# Who prefers Newer Linux Distros over Windows?



## FlightsOfFancy (Dec 30, 2012)

Am I the only one?

I always thought of Linux as this remote, elitist tool that was far to cumbersome to make it worthwhile. However, I had to install it for a graduate course. I chose Ubuntu because of it's user-friendliness and power still invested in the terminal.

It seems to RARELY have any issue; bootup is faster; if there is a frozen window, it is easier to kill than in windows. It takes less memory alone. No viruses/spyware (virus scanners themselves take up resources). 

At this point, I'm thinking of formatting. Putting Ubuntu as a primary, and using Windows 7 in a virtual box for necessary applications (SQL Server, Visual Studio etc).


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## Epherion (Aug 23, 2011)

Get Mint or Arch. You wont regret it


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## FlightsOfFancy (Dec 30, 2012)

Epherion said:


> Get Mint or Arch. You wont regret it


What would you say they have over Ubuntu?


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## entperson (Sep 14, 2009)

I do definitely. Currently running 12.04 on my laptop. I used to have it dual installed with Windows 7 but Windows was running incredibly slow and I never used it so I wiped the whole thing and started clean with Ubuntu. I'd say go for it.


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## FlightsOfFancy (Dec 30, 2012)

entperson said:


> I do definitely. Currently running 12.04 on my laptop. I used to have it dual installed with Windows 7 but it Windows was running incredibly slow and I never used it so I wiped the whole thing and started clean with Ubuntu. I'd say go for it.


I am; I was a little saddened by Netflix not working, but I just installed the new Wine + Netflix-Desktop & restarted the pulseaudio server and well:


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## entperson (Sep 14, 2009)

FlightsOfFancy said:


> I am; I was a little saddened by Netflix not working, but I just installed the new Wine + Netflix-Desktop & restarted the pulseaudio server and well:


Ahhh so that's the fix? I installed Netflix last week and when it didn't work I was like screw it I ain't got time for this. But now I guess I do lol.


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## FlightsOfFancy (Dec 30, 2012)

entperson said:


> Ahhh so that's the fix? I installed Netflix last week and when it didn't work I was like screw it I ain't got time for this. But now I guess I do lol.



Yes it works flawlessly now; but you need to do it from command line:
_sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
sudo apt-get update (duh) 
sudo apt-get wine1.5 

it will replace all of your wine stuff

remove your current netflix-desktop 
sudo apt-get remove netflix-desktop 

reinstall
sudo apt-get install nextflix-desktop

login. 

if you notice it 'speeding up' the pulseaudio daemon need be restarted simply 
sudo pulseaudio -k 

then:
_









I also found a way to get around the CSS encrypted DVD-files and am ripping a redbox movie at the moment; more on that later if you like. I have to go satisfy my nostalgia for the X-files :ninja:


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## Epherion (Aug 23, 2011)

FlightsOfFancy said:


> What would you say they have over Ubuntu?


This is for Arch:
The move to Arch Linux « Passing Thoughts
Why Arch Linux is my favorite Linux distribution « OS Junkie

This is for Mint:
Help For Linux: 10 - 3 Reasons Why Linux Mint is Better Than Ubuntu

Tbh is all subjective really. I preferred Arch due to configuration.


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## entperson (Sep 14, 2009)

Thanks. Also that gif is absolute perfection.


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## Tempest09 (Jun 19, 2011)

Fedora at work, CentOS/Slackware on home machines....have yet to look back...

There are things I need to do that just cannot be done on Windows....or at least not elegantly....and I don't like proprietary source code, but that's an argument for another day.


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## Cosmicsense (Dec 7, 2011)

Ubuntu 12.1 here. 

Not sure why people are still running windows save gamers.


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## Cosmicsense (Dec 7, 2011)

FlightsOfFancy said:


> Yes it works flawlessly now; but you need to do it from command line:
> _sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
> sudo apt-get update (duh)
> sudo apt-get wine1.5_


_

Thanks. Added repo and running through the process now. 

Just wanted to add for any noobs that the last line command should read

sudo apt-get install wine1.5

you left out the install _


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## Death Persuades (Feb 17, 2012)

I used to prefer Ubuntu over windows, but then 12.04 came out, and went back to Windows 7. Now 12.10 is out, and actually chose to buy Windows 8 instead. I don't enjoy the road Ubuntu has taken, and I don't feel like learning how to use another distro.


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## timeless (Mar 20, 2010)

Linux is pretty good. Many components of a GNU/Linux OS really suck though. X11 and Pulseaudio are the biggest offenders. If those shit the bed, then God help you because I've found it's usually easier to just purge the packages and reinstall.

Fedora is at the top of the heap as far as I'm concerned. Debian is a good second. I wouldn't touch Ubuntu because I dislike Canonical and I find Unity absolutely repulsive. I don't understand using Arch on a production system because there's a reasonable chance that you will break configuration files if you don't pacman -Syu every week or so.

I currently use Windows 8. Ideally I'd use FreeBSD, but as far as I can tell, WordPerfect doesn't have a chance of running under WINE. That's pretty much a deal-breaker for me.


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## geekofalltrades (Feb 8, 2012)

I luuurrrve Linux. If I could game on Linux, I would ditch Windows entirely. I ran Fedora for a while, before I reformatted; now I've got one of the newer Ubuntu distros.


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## SuburbanLurker (Sep 26, 2010)

I use Debian on a virtual machine from time to time for programming/school related stuff. It's probably an objectively better OS in terms of security, design and architecture (oh and my freedums), but doing anything is such a hassle compared to Windows. I don't really see any benefit to using Linux for every day use. It just slows me down.


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## FlightsOfFancy (Dec 30, 2012)

SuburbanLurker said:


> I use Debian on a virtual machine from time to time for programming/school related stuff. It's probably an objectively better OS in terms of security, design and architecture (oh and my freedums), but doing anything is such a hassle compared to Windows. I don't really see any benefit to using Linux for every day use. It just slows me down.


Perhaps its contingent on architecture but I notice Windows just generally becomes a hog of resources and that killing stalled processes is rather cumbersome. On linux, it doesn't seem to be as much of a hog...my laptop rarely breathes like a dungeon drag in heat.

You need to use more of a GUI-based linux IMO; try ubuntu. It has a lot of the same functionality as Windows, yet allows command-line control as well.

Slowly WINE is catching up and is able to execute Windows programs; while, simultaneously, freeware is becoming a major competitor for Windows-programs (I find GIMP to be more intuitive than photoshop). For example, a recent milestone was getting silverlight to run in linux because Neftlix and other silver-light dependent apps shy from linux development.


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## Playful Proxy (Feb 6, 2012)

Personally, I've tried Mint, Arch, Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu. I simply enjoy Ubuntu more. I prefer Gnome FAR over the Unity desktop though....that thing pisses me off. Openbox + Tint2 would not be so bad if Openbox automatically updated it's program lists. I'm a lazy butt, I'd prefer my system do it for me (which rules Arch out altogether...you have to do EVERYTHING for it at first). I'm running Ubuntu 12.10 with gnome-shell and a few customizations to gnome to fit my needs. Overall, I'm absolutely loving it. 

I do have a second boot of Windows, but that's fairly rare that I need to use Windows (I do play Guild Wars 2 or will play Crysis 3), so it's good for that.  Linux everything else, baby.


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## hazzacanary (Mar 28, 2012)

I definitely prefer ubuntu to windows. I'm not a fan of fedora's UI, but it was decent as well (so decent, in fact, that oxford university's computer science department run their computers on it!). The only thing that keeps me from switching is the fact that so much software is still exclusively written for windows!


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## Miss Keks (Nov 7, 2010)

Linux is becoming kind of trendy recently ...


I'm using Ubuntu since quite some years (switched after having to use XP for a while back then in 2007) which is quite a long time, I guess?
I tried other distros, too, but never felt that good with anything else. I guess I just like the way the Ubuntu developers think. Though I didn't really like some recent developments, like what they want to do out of the dash (or are they just fooling around?!)


Just using Windows for game reason only, but I don't play regularly and those Windows are cut off from the Internet, I prefer single player games anyway. And don't have the time, basically.

So Linux runs and runs and I can do everything I want with it, even much more than I could ever do on Windows or MacOS, even though I'm not toooo tech-savvy... I'm just used to it and think it's pretty handy, all those shortcuts and customizations, open-source software integration, Synaptic etc.

The only nuisance is running updates when they pop up or when I think I could do so, but I very love everything to be in one window. Everything else is totally fine with me. Back then in 2007 Linux was buggy (as Unity back in 2011), today it's almost rock-solid. And when Unity makes problems (aged laptop) I just do the magical kill and login again, never having lost any data in running programs.


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## VereCreperum (Jan 17, 2013)

I prefer Linux over Windows by far. I have to run Windows though, I let anyone use my laptop that asks and the only Linux Distro I have any interest in is Back-Track, since they've integrated working drivers for the RT5390 in the R3 release. I had Ubuntu for a while, which was very user friendly but, I was having issues with VMs and Windows executable files, regardless of what I did. Also, sharing it was getting tedious with BT and Ubuntu because everyone was working it like they were monkeys with down syndrome. 

GUI..how hard can it possibly be to read?


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## Philosophaser Song Boy (Jan 16, 2011)

Im just happy Steam will be over on Linux now. Better OS is the only thing limiting my gaming machine.


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## blit (Dec 17, 2010)

Miss Keks said:


> Linux is becoming kind of trendy recently ...
> 
> 
> I'm using Ubuntu since quite some years (switched after having to use XP for a while back then in 2007) which is quite a long time, I guess?
> ...


My first experience with Linux err... Ubuntu (6.10) must have been around that time because school was out for winter holidays. A friend given my dad a copy of the desktop "friendly" Linux, Ubuntu. Apparently, his old work used Slackware in the 90's for some servers, so he was already aware of Linux. I watched him boot to the live cd then play the demo propaganda. 

Around a year later when I entered HS, I was learning how to type and became interested in programming. Meanwhile, I frequented a forum with small population of programmers, which some used linux. They said it was a lot easier to develop on there, so I tried it. I also played RCT2 and C&C a lot, wine sucked, and my hardware was crap. So, I reinstalled Ubuntu and XP over each other multiple times because I wasn't aware of dual booting. 

Eventually, I kept Ubuntu on the desktop because I bought a Vista laptop. I actually tried Ubuntu on the laptop, but the drivers especially the wireless network drivers didn't work. I reinstalled Vista a bunch of times because of BSOD. And, my HS made us use certain windows/mac only programs for science classes. The closest alternative is gnu octave - LOLNOPE. Once I graduated, I went Mac w/ Ubuntu for a while. Now, I'm only running Arch (laptop) and Debian (personal server).


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## CrystallineSheep (Jul 8, 2012)

I am happy with Windows 7. (Much better than Windows Vista) I have not tried Linux Distros. I am not too bothered about my OS since I don't do anything flashy on my computer. I am more worried on updating the best for maximum internet usage.  Windows 8 sounds like more a novelty gimmick than anything and I hate switching over OS.


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## marckos (May 6, 2011)

I used to use ubuntu but all change when unity attack. I really interested on install Arch but still been a noob :bored:.

W8 in not thaaaat bad until today Im satisfied.


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## CCCXXIX (Mar 11, 2011)

There's fanboys for every linux distro. It's been like that since the 90s...

Honestly, Ubuntu is the best, followed by Fedora, because of all the documentation for them. You are going to run into problems, and if you're a total n00b, you are going to want online documentation as well as an active community to help you out.

I hate Unity, so I just use a different flavor of Ubuntu. I chose Ubuntu Studio (Ubuntu Studio), because I like all the pre-installed graphic/animation/audio/video tools that are bundled. So I can dick around while I'm dicking around.

But honestly, it depends entirely on what kind of system you want to put it on. Laptop? Old Desktop? New Desktop? Gaming Rig?

Most of the Distros have variants, that are tailored to the specific needs of the end user. For more information, see DistroWatch.

DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.


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## NighTi (Jan 1, 2013)

marckos said:


> I used to use ubuntu but all change when unity attack. I really interested on install Arch but still been a noob :bored:.
> 
> W8 in not thaaaat bad until today Im satisfied.


I'm right with you when it comes to the Unity/Gnome3 mess but jumped ship earlier, not to Windows but to Debian -- The Universal Operating System with the lightweight Xfce Desktop Environment . I couldn't be happier. When I absolutely must use Windows, it's XP in a VirtualBox ( https://www.virtualbox.org/ ) VM.

Ubuntu started to bother me shortly after the 8.04 ("Hardy Heron") release. It seemed like Shuttleworth and company were sacrificing stability and performance for user-friendliness. It's the road to inferior, bloated software. I switched to Linux Mint for a couple of years and found it more stable, but finally realized that I wanted a rolling distribution that I could customize to work _my_ way. I ran back home to Debian, where I had started so many years ago.

It's not for everyone. I'm a certifiable *nix geek who still prefers the command line over the graphical tools for many tasks. Your mileage may vary.


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## aestrivex (Mar 7, 2011)

I do prefer newer linux distros over windows. I also prefer older linux distros over windows.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

I run Windows 8 now on my personal hoe computer. At work they are still using XP. Some of our servers run Fedora or CentOS and I plan to eventually get a RHCE certification so I'll probably try to use CentOS a little more. I just prefer Windows (I just switched back from Mac) because I am way more productive on it and most of the things I do, the FOSS equivalent isn't as good yet (but is getting better and will eventually be).


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## zynthaxx (Aug 12, 2009)

I prefer the Unix way of thinking to the Windows one, but I have to say I'm very pragmatic when it comes to choice of OS. My home server is running Ubuntu Server because I realized I was lazy (I used to use Slack for everything), my Raspberry is currently just acting media center (using RaspBMC), but my work computer is a MacBook Pro running OS X. Again; I'm lazy: I want the Unix experience, but I can't be bothered to spend weeks on getting things as I want them when I can have it out of the box paid for by the company.
That said, the way Apple is heading right now, I wouldn't be surprised if my next laptop would be a Lenovo T series with Arch or good old Slack.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

zynthaxx said:


> I want the Unix experience, but I can't be bothered to spend weeks on getting things as I want them when I can have it out of the box paid for by the company.


I feel the same way and it seems like there is constant tweaking with Linux to continue to make it work. It seems like every time a new software version comes out for Windows, it's constant messing around to make it compatible. I just simply don't have the time or ambition to do this (it is getting better though).

I do like the UNIX way of thinking especially with everything being stored in an easily editable text file. This makes scaling things out a lot easier and when you can hit the command line, you can be a lot more efficient. I definitely see value in running Linux servers but as far as workstations, it has a ways to go.


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## zynthaxx (Aug 12, 2009)

PowerShell said:


> I feel the same way and it seems like there is constant tweaking with Linux to continue to make it work. It seems like every time a new software version comes out for Windows, it's constant messing around to make it compatible. I just simply don't have the time or ambition to do this (it is getting better though).
> 
> I do like the UNIX way of thinking especially with everything being stored in an easily editable text file. This makes scaling things out a lot easier and when you can hit the command line, you can be a lot more efficient. I definitely see value in running Linux servers but as far as workstations, it has a ways to go.


Yeah, something like that. Having a family kinda removed some of my spare time. Re running GNU/Linux on workstations: Back in the mid- to late nineties (up until Windows XP SP2, actually) there was a serious stability reason to run GNU/Linux, so I actually had an old Slackware machine as my main workstation for several years.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Also the interesting thing is with modern Windows OSes Microsoft has become a lot better with the scripting. Powershell (hence my username) is insanely powerful.


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