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SeijiSensei · 2006-12-05, 23:52

Might I make a suggestion to the person (or persons) who wondered about how to try Linux?

Nowadays there are a number of CD-based Linux "distributions" that boot from and run off your CD drive. You don't need to do anything to your hard drive; all the software that you need comes on the CD and runs from there. (A Linux "distribution" includes both the Linux operating system "kernel" plus a whole raft of other software including the windowing front end, application packages like OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird and the GIMP, and a wide variety of system utilities and other tools. Complete distributions these days can easily fill a few CD's or most of a DVD, and all the software in these distributions is free.)

Now obviously running off the CD is going to be somewhat slower than running off an installation on your hard drive, but you can get a feel for what Linux looks and acts like without making a major investment in altering your system.

There are two of these CD-based distributions that I would recommend. One is Ubuntu and the other is Knoppix. I'd recommend trying them both as they use different desktop managers (Ubuntu uses GNOME, while Knoppix uses KDE) so you can see what the alternatives look like.

Now for the bad news. Do not expect to play any audio or video files that have any proprietary features without some additional work; this means no mp3, no avi, no wma, no DVDs, etc. The problem is that all these technologies are proprietary and to use them (in some countries, notably the US) a licensing fee must be paid. Because most Linux distributions contain only open-source software they can't include these proprietary items.

All hope is not lost, however, because there are third-party sites (on servers outside the US) that you can access to download the missing pieces. (Note that downloading such packages onto a machine in the US may run afoul of copyright and patent laws. You've been warned.) For Ubuntu, you might want to check out Automatix which will install the missing parts for you.

If you're williing to take the plunge and install Linux, you can still preserve your Windows installation and set up a "dual-boot" arrangement. The simplest and safest technique is to install a second hard drive for Linux, but you can also repartiion a single drive and install both operating systems. Always install Linux after Windows; if you do it the other way around, Windows will make it impossible to boot Linux.

If you go the full installation route, you can choose from an ever-widening array of distributions. I'd stick with either Ubuntu or Fedora Core, a version of the popular RedHat distribution. I use Fedora myself because I've been a RedHat user for about a decade now. However Ubuntu is the hot new contender so you might want to look into it as well.

I've haven't used Windows anywhere for a couple of year now and don't miss it at all. (I don't play PC games.) My daughter has a dual-boot laptop, but she only uses the Windows side for the occasional game like Age of Empires. Tonight she asked me why anyone uses anything other than open-source software. Guess I've done a good job of brainwashing, oops I mean educating, her!

2006-12-05, 23:52	Link #56
SeijiSensei AS Oji-kun Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 74	Taking Linux for a test drive Might I make a suggestion to the person (or persons) who wondered about how to try Linux? Nowadays there are a number of CD-based Linux "distributions" that boot from and run off your CD drive. You don't need to do anything to your hard drive; all the software that you need comes on the CD and runs from there. (A Linux "distribution" includes both the Linux operating system "kernel" plus a whole raft of other software including the windowing front end, application packages like OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird and the GIMP, and a wide variety of system utilities and other tools. Complete distributions these days can easily fill a few CD's or most of a DVD, and all the software in these distributions is free.) Now obviously running off the CD is going to be somewhat slower than running off an installation on your hard drive, but you can get a feel for what Linux looks and acts like without making a major investment in altering your system. There are two of these CD-based distributions that I would recommend. One is Ubuntu and the other is Knoppix. I'd recommend trying them both as they use different desktop managers (Ubuntu uses GNOME, while Knoppix uses KDE) so you can see what the alternatives look like. Now for the bad news. Do not expect to play any audio or video files that have any proprietary features without some additional work; this means no mp3, no avi, no wma, no DVDs, etc. The problem is that all these technologies are proprietary and to use them (in some countries, notably the US) a licensing fee must be paid. Because most Linux distributions contain only open-source software they can't include these proprietary items. All hope is not lost, however, because there are third-party sites (on servers outside the US) that you can access to download the missing pieces. (Note that downloading such packages onto a machine in the US may run afoul of copyright and patent laws. You've been warned.) For Ubuntu, you might want to check out Automatix which will install the missing parts for you. If you're williing to take the plunge and install Linux, you can still preserve your Windows installation and set up a "dual-boot" arrangement. The simplest and safest technique is to install a second hard drive for Linux, but you can also repartiion a single drive and install both operating systems. Always install Linux after Windows; if you do it the other way around, Windows will make it impossible to boot Linux. If you go the full installation route, you can choose from an ever-widening array of distributions. I'd stick with either Ubuntu or Fedora Core, a version of the popular RedHat distribution. I use Fedora myself because I've been a RedHat user for about a decade now. However Ubuntu is the hot new contender so you might want to look into it as well. I've haven't used Windows anywhere for a couple of year now and don't miss it at all. (I don't play PC games.) My daughter has a dual-boot laptop, but she only uses the Windows side for the occasional game like Age of Empires. Tonight she asked me why anyone uses anything other than open-source software. Guess I've done a good job of brainwashing, oops I mean educating, her!