[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Make 2013 the year you switch to Linux here

[frlwinslow]

This article has hit the nail on the head. With the jump to Modern UI one might as well try the very user-friendly UBUNTU distribution, or one of the other Linux distros.

I have Win 8 on three machines to try it out. I don't mind it at all. On the other hand, it is not giving me any real reason to stick with Windows either. The Win 8 RT devices are useless to me due to their software restriction (I am an open-source software user and am very happy with such). Ultra Books do not meet my needs as I am rapidly moving to replace my desktop with a laptop desktop replacement as the one I now use is.Thus, my desire for a common cross-device user experience will really not be realized in the Win 8 field.

I am moving toward considering using UBUNTU on my laptop and the current desktop computers and Android on phones and tablets. This would give the cross-device communication I am looking for at far less cost and at least equal facility when compared to the stumbling Win 8 environments - and there is no way I would even consider a Fruit-maker System!

Mind you, I only have 51 years of experience in the programming, systems design, hardware/software conceptual design, etc. fields so I may not know what I am talking about!

[campbell2644]

Never mind 2013,I switched to Linux a few years back and never regretted it.The old myth that it's complicated to switch to a different system doesn't hold water any more. For me-and I'm no geek- it was a really easy experience

[delitech]

Quote

Never mind 2013,I switched to Linux a few years back and never regretted it.The old myth that it's complicated to switch to a different system doesn't hold water any more. For me-and I'm no geek- it was a really easy experience

Now that's ironic! Since that's the very excuse used for Windows 8 - "It's too different. It's too unfamiliar." Happy new year, though.

[YellowApple]

I switched to Linux after the monstrosity that was Windows Vista. Never looked back; I haven't booted up either of my Windows installations in months. The only place left that I use Windows is at work (for now, at least).

[beanstalk]

I think friwinslow has it right. Significant changes in windows makes this a good time to consider other options,Linux has not been waiting around, and today is a serious option, professionals and ordinary users (like me) as well. I am trying to dip my toe into Linux, and expect to start with it on my new build in early 2013. Building and using are totally different, so have no experience in operating systems, but am looking forward to it. I can always go back to windows, but Linux has to have SOMETHING working for it to have survived, developed and grown so much over the years with such modest commercial support. jgrever621

[GerryAllenkkbk]

I dual-boot Mint 14 Mate and Windows 8 Pro. (Old computer; no UEFI.) I find that anything out of the ordinary in hardware is useless on Mint. Windows 8 runs the Windows 7 drivers for these devices without a whimper. As for the desktop, most of the Office macros and Access files I use run poorly on Libre. Games are in a primitive state on Mint, but Steam may be a future bright light. So, I am content using both, but my technically-challenged neighbor would run shrieking into the night if he had to use Mint instead of the shiny new Windows 8 PC he just bought. A simple script and he has a Start button. Along with several apps he uses on his smartphone, the interface is familiar.
My conclusion: the end of Windows is not here

[RonSmith]

So Windows 8 is about as popular as Windows Vista. So if people stay with Windows 7 and Windows 9 is as much better than Windows 8 as Windows 7 was better than Windows Vista, then I would ALSO conclude the end of Windows is not here.

Linux is nifty but has always been "the thing you install on old machines instead of recycling or retiring them".

[Alfiejr]

ah, KN continues to champion the True Linux Cause! with a "minority share" of the market indeed - 2%? i guess that's close to 49% ...

but yes, the current W8 fiasco gives Linux another chance (last chance?) to secure a real chunk of the market. but as has been pointed out many many times, it just won't happen until one of the major OEM's has the guts to challenge MS and fully embrace Linux with all-out adoption, promotion, and sustained support as an alternative to Windows. plus, for enterprise, full integration with existing MS backside software.

Maybe Samsung would do this. they are big enough to pull it off, but PC's are not their main business so they have less to risk. they already think they are the Asian Apple, and so might want to become the Asian MS too. forget Dell and HP - they are totally gutless. one of the desperate marginalized OEM's, like Sony, might try too, facing the alternative of getting out of the PC market entirely.

but the odds are at least 5:1 this won't happen this year.

[RonSmith]

Quote

and there is no way I would even consider a Fruit-maker System!

Not intending to add to the PC vs APPLE thread, but the reason most people are not going to Apple is the oldest scam in the book. Proprietary systems always hose the user in the end. Started with Xerox and AT&T making the original 8086 PC's in the 80's. They could not resist the lure of roping buyer in with proprietary custom designs and boxes that you could only replace the power supply or monitor with matching custom proprietary Xerox PS or Display.

It is a form of hubris and conceit to think that customers will "Not Mind" being gouged on the repairs when they realize there is zero competition and you are going to charge them three to four times reasonable market price on a simple replacement part. So it just doesn't matter to me what a gadget/device can do if it is proprietary and locked up then it might as well be a Model T that nobody makes parts for.

Same goes for Android versus iPhone. Android wins no discussion needed. If I am an AAPL shareholder I'm very worried about the future.

[brainout]

Yep, Win8 is the reason I'm switching to Linux in 2013. I purchased four more pristine valid retail/System Builder copies of XP Pro, which I intend to keep long into the future as my current equipment dies. Always easy to buy a used computer and swap out whatever in it is in need of repair/refresh. Meanwhile, also got Win7 and Vista machines, objective being to learn those OS and later make dual-boot with Linux. Will get a Win7 laptop for future internetting when I can't do it on XP anymore. Will have backup internetting via Linux. File management on Linux is already far superior to Windows, which I learned by mistake, last May. So that's why I want it now.

I dread the Linux vocabulary and learning the new organizations, but it's no harder than Win8. Long-term, it will be the smartest move I could make. I'm done with MS dysfunctionality and tyranny.

[thewazak]

Really, Katherine! I used to feel you were a breath of fresh air on iPCW - now you are pushing the Linux button in true "fanboi" style.

"facing the prospect of Windows 8, which by most accounts is not a happy one"
If you only read anti MS articles, True. Otherwise, rubbish.

"A mobile-style interface without a Start button"
Duh! Another dumb comment. THE WHOLE START PAGE IS THE START BUTTON! But there are addons for those unable to grasp even simple ideas.

I could go on - but why bother? Just stay in the 90's.

When are the haters just going to accept that a common cross platform OS is the way to go - and MS have done it. Not Apple. Not any of the geeks playing at making a different flavour of Linux - but MS.

[iampoch]

Personally, I am ready for Linux, but there's only one thing stopping me from making the transition: Adobe Photoshop. And, yes, I tried GIMP, and it doesn't suit my needs. Once it's fully supported, I can go all Linux.

[gingerjet]

Quote

and there is no way I would even consider a Fruit-maker System! Not intending to add to the PC vs APPLE thread, but the reason most people are not going to Apple is the oldest scam in the book. Proprietary systems always hose the user in the end. Started with Xerox and AT&T making the original 8086 PC's in the 80's. They could not resist the lure of roping buyer in with proprietary custom designs and boxes that you could only replace the power supply or monitor with matching custom proprietary Xerox PS or Display. It is a form of hubris and conceit to think that customers will "Not Mind" being gouged on the repairs when they realize there is zero competition and you are going to charge them three to four times reasonable market price on a simple replacement part. So it just doesn't matter to me what a gadget/device can do if it is proprietary and locked up then it might as well be a Model T that nobody makes parts for. Same goes for Android versus iPhone. Android wins no discussion needed. If I am an AAPL shareholder I'm very worried about the future.

You have a sketchy memory of history. Computers are going the way of every other industry. Most people don't change the oil in their cars and most people don't fix their own refrigerators. And Xerox, AT&T, etc all lost not because of proprietary systems - they lost because IBM came in the game with a cheap and reasonable system that businesses could use and they bought them by the truckload. Apple by this time had already lost that battle due to poor designs, late product, and unfocused management.

And Android is succeeding not because people don't like proprietary systems (they really don't care) its because Samsung (a company with its own sketchy history) is making a kick ass product. If I was a GOOG shareholder right now I would be worried because they company is unfocused (what does self-driving cars and glasses have to do with their core business?) and has lost control of its own creation to Samsung. AAPL will continue to do well.

[numbquil]

People should be switching to GNU/Linux not because they don't like a certain interface but because they deserve freedom. The free software model is superior.

GNU/Linux is not just for old systems that would otherwise be thrown away. If you believe that you haven't been keeping up. I'm currently running Fedora 17 X86_64 and it takes full advantage of the modern hardware in the system I just built.

Most people I know will waste over $1000 for something that is essentially being used as a Facebook machine. If you want to see what a PC is really capable of, switch to Linux and start experimenting.

[MacNewton]

" 3. Superior security Thanks in large part to its ubiquity, Windows is notorious for the viruses and other malware it tends to pick up; MACS, APPARENTLY, AREN'T A WHOLE LOT BETTER. Linux, on the other hand, is renowned for its superior security—so much so that security experts recommend it for sensitive applications like online banking, for instance. There are even extra-secure distributions available for those focused on security."

"APPARENTLY, AREN'T A WHOLE LOT BETTER." Are you nuts!

That statement speaks volumes. Are you a completely off your rocker! How can you say something like that. If that's what you really think , then you should not be allowed to post anything on this site. Better yet, do some real research and back up that statement.

[MadMattAu]

Quote

Not Apple. Not any of the geeks playing at making a different flavour of Linux - but MS.

Sorry but Windows RT is not Windows 8, any more than windows phone 7 is windows 7

Microsoft have taken Spin to the reality and you sure have swallowed that spin. Try and install a different browser on RT and learn that it is not windows 8 for yourself

[ajnolley]

You forgot to mention painfully difficult to do anything that isn't already pre-installed with your flavor of Linux. I've learned Linux gradually, by tinkering at home and at my job testing an app that will have Linux compatibility in the near future. Here's my usual flow:

work work work, tap tap tap, open document, read email, test my app. No problem. Oh damn, I have to manually turn on the Cap lock key every time I log back in to the machine. Annoying. Hmmm....how do I change that.

...spend time reading on the web how to make changes in the default GUI settings, which doesn't work. Then, read that I need to download an app to do it. I download the package, run a script in the console to install it. It still doesn't work. After an hour of trying various apps, running scripts, I just realize I wasted work time on something that should take 30 seconds, and I still have to manually enter it.

Back to work. I find another annoyance. Waste only 5 minutes of work time before realizing that I will likely yet again spend an hour and maybe, possibly get it to work, but still not sure.

And so on. And I am not an idiot. I can learn any OS rapidly. Complain all you will about either Windows or OSX, you can do what you need rapidly, and very rarely need to dig into the deeper guts of it all.

I enjoy tinkering, so at home, I don't mind the time spent. Its fun. And for basic work functionality, it works great. Just don't try to step outside the box. Linux is not for most users, period.

[Jameshoqh]

I switched to Linux in2012. I use Zorin on my tower, and Solus on my laptop. It is not hard to switch. The software is great. I am no geek. I am just an everyday user. I do not use the teminal, I don't use source code or compile, and there is no need to with these two distrubutiions. Yes if you want to use Slackware or Arch it can be difficult. Yet there are so many easy to use, Windows alternatives that any Windows user would be at home with it is amazing. Fear is the only thing you have to fear with Linux. Hardware support has become great lately. Will you have no problems, probably A few, but I have had many problems with Windows too. I am happy with the switch. Also, Linux can rescue Windows, but Windows cannot even rescue itself.

[wchongwei]

I have since swtich to Linux since the day that Vista was launch and never look back. But I do hope Microsoft will stay around and keep innovating. Linux has gotten this far it is because it has relentless focus on improvement over its competitor. Without Windows, probably we would not arrive at the Linux we have today.