Ditch Windows For Linux?

[alfredglenstein 0]

Hey. In the vent forum I have been spending some time sharing problems with my windows pc. I have windows ME, and it used to run great, but it getting worse and worse and worse. I can switch to Windows 2000 which I have a copy of (never tried it) or re-format and stick with ME (in which case I'm fairly confident it will slowly over a period of 1-2 years again become unusable. But Linux I've heard is free and lightweight.Also, consider me not entirely interested in a Mac. They can be more stable than Windows (though I think XP is fairly equal to a mac in stability) but I do not want a mac, if only for stupid reasons of my own.. dislike of the interface, I'm used to games and programs that run on windows, I already have a scanner and print (each are functional but fairly ancient) etc. Can linux find itself compatable with PC devices, and perhaps, even programs? I know linux has rss readers and html editors, and that alone is enough to make me happy. It will be hard to wean myself from games such as Cossacks though. Should I just tough it out on windows? any help appreekeeated.

[WindAndWater 0]

First let me say that Windows ME is by far the worst operating system ever put out by Microsoft. Switching to 2000 would be better, but I recommend XP professional edition. Yes linux works with normal PC hardware, there are often equivilant programs to windows in linux, and you can emulate other windows programs (although it's slow). If you're considering switching to linux I suggest dual booting both windows and linux for a while to ease the transition. You'd still be able to play your games on windows, but you'd be able to do pretty much everything else on linux. If you're trying to find which version of Linux you want I'd recommend Ubuntu because it's a small and clean version of Debian, but everyone has their own preference.

[xJedix 0]

I would have to agree with WindAndWater.... Though, another choice for a linux distrubution that is good is called fedora. You can just google it and it will show up.Yes, linux is much more stable and has less problems. The only problem is that not all programs(mostly games) are not supported in linux. There are emulation software to allow you to still run the programs but like what WindAndWater said, they are considerably slower. So that brings us to where it is best to do a dual boot. Have two partitions on your hdd. Have one be windows 2000(Windows ME sucks. It is the worst os on the face of the planet My computer origionaly came with ME, so I know what your talking about. I upgraded to 2000 and its much better though there are always some type of glitches or bugs in every os.... it is unavoidable.) and have the other be a linux distrabution. Then you can change between them for whatever needs you have.Though if you don't want to run linux, you could simply stick with windows. Though I HIGHLY recommend switching to windows 2000. Also, a little side note, every computer gets bogged down with information and stuff it picks up from usage and internet browsing. There always is more problems after usage and sometimes you just simply need to re-format the HDD to give it a clean slate. I usually try to re-format my HDD every 1-2 years, just to keep it clean and to keep unwanted things off of my computer.I hope my insight helps, good luck!

[wariorpk 0]

This is not an easy yes or no question it all depends if you are willing to adapt to Linux and its being ignored by many major programs. I would switch to it if I didn't have so many games. If you are a gamer stay away from Linux you will not be able to play them. Other than that its great but you will still make some sacrifices. You know Microsoft Office? You are not going to be able to use it with Linux. You know Adobe Photoshop? Your sig days are over with that. However, do not lose hope! There are many great free, open source alternatives out there that have a bit of a learning curve but give you results. They also have a much better Internet browser some Windows fans also like called Firefox. I hope this helped you out and if you have any more questions feel free to ask me. As for why Linux is better. Linux is free everyone likes free software. Besides that you can run it for a year and it will not crash. Best of all there are not the security flaws like in our buddy Windows.

Edited April 14, 2006 by wariorpk (see edit history)

[alfredglenstein 0]

I would have to agree with WindAndWater.... Though, another choice for a linux distrubution that is good is called fedora. You can just google it and it will show up.
Yes, linux is much more stable and has less problems. The only problem is that not all programs(mostly games) are not supported in linux. There are emulation software to allow you to still run the programs but like what WindAndWater said, they are considerably slower. So that brings us to where it is best to do a dual boot. Have two partitions on your hdd. Have one be windows 2000(Windows ME sucks. It is the worst os on the face of the planet My computer origionaly came with ME, so I know what your talking about. I upgraded to 2000 and its much better though there are always some type of glitches or bugs in every os.... it is unavoidable.) and have the other be a linux distrabution. Then you can change between them for whatever needs you have.

Though if you don't want to run linux, you could simply stick with windows. Though I HIGHLY recommend switching to windows 2000. Also, a little side note, every computer gets bogged down with information and stuff it picks up from usage and internet browsing. There always is more problems after usage and sometimes you just simply need to re-format the HDD to give it a clean slate. I usually try to re-format my HDD every 1-2 years, just to keep it clean and to keep unwanted things off of my computer.

I hope my insight helps, good luck!

Yeah, my ME experience is always pretty consistently horrible and infuriating if I give it enough time. I do put in the effort, the formatting, the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. There is more I could do to defend windows ME (when the DLL errors start popping up, I try to check and replace DLL's, when a program implodes on itself, which happens now and then, I will re-install it) but you should only be expected to do so much before an OS is more of a chore than it is worth. I can get some clean sailing out of ME, but maybe 2000 is the way to go.

I really don't want to abandon my games though. And I would really really like to, when I'm out of college, just be completely freeloading on a lightweight Linux OS with the hardware I still have. An 800mhz computer with 80 gigs of hard drive space (which is what I have) will be plenty for me to process text files and go online with, and eventually that will be my outfit.

So, I suppose a partition dual-boot system with Windows 2000 and some version of Linux is the way to go. I will use Windows to play the games, and perhaps use it for Openoffice2000 (is there an office-type thing for Linux?) but I will stay offline with it. I think the online-ness side of things is what started to bogg me down. So linux would be for online things then. I think that might work. Has anyone else tried something like this?

[realthor 0]

hello alfredglenstein, seems that windows will only remain for games for you as almost everything seems to go online. Yes, there is a office suite very similar to MS Office called OpenOffice and the Sun guys bet much on it and together with the open-source community will get a better office suite than MS's in a few months i hope.There are still other suites like KOffice and if you're interested mostly in the writting and don't need a suite Abiword can do great. As about rss and html editors there are a few very good like Bluefish and QuantaPlus and NVU wants to be Macromedia Dreamweaver replacement- though it's so far away- and u can run dreamwaver through a program called Wine that emulates windows in linux.If u want to try some games there's Cedega, a software made by Codeweavers i guess that can get u playing some very popular windows games in linux, and i can remmember even a debate on how much faster Unreal Tournament (not very sure if this one was) played in linux comepared with windows. It's a payed product but the fee is pretty low.For me, the only real lack would be a really good CAD software. ...ah, and there are not versions of linux like in windows, there are many linux flavours (each one a complete OS with the same kernel), and each flavour has its versions. Like the other posters have said earlier Ubuntu is a good choice, also SimplyMepis, Suse, PCLinuxOS as really easy linux flavours. And the best is that u can even try them before installing, running them off a liveCD, and u can have a complete linux OS without installing it on HDD, so u can even do your browsing being inside linux with the cd in the device.

[Inspiron 0]

Like others commented, I also agree very much that having Windows 2000 installed as a fresh installation will fix for problem and still have all the Windows features. Your programs, games and network features will remain the same and as easy as or even easier to what you are using right now.Linux can be a good choice of operating system to hop onto. However you must have good knowledge of the Unix system and familiar with the command line interface. It's not going to be easy to use for newbies hopping over from the Windows interface. Compatibility issues will be a great problem in Linux because alot of programs you have now in Windows will most probably not to work. Like xJedix stated, you will need emulation software for Linux to operate your Windows program in it. However in any emulation software, all your programs working on it is emulated. Hence you cannot get 100% workability as it is on Windows originally. Crashes will be occuring frequently, and thus not a surprising issue. However there are programs stated on the emulation software websites that they support very well on some programs. Otherwise you are playing with it on your own risk.Games, which you are playing alot on Windows, will likely not to work on Linux, Hence you will need an emulator. Otherwise you can try games that are built for Linux. Most of them, of my preference, are not as fun as Windows games. Most are pretty boring and meant to provide fun for small kids. However there is one game which is fully supported in Linux that provides real gaming experience is Unreal Tournament. I played it before on a Linux system in school where my lecturer setup for us. He wanted to show us the on a Linux system, you can also play high quality games. It worked very smoothly and I like it very much. You cannot tell its running on a Linux operating system in the game. I believe there are other games which are very fun as well and they don't need an emulator.

[tt3 0]

Just the other day on my old pc, I replaced Windows ME with Suse Linux. As I don't play games, and mainly use the computer for web browsing and listening to music, as well as writing the odd document, I had no problems with switching. It's far more stable, than my Windows ME OS, which just crashed everything! Another good feature, which was partially done in MS Windows, but not implemented, was that to make any system changes, you have to log on as the root user, meaning that unauthorised users can't do as much damage.

[trace-uk 0]

if it is anything like win98 then the OS will become more unstable through time. when its re-installed it usually goes back to workign well. Just know how to reinstalll the OS without wiping your files. Do it once every 3 months I'd say.

[kawasu 0]

i've never tried linux. i'm curious to how it functions but i'm jsut too comfortable with windows xp. the os doesnt crash tooo much and it runs everythig well. aslong as i keep it organised and spyware free its pretty good.since u cant use xp i guess u ought to stick wth 2000 cause ME is crap. it even crashed while gates had it operating during its presentation... lol... pathetic really.