That Linux post
Sep. 13th, 2009 05:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sally_mariaI've been promising to write a post on my experiences with Linux over the last month or so, and now I'm finally getting round to it.
So far, my experiences have been extremely positive but I know that Linux isn't for everyone, so I'm not going to turn into one of those advocates who thinks Windows is evil, and that Linux is always the best solution.
I just like tinkering, and have the time to play with my computer to get it set up the way I want, instead of just using it for work, and so I think Linux is a good choice for me. I'd love to talk to other people who use Linux and learn from their experiences, and people who are thinking about trying it and would like to know more.
I currently have Ubuntu on my desktop computer and Linux Mint on my laptop.
I've played around with the odd LiveCD over the years - my Mum will still occasionally boot from our Knoppix CD to play a particular game - but hadn't really tried that hard to get it to work.
When I had a week off at the beginning of August, around the time I read of a new way of installing Ubuntu on Lifehacker, it seemed like a good time to have another try. I'd also read of another distribution, based on Ubuntu, called Linux Mint, that sounded like it might be worth trying as well.
So I downloaded the ISO files for both of them, and once I had managed to get a properly burned CD version (it really is worth burning at the slowest speed - minor errors that don't make any difference with most files will stop the disc working properly) I booted from the CD.
One of the differences is that Mint is set up with one taskbar at the bottom of the screen, and one menu in the same way as Windows, whereas Ubuntu has two bars, one at the top of the screen and one at the bottom, and menus split into Applications, Places, System. I must admit to being fairly wedded to my one bottom bar set up, but I was pleased to find how easy it was to edit the Ubuntu screen layout to something much closer to what I was used to - still with the threefold menu but at the bottom, and with everything else laid out in a very similar way to my Windows taskbar. I learned that the bars are called Panels, and that there are all sorts of things available to add to them - including a swimming fish and a pair of eyes that follow the cursor (I had something similar pre-Windows 95, but it's been a while since I've seen anything like that on Windows.)
I was very pleased to find that both distros worked with my wireless router, and wireless card in the laptop first time, and without having to do anything other than enter my wireless password. That would have been a deal breaker, if I hadn't been able to get it to work fairly easily, so it was great that it didn't actually take any effort at all. My other concern was whether I would be able to access my existing files from Linux, something I'd had problems with before. From the LiveCD there was no problem at all, so I decided that I wanted to take the next step.
One of the really useful things about both of these distros is the ability to effectively install them under Windows. It uses a Window style installer and is removable from Add/Remove Programs. You can then pick the distro from the Window Boot manager when you boot the computer. It means you can't sleep/hibernate the computer from Linux, and apparently isn't quite as efficient as a standard install, but it's worked very well for me over the last few weeks, and I thoroughly recommend it as a way of trying the operating system properly before making any final decisions about installing.
Once I found where my Windows datafiles were lurking - look for host - I had no problems in starting to use the system. One of the main differences with Linux is that distros include software to perform most common tasks with the basic install, so there's no hunting the net for your favourite programs. One advantage I have is that I've been using various open source programs, in particular Firefox, for years, so I didn't actually have that much of a learning curve in finding out how things worked. The Linux way of adding more software is also very straightforward - online "repositories" that you can search for the software you want using a software manager, and then just tell it to install. Of course, it does limit you to what is available in the repository - both computers are still running Firefox 3.0 rather than 3.5 - but there's a tremendous amount available.
The other thing I've found very useful is that both distributions have active forums, where you can ask for help, if you are not sure about how things work. I've found just reading them to be very helpful, and you never know when the knowledge will be useful.
There was one particular piece of software I was looking for that wasn't up to date enough in the Ubuntu depository and so I discovered Ubuntu Personal Package Archives, which are a way for an individual to maintain a repository of a few specific pieces of software and which need adding to your system by typing commands into the Terminal - the Linux version of the old DOS command line. Opinions on this are split - some Linux users swear by it, as the most efficient way of getting things done, whereas other seem to regard it with dread.
The mere fact of having to type in commands doesn't phase me, as I'm old enough to remember Windows pre-95, when it was actually just a pretty GUI running on top of DOS and you had to adjust your boot files to allow for enough of the right kind of memory to play certain games - anyone else remember Castle Wolfenstein? But I like GUIs and don't think I'm going to be dumping my mouse any time soon.
Then I went to visit![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
alitalf and we worked out how to set up the various desktop Compiz effects. Some are purely eye-candy, like the wobbly windows, some I haven't really got into but look incredibly cool, like the cube 4 desktop effect, and some are very useful - the live window previews that pop up from the window list on the bottom panel.
So, I've been using Linux on both computers for weeks and never needed to boot back into Windows, and I'm considering taking the next step and performing a full install. The desktop I'll keep as dual boot, if I can, because I expect I shall still need Windows occasionally, but I'm not sure what to do with the laptop. It "only" has an 80Gb hard drive, and I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to keep two operating systems on it, both taking up space. On the other hand, if I'm using Linux nearly all the time, I can heavily reduce the amount of space Windows applications take up, which should hopefully help.
I'll have a go, and let you know how I get on...
So far, my experiences have been extremely positive but I know that Linux isn't for everyone, so I'm not going to turn into one of those advocates who thinks Windows is evil, and that Linux is always the best solution.
I just like tinkering, and have the time to play with my computer to get it set up the way I want, instead of just using it for work, and so I think Linux is a good choice for me. I'd love to talk to other people who use Linux and learn from their experiences, and people who are thinking about trying it and would like to know more.
I currently have Ubuntu on my desktop computer and Linux Mint on my laptop.
I've played around with the odd LiveCD over the years - my Mum will still occasionally boot from our Knoppix CD to play a particular game - but hadn't really tried that hard to get it to work.
When I had a week off at the beginning of August, around the time I read of a new way of installing Ubuntu on Lifehacker, it seemed like a good time to have another try. I'd also read of another distribution, based on Ubuntu, called Linux Mint, that sounded like it might be worth trying as well.
So I downloaded the ISO files for both of them, and once I had managed to get a properly burned CD version (it really is worth burning at the slowest speed - minor errors that don't make any difference with most files will stop the disc working properly) I booted from the CD.
One of the differences is that Mint is set up with one taskbar at the bottom of the screen, and one menu in the same way as Windows, whereas Ubuntu has two bars, one at the top of the screen and one at the bottom, and menus split into Applications, Places, System. I must admit to being fairly wedded to my one bottom bar set up, but I was pleased to find how easy it was to edit the Ubuntu screen layout to something much closer to what I was used to - still with the threefold menu but at the bottom, and with everything else laid out in a very similar way to my Windows taskbar. I learned that the bars are called Panels, and that there are all sorts of things available to add to them - including a swimming fish and a pair of eyes that follow the cursor (I had something similar pre-Windows 95, but it's been a while since I've seen anything like that on Windows.)
I was very pleased to find that both distros worked with my wireless router, and wireless card in the laptop first time, and without having to do anything other than enter my wireless password. That would have been a deal breaker, if I hadn't been able to get it to work fairly easily, so it was great that it didn't actually take any effort at all. My other concern was whether I would be able to access my existing files from Linux, something I'd had problems with before. From the LiveCD there was no problem at all, so I decided that I wanted to take the next step.
One of the really useful things about both of these distros is the ability to effectively install them under Windows. It uses a Window style installer and is removable from Add/Remove Programs. You can then pick the distro from the Window Boot manager when you boot the computer. It means you can't sleep/hibernate the computer from Linux, and apparently isn't quite as efficient as a standard install, but it's worked very well for me over the last few weeks, and I thoroughly recommend it as a way of trying the operating system properly before making any final decisions about installing.
Once I found where my Windows datafiles were lurking - look for host - I had no problems in starting to use the system. One of the main differences with Linux is that distros include software to perform most common tasks with the basic install, so there's no hunting the net for your favourite programs. One advantage I have is that I've been using various open source programs, in particular Firefox, for years, so I didn't actually have that much of a learning curve in finding out how things worked. The Linux way of adding more software is also very straightforward - online "repositories" that you can search for the software you want using a software manager, and then just tell it to install. Of course, it does limit you to what is available in the repository - both computers are still running Firefox 3.0 rather than 3.5 - but there's a tremendous amount available.
The other thing I've found very useful is that both distributions have active forums, where you can ask for help, if you are not sure about how things work. I've found just reading them to be very helpful, and you never know when the knowledge will be useful.
There was one particular piece of software I was looking for that wasn't up to date enough in the Ubuntu depository and so I discovered Ubuntu Personal Package Archives, which are a way for an individual to maintain a repository of a few specific pieces of software and which need adding to your system by typing commands into the Terminal - the Linux version of the old DOS command line. Opinions on this are split - some Linux users swear by it, as the most efficient way of getting things done, whereas other seem to regard it with dread.
The mere fact of having to type in commands doesn't phase me, as I'm old enough to remember Windows pre-95, when it was actually just a pretty GUI running on top of DOS and you had to adjust your boot files to allow for enough of the right kind of memory to play certain games - anyone else remember Castle Wolfenstein? But I like GUIs and don't think I'm going to be dumping my mouse any time soon.
Then I went to visit
alitalf and we worked out how to set up the various desktop Compiz effects. Some are purely eye-candy, like the wobbly windows, some I haven't really got into but look incredibly cool, like the cube 4 desktop effect, and some are very useful - the live window previews that pop up from the window list on the bottom panel.So, I've been using Linux on both computers for weeks and never needed to boot back into Windows, and I'm considering taking the next step and performing a full install. The desktop I'll keep as dual boot, if I can, because I expect I shall still need Windows occasionally, but I'm not sure what to do with the laptop. It "only" has an 80Gb hard drive, and I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to keep two operating systems on it, both taking up space. On the other hand, if I'm using Linux nearly all the time, I can heavily reduce the amount of space Windows applications take up, which should hopefully help.
I'll have a go, and let you know how I get on...
no subject
Date: 2009-09-13 09:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-13 09:58 pm (UTC)I'm not going to get out of it completely, even if I never boot my home PCs into Windows again, because work's intranet requires not only Windows, but Internet Explorer 6, which I haven't used voluntarily since about 2004.
Did you start out studying computers at school, or did you just teach yourself?
no subject
Date: 2009-09-13 10:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-14 07:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-14 07:01 pm (UTC)I've never really had any formal computer training, apart from "this is how you use WordPerfect and Quattro Pro" introductions when I was at college and I've never got any further into programming than the odd DOS batch file and editing other people's CSS. But I like learning new things and an easy Linux distro just seemed like the next logical step, especially as I'd been running most of my life on open source software on Windows anyway.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-15 07:18 am (UTC)If you ever want to learn programming yourself, I would recommend Python. Other dynamic languages with an interactive interpreter would probably also be good first languages (eg Ruby), but Python is the one I know.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-15 07:00 pm (UTC)And I'll bear the language recommendation in mind.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-15 12:59 pm (UTC)