Making the switch to Linux

[psychic stalker]

The20

Welsh Heron

psychic stalker

There are some services I probably miss out on: Any website that uses Microsoft Silverlight (like Netflix) is pretty much a no-go. I've heard people have gotten Silverlight working in Firefox under Wine, and watch their Netflix queue that way. I haven't subscribed to Netflix since a couple years before they started streaming, and I actually ended up using Amazon Instant Video on my PS3 for that stuff instead. But I also don't watch movies or TV very often. YMMV.

Of course, I realize there will be incompatibilities...but don't you make that trade when choosing ANY operating system? After all, there are both Mac-specific and Windows-specific software out there. Aside from that, as I stated above, all of the uses I have for a computer (programming, gaming, research) are all uses that Linux has suitable

Problem being we're talking about web technologies here, those should be completely independent from the OS you use.
On the plus side Microsoft already abandoned development of Silverlight, so it probably won't get worse.
Now all that's left is to get rid of Flash ...

Well, ostensibly, Microsoft and Novell were working together on Moonlight, to provide Silverlight support for non-Windows platforms.

It went practically nowhere; it never really supported much beyond a few simple demos, even as they claimed 100% compatibility; and it couldn't work with a Silverlight website, in even the best conditions. I heard claims once that a Silverlight 2.0 video streaming service would work in Moonlight 2.0 after installing the Microsoft codec pack, but it was all lies.

Silverlight, like Flash, is complete crap, was a bad idea executed in the worst way possible, and is used only by the criminally insane.

[Shade7510]

Welsh Heron

I suppose getting used to a new operating system will be difficult, but I'm the sort of person who likes switching things up and having challenges. I also have grown up using Windows, and have probably used Apple products for....30 minutes (max) in my lifetime, and pretty much all of that was on my Grandpa's iPad when he came to visit (he likes games, so I played one with him once).

Still, I can understand your frustration. If you're doing just regular tasks, it would be easier to just stick with something that you're used to, but for my purposes I would be willing to learn a new operating system for the advantages that Linux provides.
same. i like windows but i'm not sure i'll ever go back to it. i thought win 7 was fantastic but with all the crap they've done with 8 i'd rather just stop dealing with microsoft all together. same with mac, barely ever used one but in the time i had i hated it. everything just felt so clunky and slow.

i just wish i could've gotten a linux distro is all.

Welsh Heron

Um, no, haha. Maybe one day if I'm bored and have a spare computer lying around I'll give it a shot, but I shan't risk something like that on my laptop, especially considering Gentoo's impractibility. I love speed just as much as the next person, but when you consider that the time you spend tweaking the speed to it's maximum potential far outweighs the time you gain from a faster system, I find such an action impractical.

nahh i'm just being an a**. don't ever install gentoo it's cancerous.

[Shade7510]

psychic stalker

Ricers.

"optimize their iPod access times by 0.2% by raising the maximum sector number"

i think this may be taking it a bit too far...

[The20]

Shade7510

psychic stalker

Ricers.

"optimize their iPod access times by 0.2% by raising the maximum sector number"

i think this may be taking it a bit too far...

You just can't appreciate a bit of optimization talk2hand

[psychic stalker]

Shade7510

psychic stalker

Ricers.

"optimize their iPod access times by 0.2% by raising the maximum sector number"

i think this may be taking it a bit too far...

Gentoo: The world of fallacious optimization strategies, dumb users, and incompetent devs.

Everything on that site is something someone has *actually said*, and not one thing anyone says has any basis in reality.

[Shade7510]

The20

You just can't appreciate a bit of optimization talk2hand

hey i like my efficiency as much as the next guy(and making my desktop look pretty) but sometimes it just isn't worth it.

[The20]

Shade7510

The20

You just can't appreciate a bit of optimization talk2hand

hey i like my efficiency as much as the next guy(and making my desktop look pretty) but sometimes it just isn't worth it.

But that's point-two percent! That's probably 3 microseconds or something. How can you not appreciate that?

[Shade7510]

The20

But that's point-two percent! That's probably 3 microseconds or something. How can you not appreciate that?

i know, i know. but it's an ipod so they shouldn't even be using one in the first place. if they can rice something better i'd see there meaning. because if you use a portable device like that long enough(say a couple decades or so) with that kind of optimization you could actually cut off a whopping 2 hours or so that you can spend watching porn or something totally time worthy.


...hmm...with all this sarcastic not-so-innuendo i might wind up catching a chest cold myself.

[birdman3131]

Shade7510

...hmm...with all this sarcastic not-so-innuendo i might wind up catching a chest cold myself.

Trust me. They are not fun. Been dealing with one for the better part of a month.

[Shade7510]

birdman3131

Shade7510

...hmm...with all this sarcastic not-so-innuendo i might wind up catching a chest cold myself.

Trust me. They are not fun. Been dealing with one for the better part of a month.

i usually have issues with my nose. especially during winter. it's either always runny or constantly stuffed and it drives me insane.

[Maya-Sterling]

go for it!
the cool thing about linux is that it's almost 100% immune to computer viruses. 3nodding

[Welsh_Mule]

ANDREWSBD

go for it!
the cool thing about linux is that it's almost 100% immune to computer viruses. 3nodding

Well, I wouldn't say 'immune', at least any more immune than any other operating system is. However, I can understand why there wouldn't be very many viruses written for Linux, as it isn't the popular OS among the masses.

Also, just because I'm curious now, does anyone know if a virus written for, say, Fedora, would work on Ubuntu (or any other distro)? Basically what I'm asking is "How similar are linux distros to eachother?".

[psychic stalker]

ANDREWSBD

go for it!
the cool thing about linux is that it's almost 100% immune to computer viruses. 3nodding

It's not so much being immune as its having so few known viruses that it's rarely a concern.

Linux systems can still be compromised by attackers through insecure or unpatched services, just like any operating system.

Windows happens to be more vulnerable to these kinds of attacks because it has more insecure services enabled by default, and more viruses have gotten written for it over the years.

[Maya-Sterling]

i have actually saved my hard drive(s) twice from virus infection thanks to linux.
i had one of my hard drives plugged to a windows laptop. when i plugged it to my linux laptop i saw an unidentified file, which i deleted right away since i had no idea what it was. it was probably one of those trojan horse programs that secretly sneak into your computer when you're online.

[CoIdbird]

You can't do anything wrong when switching to Linux really.
Given that Mac and Windows are the alternatives it can't get worse you know.

I've been on Linux since the year 2000 and never regretted it.
If you want a easy start into Linux world without too much trouble I suggest going for Ubuntu as it deals with pretty much everything you could do wrong for you.

About partitioning, wipe the slate clean with the partition GUI inside the Ubuntu live disc, then once all is wiped, let Ubuntu do the partitioning for you.

This way you wont have to worry about anything as all you gotta do is "delete all partitions", then let Ubuntu do its thing.

After a reboot you will be in your brand new Linux and should be able to tweak it the way you like.
I suggest familiarizing yourself with command line tools like apt-get and a bunch of other essentials to get you going.