I've spent quite alot of time to read all the definitions gave by one or another. I'm both a linux & windows user and in the same time admin. I'm so much afraid i'll start to do devil's advocacy here for linux, but from my point of view i'm pretty much entitled to.
I'm in charge for about 400 workstations and something like 170 servers. Both types (wks & srv) runs either linux or windows. Do you folks have any ideea which is the % of the wks's suffering from sudden death like about 2 or 3 months of intensive work on them? Take a wild guess!. So, as i'm sure you already guessed what i'm talking about, i come and say: "Why in the name of God i would waste my time and my nerves on reinstalling friggin MS stuff like every 2 - 3 months", when i could just simply just check them once in a while and have them running for 1 year +. Of course it's not my call. Just as some of you like MS and some of you Linux, my users have their preferences too, therefore i got Norton Ghost to work for those bloody Windows wks's. But then again, happy people coming to work are those working on linux workstation. Debian or Gentoo powered (dont remind me of RedHat/Fedora/CentOS as they are Windows's cousins lately), my workstations are rocking from simple text files editing (OpenOffice rules by the way) to Multimedia rich applications (if you dont know there is SDL - Simple DirectMedia Layer linux alternative of DirectX as well as TransGaming's new DirectX 8 API's support in linux for latest Remedy Enterprise's Max Payne with 3D acceleration). However .. going to the server side of my story all my servers are running Linux or various flavours of BSD. I used to have some NT and 2000 or 2003 servers that i got rid off due to their instability and inconsistency plus extremely bad memory management. Benchmarking the systems it came up that on two hardware identical servers, one with linux and the other with windows 2000 advanced server, each of them with two processors and 4 GB DDR2 memory, under a stress test with 300 simultaneous clients each of them sending 1000 (one thousand) simultaneous queries to their respective localhost databases (mysql for linux and msql for windows) the windows machine bent over kneeling in front of linux. I'm sorry to dissapoint you Windows fans but Linux is better, or you would prefere to say GNU/Linux since it's widely accepted as a name for this awsome OS. And Yes, it's an OS even if at origins Linux was the name of a MINIX based free OS with a monolithic kernel, created by Linus Torvalds. Do you even know that the name "Linux" was a mistake?. By the time Linus Torvalds finished his first version of what we know today as Linux he named it Freax, but when he asked his friend Ari Lemmke (at that time the FTP admin at funet.fi) to put the new OS online for public access, his friend gave him a directory on ftp with the name Linux. And for you ignorants i repeat: Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system. It's not the name of the kernel. And also i saw many of you stating Linux is an OS accepted by geeks and nerds. Righty .. then IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Novell are all some cheap-azz companies ran by nerds and geeks. If you say so ...
Also news for you cool guys from geeks like us .. Sony Playstation 3 will be running Linux too as confirmed by Sony's CEO Ken Kutaragi. So judging by this news Linux still not being a proper gaming environment right?.. Duh!. Take care with what you wish as the OS for your computer.
Over & Out
Andy
I'm in charge for about 400 workstations and something like 170 servers. Both types (wks & srv) runs either linux or windows. Do you folks have any ideea which is the % of the wks's suffering from sudden death like about 2 or 3 months of intensive work on them? Take a wild guess!. So, as i'm sure you already guessed what i'm talking about, i come and say: "Why in the name of God i would waste my time and my nerves on reinstalling friggin MS stuff like every 2 - 3 months", when i could just simply just check them once in a while and have them running for 1 year +. Of course it's not my call. Just as some of you like MS and some of you Linux, my users have their preferences too, therefore i got Norton Ghost to work for those bloody Windows wks's. But then again, happy people coming to work are those working on linux workstation. Debian or Gentoo powered (dont remind me of RedHat/Fedora/CentOS as they are Windows's cousins lately), my workstations are rocking from simple text files editing (OpenOffice rules by the way) to Multimedia rich applications (if you dont know there is SDL - Simple DirectMedia Layer linux alternative of DirectX as well as TransGaming's new DirectX 8 API's support in linux for latest Remedy Enterprise's Max Payne with 3D acceleration). However .. going to the server side of my story all my servers are running Linux or various flavours of BSD. I used to have some NT and 2000 or 2003 servers that i got rid off due to their instability and inconsistency plus extremely bad memory management. Benchmarking the systems it came up that on two hardware identical servers, one with linux and the other with windows 2000 advanced server, each of them with two processors and 4 GB DDR2 memory, under a stress test with 300 simultaneous clients each of them sending 1000 (one thousand) simultaneous queries to their respective localhost databases (mysql for linux and msql for windows) the windows machine bent over kneeling in front of linux. I'm sorry to dissapoint you Windows fans but Linux is better, or you would prefere to say GNU/Linux since it's widely accepted as a name for this awsome OS. And Yes, it's an OS even if at origins Linux was the name of a MINIX based free OS with a monolithic kernel, created by Linus Torvalds. Do you even know that the name "Linux" was a mistake?. By the time Linus Torvalds finished his first version of what we know today as Linux he named it Freax, but when he asked his friend Ari Lemmke (at that time the FTP admin at funet.fi) to put the new OS online for public access, his friend gave him a directory on ftp with the name Linux. And for you ignorants i repeat: Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system. It's not the name of the kernel. And also i saw many of you stating Linux is an OS accepted by geeks and nerds. Righty .. then IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Novell are all some cheap-azz companies ran by nerds and geeks. If you say so ...
Also news for you cool guys from geeks like us .. Sony Playstation 3 will be running Linux too as confirmed by Sony's CEO Ken Kutaragi. So judging by this news Linux still not being a proper gaming environment right?.. Duh!. Take care with what you wish as the OS for your computer.
Over & Out
Andy
by tespio August 17, 2006
by DA GUY April 15, 2004
Windows has a few good qualities and characteristics: it's good for web surfing, listening to mp3's, watching porn movies, opening .vbs email attachments, defining the acronym B.S.O.D., setting records for security vulnerabilites and patches, data loss and corruption, helping M$ in monopolizing the market, etc...
Conversely, Linux has a few good qualities and characteristics as well: stable, robust, and free...
Conversely, Linux has a few good qualities and characteristics as well: stable, robust, and free...
1. rm -rf /mnt/half-ass-os/WINNTWindows
2. for corrupt_files in /windows/*; do
cat /dev/null > $corrupt_files;
done;
3. find / -name Linux -type OS -exec mv {} windows \;
2. for corrupt_files in /windows/*; do
cat /dev/null > $corrupt_files;
done;
3. find / -name Linux -type OS -exec mv {} windows \;
by Z'Penguin May 7, 2003
n. An example of a freeware operating system. Idealogically beautiful, but practically a bit of a hassle, this fast-growing operating system is often used by computer programmers. In fact, almost all programmers that work for Microsoft do all their work on Linux boxes...hmm...
My impression of Linux is that it's vastly improved but still not as user-friendly as Windows. I continue to hope that it completely overthrows the "evil Microsoft empire" as a large triumph for the free software movement, but it's not going to do that anytime soon unless it cleans up (from a non-programmer standpoint) some of the difficulties of installing programs.
Keep on, brave penguin!
My impression of Linux is that it's vastly improved but still not as user-friendly as Windows. I continue to hope that it completely overthrows the "evil Microsoft empire" as a large triumph for the free software movement, but it's not going to do that anytime soon unless it cleans up (from a non-programmer standpoint) some of the difficulties of installing programs.
Keep on, brave penguin!
by Bad Grammar Must Die April 17, 2003
An amazing OS that installs flawlessly on most of today's hardware and runs faster while doing it. People who complain about it are too used to windows and to lazy to give something different a chance. People who tell you it won't work with your hardware have lied to you, with the exception of some WiFi cards all your hardware WILL work.
I installed SuSE Linux 10.0 on my desktop computer:
Nvidia GeForce FX5500 - autodetected and installed
Soundblaster Audigy LS - autodetected and installed
CD Drive and DVD drive/CD burner - autodetected and installed
Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor - autodetected and installed
Belkin WiFi card - autodetected and installed
Installed Counter-Strike: Source with Transgaming's Cedega through Point2Play and it works perfectly. I also get better FPS in game than I ever did on Windows. When I install new programs or games to my PC, I no longer need to "reboot for changes ot take effect" - thank God.
"I am proud to be 100% Microsoft free!"
Nvidia GeForce FX5500 - autodetected and installed
Soundblaster Audigy LS - autodetected and installed
CD Drive and DVD drive/CD burner - autodetected and installed
Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor - autodetected and installed
Belkin WiFi card - autodetected and installed
Installed Counter-Strike: Source with Transgaming's Cedega through Point2Play and it works perfectly. I also get better FPS in game than I ever did on Windows. When I install new programs or games to my PC, I no longer need to "reboot for changes ot take effect" - thank God.
"I am proud to be 100% Microsoft free!"
by vendetta red October 19, 2005
A kernel that many operating systems called "linux distros" are based off of. Linux is known mainly for being open source, and in most cases, also free to use. Many linux distros are do-it-yourself operating systems, and some come with a full GUI, and many automatic features, which makes it easier for normal people to use. These easy-to-use linux distros are commonly used as a price-effective and useful platform for public and private access to computers, and on servers. Many people criticize this operating system for not being able to run most applications, specifically games. Linux is somewhat limited to which applications it can run, but many people have made alternatives to those applications, and even ways to run those applications inside linux. In fact, many popular games can run on linux, contrary to the packaging of the game. Overall, linux is a great kernel that formed many popular and useful operating systems, which are in use by millions of people today. Linux is also available in a liveCD format, which lets users try linux before they fully install it.
"Hey, can you help me with my computer, windows crashed on me again."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I use linux, and I'm not too fond of microsoft products."
"Dude, linux sucks! It can't even run games!"
"Actually, unless you're planning to install every game on the market that was ever made, linux is actually a pretty good gaming platform. The only advice I can give you is to use linux. Here's a LiveCD"
"Okay, I guess I could try it."
2 days later.....
"What the hell man, when I tried to instal your stupid linux, it erased my windows!"
"Did you read the back of the CD? It clearly says that by default it'll erase all existing software, unless you partition your drive or install it inside windows. See, it says it right here on the CD."
"Well, it should've warned me!"
"Dude, maybe you should've just RTFM"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I use linux, and I'm not too fond of microsoft products."
"Dude, linux sucks! It can't even run games!"
"Actually, unless you're planning to install every game on the market that was ever made, linux is actually a pretty good gaming platform. The only advice I can give you is to use linux. Here's a LiveCD"
"Okay, I guess I could try it."
2 days later.....
"What the hell man, when I tried to instal your stupid linux, it erased my windows!"
"Did you read the back of the CD? It clearly says that by default it'll erase all existing software, unless you partition your drive or install it inside windows. See, it says it right here on the CD."
"Well, it should've warned me!"
"Dude, maybe you should've just RTFM"
by 0per4t0r August 13, 2009
In ascending order of ignorance:
Computer Science Professor/Student:
"That cool computer thing I helped make."
Developer/Programmer:
"Heaven."
High-end user:
"The system I haven't rebooted for three years which automatically manages my entire life. Also my life configuration isn't forwards incompatible with Life Vista."
Low-end user:
"Not only does the (good) software I used to use on Windows come free with it, but when you get used to everything else (or configure it to your tastes) it's actually far better than Windows. I've switched."
No-Brainer:
"I can check my email, watch my DVDs and listen to my music without "Illegal Operations" or worrying about configuring my "firewall""
Beetle:
"What? Can I eat it?"
Windows advocate (who does not know what a file is without a cryptic three letter code at the end. How does MP3 stand for the third (audio) layer of the Motion Picture Expert Group's first codec?!):
"That pile of crap "recompile your kernel" thing where you have to type everything and my favourite 'Yet Another First Person Shooter Which Is Just Quake 3 With Different Guns' doesn't even work on it because a) It is obviously the OS developer's fault if third party software works on it or not and b) I haven't even been on transgaming.com. Now I'm going to go to as many public message posting systems as possible and contradict myself at least three times per sentence as I rave about how it doesn't even have graphics (which microsoft obviously invented), it doesn't have any software to stop my personal information from being sent to the developers which shouldn't happen anyway, you get all of these technical system options to choose without a decent option like just resetting anything you choose to give you a US keyboard when you reboot (after a nice BSOD) and all of it's graphics are a rip off of windows. Especially all of the stuff windows ripped off from Apple. It's even used on crap "Power PC" and "ARM" and stuff which is crap because windows can't use them."
Of course this neglects the people who use/d other systems (yes, there are alterantives to UNIX and windows!) who lie just above the middle and say things like "Wow, this has loads of really good features. Pretty much like my old OS." and "I think it's good, but it's pretty much like my current OS." Or the Mac users who lie above the beetles and say things like "Aaaagh! It gives me a choice!" and "Why the hell am I using this when my computer came with virtually identical MacOSX?"
Oh yeah, and I don't count "Blue, silver or green" as a customisable interface. 'Skins' were invented by people who thought their own OS looks crap. Oh wait, windows isn't your own, you cannot change or sell it!
Computer Science Professor/Student:
"That cool computer thing I helped make."
Developer/Programmer:
"Heaven."
High-end user:
"The system I haven't rebooted for three years which automatically manages my entire life. Also my life configuration isn't forwards incompatible with Life Vista."
Low-end user:
"Not only does the (good) software I used to use on Windows come free with it, but when you get used to everything else (or configure it to your tastes) it's actually far better than Windows. I've switched."
No-Brainer:
"I can check my email, watch my DVDs and listen to my music without "Illegal Operations" or worrying about configuring my "firewall""
Beetle:
"What? Can I eat it?"
Windows advocate (who does not know what a file is without a cryptic three letter code at the end. How does MP3 stand for the third (audio) layer of the Motion Picture Expert Group's first codec?!):
"That pile of crap "recompile your kernel" thing where you have to type everything and my favourite 'Yet Another First Person Shooter Which Is Just Quake 3 With Different Guns' doesn't even work on it because a) It is obviously the OS developer's fault if third party software works on it or not and b) I haven't even been on transgaming.com. Now I'm going to go to as many public message posting systems as possible and contradict myself at least three times per sentence as I rave about how it doesn't even have graphics (which microsoft obviously invented), it doesn't have any software to stop my personal information from being sent to the developers which shouldn't happen anyway, you get all of these technical system options to choose without a decent option like just resetting anything you choose to give you a US keyboard when you reboot (after a nice BSOD) and all of it's graphics are a rip off of windows. Especially all of the stuff windows ripped off from Apple. It's even used on crap "Power PC" and "ARM" and stuff which is crap because windows can't use them."
Of course this neglects the people who use/d other systems (yes, there are alterantives to UNIX and windows!) who lie just above the middle and say things like "Wow, this has loads of really good features. Pretty much like my old OS." and "I think it's good, but it's pretty much like my current OS." Or the Mac users who lie above the beetles and say things like "Aaaagh! It gives me a choice!" and "Why the hell am I using this when my computer came with virtually identical MacOSX?"
Oh yeah, and I don't count "Blue, silver or green" as a customisable interface. 'Skins' were invented by people who thought their own OS looks crap. Oh wait, windows isn't your own, you cannot change or sell it!
I had to change the configuration files on Linux, but that's OK considering I couldn't change anything at all on windows without decompiling and recompiling an executable and it's dynamically linked libraries, resulting in a changed picture and a lawsuit. God Linux is SOOOO complicated!
by Chris Warburton September 18, 2005