Dave's post about a cheap laptop for web access got me thinking that maybe it would be useful to have a (reasoned and flame-free
) discussion on the pros and cons of different operating systems. I've been using Linux since February and perhaps the following may help anyone who is thinking of trying it.
Why?
Until last October my main PC was a three-year-old Fujitsu-Siemens Scenic P - P4 2.4GHz, 1.5MB RAM and a huge 40GB hard drive.
I'd stuck with this machine (using external drives for most storage) because it had been ultra reliable and was also silent. But it was time for an upgrade so I bought a dual-core machine with two 320GB drives and all the bells and whistles, running XP again.
The new machine was a lot faster although very noisy by comparison. I didn't want to discard the old PC so I decided to dabble with Linux which had intrigued me for a while. I cloned the 40GB hard disk to a 200GB drive in a USB enclosure, swapped the drives over and then installed Ubuntu Linux 7.04 as dual-boot with XP Pro.
At first it was all very strange. Linux is not Windows - some things are similar but others are not. It took me a few weeks to get used to it, and then I found I was using the old PC and Linux more and more, and the new XP machine less. Nine months down the track the Linux box is now my main PC, and the XP machine is switched on for a couple of hours a week for the things I can't do on Linux.
The Good...
There is a perception that Linux is for computer geeks who want to do everything by terminal commands. It can be that if you like, but the latest versions ('distributions') of Linux are designed to be very user-friendly. It helps to know some terminal commands for set-up and configuration, but once it's all up and running you can do everything from the GUI. The terminal commands that are useful are all available from the user forums - you can just copy and paste them even if you don't know exactly how they work. In many ways it's like going back to DOS, and some commands are identical.
My desktop looks like...
You can configure it more-or-less as you want, with different themes and screen layouts. By default, Ubuntu Linux has top and bottom panels which you can use for program shortcuts and to switch between open applications. The boxes at the bottom right switch between different desktops - you can have up to 64 of these I believe! I have two 'OFF' buttons - top right and bottom left - in case I get confused.
On my old machine, Linux applications run quicker than their XP equivalents. There are many different Linux flavours, but Ubuntu Linux comes with Firefox, Open Office, the GIMP, various applications for photo browsing, music recording and playing, CD/DVD burning, games, etc. I have also installed Thunderbird + Lightning (for diary and e-mails), and Bibble Pro for RAW processing.
One thing you don't need is a virus scanner. At the moment, there are no known Linux viruses, rootkits or other nasties. You can surf in safety, and the machine doesn't spend the first 20 minutes phoning home, scanning and updating things before telling you to reboot.
Linux doesn't have a registry to get in a mess or be attacked by script kiddies. The OS is inherently secure, and you need to enter a password to make any changes, including updates. You can also back up the system and create a disk image simply by copying the whole lot to another drive, as a compressed file if you wish. You can copy files that are in use, including system files, and they don't have to be in a specific location on the back-up drive. A typical Linux system can be copied/imaged to a 2GB pen drive.
You can set it to check automatically for updates for both the OS and installed software. Unless there's a kernel update, you don't need to restart after updating.
The Bad...
Although there are Linux equivalents to many Windows and Mac applications, proprietary software companies have not rushed to bring out native Linux versions. You can run some Windows apps under 'Crossover Linux' or 'WINE' which are (sort-of) emulators, but you are often restricted to older versions. For example, Paint Shop Pro 7.04 will run under Crossover, but later versions won't. Photoshop 7 is supposed to work, but not CS or later. Bibble is one of the few multi-platform applications, and luckily I like it.
So unless you're happy with these old versions or the GIMP, you still need Windows/Mac. Ditto for UK accounting software - the programs available for Linux don't handle UK VAT.
The Ugly...
Dell in the US are now shipping machines with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed, so hopefully everything will run OK. Usually, however, you're installing Linux on a machine designed to run Windows, and hardware compatibility can be a problem.
Some people have no problems at all - everything works straight out of the box, and the install routine picks up the graphics card, wi-fi, etc. That was the case with both my old PC and a newish Acer laptop which needed virtually no tweaking to run Ubuntu. However, other people have a nightmare getting things to work, especially with some ATI graphics cards. Nvidia cards are generally a better bet and the Linux drivers are readily available.
Printers can be a problem too. HP printers are well supported, and some Epson, but you can forget about most Canon printers because there are no Linux drivers. I use a somewhat aged HP 970Cxi which works a treat, but my Canon i9950 needs Windows.
Worth the effort?
It depends on what you want to do. Most of my work involves getting info off the web and writing articles for people. Linux is perfect for that, and Open Office will save as .doc so everyone can read it. Bibble is great for RAW conversion and most editing, gThumb is good for browsing, slideshows, resizing for the web, etc, and the GIMP is OK for most things but not as full-featured as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.
The Rhythmbox music player is a lot simpler than Windows Media Player but does the job, there are video editing packages but I've not tried them, and (very importantly) the Linux version of Solitaire is much better than the Windows one.
So if you're fed up with being hemmed in by Gates and Windows, don't want to spend a fortune on a Mac, and are willing to give Linux a fair chance, it may be a pleasant surprise.
Any questions? I will do my best to help anyone who wants to have a go.