content: Curious about linux? Come on in, let's have a chat. [disclaimer: I am pretty much copying a old post by /u/sircmpwn on reddit that he made two weeks ago because I think it can benefit people here. It is not my original work, but it is a good introduction for anyone who is curious and it seems to be a appetite for that here now. Anything I am personally writing myself is in bold font.] Hello! I'm a full time Linux user and I know a lot about it. [This I do and I can answer questions] It's a great system, does not spy on you, and makes it very difficult to get malware. In the past few years, it's also become a great platform for gaming, too. Here's the answers to a bunch of questions I usually hear about Linux from Windows users. Here are a handful of the reasons you might go for Linux over Windows: Ask me this question five years ago, and I would have told you that you'd be giving up games if you switched to Linux. Thankfully, though, that's not true today. Here's my own steam library: one, two. There are many more games on Linux that I don't have, too. On top of that, I'm able to play a lot of games with wine, which is software for Linux that lets you run many Windows programs. However, I'd be lying to you if I said you wouldn't be giving up some games. Most AAA games are unfortunately not ported to Linux until months or years after they're released, and new games won't work in wine until wine catches up with Windows. The solution many people turn to is called dual booting - it's very easy to have both Linux and Windows installed on the same computer, and switching between them is as easy as rebooting. This depends on the developers of the game in question. Linux provides OpenGL, which fills a similar niche to DirectX on Windows. OpenGL runs on more platforms - Windows, Linux, Mac, and more, so many games for WIndows are actually using OpenGL. The performance of both frameworks is comparable - Valve, for example, was able to squeeze more performance out of Left 4 Dead with OpenGL on Linux than with DirectX on Windows. On the other hand, PCSX2 (a PS2 emulator) has poorer performance on OpenGL when compared to the DirectX frontend. On even an entry level rig, though, you can expect to have a good time. You are not likely to notice any difference in performance between Windows and Linux. A lot of people think that Linux users live in a terminal, just entering commands to get everything done. This is actually true, but it's not a bad thing. On Windows, you are used to doing everything by clicking buttons on windows, and the command prompt on Windows is pretty bad. I can understand how Windows users would think that Linux users are crazy for preferring a terminal. But on Linux, the terminal is generally the fastest and easiest way to do whatever you're trying to do. You can do things the Windows way, with GUIs and buttons and text boxes, but most users end up liking it just because it gives you that extra speed and flexibility. Consider this - on Windows, let's say you want to install some software. You pull up Chrome, google for the software, click the first link that isn't an ad (and there will be an ad), download it, double click the installer, put in your admin password, click "next" several times (carefully avoiding the ask toolbar), and then you have it installed. On Linux, you install Firefox by typing sudo apt-get install firefox into a terminal, providing your admin password, and now you have Firefox. It really is easier, and that's the only reason people gravitate to it on Linux. Unix is an operating system created by Bell Labs in the 70's. It defines a certain way an operating system should behave, and Linux is a free implementation of that behaviour. OS X is another implementation of Unix. For this reason, Linux and OS X are (for the most part) compatible. Windows is another operating system that is not an implementation of Unix, and programmers have to make a special version of their software to run on Windows. You've probably heard of various Linux distributions, or "distros", like Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, Linux Mint, and so on. It seems complicated, but it's actually very simple. "Linux" itself just provides the core functionality of the system, things that the user can't really see, and the distro provides the look and feel, default applications, and a handful of other things. It's like this - imagine that a car company built a really good engine, and then gave it away for free. A whole bunch of people made their own cars, built around this engine. They might look different, have different wheels and seats, but they're all cars, and they have this one engine design in common. That's how Linux works - Linux is the engine, and the distros are the rest of the car. For newbies, I suggest you google these three, and pick whichever one you think is prettiest: Fedora, Linux Mint, Ubuntu. Moderately advanced users might use distros like Debian or Antergos. Experienced users often prefer Arch Linux, Gentoo, or even Linux from Scratch. Remember a few questions ago I walked you through the installation procedure for Windows compared to Linux? Well, consider this. On Windows: On Linux, you used a command like ~~~ sudo apt-get install firefox ~~~. This command uses a list of software supported by your chosen distro (this is a very long list, and includes most of the software you could ever want). This time, the software you're installing was packaged by people you trust (not a business just looking for a quick buck), is guaranteed not to have shovelware like that toolbar, and comes from one place and one place only. If you stick to installing software this way, it is very difficult for you to get a virus. This breaks down if you leave the comfort zone of what your distro provides. If you find some software that you want to install that your distro does not support, you have to install it yourself. This means that you are now responsible for validating that it came from the right place, doesn't spy on you, doesn't include malware, and so on. You won't find yourself in this situation often. Very easy. The installer will walk you through the process, handle things like dual booting for you, and it'll only take a few minutes. I hope you consider giving Linux a try! Feel free to ask more questions if you have them. If you installed and have problems you can visit /v/FixMyLinux