Is it worth getting Linux?

[CJ]

Hi i know nothing about Linux but was wondering would it be worth me getting it to put on my slave Drive?

What could i use it for that i cant do in Windows?

I dont know anything about it so plz give me all the advise you can

[Piglet]

All I can really advise is read all the topics in this forum over the past month, then you will get some links to some newbie sites etc. I don't really know what your interested in, but if you consider yourself to be interested in computers I belive you should find it very interesting, and if you don't like the cost is hardly gonna bankrupt you (a linux distrobution is free to download) and then you will be much more knowledgable about it and will get a lot more respect from the hacker community.

Piglet...

[[JKDB]MaVeRicK]

CJ its not that you can use it for anything else,its that fact that if you want a robust stable and darn site more secure OS then install Linux.

I've been running Suse for just over a year at home after getting it for the server at work, and there is no way I'm gonna go back to Windoze now.
It aint easy to get into and if your new to it make your machine duel-boot with windoze and Linux.
If you use a Broadband connection for the net or are thinking of getting one then security is your main concern, thats where Linux wins hands down, Ok so for gaming your gonna need to use windoze in most cases, but Linux and Open source is the way forward.

[aef]

Linux is an operating system that, to all intents and purposes, is a version of Unix.

Linux has its advantages over Win32. It is much more reliable and less prone to crashes. It is (arguably) more secure. I would certainly say that with sufficient knowledge you can /make/ it secure, which isn't so much the case with Windows. It is generally more powerful that Windows (harder to learn, but easier to use) and much better suited for use as a server OS.

It's not as good for highly-graphical games, and it's harder to learn.

The main reasons that you might want to use Linux are (IMO) for use as a programming environment, for use as a web/other server, to have a reliable tool for common PC tasks (reading email, browsing the web, etc), and to learn about computers and the Internet in general, and Unix/Linux in particular. It has been said[1] that you tend to learn a lot more about Windows from using Linux than you do from using windows.

Unix is a serious[tm] OS which is used on many, many servers and big systems. (ISTR that now Linux is running on more than half of all web servers.) So, Unix/Linux knowledge is not a bad thing to have.

In summary, you get to learn all about computers, the Internet, life, the universe and everything - and hopefully have some fun in doing so.

Shove Linux on your second disk - if you decided to get rid of it later, you easily can.

AEF