Wednesday, October 6, 2010

GNU/Linux

Okay, so, today I'd like to talk about GNU/Linux, how much does the average person know about linux? Probably not much, except that, it powers many of the websites we see online today.

Personally, I've been using linux on and off for years now, and I've always felt the need for Windows, because it's so mainstream, however for the past 3 months, I've decided to switch to linux as my primary operating system, and use a small partition for windows. Why keep Windows? It's still useful to have in case I need to do something with it (for whatever reason), but in addition, I can still play all my games. Yes sure, there's things for linux such as cedega, and wine, but they don't always work.

One really exciting thing that has been on Slashdot recently as well as other tech sites, is that Directx 10 and 11 are actually becoming native to linux. Funny how linux gets it before Windows XP eh?

So, for those of you who are wondering what this post is really about, well, I wanted to talk about my experience going 'fully' linux.

Switching to linux was probably one of the best things I've done in a while. Why? There are just so many amazing features, or pros I guess you could say, compared to Windows. Most notably, with the OS booted, my memory usage is far lower. Also, we have compiz fusion, which you could compare with Aero in vista/win7.

So, what else is good about linux? Your system can be customised easily, to fit what YOU want. This can be everything to desktop themes, widgets, different effects in compiz,. Everything is more flexible.

In addition to flexibility, comes security. Linux is less prone to things such as viruses, and other malware. Why? Simply because of system privileges that a piece of software is run at, not to mention most software for linux is open source, meaning you have the source code, and could potentially look for backdoors, etc, if you really wanted to.

One thing I will say about linux, is that, it can be a hassle , depending on what distribution you choose. If you choose something like slackware, debian, or gentoo, or even archlinux, it's going to be tricky to set up, if you've never used linux before. Not only that, but once you get the OS installed, there are drivers as well, which can be really easy, or a pain in the ass, depending on your hardware.
Newer users may wish to use a distro such as Ubuntu, which is the most commonly used, or some may choose LinuxMint (which is a distro of ubuntu).

Anyway, if you are a new linux user, and you're reading this, here are a few piecies of software you should try out.

Compiz Fusion (Similar to Aero for Windows)
Conky (Desktop widget that does a metric TON of things)
Gimp (Photoshop alternative)
Mangler (Ventrilo Client)
OpenOffice (Microsoft Office alternative)
Pidgin (Instant messenger that supports MANY protocols, including MSN, AIM, Yahoo)
Shutter (A really nice piece of software for taking screenshots, and uploading it to some place on the web)

15 comments:

  1. I've always thought about switching over to and learning Linux.
    Thx for the tips.

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  2. I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an
    operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components
    comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

    Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is
    often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

    There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's
    resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete
    operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called
    "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

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  3. Richard Stallman copypasta, I loll'd

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  4. Stallman copypasta is right tho. The only real difference is where the distros want to bend the POSIX compliance to fit their needs.

    Glad to see it's working for you tho.

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  5. I always wanted to become a Linux user, but I'm also a gamer and I can't quit gaming.

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  6. This was really helpful man. I think linux is perfect for many people. A lot of those people are actually the people who don't know much about it.

    There isn't really an issue anymore with configuring linux if you're using one of the more user friendly distros. Most computer users would get by fine on linux.

    Most people only use an office suite, an IM program, and a web browser anyway. And Linux has a good selection of those.

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  7. if more third parties would seriously develop for linux i'd be all over it, but it seems like it'll be awhile till there's software as powerful as photoshop or protools will be availible

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  8. Hmmm, I always thought about switching to Linux, but I've never actually looked into doing it. AKA setting aside a day to sit down and just do it. But this read makes me feel a little more confident that switching to Linux is a good idea.

    But like baphia said, I play a lot of computer games, like SC2. Can I go without that? :(

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  9. I actually like using Ubuntu, but it's not practical currently because of all the other stuff thats involved with my other technology. Would really like to try more of it if I could.

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  10. Maybe I'll do a few blog posts about making the most of your linux distribution. It's really all about learning new things, if you're coming from windows as your primary OS. Since I've switched over, I've learned lots of new tricks and stuff.

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  11. I use to run linuxmint, had it for about 4 months, only reason i switched to vista is because the need to game became irresistible!.

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  12. I know nothing about linux, but nice post.

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  13. I've only used Linux a handful of times, it's a bit tough.

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  14. ive tried linux once we didnt get along very well

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