This is so awesomely proves one of my earlier reasons-

You know what everyone here does when MS parades around the latest SJW bullshit?  They bitch and moan from their MS powered computers.  If using Linux we all would have the ability to easily flush turds when they surface.

Laptop is dual boot with Ubuntu and Windows 10
Desktop is Ubuntu
Firewall is FreeBSD
Everything at work is Ubuntu or RHEL

I have been doing some form of admin/engineer role on Linux systems for over a decade so its what I stick with. The only reason I even dual boot the laptop is that it came with Windows and I occasionally need it for things like programming my Harmony remote or updating my Garmin. 

I just put Elementary OS on my new laptop,  I tried it once before about a year ago on my old one and the wifi occasionally would freak out.  The new version that just came out has been rock solid for a month.

It's a good looking distro too.

Unless you have some overpowering reason that you need to run Linux, you should not be running Linux.

Windows 10 is what you're going to need to get through your classes, because they don't accept papers that are not in MS Word format or spreadsheets not in Excel, and the free ones don't produce documents that are good enough.

Linux isn't meant for the desktop user, game playing by Mint and others notwithstanding.  

linux is fuckin great, if your time is worth nothing to you

That seems awfully ignorant.

Linux allows me to do things that actually make money.

And Windows allows almost all the people on the planet who use it to do things that "actually make money".  The fact you are in some tiny niche so small that Linux is the only OS that works for you doesn't translate to the rest of the world.

I had a several paragraph response typed out to this, and then I realized it doesn't matter what I say.

For the most part, when IT people (or gun people, or car people, or X people) recommend a product, system, or service, they recommend it from the standpoint of "what do I think is really fuckin cool?" or "what would I get if I had unlimited resources to spend on this project?" What the user actually needs doesn't even enter the picture when they are making their recommendation.

With that said, I am of the opinion that if you have hours to spend on troubleshooting bullshit, or if you have someone who is willing to do that for you, go with a flavor of linux. If you want a PC that just turns on and works(which, regardless of what people say in this thread and others, happens for a billion people a day), go with Windows.

Plenty of distros are tailored to noobs. All turnkey. Your view of Linux is a decade old.

I got through my entire BS program using OpenOffice without a single issue. And that was years ago. 

I disagree, but keep living in your fantasy land. I'll stick to reality, where Linux makes up less than 1% of the Steam hardware survey.

Do a clean install of Windows 10 (download straight from Microsoft) and get a paid version of Microsoft Office.  This will cut out the preinstalled crap that comes on lots of prebuilt computers.

If you use Linux and open/libre office you're going to end up with a huge headache at some point when something in the OS breaks and you have no idea how to fix it.  I've had Libre Office literally destroy some MS Office formatting of multiple forms I use for work, and it was quite a problem.  As some others have suggested, if you want to play around with Linux do it on virtualbox so that you won't be screwed when something doesn't work as planned.

By reading this thread you would think that over half of arfcommers are Linux wizards, and it's the most popular OS ever created.  Neither are true.  Linux is just not a viable Windows replacement for the end user.

Elementary OS is my main operating system.
I have a Macbook Pro I use occasionally.

OP all you need to try out any Linux distro is download it, burn it to DVD then reboot your computer.
The OS you burned should boot up and you will be given the option to try it out. This will not make any changes to your computer.
The OS will be very slow running it this way and is not the full experience as installing it will give you.

Linux isn't for everyone, and you will have to learn some things, but if you stick with it things will become familiar and you will find there is a lot of really good (and free) software for Linux and many tasks become fast and easier than previous ways on Windows.

Do new Windows machines still come with the extra partition for burning Windows to a DVD for later installation?
If so you may want to burn your copy and take note of the key before installing over Windows.
Dual booting is easy if you decide you want to do it.

Download this free book to help you get started learning.
http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php/

New OEM windows 10 keys are tied to the motherboard that first activates them. If you have an issue that requires you to reinstall, you simply reinstall and your system activates the first time it's on the internet. No dealing with partitions or burning disks. If you have to replace the motherboard, you call and they give you a new activation code, not a big deal.

Retail keys are entirely different.

Oh OK.
I haven't messed with Windows in a while so wasn't sure if it worked the same way as it used to long ago.
Thanks for clearing that up.

Windows.



I used to give Linux a try once a year or so and had a lot of problems, usually hardware related, even with the Ubuntu like distros that are supposed to be easier. Not like I was trying to use Gentoo or roll my own distro.

Keep in the mind the following anecdote is across different hardware and exhibited the same behavior. One of the earliest problems I had was the pcspkr module (like the one that makes a beep in terminal when you do something it doesn't like), PC would randomly freeze when the beep is triggered and the beep keeps playing until the power is forcefully cut. Easy enough, I just disabled that module. 

Next was some apparent problem with APIC (not ACPI) across different hardware... either no video on boot or hard freezing (especially during setup). I could pass 'noapic' to work around it but the deal with that it is that disabled USB & power management among other things making my system essentially worthless. I tried other combinations to be able to boot and have fully functioning hardware to no avail. Compiling a new kernel after installation restored all functionality  without having  to use any parameters, but this meant that in say Ubuntu I couldn't use their supplied driver for certain hardware like nVidia video cards since I am not using their supplied kernel, and would have to compile/install those myself from the manfacturer. If I had any issues, I'd be on my own for support. I am savvy enough to follow a guide to compile the kernel but not provide my own support.

Other issues:
- When booting, randomly unable to connect to my network (wired, not some exotic wireless device) and when it can't causes a really, really long boot time and the only remedy for connecting to my network again is to play the lottery and reboot the system and hope it works.
- On a clean install, and getting the install up to date, inexplicably and fatally fails in the middle and leaves the system in a really FUBAR'd state. Clean install and play the lottery again.

Finally: dependencies. Just about everything shares dependencies and are not statically linked, or not distributed compartmentalized like in Windows.  If you want the latest software in Linux you have to use an unstable repo because it can literally make your system unstable, or compile it yourself and hope the compile process doesn't vomit about some missing development libraries. Even among GNU software in Windows they do not have to worry about third-party libraries conflicting. For example, I have many open and closed source programs that use Qt or GTK among many minor libraries, but none of them conflict because they supply the DLLs needed or are compiled statically.

Ain't nobody got time fo' that.

 what classes are you going to start taking? Are any of them called "Intro to Linux"? Or "Linux System Administration"? Does your new school offer those classes?

If you want to get your feet wet with Linux, and then possibly move into full on Unix systems, that's the best way to do it if you don't have any other experience with Linux.

Or get this book Linux+ study guide

I'd vote Windows then just add other things with Chocolatey.

I spent 15 years with Linux on the desktop and probably way too many hours cursing at graphics driver kernel panics, corrupt apt caches, mount locks and other pains I didn't even know existed. Now I spend the vast majority of time on osx and just VM or shell into purpose built alpine/docker environments.

Both.  My primary machines are Windows.  I've got some of the single board computers floating around with various flavors of Linux for different things.  Have a couple of Linux virtual machines I use also.   I keep thinking about going to it on my primary machines, but it's not quite there for me yet.

That's nice.  

If you have to do anything other than generate essentially rich text documents, that's not going to work.

... double

Windows on my main laptop due to software requirements.

Linux Mint on my smaller laptop that I take when out and about.

Quite like Mint. All *nixes have their own quirks, but it's pretty friendly and a good option for a non-particularly-technically-minded person considering converting over to the light side of the Force.

Running some other versions (and embarrassingly enough, I can't remember which ones) on other servers in the house. I think they're mostly Ubuntu-based.

Isn't that the majority of what a college student would need to generate? The OP doesn't sound like he is going into accounting or other such fields where the more complex stuff in Excel is going to hold him back. 

OK, there's clearly some animosity here from the elderly.

Here's my "everyone wins" solution.

HyperV + RDS server (and all associated goodness). Linux on the laptop with Remmina. Use the Linux laptop to access a Windows remote desktop. Best of both worlds!

Though in true Linux fashion, you might want to add a script to your desktop along the lines of "cd ~/.freerdp rm knownhosts" due to certificate issues with Remmina. It's one of those charming little quirks I mentioned previously.

This... might not be the cheapest option

It has been a few years since I tried it last, but OpenOffice puked all over my formatted tables and in-line graphics.

I found that if you started and created the content entirely in OO, then it was fair to pretty good, but trying to open and edit large extant .docx and .xlsx files lead to trouble with almost 100% certainty.

It sounds like I need to play around with some of the new stuff. When I was in school all the cool kids were running slackware or FreeBSD, and they both had a learning curve that made Eve Online look like learning to play checkers

All the guys I was in class with were all Linux geeks, so any shared documents were already in OO. Hell a couple of the professors had no problem with OO files. Any PP stuff was done from our personal laptops to the projector, so format didn't matter there either. But I certainly can see editing native MS files and having issues.

I have had good success with Libre Office over the years. My day to day involves large data sets so using their version of Excel gets used multiple times a day. I can't recall a time where importing docs has caused huge issues but there have been some (moving from Google Sheets/Excel/Libre usually has formatting issues).

It isn't, really.

Sounds like you're not the average user.

Virtualization, R&D, and actual work is easily done in a Windows environment too.  In fact, if you haven't noticed, there's lots of Winders systems around the professional environment.

Huh?
Shitloads of money are made with Linux.

The internet more or less runs on Linux.
Where I work, all of the back network "appliances" run Linux and the data center switches and high end routers run OS's that are Linux based (NX-OS and IOS XE).
The bulk of mobil devices run Android and IOS which are based on Linux and BSD.
It's safe to bet most IoT devices are running Linux.

Windows is used largely for Active Directory, Coprorate desktops, Office, file servers and DNS/DHCP on corporate LANS
The home desktop/laptop market is roughly 85% windows.
The Surface laplet seems to be selling well.
Windows phone has a market share of 8.5 people.

Linux is a not an artsy fartsy niche operating system for nerds.  
Windows is not going away anytime soon.
If you are an IT professional, you had best know your away around both OS's.

I run Ubuntu on my personal laptop.... just my preference.

But if you're the average home user who plays some games, surfs teh arfcoms, and reads emails it's a bunch of fucking around with the other OS'es for what - to surf the interwebz a few thousandths of a millisecond faster?  Modern comps with SSD drives make a few percentage points of efficiency negligible.

But hey, if you like doing that, knock yourself out.  I did once.

What, precisely, is the desktop share for Linux?

2-3% for depending on who you ask...

About the same percentage as people who care about privacy.

You think Linux gives you privacy?

And that's my point.

It allows you to be as private as you want to be.  That's literally impossible with OSX or Windows.

Are you saying Ubuntu is not to be trusted?  
I ordered a 500 gig ssd drive to dual boot windows 7 64 bit. I was going to get Ubuntu but not if it is not secure.
How about Linux Mint is that secure? I am taking classes on Python coding and I'm getting pissed off with Microsoft's bull shit.  So I want to move away from windows.

So market share is how we judge a good OS? Interdasting.

I don't have near the problems with my Linux rigs that the wife does with her Win10 laptop. Same with my son's Linux rig. They just work. Updates are a breeze. Hers just hangs for no apparent reason.

That said, use the right tool for the job. I don't game and have no intention to. I work with RHEL at the office so I run it on the home server and use Linux clients. For development (Ruby and Java) it works fine.

I believe he's saying Tails Linux is under the watchful eye of the Feds due to it's nature of trying to remain anonymous on the web (Tails Linux). It seems like if you use Tor or a VPN, the Feds think you have something to hide and will, therefore, pay particular attention to you.

Linux distros are more trustworthy than the mainstream alternatives IMO.

I make my living with Linux/UNIX. My work desktop is Linux Mint and I run a VM with windows 10 for all of the MS Office and other corporate stuff. We also run many windows based servers and have no issues with them.

That said all of my personal PCs run Windows 10. It works well and causes no problems. Most of the specialized software I use for hobbies runs on windows.

Linux is fine and I don't have issues with it but the same goes for windows. For most people Windows 10 is the right choice.

Get Both,

Multi boot linux partition or VMware

I started with a commodore, later DOS, then DOS on a UNIX network, then sat at the UNIX station.  Have had most of the windows versions (except vista).  At home my first linux was red hat.  Put it on hand me down computer and let the kids have it.  They were getting plenty of windows time at school but I wanted them to see more.  For 3-4 years I never re-booted the linux machine (this is with a pair of 8 & 11 year old kids on it).  Very reliable.

At this point I run windows 7 on my corporate issued laptop,  windows 8 with classic shell on my laptop. and Ubunto on home stuff.  Am in process of getting it set up on wifes laptop right now.  

Windows has gotten better but the reliability and the amount of software for linux is amazing.  Yesterday I needed functions found in ArcGIS.  I don't have it and its crazy expensive.  Lo and behold,  there are several alternatives for linux, one of which I installed and got what I needed done in about an hour.

Not a fan of microsoft and forced upgrades and software revisions that add no better functionality but make you re-learn what you already knew.  My favorite was when my service company boss I worked through at the time used to bitch at me to buy outlook and "get rid of that bootleg crap (openoffice).  One day he sent me something he couldn't open, it was his first shot at words new .docx (not .doc) format.  I opened it in open office,  saved it back to .doc format, sent it to him and explained microsoft was now forcing him to upgrade.  He never said shit to me again about my bootleg crap.

Get both and start learning.  Ubunto 16.04 has option for dual boot, leaving old os in place and letting you select partitioning. Or just run it for a while on a usb stick.

Don't forget that the entirety of wall street runs on Linux.  

Nothing else can handle low latency trading.  

I disagree on the home desktop/laptop.   Apple has a huge chunk of that.  

Those that are bashing Linux are doing so with a kindergarten level of where it's at in 2016, and are not considering that for 99% of people, all they need anymore is a full featured browser, and everything they do occurs or can happen in that.  

Turdperfect, MicrosoftJerkOffice and proprietary formats they championed are obsoleted by google docs and have been for some time.  

If you have to ask, go with Windows.  If you knew enough IT to handle Linux, you would have already installed it and never had to ask.

No.

In fact that's one of the funnier things I've read all day.

Both OSX and Windows provide better privacy and security than Linux does.

Or, instead of snipping out my quotes you could look at and understand the discussion rather than jumping in and arguing against an assertion I didn't make.

Linux on the desktop has been completely rejected, because Linux isn't an operating system designed for desktop use.  It's a teaching tool that somehow people decided to build an OS around.  

If OP is asking the question "where do I get a Linux CD", he isn't anywhere near ready to successfully install and configure Linux as a primary desktop OS, no matter what distro is recommended to him.

If all you care about is basic word processing/email/web browsing, it will do the job as a basic desktop OS.  So will a Chromebook, for a hell of a lot less hassle.

The biggest problem with desktop Linux is the lack of consumer oriented software for it, commercial or FOSS.