Thinkpads & Linux?

Hey i got some questions for the Linux users?

1. What made you want to use Linux instead of Windows?
2. Which linux distro are you using currently and why you pick that one over the other ones?
3.What some improvement you believe your Linux distro should make?

 

1. Because I'm used to developing C++ programs in Linux (not that I'm any good) any my university uses Linux for C++ development. Good old gedit and g++.

2. Ubuntu 11.04 because it is the latest one.

3. None really, but the Unity interface is pretty bad so I'm sticking with classic.

 

Security, performance, consistency across multiple systems, customizability, and a strong opposition to the idea that I'd have to pay many, many hundreds of dollars every couple of years just to run modern software.

Oh, and the most important reason: it's the best tool for the job.

Well I run a couple on different boxes, but most of my personal machines run Debian.

I picked it mainly for stability, but the massive community, exceptionally long history of producing high-quality releases, and internal consistency all make it a pleasure to use.

Ubuntu cares more about appealing to trends and to ultra-novice users than producing ultra-stable software. This would be great, except their UI development process is so very broken, and their interaction with the community so haphazard that I have a tough time supporting them. They were a great option c. 2005 - 2009, but IMHO their time has passed.

RHEL is stable and great for work machines, but it ain't cheap (and it's a poor fit for my personal machines.)

SuSE is circling the drain, as is Mandrake, so they're both no-gos.

Fedora, while a nice, innovative desktop distro, is bleeding-edge, and is quite far from a stable, reliable, no-hassle solution. I ran that for a time, but I got sick of the short upgrade cycle and the constant regressions. I fully support the work they're doing though.

Arch is really neat -- but the lack of package signing makes it quite vulnerable, and thus not a good fit.

Better support for kFreeBSD? Slightly faster debootstrap installatoin? But not much past that. It's a perfect fit for my personal use.

 

It is faster and much more flexible on any computer, offering lots of already built in utilities and an incredible amount of available software for my working needs. There is much more choice and the command line is actually very usable. With Windows i always feel prevented from working the way i want, with Linux i can easily arrange for that. And then there is never any need for a reboot only because some minor software has been installed, like with Windows. There is no constant prompting for interaction, as this need has been virtually removed by proper task separation in Linux.
Windows is great for office workers who mainly depend on the MS Office workflow including MS Outlook for mail, but this is not the context i have any need for. Other than that, standard software like web browsers (Firefox, Google Chrome), email (Thunderbird) and alternative office solutions (Open-/LibreOffice) are available on either platform, so it is best to choose the OS that suits one's working habits best.

Mostly Debian/unstable and occasionally some recent Ubuntu. I am also looking on the Fedora and Scientific Linux distributions to get an idea about other distributon's approaches of creating a working environment. In any case, it boils down to getting used to a specific Linux distribution until it feels natural to work with. For me this is Debian, as i use it since more than 15 years already.

No idea really, as i always adapt my installation to my own needs anyway, and no distribution i tried ever prevented me from doing that. I don't really like the recent GUI developments in the main distributions (Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/etc), as i think that desktop environments like GNOME3, Ubiquity, and KDE4 are steps in the wrong direction. I am used to use a configurable window manager like WindowMaker instead of a full blown desktop environment which tries to impose a mobile phone user environment. But with Linux there is still a choice, so i simply don't use what i don't like. It is that easy.

 

I've used to use Linux for my Lenovo S10, exclusively, because it's relatively secure without antivirus.

I've also used linux because there is an entire free suite of engineering/science software including CEA, FEM and CFD, (Salome, Aster, Saturne.)

I used to use standard Ubuntu, but because of Unity and Gnome 3, but I've switched to Xebuntu, which has XFCE for a desktop manager.

Most people don't realize that linux does 64-bit better than Windows, better than Apple. Xebuntu 64 only takes 300mb of memory to boot; Windows 64 generally takes 3 times that, but will be happy to take all your RAM.

 

tl;dr: Linux allows fine tune of control vs convenience. Arch Linux especially so.

1. There's a serious control problem with Windows. My OS should do what I tell it to do, no more and no less. I understand the need for handholding for the generic public but this OS doesn't allow for a hands-on approach. Most Linux environments now have pretty good handholding GUIs for everything but they also allow for doing your own stuff if you find handholding limited / annoying. Eg. I use wicd often to handle the WPA2 connections for me 'cos wpa-supplicant is bothersome and it works well but for some trickier network configurations I still use CLI / config files and I couldnt do that on Windows.

2. I am using Arch Linux. There's a scale that starts with Exherbo / Gentoo and ends with Ubuntu / Mint. Arch strikes a healthy balance in there. Most of the time I want the OS to just take care of itself. However, sometimes I need to create custom packages because I am always doing something arcane (right now I am driving an IBM T221 monitor from a T420 laptop w Intel graphics). Arch allows exactly this to happen way easier than Debian or anything RHEL related. What can be simpler than using a bash script to build packages ?

3. I am fine, thanks. Just keep up the good work

 

Still re-learning Linux. I occasionally run Knoppix 6.4.4 off my optical drive (don't want Linux permanently installed). Knoppix for me was just an easy distro to just run off the disc, one of my other coworkers at work uses it all the time. Also has a wide sort of WLAN drivers, though I don't think it is officially supported anymore.