I recently got my hands on another computer, and I'm thinking about installing another operating system on it (mostly because I already have XP on another computer). I would like to experiment with linux on it, but it turns out that linux is a much larger world than I imagined.
So, any suggestions for versions of linux? I'm also interested in what GUIs you favor, and anything else that you think might be relevant.
Linux... where do I start?
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RyaNtheSlayA
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Re: Linux... where do I start?
I much prefer KDE and my favorite distro would have to be Mandriva.Dylan wrote:I recently got my hands on another computer, and I'm thinking about installing another operating system on it (mostly because I already have XP on another computer). I would like to experiment with linux on it, but it turns out that linux is a much larger world than I imagined.
So, any suggestions for versions of linux? I'm also interested in what GUIs you favor, and anything else that you think might be relevant.
http://www2.mandriva.com/
I find KDE to be much more easy for me and, its very fast. Also Mandriva is a RPM-Package distro, so while it can be a problem if a piece of an application you want is missing, for the most part its great, just find the application you want and it downloads all the pieces off the internet and puts them in the right place. Mandriva updates the software every week or so as well so you can always have the latest and greatest software. It's really a great OS imo, right now I have no clue why I'm using Vista at the moment actually, probably because the last time I used Mandriva, I had tons of trouble with nVidia's Linux drivers. I should try again.
It also runs well on just about any computer built within the last 10 years.
You can usually try tons of linux distro's easily because most have a Live CD that you can just pop into your computer at start-up and get a feel for the system.
Ubuntu is probably the most user friendly however.
Here's a good site for all things Linux. This page will tell you a little about each major distro.
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major
Older. Not wiser.
Re: Linux... where do I start?
Any of the top five on this site:
http://distrowatch.com/
As for KDE vs. Gnome vs. XFCE vs. WTF, try whichever Environments are available for your distro and see which you like best.
http://distrowatch.com/
As for KDE vs. Gnome vs. XFCE vs. WTF, try whichever Environments are available for your distro and see which you like best.
casterofdreams wrote:On PC I want MOAR FPS!!!|
Re: Linux... where do I start?
Get a Live CD distro, You should be able to install to a hard drive from there, Its pretty easy, No prompts, just GUI the whole way through, but make sure you either have it connected to the Internet Via an Ethernet cable and NOT WIFI, or at least have a thumb drive ready with drivers, The main problem I had was with Wireless drivers, Also, you disply will probably be in 800X600 when you first start, You MIGHT be able to get away without video drivers.
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lisalover1
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Re: Linux... where do I start?
Get an Ubuntu or Kubuntu live cd, and see which one you like better. If you're still unsure about installing it, dual-boot your computer with the Wubi installer. The desktop environment you choose could also be dependant on how old the system is. If you have a REALLY old system, install Xubuntu, and it will run at very impressive speeds. If computer age is not an issue, I reccomend installing the standard Ubuntu distro with the Gnome desktop environment. I like Gnome because it looks nice and is very neat and organized. KDE is fine, but I still prefer Gnome.
~My name's Vicky, by the way!~ ^_^
Re: Linux... where do I start?
Depends on what you want to do with it. If you want to use it as a desktop box, Ubuntu is a good place to start (I have also heard good things about Mandriva), it's based on Debian which is really the gold standard (Debian can be all things to all people, server, desktop, laptop, embedded, anything you want). They have polished over a lot of the rough spots in the GUI, though you still may have to use the command line to do a few things.
Personally I'm a big fan of the command line, and use it wherever possible. This isn't because the GUI sucks, but because the CLI is just so powerful. IMO, the best way to learn the CLI is to just avoid the GUI entirely. Set the box up as a headless file server that you can access from XP (and XBMC) with Samba. Then put rtorrent on it and have it handle your torrents for you. (drop a .torrent into your watch directory and have the completed file automagically appear in XBMC!) From there you can play with your own web or ftp server, set up your own firewall, or maybe even set it up as a caching proxy. Doing everything through SSH will get you used to relying on the command line, which will make the obstacles that appear when you make it your desktop much more surmountable.
As for GUIs, it's all a matter of preference. I've settled on XFCE which is a nice medium. For heavy GUI users KDE and Gnome are both good choices. If you use Ubuntu you'll want Gnome, Mandriva you'll want KDE. You can install any desktop on any distro, but it's always best to use the default as it will be configured better. There's also really lightweight GUIs that don't do anything other than display windows and a menu. It's up to you, there's a lot of fun to be had trying out different interfaces and seeing what you like. Most of these GUIs have features that aren't available (or are poorly implemented) on windows. e.g. windowshading and virtual desktops.
For games, you'll be using a lot of emulators. MAME and MESS work well on linux, but you may have to compile it yourself for the most recent version. (compiling software is another good way to get your hands dirty and learn the command line) Dosbox of course works great on linux, as does ScummVM. Most 8-bit consoles and the GBA are well emulated by Mednafen. Really wonderful emulator, but it's configured by editing a .cfg and invoked through the command line. So there's another reason to learn to use the shell.
I've been using Linux for over 10 years now, so it's hard for me to refer you to a good introduction. Back in the day, I checked a book out of the library and read it cover to cover before trying out linux. The guides from the LDP have also been invaluable (try the Introduction to Linux and the Bash Guide). A lot of this stuff might seem arcane, but I'm a strong believer in learning the fundamentals. It does make a difference in how comfortable you are using your system.
Oh, and if you're wondering. Don't bother compiling your own kernel. Everything is loaded through modules these days, so only the drivers you need get loaded. You're not going to save any significant amount of memory, and it's kind of a pain in the ass. It can be entertaining to do, just to learn how, but there's no real advantage in doing it. Compiling applications is also usually unnecessary, as your distro will have a large repository to choose from. It may be necessary if you want the latest version, or it's really niche. (look into checkinstall on debian or ubuntu if you want your compiled software to interoperate with your package manager)
Hope that treatise isn't too long. Jump right in, have fun, view obstacles as puzzles and you'll do fine.
Personally I'm a big fan of the command line, and use it wherever possible. This isn't because the GUI sucks, but because the CLI is just so powerful. IMO, the best way to learn the CLI is to just avoid the GUI entirely. Set the box up as a headless file server that you can access from XP (and XBMC) with Samba. Then put rtorrent on it and have it handle your torrents for you. (drop a .torrent into your watch directory and have the completed file automagically appear in XBMC!) From there you can play with your own web or ftp server, set up your own firewall, or maybe even set it up as a caching proxy. Doing everything through SSH will get you used to relying on the command line, which will make the obstacles that appear when you make it your desktop much more surmountable.
As for GUIs, it's all a matter of preference. I've settled on XFCE which is a nice medium. For heavy GUI users KDE and Gnome are both good choices. If you use Ubuntu you'll want Gnome, Mandriva you'll want KDE. You can install any desktop on any distro, but it's always best to use the default as it will be configured better. There's also really lightweight GUIs that don't do anything other than display windows and a menu. It's up to you, there's a lot of fun to be had trying out different interfaces and seeing what you like. Most of these GUIs have features that aren't available (or are poorly implemented) on windows. e.g. windowshading and virtual desktops.
For games, you'll be using a lot of emulators. MAME and MESS work well on linux, but you may have to compile it yourself for the most recent version. (compiling software is another good way to get your hands dirty and learn the command line) Dosbox of course works great on linux, as does ScummVM. Most 8-bit consoles and the GBA are well emulated by Mednafen. Really wonderful emulator, but it's configured by editing a .cfg and invoked through the command line. So there's another reason to learn to use the shell.
I've been using Linux for over 10 years now, so it's hard for me to refer you to a good introduction. Back in the day, I checked a book out of the library and read it cover to cover before trying out linux. The guides from the LDP have also been invaluable (try the Introduction to Linux and the Bash Guide). A lot of this stuff might seem arcane, but I'm a strong believer in learning the fundamentals. It does make a difference in how comfortable you are using your system.
Oh, and if you're wondering. Don't bother compiling your own kernel. Everything is loaded through modules these days, so only the drivers you need get loaded. You're not going to save any significant amount of memory, and it's kind of a pain in the ass. It can be entertaining to do, just to learn how, but there's no real advantage in doing it. Compiling applications is also usually unnecessary, as your distro will have a large repository to choose from. It may be necessary if you want the latest version, or it's really niche. (look into checkinstall on debian or ubuntu if you want your compiled software to interoperate with your package manager)
Hope that treatise isn't too long. Jump right in, have fun, view obstacles as puzzles and you'll do fine.
We are prepared to live in the plain and die in the plain!
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RokstaEnSweden
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Re: Linux... where do I start?
I just recently made the switch to Linux a few months ago and I couldn't be happier with the result. I decided to go with the Ubuntu distro which uses gnome after hearing about how novice friendly it was, and it really has worked out for me. I used to dual-boot Linux and Vista, but after seeing the difference in ease of use and annoyance I decided to wipe my windows partition altogether and use that as my /home directory. Ha.
I'll repeat the advice previously given and say that you should burn a live CD image of Ubuntu to play around with before you dive in and do a full install. Another piece of wisdom I'd impart on you, like the poster above, is to learn the command line because it really is much faster than using the gui and a lot of times you'll find yourself using it for more tricky problems. Although, that is one of the biggest advantages to using Linux that I've found.. If something goes wrong with your PC, instead of getting a blue screen of death, you can actually drop down into a text-only terminal and FIX IT. Amazing.
I'll repeat the advice previously given and say that you should burn a live CD image of Ubuntu to play around with before you dive in and do a full install. Another piece of wisdom I'd impart on you, like the poster above, is to learn the command line because it really is much faster than using the gui and a lot of times you'll find yourself using it for more tricky problems. Although, that is one of the biggest advantages to using Linux that I've found.. If something goes wrong with your PC, instead of getting a blue screen of death, you can actually drop down into a text-only terminal and FIX IT. Amazing.
Playing: Etrian Odyssey III, Final Fantasy III, Parasite Eve
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lisalover1
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Re: Linux... where do I start?
Really, the only drawback that I got from Linux is the lack of a utility similar to "Ctrl+Alt+Del" from Windows... unless, there's a program out there that can add that. Is there such a thing? There's been one or two times when Linux has frozen, and I would have loved to bring up a system screen.
~My name's Vicky, by the way!~ ^_^
Re: Linux... where do I start?
CTRL-ESC - brings up a process list where you can kill individual processeslisalover1 wrote:Really, the only drawback that I got from Linux is the lack of a utility similar to "Ctrl+Alt+Del" from Windows... unless, there's a program out there that can add that. Is there such a thing? There's been one or two times when Linux has frozen, and I would have loved to bring up a system screen.
CTRL-ALT-ESC - makes the cursor into an X or something and you can click a window to terminate it.
CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE restarts X, which will relaunch your gnome, kde, etc session. Akin to rebooting but faster, I guess you could say
Re: Linux... where do I start?
Thanks for all the replies everyone. Sounds like Ubuntu would be a good choice for a first timer, and I'll fiddle around with Gnome and KDE to see what I like best.
Another couple more questions though, how difficult is it to operate from the command line? I don't have much experience with command line operation outside of a few commands I've used every so often in DOS, but I'd imagine it's less of a hassle than that. And finally, how important are programs like Whine going to be?
Another couple more questions though, how difficult is it to operate from the command line? I don't have much experience with command line operation outside of a few commands I've used every so often in DOS, but I'd imagine it's less of a hassle than that. And finally, how important are programs like Whine going to be?
