<p>I'm going to college this year, and I was wondering what OS I should use. I have a Toshiba Satellite, and I was wondering if I should go with Linux or Windows. I'm going to primarily have classes in the sciences and plan to major in mathematics and neurobiology. Should I use Linux, or should I use Windows Vista?</p>
<p>windows , Linux is more for the computer advanced h4x0r 1e8t crowd.</p>
<p>depends on how geeky you are. do you know what chmod is, or the difference between a tarball and a binary is? if not, stick with windows.</p>
<p>The fact that you didn't mention the possibility of dual boot makes me inclined to recommend windows - but so many distros make dual boot so easy these days that it almost doesn't matter. If you want to learn linux I'd run both OS's (actually I do now). Don't run linux exclusively. I would recommend openSuSE or fedora or mandriva for an easier install or gentoo if you really want to give yourself a headache but learn lots in the process. YaST with opensuse makes dual boot a breeze, much easier then with gentoo.</p>
<p>I'm assuming you've never used linux before, so if you really want to use it, I would recommend to dual boot ubuntu with xp (vista blows), its the most widely used and popular linux distribution for a reason: its the easiest to use and learn.</p>
<p>My Vista experience has been better than my XP ever was (once you turn off all the crap...but all windows versions do that).</p>
<p>Linux is a kernel, not an OS.</p>
<p>goodusername,</p>
<p>Yes, you are right. However, for most laypeople, "Linux" works just fine as a catch-all term.</p>
<p>I recommend Ubuntu if you go that route, by the way.</p>
<p>Dual boot.</p>
<p>dual boot if you're careful. partitioning your hard drive can be risky if you're careless.</p>
<p>Ditto the dual boot. Linux is for work, Windows is for leisure...</p>
<p>I'm surprised how many Linux users there are on here.</p>
<p>Dual boot, set it up. If you can appreciate it then use it, if not, revert.</p>
<p>Macintosh?</p>
<p>Actually, in all seriousness, download the free "Knoppix" cd. It is just a bootable CD. It will allow you to explore Linux without actually installing it on your HD and making a commitment. It is a great little distro. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.knoppix.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.knoppix.org/</a></p>
<p>Yesterday I toyed around with Minix 3 for a couple of hours.
The fact that it uses a microkernel, instead of a monolithic kernel, is pure genius.
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MINIX_3%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MINIX_3</a></p>
<p>Micro-kernels have been around for a long time and is nothing new. A well built monothilic-kernel can out perform a decent micro-kernel.</p>
<p>what would yo guys recommend for open source stat. software?</p>
<p>There are a few out there... R is good, but a bit complicated. Some really seem to like EasyStat.</p>
<p>What do you want to do with it? I mean, last I checked, you can't do cointegration with EasyStat, but some people won't need that anyway...</p>
<p>Get windows. Linux is only for play and developers. Almost all the software you will use in college will probably not run on linux. There is a program called Wine HQ to boot Windows application on Linux, but there is no guarantee that you will be able to run every windows-based application.</p>
<p>
[quote]
what would yo guys recommend for open source stat. software?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>R, most definitely. Yeah, it's a bit obscure for the point-and-click people. But it's just so neat.</p>
<p>/and if you know C, then R is even better...</p>
<p>dual boot with linux + something else, not vista.
vista is the worst invention of mankind, it's the reason for global warming.</p>