Any fellow Linux users on here?

[Ronald Zeeman]

MY Brother does, no viruses.

 

[Storm Hess]

For those that use Linux.....Why?
Just curious.

Complete control over the operating system and ability to customise it as you see fit. More importantly, there are no corporations that own it to track what you do. Why should corporations be allowed to make billions off what you wish to do with the operating system, applications you use or the web sites you visit? Linux is about freedom to choose and do what you wish.

 

[mimiudoublemilk]

I dual boot Windows and Ubuntu on my PC, and have Lubuntu and Linux Mint running on my laptops. As an automation test engineer, I found that Linux generally works better (especially since I have an obsession with obtaining old and used laptops that are completely useless on Windows). I also love fumbling around and figuring out how to use the OS. My job needs a lot of light web programming, so this system is a perfect fit for me )

 

[mimiudoublemilk]

I have been running Arch Linux with Gnome for about 2 years now. More recently I began using the ALEZ installer to set up my system with OpenZFS as the filesystem. There is a learning curve to using Arch but its definitely worth the effort. The guy behind ALEZ is doing a good job of making installation of the base system on OpenZFS easy. There are still issues with the ZFS on Linux project but things appear to be improving.

What I like about Arch is that I can decide, at least to some extent, what goes onto my system and what does not. The packaging system is called pacman and its the best I have seen. Prior to Arch I ran Debian but didn't like their slow adoption of new technology. Before that I tried Ubuntu and they were the opposite of Debian. With Ubuntu I was having to remove all kinds of junk that I did not need or want.

The Gnome desktop is not perfect but I can work with it. Its the only desktop that tries to keep it clean and simple, and to get out of my way when I don't need it in my face. To me its the only desktop that doesn't look like some sort of windoze clone. I will say that over time the Gnome Desktop is getting better with each new release.

I have built many whitebox systems over the years to run Linux on. My next build is going to be an AMD Ryzen system with an ATI Radeon card. Maybe this summer I will spec out the parts and begin acquiring them. Right now I have an 8 core i7 system with integrated Intel video and it makes a very decent desktop system. I would not recommend it for gaming though.

-- may the source be with you

I prefer working on Debian-based OS more than Arch, simply because there is a lot of Ubuntu documentation to read from, and most of them can also be applied to other Debian distros.

 

[Outdated]

I tend to swap back and forth between Ubuntu and Fedora.

In my opinion Fedora is by far the better system, especially for programmers who require the latest and most up to date libraries. The downside is that they bring out a new version every 6 months and they only support the most recent 3 versions so you really need to update the system every 12 months or so.

I'm using Ubuntu again at the moment but I'm starting to get annoyed with it and will probably ditch it again soon. Too many graphics glitches and a few minor compatibility issues with some of the software I use. But they do give an LTS version that gets support for 5 years.

Fedora Cinnamon Desktop

spins.fedoraproject.org

 

[Crossbreed]

I dabbled in [Red Hat] Linux years ago, but found its commands to be counter-intuitive compared to Windows/DOS.

 

[Judge]

Right now I have removable drives for Windows 10, Linux Mint 20.3 and Linux Mint 21.0. With the intention of eventually abandoning Windows altogether.

 

[Jordy]

Right now I have removable drives for Windows 10, Linux Mint 20.3 and Linux Mint 21.0. With the intention of eventually abandoning Windows altogether.

I virtually never boot into windows, but i still keep it on my disc.

I use linux because I love the xfce desktop environment, its great for computer science and I prefer many linux applications over windows ones. Not containing spyware and controlled by a giant corporation like Microsoft is also a plus.

Most importantly I use linux because I like linux, not because I hate windows. I often see people try linux because windows is bad, and linux is not windows. They almost always end up switching back to windows or just end up having a bad time. Linux is not a "free and opensource windows replacement", it has not been developed to give you a windows experience, it is a completely different beast.

 

[Judge]

Linux is not a "free and opensource windows replacement", it has not been developed to give you a windows experience, it is a completely different beast.

How true. Linux operating systems bear little resemblance to Windows on so many levels. Where having a plethora of knowledge on Windows over a very long time is of little to no help. Something one must take in earnest if considering moving to Linux from Windows. It's not for everyone. Though despite whatever grief is encountered in the process, I've come to the conclusion that it's worth the effort. Us "old dogs" can learn new tricks if we are really motivated to do so.

Admittedly however, it still frustrates me that I can have great success with one distro and fall on my face with another. But then I suspect some or most of that equation has to do with my nine-year old computer. I've updated the GPU and power supply to more current standards, but I'm still dealing with a 3rd gen Intel i5 and Mobo, PC1600 RAM, and PCIe 3.0. Where some distros may be more forgiving than others, especially given how fast technology continues to evolve.

 

[Duna]

Has anyone used CentOS? Is it any good?

I had Ubuntu with CentOS on a VM.
Ubuntu because it was recommended to me, CentOS because I need Oracle DB for work and that works only on RH-based systems.
CentOS reached EOL and I switched to Oracle Linux.
If you aren't into all that gimmicks and don't need to run the latest version of the newest app/program then CentOS is just fine.

 

[Duna]

For those that use Linux.....Why?
Just curious.

I like to know what my machine is doing, and have certain control over it. Plus I need it for work (already mentioned that I need to run Oracle DBA and no way this is going to work on Windows, VM or not).

 

[Judge]

For those that use Linux.....Why?
Just curious.

Astronomically more efficient and secure in how it uses system resources compared to Windows. Less bloatware. Updated routinely six to seven times a week. Though you always have far more control over updates, unlike Windows.

With far less intrusiveness when it comes to telemetry, unlike Windows that steals everything they can from your PC to use for marketing purposes and sell to third parties. And with them constantly tapping into your hard drive, it's just another drain on your computer's system resources.

And the interface is so much more pleasant to look at. With a more consistent "dark" style. And customization of the interface of any number of Linux distros is amazing compared to the limitations of Windows.

Perhaps most of all, because I can run a state-of-the art version of Linux (Mint 21.0) that has long term support for the next fives years on this nine-year old computer. Otherwise Microsoft expects me to simply toss it into the trash heap and get a current computer to run a rather messy OS called "Windows 11".

 

[Tarkus]

Mint here, buy I've tried dozens of distros over the years.

I even installed GNU/Hurd lol.

 

[Outdated]

I first started taking linux seriously with Mandrake, back in 2003. That then became Mandriva before some French bloke bought it and tried to turn it in to a commercial product.

 

[merithra]

I began using Windows in 2008, but then I moved to Linux in 2015. I remember Kubuntu being my first ever linux distribution, I still use Kubuntu on my server workstation operating within my room, I love Kubuntu.

 

[tkcartoonist]

Just got it installed this morning, and I'm still learning the ropes. I chose Ubuntu Studio as my distro since I do a lot creatively, and there are so many applications to play around with it's not even funny. Maybe when I feel brave enough I might fiddle around with Blender, considering so many professional animation studios have been using it.

 

[Outdated]

Just got it installed this morning, and I'm still learning the ropes.

New Toys! That's always fun.

 

[tkcartoonist]

So I'm trying to learn some basic command line tricks (again, fairly new at this stuff). Every time I try to use the sudo command, I have no time to type in the password before it logs it as an incorrect choice. After three times, it boots me. Any tips I should know? I want to get it to work considering a lot of Linux applications use command line codes for updating/installation.

 

[Outdated]

Sudo is not a command in itself, it's the Preface to a command. It stands for Super User Do. eg:

sudo apt-get install synaptic

A normal user doesn't have permission to install a program, putting sudo in front works a bit like telling Windows to use Administrator mode.

If you are looking to switch user, as in become the super user, the command is simply su. Not recommended for every day use.

 

[Judge]

I try to be very sparing about when I use the SUDO command at the prompt. But it can sure be useful at times, as can modifying files as a "Root User". Especially easy in Linux Mint by just right-clicking a file in the file manager (Nemo) and selecting "Open As Root". It's how I got my sound to work, having to make very minor, but necessary alterations in the Intel High Definition Audio files/folders.

Both commands are password driven, so it pays to have a strong password you can commit to memory. If not....just write it down on paper and keep it hidden and near your workspace.

Understand that using "SUDO" bypasses your established repository (your OS software store) so you may not be able to guarantee the integrity of the source you're downloading from in terms of security concerns. Though in my own case, occasionally it allows me to download more current and less problematic versions of software that I would normally go straight to the repository for.

Though the good news remains that most Linux repositories make Windows' "Microsoft Store" look lame in comparison.