Oswald Rant: Mac vs Linux vs Windows Part 1

Every now and again I am reminded that the Windows operating system is hardly the only choice for someone who wishes to use a computer. It’s easy to get in the habit of forgetting that not only do Mac and Linux exist….they flourish in their own right. When I decided to get involved in computers, it was strictly for the purpose of gaming. I rarely had the need to use one at work (at the time) and e-mail was just another thing I had heard about…like laptops and Coney Island Hot-Dogs, something I knew was out there; just had no real need for. While I knew what an apple was, the name itself simply brought to mind either a red delicious, or a black box on a classroom desktop that could write in glowing green letters. Then of course there was the new OS, Linux, which I had persisted for years in pronouncing as Lie-nux. This should be able to demonstrate which type of computer was the one I became involved with. I started out using Win 95′ and as time went on, being comfortable with this system; I kept with it, graduating to 98′ , 98′ upgrade, ME, and now I have WIN XP, which I am extremely happy with, by far the best WIN OS I have ever used. Of course one of the main reasons I am still a Win user is obvious enough…the Games baby!!!
No matter what argument people make as either for or against Windows, in an attempt to establish the dominance of their particular flavor of OS, the bottom line for me is simple…the huge variety of games readily available right off the shelf of your favorite geekstore. No special ordering…No porting, No waiting for a release version that I need. This of course is all about gaming, (I am not a tech) of course I recognize the fact that Mac and Linux are probably more than capable in competing with Windows in all other areas. I also do not consider myself to be anything other than a casual user of my PC. For this reason I decided to ask for the opinion of peep’s who enjoy using Mac and Linux. I asked four or five simple questions which generated the answers I was looking for. I hope you find something you can relate to here, and maybe something useful. To start, I asked the most obvious question for each user…let’s start with the Linux crowd.

Q.) Did you ever use Windows or Mac before?. A.) (GoldReaver) “Yes, Win 98′” A.) (DesignXP) “Yes I did, and about all the versions of them I must say, So yes; I’m freaky with Windows.” A.) (|SAB|ham) “Yes, and I still do. However, with new options like crossover office, vmware, and wine, I am looking to go 100% Linux again. I tend to flip back and forth between 100% Linux and having a single Windows box “lying around.” As you can see by the answers, everyone here had a rootbase in Windows at some point or other, none of these guys have a serious Mac history, rather they were all transplanted Windows users. The next question was only partly answered by both |SAB|ham and DesignXP, only Goldie answered the full question, so we still dont have a very good idea about the question itself.

Q.) Why did you decide to go with Linux, was it a gaming decision? A.) (GoldReaver) “It was partially a gaming decision, the other part is that Windows started to feel “real clumsy” and Linux was making it’s real debute at the time. I wanted to give it a shot. My Dad said I would quit Linux within half a year, that was about three years ago… A.) (DesignXP) ” I always used Linux as a second OS, mainly for experimenting with stuff, but I never took the OS very seriously, since I knew from the start it wasnt as easy going as Windows, especially when you think of the software comparison…nobody cant deny that.” A.) (|SAB|ham) ” I’ve been using Linux since 1994, and i’ve always had a unix box around since. As a professional Unix Admin.

I value the power and control that unix in general; gives me.” Notice that Gold was the only one of the three to answer the gaming part of that question, while I was interested in their viewpoint for the purposes of a comparison of OS’s for gaming, it became apparent that these guy’s value their Linux for much more than mere gaming:) My next question was worded carefully to prevent a recurrence,they couldnt hide from it this time…

Q.) Which do you think is a better platform for gaming, Linux or Windows? A.) (GoldReaver) “Linux! It’s faster and much more stable than any Windows version I have ever seen. I’d love to see more games for Linux though. Maybe some ported games from the playstation 2, because it uses Linux as well:)” A.) (DesignXP) “Overall, I think Windows is a better gaming platform, but in a technical sense; I would say that Linux has got a lot to offer when it comes to the smoothness and speed of certain games designed for it.” A.) (|SAB|ham) ” The only game I have played under both Windows and Linux is Q3 and Urban Terror. I find that gameplay is equal under both. I know many people would argue that point, but I am very good at making Linux work. I also keep my system very clean which makes a big difference. For example; I use the fluxbox window manager which takes a lot less to run then say…a Gnome or KDE desktop. For me, Linux will always be a superior platform to Windows for so many reasons. However, the ability to control your box completely, to squeeze the most out of it, and the fast, open nature of it’s development, would have to be my two reasons for preferring Linux. It really is on the cutting edge of computing.”

Like Windows, there are many different versions of Linux on the market. The difference here is that many of these are current, i.e.. Windows comes out with a new version every two years or so, while Linux is constantly evolving. It is not unusual to see two or three versions come out simultaneously. I was sent a list of all the versions available. Rather than listing them all down,I simply asked my next question…

Q.) Which version of Linux do you prefer…Red Hat etc.. A.) (GoldReaver) ” Debian. Even though when I started with Linux I wouldnt get past the install, I prefer Debian now. RedHat, Mandrake and Suse are good distributions for beginners. As for me; I wanted to switch to another version later that uses less GUI’s to set options.” A.) (DesignXP) ” I’d say Mandrake is by far the easiest, and very newb wise, this is good for those who wish to start experimenting with Linux.” A.) (|SAB|ham) ” I use Gentoo Linux (www.gentoo.org) exclusively. I am biased though; since I run the Web, CVS, RSYNC server for Gentoo. However, I came to Gentoo from freeBSD when looking for a Linux distro I could stand on my desktop. I found Gentoo and have never looked back. It’s full set of features, and modular build system are unmatched. It also has excellent Nvidia driver support:)”

Now that we heard these guys rant about how great they think Linux is, I decided to see if we could get an objective opinion out of them. Keep in mind that next week, when they read the column about Mac’s, they will be wonderfully objective:) Let’s see how they do here….

Q.) What difficulties do you find using Linux, when most games and downloads are Windows friendly? A.) (GoldReaver) ” I find little difficulties with Linux itself; getting it to run all your hardware correctly. But when it’s setup right; it stays right, and most difficulties are gone then. With games it’s a different story. The emulators I use to emulate Windows (this does not apply to games that can be found on www.lokigames.com/) is changing all the time, sometimes it works fine, a few versions later; nothing.” A.) (DesignXP) ” I cant say that I have experimented with a lot of games in Linux…slap me silly:)” A.) (|SAB|ham) ” Well…obviously…if there is no Linux version, it makes playing that game difficult under Linux. There are obviously going to be issues when playing games under emulation or in virtual machines. I have not played any games not speciffically ported to Linux, but plan to in the near future. I am starting my own company to provide services to clans, and I want to focus on making games work well under Linux. I plan on having a set of Linux forums to share the knowledge and encourage others to experiment.

Well there you have it folks, part 1 of this battle royale…which OS will take top honors? next week will be the Mac users turn to sound off, and the following week I will wrap things up with the windows segment, I havent made up my mind yet on weather or not to have an official vote on Mac or Linux, we shall see. Also, take note of my man ham above, if you are a clan looking for this type of help give him a holler @ damon@3jane.net, sounds like a man who knows what he is doing to me:).

As usual, I asked my interviewees for prospects to be considered baddest player in the land for this week, last weeks voting was non existent, even though there were some candidates….as I recall, there was only one vote from fadedlogix…for iLL-insanityhorse….He wins…..nuff said. this week your choices are…….drumroll……………. 1) -|SAB|-Grape-ape 2) Gr33d

Add your vote to your reply plz. from now on I am adding something new to the end of my column. If you could ask Oswald any question you wanted…what would it be….

A.) (Goldreaver) “I ask him lot’s of stuff directly, I havent got any questions now.” A.) (DesignerXP) ” It’s squeaky time and your late…get it on!!!” A.) (|SAB|ham) “Oswald: are there any plans to release the Urban Terror code under an open source License? Perhaps the BSD License, which gives you the flexibility to make proprietary improvements without releasing them?”

Last but not least,

Quote of the week: “Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt on your face. Then the worms eat you. …Be grateful it happens in that order.”

Peace…..|SAB|MightyJoeYoung