I am puzzled by linux

[KingMing]

I am a newbie for Linux. Before I use Linux, i have heard of a lot about it: open source, robust, ubiquity in engineering...
However,after my using for some while, i am puzzled:
1 Installation of Linux takes much longer time than Windows;
2 it needs more space for the whole systems both in CDs and hard disk;
3 running programs in Linux is really much slower than that in Windows;
4 it is really really really inconvenient to use, especially for installing software.

The only advantage I have felt is that it is open source which is good for scientific researches.

So why so many people are crazy about it? Everybody here needs to do researches on Linux? I am really puzzled...

Please do not blame me of my ignorance and I am just probing...

[techieMoe]

I am a newbie for Linux. Before I use Linux, i have heard of a lot about it: open source, robust, ubiquity in engineering...
However,after my using for some while, i am puzzled:
1 Installation of Linux takes much longer time than Windows;

You're lumping all the thousands of Linux distributions together when it's really not possible to do that. Some Linux distributions take longer than others to get installed. I've had a working Linux install in less than 10 minutes and one that took around 2 days. It depends on which Linux you're talking about.

2 it needs more space for the whole systems both in CDs and hard disk;

Once again, this depends entirely on WHICH Linux you're talking about. Some are small enough to fit on a floppy disk, others need several gigabytes. Also, keep in mind that when you install Linux you're not just installing the OS. You're usually installing tons of other applications along with it.

What do you get on a clean install of Windows XP that takes up roughly 2GB of harddrive space? Internet Explorer, Notepad, a handful of games like Solitaire and Minesweeper, and one graphical interface that you cannot change.

What do you get on a clean install of Fedora Core or SusE Linux? Several different web browsers, a complete office suite, dozens of different games, administration and multimedia software, and often a choice between several different graphical interfaces.

3 running programs in Linux is really much slower than that in Windows;

What numbers do you have to back this up, and what distribution are you using for comparison? Blanket statements like this are just ignorant; you can't judge all Linuxes under the same umbrella any more than you can say "all automobiles use too much gas". Surely some do, but you can't say that about all the various makes and models at once.

4 it is really really really inconvenient to use, especially for installing software.

Which distribution? Do you see a pattern here? Broad generalizations don't work for Linux because there is no SINGLE "Linux" operating system. Also, what does "inconvenient" mean to you? That's up for interpretation. Some Linux distributions offer one-click installs, others let you update your entire system with one command. Some let you compile everything specifically for your machine.

The only advantage I have felt is that it is open source which is good for scientific researches.

So why so many people are crazy about it? Everybody here needs to do researches on Linux? I am really puzzled...

How many distributions have you tried, personally? How much Linux research have you done? I recommend you read up on it more. Perhaps you won't be so puzzled.

[carlosponti]

another fallacy in comparing windows and Linux is that when you install the minimum 3gbs of windows it doesn't come with an office suite or some of the other software that is included. Slackware for instance installs in around 3 gb but has an office suite a Mozilla suite(browser, mail client etc. ) tons of tools for maintainability and other misc software. i can install it bare bones and have more software that is pre-installed than i get with windows. i use it at home for my everyday computing needs ie surfing the web, gaming to some degree, and other things i like to play with. Not to mention there are several distros that install to 50 mb's or less.

[Zelmo]

I'm going to echo what TechieMoe said, plus make a couple of comments of my own.

3 running programs in Linux is really much slower than that in Windows;

I almost laughed out loud when I read this. Just because it's the opposite of my experience. Sometimes when I use my laptop running Debian with KDE, I'm a little frustrated by how slow it feels (especially compared to when I used Gnome or XFCE). But what really gets to me is how slow Windows feels when I'm running that on my poor little laptop.

4 it is really really really inconvenient to use, especially for installing software.

You'll probably get a lot of responses to this comment, in the vein of most Linux distros being able to install almost anything with either one or two short commands on the command prompt, or two or three clicks in a package manager GUI. Even more impressive is the system's ability to keep all installed software up to date, not just the core OS software.

[smolloy]

1 Installation of Linux takes much longer time than Windows;

The only reason you think this is true is because windows comes pre-installed. Installing SUSE without any of the extra applications (in order for a direct comparison with windows, which (as noted by techiemoe) comes with no extra apps, takes less time that installing windows. Same could be said for most linux distributions.

[Tainted_Girl]

I am a newbie for Linux. Before I use Linux, i have heard of a lot about it: open source, robust, ubiquity in engineering...
However,after my using for some while, i am puzzled:
1 Installation of Linux takes much longer time than Windows;
2 it needs more space for the whole systems both in CDs and hard disk;
3 running programs in Linux is really much slower than that in Windows;
4 it is really really really inconvenient to use, especially for installing software.

The only advantage I have felt is that it is open source which is good for scientific researches.

So why so many people are crazy about it? Everybody here needs to do researches on Linux? I am really puzzled...

Please do not blame me of my ignorance and I am just probing...

Wow! Do you know that if you took those four opinions and turned them around that you would actually produce four facts?

[Farmer Mike]

What Windows are you comparing to what Linux, your Mingness?

It almost sounds to me like you're comparing a recent Linux distribution to an older Windows on an older machine.

As Moe pointed out, you can get many different versions (distributions) of Linux, and given some research, you can find one pretty much tailored to your needs and hardware. Right now, I'm running Fedora Core 5 on a desktop with a 450MHz processor. It is slow, but it's supported and works okay, unlike the Windows 98SE that came off of it. It's just a stopgap until I buy or build a new system. Then I'll put something lighter like Feather Linux on it and give it to my teenage son to learn on.

Mike

[mahlerfan]

I am a newbie for Linux. Before I use Linux, i have heard of a lot about it: open source, robust, ubiquity in engineering...
However,after my using for some while, i am puzzled:
1 Installation of Linux takes much longer time than Windows;
2 it needs more space for the whole systems both in CDs and hard disk;

Well if you select all available packages on a Suse or Mandriva install perhaps! I usually find that it takes like 10-30 minutes typically to install linux, and windows xp typically takes 40 minutes to an hour.

3 running programs in Linux is really much slower than that in Windows;
4 it is really really really inconvenient to use, especially for installing software.

For both windows and linux it greatly depends on how many services and programs you have running in the background. If you take the time to tweak windows but not linux, you would be doing linux an injustice.

So why so many people are crazy about it? Everybody here needs to do researches on Linux? I am really puzzled...

Well with the exception of gaming I find that linux fits my needs for a desktop computer. Loads of free software, fast, stable, great package management. If you think that open source is purely a research tool, then I think that you haven't explored what open source software can do for you. Instead of worrying about linux for now, perhaps you could just investigate open source software for windows for your favorite apps. If you find stuff that you like then you can look up the philosophy behind open source and GNU, and see if linux is for you.

[smolloy]

If you've done an XP install from a CD that came with your computer, you'd know that the install isn't finished even after watching it grind away for 45 minutes. After that you still have all the patches (and maybe even a service pack upgrade) to download and install.

My last XP install (about 1 month ago) probably took 2 hours of my time. I recently installed EVERYTHING on the 5 SUSE 10.1 discs in about the same time, and that gave me pretty much all the programs I'll ever need.

After the XP installation, I still had to install Firefox, Office, etc.....

TaintedGirl is right. I hold the opposite opinion on almost every single one of your points.

Sorry.

But I think you're wrong.

[a12ctic]

I am a newbie for Linux. Before I use Linux, i have heard of a lot about it: open source, robust, ubiquity in engineering...
However,after my using for some while, i am puzzled:
1 Installation of Linux takes much longer time than Windows;
2 it needs more space for the whole systems both in CDs and hard disk;
3 running programs in Linux is really much slower than that in Windows;
4 it is really really really inconvenient to use, especially for installing software.

The only advantage I have felt is that it is open source which is good for scientific researches.

So why so many people are crazy about it? Everybody here needs to do researches on Linux? I am really puzzled...

Please do not blame me of my ignorance and I am just probing...

1. Installation takes longer? Huh? The windows installation itself takes about 2 hours with its 3 reboots and broken timer, and thats on my year old amd system
(in sig), thats not even counting the 4 or 5 reboots that youll need to install all your hardware drivers. Zenwalk takes about 15 minutes on this rig, no reboots, just a straight forward install.
2. duh it needs more space, it acualy comes with useful programs... Also, zenwalk comes with media player, every codec that i use support on boot (something windows doesnt even do), 2 window managers, aim, firefox, and dozens of other useful programs and the install is less than half of windows @ about 1gb
3. Much slower than windows? Complete ********, windows is acualy a HUGE bottlekneck on your processor, in windows superpi gets 45 seconds, in linux my processor gets 30 seconds, thats a 50% performance loss when swiching over to linux, xfce is also much more responsive than explorer ever will be.
4. Installling software is hard? What are you talking about? All you have to do is type "apt-get install programname" no searching around the internet for freeware that proboblem has tons of spyware that doesnt even work.

im sorry sir, but you are just an idiot.