[Highschool - Computer Science] Linux: Pros and Cons

[freakysnots]

Originally Posted by Assignment

Get practical experience using each platform (Mac OS X, Windows, Ubuntu(Linux)

Interview 3 people (Preferably working with these systems to evaluate the pros and cons of each platform.

Submit findings comparing results.

Provide list of sources.

Originally Posted by From Teacher

You can only use the forums for one operating system.

Can you guys list some pros and cons of Linux so I can quote you in this assignment.

Thanks

[Izzy]

Linux
Pros: stable, inexpensive, customization, Boot speed, Space efficient.
Cons: More difficult to use, Not all gui based, Certain hardware could cause conflicts, A lot of popular games don't run on it, requires some learning before using it.


Mac
pros: Stable, simple to use
cons: expensive, little customization, Not much gaming

windows
pros: Simple enough to use, decent customization, Gaming, hardware compatibility, logical (things work like you think they should imo)
cons: If you try doing things to the OS you can bluescreen, can be expensive, sometimes limited.

[emerald000]

Pros: Free. Open-source (all source code is available, which means better technical support). Faster all around. Auto-updates for all applications by the same program. Actually meaningful error notices. I must be forgetting some.

Cons: Some Windows applications won't work on it (because of lazy programming). Takes some willingness to use, as some things are a little harder to use.

And yeah, I am running under Linux. (Ubuntu)

[5.points]

I agree with Izzy on all of those, except I never used a Mac (or Mac OS X)

[fido123]

Oh ****ing god time to be a prestigious Linux *** and be justified this time.

Pros - Free, Source Code available to everybody
GUI is separated from the command line (bash) making it MUCH more stable
Programs for Linux is mostly free, can download programs via the repositories (Instead of finding a binary file on the internet, you just download it through Add/Remove Programs, Package Manager, or Termainal via $sudo apt-get install <app name nere>)
very fast due to low amounts/no of bloat code
many distributions (Many different OS's under the same Kernel)
Customizable down to even the display manager you use (GNOME, KDE, xfce, Fuxbox) and how you make that windows manager work
able to run well on servers, much more flexible and useful command line, Distributions (types of Linux) can be as small as 50BM (Damn Small Linux)
Compatible with many partition formats including Windows NTFS and ext4 (ext4 is the fastest and most stable BY FAR format)
Very secure as you are never on your root (admin) account instead you're just prompted for a password before you do anything important.

Cons - Distributions mean if you go from one computer to another both running Linux, they could both be totally different and even use slightly different commands
Although the command line is not needed to do basic operations many find it difficult to take full advantage of linux due to the difficulty of using bash
software and hardware incompatibilities which aren't the fault of the OS rather than people just not finding enough of a need to cater to that other %2 of the market share.
(Btw Ubuntu's interface (GNOME) is VERY easy to use it's just operations and shortcuts like rebooting your XORG instead of your whole computer if for god knows why it crashes by typing something like $sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart)


PM me or add me on any message (Sans skype I should take that off) and I'll give you ALL the Linux help you ever need for school and I will be glad to do it. I use it as my main OS and I also have a large knowledge of Windows. Taking IT in College and i just love preaching this **** so it can increase market shares and maybe...one day, we will win and have programs naively work on our OS :'3


Izzy: I just bought a Lenovo laptop and put Ubuntu on there and it worked fine. Had to install no drivers it just worked when I turned it on. The GUI is easy as hell to use and I actually find it much easier to use than Windows and so do my friends who still mainly use Windows and just mess around in Linux from time to time who know absolutely no bash or sh at all. You want to go on the internet you go to Applications --> Internet --> Firefox or better yet drag that icon on an action bar and just click on it to launch it. How is this hard to use?


EDIT: Womenz so want me when I go on Linux rants ;o'
GNU POWA etc

EDIT2: I blame nobody for using Windows...I do to to an extent cause games don't really work on Linux, unless you get the odd one where you **** around in bash for 30 minutes to 6 hours trying to get it to work, which again isn't at fault to the OS, rather than they just didn't make it for Linux. The fact it actually runs WoW better and faster than it does on Windows is remarkable.

[emerald000]

Glad to know I am not the only one preaching for Linux at my college. The big Ubuntu sticker on my laptop (Lenovo too) often gets me question about it. The main reason Windows is the main OS is marketing (big bucks from Microsoft). Also, developers are to blame. They take programming "short-cuts" that are OS-specific rather than making something available to all.

But in the last few years, the Linux population has grown a lot (lol Vista) and developers are starting to get aware of that. I can't wait for a domination of open-source. Because seriously, who wants to pay for something you can have free and that is better?

[argo15]

Linux annoys me because I didn't know how to use it when I first tried to. Btw freaky I know java now if you ever need help with that stuff.

[fido123]

Originally Posted by emerald000

The main reason Windows is the main OS is marketing (big bucks from Microsoft). Also, developers are to blame. They take programming "short-cuts" that are OS-specific rather than making something available to all.

What are you talking about with the whole "OS-specific" stuff? When you program something it's made for a specific OS, and multi-platform means they just programmed it slightly differently that many times to make it available for that many more platforms.

Also the main reason Windows is the main OS is because it's pushed by a market rather than actually being good. Every single person I have showed Ubuntu to said "If my programs worked with this I would use it". They say it's easier, and just generally more sharp and FASTER. Windows is full of so much bloat code which makes it chunky. If the applications supported for Windows, ran in Linux, Linux would be a BETTER OS for EVERYONE, no question about it.

[Sprite-]

I dualboot windows and ubuntu and let me tell you, if my programs worked on linux, I'd be using that by itself.

[Izzy]

Originally Posted by fido123

What are you talking about with the whole "OS-specific" stuff? When you program something it's made for a specific OS, and multi-platform means they just programmed it slightly differently that many times to make it available for that many more platforms.

I think he might be talking about .netframework from microsoft. A lot of programming shortcuts are built into it for general use.

[fido123]

Originally Posted by Izzy

I think he might be talking about .netframework from microsoft. A lot of programming shortcuts are built into it for general use.

Either way every OS has a library of functions in it which programs use, .NET is no different really.

[Aldentron]

from an average (non-tech savvy) user:
pros: fast boot time, much more simplistic, programs generally take less effort to use and are less likely to become unresponsive, its free, updates for all of your programs are compiled into one place and time so you don't get dialogue boxes checking for updates every time you open a program. unlike microsoft whose programmers create things for a specific market, ubuntu programmers create programs for the general population. you get a free 5GB cloud (pretty sure you get one with mac too)

cons: incompatibilities if you're a convert, different functionalities, Unity is a tad annoying, some of your hardware might require manual adjustment via terminal (can be intimidating to some, but once you get a hang of terminal it's pretty neat!) mobile devices lose a chunk of compatibility.

sorry for bumping, guess this subforum isn't as new as i thought it was

[Squares, the Cube]

Pro about Linux: Most people don't know jack about it, so you can feel superior with this knowledge of knowing.

Con about Linux: Not many people in a high school that can really help you cause average pc abuser only knows Windows and Mac.