To Linux or Not To Linux

[Deleted]

Oh the irony... You're demonstrating how to run a subscription based game with copyrighted music slapped on it (youtube won't play the video for me because of the music) for people who don't want to pay for their operating system...

Don't want to pay for their OS? As I see this, OP is running Windows 7 this very moment and is asking if Linux would be a better OS suited for him.

[Latitude]

As previous users have said try Ubuntu in VirtualBox or VMWare with Win7 as your primary. It will give you the ability to 1) Test to see if you like it 2) Begin the switchover to Linux or 3) Use Win7 for anything that doesn't work in a unix environment.

[Jaqera]

You can install it inside Windows Latitude. I would recommend that instead!

[Deleted]

Audio swap is pending with one of youtube's songs, was blocked everywhere except new zealand and australia :S never had it blocked like tht before. Normally they just silence the sound.

[Zyzzyx]

Unless you really want to get down and dirty with software/hardware, I really don't see any reason for the average user to use Linux. If you want to learn (and probably should), go for it, but for most people there's really no reason to go to Linux unless you actually care about paying for your OS, which many...don't, for their own reasons.

[BraveNewWorld]

I used Gentoo at the 1.2 release (that was around 2000-2001), and it was bleeding-edge at the time. Years have passed and now to get a bleeding-edge system you have to: run ~unstable, AND maintain a huge overlay (or use sunrise, but you'll never be really up to date).

That's why I've been using Arch for the past 3 years, it's been rock solid for me, and there's no different at all in system responsiveness / speed from not compiling software.

@ OP:

Linux Gaming has gone a long way in the last decade, I play WoW on linux myself sometimes and while I get a 50% fps loss, the game is perfectly playable. There are some stuff to be read at http://phoronix.com, http://www.linux-gamers.net/. There used to be an app based on Wine called "Cedega" by Transgaming, but I don't know if it's still worked on. (It used to cost $5 / Month).

anyways, good luck