Linux is a bigger pain in the ass than Windows. Enjoy typing in a command line interface? You’ll be doing a fair bit of that.

Used to be the case that you could feel personal pride at getting a linux system to run at all but not been the case that you will need to spend any time on command line for some years. Ubuntu and Mint are positively user friendly.

Currently running 1 Win7 setup, 2 dual boot Win7/Ubuntu setups, a Win RT tablet, a Linux Mint desktop and a Ubuntu laptop. Over and above the Windows OS, not running any software I have paid for on any of them, a legacy of discovering open source when I first used Linux some 10 years ago.

If you filter out some of the more extreme its brill, its crap offerings above then a lot of what is said is fair and good sense. Getting it running on a desktop is easier, but there are places to find if your laptop is supported ( my 8 year old Dell laptop is despite using an almost unique wireless card ). You can download or purchase for a few quid a live CD with every bit of software you will ever need on it and run it off the CD or a USB stick to see if it works for you. I have never regretted using it and I have saved a fortune over the years.

Most people don’t actually pay for Windows anyway. I know that some people were selling laptops for less if you didn’t take Windows with it – do they still?

OP what computer are you thinking about installing it on? That can make a massive difference.

IME (and I ‘Linux’ a lot of people’s computers), those who don’t give a crap about what operating system they use, and struggle with W8, are *ideally* suited to Linux. Moreso than those who just want everything to look like it used to.

My laptop took a lot of faffing (modern but generic Intel i7), but the last few I’ve done were a doddle.

If you actually pick out the OP’s replies in this thread (away from the ones with the word ‘kernel’ or ‘virtual machine’ in them), Limux ain’t for him.

OP – watch a couple of videos like this:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86l7EW51_lE[/video]

Disagree. Sounds like the GF can install it 🙂
OP will have no probs using Linux. A workmate has been happily using Mint for about 6 years, yet couldn’t be trusted to use a calculator. I hadn’t heard anything about it for ages until he brought it in for a reinstall a few weeks back. Zero issues..

And here I am again.. almost midnight.. struggling to install bumblebee… again..

BruceWee – Member
Guess I’ve just been lucky. It’s always worked better than windows for me

depends what you are doing. my brother has had my da using it for a few years now without any problems.

But if you want to delve further than a bog standard desktop usage it can be a pain in the arse. I played about with all the recording stuff on it a few years ago, all the jack stuff, hydrogen, multi-track recording etc, and to get it working initially(don’t ask me what I canny mind) but there was some cli jiggery pokery needing done that would make it a barrier to your average user.

So Molgrips problem is the entire reason Linux is crap?

Supporting the latest and greatest devices hasn’t been it’s strength but having used it over the last 10 years I’m still impressed. The GF uses it for about 6 years without less issues than windows causes. The only problem was due to the stupid ipod interface which prevents it playing like any other bit of technology.
The current version recognised everything on the laptop from the get go.
I run it as an alternative on my laptop so I can keep work stuff separate. There is a very decent market for preconfigured desktop and laptop’s for consumer use. Some other company do a massively restricted hardware set to make their stuff work smoothly.
If all you want it for is a bit of home office, web browsing and media surfing then go for it. A quick guide is to google the model of your pc and Ubuntu and see what comes up, should tell you if it’s painless or not.

So Molgrips problem is the entire reason Linux is crap?

Don’t be stupid. I didn’t even say it was crap, if you read carefully.

I’m saying that there are often issues with hardware compatibility, and IF you get these problems it could be difficult for a non-techie. And everyone else agrees with me.

Ubuntu 12.04 is proving less reliable than Windows 7 so far, on my Lenovo W520. Bluetooth just packed up, have to restart.

If all you want it for is a bit of home office, web browsing and media surfing then go for it.

Thing is, even speaking as a certified (RHCE6)Linux admin, I reckon I can get a Win8 / Win7 to do all that competently and reliably with a few tweaks here and there. And yet still have that mainstream backup should they venture out to more esoteric uses.

If it works for you, great, but I don’t reckon Alpin is the right target.