I used linux for a while (drive failed, didn’t bother reinstalling it), and it’s a solid operating system, works well, but I’d rather use OS X any day. Both are Unix OS’s, and for the most part OS X is simple and just works. If OS X would work on my laptop (audio and wireless don’t work) I would have used it, because both are a better programming environment then windows.
I’ve used Linux for a while and I liked it. If it wasn’t for games, I’d be using Linux. Maybe valve will port their games to Linux too.
Wine.
Steam runs fine, haven’t tried playing games yet though.
You lost a lot of frames per second.
But that is expected - its emulated.
Technically it’s not emulated. I only lost ~10 fps in HL2DM and I’m pretty sure that had more to do with me running a compositing WM on a crappy computer than it had to do with wine.
And disregarding my avatar, linux technically isn’t unix based, either.
I would be using linux 100% if it wasn’t for games. And I play mostly valve games and old games anyway, so if Valve ports source to linux, I would be able to run most of my games between wine and native binaries.
^this basically
I dual boot Ubuntu and Windows. I use Ubuntu for general use(web-browsing and such) because I find it much simplier. and I really only use windows for steam. If Valve ever releases a linux source port i’d probably use Ubuntu as my only OS.
and my experience with Mac OSX I can say its not bad but Linux is far superior in terms of compatibility and price of the OS and software.
Just thought I’d throw a little fire into the discussion and mention that the source engine is being ported to OSX. I think sometime this April. so all half-life 2 mods/games (including black mesa source) can be run natively on mac, and they won’t need to purchase a mac version, if you have the windows one you get the mac one.
However, just as they have been very quiet about this up until now, they have made no mention of Linux support, but there is strong evidence that they will eventually release it for Linux.
When that day comes I can say goodbye to windows forever 
oh… and, Linux FTW!
Source engine is being ported over, correct. However, a lot of mods use additional coding that probably won’t work on iSource (hoho). I think it’s a given that BMS won’t be compatible with iSource.
And the only evidence that Valve is thinking about Linux, is the LinkedIn post of Chris Green stating that they are looking for Mac/Linux engineers. Apart from that, no mention was mad of anything Linux related.
And I somehow doubt they’d support an open source OS anyway.
Interesting. So I guess that limits the games that will be available, but I do know Team Fortress 2 will be available for sure.
Also there is some more evidence than that.
The game Postal III is being released for Linux, and it is using the Source engine. So I believe that would mean that they would have to have the source engine working with Linux.
Also, a while back there were job postings on the steam website of positions for software engineers to “port Windows-based games to the Linux platform.”
https://www.valvesoftware.com/job-SenSoftEngineer.html
and also some linux .so files started showing up in some source game directories or something.
But, there is still plenty of reason to be doubtful. For instance, the software engineer could be working on other games (postal III for instance). Also I guess just because they can get a working Linux build of the source engine (and if the post that Bolteh mentioned is correct then they already have one) that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will release it for all Half-Life 2 games/mods.
However, I am big a supporter of Linux, and as such I choose to remain optimistic.
At this rate, we’ll be able to port the source engine to mobile phones and portable consoles.
Half Life 1 on Gameboy Advance xD That would be quite fun actually.
I am a defiantly pro-OSX, but linux is cool too
It is accessible, and nice to look at .
And steam will come to it to, that is going to be so awesome.
I work 50%windows 50%OSX
I much prefer Linux over OSX. The debian packages are very nicely organized within Ubuntu, as are all of the applications’ menus. Nautilus, the directory browser, is a breeze to navigate the filesystem with. When I first installed Ubuntu and started looking at the software for download, it was like emerging from a Borg maturation chamber and being plugged into the collective mind. Every once in a while there’d be some issue with the synaptic link, and I’d go google the precise issue if I didn’t understand it, and the answer was already there alongside its solution.
OSX takes the “user-friendly” approach, which means strip the user of authority to do anything interesting, and give them a lot of animated icons. When I first had to use use OSX at the university, it felt like my hands were replaced with feet and my feet were replaced with two left hands. And I was expected to practice karate. I suppose I could make up some new moves that way… but it’s just not going to be effective. Also, using Safari for the first time was like replacing one arm with a knub and one leg with a tentacle, and being expected to ride an offroad bicycle. But the good news is, all the trees are padded. (The ground, however, isn’t.)
…I can’t resist:
Using Windows Vista is like wearing plastic bags and trying to ride a motorcycle through an automated car wash, with the soap suds artificially flavoured to taste like blackberries. But it’s not quite right, they taste more like unripened blackberries.
OSX doesn’t strip the user from any authority at all. It merely hides things for the regular user that has no need for authority. You can easily mess around in OSX if you really wanted to, but unlike Linux (which is built with the sole purpose of people messing around) and Windows (which messes around even if you don’t want to), the default OS doesn’t let you mess around by accident.
None. Personal Computers suck. All of them.
Which operating system do you think is better for gaming? I don’t do much gaming and when I do, it’s primarily Valve/Steam games (click my little stats box to see how much I play) but when I get the urge to do (like last night ), I want to be able to do it and not be limited on the choices I have or the limitations of the system.
Which is better for gaming? OSX or Linux?
Linux can theoretically run anything, but OSX will have Valve support soon. SO tough call really.