Why I Love Linux

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by SteveFoerster, Oct 20, 2022.

Loading...
  1. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    @MaceWindu asked for it, and we listened! Here's a thread to talk about Linux.

    I'll start: I have a four or five year old MacBook Air (Intel, not M1) and have been threatening to wipe OSX off it and replace it with Linux for some time. It's only the time investment that's really stopped me. But I've used Linux off and on (including as my primary machine) for twenty years.

    My favorite example is that I rooted an early Chromebook and put Xubuntu on it. That wasn't easy, but it was a lot more powerful when I was done than when I started!
     
    MaceWindu and Maniac Craniac like this.
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    A lot of people are putting Linux distros on older Chromebooks that are getting to the end of their support cycle.
     
  3. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I put Ubuntu on my Brand-new HP laptop on its first day of operation. I opened it up and booted into Windows 10, in a public space in a college. I got Cortana SCREAMING at me, full-volume and I couldn't find the volume to turn her down! I was never more embarrassed! I pitched Win 10 at home and put on Ubuntu. Ahh - peace. That was nearly four years ago. It's been rock-solid all the time.

    I've used a couple of other Linuxes - Puppy and MacPuppy on my old desktop (2004 IBM NetVista) and I like them fine. Nice and simple. I'm VERY tempted to try Zorin OS. My son uses it - and the graphic environment is just blow-away. Not that Ubuntu is all that far behind it, if you tweak it a little, but -- you know. Variety is the spice etc. "Sworn to fun, loyal to none" - that's me, I guess. :)
     
  4. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I've saved quite a few old pcs with linux. I've been meaning to save my Chromebook paperweight in the same manner you described.

    I also have a raspberry pi ($35 mini-pc) that runs a lightweight version of Linux that launches video game emulators. It works pretty well, but I have an unused older PC that I'm planning on using to replace the functionality. In fact, I have a bit of a sneaky project I have planned for it. My wife's been asking me to get a game console to put in the living room (she doesn't like coming down to my man cave to throw down on Galaga). I'll be using that old PC as a Steam and emulator box. Thousands of great games, but not a single dime will be spent on any equipment we don't already have :D:p:cool:
     
    SteveFoerster, MaceWindu and Johann like this.
  5. LevelUP

    LevelUP Active Member

    I have been using a laptop or low-power PC for my HTPC. I use that for video game software emulators with a Logitech K400 keyboard and a decent Xbox/PS controller.

    PS Now is pretty sweet but horrible for any muti-player games. Steam or other download software services I use for other games.

    Linux, you can run on a hard drive partition if you want to play around with it but not be fully committed. Or run it on a virtual machine. Though I played around with Linux, there aren't enough unique software or speed advantages for me to use Linux.
     
    MaceWindu and Maniac Craniac like this.
  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Way to go! You show 'em, Maniac. As I've said a couple of times -"I'll give up my 1982 Timex-Sinclair ZX81, when they pry my cold, dead fingers off the membrane keyboard." :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Sinclair_1000

    And yeah - I had 2 Timex-Sinclairs and a couple of 16K RAM expansions. Among other things, I learned to program in BASIC on them. Donated to the "Computer Museum" my son set up at the high school where he teaches computer subjects. Oldest machine I have right now is a 1988 Sharp PC-4600 laptop, with 2 - 720K floppies, no hard drive and CGA mono graphics. (Leading cause of blindness in the 80s?)

    I bought a bunch of "new" 720K floppies in the shrinkwrap -in a Thrift Store and I can still use the machine. I have a couple of word-processing packages for DOS and I can sneaker-net files over to my 2004 NetVista for use. It has probably the last floppy drive IBM ever made! That old Sharp rig has THE most comfortable keyboard I ever used!
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2022
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    So do I. Also a Beaglebone Black (similar format) with a superb-looking transparent case. SBC's (single-board computers) are awesome. And there is a wide choice of (mostly) Linux-based operating systems for them. Special-purpose ones as well, e.g. for robot control. Mine runs with N00BS - the general-purpose one that's most common with the Pi.

    I hear there are a lot of hacking exploits done with these little machines. Seriously evil hacking - where the $35 machine is destroyed afterwards and its owner can never be traced. Cheap, disposable machine used to steal $160 million from a Crypto coin vault - that kind of thing. .... teenagers!!
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2022
  8. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Interesting how they'll be able to do more in old age than they did in their prime!

    Similarly, my middle daughter just bought a new laptop, and is giving me her old one that crawls so I can Linux-ize it. My finacee works with refugees, and said one of them will be delighted to get it.
     
    MaceWindu, Johann and Maniac Craniac like this.
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Kinda like yours truly! :)
     
    Maniac Craniac and SteveFoerster like this.
  10. MaceWindu

    MaceWindu Active Member

    Resisted using Linux for a long time because the users I encountered were a bit elitist. Was not into typing at the command prompt.
    Saw a used laptop running Ubuntu. The GUI was easy to use. Was ready after that. But, the live CDs are what really pushed me to Linux.

    Usage.
    • installed DSL on a floppy
    • installed Puppy Linux on USB
    • installed my favorite GUI OS, Easy Peasy, on USB
    • installed Debian on USB
    • installed Raspberry Pi OS on USB
    • took online class on an OS version - don’t even remember the OS
    Fun With Live CDs.
    • Ubuntu
    • Fedora
    • Pear - installed on a Win laptop
    • Mint
    • Mint - Cinnamon
    • Debian
     
    SteveFoerster and Johann like this.

Share This Page