Without any explanation how you come to this conclusion your answer is not very helpful.

7. Found a computer in a Dumpster that works and you are broke=cashless
8. Your Hardrive Broke, No Windows Install Disk. You are broke.
8 1/2. Your computer is so infested that it won't boot anymore in Windows. No Install Disk. You are Broke.
9. You are Broke.

Pretty much describes my neck of the woods.

To all of you out there, thank you!

I will now try to choose an 'easy one' (i1anu)

Regards to all, Alexagain

I started using Linux as a "technician's learning experience" some years ago (Red Hat 2.0). During those intervening years I have tried many distro's. Knoppix, Suse, Mandrake, Debian and finally some Debian derivitives such as Ubuntu and what I am now using as my main desktop XUbuntu. I have ALWAY's had/have Winboring on a dual boot simply because this is my home system and I use it for games (sorry but all the linux game support still sucks the boner after more than 12 years of me using linux) AND I am a Winblows technician.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that I naturally gravitated towards linux use mainly over the years. This was, in retrospect, because Linux is easier to use for the most part, faster, more stable and a hell of a lot cheaper than ANY Wincrash OS period. Including Win7 and Win2008 srv, which are, by far, the MOST stable windows OS's ever.

So, in answer to your question. I believe that because YOU have initiated this question YOU have an interest. Therefore, if you do NOT at least set up a dual boot system would be detrimental to YOU for missing the experience.
Before you do that, PLEASE read all you can find on dual boot setups. Usually having winblows installed on the hard drive FIRST makes life easier for the novice linux user. Also, another thing to make life easier for a novice linux user is to have a second hard drive in the computer dedicated to linux. Dual boot setups are pretty straightforward today, no mucking about with MBR's and partitioning, for the most part todays linux installers will detect a windows install and simply add it to the boot menu it writes to the MBR. If you are a newbie and have a decent system I would suggest Ubuntu because it is proving to be the easiest linux flavor for new users and the support infrastructure for a free OS is simply amazing.Rivaling Microsoft's any day of the week and costing the user nothing.

Good Luck whatever you decide.

ALL MS software does NOT run on Linux. Don't listen to that person he knows not of what he speaks in this regard. He prolly knows more about Linux than I do but lets see him get Active Directory or even Exchange server and NOT the Linux equivalent of these softwares working on Linux. I agree there are thousands of Windows based softwares that run suitably through Wine or some Wine derivative but not all. I defy him to prove his statement.

If you are a new Linux user keep the winblows dual boot trust me. Until you get familiar with Linux you may need to go back into winblows once in a while to do something. Play a game maybe? With the game being displayed as it is MEANT to be displayed and not a game with washed out graphics or sub par performance, trust me in this I KNOW of what I speak--try Oblivion with winblows XP/vista/7 and then try it in Linux through wine or playonlinux or cedega or whatever, winblows just plays the game better. It is just that simple. Better looking graphics and faster framerates for WINDOWS games, all WINDOWS games.

This is very misleading to a new user, as it would imply that you have to be a programmer or 'hacker' to want Linux. Which is totally wrong...Linux is (and has been), very user friendly, and ready for 95% of home users who want nothing more than to surf the web and check emails. The "software costs in a company" line is also misleading, as Linux is used on low-end consumer laptops as easily as you can use it on big corporate servers. What is also true is that Linux gives you the TOOLS to be able to move forward, if you want to. You have options, and can go as far as you'd like.
Sorry, but this is also misleading. There is LOTS of open-source Windows software/freeware out there, and has been for years. Why most people 'prefer' Windows, is because they get it pre-loaded when they buy a computer, and it's easier to leave it there than change it. And Windows is as user friendly as Linux is, or as a Mac is.

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You want to play games? Go buy a freakin' console. I hate it when people say "ooh, we can't play games on linux. Let's go back to windows, close the anti virus, pause the defrag, disconnect the internet, stop the third party firewall, close any other programs running, and THEN enjoy some quality graphics on my 14" CRT. What the fun? How many games have YOU bought till date, eh, buddy? Most, if not all, of Microsoft's technology are poorly cloned versions of stuff made in the 80s. They didn't make it, they just stupified it.

One reason why Linux is witnessing an exponential growth in its userbase is because it is made by people like you and me (only smarter). I used Fedora. I only have 256 MB RAM. It won't run on my system no more. I'll just make my own. Have you EVER read the MS EULA? Even after you've paid for it, you can't use it on more than one system! Its ridiculous! My friend bought a laptop with OEM XP, but he can't install it on his old desktop, even though he can't possibly use both at the same time! And he's not some geek or nerd like most of us; he's an ordinary guy who still can't understand why his genuine XP won't activate.

Ridiculous. So many restrictions on a worthless piece of software. My question is, apart from gaming on it when you're 37 years old and still living with your parents, what can you really DO with it?

Me, I make music on it.

Sorry, but no. I play games on my PC on a nice 22" LCD, and since I have a fairly powerful machine they look way better than on any console currently out there. I have bought many games, and most of them I wouldn't even bother to play on a console. Playing real time strategy, ego-shooters or even Civilization 5 with a game-pad is really awkward (most shooters on the consoles have a aiming automatic, WTF?). And yes, i have tried it and sold my XBox360 again a month later. By the way, most games on the console are also cloned versions of older games, but that doesn't make them poor games.

Then, obviously, you have never heard of FPS games? I love FPS games, and trying to play that in a console, is like playing the game with two bare hands chopped with a chainsaw. I.e., console sucks, and I would instead prefer a computer with Windows 95 installed.

ALL the games you can play on a console you can play on a computer, but not all the games you can play on a computer can you play on a console.

And about Windows games, yes, Windows games are better fit for Windows, no questions about that. And that is why I still got Windows on my machine.

Windows games are better because Windows is a better market for gaming companies. It has nothing to do with it being better or worse as an operating system.

As far as my opinion is concerned, people should rather play ball with their kid than spend their time indulged in some virtual reality giving vent to their more basic desires of killing and such. Life itself is a big enough illusion.

I did not say anything about better or worse operating system. I did say that games that are made for Windows, fit Windows better than Linux, comprehend?

Well, that is of course your opinion. However, whatever soul or life on this planet decides itself what it wants to do. Dont tell me, or anyone, what i need to do with my life.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, but I agree. Sometimes I play FPS games on a PS3 and can confirm that using a pad for FPS is not an ideal solution. Probably if they created a cross-platform multiplayer for games like Modern Warfare/CoD/Battlefield, most console users would stand little chance of surviving.

I'm afraid that's completely untrue. An example of a game like that is Heavy Rain. There's actually a long list of PS3-only games.

Why would I be bothered what you do with your life? You could go hang yourself for all I care. Why would you think that I would tell you what to do with your life? Do you think your life is more important than mine or anybody else's? Don't kid yourself.

Could you point me to a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PC? I'd love to have that.

As for the orginal question, "Should I use linux?"

Yes. You can use it experimentally, temporarily, or permanently. Try it out and see how it fits. That is how a lot of us started with it. If it suits you, then go with it. This is an active community and there is plenty of help out there if you look in the right places. It can be frustrating, I will not lie. But the rewards of using linux far outweigh the cons of using Linux.

Good luck!

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