BV's opinion

[FXEF]

What's your thoughts on Linux as a desktop OS?

FXEF

[k0n5t4nt]

My first Linux distro was Ubuntu.  Checked out a few others also, Mint, fedora, but then I discovered Arch Linux. Currently I'm dual booting Arch Linux x86_64 and Win XP Pro. 

[trashy]

It really depends on what you need and use your computer for.  I use Linux probably 85% of the time.  There are a few applications that I need to use Windows to run for my line of work, such as Autocad and Microsoft Vista.  I'm not a big PC gamer, so that aspect really doesn't affect me.

[Black Viper]

It really depends on what you need and use your computer for.

I agree. For "general computing", Linux is great, stable and secure.

[IH8U]

What's your thoughts on Linux as a desktop OS?

As a server OS it's great, as a desktop OS it's really not there yet. While the functionality of the desktop has improved 100 times over in the last 5 years I don't believe it's where it needs to be for most newbies or mainstream usage. Gnome and KDE desperately need to be replaced with a better desktop solution. They're old and imo they just suck. They keep adding to their environments but never truly seem to fix whats broken with them.

[richnrockville]

What's your thoughts on Linux as a desktop OS?

As a server OS it's great, as a desktop OS it's really not there yet. While the functionality of the desktop has improved 100 times over in the last 5 years I don't believe it's where it needs to be for most newbies or mainstream usage. Gnome and KDE desperately need to be replaced with a better desktop solution. They're old and imo they just suck. They keep adding to their environments but never truly seem to fix whats broken with them.

Exactly what I have been complaining about regarding Linux for  years. I have watched Ubuntu gain in ease of use but I believe that Linux and all its hundreds of versions will not get the "average" home user to use it.  Not when they can go to their computer store and bring a box home. Plug the green plug into the green jack and so on. then turn it on and away they go on the internet. browse and setup their mail. 
The desktops on Linux are a long way from the "masses".
 
Listening to some of the evangalists who write volumes about how easy Linux is to install and use.  Sorry but they need to set it all up so that the average user does not end up at a terminal prompt and does not have to know what the word grep means.
 
I have installed almost every iteration of Ubuntu and will download the newest version again.  Hopefully it will be better..
Rich
 

[trashy]

Rich,

I agree with what you are saying, and understand completely.  There are a few factors to consider though.

1.  Linux is not a commercial computer operating system, it's open source.  Any work that is done to the base operating system is basically "donated" by programmers from around the world.

2.  Linux is designed to run on a lot of different platforms, not just PC's.  The problem there is drivers and manufacturers of hardware.  Some hardware will not work "out of the box" without properly configuring and compiling the drivers.  In some instances, hardware manufacturers do not release the source code for their hardware, and that leaves developers in a bind.

3.  Just my opinion, but it all depends on the end user and their goal.  I have been using Linux as my primary desktop for years, but I would not call myself an "average" consumer.  I am very much comfortable using a command line.

If a person simply wants to browse the internet, do email, maybe do a bit of document writing, etc. Linux and it's current desktops will do the job no problem.  Gaming on the other hand is a long way off.

[tonster]

TBH I've always wanted to use Linux.  I am a gamer, but I want to setup a game server with linux and I'd like to eventually setup our server as a linux box, but that is way beyond me. 

I almost bought my wife an Asus EEE with a linux distro on it, but she was not too happy with that idea. 

I'm not sure I'd have the time to learn everything I need to know, but it sounds kind of fun.

I agree with you guys though, the average user would NEVER use it unless it got to a point of plug and play like MS.  I wouldn't be opposed to it going mainstream, I just don't see it getting there as open source. 

My 2 pennies worth. 

[Black Viper]

I almost bought my wife an Asus EEE with a linux distro on it, but she was not too happy with that idea.

I would like one.
I believe that Linux's plug and play has made leaps and bounds in the past couple of years. However, probably a year ago, I threw Ubuntu on my main desktop. Everything worked just fine (with my limited testing), but a hurdle I had to jump was the desire to install "nVidia closed source" drivers and not the "default" ones.
Wow... was that a big pain.
The installation instructions were longer then most novels.

I just looked on nVidias web site before I typed this and it looks like an "install script" is now included. What it all entails, I do not know... however...
Check out the readme file for "manual" installation...
http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/180.51/README/index.html

Now, with that said...

I believe, still, for the "average" computer user, Linux would do just fine.

I give an example:
Recently, a particular co-worker was asking me about high speed internet access for one of their family members. They were looking into cable and wanted to know if their was "anything they needed to know."
I simply stated that they should ask if the equipment they offer has "a firewall" and explained that it is one of the steps at keeping the bad guys out, like locking your doors at home. I recommend this to everyone even hinting they have a computer...

The next day, my co-worker told me they asked the cable company if "they" used a firewall, which, of course, the provider said "no."

My co-worker then told me that the "box" the installer gave them has green and red lights on it, so "it must have a firewall built in!"

For this person... it does not matter if Windows is on the system, Linux, or any other OS...
The computer just "needs to work" like a toaster or dish washer.
Default drivers for Linux do that pretty well.

[tonster]

Yeah, I'm very intrigued by Linux.  I'd like to eventually get a game server running on it because it has less overhead and I've heard that it runs game servers much better (faster).  The robust networking is a plus as well. 

The thing is, I have to keep it running, so if something is over my head I don't have days to figure it out.  I may end up putting one game server on a linux box and testing before I move all of my servers to a linux box (we have 13 servers running currently). 

[Black Viper]

The thing is, I have to keep it running, so if something is over my head I don't have days to figure it out.

I have wanted to run my websites off of Linux for a LONG time... but have shunned way from it. I hope to do so in the future, though.

[DJanda]

TBH I've always wanted to use Linux.  I am a gamer, but I want to setup a game server with linux and I'd like to eventually setup our server as a linux box, but that is way beyond me. 

I have wanted to run my websites off of Linux for a LONG time... but have shunned way from it. I hope to do so in the future, though.

C'mon guys. Network a couple of your old computers with Linux and experiment. It's fun and Linux is MUCH easier to learn than rumored for computer savvy troops such as you. You don't need a very fast computer for Linux either, it's small and thus very fast on even an old 386 or 486 (an old Pentium 4 will blow you away). Once you get Linux networked, I doubt that you'll ever look back. 
The only caveat would be to use as much hardware-oriented gear as possible (for instance hardware modems instead of software ones). Linux really does prefer hardware devices. The new distro's tolerate some software devices, but why tempt fate? -- remember Murphy's first law 

[Black Viper]

I use Linux in virtual machines anyway, so hardware is not an issue.

[trashy]

I think the biggest obstacle that people need to overcome when trying Linux is getting used to using a command line.  Linux isn't a "point and click" operating system.  Once a person understands what to tell the computer, it's actually pretty easy and most of the time it makes sense.

Ubuntu has made great strides in making things "easier" for the "average" computer user, however, there are still times when a command prompt is where things will get done.

Djanda made a very good suggestion.  Find an old computer and just experiment, or better yet, free up some space on your pc and dual boot.

I try to get on here and check the forums out as often as I can.  I am by no means a "guru", but I have been using Linux for several years and can possibly help with installation and any other problems that people might have.

[neon samurai]

Like Trashy, I'll toss a GUI config utility in exchange for a well layed out tree of config files any day. For this, I love Debian. After years of Mandriva, the layout of Debian's config is a paradise. That's the thing though, it's not "Linux" but the distribution build around that specific OS kernel.

Ubuntu provided GUI tools. Mandriva was one of the first to provide "new user" friendly installs and the Draketools through the GUI "control panel" are fantastic. The graphic installer and partitioning tool for Mandriva is a joy to work with. Each distribution focuses on different goals and end users; they are not all equal for a given task.

While learning the command line will benefit the user exponentially, there are distributions which work just fine with GUI only configuration. This being said with the recognition that crap hardware (or good hardware from crap companies) can still cause issues. Mandriva does have better hardware support than Ubuntu and many other distributions though.

For the folks who are interested in the platform or setting up a webserver; just Nike it (er.. do it). VMs are really the way to go for learning too. VMware may be a better choice due to bridging the virtual NIC rather than Virtualbox's NAT only networking. If your mucking with a server isntall, you want to be able to hit it from a second IP.

(VP, if you like, I'll send over my standard build script pack. Do a minimal Debian Lenny, copy this over and run the numbered scripts in order after a quick read through to confirm IP and such match what you want. If you can read .bat and .cmd, the bash scripts shouldn't be a challenge.)

I thought this was going to be a quick post but maybe I should have started a new thread.