I’ve been using Linux as my sole operating system since 2001 on 11 computers and have come to the following conclusion: most of the people who say Linux sucks are the same folks who are either too stupid or too lazy to actually learn how the operating system works. And please keep in mind that operating a paper airplane is much different that operating a real airplane due to the power/benefit/security difference inherent in each of those.

I don’t use Windows because it’s closed source and a virus/trojan/worm/malware magnet. A closed source operating system could be grabbing every key stroke you make (online banking, social security number, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc) and sending it all home to be added to a huge database. The problem is you’d never know it because you don’t really know what the system is doing behind your back.

Windows operating systems are plagued with viruses/worms/trojans/spyware/malware and things like that don’t exist for Linux. Read this article to find out why those bad things likely wouldn’t exist for Linux even if Linux were the most widely used OS: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses/

I can do things with Linux that Windows simply can’t do because Linux is more secure/stable than Windows is.

Please take a few moments to read my Linux page instead of blindly posting myths/misunderstandings/lies/garbage when it comes to Linux: http://ardchoille42.googlepages.com/linux.html

Busted. The first users to leave an response, Ardchoille, has left this same response on another site that talks about the many problems with Linux. He’s a troll, who goes around telling his “personal story”. Truth is, he’s not very well educated, and had problems using Windows due to his own ignorance. The only reason he doesn’t have any problems today is because he only has access to 8% of the current software in the world.

Don’t listen to liars like the one in the above comment. Linux is a neat hobby OS to play around with, but don’t expect to do anything serious with it, and you will encounter many problems. Even mundane tasks like printing are a complete disaster.

I disagree, I get a lot of work done on my Linux system.. and Archodille is quite correct when he says:

“A closed source operating system could be grabbing every key stroke you make (online banking, social security number, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc) and sending it all home to be added to a huge database. The problem is you’d never know it because you don’t really know what the system is doing behind your back.”

Windows leaves a lot of geeks feeling paranoid, and although there is a lot of FUD being spread about Windows-based OSes, some FUD has been proven true.

As far as real work goes.. web design, programming, video editing, even general office work has been fine for me in Linux - and for things Linux can’t do very well there’s always Seamless Virtualization which VirtualBox offers. :-)

– forcerain

No…. Windows leaves YOU feeling paranoid, which may or may not be related to the other social problems you have that make Linux more appealing and give you reason to come here and spread FUD. You’d be a liar and a fool to assume that simply having the source code available to you in ANY WAY gives you a significant advantage in terms of safety. For every super savvy programmer who might compile his own kernel, I can show you 10 more users that wouldn’t have any idea what ¾ of the processes on their Linux box are really doing. Don’t think for a moment I elevate you above that pack.

You talk about seamless Virtualization (nice buzz word for emulation, btw) but it’s never as seamless as using the real thing. Since Linux doesn’t have it’s own slick marketing department, I guess it’s only option is to relay on cheap shots from people like you. The truth is, you do a great disservice to people, buy talking up an operation system that not only isn’t that great, but will also lead them to MORE frustration and difficulty in the future, and alienate them from a great portion of software and hardware. You aren’t a professional. I dare say you’ve never worked in a server environment, touched an AS/400, or worked on any large scale project. Stop lying to people because you feel lonely being in the minority.

Yonah,

1) You speak of:

“The first users to leave an response, Ardchoille, has left this same response on another site that talks about the many problems with Linux.”

I challenge you to provide a link to such a response (which you conveniently left out) because I don’t remember making such a claim.

2) You say:

“Truth is, he’s not very well educated”

And this statement is based on what? I ask because you don’t know anything about me or the two college degrees I currently hold. Since you seem to know nothing about me, allow me to enlighten you. I am 43 years of age and have used computers since I was 16 years of age. I have been happily using Linux since 2001 (haven’t touched Windows since) and I have helped 200 people and businesses switch from Windows to a Linux distribution since 2003.

3) Having the source code available to the entire world is a significant advantage because there are millions of eyes auditing the code for security concerns/bugs/problems and, when such things are found, those folks alert the entire Linux community (ever heard of rss or irc?).

Microsoft Windows, on the other hand, is closed source, so if there were code in it which grabbed your person/private information and sent it back to Redmond to be added to a database, you would never know it because you are not able to audit the code and Microsoft employees are paid/contracted to never disclose what they find.

4) You refer to forcerain as:

“You aren’t a professional. I dare say you’ve never worked in a server environment, touched an AS/400, or worked on any large scale project.”

What are these statements based on? Do you know forcerain well enough to make these statements?

I would be very careful listening to someone like you who posts public statements which are based on ignorance rather than fact. Who’s the real troll here?

ardchoille:
“I challenge you to provide a link to such a response (which you conveniently left out) because I don’t remember making such a claim.”

http://trendwatcher.koan.net/linux-not-ready-prime-time

Exact same comment.

Regarding the malware-magnet comment: Any competent user will not only use anti-spyware and anti-virus software, but will know how to not get malware in the first place. I certainly hope that you aren’t speaking from experience with your own computer on this.

This complaint, however, is valid for those that are computer-incompetent. However, those same people would find Linux a complete mystery. They will give up the moment something doesn’t ‘just work’. They will wonder why WPA is nearly impossible on certain wireless cards, ACPI support is extremely fickle, and there is no guarantee that most devices will work. Certainly, Linux has made many improvements over the years and most of the hardware issues are due to the lack of vendor support. However, the end-user cares nothing for the ‘why’. If it doesn’t work, people will not use it. For the competent user, Linux and Windows are both fantastic options, each suited to particular things. For the incompetent user, the choice is between an operating system that may not work at all and an operating system that almost always works but may have security problems. I personally think that these people should not be using computers at all, but that does not affect the reality of the situation.

Falkone,
Ok, my fault, I’m sorry.. I thought Yonah meant that I made a comment that spoke badly of Linux.. which I never have done nor ever will do - hence the challenge. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

For what it’s worth, I spend my free time helping Windows users to switch to a Linux distro. And, so far out of the more than 200 people I have helped, only one has gone back to Windows because he absolutely refused to change the way he thinks about some things. I’m doing my part to make sure Microsoft never has 100% of the desktop or server market. Any company which is willing to fake evidence in a court of law (and they were even dumb enough to get caught) doesn’t deserve to exist in my opinion.

My 8 year old niece switched to Ubuntu in 2005 and still uses it as her only operating system today. Now, you have to admit.. if an 8 year old girl can do this all by herself (she stopped asking me questions in mid 2006), what does that say about the state of Linux these days? This is why I say “most of the people who say Linux sucks are the same folks who are either too stupid or too lazy to actually learn how the operating system works”.

The remainder of your post is well written and worth thinking about :)

I have always used both MS Windows and Linux for different purposes. In fact, I have both XP Pro and SuSE Linux 10.3 installed on the same system. It’s funny how people argue that Windows promotes more productivity than a Linux platform will, but for me, and as my “computer skills” increased, I found myself leaning more towards Linux, and found that I could do pretty much the same things I did with Windows. For the record, I do MUCH more than just checking my e-mail and browsing the net. I’m a developer. Anyway, the more I used Linux, the more I realized that the learning curve wasn’t that much different under Linux as it was in Windows. Once I became comfortable, basically, I was fine and no worries.

Frankly, I don’t think that this argument should be about who is more “educated” or who is more experienced . Those factors DO NOT directly determine which operating system is the better one, which is REALLY what this discussion turned into, sorry to say. Really, this argument is completely ambiguous because it’s all a matter of preference. Like I say, Linux will suit my needs in some areas as where Windows will work for my other tasks I need to perform. Simply put: IT’S THE INDIVIDUAL WHO DECIDES WHAT IS BETTER FOR HIM OR HER, and not an external party. On that note, let’s exclude the “survival of the fittest” cliche for the operating system vs. operating system argument. Then, you are just talking about money and staffing at a corporation that helps a product ensue, which would be a cheap shot.

Nevertheless, I will say that Linux is on the rise, and many people see this. Just give it time as Linux hasn’t yet had the chance to reach it’s prime. Okay, maybe it won’t be THE exclusive operating system for a while or ever, but you can’t deny that it’s come a long way. All in all, you can resist Linux, but you can’t dog it and say it’s crap. Windows and Linux are just DIFFERENT in a lot of respects just as there are different people with different preferences…that’s all, and the rest is history. Try cooperating, people.

Why Linux Sucks
1. Countless distributions with few standards.
2. You get what you pay for. Imagine trying to accomplish everything with buggy and cheap freeware.
3. If your hardware isn�t detected, good luck finding a driver.
4. Windows has real drivers. Linux has �Work-a-rounds�. Duct tape can�t fix everything.
5. It�s 2008, yet somehow, someway, you�re going to be forced to go to a terminal (text mode) to get it to work properly. Linux supporters will never understand that PEOPLE HATE TYPING IN TERMINALS!
6. Nearly every command in the terminal requires a crap load of switches. It�s -a �n �n �o �y �i �n �g.
7. Dump a box of random letters on the floor. That�s how Linux developers name stuff.
8. Nothing says WTF like successfully booting a LiveCD but having the installed version crash.
9. If you think DirectX sucks for gaming, try Direct Nothing.
10. For safety reasons many distributions will default the desktop to 640×480 resolution. However the application windows are often bigger than your screen so you can�t press OK/CANCEL/ECT.
11. A single, simple partition? No way, that�s too easy!
12. Technical support is often a forum full of arrogant jerks that use Linux only because they hate Windows more than using an OS that works without a fight.
13. Because loading up a copy of crappy MS Windows is far easier that trying to get ONE Linux distribution out of a stack of Linux distributions to work.

Linux is just too complicated an OS.

Bottom line - people who know nothing about pc’s want something that works.

There are folks in the IT world that value free time with friends family, having a drink and doing something other than coding all day.

The problem with linux is it is free but too complicated. Windows is a pay for product- but it runs circles around linux as far as support and what the os can do. Linux is programmed by people who primarily do it for free…

I still have yet to meet someone who is a linux guru that has people skills and doesnt speak in ‘rocket science’ talk… this is a problem I’ve encountered with my new boss - a linux guru who does nothing more than cop an attitude about how good she is and her linux…

two words - go windows, and get laid, do something besides sit in front of the pc…

my 2c

What did you folks do when DOS was the OS to have? Oh wait, that would require tying stuff in a “terminal” screen. Plus it was probably way before your time.

I use both Windows and Linux. The only reason I am not using Linux 100% is because I am a gamer. While a lot of games will run on Linux through Wine or a similar application not all do.

For any business applications I rely heavily on Linux. It does everything I need at a great price. Free. This includes desktop publishing, word processing, spreadsheets, vector graphics, photo editing, and so on and so on.

I agree there are too many distributions of Linux out there. That is primarily why Linux will never be the dominate OS. Everyone doing their own thing. On the other hand, that is one of the things I like. Looking to see how someone is doing something new with Linux. You never see new desktop environments for Windows…. Oh you did once… Microsoft Bob. But that was a horrible flop.

I aint gonna go on a windows-sucks, linux rules tirade, simply because I am a seasoned UNIX user since 1990. NOT Linux, but UNIX. Linux was, is, and never will be Unix. Linux is a kernal, thats it. It has Unix qualities, but the only actual Unix for the desktop is any of the BSD flavors. They are Unix, but cannot be called Unix, due to the reality of being dubbed a commercial release - and that is another story. But I do like Linux, Windows also has a place. But as for me, I’ll run a three o.s. system - Windows, Linux, and BSD. I get the best of everything.

“Windows, Linux, and BSD. I get the best of everything.”
- the_evil_clown

… Uh, if you don’t mind rebooting constantly.

“Windows has real drivers. Linux has ‘Work-a-rounds’. Duct tape cant fix everything.”
- Shock

… Of all your points, which are - for better or worse - rehashes of complaints we’ve all heard before, I’ll challenge this one. *Linux* drivers are the mess? Maybe if compared to OpenBSD! Truthfully, Windows drivers are the duct-tape work-a-rounds. Most companies (at least those I’ve worked with) just want the bugs patched enough that it stops the users getting refunds. Once the product is sold, it stops making money. Maximum profit is by writing the quickest, most duct-tape ridden code you’ll ever find.

“Technical support is often a forum full of arrogant jerks that use Linux only because they hate Windows more than using an OS that works without a fight.”
- Shock

Ok, that bugs me for being stupid. Duh they’re useless. Go to any public forum and it’ll be a bunch of opinionated as*holes. What do you expect? An Indian call-center running 24/7 just for you?

“I still have yet to meet someone who is a linux guru that has people skills and doesnt speak in ‘rocket science’ talk”
- anon

Wait, you want to find a *guru* who doesn’t do Rocket Science talk? D*mn it man, you can’t find a blasted Windows, Mechanical, or otherwise Guru who won’t confuse you by talking over your head! What people don’t already know or understand through analogy they always term “Rocket Science,” and of course a guru knows more than you!

“two words - go windows, and get laid, do something besides sit in front of the pc…”
- anon

Thanks, but no thanks. Since I actually have to work with my PC, I’d rather give up sex than go to a pure Windows setup. Really. It makes things that much easier.

Addendum.

Why do I use Linux?

Four reasons:
#1 it does what I need.
#2 I can understand how it works.
#3 unlike the competition, Linux competition really is market-regulated.
#4 and yet, it still offers a democratic voice.

Tearing down my own points:
#1 I had to write some code for.
#2 It took 4 months to completely grasp.
#3 It’s not sold, only support is.
#4 Any voice is drowned in the deluge of rants.

So like everything I’ve ever encountered, the pros and the cons cancel. There is only the status quo. And we sell the vision, the packaging, and the emotion.

Because that city on the hill? At the center is no cathedral. At the center lies the great coliseum.

I have used Windows XP and Ubuntu before, and I have to say that I like XP much, much more. I consider myself to be a pretty knowledgeable person about computers and do alot of developing. I am also a gamer and appreciate the wide variety of games on the platform. In my entire time with XP, there has only been one thing that I could’nt do on it that I could with Ubuntu, and that was using raw sockets in Perl. Of course, that was when I was relatively new at programming, but I ended up learning WinPcap for C++ on Windows and just did raw sockets that way.I would also like to say that XP is not like Windows 98 ,95, ME, etc. In the years I have used it, having to do a complete system startup because of a program freezing has only happened probably less than 5 times. It’s very stable and the Ctrl + Alt + Del > Processes is very useful. And to the people that say it is virus ridden, usually it is just the user’s fault for downloading things like “Myspace password hacks” or “Runescape autominers”. (Happened to me once xD), not because Windows is any more insecure than Linux. Lastly, Windows being closed source has never been a problem for me, and Im getting the idea that linux users just support linux because they want to feel like rebels.

Well, I’m no genius computer user myself. I’m not a programmer, nor am I a worker in the IT or Tech Support department. But, I use Linux and it works out for me just fine. Firefox has become one of my favorite web-browsers out there and Linux has become my OS of choice. I’ve really felt that I’ve learned more about computers in 2 weeks using Linux than I’ve ever learned out of 5+ years of using Windows.

I will say though that if I’d have talked to someone about using Linux first before trying it myself and he came across as an obnoxious jerk that needed a good mudhole stomping, I would’ve never even touched Linux and I’d still be using Vista right now. And, Vista was okay with me. And, I’ve met idiot nerds who talk to you like you’re sh*t or use confusing jargon that they know damn well you can’t understand. That deserves a big “F you and F whatever OS you use” right there”. Just my opinion.

1. Countless distributions with few standards.
A: Ubuntu,Kubuntu,Xubuntu,Red hat,SuSe,puppy,damn small,debian and many others, is that enougth?

2. You get what you pay for. Imagine trying to accomplish everything with buggy and cheap freeware.
A: freeware isn’t crap, everything just dont need to cost to be “awasome” or something, and chep can be good.

3. If your hardware isnt detected, good luck finding a driver.
A: that happens VERY USUALY if you have windows, but on Linux/ubuntu, yout wont even need driver (at last me).

4. Windows has real drivers. Linux has “Work-a-rounds”. Duct tape cant fix everything.
A: Linux dont have driver, why? Because they are bulls*it, like I spend week to just find all woring drivers for my laptop, day after that I installed puppy Linux for that pice-of-s*it laptop.

5. Its 2008, yet somehow, someway, youre going to be forced to go to a terminal (text mode) to get it to work properly. Linux supporters will never understand that PEOPLE HATE TYPING IN TERMINALS!
A; WTF? If you didn’t know, windows has terminal too, its called ms-dos, and in past, you only had command-line, nothing else, also on ubuntu, all what I need todo whit command-line/terminal, are just “pon dsl-provider”(or saunalahti if I use phone to get interne), and somtimes sude

6. Nearly every command in the terminal requires a crap load of switches. Its -a -n -n -o -y -i -n -g.
A. who gives sh*t? if you need help, just type for example sudo –help

7. Dump a box of random letters on the floor. Thats how Linux developers name stuff.
A: that dosent make any sense at all

8. Nothing says WTF like successfully booting a LiveCD but having the installed version crash.
A: what? What you mean? I dont understand this one at all, or you just dont know howo use Linux
9. If you think DirectX sucks for gaming, try Direct Nothing.
A: consoles (like nintendo(GC,wii), sony (playstation)) are for playing, I hate playing on computers, because I dont like that fps crap.

10. For safety reasons many distributions will default the desktop to 640×480 resolution. However the application windows are often bigger than your screen so you cant press OK/CANCEL/ECT.
A: I kind of agree here, but ubuntu uses 1024×728 normaly, what is enougth to me, but xubuntu uses 800×600 (because it is for older computers), and thats not enought at all, but hey, windows haves same problem, windows 3.0,3.1,95,98,98se,me used 640×480, and 2000,xp and vista uses 1024×728 as deafult, so that didnt make any sense

11. A single, simple partition? No way, thats too easy!
A: -________________-’ Puppy Linux only need one parition, and you can share it whith windows if you want, and you can use WUBI or whatever it is called if you want to be n00b or too lazy/or dont know owto make partition, and making partitions are easy

12. Technical support is often a forum full of arrogant jerks that use Linux only because they hate Windows more than using an OS that works without a fight.
A: windows dosent NEVER work whithout figth, if you use computer like once in motnh, then maybe, but still, windows ALWAYS gives you BSOD if you try to do something, so windows needs fight to get work at last one day.

13. Because loading up a copy of crappy MS Windows is far easier that trying to get ONE Linux distribution out of a stack of Linux distributions to work.
A: and this broves that you dont know EVEN howto use Linux/Linux distribution(s)

The only thing wrong with linux is that they dumbed it down and bloated it up trying to appeal to the masses.

who then whine about how hard printing with easy-mode cups is, back in my day… *insert story about walking up hill both way to get a file printed*. pfft.. damn noobs.

Linux used to be light speed on a 486.. now it barely crawls on a PII.

I miss the days when men were men and wrote their own device drivers.

and rolled their own distributions.

let the masses buy (or steal) windoze and be slaves of their own ignorance.