Rummy Posted August 2, 2009 Posted August 2, 2009 So those of you may remember me saying about needing to restore my laptop which I haven't yet done but very well might do soon, but I'm also considering maybe making a move over to Linux, just for a change I guess, but I know absolutely nothing about it beyond the name really. What's the best linux distro to use? How different are they all, and more importantly, how similar is it to windows? I've used macs but I'm born and raised on windows, is it vastly different, or what?
blender Posted August 2, 2009 Posted August 2, 2009 use one of those live cds and try it without installing. basically, unless you are a nerd, you wont like it. things like streaming video are a pain
fex Posted August 2, 2009 Posted August 2, 2009 Grab Ubuntu. If all you need is to browse the net, listen to music and watch videos then its fine. Ubuntu will do all of that out of the box without messing with any settings. You can install WINE if you need to run any Windows programs.
Shorty Posted August 2, 2009 Posted August 2, 2009 Grab Ubuntu. If all you need is to browse the net, listen to music and watch videos then its fine. Ubuntu will do all of that out of the box without messing with any settings. You can install WINE if you need to run any Windows programs. Agreed, Ubuntu is super easy and a good place to start. Although installing programs takes a very different approach to Windows so it might take a bit of getting used to, but you can boot it from a CD to try out, without even installing it.
triforcemario Posted August 2, 2009 Posted August 2, 2009 Or, with Ubuntu, you could always try it out using Wubi. Basically, you install it within Windows via Wubi, and it'll run as a normal OS (when you start up your PC, it'll give you the choice between Windows and Ubuntu), and plus, if you don't like it, you can uninstall it via an uninstaller in Windows.
Ten10 Posted August 2, 2009 Posted August 2, 2009 I've only ever used fedora, and that was fun and easy enough so I'd say Ubuntu, would be one step further.
K-project Posted August 2, 2009 Posted August 2, 2009 I use both Ubuntu and Mandriva on this PC alongside XP, and they're both absolutely brilliant. It's not as hand holding as the Microsoft OS's, but if you're keen to learn you'll have a blast. There's a lot of talk about convoluted terminal commands, but to be honest I've been running Linux for about three years now and only had to sporadically use the terminal. Mostly I just use it here and there to fetch a text configuration file for MAME or suchlike. If you're used to the Windows command line you'll be fine. I'm sure we'll be able to help anyway should you need it.
RoadKill Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu but allows closed source binaries to be packaged with, so you get support out of the box you don't get with vanilla Ubuntu. Basically, I'd recommend Linux Mint for the home user http://www.linuxmint.com/
Raining_again Posted August 3, 2009 Posted August 3, 2009 IMO; Short answer - no Long answer - no, but usable if you are willing to put in a lot of time and effort to relearn stuff. I found it difficult enough to do all the basics like customising and installing. Media, games, drivers, (especially specific laptop drivers for like webcams) ain't "easy" to sort out, but im sure the more linux orientated people here can help, or you can get gen from linux forums. Ubutuntu I found to be a good one to start with, and you can boot from the CD and test it out and see how you like it. At the end of the day, its free, if you don't like it it's easy enough scrapped.
SPAMBOT4000 Posted August 9, 2009 Posted August 9, 2009 Give it a try but (and I'm meaning no offense here) the fact that you're asking about it and saying you know nothing about it kinda says that maybe you're the type that won't enjoy it. I certainly didn't. Linux and even Ubuntu in a lot of respects is really for the uber geeks only. As raining said, you gotta put a lot of time and effort into it and in my experience there was a lot of faffing around at the command line level to get some fairly basic functions sorted out. This was a couple of years ago now so I'm sure the Ubuntu install has improved a lot since I tried it. Still worth giving it a go though, I'm glad I did but I wouldn't want to stick with it as my main OS.
Raining_again Posted August 10, 2009 Posted August 10, 2009 Give it a try but (and I'm meaning no offense here) the fact that you're asking about it and saying you know nothing about it kinda says that maybe you're the type that won't enjoy it. I certainly didn't. Linux and even Ubuntu in a lot of respects is really for the uber geeks only. As raining said, you gotta put a lot of time and effort into it and in my experience there was a lot of faffing around at the command line level to get some fairly basic functions sorted out. This was a couple of years ago now so I'm sure the Ubuntu install has improved a lot since I tried it. Still worth giving it a go though, I'm glad I did but I wouldn't want to stick with it as my main OS. Completely agree! I had a fixed DNS with my last provider (which is just a matter of putting ips into a box in windows), and that was a god damn nightmare trying to find, amending files and changing settings etc. Just doing that nearly made me tear my hair out Just the simplest things can be very tricky!
K-project Posted August 10, 2009 Posted August 10, 2009 Crikey. My experience right from the get-go was completely the opposite! Had no bother getting any Linux online wireless or otherwise, but Windows...had a lot of trouble with the wireless there! I don't think it's for geeks at all. I use it FFS, and I'm no geek. Neither is the missus and she uses it on her Dell laptop. As for the command line, well there's a command line in Windows too, and it's no harder than that really. Sometimes it's just the quickest way to get something done. It's not really something you have to use all the time (well it hasn't been for me), but even then I actually miss it when I'm in Windows. I do think people mistake different for difficult sometimes. It certainly is different. Anyone expecting a free Windows will get their asses bitten for sure. But I can't in any honesty say it's "harder" than XP to use. It's not been for us anyway.
Pyxis Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 (edited) I installed Ubuntu a couple of years ago and it was a nightmare. I couldn't get my wifi to work, despite following step by step instructions to wrap the driver. Edited August 16, 2009 by Pyxis
triforcemario Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 But that was a few years ago. Wifi support has greatly improved in Ubuntu since.
Pyxis Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 Do you know if Belkin products are supported somehow? I might give it a try if I knew that I could buy some sort of dongle and have it work straight away.
triforcemario Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 Well, from what I can gather, pretty much all Wifi drivers are supported now. The best way of testing would be installing Ubuntu via a Wubi installation (that way, you don't have to partition your harddrive or anything).
Raining_again Posted August 16, 2009 Posted August 16, 2009 Do you know if Belkin products are supported somehow? I might give it a try if I knew that I could buy some sort of dongle and have it work straight away. Where you've went wrong, is not by having Linux, but by having a Belkin dongle =P
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