Thread: XP or Linux?

Dude i started this thread a long ass time ago, didn't even know it still existed.

XP or Linux?

Easy question to answer. If you have to ask it, XP. If Linux was right for you, you wouldn't be asking whether or not you should use it on a forum.

That's not knocking anybody at all, that's just my experience on the topic. A lot of it is for precisely the reasons bigdog mentions. Ever tried to get some people on a game forum to help you with a bug or glitch in a video game using a Linux box? Yeah...good luck on that one.

Is the framework of the operating system better for running a game than say XP or Vista? Sure it is, but what makes games better on Windows computers isn't the framework...it's all the support and the constant updates.

Unless you've been writting C++ since age 11 or you genuinely plan into getting an in-depth computer job, don't bother with Linux at all.

Originally Posted by Inja

Unless you've been writting C++ since age 11 or you genuinely plan into getting an in-depth computer job, don't bother with Linux at all.

And I've seen Linux bring even seasoned software writers to their knees.

Inja gave a great indication for measuring whether anyone will be even remotely successful with Linux - If they have to ask, they ain't ready for Linux. Period.

oh. this is a fun conversation.

bighub, did you ever install it and try it out? if you're still interested, i'll give ya a hand. everyone has their favorite flavor. since i've been running bind/sendmail/apache servers since RH6.2, i'm a redhat fan. although i now use CentOS for all of my servers, as i'm not much for the yearly support fee for RHN. (CentOS is a rebuild of all of RHEL's SRPMs with basically changing out the branding.) the funny part about it is that linux is linux. every distro, no matter how much people get on their boxes, is the same. every project is built from the same source code, from the kernel down to vim; just some build them differently (different options).

my point for posting is that i encourage anyone thinking about playing with linux, to try it. it's really the best way to learn it, and find out if it works for you. i'm a RHCE, and willing to help out if i can.

Originally Posted by skervy

if you have enouph hard drive room, setup a dual boot so you can setup both OS's on your pc and choose which one to load when you turn the PC on.

when you install linux (at least on CentOS), you can select which drive you want the distro to be located. it will also ask you if you want to install and use grub. grub is the boot loader (a small program that is run from your boot sector that lets you select which OS you want to run). i recommend it, as it is more powerful than windows' boot loader. if you have problems with booting, you are able to change kernel parameters on the fly w/o the need of a rescue disk. you don't need this to be on only one disk; you can run it from the second one, and just allow grub to be installed into the boot sector of the first.

Originally Posted by geeseven

that would be easier, or live cds are even easier, or vmware. so many options

vmware will not be a good solution for games. at all. live cd's are nice for convenience, but you don't get the added benefit of having all the latest bug/security fixes. you have a static image, and would have to re-download/reconfigure them every time you boot.

Originally Posted by ...bigdog...

linux is not meant to run games. It runs servers, and game servers fine and dandy......but it is last in line when it comes to game releases, patches, customer service, and compatibility. Maybe even behind macintosh (which is now letting users install windows as their OS when purchasing comps).

this used to be true. many distros are focusing on making it more user friendly. RHEL is actually gears for companies to run it deployed to every desktop. Ubuntu is geared for a more home-user type setup. the reason that it is last in line for games, which includes all of what he listed above, is that the greater customer base is still windows. as more people ask for it, more companies will deliver it. macintosh is the greatest push for this. what do you think their latest OS (MacOSX) is based on?

Originally Posted by DOGPISS

wine Steam.exe

wine is an awesome theory, although not everything runs on it. it basically is a set of libraries that wrap around the windows application's system calls and convert them to linux system calls. the beauty of this is that there is no application (like VMware, qemu) that runs, reserves a shit load of memory/hard drive space, and emulates a system. you are basically running the application directly on the linux kernel. the downside is that not every system call is mimicked.

Originally Posted by a weakling spaz

Video drivers are fairly good as both Nvidia and ATI release and support drivers on linux.

in my personal experience, ATI drivers on linux suck. they just aren't ready. i'm talking about the fglrx drivers you get from them, not the radeon driver that comes in the kernel. i've had PCs hard lock when starting X, secondary displays shutting off after you log out (dual-head), and both displays turning to gibberish shit after a soft-boot. i couldn't take it anymore, and put in a PR for an older GeForce. it works like a champ.

Originally Posted by a weakling spaz

Most people use linux for their work and keep an XP install for gaming.

right now, if BF2142 ran in linux, my home PC would be linux. it's the only thing holding it back. i am typing this right now on my CentOS 4.5 system at work.

Originally Posted by ...bigdog...

linux is fun and all....if you like waiting for patches and files. And that applies to server files, as well as client files.

have to call bullshit on this one big. unless you are talking about game patches. here is an awesome article about the vulnerabilities found on RHEL4 for the last 2 years. it's all in all a great read, but particularly, the "days of risk" information in tables 3 and 4. how long does it take for microsoft to fix their shit (if they ever do)?

Originally Posted by Inja

Easy question to answer. If you have to ask it, XP. If Linux was right for you, you wouldn't be asking whether or not you should use it on a forum.

you're right. you should never ask people that know any better. you should not ever venture to learn anything new. stay at home, and be afraid of the sunlight.

Originally Posted by Inja

Unless you've been writting C++ since age 11 or you genuinely plan into getting an in-depth computer job, don't bother with Linux at all.

i still don't know how to program C++. a can follow it, but haven't ever made even a "hello world." program.

Originally Posted by ebaconjr

Inja gave a great indication for measuring whether anyone will be even remotely successful with Linux - If they have to ask, they ain't ready for Linux. Period.

sad. all i can say is, unless you TRY it, you'll never know. don't believe the hype.

Originally Posted by Braddoc

Originally Posted by ebaconjr

Inja gave a great indication for measuring whether anyone will be even remotely successful with Linux - If they have to ask, they ain't ready for Linux. Period.

sad. all i can say is, unless you TRY it, you'll never know. don't believe the hype.

I'm talking from experience. I've been using Linux since 1995.

Prove me wrong by getting any novice here up and running - to the point where he can successfully install software, patches, and version updates by himself. Also, I'm sure the unannointed are riveted with the fact that CentOS is a rebuild of all of RHEL's SRPMs.

I suppose it's just my history. I've been hanging out with people since '92 that have their name all over the slakware kernel for updates and modifications.

It's gotten a lot easier to work with, yeah, but I'd pay good money to see anybody teach someone else to read sendmail.cf with anything resembling comprehension in two weeks.

Get Slack!

That's my favorite distro. And, for the record, I edited sendmail.cf once. It changed my life.

Originally Posted by ebaconjr

Get Slack!

That's my favorite distro. And, for the record, I edited sendmail.cf once. It changed my life.

Hahaha...one of my favorite quotes from my impetuous youth was in an EFNet IRC channel when some dude said "Give me two hits of BlueBarrel and I can read my sendmail.cf like Mr. Spock reads his fucking console".

I laughed so hard I cried for like half an hour.

*snicker* That's why I use Qmail, or if I'm forced to work with *shudder* Sendmail, I use an interface like Webmin.

Oh, Bacon, my father runs Kubuntu 7.04 currently. Likes it better than windows, and hardly ever asks me for help. Granted, he is far more intelligent than the average joe, but I think it speaks well that an Olde Farte can do it without having to call his son in every day to walk him through something.