Migrating to Linux

lavandergirl_2

I am tired of being "forced" to use Microsoft. Anyone who uses Linux here?
What would u recommend? (for just home based laptop computing)

Redhat
Fedora Core
Mandrake

or others

thanks

zappahey

Ubuntu is fairly highly recommended. It's a single CD initial download and it then downloads the packages you want.

Need_More_Money_2

Have a look at Knoppix. It runs entirely from CD or DVD. Whilst this is a bit slow, it will allow you to try out the system without deleting your existing operating system/programs. The CD/DVD contains several applications such as openoffice. If you don't like it, you can just remove the CD and boot from HD, where you will be back to whatever you used before

amosworks

lavendergirl, nobody is "forcing" you to use Microsoft You may have just as much luck with the Mac rather than Linux in all fairness. If your desire to use Linux is driven solely from the need to get away from M$ then you have to realise that there's more to Linux than a simple setup wizard and you're away. The learning curve for Linux is *HUGE* if you've spent all your IT life with Microsoft.

Those of us who hail from the UNIX shops naturally mesh with Linux extremely well, because there's no real learning curve. I first used Red Hat (which lasted on my PC for all of several minutes during my horror and disgust at a GUI installation) so you may have success with one of those TBH, if the need for pictures is your thing

I'd recommend you don't just jump straight in to "proper" Linux (Slackware/LFS etc) until you've really got to grips with your system behind the pretty pictures in either case. Mac OS X is Darwin UNIX and you may find that equally as rewarding behind the scenes and also be able to get away from Windows.

Good luck anyhow. Knoppix is a good idea to try out as already recommended.

Darksun

amosworks wrote:

The learning curve for Linux is *HUGE* if you've spent all your IT life with Microsoft.

I'm going to have to disagree with you. Granted, the inner workings of the two operating systems are very different, and maybe if you're an advanced user/administrator there will be a learning curve (though plenty of help from a variaty of sources means it's hard to get stuck). However, for day to day usage, it's pretty intuitive. You could give a fairly typical Windows user a fully set up Linux system with KDE and they could figure out how to do most stuff within 10 minutes.

amosworks

Darksun wrote:

I'm going to have to disagree with you. Granted, the inner workings of the two operating systems are very different, and maybe if you're an advanced user/administrator there will be a learning curve (though plenty of help from a variaty of sources means it's hard to get stuck). However, for day to day usage, it's pretty intuitive. You could give a fairly typical Windows user a fully set up Linux system with KDE and they could figure out how to do most stuff within 10 minutes.

I grant you that, learning Linux is a lot harder than learning about just a desktop environment. But anybody with experience of Linux knows that with a few accidental clicks you can wonder where X went. Then you simply *need* Linux knowledge to survive

Also, most PC's dont come with a pre-installation of Linux on, it's down to the user. Most Windows users don't understand about how to partition the disk, setup a swap partition, understand about mountpoints, configure the boot loader, know which packages to install, know how to configure X to work with their monitor etc. etc. etc. The list goes on. Installing Linux isn't really easy.

Of course, installing DeadRat with a GUI and help text may be easier than doing it from Slackware which doesn't really even have an installer, let alone a graphical one. But still, it's not for the feint of heart.

Bob63

Suse 10 is a nice distribution.

Why not download a couple of different ones and try them out. Download a "Live CD/DVD" version which allows you to boot and run entirely from the optical disc and doesn't install anything at all on your PC. It's a great way to try out an OS without committing to disk partitions etc.

Mike

electron_3

zappahey wrote:

Ubuntu is fairly highly recommended. It's a single CD initial download and it then downloads the packages you want.

Just downloading the Live CD now 627Mb I hope no-ones on dial up :eek:


This may help also http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/

Darksun

amosworks wrote:

I grant you that, learning Linux is a lot harder than learning about just a desktop environment. But anybody with experience of Linux knows that with a few accidental clicks you can wonder where X went. Then you simply *need* Linux knowledge to survive

Anyone with experience of Windows knows that just day to day use can leave you wondering why the operating system won't boot

Also, most PC's dont come with a pre-installation of Linux on, it's down to the user. Most Windows users don't understand about how to partition the disk, setup a swap partition, understand about mountpoints, configure the boot loader, know which packages to install, know how to configure X to work with their monitor etc. etc. etc. The list goes on. Installing Linux isn't really easy.

Well, maybe not, but a lot of users don't know what's going on with Windows either. I really don't think the learning curve for linux is that steep, there's plenty of support around and plenty of tutorials, etc.

Plus, a lot of those things you mentioned are automatic (or at least guided) with many distros. Certainly, some distros leave you in open water so to speak (take Slackwear), but these arn't designed for beginner or even normal users, they're targetted towards power users and corporate environments who want total control over their systems.

Darksun

electron wrote:

Just downloading the Live CD now 627Mb I hope no-ones on dial up :eek:

You can order a free Ubuntu CD to be sent to you for those with a slow connection. You can also find them lying around in various places - there was a pile in a mixing area at uni

paul_h

Here's a useful site if you want to have a look at screenshots of Linux and other open-source software -

http://shots.osdir.com/

I've tried a number of distributions on laptops, it does depend on the hardware which distribution will be be the most suitable. However, overall, I have found Ubuntu and Kubuntu (with the alternative KDE front end) to be about the most reliable distributions for newbies to Linux to install.