Windows or Linux?

[Dazz]

I vote for windows, mainly through ignorance LOL. I've never used Linux on a desktop (possibly on a server, when I worked in IT) though I did get it once free on a magazine, Ijust never got around to using it and then lost the disk.

I am quiteintrested in trying Ubuntu and am currently downloading it from their website to try out. While Im here can anyone tell if I'll have any issues installing it as dual boot with windows XP?

[mattspec]

quite honestly, people just love to say linux so that they can fit in on the internet these days, if youre not a gamer, chances are that you support lunix, and if you can figure it out and can work with the software provided then all the power to you, ive tried unbuntu (fiesty) and was not really able to translate everything i do with regards to media/office/etc thus, back to windows. lunix is a great piece of software, there were some features that i did enjoy, but windows has my staples at the moment

[Sup3rkirby]

Dazz, you should not have a single problem while trying to dual boot with XP. I think though there is something you must first do. This is, of course, BACK UP YOUR PC. It is the safest thing you will ever do.

If you want to dual boot, you will of course need to partitions, one for Windows XP and the other for Linux. Your Linux partition can be very small, 10 GB even(smallest I've ever used, probably can go smaller). And honestly, I'd say 15 GB is all you will need for your Linux partition(just judging on how much you will probably use it, mainly for basics, probably not going to install lots of software under Linux so you won't need tons of space there).

And of course after backing up, making the partition is a bit nerve wrecking. With an Ubuntu CD(if it has the Live CD on it, which it probably does), then you can just boot up the CD and run gParted. This will let you resize your Windows partition, and then make a new one with the space you created. It will probably take a bit to do these two actions, but if it is successful(yes, it can fail and erase your HD, happened to me, so BACK UP FIRST), then you will have two partitions. From there you can, right off that live cd, install Ubuntu to your new partition.

[almaster]

i think linux is the best

[rebello]

I would have to say my choice is Linux even though all my computers at work and home run Windows. I loved Unix (yes I used to code on SGI, Sun and IBM Risc workstations) and with Linux being Open Source that really appeals to me because I stongly dislike Microsoft's business practices and take available opportunities not to support them. Of course when I was a Unix user I was also a Mac user and wish that both Linux and Macs had a wider range of programs available.

[Agenator]

i seem to recall a thread like this earlier. I am a gamer, if I wasn't a gamer I would use linux 24/7, here are the reasons:
Great graphics (beyrl and fusion beat out vista, hands down)
Great customization
FREE!!!!
Easy to install apps
Add a new challenge to my life in how to get things to work (seriously, I love challenges and trust me, linux is a challenge for most people)

Downsides:
Almost never works out of the box (must be hacked up to work with certain hardware, involves long hours with a command prompt)
Crappy games (pretty lame games on Linux and yes, I have played Nexuiz)

I was just thinking about how much I missed using Linux today. I still have the harddrive lying around, maybe Ill take in some nostalgia and go use it for a while... anyway, I love linux, its awesome I just wish it supported most of the games I play. If it did, I would be hooked.

[Tails5]

I use Windows. And the more people use Linux, the more viruses for Linux there'll be, then there'll be less for Windows, people will run over there... back and forth forever!

[shadowdude1794]

I like Windows allot more than I do Linux, and WAY more than a Mac. Macs anger me on the inside.

[edmundjones22]

I think that windows is good for all the games, and a lot of the school-related stuff. It's just all more compatible with windows, and powerpoint gives you a little bit more leeway than openoffice.org.

Linux for everything else, email, internet, remote servers ;-)

[bigmanbfa2]

Linux is stable...ish.

I've seen many kernel panics. Not as many as BSOD's, but that is probably because I've seen far more Windows machines than *nix machines in general.

Any OS is stable if you only have it do one or two dedicated tasks and strip away all the extra functionality.