More info on SUSE, What do you do with SUSE? What is its pro / cons!
more curiosity!
I use SuSE for everything on the internet to proctect me from viruses,
worms, trojan horses, spyware, and all other sorts of nasties.
I like to use Linux because it's different. It's like a whole other
universe. At first, Linux seems complex and hard to understand, but that's
because you're so used to the Windows way. Once you get un-programmed and
learn your way around and why Linux is the way it is, you learn to love it.
I truely expect Linux to take a big hunk out of Windows marketshare, mainly
because it's more secure and available free. Many applications are 1 to 2
generations behind the more polished apps in Windows, but they're evolving
everyday.
I use Linux for everything from typing letters, some graphics work in The
Gimp, playing simple games like Frozen Bubble, burning CD's, etc.. What's
cool is that when you get Linux, you don't just get an OS, but loads and
loads of applications and your choice of environments to run in, including
ordinary text environments, Gnome, KDE, IceWM, WindowMaker, AfterStep, and
others. KDE is probably the most Windows-like and the one I use.
I'd say the pros of SuSE are cheapness ($79 including all the apps you'll
ever need), security, stability, KDE eye candy (SuSE's own default
decorations look sweet!), ease of installation, great administration
application called YaST, great online update app called YOU, and the list
goes on. When you install SuSE, you literally install all of your drivers
and applications at the same time. An hour or so later and you're set to
go. Try that with Windows. You have to install XP, then the drivers your
hardware needs, then do some troubleshooting to get everything working,
then each of your apps - one by one. It takes a long time and is not
something to look forward to. I could go on about how great Linux is, and
SuSE is definitely the best out there as far as Linux right now, but it
would take forever. There are just too many virtues to list. Oh yeah, NO
REGISTRY! Everything is kept in individual files. If an application goes
haywire, often you can just delete the configuration file and it will
rebuild it and everything will be fine. It really does heal itself like
that very well.
Cons are that SuSE purposely releases the distro with apps that have reduced
functionality due to fear of litigation (easily fixed), and many apps need
more development time and more polish. Also, Linux doesn't install nicely
on all systems because hardware drivers are more likely than not reverse
engineered by a 3rd party. However, many Windows installations don't go
well either.
Linux isn't a solution for everyone, but for those that want an alternative,
it's pretty nice. There is very little that you can't do in Linux.
I do run WinXP too. It's on my hot rodded system. Linux is on my older
computer.
--
Big Daddy Ruel Smith
My SuSE Linux machine uptime:
12:08am up 28 days 8:53, 3 users, load average: 0.14, 0.12, 0.21
My Windows XP machine uptime:
Something less...
