Why i use Fedora Core (A previous Windows user's diary)

[Skinney]

Now i've been reading alot of posts (not here) that has evolved into flame wars between Windows and Linux and it pisses me off. Linux users saying that security owns on Linux, Windows users sometimes saying the opposite or that Linux is the devil for bad or no user friendlyness... As said, it pisses me off and it inspired me to write this little praise to the linux distro of all times and the idea of free software...

First a little about myself, until recently i was a hardcore Windows XP user and all i'd ever heard of Linux was from other Windows users saying that its all geek material and what not. but then i read a preview of Fedora Core 5. It sounded really interesting so i read a review of the FC5test2 and it got me VERY interested.

The first thing i did was to download the Rawhide release from Febrary 18 and to my surprise, it was reletively stable, easy to setup, easy to update AND easy to learn. Within a matter of seconds i was browsing with Firefox on google and found fedoraforums and fedorafaq almost instantly. I learned about yum/yumex, basic command line commands(like su, cd, running apps....) and i was hooked. Never had i seen such a fast, helping and userfriendly community support than on fedoraforums.org (give yourself an applause now) and i suddenly became very interested in learning more about linux.

It didn't take long before i figured out that my Fedora Distro could do anything that my Windows XP could. Like editing .doc files, playing games(cedega and PSX games using ePSXe), accessing/reading/writing to the microsoft local network(which actually had better performance than my Windows box, believe it or not) and beeing used as a printer server by the other Windows XP laptops in the house. On top of that my Fedora distro uses 270Mb RAM while browsing in Opera, chatting in Gaim and listening to Amarok. My Windows XP uses 230Mb idle! Fedora uses 130Mb idle

The choice was simple, i converted to FC4(for stability) and am now using Fedora Core as my primary desktop, using Windows purely for games... There is nothing installed on Windows except for my games and the must have antivirus software.

Now i must admit that Fedora Core has its downsides, though not major downsides at that(like lousy ATI drivers, no Video support in gaim(not Fedoras fault but still) and slow boot time) but they'll improve, if slowly and as Fedora improves, Windows is getting closer and closer to be kicked out the window. Never again will i have to pay 200$ or more when i buy a new computer becouse i need a OS to use my computer, or go Software shopping afterwards for even more software. On Fedora i get everything FREE(both in freedom and economics) and it works better :-) heck, even the 64-bit version works perfectly on my AMD64 and the same software works just as well, which is more than i can say for XP64-bit.

And, more goods are to come. Amarok 1.4, Gaim 2.0(eventually), XGL/Aiglx, Fedora Core 5... I just can't wait, i feel like a kid at christmas instead of someone feeling scammed becouse I have to wait for an awsome program just to pay for it(well, not always but...)

So thats my praise, if Vista turns out as bad as i think it will and Linux continues to evolve as it does, i think Linux will eventually(if slowly) take more and more chunks of the Windows world, and thank god for that. Thanks for reading my looong and (maybe) boring post. It's not meant to provoke anyone(except the flamers ) so i apologize if i do or if someone got that impresion. Sorry for any grammar/language mistakes, I'm Norwigian... And redhat, thanks for Fedora

Last note: for you flamers boasting about sucurity, get a grip. If a Windows user is happy with his Windows do you really think he will convert to Linux becouse of increased sucurity? Nope, at least I wouldn't. So drop it and get better arguments! (or stop flamming Windows users, they're people too )

[jtang613]

I can personally vouch for continuing improvements in Fedora (and all Linux / Open-Source / GPL software). I've been using Linux for more than 5 years now, since RedHat 7 and have seen dramatic improvements in the Linux operating system and software suite. That's one of the greatest advantages of free, open-source software (FOSS) -- it is very quick to evolve.

The other aspect of GNU/Linux that I've come to enjoy is (near) complete immunity to viruses, adware, spyware, trojans, etc. Linux, by its very design is inherently immune to such attacks. The only reason for running anti-virus software on Linux is to protect your Windows users from contamination.

Like you, I still boot Windows occasionally to run the few remaining applications that have no Linux counterpart (yet) -- read: Altera Quartus. But 95% of my computing takes place in Linux.

m2c,
Jason

[Thetargos]

Very nice post indeed, Skinney.

Welcome to Linux, and Fedora in particular. I hope you enjoy your stay.

Linux on the desktop has a lot of challenges up ahead, of which maybe the media formats and DRM wars are the worst due to what they actually mean in terms of technology patents, freedom and ultimately legality of using digital media (without DRM), even if you have the original copyrighted material and if you appeal to the Fair Use terms... Proprietary software is better protected against such things, but then again, Free Software is making insanely huge inroads into the desktop and out of the server room.

[ofblong]

just dont do what I did. I installed linux back in college 9 years ago. Used it for about a year then stopped. I am just now getting back into it and remember next to nothing about it other than poor ati driver support (which the old computer im installing linux on has an ati 9800 pro).

[Skinney]

yeah... got the same card... count yourself lucky you don't have a x1800 as ATI drivers don't support that card yet :P
im saving up to a Nvidia 7800GT til summer

[tomcat]

Nice and fair post. Those days back , when I dual-booted, I thought I will still need Windows. Six months later I realized that I had not booted into Windows for six months. That day, I ditched Windows and I never regretted it. I doubt that I will be using Windows anytime again in my life, as Fedora offers a fast, stable, easy to use and 100% free distro and I don't have to fear that "trusted-computing-kaka" anymore.

If FC5 hits the mirrors, I guess I will change all my linux boxes to Fedora. It gave me fewer headaches as any other distro, any Windows version or MacOS 8,9,X.

Oh.. and yes, this forum is definitely one of the best imho.

[fpoole]

Nice thoughts, Skinney; it's pretty well exactly how I felt when I switched to FC4 in summer 2005. (And by the way, man, your English is better than a lot of native speakers'!) The only difference here is that while you need Windows for gaming, I still need it for my music production software. Your thoughts on F/OSS (Free/Open Source Software) also bring to mind a post I wrote yesterday. I hope you enjoy your stay.

[@ofblong: I did the same thing with RedHat 7 way back when. I picked things up again quickly, though.]

[JN4OldSchool]

Welcome to the brotherhood SKINNY. I agree with all you said. My only comment is to be sure you try those "other" distros too! Hell, they are all (mostly) free and there are many good ones. My personal favorites are SuSE, MEPIS, Knoppix, CentOS, PCLinuxOS and the small lightweights like Feather, DSL and best of all Puppy Linux are always fun to play with. If you think you are impressed with FCs use of resources take a few minutes and download Barebones Puppy Linux. It is only 40MB and it runs in system RAM but is a complete GUI OS that can do anything you need! Of course my very own personal favorite is FC. There is nothing close in my book. Only thing I didnt quite follow in your post, what is this Windows you kept talking about?

[BoyWonder410]

Yea, Again, I agree.
one thing I want to add though is that OSS is just as much about freedom as it is about being better. I dare say that even if 'nux was not as good as windows I'd still use it. I don't want a software company dictating to me how/when I can use my software or what things I can do with it.
Freedom. It's important.

[rappermas]

All I see about Windows Vista is the hype. It's like XP when it was coming. Oh sure, XP is way better than any of the other OSes that Microsoft had ever put before us, but that's relatively speaking. Everything else that came before was crap and XP was just evolution in the software world.

I really do believe that once Vista comes out and people really start to get a "feel" for it, for lack of better words, people will realize that it's not everything it is being promised to be.

It's all hype. Like the Microsoft website saying it boots as fast as your TV turns on (3-5 seconds). All hype. For the BIOS to initalize the system, you need at least a few seconds there.

Vista, shmista. They're just bloating all this out of proportion.

[Skinney]

(And by the way, man, your English is better than a lot of native speakers'!) The only difference here is that while you need Windows for gaming, I still need it for my music production software.

Thanks man! and yeah, forgot to mention. I've got a MIDI keyboard that doesnt have linux drivers so i think i have to learn myself piano with it in Windows(but since i migrated to Linux I've barely played...) If anyone know if there is a learning or a simple playing software for MIDI keyboards in linux, be sure to let me know as i havent found one yet.

All I see about Windows Vista is the hype

Yeah, they've removed almost all the promised features they had from the begining. And with it's strict restrictions for Hardware and DirectX10 i might not even bother the upgrade from XP... even if i get it free from my dads company...

Welcome to the brotherhood SKINNY. I agree with all you said. My only comment is to be sure you try those "other" distros too! Hell, they are all (mostly) free and there are many good ones.

actually its SKINNEY! its my nickname, my friends loved to mix norwigian and english and some other language or accent i don't really know and we always added extra E's and I's where they werent needed so its SKINNEY! anyway, i did try Mandriva Linux 2006 just recently and it had alot of bugs(at least with my hardware) and somehow im more comfortable with the dual panel setting of Gnome in Fedora :-) I'll be sure to checkout some more Linux Distro's though after i get FC5 running as i want, strange crashes with certain programs and some not working due to the updated compiler and libraries, but i'll fix it eventually :-)

Thanks for the kind words and I think i will like it here
Linux world here i come!

[fpoole]

Thanks man! and yeah, forgot to mention. I've got a MIDI keyboard that doesnt have linux drivers so i think i have to learn myself piano with it in Windows(but since i migrated to Linux I've barely played...) If anyone know if there is a learning or a simple playing software for MIDI keyboards in linux, be sure to let me know as i havent found one yet.

You might give kmid or Rosegarden a try; I've never used either, but I think they might have something to offer in that direction.

[steve1961]

Hi Skinney, glad you've had such a positive experience. I discovered linux about 18 months ago and I've never looked back. Two or three months ago I even took the step of deleting my XP partition as I hadn't booted into it for months (although I'm not a gamer). Personally I have no intention of even trying vista - there's lots of linux distros out there and they won't cost me an arm and a leg to buy.

[exitRooster]

Skinny -

First off, great post - Sums up much how I feel as well, and also have mentioned, although not as good as you elsewhere.

Yes, Linux has come great strides - I've popped in myself for many a year, but only since FC4 have I actually run a "dedicated" (non-dualboot) install, and with FC5, it has moved to my "flagship" main machine, though as you, I do have sort of a dual-boot setup for XP gaming.

I would like to add one bit, mainly for the public and not myself, as I know next to nothing about coding software Many apps are free, in fact I don't know numbers, but seems like 99% is free, right? But do look up the websites of the prodcuts you use from time to time. Most these guys/gals code in their free time, and have other lives apart of thier love of coding and making our world better. Those fellas would always appreciate (generally, not always!) donations via paypal or whatever method they offer. If ya love something, donate towards the cause. Even if it's just a couple bucks - When's the last time ya padi $5 for a great piece of software for m$ OS's? (that DIDN'T come with spyware ala eGames, Inc., lol) Anywho - That's all I wanted to say

[pparks1]

I'm saving up to a Nvidia 7800GT til summer

I'm not trying to be rude, but what is the point of installing a 7800GT into a Linux box? Isn't that a bit overkill for the level of gaming support/otherwise that is available for Linux?

If you are running a Windows based gaming rig, I can certainly see the need for a card of that type. But what kind of games in Linux even take advantage of a card like that?