Hmm.. Let me begin by saying i'm a newbie to Linux, and I'm running on Suse 9.1, which i had no problems setting up or using. Previously, I was using Windows XP which i still have on my drive. What I'd like to ask is why a desktop user would bother switching to linux..

I'm using my pc for basic tasks like downloading stuff off bittorrent and the fasttrack network(kazaa), chatting on irc/msn etc, watching movies, playing games etc. I managed to do all of this(havent tried fasttrack) with relative ease in suse, and i got my system the way i like it within an hour or two of installing some rpms.

Though Suse is by no means worse than XP(i managed to get ut2k4 working on linux, so the gaming part is good too), i can't see how it's better than XP.. My XP installation hasn't crashed on me yet and has seen uptimes of 3weeks+ and it only stopped there because i rebooted it voluntarily, so stability is not an issue. Virii etc aren't an issue either, as I don't run suspicious executable files often, and the virii that do slip in(bout 2-3 per year) get promptly detected by my antivirus. Security? My system isn't a top-secret weapons information database, so i'm not the target of hacking attempts on a daily basis. I run a simple software firewall to keep the kiddies out(I know, anyone determined to get into my system probably can, but it hasnt happened yet). I keep my system patched so worms arent an issue either. Speed seems fairly equal on XP and Suse.

Now, since XP supports more games, I'm inclined to keep XP on the drive and dump suse. I never got the whole customisation bit, I just want my system to do what i want it to do correctly. Some of the issues i mentioned might only apply to Suse, so if anyone has some distro recommendations for me i'll be glad to try them out. Also, can anyone suggest some areas in which linux is better than XP for a desktop user like me?

Much easier on the wallet. Everything running on my system (excluding commercial games like UT2003) I haven't had to pay for and I'm not breaking any laws. For someone with a very limited budget like myself this is great. While I used XP, I either had to steal a program, or save up enough to maybe get it (however I could never save up enough to get a lisence for ACID Pro). With Linux, any program I might need I just check SourceForge and there's probably something. Another great thing is that the program is mine to use, not something I am 'lisence' or 'being allowed to use but not own' as most Windows programs' EULAs state.

Also, security is an issue. While you appear to run a very secure XP system and keep updated with patches, on Linux any security problems are usually fixed within a week of announcement. On Windows, some problems go months without a fix. Also, any security problem in Apache, MySQL, or something like that probably won't affect me as I am sure I don't run them, unlike XP where I was suprised by how many services had to be running and how many were enabled by default.

Worms are never an issue for Linux (at least not now). I don't have to be worried that some clever worm will infect my system through the use of a broken updating tool.

[Edit: insert line spaces for readability)

Well, you're right. If you're not a big fan of open source per se, the remaining difference is price.

You pay something around $200 for windows, and again around $150 for office. Usually, you don't see the price tag, because you buy your PC bundled with soft.

But for the kind of usage you have, no, I don't think there is any real advantage , specially if you have XP already installed and payed for.

If XP behaves the way you want it to, I see no particular reason to dump it. Many people have many different reason for choosing Linux on the desktop, and there are many threads in these forums which list our reasons. Personally I like it because it's versatile. It's sort of like a Swiss Army knife...it may not slice a turkey in the nicest way possible, but it will slice a turkey. Additionally it will do a whole lot more, unlike an electric turkey slicer. This is a good thing if you're vegetarian. I don't mean to say that all a turkey slicer can do is slice turkey, but it does it in one way....with a swiss army knife you can slice that turkey in many different ways.

BTW...in case you didn't figure it out, Windows is an electric turkey slicer.

to be blunt the only thing windows does better then linux is gaming.

id be willing to bet you have more issues with your computer then you know. ie spyware/adware especialy if you are browsing, downloading the web, and not to mention kazaa is loaded with it.

im a mega M$ guy. that is what i do for a living in addition to teach TKD im a hardware network guy for M$. i refuse to touch winME, and 2k3, but the rest i know very well.

ive been working on linux for a few months now and i can tell you it leave all M$ OSs in the dirt when it comes to just being better overall.

you mentioned no virii, that is good you are one of the few that patch on a regular basis, but virii will get past even virus scanners and odds are you have at least 1 virii on your system if its been up longer then 9months.

i would also bet unless you clean your system on a daily basis that you have hundreds of spyware/adware running on your XP system. this are bad for everyone but the company who put them on your system.

as for not being the target of hackers... you are the perfect target for a few reason.

1. you dont think you are.
2. you are running M$ OS.
3. they want your CPU, RAM, bandwidth.

they dont care about your data, you are right there, they do care about getting controll of your computer and with a lot of the resient virii that have been out and about they can. keep in mind M$ does not tell the public when it finds a problem, only when they have fixed it even if they have heard about it for over a year. sometimes clsoe to 2 years before they will fix a Level 1 security issue with their OS, or software products like IE, OE, Outlook, M$ Office.

yes linux has problems. no linux does not game as well as M$ does, only becuase the game manufactures do not make as many games native for Linux as they do M$. the up side is when there is a problem in Linux it is fixed fast, and everyone knows about it asap. well everyone meaning those that keep their eyes open and read a bit.

when i am doing anything but gaming i am now running on my Linux box vs my windows box.

you may be able to keep winXP up and running for a month or so, but there are things that are not working that you will not notice on the outside as a standard user. talk to any IT/networking guy and he will tell you that winXP if not rebooted at least 1 time a week will cause issues in a major domain setting, or even a small domain setting.

it is just about as stable as win2k is, maybe a little more, but not much.

Well, i'll have to agree with you that windows has more games than linux.. But for adware/spyware you'd lose the bet, because there are a ton of freeware anti-spyware/adware utils out there that can scan your system and remove spyware.. over the years the only 'spyware' i found were my internet cookies and alexa(comes installed with windows). As for kazaa, there are several hacked versions of it that have been stripped of spyware.

If there's a virus on my system that hasn't been detected by my anti-virus, it sure isn't causing any problems for me(I haven't noticed anything, so the payload is probably negligible, assuming there IS a virus). No trojans either, because my firewall provides outbound filtering which prompts you and keeps a record of all programs trying to make outbound connections or listen on a port for connections.

As for hackers wanting my cpu and bandwidth, i'm on a really shitty cable connection. I know a lot about the bot kits that spread pretty quick, making my pc a bot in a botnet of thousands that are used to DDOS networks etc. I don't have one of those on my machine because of the security measures i have taken, as stated above.

True, windows takes ages to fix security problems, but my system has never been hacked using an exploit of an unpatched security hole. It's possible, but it hasn't happened to me yet(in my years of use).

If there are many things not working that i don't notice, it's probably negligible. I don't get satisfaction from knowing my system is completely patched and secure and working at a 100%.. I get the satisfaction when it does what i want it to do, and doesn't go down randomly. Windows hasn't let me down yet.

I'm not trying to be a windows zealot here, but i think if any of you spends as much time learning windows as you did learning linux, you'd be able to fix whatever problems you used to have with windows.

Um, let the flames begin i guess. Before you guys start, i just wanna say i have nothing against linux, i just havent had any problems with windows and was looking for another reason to use linux (because i like using it, and learning a new system) but my practical self tells me to stay with XP which works as well as linux, only supporting more games.

Ok, I don't plan to get pulled into the regular MS/Linux battle.

You like Windows; it does what you want it to do. That's great. Keep using Windows if you like.

You tried out Linux by installing SuSE. It does what you want it to do (aside from total game support). That's great. Keep using Linux if you like.

It's not our job ("our" being defined as the collection of Linux users) to convince you that you should/need/must switch to Linux. And, to be frank, it sounds as though that's exactly what you're after: "Tell me why I should keep Linux?"

I choose to run Linux because I find it interesting. I have a computer engineering degree and understand a great deal about how things work. I feel comfortable that I have the option to open the source code of any software on my machine and verify what it's doing. If I'm feeling adventurous, I can even make modifications. However, that's incentive for me.

But I do take issue with this statement:
That's a little presumptuous don't you think? I know Windows (3.1 to XP) well enough to supply technical support to family and friends by memory over the phone. I would venture to say that most of the knowledgeable Linux users in this forum are in the same situation, as evidenced by the general forum (responses to posts asking for help to reinstall windows). We didn't choose Linux because we weren't smart enough to handle windows. We chose Linux because it provided a better fit for our sensibilities. I typically find there are many more options available in the Linux world to fix a given problem than there are in windows. I like that flexibility.

You have made the choice that you want to stick with XP; more power to you. One of the big things in the Linux community is providing lots of options and choices. Avoiding Linux and using windows is one of them, and if it works for you, there's not a thing wrong with it.

I'd like to post my two cents on the spyware/adware/virus thing. I personally would prefer it not to exist rather than have to use tools to get rid of it...

And seen as we're saying why we use Linux. I started using it six years ago simply because I was sick and tired of Windows 98 crashing. I'm not one of these Microsoft haters (although I do disagree with their business ideals) I just got used to and loved the way the Unix way of things worked.

Darrell

I'm neither a fan nor an opponent of the open source movement (I don't know enough about it yet), but one point in it's favor is the availability of the source code to all programs, including the operating system itself. Many people (and companies) like customizing programs (including the OS) to suit their individual or corporate needs. Windows is a closed, proprietary, untweakable OS. I'm not yet convinced that open source programs are superior, but at least you can see what's they are doing.

If you're running Kazaa without a firewall and a spyware utility, please consider installing them quickly. Also, Kazaa's end user agreement makes for some fascinating reading. If you didn't read it in its entirety when you installed it, you might want to go back and do so.