Posted on 10/15/2010 7:46:47 AM PDT by ShadowAce
Linux is a fun OS for a hobbyist. Windows 7 Professional 64 bit is the best OS for real work.
Hmm.. I guess my full-time job as a Linux Admin for a major IB is just a hobby?
Stuxnet certainly thinks so.
Nonsense! With Windows you are always plagued with viruses and you always have to worry about if the update from Microsoft will cost you a couple days work. For peace of mind you are better off running linux. The less contact with Microsoft you have the smoother things will be.
#6 The Linux user base who still haven’t worked out that harangues and insults aren’t the best way forward in convincing the rest of the world to switch their OS.
I met Linus online in the early 90's and saw that he was on to something. After a few years we ported our databases we were running on SCO to Linux. I've had some linux machines with uptimes of almost 2 years and they would have had longer uptimes except we had to move them. And this was 5+ years ago. Those systems used numerous SCSI drives and were under constant load.
Today I have numerous Linux servers with databases running on Linux that average 28 record changes a second 24/7 on databases that have 100's of millions of working parts. Besides Linux I have Windows based servers that we mainly use for web services. While these systems are much more stable than ever I'd never consider using any Windows product to run our databases on.
In 10+ years I have never had a server fail due to the Linux OS. Not once. Linux has been very very good to me both technically and financially.
I had no idea until I read your post I was a "hobbyist".
yeah. But you can say the same thing about the user base of any platform. See post #2 here for an example.
typo. Sorry.
heh--of course you are--just like Oak Ridge National Labs.
In my (limited) experience, the biggest problem Linux has to overcome is the ease with which new software can be added. I’ve been very pleased with how well plug-and-play works even on older hardware running the CD-ROM based trial distributions, but feel like I’m wandering around blind through obscure directories trying to figure out how to unzip and install something I’ve downloaded. I have found some to be better than others in this regard. Also have run into the lack of drivers, as noted. The other big reason I stay with Windows is the ability to find virtually any kind of utility as freeware, easily installed when needed.
But I really do like Linux!
Perhaps but the present market share is the major issue i.e. many Linux users seem quite upset that they haven’t vanquished Microsoft.
Firefox gained converts by a) not being an MS product b) performing better and c) being open source AND being user friendly with a developer community that didn’t look down its nose at new arrivals.
The template is there waiting.
Personally, I couldn't care less about market share--in any product I buy. I buy for quality.
Quality is, I admit, largely in the eye of the consumer. It depends on what you're gonna do with the product. In the case of a computer OS, Linux works better for me than Windows does.
One of the problems I keep seeing people have is making changes to the system. Great strides have been made the last few years in making setup a snap, but package/installer management is still very hit-or-miss.
Most folk aren't going to have a lot of desire to grep through man pages chock full of some programmers favorite Lingua Obscura or l33t sp3@k.
Works for me though. ;-)
Oh, wow, an anti-Linux troll-style comment. Haven't seen one of them for a while.
Almost makes me nostalgic for Golden Eagle... almost. :)
LOL! Kept things interesting, didn't he?
My toaster haz dem.
Yep.
These days, most of the heavy-duty trolling is on the Apple threads rather than Linux, and some days I yearn for GE's style. He could be boring and single-track negative, but rarely was he overtly obnoxious. The stuff on the Apple threads has too often gotten downright ugly and highly inappropriate for FR.
By comparison, calling Linux a hobbyist OS is so mild I almost overlooked it! :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.