Convince me to install linux ...

[ToddTheFrog]

Hola

I've been reading about Linux since I can remember and honestly, I can't think of any reasons why I'd want to install it. Maybe you guys can give me some valid reasons because I want to justify putting it on my computer as a dual boot with XP.

My computing habits ...

I surf the internet lots and lots, talk on aol, type up papers and such and play bf2 and a few other windows only games.

What benefits will I get from switching?

Convince me please. Also what version do you guys prefer and why.

Thanks!

Todd

 

[puck]

If you need convincing on why to install then you probably don't need to.

If you don't have the need or passion to learn about it then you will just get bored and remove it a few days later.

So unless you really feel the need to learn a new OS and broaden your horizons then you have no point in installing Linux.

 

[Ice Czar]

What benefits will I get from switching?

1.you will learn Linux
2. you will slam the door on a whole order of common browser & IM exploits
(but you will need to learn to secure Linux itself a totally different can of worms)


what Id personally recommend is for you to learn Knoppix as a starter
run from CDROM & loaded into RAM its extremely secure
w\ a small partition to save out text data (which seems to be your primary need)

Im in the process of learning Linux
and all I can say is I wish I had started earlier


another worthwhile project is to build a hardware firewall from antique parts

cut & paste 101
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

how does a hardware firewall work?

NAT & PAT (NAPT)
IPTables (PDF part 1) & Part 2
Stateful vs. Stateless IP Filtering

http://www.netfilter.org/ (opensource freeware)
* stateless packet filtering (IPv4 and IPv6)
* stateful packet filtering (IPv4)
* all kinds of network address and port translation (NAT/NAPT)
* flexible and extensible infrastructure
* multiple layers of API's for 3rd party extensions
* large number of plugins/modules kept in 'patch-o-matic' repository

http://www.netfilter.org/documentation/index.html#documentation-howto
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=781545 (Networking FAQ)

Personally if your getting into this and building your own Id start with a simple Linux NAT Firewall (w\ ipchains)
http://pigtail.net/LRP/index.html \ http://www.linuxrouter.org/
(first one has an easier tutorial IMO)
and then graduate to more complex ones like netfilter which is cutting edge (iptables, stateful & stateless)
after that there are IDS (Intrusion Detection Systems) & IPS (Intrusion Prevention Systems) like SNORT http://www.snort.org/
(also opensource freeware) you make it that far it goes on the resume

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

[jbog91]

Hey Ice Czar, that cut and paste 101 must be on popular demand It's a good read. Gives you a lot of information on the topic.

And three reason you will like linux is because there is not as many viruses for it, it's secure, and it's FREE!!! Can't beat that.

 

[ToddTheFrog]

If you need convincing on why to install then you probably don't need to.

If you don't have the need or passion to learn about it then you will just get bored and remove it a few days later.

So unless you really feel the need to learn a new OS and broaden your horizons then you have no point in installing Linux.

Way to spread the linux love there buddy. I'm sure you're a huge asset to the Linux community.

Todd

 

[puck]

I always spread the linux love, but if you have no reason to use it you'll just end up hating it, and never use it again.

It happens all the time, people hear about linux think it's the greatest thing then install it and never have the motivation to learn how to use it, then they call it stupid and annoying and they never use it again.

if you want to learn Linux then go ahead and install it, you shouldn't need someone to convince you to use it.

 

[Josh_B]

Way to spread the linux love there buddy. I'm sure you're a huge asset to the Linux community.

Todd

He's right.

That's like saying, "convince me to drink water". Why? If you want to drink, you'll drink. If you don't, then why would he bother wasting time and effort attempting to reason why it is logical.

When the horse is thirsty, it will drink...

 

[Whatsisname]

if the thread starter doesnt have an immediate use for it there is no reason to deal with it, simple as that. Using linux for the sake of using linux is retarded.

Way to spread the linux love there buddy. I'm sure you're a huge asset to the Linux community.

Todd

 

[BillLeeLee]

If you have the will to learn new things, then by all means go for it. If not, then you will end up in the ranks of the people who try it and give up.

Ice Czar's suggestion is a good one - use a LiveCD like Knoppix or Mepis to get a taste for Linux. That way if you don't like it, you haven't gone through the time of installing.

Good luck, have fun.

 

[HHunt]

It's a bit like why I don't always recommend FreeBSD in linux discussions, even though I do belive it's a better OS in a general sense. There are people and situations for which linux will be better, and in much the same way, there's situations and people for which and whom windows will work better.

That said, I would suggest setting off a chunk of disk space, installing some friendly linux distro, and trying to do everything except the gaming in it for a few days, just to get a feeling for it. Take a look at the way things hang together, try some of the niftier apps [1], see if you can make it do something useful. As an idea, setting up apache [2] shouldn't be much harder than typing a few non-arcane commands and putting the files you want to serve into a folder.

That doesn't really answer why. Curiosity? Nothing better to do with your time? Desire to learn?
You'll have to decide for yourself.

[1] Take a look at the "Post your linux apps" - thread
[2] A webserver. The webserver, even.

 

[[H]EMI_426]

If you need convincing on why to install then you probably don't need to.

If you don't have the need or passion to learn about it then you will just get bored and remove it a few days later.

So unless you really feel the need to learn a new OS and broaden your horizons then you have no point in installing Linux.

*Ding!*

It's nice (and refreshing) to see some common-sense replies in threads like this instead of the absolute zealotry that seems to run rampant in the Linux community.

If you're happy using what you're using, there's no need to switch. If you can't convince yourself to try it for good reasons (which do not include "OMG l33t"), don't bother. If you're not willing to put in the time/effort to become familiar with the operating system and basic administration tasks, don't bother.

As far as someone saying puck isn't being an "asset" to the Linux community, I think puck is doing the Linux community as a whole a favor by keeping relatively non-interested people from joining up cause he's realistic about what's required.

Linux is not the only alternative. It's not even the best alternative for the vast majority of cases, in my opinion. Most of the time average desktop users are completely happy with Windows. If someone's smart enough to intelligently handle running Linux by themselves, they're smart enough to be able to work around the minor problems with Windows.

Linux people, stop being zealots. Please. You're not helping anyone.

 

[[H]EMI_426]

Way to spread the linux love there buddy. I'm sure you're a huge asset to the Linux community.

Todd

The vast majority of Linux users are exactly that: users. They aren't an "asset" to the community in any real way.

 

[Ice Czar]

I can give you the reason I run Linux
or more accurately why Im learning to run Linux

so I can run 3D animation & rendering aps under it
and eventually an animation cluster

as mentioned a good reason that drives you is best
but the security advantage of a liveCD is painless
the basic familiar interface is there from the desktop to the browser to the IM
(KDE\Firefox\Gaim)

 

[puck]

Just to be clear, I love *nix (linux, *BSD). I use Linux almost exclusivly at home.

I would love for Linux (any *nix for that matter) to be a comon desktop OS, but it's not ready yet for everyone. While it is getting a lot closer (freedesktop.org) it still takes time and passion to learn it and to be able to take full advantage of it.

So it really is better to avoid it unless your really interested in learning a compltly different way of computing as compared to Windows.

This way when it is easier to use there will be no prejudice against from bad past experiences.