Mac OS, windows, or Linux?

Question

I downloaded Ubuntu 12.10 and it was okay for a while. It is good for just browsing the internet, but I found that a lot of things weren't available. libre office is a good Office program, but not if you have to make a presentation at home and then share it at school or work. people always say that Linux is a better operating system, because it is open, and you can do so much more with it. well what exactly can you do with Linux that you can't do with Mac or Windows? Linux would be fine if there weren't so many proprietary drivers that you needed to obtain. for instance, on my laptop, when I ran Linux, I could never get my wifi to work. so it sort of defeats the purpose of having a laptop since I always had to drag around an Ethernet cable wherever I went. to me, Linux is more restrictive than Mac or Windows.
so now, I'm leaning towards Mac. The only reason being is because I don't want to get all the viruses that come with Windows. opinions / experiences?

Answer 1

Linux is definitely my recommendation. You're Wi-Fi issue is a little odd because I use Ubuntu 13.04 (and Debian wheezy) and I haven't needed to install any extra drivers. Also libre office can export to Microsoft office formats like pptx and docx just in case you didn't know. You could try the forums to see if there is a solution to your Wi-Fi and other issues. The only thing about Linux is that many people find it hard to learn, since I work in computer science regularly I understand the fine points of the shell/command line though people from windows and Mac are left in the dark. If your willing to put effort into figuring out how Linux behaves it's worth your time (you will probably spend a lot of time on the Ubuntu forums at first).



Of course if you decide against Linux I would pick windows. Only because Mac has a huge premium on hardware but no stronger than an 800 dollar PC from dell or someone. Just get an antivirus and you're good on windows.



By the way, you can try out a new desktop environment on Ubuntu if you want. One I like is KDE, out you can customize unity with tweaks from the software center

Answer 2

You could use windows wifi drivers. Also I'm beginning to think you're a troll, because you are gonna spend so much money on a Mac, yet you can buy a usb wifi stick for 10 bucks to work out the box in Linux. I have dealt with 10 different Wifi cards on laptops or usb and 9 of them worked out the box, the other 1 got installed after doing 10 minutes of work. Also Ubuntu is terrible. Try a distro called Ultimate Edition 3.4 or 3.6. They are 10 times better than Ubuntu and there are programs that do presentations if you look hard enough in the package manager. Linux has almost everything that windows or mac can do, but for free. Also Linux has lots of stuff that Mac or windows doesn't have. You can even make your Linux computer look exactly like a Mac by installing a program called Macbuntu, but many linux users don't do it because you can make your computer look far better with your own modifications and themes to the desktop. Try Ultimate Edition 3.4 full version and you will have tons of built in free software. Ubuntu is not as good as it was in 2009 and 2010, it looks horrible. Linux is still the safest out there, you need to learn more about it and don't give up. It's not hard to use, you only believe that because you are use to using windows, same thing will happen when you spend 2000 bucks on a Mac. BTW macs are unsecure when it comes to updates they are slow.

Answer 3

It would help if you could provide the information for the Wireless Chipset that your system is using.



Open a terminal and input : (without the GRAVE ACCENT ( ` ) )



`lspci -vv | grep -i wireless`



You should get something like :



`03:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9462 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)`



From there you should be able to find the proper driver. Linus and the other developers are also implementing more wireless drivers into the kernel; thus the newer kernels will most likely have what you need. I recommend that you go with Linux Mint or you can even give Manjaro a try. Manjaro is a rolling release and thus you can upgrade the kernel very easily (where in Ubunt/Linux Mint; you will need to install a vanilla kernel). You could also go with Korora https://kororaproject.org/ which is based on Fedora where (I believe) they also push out the new kernels.



You first question on Linux; you have full control of your system; you can also modify the kernel to your hearts content. In other words, you are given full freedom.



MacOSX is, for the most part, built upon FreeBSD. If you go the Apple route, you will be completely restricted when it comes to hardware.



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You can simply buy a copy of MS Office 2010 and install it via PlayOnLinux http://www.playonlinux.com/en/supported_apps-3-0.html (which I have used without any issue though I prefer libreoffice).



At any rate; it really depends on what it is you are trying to accomplish. Linux may not be your cup of tea. Just understand that there are more options out there besides Ubuntu http://distrowatch.com/

Answer 4

You did not dig into the problems deep enough.



Winblows is pi55 poor with drivers. It is the manufacturers of the devices that issue the drivers. The manufacturer of your computer choose to install a wireless adapter that only uses proprietary drivers. This is not a GNU/Linux problem, this is a crappy choice on the manufacturers part. Your wifi would not work under Winblows if it where not for the adapters manufacturer making a driver for Winblows. The exact same thing you are having a problem with under Ubuntu.



I would guess you have a Dell, because Dell is really crappy about things like this. I never have a problem with drivers with an HP. So it does depend on your computers manufacturer. If it is not a Dell, please say what it is so I know never to buy one.



Ubuntu does not ship with any proprietary drivers. Their philosophy is only open software. During install you can choose to install closed source software. There are many distros that ship with proprietary/closed source software. So you can not blame all GNU/Linux distros because your limited experience with a single distro.



I suggest to try other distros or choose to install restricted software during install of Ubuntu. Also do not try to use any GNU/Linux distro like you use Winblows. They may try to accomplish the same thing but they do it in different ways.



Open source is more than just a license. It is a philosophy. You either live by it or you do not. I believe that you should be able to change something to fit your needs, and also sharing any changes that you make so others can enjoy the benefits.



apple is the complete opposite of this philosophy. Remember they tried to sue people that jailbroke their phones. The government told them (apple) that they cant do that.

I agree with Richard Stallman when he stated, upon Steve Jobs death:

"I'm not glad he's dead, but I'm glad he's gone"



apple is the Nazis of the computer world.