To a newb: Linux is like....

[Atnevon]

Hey Ya'll.

I sure felt dumb today when some sorority girl asked me what Linux is like. I really honestly told her it is another opporating system, like Windows or OSX. Then she asked what makes it special.

"I" know its special because it is open source. But How could I explain that to her on a level she, or for any computer illit out there, how Linux is special.

Thanks everyone for your help, so lets finish this sentence:



Linux is like:____________________________


-Andrew

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

Originally Posted by Atnevon

Hey Ya'll.

I sure felt dumb today when some sorority girl asked me what Linux is like. I really honestly told her it is another opporating system, like Windows or OSX. Then she asked what makes it special.

"I" know its special because it is open source. But How could I explain that to her on a level she, or for any computer illit out there, how Linux is special.

Thanks everyone for your help, so lets finish this sentence:



Linux is like buttsecks


-Andrew

either painful or pleasurable

ok seriously .. its free, its opensource, you can make your own distro, its more secure, its more efficient with resources ... ill leave teh rest for someone else.

[kwchang007]

Originally Posted by Atnevon

Hey Ya'll.

I sure felt dumb today when some sorority girl asked me what Linux is like. I really honestly told her it is another opporating system, like Windows or OSX. Then she asked what makes it special.

"I" know its special because it is open source. But How could I explain that to her on a level she, or for any computer illit out there, how Linux is special.

Thanks everyone for your help, so lets finish this sentence:



Linux is like:____________________________


-Andrew

Well....since this is to a girl (I'm going to assume hot) you could say, Linux is like me in bed with you.

Now for real: Linux is like great if you know how to use it. If you wanna talk about the GUI version....Linux is like Windows but has lower requirements, has less viruses, and is just better but not as many apps use it which is why most people use windows.

[panchoman]

i agree with change for the first bit

as for the right thing to say:

Linux is an operating system similair to windows and its very customizable and is easy to use once you get used to it. Linux also has less viruses then windows.

[Atnevon]

Originally Posted by kwchang007

Well....since this is to a girl (I'm going to assume hot) you could say, Linux is like me in bed with you.

The only time a Trojan comes to my rescue. Pray to god no worms, Malware, Spyware, or Virus.

Oh no, I just compared STDs to computing. God help us...

[hat]

you are not the first one

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

Originally Posted by hat

you are not the first one

rofl?

[kwchang007]

Originally Posted by [I.R.A]_FBi

rofl?

It means hat's done it numerous times...j/k

Actually it'd probably help people understand viruses and spyware protection (like dumb blond type people). You could be like...imagine the condom as your firewall....

[panchoman]

[Gruelius]

http://www.linuxscrew.com/2007/10/07...-dos-airlines/

Nice comparison

[ChaoticBlankness]

Originally Posted by Gruelius

http://www.linuxscrew.com/2007/10/07...-dos-airlines/

Nice comparison

ROFL Nice!

[KieranD]

For serious its just an open source operating system which is basicaly software like MS DOS, Windows, Mac OS and Unix ect. Open source as in its free and is written (programmed) by anyone who wants to add a peice of code or just anyone for free. Its fully customisable and comes in many different distrobutions for example Ubuntu or Red Hat. Comes in Text based os or GUI (graphical user interface). It can be dual booted with windows or any other OS. Runs Open GL as opposed to directx, has difficult extensions and dosnt run .exe boo who you sometimes need to use the command terminal to install stuff.

Is murder for newbies to use because dosnt have one common extension, package installer or even type of file system.

Is even more murder if it dosnt even have a GUI and is text only.

Wont run any of your windows programs but its programs are generaly better programed.

Is light on resources and can is programmed to perform better.

[Spunky]

It's like two sides to a coin. On one side, you have Windows. On the other, Linux. Explain it that way. 50% of the world uses Linux, while the other 50% use Windows. There's like 2 people who use Mac, but those are the guys who can't figure out how to turn their computers on, so they don't get a side on the coin.

[hat]

They do get a side. They get the edge. For every time a coin lands on it's edge, you get a Mac user :lol:

[panchoman]

Originally Posted by Gruelius

http://www.linuxscrew.com/2007/10/07...-dos-airlines/

Nice comparison

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! even bookmarked it, its so freaking true...

[Ongaku]

Well, I´m a girl and I use Ubuntu 7.10...and well Linux is like....not for a stupid newb :P haha

It is special because it´s open source, itś smaller, and you can configure and modify any program you have on it

It is not simple to use really, Ubuntu is about the simplest you can get lol I´m upgrading to Debian though

[Ripper3]

Well, I feel, as the first male responder after Ongaku's post, and also being a total retard, as soon as I open up an online game, I think it's justified to say this:
OMG!!!!!111!!!1 Ag1rl!!!11one! Ur h07 l3t5 Cyb3r!1 LOLZ!!11!! ROFL!!11

okay, the stupidity partially out of the way, lemme start picking out everything to be changed, or explained better, in this post conveniantly located below, in a quote, to empty out my stupidity quota:

Originally Posted by kieran_fletch

For serious its just an open source operating system which is basicaly software like MS DOS, Windows, Mac OS and Unix ect. Open source as in its free and is written (programmed) by anyone who wants to add a peice of code or just anyone for free. Its fully customisable and comes in many different distrobutions for example Ubuntu or Red Hat. Comes in Text based os or GUI (graphical user interface). It can be dual booted with windows or any other OS. Runs Open GL as opposed to directx, has difficult extensions and dosnt run .exe boo who you sometimes need to use the command terminal to install stuff.

Is murder for newbies to use because dosnt have one common extension, package installer or even type of file system.

Is even more murder if it dosnt even have a GUI and is text only.

Wont run any of your windows programs but its programs are generaly better programed.

Is light on resources and can is programmed to perform better.

Yes, it runs OpenGL as opposed to DirectX, primarily, because DirectX is a closed platform, not just because it chooses to do so (I guess the name OpenGL is a bit obvious it'd be used by an open-source OS.

It's not really murder to use, it's a piece of piss most of the time, unless you wish to modify something yourself, at which point, of course it's difficult, if you don't understand the code, frameworks, etc.
It has plenty of common extensions between Linux distros, to the point, most if not all, Linux distros are quite compatible with each other. If they weren't, then Linux would really be lost, and there would be no non-technical users with it installed
The package installers are another matter, there is a possibility of using packages across distros, for example, rpm packages can be used on Debian based OSs, they jsut require conversion, which is a simple command, if you have the correct things installed... actually, yeah that is a bit of a problem there though
File systems for Linux distros are supported commonly between the ones I've seen. ReiserFS, Ext2, and Ext3, are the three most common, while Ext3 is the one most used, by the latest releases of Distros. Also, basically all distros I've seen have brilliant support for NTFS, FAT, HFS, etc. which are older, or proprietary file systems. NTFS, being the only one that's still a bit risky to access and write files to, from within Linux.

The command prompt is actually quite calming IMO
Has very very good GUIs about though. KDE is brilliant, although I prefer the simplicity that is GNOME, a bit more atm. The smaller GUIs are reall quite something though, FluxBox coming to mind, brilliant GUI, without being heavy, and still intuitive.

Correction: WILL run some Windows programs, just not natively, needs Wine installed, to get things working. Either way though, works a lot better now, and allows for some of the bigger, most used programs to operate. And if they don't run, there are plenty of free alternatives, that quite possibly are better, including the features you actually want and need, rather than random useless crap, you sometimes get given.

Light on resources; depends, use DSL, or Puppy, or Feather Linux distros, and they are light on the system's resources, but it can really vary greatly.

[Behemoko]

Originally Posted by Ongaku

Well, I´m a girl and I use Ubuntu 7.10...and well Linux is like....not for a stupid newb :P haha

That pretty much what I was going to say.

Linux is: not for a person who has to ask!

[Wile E]

You guys are thinking about some of these aspects a little wrong. For a newb, Linux IS NOT easy to use. It is not for the average user at all. Power Users and above need only apply. Until they make it user friendly like Windows, where you download a program, double-click it, and it installs, with no worrying about dependencies (for the most part), or no going to the command line (command line= death for a newb), it will remain for Power Users. The community really needs to come together on a unified standard.

I have Linux, and know my way around it, but I rarely use it, because it's a PITA. Sometimes I just want easy. I want to point and click to make most changes, not have to type in the console to achieve my desired results. Even changing display settings can be a painful process. All that said, I still like Linux, otherwise I wouldn't use it at all, it just needs to be made even easier.

[Mussels]

Originally Posted by Atnevon

Linux is like:____________________________

Linux is like: Stripping a car of parts, and because it weighs less it can go faster. Having no radio/cushions isnt for all, but for someone who just wants fast, linux is for them.


Linux is like: buying a car frame with an engine, and having to add the rest yourself (radio/seats etc) - not for all, but for those who want to get it 'just right'


Linux is like: the skinny blonde in the corner after not being fed for 2 weeks. Still more attractive than MS-fatchick, without the annoying personality of Vistagirl and Macwoman, but a bit bony and rough around the edges :P

[xfire]

Any one who has used ubuntu will say linux is very easy.
Installing ubuntu is very easy and takes half the time windows does.
The synaptic package manager makes it easy to install softwares. One doesn't need to search for softwares it automatically downloads and installs it.
It beats Windows in every aspect except gaming.
Edit:- Linux is like a windows killer
Linux is an operating system like windows to explain to newb's.

[Shyska]

Originally Posted by Wile E

For a newb, Linux IS NOT easy to use. It is not for the average user at all. Power Users and above need only apply.

Ehem, have you tried Ubuntu recently? It dead simple to install, simpler than Windows anyway and takes less time. It has intuitive and good looking interface, and all programs one can need for normal PC use. And its free...

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by Shyska

Ehem, have you tried Ubuntu recently? It dead simple to install, simpler than Windows anyway and takes less time. It has intuitive and good looking interface, and all programs one can need for normal PC use. And its free...

Yes I have, and Windows is still easier to use. Install ATI drivers on Ubuntu and come back and say it's super easy for a noob. Regardless of what distro, Windows is easier to use, period.

[xfire]

Originally Posted by Wile E

Yes I have, and Windows is still easier to use. Install ATI drivers on Ubuntu and come back and say it's super easy for a noob. Regardless of what distro, Windows is easier to use, period.

When was it that you tried to install ATI drivers. I know it was hard earlier but now ATI has created a Wizard to install linux. Even CCC is available in Linux.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by xfire

When was it that you tried to install ATI drivers. I know it was hard earlier but now ATI has created a Wizard to install linux. Even CCC is available in Linux.

I haven't tried to install the last 2 releases. But regardless, it's still not a simple double-click affair. Regardless of how much easier they made it, Windows is still easier.