Cheers!

True, though if you wanted to you could run the entire OS just off the USB disk.
But I have played with the notion of just running linux in its own drive outside of my machine to try new distros out in a better way then risk wrecking my system.
 


yeah, I do the same too. I just recently bought a hot swappable hard drive rack for that purpose. I can take the SSD main OS drive while leaving the test hard drive for running other OSes.

IMAG2446.webp





Below, main hard drive pulled out:




IMAG2463.webp


I also have a Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 running on my test hard drive:



IMAG2471.webp




Mac OS X running on Windows PC:


IMAG2472.webp




My 1TB data/storage drive is permanently running inside.




Cheers!

....
 


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Yeah I too have a swap drive port on my machine, but I dont think I will use it for that.
Most likely it will be a card reader spot
 


woh woh hold the phone , i just ment the first time i ran my live cd it said
8 gigs of well alccated space for that - now every time i load it up its around like 7 or 6 iv installed nothing
 


woh woh hold the phone , i just ment the first time i ran my live cd it said
8 gigs of well alccated space for that - now every time i load it up its around like 7 or 6 iv installed nothing

No I got your meaning.
Its all okay, nothing should be happening if you are just using the live.
 


Just recently updated to Linux Mint 16 Petra (dual boot with Vista) and dressed it up a little bit. My old and sluggish laptop never ran this fast before. Liking it a lot!


Screenshot-1.webp




....
 


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