First Question Here!!! :)

[lufbra]

For all us Windows users, what is the advantage if any, of using a Linux system, as opposed to any other system?

In other words, what are the pro/cons of Linux? :)

Dave.

[cody580]

I dont know but i have a friend in the UK and he hates mirosoft so bad he has been fooling with linux for years one day he will tell me how great it is, next day he will say well i had to go back to w2k my linux is down and he cant use sound in yahoo IM
>cody

[ceh383]

I've been running Redhat 8.0 as a file server for quite a while now, and I can say one thing for certain...it is rock solid, not one single problem at all. The main issues with Linux are...

1-Software, while most of it is free, there is not the wide variety of apps that there is for Windows.
2-Drivers, you have to wait for drivers for the latest hardware, sometimes you have to use beta versions.

Now for those who don't like Microsoft and are looking to Linux....

Microsoft Acquired Redhat..... (http://212.254.206.213/original.html)

[PostCode]

Pros:

Stability. From the server side of things, where that system has to be running 24/7, this is priority one.

Security. Maybe not the most secure OS, but right up there. If configured proerly, any Linux box can be rock solid secure though.

Cons:

Desktop: It's just not ready yet. However, the Window Managers are growing by leaps and bounds when you conpare them to how long it took WIndows to get as far as it is now.

Hardware Support: A long way to go here. I've got my hardware to work, but not the ay I would like. I still have to use a backdoor approach to access the Smart Media from my camera. Scanners are one of the really lacking departments.

Games: Coming along really slow here. Some cool games have been ported, but then once you get a game to run, then you have to tinker with the X Server and video drivers. Nvidia is one of the worse to get OpenGL to work right.


Bottom line is that Linux is grea to use as a second OS on the Dekstop and a primary one for the server.

[MishY]

Originally posted by PostCode
Security. Maybe not the most secure OS, but right up there. If configured proerly, any Linux box can be rock solid secure though.

Depends on the distro. Besides any MS OS can easily be argued as not being the most secure OS also.

Like all OS's by default many things need to be locked down in order to provide the most secure environment for the computers purpose. What makes distros like Redhat a little harder than other linux distros, for example, to lockdown is how many services are running by default.

Distros like FreeBSD are far more secure on a default installation.

MishY

[Steven.Bentley]

Another security advantage/disadvantage is that because of the open source nature of Linux when a security issue is found then it is fixed almost instantly and patches are issued, no messing around denying that there is a problem. On the downside to this because anyone can have access to the source code that meant that potential attackers have info about possible weaknesses

[MrGuru]

pro:
speed
stabbility
price
security
flexablity

cons:
not for the non-geeks at heart ;)