The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Welcome and General Discussion => Topic started by: camrg on May 23, 2013, 08:29:42 PM
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I'm relatively new to the site and have a long way to go in terms of reining in certain types of expenses. However, despite being an engineer with an inclination toward technology, I've been able to avoid a lot of spending on computers by getting friendly with the Linux operating system. I searched the forums and was surprised to see nobody was talking about this wonderful piece of free software, so I thought I'd bring it up.
My wife and I both have the computers we bought (ok, were generously given) when we went off to college 8 years ago; one which would have been fairly low powered for the time, and one that would have been considered high powered. They both run better, faster, and more fault-free than our expensive work laptops thanks to running Linux instead of Windows. Additionally, I was given another laptop that was running cripplingly slow and, according to the Best Buy Geek Squad 'needed a new hard drive', which now serves as our main family computer, blogging machine and photo editor; again thanks to Linux.
Linux has a reputation of being a little unfriendly, but it has come a long way. A distribution known as Linux Mint packages a lot of common applications (office applications, photo editing) all for free, and makes the user experience pretty much on par with Mac systems (Mac OS being a cousin of Linux in fact). Installation is now very simple and takes just a few minutes. The two biggest features, in my opinion, is that it runs so smoothly that it makes old hardware seem like new, and there are free applications for pretty much everything you could want; Open Office is compatible w/ Microsoft Office formats, GIMP and other apps give you the power of Photoshop, Inkscape has similar capabilities as Adobe Illustrator, and there are countless better-than-iTunes apps out there.
If you have an old computer out there and want to stave off a big purchase, its definitely worth checking out. Any other Mustachian uses for Linux out there?
Best,
Cameron
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I used ubuntu exclusively for a while, maybe two years ago. It installed easily, ran great, looked great, and did virtually everything I wanted it to do.
Except play PC games.
Now that I've given up gaming, I should probably consider trying it out again.
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I would absolutely use Linux... cept I play some PC games, and online Poker... neither of which is Linux friendly :( Wine does NOT do it!
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Considering the number of software people on this forum, there are probably a lot more Linux users around than meets the eye. Possibly even a few BSD lurkers too!
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Most of the Linux contingency here are Ubuntu users, myself included. There's a lot of us.
Also, the search tool in the upper right corner is notoriously unreliable for anything but recent posts. The search tool (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/search/) linked under your login greeting with post age settings turns up a lot more Linux talk.
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I would absolutely use Linux... cept I play some PC games, and online Poker... neither of which is Linux friendly :( Wine does NOT do it!
VirtualBox works fine for online poker - I run virtualized Windows on my mac for PC-only poker sites, HEM, etc. I don't imagine it's any different on Linux.
But for games, well... can't help you there. (Except, you know... Steam. So there are signs things are changing.)
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Might have to give that a try!
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I am getting rich with Linux, I get paid to use it :)
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...I've been able to avoid a lot of spending on computers by getting friendly with the Linux operating system. I searched the forums and was surprised to see nobody was talking about this wonderful piece of free software...
Nobody talks much about all that free air out there, either :-)
I'm another one who's gotten - well, if not exactly rich, at least FI - from Linux, as that's what I've used for all my development work since there WAS a Linux (and did a lot of work with various Unix systems prior to that), on everything from embedded systems to top-10 supercomputers.
I prefer the OpenSuSE distribution myself, as I want real Linux, not something that's hidden under an ersatz Windoze GUI.
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I've heard there was a learning curve with Linux. I'm planning on installing it in my 4 year old netbook once it gets "slow enough," which might be soon. Is it different enough that I should start looking at it now (Linux for Dummies?) to avoid getting so frustrated I just get a new laptop?
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I've used Linux/Unix on my personal computers almost exclusively since 1999. I say almost because there have been a few times I ran OSX and Windows on secondary machines for one reason or another. I've also toyed around with other operating systems like Haiku/BeOS. I've also always had a NetBSD machine since 2000, running on the same 20 year old hardware (as of this writing).
I've definitely made a good share of my living with Linux. My first job was a Linux server administrator, at my 2nd job I used it for developing a few internally used web apps, my 4th and 5th jobs were software development exclusively with Linux and now one of the courses I teach is a Linux/Unix course.
Of course using Linux and open source software has saved me a lot of money, not to mention being able to continue using older hardware. I've always run about 4-5 years behind in terms of hardware.
I use Ubuntu, but I really don't care about distributions these days. I can make pretty much any of them do my bidding. I always immediately stop using whatever default GUI environment they use and install FVWM, then install/uninstall/disable whatever I need.
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It probably isn't mentioned much because it only has limited power to save you money. Buying a prepackaged computer gets you windows at a huge discount, it is a small percentage of the cost to building a solid machine, and most applications that people want don't run on linux (alternatives getting better everyday).
I definitely see it's power for running specific applications that work well on the environment, and it is amazing at reviving outdated hardware.
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I would absolutely use Linux... cept I play some PC games, and online Poker... neither of which is Linux friendly :( Wine does NOT do it!
VirtualBox works fine for online poker - I run virtualized Windows on my mac for PC-only poker sites, HEM, etc. I don't imagine it's any different on Linux.
But for games, well... can't help you there. (Except, you know... Steam. So there are signs things are changing.)
It's not any different. I'm a Fedora user, and I have a Windows virtual machine installed for watching netflix / playing games. VirtualBox has excellent support for Windows virtual machines and I've never had an issue with its speed, and other virtualization options like Fedora's built-in KVM are getting better all the time.
Steam does have a native linux client, but only a few games are available on it. Alternately you can run Steam / other Windows games from your virtual machine and it should run well enough. It will be a little slower than if your computer was purely a Windows install since there's another layer of OS consuming resources, but if it runs well on bare-metal Windows then it should run decently well on virtualized Windows if you've configured things correctly.
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I just switched over to Linux a few weeks ago! I bought a new computer in the process, which was a little unmustachian of me, but I needed a desktop anyway (previously I just had a laptop which failed to fully meet my needs) and can write it off as a business expense. I got it from a company that builds computers specifically for Linux and it came pre-loaded with Ubuntu - I figured if I'm going to learn a whole new operating system *and* use it for work I'd rather not set myself up for stupid incompatibility issues right off the bat.
I'd wanted to switch over for a while but I absolutely, positively *need* MS Office for my work (digression: while Open Office is compatible with Word formats as the OP says, it's sadly lacking the ability to produce documents that look good when someone else opens them in Word. The formatting's just too different. As a freelance translator I need to be able to produce documents which look exactly like the documents I'm translating from). It was only recently that I learned of the existence of Wine and CrossOver and then I didn't have any more excuses :P
While overall I've found Linux pretty easy to adapt to, I'd really like to learn a bit more about what goes on beneath the surface. If anyone has any recommendations for books/online material I'd love to hear them.
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I've heard there was a learning curve with Linux. I'm planning on installing it in my 4 year old netbook once it gets "slow enough," which might be soon. Is it different enough that I should start looking at it now (Linux for Dummies?) to avoid getting so frustrated I just get a new laptop?
I think that depends on your needs. When I get home from work, about 90% of my computing is done through a web browser anyway, and if you can use Firefox in Windows then you can use Firefox in Linux; it will just keep everything humming along more smoothly.
Google should turn up some good comparisons to help you pick between different versions, and provide step-by-step instructions for installation. I've always been able to find online advice for doing fancier things, like setting up a home web server and stuff like that. Going beyond using applications like firefox/office/inkscape would sometimes be easier with a good knowledge of command line operations, so I was thinking about getting this book to bolster my knowledge:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Linux-Command-Line-Introduction/dp/1593273894/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=FQR0N73R493M&coliid=I1RTQ9RRZ2ZIFG
Its from a series that seems to be pretty highly reviewed (there is an introduction to Linux one, but it looked a little too basic to be worth it), but I haven't read them yet myself.
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I'm an old fart. I've been a unix geek -- both home and work computers -- since about 1990 (running SunOS 4.0.x).
My wife became a convert somewhere around 2000 when she realized her desktop was always broken/rebooting and mine always seemed to be working.
I boot windows (under a vm) once a year to run TurboTax.
As far as "learning curve" goes -- that's really not so much the case any longer. For the 90% case, if I plop a pre-built Linux box in front of someone, they can do pretty much what they want from day 1. My dad (83) and my mother-in-law (84) both use it and don't even know they're doing anything different than everyone else around them. My mom used it until she was late 70s and alzheimer's took over.
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Linux is my day job.
And has been since 1999.
I like it.
I'm a Gentoo addict...
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I always immediately stop using whatever default GUI environment they use and install FVWM, then install/uninstall/disable whatever I need.
Me too! FVWM is great.
As to learning curves, compatibility, and so on, it depends. If you are used to (and like) a Windoze-style GUI, and will only do "normal user"-type things, then I think you can get along quite easily with the KDE "desktop" that's default with Ubuntu and some other distributions.
If you want to use Linux to best advantage, and you do any sort of development or tech stuff, then you need to learn the command line, which is vastly different from the GUI environment. For me, the learning curve goes the other way, and it's a cliff. I happen to be dysiconic - a word I coined by analogy with dyslexia, which just means that I can never figure out what those effing "intuitive" little pictures are supposed to mean - so using Windoze is next door to impossible for me.
Of course I pretty much learned computing on Unix, back in the days when we got it on a mag tape from Bell Labs, and installed it on the department's brand-new PDP-11, so it is in a sense my native language.
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My spouse uses Ubuntu and has been trying to get me to switch. Unfortunately, Firefox doesn't work for printing coupons. Explorer or Safari are the only things that do the trick. So, we are stuck with my Windows machine for now -- until my spouse figures out a way to put a windows virtual machine on the ubuntu computer, for free. I get about half of my coupons online, so windows is saving me about $15 a week. :/
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My spouse uses Ubuntu and has been trying to get me to switch. Unfortunately, Firefox doesn't work for printing coupons. Explorer or Safari are the only things that do the trick. So, we are stuck with my Windows machine for now -- until my spouse figures out a way to put a windows virtual machine on the ubuntu computer, for free. I get about half of my coupons online, so windows is saving me about $15 a week. :/
Safari uses the WebKit engine-- you could try Chrome/Chromium, they're based on webkit, IIRC. There are a number of webkit native-Linux browsers like Konqueror, Midori, and others that might fit the bill, too.
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My spouse uses Ubuntu and has been trying to get me to switch. Unfortunately, Firefox doesn't work for printing coupons. Explorer or Safari are the only things that do the trick. So, we are stuck with my Windows machine for now -- until my spouse figures out a way to put a windows virtual machine on the ubuntu computer, for free. I get about half of my coupons online, so windows is saving me about $15 a week. :/
Safari uses the WebKit engine-- you could try Chrome/Chromium, they're based on webkit, IIRC. There are a number of webkit native-Linux browsers like Konqueror, Midori, and others that might fit the bill, too.
I use Chromium for my web browsing, but it won't print coupons. I will check out the other browsers. Thanks!
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My spouse uses Ubuntu and has been trying to get me to switch. Unfortunately, Firefox doesn't work for printing coupons. Explorer or Safari are the only things that do the trick. So, we are stuck with my Windows machine for now -- until my spouse figures out a way to put a windows virtual machine on the ubuntu computer, for free. I get about half of my coupons online, so windows is saving me about $15 a week. :/
YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY HERE! I don't necessarily know what/where you're printing.
When I looked at something similar here for wifey, I found the site in question used a very intrusive plugin to print. It required waaay too much privilege for "printing a coupon." In fact, as I recall it wasn't a plugin at all but some .exe that was flagged as malware/adware. Not running this is a good thing. Linux was doing you a favor.
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It probably isn't mentioned much because it only has limited power to save you money. Buying a prepackaged computer gets you windows at a huge discount, it is a small percentage of the cost to building a solid machine, and most applications that people want don't run on linux (alternatives getting better everyday).
+1 on this.
One of my last PC purchases was a refurb. because it was nice and cheap with legitimate licenses.
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It probably isn't mentioned much because it only has limited power to save you money. Buying a prepackaged computer gets you windows at a huge discount, it is a small percentage of the cost to building a solid machine, and most applications that people want don't run on linux (alternatives getting better everyday).
+1 on this.
One of my last PC purchases was a refurb. because it was nice and cheap with legitimate licenses.
Another +1. Our firm swaps out PCs every 3-4 years and the leasing company we get them from gives us a good price to keep them. This year we are about to swap out and a Dell 4GB of RAM duo core with a 22" monitor is only $155. Since I am the sysadmin it is nothing for me to build a good image. I then contact some of my friends and family and fix them up if they are looking to swap. They get a workstation ready to go.
Most home users I know only do two things 95% of the time with a computer - Internet and email. A few gamers as well (but these machines aren't good game machines). An older machine is just fine for them.
Another Mustachian thing I do is work on Wintels on the side for $50 an hour and invest whatever I make. I haven't been very aggressive looking for side work lately, it usually finds me. I can pretty much find as much as I want, but I value my spare time too much to chase it.
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Currently using an iMac I bought back in 2007. It's serving me well for what I do so I don't see myself upgrading to something new in the near future. When that time does come I seriously doubt my next computer will be an Apple. Not unless they fall on really hard times and do a complete 180 on their pricing scheme.
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Currently using an iMac I bought back in 2007. It's serving me well for what I do so I don't see myself upgrading to something new in the near future. When that time does come I seriously doubt my next computer will be an Apple. Not unless they fall on really hard times and do a complete 180 on their pricing scheme.
If you like the OS and it's just the price of the hardware that annoys you, it's pretty easy nowadays to build your own ("Hackintosh") with regular PC parts and install OS X on it. You can build a quite powerful machine for a lot cheaper than Apple will sell you one. It takes a little more attention when applying patches, but otherwise it works just the same. There's a pretty good introductory article (http://lifehacker.com/5841604/the-always-up+to+date-guide-to-building-a-hackintosh) on Lifehacker if you're interested.
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The main reason I got the Mac was to get away from Windows. I like OS X but have no diehard attachment to it. More than likely I'll go with something Linux next time. Regardless, that is a long way off and not something I'm putting any real thought in to.. That is assuming this iMac doesn't decide to be cute and go up in smoke for no reason.
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While I support Linux, I don't think saving money with Linux is true with regards to purchasing a New Computer.
For example, I paid $999 for my Macbook Air which IMO is a very high-quality Ultrabook. You can get a slightly slower (and IMO not as well built) ASUS Zenbook for only $559.00. I don't think it would be possible to find a situation where you could purchase comparable Linux-only Ultrabook and actually save money.
With regards to used computers? You could pick up a 5 year old White Macbook for only $200 or so and still run OS X. Just replace the battery and upgrade to an SSD and it will run with similar performance to a new Macbook Air. I'm assuming the same situation applies to older Windows laptops.
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While I support Linux, I don't think saving money with Linux is true with regards to purchasing a New Computer
If you're married to one ecosystem and will only run Mac OS X, then that may be true. But Linux will squeeze more performance out of any given hardware setup than Windows or Mac OS - it could be the difference between buying an SSD for an aging computer and saving the $150, for example. New out of the box, that effect won't be as significant.
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For example, I paid $999 for my Macbook Air which IMO is a very high-quality Ultrabook. You can get a slightly slower (and IMO not as well built) ASUS Zenbook for only $559.00. I don't think it would be possible to find a situation where you could purchase comparable Linux-only Ultrabook and actually save money.
But you don't purchase Linux-only computers. You buy someone else's less than current laptop that they discarded for about $100-$150 and put Linux on it.
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I will in the next 24-48 hours turn my oldest laptop, a Dell D800, into a Suse Linux machine. I start as a Unix administrator next Friday. Not on that machine. :) It is giving me the push to go Linus at home, though. I have full faith that the age of the laptop will not be an issue. I may also turn one of my netbooks into a Linux machine to see if the frustration I have with the slowness of the platform is from Windows 7 or the hardware. Options are good. This is also keeping me from getting a new laptop and letting me use the ones I have.
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I may also turn one of my netbooks into a Linux machine to see if the frustration I have with the slowness of the platform is from Windows 7 or the hardware.
Probably Win7. I've got an old Atom based netbook that's just spiffy, but only running Linux. Crunchbang (http://crunchbang.org/) might be a good option to consider.
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But you don't purchase Linux-only computers. You buy someone else's less than current laptop that they discarded for about $100-$150 and put Linux on it.
Speak for yourself. All but a couple of the machines I've owned since... oh, the mid--90s... have been new (though all the non-laptops were built from components), and all have run Linux since day 1. Latest acquisition was a quad-core machine with dual GPU. I don't run it much, 'cause it sucks power. Just boot it for testing stuff I've written & compiled on my 5 year old ThinkPad.
Linux ain't just for hackers: most supercomputer systems run some variant of Linux. Which is kind of amusing, when you consider it also runs on things like Raspberry Pi, down at the other end of the performance spectrum.
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Speak for yourself. All but a couple of the machines I've owned since... oh, the mid--90s... have been new (though all the non-laptops were built from components), and all have run Linux since day 1. Latest acquisition was a quad-core machine with dual GPU. I don't run it much, 'cause it sucks power. Just boot it for testing stuff I've written & compiled on my 5 year old ThinkPad.
Linux ain't just for hackers: most supercomputer systems run some variant of Linux. Which is kind of amusing, when you consider it also runs on things like Raspberry Pi, down at the other end of the performance spectrum.
I think you misunderstood my last post. I was replying to the following statement: "I don't think it would be possible to find a situation where you could purchase comparable Linux-only Ultrabook and actually save money."
All my machines since 1998 have also been Linux machines, but only a few have been brand new in any sort of way.
But this Fall semester, my students will be building a few pretty sweet machines from new hardware. My hardware students will build them, Windows students will install Windows, Linux students will install Linux and all the hardware just so happens to run OSX easily.
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I may also turn one of my netbooks into a Linux machine to see if the frustration I have with the slowness of the platform is from Windows 7 or the hardware.
Probably Win7. I've got an old Atom based netbook that's just spiffy, but only running Linux. Crunchbang (http://crunchbang.org/) might be a good option to consider.
Checking it out now. You are again my hero. I want to be you when I grow up. :) I'll still use Suse on the other laptop as that is what is used at work. However, I have been cussing my netbook lately because something is eating up the cpu cycles and I haven't had the patience to track it down. It is my primary SKYPE machine as it has the camera, and so I keep it an another laptop on at all times. sigh. Here's to geekiness.
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However, I have been cussing my netbook lately because something is eating up the cpu cycles and I haven't had the patience to track it down.
Have you tried running PowerTop https://01.org/powertop/ on it? It's pretty good at finding a lot of things that waste cycles & power.
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Windows 7
PowerTop
*headdesk*
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RE: netbook distros
A few years back Ubuntu had a netbook edition with a tweaked UI to maximize screen space and supposedly add some energy savings. It has since been discontinued but I have found Xubuntu (the XFCE variant) to run just great on my Atom 10 inch netbook. Just remove the useless bottom dock and you're good to go.
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I was using Linux Mint LXDE edition for speed, but it was discontinued, too. I just installed LXDE on regular Mint-- it's probably bit slowed down by bloat, but hey.
Either way I'm none too happy with the power management... or maybe the old battery is just getting low on life. Any tips?
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powertop is always good for 5% or so. You can view the battery capacity in "power statistics" to see if it's the battery itself - for example, I'm at 46.2 out of 50.6 watt-hours, so I've only lost 8% of my capacity.
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Valid point about using it on old/used computers. But for those who need Windows or OS X compatible applications, is the Linux computer still faster while running the app under a Virtual Machine or Parallels?
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powertop is always good for 5% or so. You can view the battery capacity in "power statistics" to see if it's the battery itself - for example, I'm at 46.2 out of 50.6 watt-hours, so I've only lost 8% of my capacity.
I guess it's the battery, then-- gnome power statistics is telling me "energy when full" is 21.5Wh, and "energy (design)" is 57.3Wh (which is what the battery is supposed to be). So my battery is under 40% in three years? Bollox! Maybe I need to start a thread on how to be mustachian with batteries.
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Maybe I need to start a thread on how to be mustachian with batteries.
Easy, use them as little as possible. Desktop computers FTW ;)
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My Netbook is 2 years old now, battery still lasts me 8 hours :)
I never leave it plugged in for more than a day or two, always store unplugged & off, use it unplugged to drain battery to ~30-50%, then plug in... I think the battery will last me 5-6 years at the rate I'm going :)
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I just switched over to Linux a few weeks ago! I bought a new computer in the process, which was a little unmustachian of me, but I needed a desktop anyway (previously I just had a laptop which failed to fully meet my needs) and can write it off as a business expense. I got it from a company that builds computers specifically for Linux and it came pre-loaded with Ubuntu - I figured if I'm going to learn a whole new operating system *and* use it for work I'd rather not set myself up for stupid incompatibility issues right off the bat.
I'd wanted to switch over for a while but I absolutely, positively *need* MS Office for my work (digression: while Open Office is compatible with Word formats as the OP says, it's sadly lacking the ability to produce documents that look good when someone else opens them in Word. The formatting's just too different. As a freelance translator I need to be able to produce documents which look exactly like the documents I'm translating from). It was only recently that I learned of the existence of Wine and CrossOver and then I didn't have any more excuses :P
While overall I've found Linux pretty easy to adapt to, I'd really like to learn a bit more about what goes on beneath the surface. If anyone has any recommendations for books/online material I'd love to hear them.
I put some books in Dropbox for you.
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Valid point about using it on old/used computers. But for those who need Windows or OS X compatible applications, is the Linux computer still faster while running the app under a Virtual Machine or Parallels?
No, If you are running Linux and have a Virtual Machine with Windows / OS X running a specific Windows-only / OS X-only application the performance of that application will be worse than if you were just running Windows / OS X. The general performance of your computer will be better though for all the things you can do without Windows / OS X.
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For example, I paid $999 for my Macbook Air which IMO is a very high-quality Ultrabook. You can get a slightly slower (and IMO not as well built) ASUS Zenbook for only $559.00. I don't think it would be possible to find a situation where you could purchase comparable Linux-only Ultrabook and actually save money.
The other thing to keep in mind with Ultrabooks in particular is that the pre-installed Windows is actually highly tuned for low-power performance. If you do a generic linux install on top of that you are moving from highly-tuned-ultrabook-specific OS to generic-linux OS, and while everything should still work your battery life may suffer.
Your options with Ultrabooks are to either:
1) live with a shorter battery life
2) do a lot of tuning yourself
3) wait a few years so that linux distributions can catch up with better automatic power tuning for advanced Ultrabook features.
At least that was the case when the Zenbook was first released, things may have gotten better since then.
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I think using Linux is mucho mustachian. It is free, if you choose the right distro, and all the programs that run on it are free. It is particular fine for older computers. Much more streamline than Windows, it runs faster with fewer problems. I always switch older Windows computers to Linux.
Plus, with Windows you have the yearly cost of antivirus software. If Linux even needed AV software, it would be free. But it doesn't.
I don't consider the OS included in a new PC a bargain, either, since that off-the-shelf PC is a piece of junk. They always use the crappiest hardware to build those things, the least they can get by with and still get you to buy it. Much better to build a better computer yourself, with better hardware for hundreds of dollars less.
Sure, people can get deals here and there on an older Windows or Mac machine, and I applaud them for that. But Linux is ALWAYS a great deal, because it is free.
So, kudos to the OP for bringing it up.
For the latest info on the various Linux distributions, check out this site:
http://distrowatch.com/
[I use Windows at work because I have to. The network I admin is a Windows network. I think it is a gigantic waste of taxpayer dollars.]
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Plus, with Windows you have the yearly cost of antivirus software. If Linux even needed AV software, it would be free. But it doesn't.
so... I totally agree with you in principle here. But it sort of needs a "with caveats".
1) AV does more than antivirus nowadays. It is general malware avoidance. That said: it is seriously easy to bypass AV on most machines.
2) linux doesn't get viruses in the strictest definition of the word.... IF it is set up and run properly (with proper privilege separation). I've seen more than a few people absolutely trash a good running distribution running everything with elevated privileges. If you hit malware, ain't nothing going to stop you if you do that.
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Valid point about using it on old/used computers. But for those who need Windows or OS X compatible applications, is the Linux computer still faster while running the app under a Virtual Machine or Parallels?
No, If you are running Linux and have a Virtual Machine with Windows / OS X running a specific Windows-only / OS X-only application the performance of that application will be worse than if you were just running Windows / OS X. The general performance of your computer will be better though for all the things you can do without Windows / OS X.
You are correct. I however run XP in a virtual machine on my linux box with 16 gigs of ram in it. XP can use 3gb max so I assign it 1 core on the CPU and 3 gigs of ram and realistically it makes zero difference to my day to day usage while still giving me full windows capabilities. It's allowed me to get rid of an ancientmachine that I ran just to have windows for work purposes.
I love my linux box but it's not perfect. The TV capture cards I salvaged from a dead machine don't have any drivers in linux. Getting the sound working is a nightmare if you don't have a trivial setup that works out of the box (seriously it's 2013 why do I still need to go into alsamixer on a regular basis) I recently moved from ubuntu to mint and with the slightly more modern install suddenly the usb remote control works completely differently. I know I was pushing this machine hard with it acting as a HTPC sending sound and video from XBMC to the second monitor (TV) via HDMI but after the update it's just not working correctly and the machine can't do both things simultaneously like it used to. I gave up and bought another box(very nonmustachian) specifically to act as an HTPC. I then dropped $100 for a license of windows 7 home so that I can run netflix and use my capture card on it as well. The windows stuff just works and it kills me to say that having been almost pure linux for close to 15 years now.
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Just in case you're one of us on the Dark Side... and didn't notice... Netflix and Linux are now natively possible.
all you need is a Debian system (or convert deb->rpm) and chrome:
https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/
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It's also possible to install linux on a chromebook, giving people the opportunity to have a speedy, fully functional laptop for < $200 new.
I did this on my c720p (http://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/764181-how-to-install-linux-on-an-acer-c720-chromebook)(purchased $150 used to replace a 8-year old dell laptop) and it works great.
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Since this thread predates my knowledge of this site, let me just say that I wholeheartedly agree with Linux making you rich. As a Linux (RHEL) sysadmin specializing in High-performance computing with former stints as Linux application and kernel developer, it has pretty much been my career.
That said, I'm posting this from a Macbook Air. I used to be very much OSS exclusive, but these days it's just work. When I get home I'd rather not worry about my computing needs.
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I have a Macbook Pro dual-booted with OS X and Ubuntu, as well as Windows 8 on a virtual machine on the OS X partition.
You could say I'm indecisive.
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I've been running Linux exclusively at home for quite a few years now. Aside from being free, I find it just works better than Windows (for me, at least). We're running Linux on four computers. Eight if you count Android tablet and phone, EasyTomato router, and a desktop I built out of old spare parts that I plan to sell.
I've tried quite a few flavors of Linux, including Gentoo, Slackware/Slax, Ubuntu/Xubuntu/Kubuntu/Lubuntu, Mint, Fedora, and Arch. Arch Linux is by far my favorite so far which I'm running on three computers with Xfce. The Ubuntu derivatives (including Mint) are probably best for an inexperienced user, though I found Mint to run very slow on older hardware. Fedora + LXDE was much better on old hardware and still newbie friendly.
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I don't think you'll get rich running linux, but you will have more freedom.
I've been using Linux on my home PC since the mid 90's. For most things it "does what it says on the tin". I use gnucash for keeping track of my finances. I had been using Turbotax online to do yearly income taxes, but recently switched to Tax Act Online as it was cheaper, and I didn't have to resort to tricking Turbotax into thinking I was running from a windows PC.
As an electronics hardware and software design platform it is exceptional.
I did not get completely rid of windows without some frustration. The support of scanners in Linux could be better. Also specialized printers such as label printers can be problematic.
I now use Linux Mint and before that it was Red Hat, Fedora then Ubuntu.
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It's also possible to install linux on a chromebook, giving people the opportunity to have a speedy, fully functional laptop for < $200 new.
I did this on my c720p (http://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/764181-how-to-install-linux-on-an-acer-c720-chromebook)(purchased $150 used to replace a 8-year old dell laptop) and it works great.
I have a C720P chromebook also and I have been thinking of dual booting it with Linux. I'm a total Linux newbie. I've only read some tutorials on how to do it and I haven't actually tried it yet.
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I used to use it as my sole OS for a few years (early Ubuntu user, started with 5.04, occasionally flitted between it and vanilla Debian), and then bought a laptop. As I couldn't get the wifi working on it in Linux, I used the default OS (Vista).
My laptop now is a MacBook Pro, but I tried Ubuntu on a spare laptop last year to see what it was like. All good until I ran software updates and the wifi refused to work afterwards.
Too bad Linux, too bad.
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I used to use it as my sole OS for a few years (early Ubuntu user, started with 5.04, occasionally flitted between it and vanilla Debian), and then bought a laptop. As I couldn't get the wifi working on it in Linux, I used the default OS (Vista).
My laptop now is a MacBook Pro, but I tried Ubuntu on a spare laptop last year to see what it was like. All good until I ran software updates and the wifi refused to work afterwards.
Too bad Linux, too bad.
I've used some form of *nix as my sole OS since ~1990. (It was SunOS4 back then). I did have to really hack on wifi with really new hardware back about 4-5 years ago. I haven't seen those issues lately... but that is probably going to vary from chip to chip.