Linux rocks. This section of the site is to show some videos and screenshots of linux in action and give my reasons why it's awesome along with debunking common arguments against its use. If you are looking for files and icons and decorative crap and howtos for linux (if you already know what you are doing for the most part! If youre totally new, read on!), please see the Linux Stuff tab at the upper right of this page.
Linux is:
NOT Windows, first and foremost.
Free in cost (depending on the distribution, anyway). You don't have to pay anything to download and burn and install it. Some will argue that it takes time to learn it and time is money, therefore it is not free in cost. This may be true, but it is a ridiculous argument against linux use: 1) it assumes that linux is difficult to learn and use and therefore will take up lots of your time 2) it assumes that the end user in question is one of those who will require things that take time to learn to use or work around 3) it refuses to acknowledge that everything takes time to learn, including windows. a first time pc user wouldn't know the difference between an os with windows installed and a linux os and would therefore have to take time to learn it either way -- except in the former case, he'd have to pay in time AND quite a sum of money AND have to find a support forum if he/she has problems that cares, which is not hard to find with the linux community that is based on 'giving back'. 4) most importantly, it assumes that the user is too stupid to learn or want to try new things and it is not worth the 'price'.
Free in usage, an open source operating system. You can edit anything whatsoever in the system you have the knowledge and ability to change. If not, you can pay someone to do it for you, whereas this is not always possible in a closed source operating system. Most common settings (changing taskbar colors, widget styles, system colors, login and boot screens, mouse cursors) are ludicrously easy to deal with, whereas in windows xp for instance, you have to 'crack' and replace uxtheme.dll in order to get custom themes going. Windows themes are not even close to as easy to tweak to your liking and work with as linux ones. As such, Linux is not ugly as some people love to say. In comparison to what? Windows or mac? There are themes that clone those OS's insanely accurately, so how can it still be ugly? Not to mention all of the gorgeous looking themes NOT based on a proprietary OS.
Quite secure. I'm not one to claim it's bulletproof like some zealots, or even that it will be bulletproof despite proprietary software coming to it. But lots of interested and experienced people working on getting a job done who use the system themselves are far more trustworthy in my eyes than a small group of people who do their job for the money. In addition, its very structure is more resistant to malware strains because it requires administrative access to change the system, particularly the more nasty strains.
Stable. Some people have issues with stability, but the thing is, they are typically using linux versions (distributions/distros) that are meant for "bleeding edge" stuff, which will never be stable in ANY operating system EVER. People want both, but that's logically conflicted: something that just came out has not been worked on to remove bugs, therefore something very new is typically not very bug-free. This is why linux distributions are often split into 2-3 branches of stability for those who enjoy a given way. Stable, testing, unstable. Most distros stay in the middle or move to the front that people use, and yet they complain about stability problems with linux, it's silly. Those that are meant to be stable are solid as a rock. Those that are meant to be new are not always so. That is not to say that stable linux versions are all "very old". Stable is a relative term, and most often means only 3-5 months old or so, which is what most people deal with on any other OS anyway but they are far more prone to crash problems.
Interested? There are many versions of linux, called distributions, suited to all kinds of people of different computer skill levels and for different purposes and different hardware. You can boot most of them off of a CD/DVD you burn from downloading the .ISO on the distribution website without installing anything to your computer at all to see how linux works. Here s a link to a page that can help give you some options.
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/
I would also suggest Linux Mint (www.linuxmint.com), ubuntu (www.ubuntu.com), and pclinuxos(www.pclinuxos.com). They are very good and have communities willing to answer any questions a newbie may have. Confused? Talk to me. See the contact tab or go to the forums :) I'm willing to help personally.
Some common untruths about linux:
It's hard: it is different. It does not necessarily have to be hard. Modern distributions are easier to install than windows, have huge communities willing to help, and are not very difficult to learn once you open your mind and try. That said, it is not perfect, and does not always work or is not always great for everyone. I encourage you to try out all sorts of distrubution LiveCD's after taking the zegeniestudios quiz above (download linux, burn it, boot into it) and see if it interests you and a particular distribution will work with your hardware. Note that not all linux distros are the same -- same work perfect for someone, terrible for others and some desktop enviornments (guis and programs) are radically different from that of another linux distro such that they feel like two entirely different operating systems.
It can't run games or windows stuff: Also untrue. Many common big games like Diablo3, Quake4, and UT2004 can run natively on linux. Others can use Wine or Cedega. There are also many very good alternatives to common software available. Please see my post here for more info on wine/cedega http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=692960 and http://linuxappfinder.com/alternatives for alternatives to common programs on linux.
It's communism and will doom software: now there's an interesting statement. Please tell me why companies like Canonical, Red Hat, and Novell are doing QUITE well selling their linux products, and in addition: if this is the case, why are many of the top computer retailers starting to sell linux on their machines like Dell, HP, and Lenovo?
That aside, here are some videos of linux in action and some screenshots of my desktops (warning: overwhelming levels of blue and black, as I am a fiend of those colors and skinned my system as such! ;D) Without further ado..
And now for some pictures of my setup. Click them to see the full sized picture.
My current setup, Kubuntu 8.04, Hardy Heron.
My previous setup, Linux Mint 4.0: Daryna KDE Community Ed.
My previous setup, playing with the Desktop Cube (compiz fusion).
My previous setup, playing with firefox transparency (compiz fusion)
My previous setup, with my fun start menu using KBFX and XMMS winamp clone.
My previous setup, except it's very orange and elfen lied-ish :)
My previous setup, except it's very red and hellsing-ish
My previous setup, more fun with the desktop cube.
My previous setup, more fun with compiz fusion and the chat program (pidgin) running XFIRE.
