Slax 6.1.1

[joe3k]

Was looking for boot cd's. Decided to try a linux based one. Slax was getting a heck of a lot of recommendations, so I tried it. Now I'm a real windows man through and through, but as soon as I fired it up, I couldn't believe I actually was amazed by Slax. Don't get me wrong it won't blow you away... but to boot an op sys from a cd in about 1minute, which is actually very user friendly, is damn impressive.

The useability of slax was very good, although I couldn't get my windows programs to work on it... I wasn't too surprised by this though. However I was surprised that you can download wine for it, which gives this functionality... and all for free! Makes me a little worried about devoting so much time to Windows when the likes of Slax, exists for free.

One word to describe my first Linux experience... wow.

[TimeCode]

Makes me a little worried about devoting so much time to Windows when the likes of Slax, exists for free.

Don't worry about Windows, it isn't going anywere. If the Linux community could get together and create just a few distros and really make them for the masses, I would say worry. But for now, Linux is a house divided and Microsoft is exploiting every angle that they can to be certain that they remain the top dog.

And I'm glad that you're getting into Linux. I am too. I've dabbled in it a few times and I still have some work to do on my server but I enjoy the challenge.

[purple_minion]

Don't worry about Windows, it isn't going anywere. If the Linux community could get together and create just a few distros and really make them for the masses, I would say worry. But for now, Linux is a house divided and Microsoft is exploiting every angle that they can to be certain that they remain the top dog.

And I'm glad that you're getting into Linux. I am too. I've dabbled in it a few times and I still have some work to do on my server but I enjoy the challenge.

While my intention isn't to start anything, I have to disagree... all the variety and distros is what makes linux so powerful and appealing. Without linux your choices are windows, or mac. With linux you can pick from dozens of main distros, roll your own, pick a niche one, etc. Want to run a responsive OS from a CD that doesn't handle like a pig, can do. Want to walk around with your own OS with files and EVERYTHING on a usb drive, you sure can (much like cloud computing, only better IMHO.) Want to run linux on ARM, x86, x64, MIPS, whatever... guess what, you can. Without license costs, royalties, restrictions, etc. If people can't handle choices I think we need to make sure they never have children, as they are simply lazy. When you go shopping for a car, you don't simply pick the first one you see, you evaluate and CHOOSE which one you want based on budget, features, safety, etc. When someone goes out to eat there isn't only ONE food place, you have to pick fast food, restaurant, buffet, asian, italian, mexican, america, etc. Anyone buy clothes recently? Brand, type, style, etc... once again CHOICES. People make choices every single day, and then complain they have a choice for software or OS. Yeah, not everyone is an expert in areas, but luckily there are people who can review or recommend based on your needs. Also all linux is pretty compatible with each other, though some are easier then others I will admit, especially if you don't pick a main distro with packages. I will agree that at first you say wow, there are a lot of choices, but that's the same for car shopping or anything else, you need to start somewhere and learn what is important to you so you can narrow your search. Also from what I've seen and heard PCLinuxOS is supposedly more beginner friendly then Linux Mint, but I would recommend either to a linux newbie.

Also a good analogue if you are tired of the car one. Too bad he never finished the article.
http://www.serverwatch.com/trends/article.php/3816956

[TimeCode]

While my intention isn't to start anything, I have to disagree... all the variety and distros is what makes linux so powerful and appealing.

And here I respectfully disagree. To the common user, the sea of Linux distros (over 200) is a bit overwhelming. I am not saying that there aren't differences between them or that they each don't serve a function. What I am saying is that that because there are so many different versions, the common Windows user will decide to stay with Windows. They don't know which distro to pick. As a geek (non-Linux) I still had a hard time deciding on one.

And Windows users have celebrated the fact that they got away from DOS. Why would the average user want to back to the command line interface which is WAY more necessary in Linux than in Windows?

Is Linux superior to Windows? Yes, in many ways.
Is Linux as easy to become proficient at as Windows? No.
Is Linux easier to choose the version that fits you best? No.

For geeks like us, Linux is a great option. But for Joe Q. Public, Windows is fine and he'll be staying with it for a long time.