Linux Vs Windows

Which do you prefer, and why?

Windows has always worked for me. I don't see a need to use anything else.

Windows, because Windows owns. And because Brenda is cool.

I use Windows because I had my eye pecked out by a penguin when I was just a child.

Oh, and many programs don't run on Linux.

Hmm great, us Mac users are excluded again!

Oh, I did forget about Mac! Haha, my bad.

Stop being so cliqueish

Oh, relax, It's good to keep feeding the Mac-user persecution complex, makes 'em feel special

I love Linux for it's price tag, availability, and ability to run as open source development environment and web server. I hate almost everything else about it, since I cannot just put any distro on a machine and drop it off at my mom's house so she'll have something to use while I'm fixing her other machine on my own time (yes, I did try recently). Linux is still a decade behind both Windows and Macs for usability as far as the average consumer is concerned.

I like Windows for it's.... Well, I don't really. I'm used to it and extremely proficient in getting it running the way I need it to, and of course almost all of my professional work is done in Windows at the moment, but aside from the fact that it's got the best hardware support and software availability, it's nothing special. I'd still use it over anything else if I had to limit myself to one platform.

Vista blows, though. Well and truly blows. What a freaking train wreck of poor design.

.

Well stated.

What about us DOS users... huh?



Windows for me. I had vista then uninstalled it and put XP back in. Now my Vista CD sits in wait for them to fix the kinks and be reinstalled.

Windows has way more games and apps then I could find on Linux. At least the games and apps I use. I had a MAC and found the games terribly lacking but the applications pretty cool. Windows gave me the best of both worlds.

windows for years, stable, well supported and so much more supported software.

I agree. Switching an interface around just for the hell of it is just asking for trouble. After several years we learn where certain buttons and options are without having to look. So how could Microsoft expect us to be happy with them rearranging everything?

If Vista was a room then I'd have a very sore ass after going to sit down and missing the chair several times.

I can't vote - I like and use both

Both have advantages and disadvantages, so using both I get the best of both worlds - however, if you are using older hardware, you will always get FAR greater performance from Linux.

Gomez

I like windows more, simply because it's what I've always used. I know the ins and outs, can fix most problems, and have grown to like its quirks.

my partner calls windows "winblows", he uses linux most of the time...i prefer windows..he says that linux runs SL better and he gets more lag with windows, how true this is I have no idea.

Fai

The more I use linux the more I like it. Not only because of the price tag but there is a growing base of applications to support much of what I do.

Since SL is the only "game" I use regularly I am unconcerned about that angle.

Mostly I just want an OS that allows me to choose what I use on it not what some software company thinks I _should_ be using.

It won't be long until a majority of name-brand software will be created already compatible with Windows 'and' Linux.

They've been saying that for at least 5 years. That's when I deleted my Linux partition, wiped my drive and put XP on my machine exclusively.

I use Vista now.........it ain't half as bad as y'all make it out to be. Just turn off all that glitzy stuff and it's better than XP

I prefer Mac OS X because it just works with very little fuss, and it fits my work-flow extremely well allowing me to be a lot more productive. Not that I am, but I can procrastinate with a lot less effort on my Mac!

Windows however always seems like an up-hill struggle for me, with lots of unnecessary steps to get things done. Maybe all Windows fans are just used to these steps so don't notice them, I dunno. I've clocked as many hours in on Windows as I have on OS X and I prefer OS X.

As for Linux, Linux as a whole is neither good nor bad, individual distributions of Linux however can range of god-awful, to really handy. But then it all depends on what you want, some make EXCELLENT server platforms, others a pretty good desktop distros. But Linux is unlikely to excel much at user-interfaces which limits it for desktop uses, as it's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness; it is open-source. The problem being that people who develop for it are developers, and developers like new features, and their own ideas, it's very hard to get developers to stick to useful conventions on GUIs and so-on. Windows is better in some regards, but IMO OS X is the best for it as the majority of developers stick to Apple's interface guidelines which makes things nice and consistent.

The problem with Mac has, and always has been, it's expense and it's not possible to home build one to beat that problem. Also, software (after all these years) is still a little hard to get for things like games and fun stuff.

I doubt that anybody really cares that much about their OS. To the end user it's just a 100 gigabyte menu for selecting and starting their programs. All that really matters is what programs you can run on it.

The OS makes or breaks the ease of getting to that 100 gigabyte menu

I was just about to buy two computers with Vista. I've been looking and hemming and hawing a good bit about it. I let the anti-Vista comments in this thread sway my decision to buy two XP Pro computers from Dell instead. Less hardware at a higher price, but I won't have to provide support to my daughters about Vista.

Someone should write some killer apps for Linux that are closed source and only available on Linux.

If Adobe would make Adobe Creative Suite for Linux, I suspect that would make Linux more palatable to a number of folks.

In my brief exposure to Linux I found it ok, but annoying by asking me to enter my password all the freaking time.

If I could figure out how get Synergy to run in Linux at boot-up, as the server, then I'd play more with Linux.

That's not so hard.

Just start up your computer, wash the dishes, take the dog for a walk, get back and sit down and by the time you've remembered why you turned the computer on in the first place, the 100 gigabyte menu should've loaded. No problem! Welcome to Windows!.

Oh yeah, that reminds me, I gotta clean the windows. brb

I use Linux not because of price but because:

A lot of things to do with speed of productivity. Just using the mouse. Lots less clicking around in general.
The mouse wheel works in all applications, scrolls instantly in a window without clicking or waiting for it.
Copy and paste, Highlight what I want, it is then ready, middle mouse click to paste. Sooo easy.
(the way I setup) Multi windows, as many as I need. Mouse wheel between them.
My application list with a right-click on desktop (I never need to go to a desktop toolbar.), roll up windows with double click. Maximize sideways with right click on maximize button, maximize vertically with middle mouse button, send window back .. etc etc

And that's just the mouse.