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Linux
May 17, 2009 17:05:27 GMT -5
Post by Peltigera on May 17, 2009 17:05:27 GMT -5
I have bought myself a laptop (an antique about ten years old) and have decided to try Linux on it. I have played with Linux for about 15 minutes so far - loads quicker than Windows Vista (or XP) and has clearer screens (that is PCLinuxOS for those who know) - and it is free! I paid £6.00 pounds for a magazine and got three versions of Linux on the cover DVD.
So far I am sold on Linux.
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Linux
May 17, 2009 18:15:16 GMT -5
Post by Georgina on May 17, 2009 18:15:16 GMT -5
I've not given it a go. As you progress, keep us posted. I'm interested.
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Calluna
Super Duper Member
I think there's someone on the other side...
Posts: 1,005
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Linux
May 17, 2009 18:24:51 GMT -5
Post by Calluna on May 17, 2009 18:24:51 GMT -5
I've known many people who really love it. I haven't tried it myself yet, but that's because I only use a PC for compatibility with Windows programs.
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Linux
Jun 1, 2009 4:19:06 GMT -5
Post by Peltigera on Jun 1, 2009 4:19:06 GMT -5
This has been a bit of a nightmare. I am so glad I did not try it on my desktop machine. Those free versions of Linux I mentioned did not work on the laptop at all (although all three were fine on my desktop when run via a live CD). I got Slackware to install and run but could not get the desktop to run - so it was like running the old DOS 3.1 (for those who are very old!). As I used to be quite the Wizz with Dos in my youth, I dare say I could have become au fait with the Linux command line interpreter fairly easily but the idea was not to have to learn too much.
I finally got Xubuntu to install and run (a version of Ubuntu for machine with a low spec) - it said it would run on as little as 28Mb of RAM. It is slow, but no slower than the Windows XP Professional the laptop came with. And it loads from a cold start much faster than Windows does.
For a week, Bestbeloved only saw me for meals - she is very nice about being neglected but had reached the point of making barbed comments: a major danger sign once you learn to ignore the smile.
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Linux
Sept 12, 2009 17:24:50 GMT -5
Post by Peltigera on Sept 12, 2009 17:24:50 GMT -5
I have had hardware problems this last week and Windows just refuses to run. I have reloaded the operating system several times but Windows says it cannot run with my hardware configuration - even though it has done so for 18 months now. My desktop machine is now Ubuntu 9.04 and I love it. Starts much quicker than Windows, closes down much quicker than windows and does most things much quicker. I am even starting to like The Gimp rather than Photoshop.
I have a small network here - desktop plus netbook. With windows on both machines it was a right palaver to set up. With Linux on one machine and Windows on the other, Linux set it up with no interference from me at all - entirely automatic!
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Linux
Oct 19, 2009 4:55:00 GMT -5
Post by Peltigera on Oct 19, 2009 4:55:00 GMT -5
I am still learning with Linux, but am more impressed on a daily basis. No viruses to worry about - the Linux version of Update Manager updates ALL my software and the operating system in about three minutes (mainly because there are no security updates needed!)
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Linux
Oct 19, 2009 8:42:32 GMT -5
Post by Georgina on Oct 19, 2009 8:42:32 GMT -5
It's entirely open source, right, Peltigera? I'm guessing that people write applications for it too? You sound pretty pleased with it so far.
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Linux
Oct 20, 2009 4:15:26 GMT -5
Post by Peltigera on Oct 20, 2009 4:15:26 GMT -5
Open source, yes. That means both that it's free and that you get the C++ source code so that you can adapt the software to suit your own needs (assuming you can program in C++ which I can't). There are plenty of applications and most of them are free - Firefox (which is also available for Windows) is a free web browser, Open Office is a superior product to Microsoft Office (it started out as Star Office from Sun but is now developed separately), the Gimp is an alternative to Adobe Photoshop (and also available for Windows). Those are the only software I use, really, and all three are excellent.
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oskar
Are We There Yet? Member
Posts: 5,534
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Linux
Nov 16, 2009 4:58:10 GMT -5
Post by oskar on Nov 16, 2009 4:58:10 GMT -5
So let's say one wants to try Linux. How does one get the OS on the machine and what does one do with it once it's there.
I should add that I'm cluless about computers and that my machine has a virus no one can deal with. Would that virus mess up a Linux download?
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Linux
Nov 16, 2009 7:41:31 GMT -5
Post by Peltigera on Nov 16, 2009 7:41:31 GMT -5
Second question first, Oskar. Windows viruses will not work with Linux - so your virus would have no effect. I am not aware of any Linux viruses and I run quite happily without any virus checker. The sort of people who write viruses are not interested in the fairly small user base of Linux. To get Linux, go to a Linux web site - my recommendation is Ubuntu ( www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download ). You need to download from there and save a ISO image to a cd or dvd. Or you can ask the nice people at Ubuntu to send you a cd with Ubuntu already on it. You can try Linux from the CD without installing it to your computer - but you will not be able to access your hard drive that way. You can install Linux two ways. 1) the way I have which is to replace Windows or 2) have a dual booting computer with both Windows and Linux on it. Instructions are included when you try to install Linux or from the Ubuntu web site. None of your Windows programs will work with Linux (including viruses!) but Linux comes with hundreds of free programs many of which are better than the Windows equivalent - I use the Gimp instead of Photoshop, for instance, and Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. This is all free although you can contribute funds to them if you wish to. I have been using Linux for two months now and I have no regrets at all.
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oskar
Are We There Yet? Member
Posts: 5,534
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Linux
Nov 16, 2009 10:43:03 GMT -5
Post by oskar on Nov 16, 2009 10:43:03 GMT -5
Thank you... I think.
What is a ISO image? Which type of CD and/or DVD? Can I get the Linux and prevent Windows XP from running while I play around with Linux? What are the drawbacks, if any?
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Linux
Nov 16, 2009 12:07:45 GMT -5
Post by Peltigera on Nov 16, 2009 12:07:45 GMT -5
An ISO image is a copy of what is on the CD as a single file. The files you download from Ubuntu (or other Linux providers) is always an ISO image. You need an ISO writer to write the ISO image to the CD/DVD but Ubuntu will provide you with one. The reason you need to use an ISO image rather than just a collection of files is you need the files in the right places on the CD/DVD. The first thing the CD/DVD player needs to read is the boot information, so it must be physically first on the disc.
I used ordinary writeable CDs (the sort you use for music).
If you load Linux from a CD/DVD, Windows will not be loaded into your computer - all you will have is Linux. So Windows has no effect at all.
The only drawback I have come across is you cannot run Windows programs. If you need to run any Windows programs, Linux is no good.
One other thing. You may need to go into set-up when you switch your computer on to make it boot from CD before it tries to boot from the hard drive. But you may not need to - my computer was already set up to boot from the CD
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Linux
Nov 16, 2009 12:08:55 GMT -5
Post by Peltigera on Nov 16, 2009 12:08:55 GMT -5
Actually, Oskar, it might be easier to by a Linux magazine with a free CD/DVD - they usually contain at least one version of Linux on the disc.
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oskar
Are We There Yet? Member
Posts: 5,534
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Linux
Nov 16, 2009 16:34:16 GMT -5
Post by oskar on Nov 16, 2009 16:34:16 GMT -5
Ok, thanks. I'll look into it further.
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oskar
Are We There Yet? Member
Posts: 5,534
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Linux
Nov 20, 2009 6:51:59 GMT -5
Post by oskar on Nov 20, 2009 6:51:59 GMT -5
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Linux
Dec 11, 2009 18:25:52 GMT -5
Post by joethree56 on Dec 11, 2009 18:25:52 GMT -5
I too use Linux, although I retain second desktop com. on XP because my ancient scanner it too old to run with Linux and 'Herself' who is a computerphobe can cope with emails and printing documents in XP and so far has resisted any attempt to change her attitude. I have both coupled via a gizmo to a single mouse/keyboard/ monitor which allows switching between computers with a couple of key strokes. I don't use Linux Ubuntu as I find its dedication to the open source just a little to evangelical for my taste so I use an excellent compromise which lives with the spirit of open source but recognises in the real world, proprietary stuff like codecs for playing movies is in demand. My choice of flavour of Linux (of which there are hundreds if not thousands of flavours) is Pc Linux OS. It is very user friendly. It is worth beaqring in mind that actually the world runs not on Microsoft but on Unix/Linux from microwaves to internet servers via phones, satnavs, and a whole range of other 21st century toys we interface with the Linux/Unix family of operating systems. For laptops I love Damn Small Linux (DSL) but my real favourite is Puppy Linux which will run on anything with the memory capability of a goldfish. The vast majority of these 'flavours' will actually run from CD to give you a taste without altering the Bill gates Zone, All you need to do is make sure your comp will boot from Cd as first or second priority. Have some fun and try it.
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