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Thread ID: 121428	2011-10-25 19:40:00	Benefits and Cons of Linux	Nhashon (16466)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1239919	2011-10-26 02:37:00	I use 'Puppy' Linux quite often to beat Windows into shape! I think that 'Puppy' is very good. My main concern is that Windows web Browsers display the pages better than the Linux versions, probably a font problem. I stay with Windows because I have been using the same software for years & don't wish to change. You couldn't get a more stable and user friendly system than Windows 7.	mzee (3324)
1239920	2011-10-26 02:48:00	I notice it's only the cons in my list that got commented on...... I stand by them though, although they may not happen all that often they are real problems for some users. I'm building a cheapo machine and I'm going to play with Ubuntu again just for fun. Last time I tried I was very impressed until I tried to get a TV tuner working, which ultimately defeated me. My main machine will always run windows as long as it's the OS most games are written for because games are it's main purpose in life. For a machine not intended to game on I would certainly consider it. My experience has been for a general purpose machine linux is fine but software and hardware developers focus more on windows so some specific uses can be difficult to find support for. I'll be interested to see if freeview over DVB-T is something Linux can handle without causing nightmares. First there's the hardware support, then there's the codecs, then there's finding an application that can use both successfully.	dugimodo (138)
1239921	2011-10-26 08:05:00	I'm building a cheapo machine and I'm going to play with Ubuntu again just for fun. Last time I tried I was very impressed until I tried to get a TV tuner working, which ultimately defeated me. My experience has been for a general purpose machine linux is fine but software and hardware developers focus more on windows so some specific uses can be difficult to find support for. I'll be interested to see if freeview over DVB-T is something Linux can handle without causing nightmares. First there's the hardware support, then there's the codecs, then there's finding an application that can use both successfully. The Bt878 based tuners (of which there are millions) all have supported drivers in Linux but due to numerous differences between the actual tuner module and EEPROMs, you must manually write some stuff to a config file to initialize the correct tuner module on your card (there's a database somewhere) For some reason though nobody seemed to think to make a wizard program to do this (there is such a program for Windows) which surprises me since the Bt878 was a very widely used chipset. Then there's the ATi Theater 550 Pro for example, which has absolutely zilch support in Linux and no doubt never will. (This is not the fault of Linux though, rather ATi) Of course this all doesn't matter any more since with DVB all such tuners will become useless (except for video capture, which they aren't bad at, to say convert your old VHS tapes to DVD) I did have some success with a USB based DVB-T Tuner and a program called "Me TV" - I forget the chipset the tuner used but it was not supported under Linux for some time, but is now. I am let down with it by a pathetic antenna, however.	Agent_24 (57)
1239922	2011-10-27 04:50:00	Pros - Command line is very powerful - Very flexible/customisable, can run on lots of hardware new and old - The newer Ubuntus et al are very easy to install - Stable - Has many tools for software development etc... - Free Cons - Can be a steep learning curve (if not using an easy distro like ubuntu) (can offset the Free factor if time=money for you) - Lack of specialised software - Can be a pain to get configured properly - Not all linux systems are the same (unlike Windows) - Lack of vendor support for some hardware (eg some 56k modems, most new hardware which is more standardised is usually fine)	forrest44 (754)
1239923	2011-10-27 05:14:00	Cons - Not all linux systems are the same (unlike Windows) MS make a habit of making it look like things are very different by rearranging menus etc. It can be a right pain trying to find some things because they have decided to put them in some illogical place or made it 4 or 5 clicks of a mouse to get to what used to take 2 so the unlike Windows doesn't carry too much weight.	mikebartnz (21)
1239924	2011-10-27 06:32:00	MS make a habit of making it look like things are very different by rearranging menus etc. It can be a right pain trying to find some things because they have decided to put them in some illogical place or made it 4 or 5 clicks of a mouse to get to what used to take 2 so the unlike Windows doesn't carry too much weight. That is true actually, frustrates me too I was thinking more of software development, on Linux it is hard to know how to package your software, what libraries/library versions are going to be on the target system, etc etc... On windows, if it works on your install, there's a good chance it'll work on most other windows installs. MS does put a lot of effort into backwards compatibility, so it will likely work on future versions as well. Whereas there is very little focus on backwards compatibility on a lot of Linux systems. That being said, I am a big Linux fan, in fact, I type this from Slackware :-)	forrest44 (754)
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