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Nikon Addict
Another Earthling



Registered: 01/16/18
Posts: 285
Loc: Colorado USA
Last seen: 1 year, 4 days
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Linux
#28143895 - 01/17/23 02:52 AM (1 year, 10 days ago) |
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Is Linux difficult to wrap your head around? I've been pretty sick and tired on Microsoft's bullsh*t and I've always wondered if Linux was capable of running software written for windows? The thought of losing the ability to use software I use has always been the primary reason I never looked into Linux. but if there's software that will allow me to use windows based software on Linux, I'd jump ship in a heartbeat.
I expect that there are a number of Linux users here on this server because people who hang here tend to think outside of the box.
-------------------- personal note: "It’s fair to say I’m stepping out on a limb, but I am on the edge and that’s where it happens.”
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stubb
Dahg Rastubfari


Registered: 03/23/19
Posts: 1,310
Loc: Memory
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Popular mainstream distros with active communities are as easy as learning any other well established OS, IMO. There are compatibility layers for Linux that run a lot of Windows software very well, but not all.
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christopera
Stranger


Registered: 10/13/17
Posts: 14,201
Last seen: 1 hour, 59 minutes
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Re: Linux [Re: stubb]
#28143978 - 01/17/23 05:42 AM (1 year, 10 days ago) |
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Linux is great for a lot of reasons. Reliability and security being two of the biggest reasons, and many distros will run on a potato so you can get away with cheap hardware. The downside comes when you are forced to used terminal to solve an issue if you aren't familiar. I've run many linux distros over the the years, I got tired of it. I can run a pirated version of Windows that is all cleaned up and working great just as reliably. My windows server hasn't been turned off in weeks. I use it for gaming too. I can't play most games on Linux. I use CAD daily, none of it runs on Linux. Then there is just the myriad of other software that I use that is so easy on Windows. I own a linux operated server as well, it houses all my data, but I never really log into it. It just sits there and runs. Which is perfect for Linux.
-------------------- Enjoy the process of your search without succumbing to the pressure of the result. A Dorito is pizza, change my mind. Bank and Union with The Shroomery at the Zuul on The internet - now with %'s and things I’m sorry it had to be me.
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christopera
Stranger


Registered: 10/13/17
Posts: 14,201
Last seen: 1 hour, 59 minutes
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And for the record, I hate Windows. I still prefer Mac OSX. People like to make fun of me for that, but it's still the best OS whether they like it or not.
-------------------- Enjoy the process of your search without succumbing to the pressure of the result. A Dorito is pizza, change my mind. Bank and Union with The Shroomery at the Zuul on The internet - now with %'s and things I’m sorry it had to be me.
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,667
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I've tinkered with linux for desktop & laptop purposes for 15 years or so. For a few years, it (Ubuntu back then) was my 'daily driver' desktop OS. It meant I had to do without a few things, most notably MS Office and Adobe Photoshop. For neither, there is a perfect substitute on Linux. There just isn't. Of course there's stuff like LibreOffice that offers comparable functionality as MS Office, but if you get down to the dirty details, there's a lot that doesn't work well or at all, or is just not as convenient and efficient in daily use as the commercial product. The same is true for GIMP as a substitute for Photoshop. OK for basic tasks, but GIMP doesn't even have dynamic adjustment layers; something Adobe came up with, what, 12 years ago or so? Don't get me wrong; such software packages are commendable efforts from people who mostly develop them from an idealistic drive. But as an end user, I have to decide how I'm going to spend my time. And I've decided quite some time ago that I just get more stuff done, easier, and with fewer annoyances, if I cough up the license fees for Windows & MS Office. For Photoshop I made a different decision because I don't really use it professionally and I think Adobe's usage fees are a downright ripoff from the perspective of a home user, so I live with what GIMP can (and cannot) do.
As to the desktop environment - for most basic tasks, Linux is user friendly enough, but invariably I hit upon stuff that requires going back to command line and get shit done manually. This might be OK if you can afford to invest a substantial part of your brain to storing linux stuff. But for me, a computer is a tool, and I need it to be productive with the least amount of effort on my part. If I add up the hours I spent on systems administration on Linux, this BY FAR outstrips dealing with similar situations on Windows. I can't justify this difference in any way; in other words, just like with Office, the license fee for a Windows machine for me is just great value. Linux has come a long way, but even today, it's just more cumbersome to maintain - and if you somehow run into hardware incompatibility issues, you've got to be prepared to junk a perfectly good peripheral only because nobody ever bothered writing a decent driver for Linux for it.
I do run Linux on a couple server or server-like devices around the house, for which it's evidently great. But for the screen I interact with directly on a daily basis and that I need to just get shit done - no, no thanks.
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Skinflute
NOOB


Registered: 04/26/16
Posts: 189
Last seen: 6 months, 23 days
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Linux is an incredible operating system, more secure and robust than either windows or Mac. With the newer versions of Linux offering a GUI interface Linux has become even more user-friendly, even though the power of Linux is in the command line. Also, you do not have to jump ship entirely. You can download and install Ubuntu or Mint to a flash drive, keep your windows OS and boot to the Linux os on the flash drive. Take it for a test drive.
-------------------- Be Kind to Everyone Nobody can take away your Joy, you have to give it away willingly. Instead, give them Mercy, give them understanding But do not give away your Joy
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,667
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Quote:
Skinflute said: the newer versions of Linux offering a GUI interface
Errr, 'newer' being anything not quite as old as, let's say, 20 years or so?
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christopera
Stranger


Registered: 10/13/17
Posts: 14,201
Last seen: 1 hour, 59 minutes
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Some of the Linux distros have gotten quite good. They are very easy to use. Ultimately you end up in terminal though. My one Linux NAS while it was a pain to setup is like crazy reliable. I think I have four years on it with the only issue being a HDD failure. I usually run refurb HDD's, so that's on me. Although the thing will only take 16tb drives max, so I am going to have to make some sort of upgrade soon-ish.
-------------------- Enjoy the process of your search without succumbing to the pressure of the result. A Dorito is pizza, change my mind. Bank and Union with The Shroomery at the Zuul on The internet - now with %'s and things I’m sorry it had to be me.
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the astronaut



Registered: 06/09/11
Posts: 447
Loc: usa
Last seen: 24 minutes, 35 seconds
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Try Linux mint. It's awesome, I exclusively used it for years better than unbuntu. And if you like Mac os or Android their both based off Linux or unix. You can install a program called wine. It's a Windows program interface to run Windows programs in Linux. It's def for the tinkerers as sometimes you will end up needing the terminal. And if your not ready to go all the way you can install it along side windows on your hard drive and choose which one to boot at start up.
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