If I ask this question at a Linux ng, they'll say XP sucks. If I ask at
an XP ng, they'll say Linux sucks.
From what I've read Mandrake is the best for desktop apps and for newbies
(like me). I've been using windows since 3.11(currently XP home) and was
wondering if anybody here uses Linux, and how does it compare to XP?
I'm a big Linux fan. I use both XP and Linux.
In my opinion, SuSE has the best Linux. Mandrake isn't bad, but I think SuSE
is a lot more polished. It's installation is just as easy, and once Linux
is up and configured, most Linux distros are very similar. The similarity
stops where administration is concerned. SuSE uses a nice suite called YaST
for administration duties. Mandrake, on the other hand, has a "drake" for
every purpose that is tied together only in the graphical interface. If you
end up screwing something up, YaST is still integrated, but Mandrake's
"drakes" are all over the place. Have fun... Other distros like Debian are
for geeks only and shouldn't even be attempted by anyone not very familiar
with Linux.
With Linux, you'll find that some hardware setups are supported better by
Mandrake, others by SuSE, others by Xandros, etc. Some have had difficulty
getting Mandrake installed, while SuSE installed right away on their
particular machine. Some, the other way around. Others have had
installation nightmares. Now, on Linux's behalf, I must say that some
people have had Windows installation nightmares too.
SuSE does one thing I don't like. They ship some applications that are
purposely reduced in function due to the fear of patent infringement
litigation or licensing restrictions. The widely used DVD player, Xine, is
one of them. You need to go to a website hosted by a 3rd party called
Packman and download rpm files that have full funtionality. It's not a
really big deal, but it's not as nice as having fully functional software
installed from the get-go. It's only a couple of applications, so it's a
minor quibble.
SuSE is now owned by Novell. It has deep pockets and is financially stable.
Mandrake finally recently made a profit, but for a long time hounded users
for more money. They had serious short term financial problems for awhile.
This worried me when I was a Mandrake user.
I also found SuSE a bit more stable than Mandrake. However, Mandrake offers
a really nice program that you have to pay for called Mandrake Club. They
offer downloads of rpms for Mandrake from Mandrake themselves, so you know
their high quality. They offer other benefits too. Sometimes 3rd party rpms
are a little "iffy". However, there are some solid 3rd party rpms like
Packman for SuSE and Texstar for Mandrake. Mandrake Club has some benefits,
and I like the idea.
As far as comparison to XP, check out my signature below. My SuSE Linux
install has been up since the day I installed the newest version. When
Linux acts up, you often can go to text mode, whip out the manual or get
online on another computer and get manuals, man pages, or whatever and fix
the problem without ever rebooting. Linux itself, aside from the GUI, is so
rock solid, you'll probably never reboot your computer once it's correctly
configured and you learn how to fix things from the command line.
There is no registry in Linux. All configuration information is usually
found in a .config or .rc file. Everything in those files are in such plain
english, a child could figure them out. You can modify them easily with
little experience in Linux. However, be warned, that when you do, you risk
messing things up. Only the "root" or administrator can alter important
system files. You don't have to log in as root, but can get temporary root
priveledges from your usualy account. If something does get messed up in
one of those files, you just delete the file and the system or the
application involved just builds a new one and all is fixed, usually. Try
that with the registry...
Linux doesn't have to be defragged either. First of all, it prevents most
fragmentation by the way it organizes files within the filesystem.
Secondly, it defrags in the background while the machine is unattended.
Linux is far less susceptible to viruses, trojan horses, worms, spyware, and
other sorts of nasties. It's not impossible, but the way Linux is setup is
highly secure and there are very few people writing nasties for Linux.
Windows nasties don't do a thing in Linux.
What Linux lacks is polish. While the OS itself is very polished in most
areas, the applications you use often seem to be missing the spit and shine
polish jobs that Windows counterparts have. However, Linux apps are free.
You get by just fine, often, and spend far less than in Windows. The distro
ships with multiple applications for just about every need you'll ever
have. You could very easily get by never using Windows again. The best
thing? It all installs with the operating system. Forget installing the OS,
drivers, and software one at a time. Click your way to the packages you
want to install and an hour later, you have all of your apps, drivers, and
the OS all installed. It took me a couple of nights to install XP and
everything else on my other system.
Give Linux 3 to 7 more years and it'll be stealing away marketshare from
Windows on the consumer end. It's already making leaps and bounds on the
corporate/government end. It just needs some more development time in the
application area to really do damage to Windows' marketshare.
Any specific questions I'd gladly answer...
--
Big Daddy Ruel Smith
My SuSE Linux machine uptime:
7:57pm up 48 days 4:43, 2 users, load average: 0.27, 0.45, 0.70
My Windows XP machine uptime:
Something less...