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The trick with Linux support, is to buy stuff that supported. For example, buy nVidia video cards. They have AWESOME drivers for Linux that install easy as pie. A quick reboot and you're in 3D heaven.

Not to mention that most hardware is trully plug and play. It works alot better than Windows in my experience. Just buy stuff that's known to work in Linux. You wouldn't buy a Mac portrait display for Windows, then bitch about it not working..... Same goes for Linux. Get supported hardware. It's not hard.

Is Linux harder than Windows? No. It's DIFFERENT.

All users are ignorant of all systems prior to use. Printing or saving a file is hard for every single user.

Give a newb BeOS and teach them how to use it, then switch them to Windows, and they will have trouble until they learn Windows and it becomes second nature.

Switch them to a Mac and they will have just as hard of a time. Same goes for Linux. It only seems hard until you use it for a little while.

Now you want an OS that's hard to use..... Try XP. Uhhgggg. What a butt ugly hideous mess that thing is.

Originally posted by MacCready
What possible atvantage would there be in anyone running linux?

Ok its supposed to be(or is)a more stable operating system.

Problem is not many users=not much software.

I can understand a die hard linux person wanting to change that though.

Linux to me is a viable way to Rebel against the corporate giant Microsoft. But my addiction to quality software keeps me on Win
95 (233 mhz system) and Win 98SE (1333mhz system).

Im loathed to even go with a newer windows enviorment, 2000.ME'or the new one XP.

Not many users??? Try 20 million worldwide and growing. Granted, many of them are i the server market, but Linux is gaining momentum worldwide. I hear France and Germany are switching to Linux for Gov't uses. As the system gets easier and easier to install, users are popping up all the time. Soon, most Linux boxes will be able to run most Win9X software using either Lindows, Wine, WineX (none of which are really emulation, so much as intercept and translation of system calls) or an emulation software like vmware.

Not much software??? Granted the commericial software is limited, but there are titles to be found for virtually everything else. Quake1-3, Castle Wolfenstein 3D, SimCity 3000, FAKK2, Tribes2, Alpha Centuri, The Sims, and several other titles are available in Linux native. Other titles will run under WineX (Jedi Knight, Fallout 1&2&Tactics, etc.) by Transgaming (go to the transgaming website to see a list of games that people have gotten to run under Linux). Word processors and web browsers can be found for free, as are programming tools (full APIs for various open-source things such as OpenGL are available). CD burning software is generally free, and many times it is superior to its Windoze counterparts. Database software is free, as are database serving software,...

Linux has built in firewalling (something that wasn't available until WinXPee). Linux is a multi-user operating system by default (so a different login for each family member,... no more screwing up your settings). There are virtually no native viruses that attack Linux (maybe 12 to Windoze's 200,000),... and no way to get software to install itself automatically like in Windoze, so no web based infection. E-mail under Linux has features only found in expensive business productivity products, such as filtering of e-mails (if it's not addressed to you specifically, you can have it automatically be dumped to the deleted mail bin). Linux distros usually come with a choice of about 5-6 web browsers, 2-3 word processors, 1-3 e-mail programs, 20+ games (tetris clones, mahjongg clones, some 3D stuff). Games under Linux generally run 20% or better more efficiently than their Windoze counterparts (less OS overhead). Linux is generally more secure than Windoze. Linux boxes can be set up to be anything from servers (print, e-mail, fax, file, database) to desktop machines. Linux is gaining in the embedded device market as well (PDAs, Cell Phones, the PlayStation2,... etc.). Linux is more likely to have working emulators for consoles than Windoze (again, the PS2 connection may bear fruit soon).

So, yeah, I can't see any advantage to switching to Linux either,...
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Andrew Ewanchyna
Unless Microsoft screws up future version of Windows then I can't see Linux offering Windows too much competition in the home market (I'm assuming people play games at home rather than work .

Let's face it, Linux is still geared for the techie. Not sure what the state of driver support is on Linux but it can't be any better than the Windows Plug-and-Pray. I don't want to imagine the configuration nightmares I'd have under Linux. I could just see people contacting me about the Linux version that doesn't work with their ancient hardware, like the stuff madmax88 describes.

Granted Windoze is the OS of the technically,... challe... no,... stupid. But that is changing fast. User to user support is unprecidented with Linux. Have a problem?,... about 20 users will fight over themselves trying to help you solve it.

Microshaft has already screwed up badly with Windoze XPee. Their product activation code crap and their push towards software and OS renting instead of purchasing has alienated tons of users. It will continue to alienate users as it becomes clear that they want to hold you hostage to upgrades and force you to continue to pay for products that you already own. Their developers are following a similar model. Ever try to use a 2 yr old version of accounting software to import data to you latest tax program??? They force you to upgrade at the cost of about $200.00 or more. Also the cosmetic changes of the OS have angered a lot of veteran users. XPee by default goes into this new cartoonish view. Upgrade yuour machine and you have to call M$ to get a new product activation code. Your OS shuts down if you don't have one or fail to get one. It then holds all of your other software hostage.

So, don't count on M$ greed to change.

So porting the game to another system is one thing, supporting it is another. In this point, the Mac would be easier to work with. And doesn't the Mac have a larger market share that Linux anyways?

Zorach, let's face it, it's rare for someone to buy the same game for 2 platforms. Consider yourself the exception. [/B]

Most Linux users don't care much about support. They only care about having a product that runs native on their system. If a Linux binary was released as an unsupported download, then They'd buy the game.

besides, Linux users buy both platforms all the time, just so they can run it on their favorite OS. You'd be very surprised in fact.