Is Linux a real alternative????

[elija]

Guys. Stop feeding the troll

[reed9]

Take a moment to read the websites and ask yourself this, “Are these claims true?” Is someone with no background in CS going to read these sites and do what is described on them in the matter stated? I don’t think so.

I'm a fellow without a college degree at all and no background in computer science. Perhaps I'm the exception that proves the rule, but I find linux to be far far more "user friendly" than windows.

I began using linux just about 2 years ago exactly. At the beginning, it was frustration with Windows and an appreciation for the goals of free software (and I use that term specifically, as in open source is a development model, free software is a political movement).

There was obviously an adjustment as I learned an entirely new operating system, but within a few weeks I was comfortable enough to do everything I wanted or needed to do fairly easily. I tried many distros, and after about a year settled on Arch Linux. Supposedly one of the least "user friendly" distros out there, but frankly, I find it more to my liking and taste than Ubuntu. I don't want all that abstraction between me and the OS. I'm happier doing a quick edit of a text config file that roaming through a maze of GUI wizards or preference buttons. I want a simple window manager that is speedy and does what I want without fuss.

I don't want popups, automatic updates, daemons running without my explicit consent, and outside of sane defaults, I don't particularly want things preconfigured for me.

Long story short, the small investment of time and energy learning a bit about linux in the long run has made me a happier more empowered user of my computer.

At work I am forced to use Windows and I want to shoot myself in the head every day from all the annoyances and popups and things that don't work right but I have no idea how to even begin fixing.

[coopstah13]

But...feeding trolls is FUN!

[techieMoe]

But...feeding trolls is FUN!

...as long as you don't do it after midnight. Or was that gremlins? I always get them mixed up.

[reed9]

Gremlins, definitely gremlins. Trolls turn to stone in the sun, is Tolkien is to be believed.

[techieMoe]

Gremlins, definitely gremlins. Trolls turn to stone in the sun, is Tolkien is to be believed.

And live under bridges, if the Brothers Grimm are to be believed.

[oz]

Guys, this is the same old thing that we've gone over many times before in these forums, and in the end both sides will usually stick to their current opinions and beliefs. Seeing as how this thread has already outlived any usefulness that it might have had, and the OP has stated above that he is returning to the appropriate OS for him, I'm going to lock the thread. Any admin that disagrees with that is certainly most welcome to reopen it.