Anyone here uses linux?

[Narcix]

Hello, any linux user 'round here? Can you tell me something about your experience with it, and how it is compared to windows? thx

[SpAmRaY]

[alaricljs]

You can't play many retail games on linux.

That's it.

[CommunistWitchDr]

Use it exclusively on my computer, have to use windows at work and the list of things I like about it is extremely small. What kind of operating system doesn't even have a decent package manager?

[SpAmRaY]

Does AutoCAD run on Linux?

[jwaz]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Does+AutoCAD+run+on+Linux%3F

[Thimplum]

Does AutoCAD run on Linux?

No.

[lcs]

it depends on what you use your computer for.

i have two boxes, one with linux that i use for everything but gaming.

[Hypersphere]

Yes, I use linux, along with Mac OS X (my primary OS) and Windows 7. Regarding linux, I started with RedHat 6, then a RedHat clone (CentOS 6.4). However, RedHat and its clones are not as easy to use as Ubuntu and its clones, and they do not have as many apps in the repositories. More recently, I  switched to Linux Mint 13 LTS 64-bit, which is based on Ubuntu. I use KDE 4.10 as my desktop environment.

Linux Mint/KDE is just as easy to use as Windows 7 or Mac OS X, and the OS and most apps are free. Linux, like OS X, has the added advantage of the command line, which is available simply by opening a terminal. I really enjoy using linux, and it is essential for some of my molecular modeling applications.

However, linux has some drawbacks, such as a lack of software that is equivalent to applications that I commonly use on the Mac or in Windows. For example, I have not found any scientific graphics and statistics software for linux that is as good or user friendly as programs such as GraphPad Prism, which is available for Mac and Windows. Because of this, I use Mac OS X most of the time, and I use linux for things like molecular dynamics simulations. I use Windows as little as possible, but sometimes it is unavoidable. If I were a gamer, I suppose I would use Windows quite a lot, at least for games, which are not as widely available for Mac or linux.

 

[lcs]

dota 2 in linux now!

don't you like R, rjrich?

[IvanIvanovich]

I just never was able to get on with it as a desktop OS. I never managed to find a window manager GUI that I really got along with. I started off messing around with slackware in like 99 or so, then last few years moved to crunchbang and other specialty distros for NAS or network applications depending. But I mostly use my PCs for gaming, and linux really has not been so good for that use though it looks like its changing some. I do use linux for stuff like fileservers, routers, firewalls... or in other words systems I configure once just leave them alone and let them run and run.

[insilica]

I use Linux exclusively @ home and at work. I use Gentoo on both workstations with i3 tiling manager which essentially reduces my mouse use significantly.

There are many flavours of Linux, if you are just starting out I would recommend one of the Debian flavoured distributions, I.e  Mint or Ubuntu. Linux is not for playing games, I have a Win7 partition for games. Where and  when I need windows (very little) it runs in a Virtualbox.

I have very fine grained control over my machine, down to custom hardened kernels with grsec, something I can't do on mac or windows. I setup the OS to my liking, I.e  not using the software as some corporate muppets intended. I have no antivirus and no firewall (minus ip tables). Never had a virus or hack (minus script kiddies in chrooted environments running in circles)

Linux is really about fine grain control and customisation. If you intend to surf the web and write documents I would recommend it. If you are developer then once you get started you will hate yourself for using Windows. If you are a graphic designer use  Mac (I use a mac mini for art work). If you want to play games forget it, unless you are willing to use a Windows partition. Until Steam picks up on Linux (it is running natively now and has been for a while) I would avoid gaming because it will only lead to frustration.

Edit:
Also the scientific apps that matter to me are available on Linux, I.e. Mathematica for symbolic math and Matlab for rapid prototyping and matrices. Numpty python is cross platform, the one use I have for windows at the moment is Outlook, at work. Managing outlook using Citrix native Linux receiver.

[smknjoe]

It's been my desktop OS for 7-8 years. Ubuntu or Mint is pretty easy for anyone to start out on. I used to use Slackware but it's super slow these days. So, Ubuntu 12.04 with Gnome classic (no Unity for me!) Then virtualize everything else in VMware Workstation and you're set!

...and you can run almost any of these distributions in "Live" mode from DVD, USB, CD, to "try before you buy" if you aren't sure you want to actually install a copy on your PC.

[inteli722]

I use it on my laptop and various computers that I don't want to buy Windows for. It works fine for me, and it's kind of fun to mess around with from time to time. It's usable and easy to get into (depending on the Distro you choose -- I use Linux Mint). Linux game support is tiny, but my laptop can't run games well anyways, so it doesn't matter. For a basic computer that's used for Office stuff, Surfing the Web, and email, then I'd highly recommend it, provided you can stand a very small amount of learning. If you intend to game, though...

Wait a while. I intend to switch to Linux permanently after the game support gets larger, as that's the only thing keeping me on board the Windows train.

[fohat.digs]

Does AutoCAD run on Linux?

CAD and database compatibility are the 2 gaping deficiencies of Linux in general. Aside from games, which I don't play.

[Hypersphere]

dota 2 in linux now!

don't you like R, rjrich?

Probably I have not given R a fair chance. From my limited testing, R is incredibly rich with fantastic potential (and it is free!), but it has a steep learning curve. For relatively routine scientific plotting and statistics, I like GraphPad Prism because it is so intuitive it seems to read my mind.

[smknjoe]

Does AutoCAD run on Linux?

CAD and database compatibility are the 2 gaping deficiencies of Linux in general. Aside from games, which I don't play.

There are a few AutoCAD alternatives. It just depends on how compatible you need it to be with the real deal.

http://www.bricsys.com/en_INTL/bricscad/index.jsp
http://sourceforge.net/projects/free-cad/

Games - I don't give a **** about.

[sth]

i use it at work. kde is awesome.

i would not choose to use it at home but i often use photoshop, reason and a few other programs that are not on linux, and since i already have the tools to do what i need i never bothered to learn how to make their open source counterparts do what i need to do. if you don't game and don't need proprietary programs then linux can be a great choice, especially kubuntu and linux mint.

[Halvar]

I have an Android phone and an Android tablet, so, yes, I do use Linux daily. I also have a router and a NAS that are based on Linux. I like it -- no big problems so far. Android would need an update mechanism like desktop OSs that helps keep the phones secure though. That's definitely a huge drawback of Android.

Oh, and I use geekhack and deskthority, which are probably both hosted on Linux.

On the desktop, I've always been a Windows guy and I see no good reason to swap. It would be like moving to a country where I don't really speak the language or know how social life works.

[funkymeeba]

Mmmm, Linux! I use Funtoo on my home workstation, as well as my work laptop.

[divito]

Always been a Windows user, but I've had Ubuntu in a dual-boot for quite some time, just to learn and mess around a little bit (also helps if I have a Windows issue and can fix via Linux). No complaints or issues really, and I'd probably make the switch if game compatibility was ever a ton better.

[rowdy]

I've tried to use GNU/Linux on the desktop, but it still seems to fragile.

I have a development virtual machine at work running CentOS 6.4 (with GUI), but I tend to SSH in to it (from the Windows host) and do stuff that way.

I do use a Mac at home and my server runs Ubuntu.

[smknjoe]

I've tried to use GNU/Linux on the desktop, but it still seems to fragile.

I really have to disagree with you there. Ten years ago, yeah. It would take a lot of work to get a desktop installation going. These days Mint and Ubuntu work on almost anything straight out of the box including all of the necessary drivers.

[linziyi]

I use gentoo (one of the many distribution), it compiles every single open source programme, which makes it incredibly fast (8 seconds to boot and launch firefox on a 12 years old laptop, Windows surely can't do that) and reliable. However it is quite tedious to get it working since the nature of the system. Slackware is a good choice if you want similar performance but less trouble.

As for professional applications, don't you worry because most of the advance science/computing is done on linux.


I am using DWM (http://dwm.suckless.org/) right now, no fancy eyecandies but amazingly good for any code-editing/3d-editing.

[smknjoe]

Slackware is a good choice if you want similar performance but less trouble.

Have you tried the most recent 64bit version? It's extremely slow out of the box without some major tweaking. If you need a production box up and running quickly it won't cut it.

[linziyi]

Nah, quited slackware two years ago.

EMBRACE THE GENTOO MY BROTHER!

[smknjoe]

Gentoo is definitely lightweight!

[tormentor]

Posting from a laptop running Ubuntu 12.04 and I actually enjoy it for THIS laptop. It's a old inspiron 1525 which came preinstalled with Vista. As awful as Vista is it had it's positives over Ubuntu. However for a older 32 bit machine w 2 gbs of ddr2 800mhz ram switching to Ubuntu has added a bit of zip to it. I have another laptop with Vista/Mint so if I feel like tinkering or playing a old game on it it's there. I'm thinking of moving Mint over to the 1525. I have a rig I've been slowly building part by part and I wont list the components unless someone asks but I'm torn between putting windows 7 or windows 8 on it. Yes, people will say 7 because it's "better" I don't use either of the operating systems for personal use yet (I have 7 on my work PC but that's a bare bones PC that I can't do anything with. Not even save files to). I can't testify how 7 is better but the way I see it is 8 is the future whether I like it or not. It'll also be supported for longer at this time and I tend to get close to 10 years out of my preffered OS. (typically some version of Windows) To answer your question, yes I run Linux and I enjoy it for this machine due to the performance increase it has given this old laptop. If we're talking UI, I like it. If we're talking pure functionality and support. It's obvious which OS it is you should choose.

[keymaster]

I use Ubuntu on my school laptop. I've configured the battery/screen and desktop GUI to be very efficient in order to give me about 7-8 hours of light use (word processing, web, & email). I'm really satisfied with the performance, given that it's a $400 laptop I bought last year. I hardly ever bring a charger to campus.

Ubuntu and Linux Mint are great first distros, as many have already mentioned in the thread already.

[rowdy]

I've tried to use GNU/Linux on the desktop, but it still seems to fragile.

I really have to disagree with you there. Ten years ago, yeah. It would take a lot of work to get a desktop installation going. These days Mint and Ubuntu work on almost anything straight out of the box including all of the necessary drivers.

My first GNU/Linux distribution was Slackware, when it was still distributed on floppies.

You had to manually construct XFree86.conf or whatever it was called back then.

Those were interesting times.

I also used to compile my own custom kernel each time a new version was released.

Yes, modern GNU/Linux distributions have made most of this much, much simpler for the average user.

But I still get weird background process crashes, even under CentOS 6.4 (actually, not so much under 6.4, but regularly under 6.3).

Ubuntu is losing the plot, and I do not like Unity.  I tried it, but productivity plummeted.

I've tried XFCE, Gnome, KDE, Blackbox, LXDE, even Enlightenment (and probably a few more too), and none of them are exactly consistent and simple to use and tweak.

I also use a Mac - and to me that is a GUI on a Unix base done right.  It just works.  It is consistent.  It is (relatively) simple to use.  Tweaks are minimal, which is probably my biggest complaint, although the UI does tend to do its thing and then get out of the way and let you do your thing.  You don't have to keep fiddling with it to do simple tasks.

[smknjoe]

CentOS is an open source version of RHEL. It's a server distribution. Fedora is the "desktop" version. I haven't used either in a few years. So, I can't recommend either for a desktop environment.

Unity totally blows. I agree with you there. Have you tried Gnome 3 in "fallback-mode" ? Very simple and clean. Similar to the Mac desktop, but less buggy. I've had the "grey screen of death" more than I have had my GUI crash in Ubuntu.

[alaricljs]

I'm using openbox on Gentoo, previously fvwm (also Gentoo).  Really... I've never had any issues that weren't hardware related.

I started w/ .99 pre- kernels and 50+ slackware floppies.

[smknjoe]

I'm using openbox on Gentoo, previously fvwm (also Gentoo).  Really... I've never had any issues that weren't hardware related.

I started w/ .99 pre- kernels and 50+ slackware floppies.

I didn't know what LInux was when it was running a .99 kernel, lol. I think I was in Jr. High then and dial-up time was expensive! Impressive, alaricljs.

[TheQsanity]

I was reading up on this and I think I heard that Ubuntu was the best for gaming and there is a software called WINE that could emulate the drivers needed for your GPU. That is all I know for now. I also heard that steam is working on Linux compatibility. So there are no ROMs out there that can run SC2? I was thinking about switching to Linux

[SpAmRaY]

If I would have stuck with it when I first got it I'd probably have ended up doing something completely different with my life. But I never could get into it.

Windows sucks but it's easy and familiar.

[smknjoe]

Pretty cool too, spamray. Pre-Mandriva days. About 10 years old?

Edit: I looked it up. I was off by a few years. That version was closer to the turn of the century - http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mandriva

[SpAmRaY]

Pretty cool too, spamray. Pre-Mandriva days. About 10 years old?

I'm thinking circa 1999-ish

I actually found that on a recent vacation to my visit my folks. I had some older stuff on floppy disks but I didn't get any pics of it.

[TheQsanity]

I'd still defend Windows over Mac. I really don't like Mac users.

[linziyi]

I was reading up on this and I think I heard that Ubuntu was the best for gaming and there is a software called WINE that could emulate the drivers needed for your GPU. That is all I know for now. I also heard that steam is working on Linux compatibility. So there are no ROMs out there that can run SC2? I was thinking about switching to Linux

SC2 runs perfectly in wine in my case.

[rowdy]

I'd still defend Windows over Mac. I really don't like Mac users.

Sorry.

I have a box set of SuSE somewhere - including manuals.  Weighs quite a lot.

I was partially evaluating distros for a new server, and tried them in my development virtual machine.  After going through most of the common ones (Mint, Ubuntu, crunchbang, Arch and a couple of others, and also FreeBSD and NetBSD) I kinda settled on CentOS.  Yes it is based on Red Hat, but Red Hat is not going anywhere and is likely to keep a relatively stable system going for a while yet.  Yes, some of the packages are a bit old, but the only thing I have found missing is elvis, and I was able to compile that from source anyway.

There is also http://www.codeweavers.com/products/CodeWeavers CrossOver if you want to run Windows games on Linux.  Basically Wine, but tweaked and with a few proprietary bits.  Every now and again they do a give-away, otherwise it is a commercial product, but apparently quite good.

[smknjoe]

I'm not a gamer at all, but I would guess that running Windows and said drivers would be ideally done natively without a software/hardware abstraction layer that comes with current desktop virtualization solutions. Ergo, the need for dual booting if you have the need for speed(y graphics.)

[sth]

I'd still defend Windows over Mac. I really don't like Mac users.

i know somewhere deep down in my heart, i still love you

[smknjoe]

[dndlmx]

CentOS is an open source version of RHEL. It's a server distribution.

They are both open source!   
It's a community version without licensing / support.

[smknjoe]

RHEL is not fully open. You have to pay for a license and support, including updates and patches.

The original Red Hat was fully open and free though.

[rowdy]

The source code is open source though, CentOS just download it from Red Hat and repackage it without Red Hat logos.

I seem to recall that Red Hat spat the dummy and said CentOS is not allowed to mention the Red Hat name at all, so CentOS describes itself as "an Enterprise-class Linux Distribution derived from sources freely provided to the public by a prominent North American Enterprise Linux vendor".

)

[smknjoe]

If you want to split hairs go ahead.

...and the point was missed. You had mentioned the GUI and flaky in the same breath which suggested that you were using centos as a desktop box. I wouldn't use a server distro as a desktop or even with a GUI because it can be flaky.

[jameslr]

My first linux distro was Debian Potato (early 2000). Worked my way up through early Redhat releases (6 on up, no not RHEL, the original RedHat). Then I switched back to Debian with Sarge. Got a job as a Linux sys admin managing Redhat servers, and eventually setup RHEL 3 on high performance computing clusters. Managed them all the way up through RHEL 5 and moved back to Windows Admin work (don't ask why). Now I'm back in the linux / unix world managing AIX and Linux hosts as well as some Windows servers. It's a good platform depending on use, but I'd never use it for a desktop. Windows is the right platform for me. It has the games I want to play, and the applications I want to use. Plus it's stable and fast. It supports new hardware right out of the box for the most part, and I don't have to go through a bunch of steps in order to get it working. It will be a while before Linux is to that point, but it's getting there.

I'm not a Windows fanboy, I'm platform agnostic. I just like to use what works with the least amount of time invested in getting it to work.

[nubbinator]

Oddly, I think I actually got laid like 1000000 times more often than I had to reboot my computer that had Linux on it.

[Leslieann]

I have played with and run it off and on for almost 15 years and administrated a server with it for 2/3rds that time.

Linux is like this... (ignoring games)
If it works for you out of the box, GREAT! No problem.  If not... Big Problem.
Getting unsupported or partially supported hardware working can be difficult and time consuming. Once running though, Linux can be quite good, I just wish people could come up with some better names than "Yet another....", good god, you people are geeks, you can do better than that. 50 programs all with the same name, gee, thanks.



And YES, you can get Autcad running on Linux.
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=86