Its Wednesday, it is another post about Linux. Last week, I posted about my top 5 reasons to switch to Linux. This week, I’m making sure I have a balanced argument why Linux is great, by giving you my reasons why not to use Linux. However, I have only come up with 4 reasons, if you have any, please post them in the comments.

  • Gaming - Linux has 100s of great games, many with online play. Many Windows games, such as Quake series and Doom series have been ported to Linux. However, most Windows games don’t work on Linux. If you are a huge PC gamer, stay away from Linux. However, advancements in WINE, has allowed Windows applications and games to be able to run on Linux, sometimes with better performance. In some cases, games have run as much as 100 frames per seconds more when playing on Linux than Windows! However, it can be hard to get all your games to work.
  • Propriety Software - Linux has 1000s of applications to meet everyone’s need. However, you may much prefer using Microsoft Office than Open Office or prefer using Photoshop than GIMP. If so, you may want to stick with Windows or Mac. Thankfully, WINE has enabled many Windows applications able to run on Linux, a good example is Microsoft Office. It has been very successful in running with Wine with very little issues. Like games, not all applications will work.
  • Hardware - Hardware issues is a huge problem on Linux. I see many posts each day on the Ubuntu Forums of users unable to get their hardware to work, even my last post was me explaining how to get the ATi cards working. Usually, sound cards, graphics cards and wifi cards cause the most problems. However, the Linux community are working together to create drivers for each piece of Hardware. Even companies like HP and nVidia do a great job producing Linux drivers for their products.
  • Terminal - Linux is all the time improving and becoming far easier to use. Sadly, many applications and fixes require the use of the terminal. From the start, I had to learn commands to input into the terminal to get errors fixed or install applications. Luckily, as Linux improves there is less need for the terminal, but it is still very likely you will have to use it.

That is my reasons for people to stick with Windows and Mac, but if you can think of any more reasons, please leave your comments.