Can I really replace Windows with Linux?

C

Ciaran

Guest
Ok so I can browse the web, do email and a bit of word processing but can I really do all I do in Windows 7 Ultimate with all my software and hardware using Linux?

Here's some of what I do that I don't think I could do in Linux ;
Gaming with all latest releases including flight sims using joysticks, flight controllers, PSX pads etc
Graphics using Adobe photoshop and all other Adobe products etc
Video editing using Adobe premiere
Multi-track music recording using DAW Reaper with USB pro sound cards

And comments welcome.

Cheers
 


I would say the quick answer to your question is that Yes*, you can do everything in Linux that you can do in Windows.

Of course there is then the little *,

While you can do everything you would want to do in Linux you will quickly find that Linux is not Windows. Windows software is written to run in Windows and is not directly compatible with Linux. There are many ways of making them work though.

Also, once you start to poke around the world of Linux you will find that a lot of the software you use have free alternatives that are written for Linux. Almost every Adobe product has an open source alternative that is in most cases able to fill that role.

As for the new games, a lot of the newer games are being made to run on a variety of platforms. In fact Steam is even making a Linux version.

So really in the end, Yes Linux can replace Windows. For most people though I would recommend playing with Linux some first before taking the plunge and fully replacing windows. There are tons of Linux live CDs or even bootable flash drives that allow you to easily and safely "test drive" Linux.
 
You don't need to choose Windows OR Linux. You can have Windows AND Linux by dual booting.
 
Win7VM_ScreenShot_9-12-12.jpg
Or you can do what I do and run Windows 7 Enterprise in a VM(Virtual Machine) using VMware player for Linux. I boot up a Win7 Enterprise VM on top of my Fedora Linux laptop's desktop to run Windows 7 and log into my company's VPN to access and use corporate Windows based resources, apps and tools such as SharePoint, which I need to perform my job.

However, I have been able to replace all of my personal stuff using Linux without much effort, between using Linux based apps that do the same job which I have been doing with Linux on all 28 of my home computers for over 20 years! I used to do mutli-OS boots 20-some years ago, but have found just leaving my 'puter running Linux and booting a Windows VM as needed is a the way better way to go!

I LOVE and LIVE LINUX!!! :p~~~
 
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Or, you can do as I have for many years, and use a drive caddy. I have one for windows, and one for linux. I use both on the same hardware, and don't need to worry about dual booting

That is a very clever idea. That is the best (not just one of the best) #1 solution for multibooting I have ever seen. I have not seen anyone on StackExchange or anywhere else suggest that idea as simple and clever as that. Now that you said that, it seems like an obvious idea that someone should have said somewhere on the Internet.
 
Or, you can do as I have for many years, and use a drive caddy. I have one for windows, and one for linux. I use both on the same hardware, and don't need to worry about dual booting
Ive been trying to do the same thing. Where can I get one?
 
View attachment 504 Or you can do what I do and run Windows 7 Enterprise in a VM(Virtual Machine) using VMware player for Linux. I boot up a Win7 Enterprise VM on top of my Fedora Linux laptop's desktop to run Windows 7 and log into my company's VPN to access and use corporate Windows based resources, apps and tools such as SharePoint, which I need to perform my job.

However, I have been able to replace all of my personal stuff using Linux without much effort, between using Linux based apps that do the same job which I have been doing with Linux on all 28 of my home computers for over 20 years! I used to do mutli-OS boots 20-some years ago, but have found just leaving my 'puter running Linux and booting a Windows VM as needed is a the way better way to go!

I LOVE and LIVE LINUX!!! :p~~~
I find this very intriguing. Can you use any version of windows? would windows 7 home premium work on virtualbox? would I be able to play my games on it?
 
I find this very intriguing. Can you use any version of windows? would windows 7 home premium work on virtualbox? would I be able to play my games on it?
Any version of Windows will run in a VM. The issue is hardware. Windows uses a lot of resources, usually 2 Gb ram and 20-30% cpu just idling. When you run the Vm, also remember that the host system is running also.
 
An ugly fat bastard with a portfolio of patents tucked under his sweaty armpit, closely followed around by a team of lawyers...
My win 7 uses 2 Gb ram and idles at around 10-15 % (with some power management changes). On my Ubuntu system I am using 1.23 Gb right now. KDE, full desktop effects, multiple firefox nightly browser tabs, apt-get upgrade in the background, copy agent syncing, git cloning.... at half the ram of Windows 7 just sitting there useless.
 
Ok here is a question. Is there a version of Quicken, or something similar for linux? It would be preferred that I be able to use the old quicken database files in the new software.
As far as the drive caddies, make sure that you have one with a built in fan to cool the drive. Smaller drives (1gb or smaller) don't really need the fan, but the larger drives do. Sadly, I have yet to find a caddy designed for SATA drives, but there are many designed for IDE and SCSI drives. Most are generic.
Paul
 
Ok here is a question. Is there a version of Quicken, or something similar for linux? It would be preferred that I be able to use the old quicken database files in the new software.
As far as the drive caddies, make sure that you have one with a built in fan to cool the drive. Smaller drives (1gb or smaller) don't really need the fan, but the larger drives do. Sadly, I have yet to find a caddy designed for SATA drives, but there are many designed for IDE and SCSI drives. Most are generic.
Paul
I think Gnucash is a good alternative to Quicken.
 
The first time you Gnucash you are prompted to import Quicken QIF files.

I *think* Quicken can run under Linux using Crossover. (Wine with knobs on!)
 
Before I discovered the drive caddies, actually it was my wife's idea, I would just put one drive on each ide port and enable only the one I wanted to use. Not as elegant as the caddies, but it did work well.
Paul

Your Wife sounds like a very wise lady.
 
The Linux world to me is like being at a buffet - all you can eat.............

without the stomach ache from over-induldging.
 

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