My usage of Linux has been limited, getting installed on one old system when I was playing around a bit. That was also years ago, so don't know how it compares now.
Comment has been collapsed.
Yeah I'm about the same. I haven't played around with it a whole lot, but I don't think it has any major deficiencies from Windows that I've seen (besides software availability obviously). It's a bit less user-friendly at times (installing Steam required me to enter my system password in a Terminal window at one point, and installing the Spotify beta was a nightmare for me), but I think people could learn to use it without too much trouble.
Comment has been collapsed.
I hate Unity. I will never again choose Ubuntu over another OS because of Unity. I know you can change the desktop environment easily, but Ubuntu is filled with Amazon bloatware and it's really unneeded. Mint or Elementary OS is definitely a good choice for new users I'd say. Ubuntu's Unity is quite slow too, running a live USB on my desktop from 2009.
Comment has been collapsed.
I don't think I'd consider it even if my whole library was available.
Comment has been collapsed.
I can't see a single advantage or feature that would make me consider switching to linux. Not worth the trouble.
Comment has been collapsed.
It would probably run better than Windows, which is sort of a mess. And with the crapton of distros, I'm sure there's one with some features you'd find useful. Not to mention, most Linux distros are free.
Comment has been collapsed.
I have a pretty good computer, I doubt that the performance improvements would be noticeable enough to justify changing to Linux. As for all the features, I doubt that there are many, if any, that I can't get in windows somehow, and I'd say 99% of what I use on Windows (including the OS itself) was free one way or another.
Linux is probably safer, but then again that's not something I'm concerned about either.
Comment has been collapsed.
Can't say I am. I can't remember seeing one of those in ages to be honest. Last time I saw it was because of a faulty video card and it was probably 2 years ago.
Comment has been collapsed.
Agree here, its rare now, Windows has tons of issues besides that, at least its not a huge issue anymore. Thats a +.
Comment has been collapsed.
Your OS is included with your computer but that doesn't mean it's free; you're paying through it as part of the cost of your computer.
And yeah at the moment, Windows' main advantage is the huge bulk of software written for it. The big reason, in my mind, that the world should move away from Windows is because we are completely at their mercy, which can often mean major downsides or crappy OSes (cough Vista cough cough Windows 8 cough cough). At the moment, I completely understand why one would feel better staying on Windows than moving to Linux; my hope is that, in 10 or 20 years, Linux is the OS for which most software is written instead of Windows.
Comment has been collapsed.
When I said 'one way or another' I meant it as in 'I pirate stuff'. My OS included.
Comment has been collapsed.
You've really never tried any distribution of Linux have you? I can tell when you say 'I doubt that the performance improvements would be noticeable enough to justify changing to Linux."
The only thing that should keep anyone from switching, or at least trying Linux is program compatibility.
Comment has been collapsed.
Tried both mint and ubuntu. I still stand by my previous statement.
Comment has been collapsed.
Let me see.
First, no need for a constantly on AV.
Second, no need for most bloatware.
Third, most of your devices work out of the box.
Fourth, it's completely free and customizable.
Fifth, many different distros that you can pick from.
Sixth, no worries if one single user except root gets infected with a virus. Linux will only contain it within the user directory itself.
I can give more reasons, but I'm pretty lazy to do so.
Comment has been collapsed.
That's great. None of those really matter to me though.
Comment has been collapsed.
Pretty much, yes. I can't remember of a device that didn't work out of the box either. Then again I don't use many.
Comment has been collapsed.
What about pretty much every piece of software/Drivers updating all at once automatically? Thats a nice feature of Linux. I hate dealing with multiple program/driver updates on Windows, such a drag.
Comment has been collapsed.
Again, nice feature but pretty much all the software I use comes with an auto update function. As for drivers, they don't update often enough for it to be troublesome.
Comment has been collapsed.
I know, just far less annoying doing it through 1 button on the taskbar for me when I am not using them I guess, things tend to want to update for me when I open and want to actually use a program, not sit for 5-20 mins.
Comment has been collapsed.
No argument there, sure is much easier and comfortable, but again, at least in my case, it's not enough to justify the change.
Comment has been collapsed.
Understandable, You might change you mind though eventfully if it does become a valid platform, maybe in 5-10 years and when you have a whole new computer, who knows? Yay for the unexpected future :-D!
Comment has been collapsed.
Its mostly the awful layout thats terrible and its more resource hungry then most, Linux Mint with Cinnamon/Mate solves those issues, just as easy to use also. I recommend it to anyone thinking about getting Linux. There are superior Linux systems but they need more tweaking to get running with all a user usually needs.
Comment has been collapsed.
So does Mint and many other ones now, honestly I had more problems with Ubuntu out of the box then most.
Comment has been collapsed.
Of Linux? Idk that was like 10 years ago O_o.
Maybe Fodora? I think it I had one before that though....
To be fair Ubuntu use to be an ok OS.
Comment has been collapsed.
Honestly not sure what they are thinking with that, almost everyone agrees its a bad setup.
I am sure some enjoy it but most just get aggravated.
Comment has been collapsed.
You can keep Ubuntu and install a different desktop environment (or even plain windows manager if you're feeling adventurous).
Xfce is my favorite DE, but I still prefer WMs because they're lighter and more customizable.
Comment has been collapsed.
Oh I know, I simplified what I said, sorry about that, thought it would be easier for most to grasp what I was saying. It's Unity...and other things as you stated.
Comment has been collapsed.
I use linux as my 100% only operating system, seeing as how I play mostly indie games and such a good portion of my library is available. However I do have two steam installs, I have the native linux client and the windows client running through wine. Between the two I have yet to install a game that didn't run. There will be a day when linux will gain the recognition it deserves as a platform for gaming. Gabe himself as already stated valve is going to focus mostly on linux and are even working directly with ATI, Nvidia and Intel to develop better graphics drivers. As it is I have an integrated intel graphics card and i've seen about 7 driver updates in the past 2 weeks.
Comment has been collapsed.
I use Linux as my primary OS about 2006.
My only clause was: run Touhou Project somehow with WINE. And after almost the first try it succeeded, I did the change, and never looked back.
(Touhou 9 has a bug, when the save file corrupts: it happened with me under Windows XP. Tried to launch with the corrupted, unusable save file under Linux & WINE, and it could be used again. Seems to me, like the name entry corrupts, which native Windows could not handle, but WINE somehow managed to draw the lots of junk text in the name entry)
Nowadays, stuffs like the NSA spying in the Windows via designedly unpatched security holes is a good excuse too. :3
Comment has been collapsed.
I've always wanted to switch to Linux. I hate Windows and everything about it. Linux distributions are so much better for performance and some of the times usability.
The only thing that keeps me from switching is I use a small amount of programs that won't run on WINE. Sony Vegas, OBS, Bandicam, Xpadder, etc
I've been watching Elementary OS development and when I do switch, I believe that's the distro I'm choosing. And if not that, Linux Mint.
I have installed Mint 14 MATE on an old laptop that was originally on Vista. It is exactly as fast as the day I installed it about 6 months ago. Even with stuff installed. My favorite part is definitely the updater. You never have to turn off the system and reboot or anything when updating. Except for a very major update which is not very often. Unlike Windows' weekly updates, where you have to reboot, wait 10 minutes for it to shut off, then turn it back on.
Comment has been collapsed.
I don't trust myself with partitioning. Last time I installed Mint and tried to remove it I almost removed my Windows partition :(
I might try again soon but it will be a hard switch to use it as my main OS. I've been using Windows since I started using computers, but I want to switch.
Comment has been collapsed.
i have a steam linux box for testing purposes. my library is 73 linux games, 180 mac games, 349 pc games. sincerely i will not use linux as a gaming platform. i almost don't use my macs for gaming any more either, since recently i set up a cheap gaming pc. no sw inside besides games, no bloatware, just xp with updates and games. i'm pretty satisfied with it, a gaming machine without complications and cheap. the macs for my spare time and personal use, linux for tests.
Comment has been collapsed.
It's not, trust me. I tried to do this with a new build but it was just a pain.
i5 3rd gen, nvidia 660 Ti OC graphics card, but the native games are limited and most of them don't work properly or well and trying to game through Wine is very limited.
To see how depressing the list is when I first tried to do this, I made an API system - check it out
Comment has been collapsed.
Haha Saints Row 2 and 3 both got garbage ratings. Given that Saints Row 2 barely runs on Windows (it was a 360 port), I'm not surprised to see it fail on Wine.
But anyway that's a pretty useful tool, thanks for telling us about it! Although might I suggest using the color you have now for Platinum, #FFD700 for Gold, #C0C0C0 for Silver, #665D1E for Bronze, and #333333 for Garbage? I kept getting the two shades of green mixed up.
Comment has been collapsed.
68 Comments - Last post 7 minutes ago by duville
46,903 Comments - Last post 36 minutes ago by Bominus5
24 Comments - Last post 36 minutes ago by jh82
1,179 Comments - Last post 2 hours ago by Southrobin
15,623 Comments - Last post 3 hours ago by Carenard
1,147 Comments - Last post 3 hours ago by jzone55
5 Comments - Last post 4 hours ago by digitaligor
8 Comments - Last post 1 minute ago by Prosac
14 Comments - Last post 2 minutes ago by cassioht
56 Comments - Last post 3 minutes ago by vigaristti
41 Comments - Last post 9 minutes ago by ConanOLion
58 Comments - Last post 12 minutes ago by Fluffster
7,264 Comments - Last post 43 minutes ago by Naviis
2,464 Comments - Last post 49 minutes ago by moonlightdriver
What do you guys think of Linux as a viable gaming platform? How much of your PC/Steam library is available for Linux? Could you see yourself eventually using Linux as your primary OS over Windows?
For me, my Steam library drops from 203 to 48 on Linux. My Humble library fairs significantly better; I screenshotted both libraries and got image heights of 10172px for Windows versus 7257px for Linux (I'm too lazy to just count the number of games so you'll have to settle for those numbers).
IMO increasing support for Linux is a great move, as it frees consumers to use a wide range of operating systems made by many companies instead of just one OS by one company, Microsoft (who is known for having one of the worst track records with second-system syndrome).
Comment has been collapsed.