Why should i get linux over windows 8

I say dual boot, I have 2 hard drives myself, with Win 7 and Linux (Zorin 8) on the other...
 


From the original message:
I am going into college next year to study computer science, and I want to have a good OS, my laptop already comes with windows 8, and I was wondering why I should move to linux.
MS Windows/Linux dual boot is fine in your case, and for many others, (I too run a dual boot laptop running Debian Testing as the primary O/S, and MS Windows if and when rarely needed.) but MS Windows 8 should be replaced. He needs a "Good O/S" that would aid him in learning "Computer Science". MS Win 8, just ain't it! ;^)

In the event he needs to install some application(s) that cannot be run through "Crossover Office" or Wine, on top of Linux, the college will have some MS Windows computers, available to students, running the applications needed.

I do not agree with the argument that MS Office would be "Required" by some colleges, since LibreOffice can read & write MS Office documents, LibreOffice could probably handle most if not all the functionality needed. (The colleges computers could fill in the rest.)
 
I would dual boot if I were you. There is a reason that Windows is the most popular OS in the world, and many Linux fans would have you believe a lot of the FUD they like to promote. But these days Windows is an incredibly secure system, and no, Linux is not immune from Virii, they can still get them su or not. I've been part of the research team that tested the so called su only virus install, and we found several backdoors in the kernel that can be used to silently install virii such as a general purpose keylogger etc. The main reason Windows get so many virii created for it is because it is the more popular system, but if you run a decent anti-virus program firewall etc then you will be just fine. Linux users on the other hand are under a false illusion that they don't need anti-virus or firewalls, and thats a very silly thing to think, all OS's need them.

Overall, after using Linux, Windows and MacOS etc I've found Windows the best OS to use on my system at home, Windows for programming is very easy, and you'll find many, many more programs available Windows. Linux has its place, but as a desktop o, well, no. Its really just for servers, and even there it is losing marketshare to Windows.
As for programming I've attended Pycon, and found the majority of laptops running some version of Windows, and a handful running Linux. At the Rubycon it was mainly Macs for some reason, and at the local C++ group it was again dominated by Windows machines. Now that should answer your main questions, and if you want another reason to stay with Windows, then just reading some of the so called answers here on a Linux forum will show you how stuck up the majority of Linux users seem to be. I used to help with kernel patches, system suggestions and security patches. But no more due to the abuse from the Linux community, I helped them and got nasty comments in response. I was willing to take on the code for freeRIDE, and posted some code revisions, and updates, because I really enjoyed using the old ruby ide, but no, abuse. So I no longer use or support Linux, and I never will.
 
@darrens

I am not too sure why you joined this forum if you dislike Linux so whole-heartedly. I do know that there are quite a few Windows forums that would be more than happy to have you as a member. You could help them out with their BSOD, updates that fail, viruses and malware that just love to cripple the system, and constantly losing support because oops Microsoft wants you to move on. ( Microsoft isn't making money so you need to update your system even though it is working fine.)

But I will let you on a little secret, Microsoft.com uses Linux based Akamai's servers to protect the web site. I wonder why?

And I do not know how true this is...but Windows 8 based on Linux Kernel?

http://www.muktware.com/2011/03/microsoft-is-using-linux-kernel-in-windows-8/877
 
Not really sure why I'm bothering to reply but, here I am.
I don't dislike Windows, but, I'm not upgrading to anything after VISTA. I'm still using XP as well as Ubuntu and if XP starts getting dangerous to use, I'll drop Windows from desktop. When support ends for VISTA, I'll just use Ubuntu on laptop as well (I only use it because laptop came with it and I got used to it, plus, it will still play most older Win 98 games)
Win 98/Win XP games will play on Ubuntu using Wine, but, some keys do unexpected things and I haven't figured out how to switch things-yet
 
Not really sure why I'm bothering to reply but, here I am.
I don't dislike Windows, but, I'm not upgrading to anything after VISTA. I'm still using XP as well as Ubuntu and if XP starts getting dangerous to use, I'll drop Windows from desktop. When support ends for VISTA, I'll just use Ubuntu on laptop as well (I only use it because laptop came with it and I got used to it, plus, it will still play most older Win 98 games)
Win 98/Win XP games will play on Ubuntu using Wine, but, some keys do unexpected things and I haven't figured out how to switch things yet
I also keep windows for gaming, Vista is awful though...
 
I have to agree with that, but, I'm not spending any more money on OS that gets 'renewed' every few years at exorbitant cost. I would probably have installed Win 7 but I'm not going to Win 8, 8.1 or anything else.
I was quite happy with Win 98, even with BSOD every so often
 
There is a reason that Windows is the most popular OS in the world, and many Linux fans would have you believe a lot of the FUD they like to promote.
But you're not here trolling or spreading FUD, oh no...

But these days Windows is an incredibly secure system,
Bollocks. When I think of an "incredibly" secure system, I think of something like RHEL or OpenBSD, not windows...

and no, Linux is not immune from Virii, they can still get them su or not.
"su or not"... what?

I've been part of the research team that tested the so called su only virus install, and we found several backdoors in the kernel that can be used to silently install virii such as a general purpose keylogger etc.
Really... if you actually had the knowledge to find kernel vulnerabilities you would not be here posting this kind of puerile rubbish on a Linux messageboard mostly frequented by noobs...

The main reason Windows get so many virii created for it is because it is the more popular system,
Bullshit - in fact reciting this old myth alone proves you haven't the first clue.

Linux users on the other hand are under a false illusion that they don't need anti-virus or firewalls, and thats a very silly thing to think, all OS's need them.
I wonder... do you actually believe such nonsense?

Linux and *BSD systems are running most of the internets firewalls...
Its really just for servers, and even there it is losing marketshare to Windows.
Bollocks. Did you actually research this at all...?

reading some of the so called answers here on a Linux forum will show you how stuck up the majority of Linux users seem to be.
You're misinformed and completely up your own arse - so who's stuck up? The fact that you found it ok to come here post such nonsense is evidence in itself of how conceited you are. The end result is that you're quite simply embarrassing yourself...

I used to help with kernel patches, system suggestions and security patches.
More hilarity...

But no more due to the abuse from the Linux community, I helped them and got nasty comments in response. I was willing to take on the code for freeRIDE, and posted some code revisions, and updates, because I really enjoyed using the old ruby ide, but no, abuse. So I no longer use or support Linux, and I never will.
And finally the raison d'être. Sour grapes... go and cry somewhere else.
 
I would dual boot if I were you. There is a reason that Windows is the most popular OS in the world, and many Linux fans would have you believe a lot of the FUD they like to promote. But these days Windows is an incredibly secure system, and no, Linux is not immune from Virii, they can still get them su or not. I've been part of the research team that tested the so called su only virus install, and we found several backdoors in the kernel that can be used to silently install virii such as a general purpose keylogger etc. The main reason Windows get so many virii created for it is because it is the more popular system, but if you run a decent anti-virus program firewall etc then you will be just fine. Linux users on the other hand are under a false illusion that they don't need anti-virus or firewalls, and thats a very silly thing to think, all OS's need them.

Overall, after using Linux, Windows and MacOS etc I've found Windows the best OS to use on my system at home, Windows for programming is very easy, and you'll find many, many more programs available Windows. Linux has its place, but as a desktop o, well, no. Its really just for servers, and even there it is losing marketshare to Windows.
As for programming I've attended Pycon, and found the majority of laptops running some version of Windows, and a handful running Linux. At the Rubycon it was mainly Macs for some reason, and at the local C++ group it was again dominated by Windows machines. Now that should answer your main questions, and if you want another reason to stay with Windows, then just reading some of the so called answers here on a Linux forum will show you how stuck up the majority of Linux users seem to be. I used to help with kernel patches, system suggestions and security patches. But no more due to the abuse from the Linux community, I helped them and got nasty comments in response. I was willing to take on the code for freeRIDE, and posted some code revisions, and updates, because I really enjoyed using the old ruby ide, but no, abuse. So I no longer use or support Linux, and I never will.


This entire post can be summed up by "I liked Linux, but people were mean to me :(. Now Linux is terrible."

You're right, viruses do exist for Linux, but the number is drastically lower than Windows or OSX and are much harder to pass between systems (you tested one virus in a closed setting, how many unintentional viruses did you actually get when just using Linux?)

No one said you don't need firewalls. The difference is Linux comes with a great firewall by default whereas Windows firewall is almost always replaced by a commercial anti-virus solution (which run better). Whether or not anti-virus is required is another issue.

You condemn the entire Linux community for being abusive and elitist yet you do the same thing here with no actual knowledge of this forum. I guess there are jerks in every OS community...
 
Thanks labrat! But considering that Gates had to acquire DOS in order for him to build Windows, nothing would shock me if he "stole", again.
 
Any world where I can type:
sudo apt-get install awesome
and have it be a legit command is a world I want to be in. :)
 
I am using GNU/Linux in college and I even made Word Documents (via Libre-office) in APA format. Use WINE for Windows-specific programs if needed.


Hey Devyn. I have windows 8, will I be able to get Linux? I heard from a friend that the vendor lock prevents me from doing so... I could be wrong, but I am thinking of returning my Pc xD Any final thoughts?
 
Hey Devyn. I have windows 8, will I be able to get Linux? I heard from a friend that the vendor lock prevents me from doing so... I could be wrong, but I am thinking of returning my Pc xD Any final thoughts?
Please start a new thread. ;)
 
As for the foolish post, I stopped reading at this point.
Linux has its place, but as a desktop o, well, no. Its really just for servers, and even there it is losing marketshare to Windows.
I could not decide which was more appropriate; a laugh or a face-palm. (Or is the person a Microsoft employee paid to spread excrement and FUD on Linux boards?)

Any world where I can type:
sudo apt-get install awesome
and have it be a legit command is a world I want to be in. :)
That is not a world I want to be in. The world I want to be in uses the Linux/Unix procedure of using su to log in as root.
 
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Hey Devyn. I have windows 8, will I be able to get Linux? I heard from a friend that the vendor lock prevents me from doing so... I could be wrong, but I am thinking of returning my Pc xD Any final thoughts?

Ryan is right, you should ask in a new thread so other users can easily find and see your Q&A, then I can answer without breaking forum rules. Sorry for being a stickler.:oops:
 
I'm sorry, but I just had to reply here. As a former windows user myself, I cannot believe how much of a difference it made when I switched to linux. That said, for school, or gaming, sometimes you just have to use windows in one form or another. YOur options are usually: 1, a vm. YOu can download a program such as virtualbox, available in your package manager, vmware, usually downloadable via the internet (google is your friend), and qemu. If there are only a few programs you need, you could try running them in wine. Your final option is as has been posted here, duel boot with windows, so you can boot in, run your programs, and then switch back to linux. I'm going to try to keep this post short and not go into the meriad reasons why I think linux is better, despite it's issues with driver support which aren't really it's fault in the first place. Suffice it to say that linux will either appeal to you or not. IF it does, you'll find your own reasons for liking it.
 
I'll also add that as a blind person, linux is much, much more cost effective than windows. I pay nothing for the screen reader. Although nvda is now available in windows, it wasn't, or I didn't know about it when I switched to linux.
 
Another necro bump.
What's important is learning to usre GNU/LINUX, but on the other hand, let's just face it, there are probably billions of apps which only run on Win natively. Most of the time you won't be able to run those from Wine. Surely, your best bet s to have at least a dual boot system with Win7/OSX + some flavor of Linux. In the modern world you might benefit from learning all 3 OSs, actually, because when searching for a job it's not unlikely you'll find a company, that uses Win/OSX exclusively for development (e.g. they're making money on selling apps in iTunes store, so you need Cocoa, you need OSX to make the whole thing easier).
I would say, stay away from win8, try to get win7 through downgrade rights instead (as it is clear, that you're not buying a mac).
One other thing is that in real life A LOT of industries (manufacturers of some hardware) will only provide libraries for windows based systems. In my case it's like 9 to 1, when you have a chance of getting the library for linux or better yet a java lib for reading vendor file formats/communicating with instruments and so on.
That all being said, I must add, that 99.9% of the time I run Windows, but I have the full GNU32 suite installed, so that I can actually do the same shell tricks, I do have Cygwin installed for some extreme cases, as well as MinGW - you can have all the compilers, libraries, whatnot on windows, even if it was written for linux originally.
It still amazes me, how sometimes incompatibilities between platforms come from simple things like lacking a native call for sleep() or fork() or whatever. Life would have been so much simpler if some basic things were standardized.
 
I like the spirited debate here! I think there's a lot of bias here in one direction which is completely understandable (considering the URL). I started using linux in the 90's with slackware and found it to be pretty darn rough going. Paraphrasing Steve Jobs: "You don't start with the technology, you start with the user experience and work backwards" this is where Linux has failed all over the place. There are plenty of fantastic and understandable reasons why it has failed (hello free!), but the reasons don't matter, the result does to any consumer (on the Desktop at least).

If you call Windows for novice users I think you are very mistaken. On the surface it is very usable for somebody new, that doesn't necessarily make it for dummies. You may be struggling for a coherent argument if you choose to count that against an OS!

The ease of the OS is certainly a positive, and you can go just as far down the Windows "Rabbit hole" (acquiring knowledge) as you can with linux save actually modifying with kernel (which is wholly unnecessary in Windows).

If you are saying command line is great, I say "yes it is, here's powershell"
If you are saying No Gui is great, I say "yes it is, Here's windows core"
If you are saying stability is great, see the previous comment
If you are saying Security is great, Yes it is, but the smaller target can always say "Look how many less arrows I have in me!"

Don't get me wrong, I like Linux in certain use cases, but the ~haterade for Windows which is a superior OS in most cases is misplaced. Unless you have worked in a distributed enterprise windows cloud environment I hesitate to say you can really assert a valuable and objective opinion. It's hard to hate something that "just works". Windows Server 2012/R2 is an incredible operating system.
 

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