Necrotic Obsession

Any experienced Linux users here for me to hound? My kid's dad bought a new PC early this year and I want to adopt his old one. It is far more newer than the one I'm using right now, but the thing is, his pc needs a good reformat and he lost the CDs that came with it. There's no way I can afford to purchase a genuine Win XP software and I'm not keen in getting it the "other way" either, so Linux comes in mind. I know Linux is getting popular and it's reliable and stable, so I guess why not?

I need to know who's on Linux and if you doesn't mind me pestering you about it.

I have used Linux in the past, but I am afraid I am of not much assistance at this time.

Well, I use Ubuntu on a dual boot kernel with Vista. My brother (a veteran Linux user) convinced me to try Linux out, but I did not want to gut Windows entirely off my system. So I installed Ubuntu as an application that can be run as an alternate operating system when I boot up - I can pick Vista as an option, or Ubuntu.

Unfortunately, because I had to restart the router and change its password recently, Vista no longer recognizes my router and so I can only access the internet through Ubuntu at the moment! - But that's a Vista problem and nothing to do with Linux. Linux works perfectly, it's Vista that's buggered up.

- So if you have any Linux questions, you can always try me and I will get the answers off of him. I am no Linux expert, but he is, and he is always looking for an excuse to show off.

I would recommend Linux wholeheartedly though. It's a good choice. Much faster than Windows. Is free! And no viruses.

That can be fixed..... I was told there was a recent update that causes that.... I don't know if it's the same issue, but If I get more info, I'll post a link..

True, solo - it is an exaggeration that Linux has "no viruses". I was just being flippant and living up to the stereotype.


(Strip taken from: http://xkcd.com/272/)

In reality, everything gets viruses. But some operating systems are more resistant than others.

According to this article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses/ it is true that Linux is not virus-immune (which is impossible), but it is much more virus resistant than Windows.



So how about - "there's a greatly reduced chance of your system getting a virus with Linux?"

How's that?

The only reason Linux and other OS like mac don't get many viruses is because the the bugs that are out there weren't written for them..... Resistance isn't the case, Programming is... If you download something, it's there. But if it was programmed for Windows and your running Mac, nothing would happen..

Thanks everyone, my OS problem is finally solved and if I've decided on going fully Linux one day, I'll definitely come running after you Lucifera!

Windows ME is virus immune, it never works long enough to get one......

I like linux quite a bit. I've been running it on my laptop for a couple years now. However my main machine still runs windows so I can game. Be prepared to learn if you're switching too Linux.

i'm linux+ certified. i don't mind you bothering me.

Ubuntu user for almost a year now. And I disagree with Unix-type systems being only for people who care about programming. There are distros where it's just as easy, if not easier, to get your stuff done as on Windows. Example of a happy, non-programmer Linux user: my little sister. Installed Ubuntu Netbook on her netbook (which she uses as her main computer) answered questions for a couple weeks and then it was smooth flying Same computer was slow on Windows XP and I don't even want to imagine how it would have behaved on Windows XP plus antivirus.