Switching to Linux

Yesterday I was reading this article
Valve denies having a Linux version of Steam in the works -- Engadget
And it reminded me, oh yeah I have an Ubuntu booter on an sd card somewhere. I have totally forgotten I was going to try it out, but I have a few questions.

I've never used any linux based operating system before(as far as I know besides android((I think thats based off linux right?)) and want to explore outside the box), only whatever our Macs at school use, and all versions of Windows 98 and up.

I hear about how Linux is virus free and it's so much faster than other operating systems, but what other advantages are there?
That engadget article got me thinking about what programs I will and won't be able to use with Ubuntu. What important programs will I not be able to run?
Besides speeds and virus protection, what else do you gain from Linux?
The one time I actually tried booting in Ubuntu before, it went to a magenta screen and then ended back up on Windows 7, why is it not working?

Thanks, bkc

 

Linux has definite advantages in terms of being lightweight (mostly). Also it has advantages in development (ie. android OS development (not apps) requires linux/mac osx for building). You can run some windows apps with Wine if you need to, the only thing really lacking is games.

You can check out the intro to ubuntu, and you'll get a lot of help by searching "intro to ubuntu" and "ubuntu [problem here]"
Introduction to Ubuntu | Ubuntu Screencasts

P.S. you'll probably get better help if you post in the linux subforum rather than the windows

 

This thread should be in the linux forum.

Linux is NOT virus free (but its much harder for a virus to get into linux because of the way its set up + 99.9% of the viruses only target windows).

Apart from speed and security, the biggest advantage of linux for me is the availability of software repositories. Software repositories are central databases of software(containing 20,000 or so packages) that has been tested, deemed to be secure (ie virus free), and deemed to work with the linus distribution.
For example, say I want to install emacs in linux. All I have to say is

Code:

aptitude install emacs

It will automatically connect to the software database, figure out what additional packages need to be installed to satisfy the dependencies, download and install everything, set the paths etc.
Compare it to how software is installed in windows, you have to go to 10 different sites, download and install in the right order etc. In Linux its all automated.

PS: You can always try out most of the linux distributions uisng a "live" cd, without installing anything.

 

While recent linux distros have narrowed the gap somewhat, there's still the issue of hardware compatibility with the OS, particularly network cards. If you are thinking of switching to linux, check to see if you can actually run it without issues first - speaking from experience here.

 

so why is this in windows forum :/