10 reasons to convert to Linux, 5 not to
Posted by Simon North on April 14, 2008
Why do people convert to Linux and why do people contradict their choice, I will investigate this in this post and bring to your attention 15 points. 10 for and 5 against converting to Linux.
A bit of background before I start so you know where I am coming from. As a user of Windows all of my life it was a very big risk moving to Linux for me, I used Visual Studio for all my programming, Dreamweaver for my web designing and countless other programs that were only available on Windows so I knew that I would have to change a lot of things when moving to Linux. And now nearly one year on since the conversion I am not using Visual Studio anymore (mainly because I got taught Java at uni and I have moved to PHP/MySQL [online]) and I don’t use Dreamweaver because I realised that coding website with a text editor (or Bluefish) was much better and faster, oh and free. Converting to Linux completely is a decision you cannot take lightly, you will need to change applications so if you are not literate in computer software then this may put you off.
OK so onto the list:
10 reasons to convert
- A big disadvantage of Windows is the hefty price tag, Windows Vista is around £100 at the moment, that is one hundred pounds on a piece of software that really doesn’t offer you more than XP (but I wont get onto the whole hating Vista thing in this post). Linux is free, you can download it, order it on CD or even get it delivered to you for free, no charge whatsoever. Linux is free to use, distribute and even rip to pieces and get into the code and totally change it.
- If you choose one of the bigger names in Linux, for example Ubuntu, there is free and helpful support from the community, you can pretty much guarantee that if you have a problem then posting it on to the community forum will provide you with an answer within minutes in most cases, certainly my experience of both the Ubuntu and Mandriva forums has proved this.
- Continuous updates is something that Linux does best. We will take the example of Ubuntu again, Ubuntu is updated every 6 months with a new version of the operating system. Most of the Linux third party software is updated more regularly so your system keeps up to date with the very best software. Windows updates are much less frequent, I know it isn’t fair to pick out the 6 years it took for Windows XP to be updated to Windows Vista, but this is an example of total disregard for its users, you do not get this on Linux, at the end of the day, Linux makers care about their users and not about the money because they don’t make their money from the operating system sales.
- The lack of viruses is something that attracts a lot of users now. You cannot use Windows on the internet without a virus checker else you can wave goodbye to your computer. Viruses are rarely written for Linux and those that are do not get through because as a Linux user your user account doesn’t have the rights to control the system directly like in Windows, which means that viruses cannot attack your system.
- Extremely fast compared to Windows. Linux may take longer to boot up than Windows but once you are logged in you rarely see any lag in running time (unless on really old computers). Linux doesn’t have to run applications such as a virus checker which are running all the time taking up system resources, so it can run a lot faster. Because of the lack of things running continuously it means that Linux hardly ever crashes. I say hardly ever because it has crashed on me in the past. What tends to happen though is that an application will crash and then you can force quit it, not keep pressing exit and then getting End Now windows coming up over and over again doing nothing like a certain operating system (mentioning no names, W*nd*ws, lol, I don’t totally hate Windows you’ll see that later on)
- Applications tend to be free. Most applications available on Linux are open source which means that they are available to be used at no charge, ever. It also means that for the gurus out there, you can go into the code and change things to how you want it.
- Applications are easy to install. It once was that installing applications involved a nice big readme file and a black screen with white text, well now that is no longer the case (in most Linux distros that is). In the most user friendly linux’s (Ubuntu, Mandriva etc.) there are applications that simply list all of the applications available and you simply do a search for applications you would like to install and select the Install option, it downloads the files and installs them without you needing to do anything, no agreeing to licenses, setting up options etc.
- A wide range of choices. Unlike Windows where you can choose between 5 versions, one better than the previous one, there are literally thousands of Linux distro’s out there for you to choose, geared at different types of users. Most people start with the simpler and popular ones like Ubuntu, Debian, RedHat etc. and then when they get really good at it they may try investigating what else is out there. As a beginner it is always best to go for a popular one so that there is a big community to get help from if needed.
- Linux has a lot of options to configure you operating system to exactly how you want it without having to install programs like WindowBlinds and such. Everything is packed into the system so you can have visual effects on your applications, change the look of your applications etc and plus there are a lot more options if you go into the terminal.
- And finally, Linux is getting more popular and easy to use. There was a time when Linux was scary for everyone who simply used a computer for work but it is now getting increasingly popular as Linux makers start to make their operating systems more user friendly, this was mainly seen during the 6 year period between Windows XP and Vista, users started to see that Windows may not be the only operating system out there and Linux was offering more than XP. Linux is getting more and more features than ever before, it is starting to improve brilliantly on a lot of areas that it didn’t do so well at and it is now starting to be seen as a valuable alternative.
So there is the 5 reasons why you should consider converting, there are more but I don’t want to bore you to much. I will now give you 10 reasons why converting may not be the best option for you.
- Linux is not as user friendly as Windows. Although this is changing with each release, Linux still isn’t classed as user friendly as Windows, put Windows in front of someone and then Linux and ask them to do a task, I can guarantee that they will be able to do it on Windows faster, this is because everybody has grown up or has learned Windows before ever considering anything else. Windows has a simple interface which it has kept over the years which has meant that most people have got used to it. There are however some Linux distro’s that luck similar to Windows.
- Gaming on Linux is pretty dia unless you like games like solitaire or KGolf of course then its killer. However, playing proper games is not something that Linux is designed for but this is changing, there are companies trying to get Windows games to run on Linux using technologies like Wine (which allows you to run some Windows applications on Linux). If you are a gamer, then converting may not be a good idea.
- Lack of applications. Although there are plenty of applications to perform most tasks on Linux, there aren’t as many as Windows especially big applications like Photoshop and such, there are alternatives Photoshop/Gimp, MS Office/Open Office but you will have to dump features if you are to convert. The truth of the matter is that most application makers create their applications for Windows because that is where they will make the most money.
- Compatibility. Not as bad as it used to be on Linux but is still not as good as Windows, as with the above point, most drivers are written for Windows (and Mac), it is very rare that you will get manufacturers making drivers for Linux, this tends to be done by the community around Linux, chances are if you plug in your printer, Linux will not see it without special applications such as CUPS, put it into Windows and there should be a manufacturer driver readily available. Compatibility is improving with each release but until manufacturers see Linux as a viable market they wont add support for their products and it is left for the community around Linux to sort out.
- High possibility of problems. With Linux you are undoubtedly going to see problems, maybe its your web cam doesn’t work or you can’t get to grips with Open Office, whatever it is there will be problems. Because most things are designed for Windows there is unlikely to be any problems. In converting to Linux you need to be aware that although your web cam worked on Windows, it doesn’t mean that it will work on Linux.
There you have it, originally this post was going to have 10 bad points and 10 good points but I couldn’t think of any more for the reasons not to convert so if you do know any (or any good reasons) then please do leave them as comments, or discuss them over at the forum in this thread: Converting to Linux, good and bad points.
Further Reading on this
13 reasons why Linux should be on your desktop
10 Advantages of Ubuntu over Vista
A blog that I wrote during my personal conversion - The Linux Convert
Switching From XP to Linux - Should You?
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Switching From XP to Linux - Should You? | Ubuntu Linux Help Says:
[...] There’s a good post on Look2Linux called “10 reasons to convert to Linux, 5 not to” where, like me, the blogger was a Windows user. They covered my two favourite [...]
Nick Says:
Your printer example is a bad one, as on windows you need to install your printer using the cd provided, wait 40 minutes as it installs extra un-needed crap, and then restart to apply the changes
In linux (for all printers I have tried) simply plug the printer in, run cups, and your printer is configured in literally seconds….
admin Says:
Hi, thanks for dropping by. I will change the post to reflect this.
Justin Says:
I like how this article shows that there are ACTUAL problems with Linux. I use Linux and I don’t get native compatibility with my hardware (but I wouldn’t expect that really).
Don Birdsall Says:
Windows is more “user friendly?” Apparently you have not experienced Vista, The “user account control” nag screens were so annoying I had to turn the feature off. Then I just got one warning that the feature was turned off and I could turn it back on in the control panel.
Following that were the improper accusations that my system was not passing Windows Genuine Advantage. Funny, it came pre installed on the machine I purchased at Circuit City! Genuine Advantage finally killed the control panel.
You call this user friendly? Vista is now a bad memory. The only good thing I can say about it is that it motivated me to install Linux. I find the Gnome desktop to be very “user friendly.”
No, you had better reverse your thinking on this one.
Wang Fei Huong Says:
‘Con’ reason #5 should state: “Absolute Certainty of Problems” with Linux. Believe me, I have tried and tried to use Linux, but finally give up and sulk back to Windows XP (which now works…). When I had various problems with various distro’s, some wise Linux person would recommend editing certain ’script’ files. Ha, Ha, Ha… I want to use the operating system, not fix it — plus, I do not have those skills.
admin Says:
@Don Birdsall
Actually the reason I converted to Linux was due to bad experiences with Vista, however I have had a lot of people who have used it since and apart from some niggly problems like UAC their experience has been pretty good. The fact is that if you put Windows Vista and Gnome in front of the average user the user is more likely to know how to use Windows better than Linux. It’s all because they are used to the interface.
@Wang Fei Huong
Some people cannot use Linux, maybe its because their hardware doesn’t work properly or they cannot get used to it, a lot of people cant get used to having to use new software, this is what this article is about, Linux isn’t for everybody and you are obviously one of the people who it isn’t for.
Thank you for your comments
stderr Says:
Regarding “Con #1: Linux is not as user friendly as Windows.”:
“User friendly” and “familiar” isn’t the same thing.
“Linux still isn’t classed as user friendly as Windows”. Says who? You?
“put Windows in front of someone and then Linux and ask them to do a task, I can guarantee that they will be able to do it on Windows faster”. And I can guarantee you that you’re wrong. You’re statement maybe true for someone who are familiar with Windows, but for someone, like me, who hasn’t really used Windows, your guarantee about being able to do something faster in Windows than in Linux is completly wrong.
“this is because everybody has grown up or has learned Windows before ever considering anything else.”. Well, everybody except me and a lot of others. You do realise that some of us used computers before Windows was even available, right? And that some of us went straight from Mac OS, AmigaOS or whatever we were using to Linux, without ever touching Windows.
“Windows has a simple interface which it has kept over the years which has meant that most people have got used to it.”. Oh, really? Are you actually claiming that Windows 3.11 looks exactly like 95, which looks exactly like 2000, which looks exactly like XP, which looks exactly like Vista? I seem to remember a lot of people complaining about Vista _NOT_ looking like XP.
“There are however some Linux distro’s that luck [sic] similar to Windows.”. GREAT! Just what we need! More people who thinks that Linux is a gratis version of Windows…
I don’t game, so I have nothing to say about “Con #2: Gaming”…
Regarding “Con #3: Lack of applications.”:
You say that “you will have to dump features if you are to convert”. Could you please name some of those features? Is it “features” that anyone uses? What about the features you get, when you convert? You didn’t mention those.
As always, if you convert from one program (on whatever OS) to another program (on the same OS or on another OS) you can’t expect the programs to be completly identical. If they were there would be no reason to convert, right?
The problems in “Con #4: Compatibility” has already been addressed by someone else, so I will skip that one…
Which brings be to “Con #5: High possibility of problems.”:
You could say the same about Windows. Have you ever tried to save a file in Word and 5 minutes lates Word couldn’t open that file? And just because your webcam worked in XP, doesn’t mean that it’ll work in Vista. Or your sound card (Creative, I’m looking at you…).
Adam Says:
Wow! This is the first post I’ve read really that actually said there are problems with linux! Those reason are why I’m not switching to linux yet. Most posts just say linux is better than windows in all ways.
JK Wood Says:
In response to Con #3… Have a look around sometime. All those “application choices” on Windows? Fully 50% of them are malware or poorly coded. Many of them are *nix programs that were ported.
Linux has WAY more applications available than Windows ever thought about. Windows just has more of them on the shelf at Wal-mart. Doesn’t mean a thing.
Jake Says:
I recently switch from Vista to Ubuntu… I disagree with a few of your points, though. The first one isn’t even a major deal, it’s just that you said that linux boots slower than windows… mine boots under 50 seconds (including login/pass) and is ready to go, whilst windows takes a guaall the apps at startup.
i think ubuntu is actually MORE user friendly than vista, as was said above. any problems i have run into (very minimal) have been fixed in a matter of hours, whereas problems with vista often got me replies like “it’s vista, what can you do?”
Brian Says:
You can play all of the latest games on Linux including WoW, Call of Duty 4, etc. You just need to know what you’re doing.
Ryan Says:
Games? Computers are for running Linux. Buy a console if you actually like to play games. Games actually work on consoles, because the consoles are specifically designed to run the games. Trying to run games on Windows is a frustrating waste of time.
itsalljustaride Says:
“You just need to know what you’re doing.”
Does anyone really know what they’re doing in Linux? Besides industry programmers, etc? Most of the time all the advice I get about how to fix stuff in Linux is of the, “edit this conf file, that script, etc. I dont know why you do it, just do it.”
I can copy and paste terminal commands or lines to paste into a conf file, but does that qualify as “knowing what you’re doing”? If I knew what I was doing I’d be spending a lot less time getting halfy advice from people on 30 different message boards.
That being said, at least there IS a robust community of people to help out, and the open nature of the platform means that theoretically anyone could find the problem and fix it, whereas proprietary programs lock out development to only the company developers.
Andrew Says:
“So there is the 5 reasons why you should consider converting, there are more but I don’t want to bore you to much. I will now give you 10 reasons why converting may not be the best option for you.”
…… I think amongst other things, you’ve got your numbers mixed up
Andrew Says:
“However, playing proper games is not something that Linux is designed for” Erm… you do not design an operating system to run games, games are designed to run on the operating system, games companies produce games for windows because that’s where most of the PC gaming market is, if people who game switched to linux then maybe this would change, I say maybe because producers, who control all of the gaming industry, tend to get nervous when open-source is mentioned. It’s a bit of a catch 22, games won’t be produced for linux till the gamers switch to linux, and the gamers won’t switch to linux until there’s games made for it
linuxiac Says:
Linux Games: Just installed Fedora 8 for a noob 19yo. Over 200 games are on repository, and he is thrilled with the dozen plus MMORG, FPS, and RPG games like Doom, Quake, Tournament and dozens of Arcade, card, and board games.
Then, there are multiple gem and falling block games to choose from!
The array of 20 thousand + apps, suites, games on repository, FREE are a GREAT reason to switch to GNU/Linux!
I switch an average of three users each week, to GNU/Linux and the many *BSDs since 1997, and have given FREE demos in all the warehouse stores/Depots, and chainstores, that sell computers. Usually about 10 to 20 LiveCDroms are distributed, along with info about the local LUGs (Linux Users Groups), clubs that provide FREE hands-on help!
Microsoft depositions and Quarterly filings have leaked their scientific study results that there are some 26% of all users on the Internet contacting or going through their servers, running Linux, with something like a 3% to 5%
annual growth. Why not, when Microsoft runs 15,000 Akamai Linux servers, and HotMail ran on BSD servers since prior to purchase by MS in 1997!
Check out livecdlist.com for 175 live OSes, and distrowatch.com for 100+, all FREE and complete, except that there aren’t any of the millions of Microsoft virus/malwares/spybots/exploits!
linuxiac Says:
Printers? Even Brother provides Linux drivers for many printers, on their web site!
BEFORE purchasing any hardware one should check the compatibility and support on the web!
If Tux isn’t on the retail box, it is usually a crappy piece of hardware, anyway.
Linux adheres to, and complies with, the International Standards, which Microsoft vendors seem to ignore. Thus, the trouble with Lexmark, and winprinters that are brainless!
raindogmx Says:
“When I had various problems with various distros, some wise Linux person would recommend editing certain ’script’ files. Ha, Ha, Ha… I want to use the operating system, not fix it”
This quote by Wang Fei Huong likely sumes up all that is still bad in Linux.
It is still not user friendly when you constantly have to go to the command line or use god forsaken vi editor.
But Linux can only get better.
Alec Says:
I would wager that there are more Linux applications than there are Windows applications.
Omer Bahri Gordebak Says:
“It is still not user friendly when you constantly have to go to the command line or use god forsaken vi editor.”
I just can’t understand why you people see the command line so user unfriendly. Everybody can learn a simple command, like once they learned to double click to open a file.
Everybody have to learn a lot of things to use an OS. You are just afraid of learning something new, that’s all.
SeanJA Says:
Why are you using vi? You should at least be using vim :P. There are non-command line options available… like gedit, (gvim?), kate, SciTE, and many others that are alternatives… just replace what they are telling you (sudo vi … with sudo gedit …) and voila! Graphical text editor.
The problem is the vendors do not provide the drivers so the linux people have to reverse engineer these things. Like my wireless card. Sure I could get it working using the propritary dell drivers, but I choose not to, I choose to use the linux open source ones that are available, because I know that they will be improved upon instead of stagnant at “it works, so leave it” for the rest of the lifetime of the hardwear.