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I know how to do everything I could possibly need to know how to do in XP and then some. I have no particular desire to learn how to use a new operating system (well, to a degree, since I used linux about 5 years ago) just so that I can avoid the difficulties that I... already avoid...
If the blasted O/S would install, I would be able to use and actually USE linux. But it won't, so I can't, so I won't.
Simple as that.
What PG said.
Hey, I'll pick up a new distro next time I'm at school. Need a suggestion - Should I go with Fedora, or...?
I like Gentoo :{
Need to reinstall it though (windows bad behaviour when stuff's broke :p), it shouldn't detect the network card as eth0 in one kernel and eth1 in another same version kernel.
I'm a newbie, I don't think gentoo would be the best choice.
Get Lycoris. Except for the annoying 'it won't reboot' problem that I got, it is pretty easy. Of course the only thing I would use linux for is a low-resource using OS so I can fold proteins :p
I installed Gentoo a couple of weeks ago. It took me three days, and that was using the stage 3 (i.e. the easiest and quickest) install. Most of it was my fault, though. Messing up is a good way of learning. :)
Gentoo is only good if you want to learn what you're doing. If you want a toaster with a mouse sticking out of it, where you turn it on and hit "EMAIL" and it emails, then get a Mac, like I said. If you want total control over your computer, then use Gentoo, because Gentoo gives you total control, whether you want it or not. Gentoo will cure you of newbieness in short order, if you want to learn.
PG, obviously Linux DOES install, because people do use it. If it won't install for you, then most likely it's your fault, and most likely someone can help you if you would ask.
Number of times I've had a Mac crash on me: Roughly 1000.
Number of times I've used a Mac: Roughly 1050. --BoB
THAT'S YOUR FAULT FOR NOT USING IT RIGHT SINCE MAC NEVER GIVES ME PROBLEMS! I think that's the generally-accepted response.
I don't care what anyone uses, honestly. Just saying, Linux is better in many ways, so that for people who themselves care about such things, they can know. If you like Windows, then have fun using it.
it shouldn't detect the network card as eth0 in one kernel and eth1 in another same version kernel. --Arche
Probably blame the kernel for that, not Gentoo. I've experienced it too. You shouldn't ever need to reinstall Gentoo though, unless portage itself is broken, and even then there are ways to fix it using the LiveCD. Look into emerge -e, which installs the entire portage tree from glibc upwards. Things don't randomly break in Gentoo; there's always a reason for it, and you can actually FIGURE OUT the reason 99% of the time. "Reinstall the OS" is a Windows way of fixing things, and given the huge amount of time it takes to install Gentoo, it's never the best way to fix a problem.
To listen to most Linux users, you'd think it's better in not many, but all ways, and it is for absolutely everybody, no matter what. I think if people like that got listened to more often, there would be a lot more computer-related suicides in the world. Yes, Linux has its uses, but so does Windows. And I suppose, in some cases, some insane yahoo might even want to buy a Mac, but I would counsel intensive psychiatric therapy as a happier alternative.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Unne
The Linux community coined the term "FUD," or Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt to describe Microsoft's activities...but you know what? Nobody spreads FUD better than a Linux user. Nobody. Not even Ballmer, and Ballmer's pretty bloody good at spreading FUD.
And this, of course, has the effect of making me sound like a Microsoft evangelist just because I am no more willing to listen to senseless one-sided propaganda from the Linux community than I am from Microsoft. I must respond, just as I respond when a clueless Windows user bashes Linux with little or no basis. You don't see much of that online, because most of the people I deal with online actually have a clue about how to work a computer, so the ones spreading the FUD are invariably the Linux camp. I especially love the emphasis on "Free this" and "free that." Linux is only free if your time isn't worth anything.
And Doom, go with Mandrake. Red Hat has officially dropped the ball. Fedora's a piece of crap. It would be better if you thought you could handle Gentoo, but if you can't, then definitely go with Mandrake.
My time is worth something, but I enjoy spending time using a computer. Some people buy a cheap car and drive it to work every day, and don't mind that it runs and looks like crap so long as it gets you places; some people build most of their cars themselves in the garage and spend 3 hours a day waxing it once it's done. Depends what you want out of your computer.
Linux isn't run by a shady company that blatantly abuses and lies to its customers, which is probably why there's so much anti-MS FUD. Linux dorks write their own OS; they aren't going to FUD themselves, and of course they have more personal, emotional interest in such things, because the OS is a personal project. Linux guys get slammed too though, even by other Linux guys, when they do something stupid. Did you read all the stuff about the xfree project? Changed a line in their copyright document, and resulted in a community-wide boycott. Read some of the distro-wars, or programming-language-wars. There's plenty of internal Linux fanaticism too, as much as external anti-MS fanaticism.
The reason I don't trust people who tell me to use Linux is because they don't tell you about the bad things and they don't tell you about how capable you need to be to handle and they don't accept that Microsoft does have it's benefits. Or at least the few evangelists for Linux that I know of don't. And until someone can tell me what I'm getting into and until I can understand everything about it, all those people are nothing but door-to-door salesmen to me, and I don't trust door to door salesmen either.
There are some people who understand and accept that some people are better off with Microsoft and some people are better off with Linux. And it's those people that I listen to and it's those people that can offer me real advice. And it's more often than not those people that tell me that I should probably stick with Windows XP.
For beginners who don't want to ruin their Windows install, there's that nice program called vmware. It allows you to run a virtual machine, which can in turn run pretty much any (Intel/AMD compliant) OS. Which means you can try Linux (be it Gentoo, 'Drake, or RedHat/Fedora), :love::love::love::love: up beyond belief, and then learn from your mistakes without ruining other partitons. Then you can retry.
Needless to say, it's better to buy vmware, but there's also the possibility of evaluating it. Or other ways to get it too. Whichever floats your boats.
DOWN WITH MS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Arise form the ashes Apple!!!!!
Personally detest anything that has to do with MS (unfortunately there sometimes isn't any alternative for some software/games). Someday Linux, Apple and everything else will be FAR supperior (for they are already superior) than that cr@p.....
*rants*
Actually, I think you know enough to handle Linux, so although I'm usually one of those people, my advice to you would be to dual-boot XP and a few distros of Linux and decide for yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loony BoB
If I start having problems with XP, I'll keep that in mind. :)