Does anybody use Linux only, I am getting so sick of Windows and all the bolony that goes with it

[snowdog]

Paul, I have 5 computers here at home (one is the wife's) and they run various flavours of Linux. The wife's computer dual boots with W2K, but that is the only M$ install we have.

[Joe-Mamma]

I am an MCSE, the only time I use Microsoft is at work. All my PCs at home are (2) Debian & (1) FreeBSD. Windows ain't all bad, that bluse screen of death is paying for my 401k.

[TristanSDM]

I'm a college computer science student and I could find you about 30 classmates who use linux only. We had a "linux install fest" recently and had huge turn out. Linux is also installed on most lab computers at the school.

[lynch]

I have 4 comps running Linux.The one I call "The Curiousity Box" has a removable hdd tray that I can run XP on if I want.The hdd cassette with XP has a dust cover,of course
lynch

[codejockey]

Although I'm sympathetic (and run Linux on multiple machines on our network), the truth is that sometimes there are reasons to endure Windoze. For example, (like it or not) Windoze is pretty much a standard in the business world. That means that you must be able to exchange documents/data with Windoze-only partners -- and the truth is that Linux programs that claim (data) compatibility with their Windoze counterparts often fall far short (at least in my experience). There is no question that Linux is a superior O/S on any number of technical grounds (efficiency, elegance, security, etc.) -- but in many cases the day-to-day measure of an O/S is in the applications that are available, and how those applications perform.

It shouldn't be surprising that Linux applications are not fully Windoze-compatible; after all, Microsoft takes pains to hide details of file formats, APIs and program structure, forcing any competitor to spend significant resources reverse-engineering, just to understand what is going on. In many cases, the details aren't worth protecting (except to avoid embarrassment).

We dual-boot because we have to. Reality bites.

[snowdog]

codejockey hit the nail on the head with this one. As much as we would all like and prefer open standards, we do still have to deal with MS. When I'm firing off my resume (anyone need someone with A+ certification, learning C, forklift operator (15 years exp), with 5+ years cooking exp.?) I use her W2K setup. I'm deathly afraid of MS formats messing up my OOo created resume. A sad fact of life. All the resumes I sent with Kmail and OOo were received with no problems, but who knows what the next Office Service Pack will bring.

[twotugs]

I'm learning more about Linux, partly because of all the crap Microsoft pulls, but also because I like learning new things. I don't feel comfortable enough with my experience level to completely cut loose from Windows yet, thus I have a dual-boot system with Win2k and Lindows 3.0 (I've played with Red Hat 8 and Slackware 9, also).

This was sent to me in the latest Lindows newsletter:

http://www.ubergeek.tv/switchlinux/

I don't expect to be an exclusive Linux user anytime soon, but I foresee my dependence on MS waning in the years to come. One very important difference between Windows & Linux, which I learned the hard way: I can do far more damage in Linux running around logged in as administrator than I can in 2k.

If you can, Paul, pick up a cheap hard drive and download (or buy) one of the Linux flavors; I've had better luck giving Linux it's own hard drive. Play around with it, break it and re-install it a few times, download a few programs and pull your hair out trying to figure out how to install them (mplayer is my favorite, I still have no sound when I watch an AVI file!). Just play with it, and keep the Windows OS for doing things you can't do in Linux yet.

Good luck!