Soldato
Okay so there's been a number of threads about people wanting to move over to Linux from Windoze (or at least dual boot / virtualise Linux).
So lets start simple, why should you consider Linux?
[A] It's free - clearly a major factor!
It's secure - far less viral / malware applications are written to target Linux
[C] It's cutting edge - fed up of waiting years for a new version of Windows to appear? Many Linux distributions are updated on a monthly basis.
[D] A distro is more than just Linux - they come with (typically) hundreds of quality open source software (varying from image processing to office applications)
[E] Almost all users of Linux seem to report a significant increase in their "tech savyness" after having Linux installed for a good while - impress those IT employers!
Downsides:
[A] Not all of your software will work on Linux - although there exist systems to try and get around this (WINE which allows many Windows applications to be run on Linux and obviously you could virtualise a Windows machine and run it on Linux). However the truth is that some very important applications (Photoshop etc) which, for the average user, will be almost impossible to get working in Linux.
Hardware support is patchy (though a LOT better than it was) so you may well find your Wifi card might not get installed by default (and in the worst case senario it might not be possible to correct this).
[C] It can be technical, you will at some point have to type in commands rather than point and click on things - this is the bit that ends most users "relationship" wit *nix.
Okay so you're still interested?
[1] How do I get Linux - Well it comes in different "flavours" or better known as distributions. They all share a common component (the Linux kernel, though the precise version may differ between distributions). The easiest way to get Linux is simply to buy one of the "linux" magazines in WHSmith that'll come with one Linux distro or another. Otherwise you can download the installation ISO's for all Linux distros online (Google!).
** I'd seriously recommend installing Linux on a SEPERATE PHYSICAL DRIVE as it'll avoid any "partitioning" / boot record issues or equally consider running linux on Windows in a virtual machine (Google VMware or more details).
[2] But which distro is right for me
- The answer is NOT straight forward and the moment Ubuntu seems to attract most new users. It's pretty user friendly and is based on another (Debian) distribution that is very stable. DO NOT let yourself be convined by anyone that the problems I listed above will be "invalid" if you chose Ubuntu - that's carp. After Ubuntu popular choices are Fedora, Open Suse, Knoppix, Mint, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Debian.
[3] What's all this 32bit / 64 bit stuff? - Firstly you'll want to know if your CPU is 64 bit compatible (odds are it is) if it is, then seriously consider a "x64" version of a linux distribution. One major advantage is that if your system has more than 3GB of RAM installed - if you install a 32bit (i386) version you will not (well there is a caveat to that but generally) be able to use any thing more than 3GB!
[4] Okay I've downloaded and installed by Linux distro, what now? - The first thing to do is to check your hardware has been fully recognised and to get familiar with the "package manager". This package manager this is essentially one way to install new applications and features on top of your Linux distribution. This is done (primarily) online, by downloading and installing "packages" (typically applications) from repositaries (this is just a fancy term for a server this hosts packages that are specifically designed or constructed for your installed repositary). Depending on the distribution you have chosen you'll want to get familiar with either "yum" or "apt-get" (google is your friend here as it'd take a while to go through them here).
Checking your hardware is set up right isn't that straight forward. Do the obvious stuff first, try playing a media file to check your sound card is configured correctly, try getting online to check your network card is working. There are two very useful commands in this sphere - lspci and lsusb these will show you want your linux distribution thinks you have plugged into your PCI and USB slots (again Google is your friend here).
- So in summary, I hope all of you give it a go and that this is of some help
So lets start simple, why should you consider Linux?
[A] It's free - clearly a major factor!
It's secure - far less viral / malware applications are written to target Linux
[C] It's cutting edge - fed up of waiting years for a new version of Windows to appear? Many Linux distributions are updated on a monthly basis.
[D] A distro is more than just Linux - they come with (typically) hundreds of quality open source software (varying from image processing to office applications)
[E] Almost all users of Linux seem to report a significant increase in their "tech savyness" after having Linux installed for a good while - impress those IT employers!
Downsides:
[A] Not all of your software will work on Linux - although there exist systems to try and get around this (WINE which allows many Windows applications to be run on Linux and obviously you could virtualise a Windows machine and run it on Linux). However the truth is that some very important applications (Photoshop etc) which, for the average user, will be almost impossible to get working in Linux.
Hardware support is patchy (though a LOT better than it was) so you may well find your Wifi card might not get installed by default (and in the worst case senario it might not be possible to correct this).
[C] It can be technical, you will at some point have to type in commands rather than point and click on things - this is the bit that ends most users "relationship" wit *nix.
Okay so you're still interested?
[1] How do I get Linux - Well it comes in different "flavours" or better known as distributions. They all share a common component (the Linux kernel, though the precise version may differ between distributions). The easiest way to get Linux is simply to buy one of the "linux" magazines in WHSmith that'll come with one Linux distro or another. Otherwise you can download the installation ISO's for all Linux distros online (Google!).
** I'd seriously recommend installing Linux on a SEPERATE PHYSICAL DRIVE as it'll avoid any "partitioning" / boot record issues or equally consider running linux on Windows in a virtual machine (Google VMware or more details).
[2] But which distro is right for me
- The answer is NOT straight forward and the moment Ubuntu seems to attract most new users. It's pretty user friendly and is based on another (Debian) distribution that is very stable. DO NOT let yourself be convined by anyone that the problems I listed above will be "invalid" if you chose Ubuntu - that's carp. After Ubuntu popular choices are Fedora, Open Suse, Knoppix, Mint, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Debian.[3] What's all this 32bit / 64 bit stuff? - Firstly you'll want to know if your CPU is 64 bit compatible (odds are it is) if it is, then seriously consider a "x64" version of a linux distribution. One major advantage is that if your system has more than 3GB of RAM installed - if you install a 32bit (i386) version you will not (well there is a caveat to that but generally) be able to use any thing more than 3GB!
[4] Okay I've downloaded and installed by Linux distro, what now? - The first thing to do is to check your hardware has been fully recognised and to get familiar with the "package manager". This package manager this is essentially one way to install new applications and features on top of your Linux distribution. This is done (primarily) online, by downloading and installing "packages" (typically applications) from repositaries (this is just a fancy term for a server this hosts packages that are specifically designed or constructed for your installed repositary). Depending on the distribution you have chosen you'll want to get familiar with either "yum" or "apt-get" (google is your friend here as it'd take a while to go through them here).
Checking your hardware is set up right isn't that straight forward. Do the obvious stuff first, try playing a media file to check your sound card is configured correctly, try getting online to check your network card is working. There are two very useful commands in this sphere - lspci and lsusb these will show you want your linux distribution thinks you have plugged into your PCI and USB slots (again Google is your friend here).
- So in summary, I hope all of you give it a go and that this is of some help
