linux has come a very, very long way since i began using it.. i think around slackware 9.1/10 (wow, i feel so old right now).. i remember having to compile things from source just to install them, desktop managers didnt even really have a taskbar, and most apps had to be manually linked to the desktop or added to a start menu.. it was pretty intense for anyone but the most dedicated

ill have to admit, i wasnt as dedicated as a lot of others were.. i deleted it, reinstalled it, deleted it and reinstalled again, trying out different versions of slackware, red hat, mandrake, suse, debian, arch, gentoo, ubuntu, mint, and a few others.. but always finding something missing that forced me to go back to windows

its come so far since then, now software seems to be more plentiful, easier to find apps we need to do what we need to do, even gaming is now coming to linux

so id like to know how you guys feel about the changes over recent history with many linux distros adding features like automatic mounting of hardware and usb/flash drivers, hardware detection and driver installation, UI features like system tray.. everything seems to have a package manager now

do you feel linux is becoming too windows like, or just taking on a needed, familiar UI?.. do you feel its being dumbed down to pander to more casual users, that the community is being flooded by so many new people, or do you welcome the added attention and the likely software support it will bring?

how do you feel about linux becoming the dominant gaming system with developers turning away from the tyranny of microsoft with a big push from the people at valve?

do you feel linux should remain where it is now, as more of a niche system on destkops, do you believe it will remain in this position, or do you think its going to grow to the point of over taking other operating systems as the primary for desktop computing?

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my thoughts.. i like seeing more people using it because more people means more support form third party software developers, more attention from gaming developers.. honestly, i dont care if windows dies out or not, i just want to be able to get the software i want here.. let linux be the focus of developers, let windows take the back seat.. i welcome it, and i enjoy the recent changes in linux and welcome the ones that are coming to make it even better

ive done something a week ago i never thought id actually do.. made linux my primary operating system.. on my gaming computer.. with valve, and wine developing to such a point where i can play most my games here, i think ive finally reached the tipping point where ill finally be able to say goodbye to windows completely

Personally, I love it.

I'd been dual-booting XP/Ubuntu since '06, finding myself using Ubuntu more and more with each new LTS release. For the past two years or more, I hardly booted XP other than to install updates or play an occasional game. I have played around with Windows 7 and 8 on my daughter's and son-in-law's laptops, and quite honestly, didn't like them at all, so with Microsoft and the security experts pushing to upgrade from XP ahead of it's EOL, I finally did- to Xubuntu 12.04. Been Windows-free for three months and don't miss it at all.

My affair with Linux is old and runs conncurent with my general displeasure with OS X and the Mac OS's that predate them. I don't and never have used Windows on any of my personal computers so they're not really part of any decision making process on this kinda stuff. Linux badly needed to be easier to use they have accomplished that at the expense of learning how to fix it. I don't know if this is a bad thing or not but it's different. What I will say is that I'm not a huge fan of the one man/company controls the distro but that is going to inevitably going to happen I suppose. The future is the distro's are going to diverge and the BSD's will take part of the community group this will weaken the Linux camp and device the coders.

i think diversity in linux distros, different window managers draw screens in different ways, different packages of libraries, base software, what does a software or game developer target?.. this is one reason i really like steamos coming out soon.. it gives game developers a linux distro designed by valve and fine tuned for gaming.. a common ground that game developers can shoot for and linux distros who want to open up the world of gaming on linux need only make certain aspects compatible with valve.. most likely, they themselves will only need steam installed to have those games

what this means is there will be a huge influx of people onto the linux operating system.. millions and software developers are going to have a really hard time ignoring that.. quite possibly end up being a domino effect that could launch linux forward as the primary, most used, and most popular desktop operating system..

granted, there will always be certain distros that go out of their way for the complete beginners, but the great thing about linux is we can choose not to use those distros.. we can choose to avoid fedora, ubuntu, and go for gentoo, arch, debian, and we will always be given that choice of desktop environments

what i envision is just a lot more options of what to do and what we can install on linux.. granted, i am on mint which does focus on ease of use.. but atleast im on the debian version of it and not the ubuntu side :-D

I like both linux and the BSDs. Both have come a long way and both will get better in the long run. Whereas to windows, it will get more restricted and more controlled by microsoft and less privacy with the NSA backdoor.

Current- Bright
Future- Quite Bright!

NetBot.. i remember when windows started requiring signed drivers.. that just about did it in for me if not for the gaming aspect.. which if steam manages the change, yeah, ill never be using a windows operating system again..

as for BSDs.. never tried one to be honest, id have no idea how one would differ from linux.. i dont like using virtual machines either because its hard to determine how an OS will perform on your computer without it actually being installed.. not to get off topic but i do have a spare 60gb HDD, and my computer has a top loading SATA dock.. i should try a BSD on that

anyway.. i still think arch is my favorite so far, going to try out a custom debian install and see which i prefer from there.. and then im going to start experimenting with BSDs, other distros, maybe even novelty OS's like kolibri and reactos.. but really, linux is quickly becoming to pinnacle for desktop operating systems.. and not just an operating system but a completely and totally free (as in freedom) system.. and that means a lot more than merely sticking to to microsoft. just the thought of an all community driven environment with no major corporations blacmailing us to buy their crap

Non-Concerned because developers will do what they think is best. Users will bitch no matter what. Comparisons will always be made.

As long as choice is available and I still have the skill set to implement and use them choices.
My personal universe is all that matters to me. I can suggest,cajole,donate all I wish.
But if it is what it is. I'll just have to deal with it like anything else.
Either Change or Die.

Besides. I have better things to be concerned about. I have just a few minutes to make my last beer run. Bye.

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Both BSDs and linux share the same unix philosophy. Many programs found in linux are available in the BSDs via ports. The only drawbacks of BSDs are the packages and the hardware support. Some packages are a version or two behind the linux versions and hardware is not as widely supported as linux. But it's getting there.

If you never had tried a BSD distro, I would recommend PC-BSD for BSD newbies. PC-BSD is based on freeBSD and is designed to be a user friendly desktop equivalent to Linux Mint.

There are two things that I see as becoming a problem.

The first is happening already and has been for a few years. That is Ubuntu appearing to be the face of Linux and people who don't understand thinking Ubuntu is Linux and everything else is a mere copy or shadow of Ubuntu.

The second is the fragmentation of Linux. How many distros are there currently? Each has its community that think its the greatest thing since sliced bread and wont acknowledge that others have a place in the Linux ecosystem. I also think that, apart from specialty distributions, there are to many distributions and that development is to fragmented. This is not to say that each and every distro doesn't deserve to exist but that some are probably better merged with others so that development can continue for the benefit of Linux as a whole community.

As I see it we want choice and freedom, but not fragmentation or, in the case of Ubuntu, grandstanding. Working together is what Linux is to me, to many people and/or distros work apart from the rest of the Linux community and grandstand that they are right and everyone else is wrong (Ubuntu is not the only distro to do this). Will things change, probably not in my lifetime.

Exactly right.

You can see from this that most distros are derivatives / respins of one of the 3 majors: RH, Slackware, Debian
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...6/Gldt1106.svg

Oops. I guess you forgot ArchLinux as one of the majors that has several derivatives/spinoffs such as Bridge or the excellent Manjaro.
Just my 2 cents.
Cheers.