A simple way to cool down your house and reduce your reliance on AC is to install a Linux variant. The math is simple: Linux is much more efficient, so your CPU will work less, producing less waste heat, cooling your house!
Posted by Herblay (Member # 11834) on :
But Linux is stupid?!? And you can't get good game drivers / compatibility.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
Linux causes more heat in my house because while my husband is computer saavy and has no trouble with it, I am endlessly frustrated by the number of applications that simply do not work under Linux without monumental effort. When I ask him how to run them, he takes me through a series of command-line commands that I just don't have any good reason to remember in between uses. Also, there are a number of web pages that refuse service to me under Linux -- ABC, for example, wouldn't let me watch Lost.
But I still have Linux. Because Windows sucks. It's like politics -- lesser of two evils.
Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
I wonder how much the decreased heat output is mitigated by the fact that many Linux users are living in their parents' basements, where the temperature is generally more moderate to begin with.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
Yeah, and don't forget the greenhouse gas buildup in the local environs.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
Anyway, this is nothing compared to computational cooling (Sadly the pricing model involves a permanent conscription).
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
quote:Originally posted by Herblay: But Linux is stupid?!? And you can't get good game drivers / compatibility.
I've had decent luck with Wine on Ubuntu, but a lot of it depends on the graphics and sound cards. Fortunately, the major manufacturers are now making pretty decent linux drivers, but this is mostly for their new cards, so older ones are likely out of luck.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
So the drivers are coming along for Linux...are the game publishers publishing compatible executables?
Posted by Herblay (Member # 11834) on :
I don't have to spend any time getting my OS to work. And I don't have to fiddle with software. I can play every new game that comes out. And all of those statements would be false if I was running Linux.
People have a problem with Windows, but having everybody working toward one goal is what have us the information revolution. Microsoft is the product of software and hardware people working together to create one standard instead of splintering off a million ways like they had for so many years (and we've seen in other digital industries). Just like Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD, some times multiple standards hurts the industry.
Good thing that nobody really takes Linux (or Mac) seriously. I can't imagine if corporate trended toward that garbage.
Google may be on to something with Gears, though.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
Nearly all the good games are already Linux compatible so your games if they arent compatible obviously suck.
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
quote:Originally posted by scifibum: So the drivers are coming along for Linux...are the game publishers publishing compatible executables?
For the most part, no. However, wine compatibility has come a long, long way, and there's a decent chance that games will run provided that the computer meets the recommended hardware easily.
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
quote:Originally posted by Herblay: I don't have to spend any time getting my OS to work. And I don't have to fiddle with software. I can play every new game that comes out. And all of those statements would be false if I was running Linux.
Your mileage may vary, but I've had a much easier time with Ubuntu installs than Windows installs. Likewise, I've had an easier time diagnosing and fixing problems in Ubuntu.
I won't deny that there have been times where I've spent a few hours poring over man pages and the command line, but at least it generally resulted in a fixed problem. I have had comparable issues before on windows, except that when they happened in Windows I was often forced to give up before fixing the problem because there either was no fix or it relied on some obscure component that was completely undocumented.
Again, I'm not going to say that Linux is perfect, but I'm currently of the opinion that at least on certain distributions it is easier and more user friendly than windows out of the box. Moreover, it is improving at a considerably faster pace than windows.
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
quote:Originally posted by Christine: under Linux -- ABC, for example, wouldn't let me watch Lost.
Nothing lets you watch lost. From windows to osx I have never gotten it to go. It is a conspiracy, there is nothing to watch.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
quote:Originally posted by Christine: But I still have Linux. Because Windows sucks. It's like politics -- lesser of two evils.
In what ways does Windows suck compared to Linux not allowing you to use your computer? I agree that Windows is far from perfect, but I can run any programs I want, use any websites I want, and use a GUI instead of command line.
I'd say in your case, Linux sounds like the greater of two evils.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
quote:Good thing that nobody really takes Linux (or Mac) seriously
Yeah, web servers would be all sorts of messed up if anybody got the idea to use Linux.
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
quote:Originally posted by MightyCow: In what ways does Windows suck compared to Linux not allowing you to use your computer? I agree that Windows is far from perfect, but I can run any programs I want, use any websites I want, and use a GUI instead of command line.
Have you actually used Linux recently? You're basically just rehashing a bunch of tired Linux cliches that haven't actually been true for years.
At this point, I have a hard time seeing how someone could actually say "Linux not allowing you to use your computer" with a straight face without a massive amount of hyperbole or willful ignorance.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
quote:Originally posted by ricree101: At this point, I have a hard time seeing how someone could actually say "Linux not allowing you to use your computer" with a straight face without a massive amount of hyperbole or willful ignorance.
I was just commenting on the irony of Christine's post, in which she makes it clear that Linux is painful for her to use, but then says that it's better than Windows.
I don't have anything against Linux personally.
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
quote:Originally posted by MightyCow:
quote:Originally posted by Christine: But I still have Linux. Because Windows sucks. It's like politics -- lesser of two evils.
In what ways does Windows suck compared to Linux not allowing you to use your computer? I agree that Windows is far from perfect, but I can run any programs I want, use any websites I want, and use a GUI instead of command line.
I'd say in your case, Linux sounds like the greater of two evils.
You know...I wouldn't even mind some of the older versions of Windows but as they cost hundreds of dollars and I can't transfer them from computer to computer, when I bought my new computer I was stuck with Vista. And on Vista, there were a few problems. The most notable and annoying was that my mouse wouldn't work half the time. I had to reboot my machine twice a day to get it started again. Programs would freeze up. The system would crash. I couldn't play music...my music, it didn't seem to care whether I'd actually stolen it or not...I don't remember all the problems I had before I finally gave up and let my husband install Linux, but basically no, it wouldn't just run my programs and let me use a GUI. Linux has a GUI for most of my daily uses. It's just that it seems installing things usually requires me to go to command line. Actually, yesterday he suggested I could install things through the GUI, but that he found the method tedious....sigh...I think the biggest problem with Linux is that as it's an open source thing it's not well documented.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I have OSX, and it does very well for me. I do have parallels in case I need to run a windows program, but I don't need it very often.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
Used Ubuntu for a little while. Found it a massive step backwards from the debian distro concept. haven't bothered with linux or any I'M SO INDIE platforms since.
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
quote:Originally posted by Christine: .I think the biggest problem with Linux is that as it's an open source thing it's not well documented.
There is a fair amount of material floating around, especially if you use one of the more popular distributions such as Ubuntu. A lot of times, you can get an answer to a problem with a simple google search (especially if you add + ubuntu to the end of the query).
However, a lot of the material is written by people who prefer the command line, so except for the most common issues you might have to open up the terminal. The good news, however, is that for a lot of problems, you will be able to simply copy + paste the command into your command prompt.
quote: Samprimary Used Ubuntu for a little while. Found it a massive step backwards from the debian distro concept. haven't bothered with linux or any I'M SO INDIE platforms since.
Out of curiosity, in what ways did you find it a step back? I've only used Debian in a limited fashion, so I don't have a good basis for comparison.
Also, when did you try it? As I said earlier, Ubuntu has come a long way within the past couple years.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Christine: my hubby bought me a laptop for xmas a coupla years ago. It had vista on it. It wasn't hard to wipe and reinstall with XP. If you have an old machine with a windows XP license, just use the key from that. (Wipe XP off the old machine first though, and transfer the sticker.)
Posted by ricree101 (Member # 7749) on :
Make sure to check whether it is a 32 bit or 64 bit system first, though.
If it's 32 bit, then it shouldn't be a problem to install XP. If it's 64, then the existing XP disk likely won't work, and I've heard bad things about the 64 bit XP version.