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Anyone here use Linux, and what are the pluses and minuses whether you use it, have tried it before, or hate it?
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Posted: |
Jul 7, 2014 - 2:46 AM
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By: |
Yen Fai
(Member)
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I've been using Ubuntu almost exclusively for about two years, and Fedora for maybe six months. I keep Windows 7 on the same computer for those few things that I just can't do in Linux, such as iTunes and Photoshop.
I'd never *recommend* Linux to anyone; it's a very personal choice, and you really need to want to use it. Linux is somewhat demanding and probably not for a casual computer user. However, most distributions have "live" CDs or DVDs which allow you to take them for a test drive without altering your computer. If you enjoy computers and just want to try something new, I'd recommend making a few live CDs, and when you find a distribution you like, install it on a spare computer if you can and use it for a good while to test it out. Distributions I like are Mint, Ubuntu, Ubuntu Gnome, Lubuntu, or Fedora, but there are many many more. (I find that WiFi often doesn't work when using a live CD, but Ubuntu seems to be pretty good about this.)
I've enjoyed using Linux, and rarely have insurmountable problems. I enjoy solving the occasional problems, which is not always easy or even possible. The Ubuntu community pages are very helpful with most issues.
Challenges I've been able to overcome have included getting WiFi to work and accessing networked printers. Sharing documents between Linux and Macs/Windows has been hit or miss, and I've never been able to use my built in microphone for Skype/VOIP. For these, I switch over to Windows 7, although it's a bit of a hassle to close out everything and restart. I also find my 4 year old laptop to lag a bit with current Linux distributions.
I do use WINE for an older version of Photoshop. But WINE is a tricky thing; I've installed 8 programs in it and only two have worked for me. And it's a bit flaky, crashing occasionally. There are many tricks and tweaks, but it's all a bit of mystery and black magic. Unfortunately, it seems newer versions of Photoshop or iTunes are incompatible at the moment, so I go back to Windows for these as I really don't care for their Linux equivalents, GIMP and Banshee.
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Posted: |
Jul 12, 2014 - 4:09 PM
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By: |
Yen Fai
(Member)
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I'm using Wine 1.6.1, and I haven't even looked into updating as it took a lot of work to get Photoshop working, and I'd be afraid of messing it up.
Although Wine updates to improve compatibility, I'm sure the actual DLLs generally stay the same from Microsoft, particularly with XP having reached it's end of support. Plus any that you will need are either publicly available on Microsoft's website, or will be installed by your applications.
Like I said, I can send you DLLs, but all of Wine's DLLs are publicly available. Honestly, you might have better help on the Ubuntu forum or at WineHQ. If you would like, my email is my FSM screen name, remove the space, add the numbers 1138, tack on an at-symbol, hotmail, dot, com. Sorry to write it out like that but I don't want spambots harvesting my email lol.
Also you might look into WineTricks, a companion app that adjusts Wine for different programs using known working configurations. I didn't use it for Photoshop, so I'm not very familiar with it.
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I build my own systems, and I always build them with a double boot.
For a long time Win 98 was my 2nd boot, then I moved to Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is fairly easy to use for all of your day-to-day stuff. It has an interface meant to be familiar to Win and Mac users.
Web browsing, media playing, business stuff all work pretty much the same. I have even found a program to interface with my 14-yr old Creative Juke Box 3, but it has it's issues and I can't tell if it's me or the program.
If you have very specific software needs in Mac or Win, you are likely to find a Linux or cross-platform replacement, but it's interface and capabilities are likely to be substantially different.
Once I had to rely on Ubuntu for a week or so while I sorted out my Win XP install. I was quite happy to get back to Windows when it was all sorted out. Everything I did day-to-day was easy and familiar in Win, but I found it hard to rely on Ubuntu for all the things I needed to do. In a pinch, it was still a lifesaver.
I have not used a version with a command line interface, nor have I fooled around with Wine much.
I'd say Linux is worth checking out and being familiar with if only to you can get into any disk or drive that craps out in Win or MacOS.
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I'll add that I notice any number of public institutions and government agencies all over the world are moving to open-source software solutions. If you work in that sphere, keeping up with the technology is important.
Here in Los Angeles, I notice that the Metro uses Ubuntu for their electronic signs (I know this because when the signs bork, it shows the Ubuntu desktop).
Checking out live, temporary instals could be useful, even if you don't use something like Ubuntu full time.
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