Using LinuxOS

stragglebod

I've never needed to enter any command line stuff when installing Linux. It just works. And networking just works too. And that's over multiple flavours of Linux.

that

stragglebod wrote: »

I've never needed to enter any command line stuff when installing Linux. It just works. And networking just works too. And that's over multiple flavours of Linux.

Kids of today, all plug and play! They have never wrestled with SCO unix based on System V and text file configuration

mancman3

ahhhh sysv-init. The good old days!

ThemeOne

For defining and formatting a secondary drive in Linux I would usually use gparted though I don't think that's included by default in all distros. The secondary drive should then be mounted automatically via your file manager.

I recall very few cases of networking not just working, and the few cases I remember were due to lack of proprietary firmware. The solution being to download the required firmware file to a USB using a different computer. As I understand it this is not really the fault of Linux, more a legal thing related to open/closed source.

I'm trying to think how these scenarios would play on Windows. I don't think the missing networking firmware would ever arise in Windows as the legal hoops relating to proprietary content do not generally apply there.

Defining and formatting a secondary drive would be done using the Disk Formatting utility (may have that name wrong) though I suppose you'd have to know that, I don't think Windows asks if you want to define and format a secondary drive.

Having used Linux for about 15 years now I'm in the lucky position of having already encountered most of these everybody problems, and have an idea how to solve them.

To answer the OP's original question, I doubt if desktop Linux is increasing in share. I would say most people don't use desktops much now except at work.

Norman_Castle

googler wrote: »

Windoze, for all its faults, just works when I do this kind of thing, and I don't need to faff with all the weird command-line stuff.

I've installed Linux mint as dual boot and found it relatively foolproof. I suspect wanting to install to a separate drive was your problem. Whenever I've had problems and asked online the only advice is to type command lines into terminals which makes it very unattractive for people who aren't interested in doing this. I want to use a pc but like you. I don't want to mess with or learn coding.

that

ThemeOne wrote: »

I recall very few cases of networking not just working, and the few cases I remember were due to lack of proprietary firmware. The solution being to download the required firmware file to a USB using a different computer. As I understand it this is not really the fault of Linux, more a legal thing related to open/closed source.

I'm trying to think how these scenarios would play on Windows. I don't think the missing networking firmware would ever arise in Windows as the legal hoops relating to proprietary content do not generally apply there.

No os recognises new hardware, and Linux has generally been bad catching up with newer products.

Video drivers were one aspect on linux, and even some usb wifi adapters still have issues. There was, and probably still are issue that linux is a small but has many variances, and writing drivers cost. XP initially had some issue with sata disks? SCO did not natively recognise Chase boards (serial terminals). Windows 3.11 would only support the often unused netbui and novel drivers had to be added, and amended network.ini, windows.ini (plus drivers, autoexec.bat and config.sys), then to top this of you had to get yet another 3rd party s/w for tcp/ip stack to allow netscape to surf the internet.

psychic_teabag

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Whenever I've had problems and asked online the only advice is to type command lines into terminals which makes it very unattractive for people who aren't interested in doing this. I want to use a pc but like you. I don't want to mess with or learn coding.

Hmm. From the other side of the fence, it's much easier to quote the command line you need to enter than to try to describe where to find some particular button to press on a gui. Especially given that different distributions tend to come with different gui utilities and things.

The command line tends to just work regardless of which distribution you're using.

letsbehonest

I use Linux Mint, it's very good, I agree with Mancman3 above in respect to his view on updates.

forgotmyname

mancman3 wrote: »

ahhhh sysv-init. The good old days!

Youngsters..... tut...

Remember when floppies really were? Remember them new fangled hard drives where you had to backup to tape and park the heads before powering off???

TRS-DOS and 48k anyone, that was wow after home computers and less than 2.5k of memory. 20 minutes to load a game of less than 2k.