View Full Version : linux?
with the "so called" free win 10 upgrade that is likely to not be free at all, is it time for me to move to a linux system on my win 8.1 pc.
1/ which version
2/ how do I do it
3/ what will be the resultant usage of what I use program wise now etc.
4/ how much will it cost
A nice walk through in layman's terms would be good, if it is worth the bother.
1. Latest version of whatever distribution you pick, Debian or Ubuntu are both good IMHO. Depends what you want to do with it. Its all Linux, and it can all do the same, but different distributions are targeted at different users.
2. Pick you distribution, follow the install instructions on the site you chose, eitehr download a full set and burn to a DVD and install from that, or download a small bootstrap and do a network install.
3. Depends what you use now.
4. Nothing, you can pay for support, but don't have to, cost of a blank DVD
Download, install, use. If there are problems, come back.
walpurgis
23-06-2015, 22:51
How strange. I've just one minute ago bought a package of six Linux distros off eBay.
(yes. I know I can download them free, but this saves a lot of messing about and then I've always got them handy)
Loaded two Linux distros onto PCs today for somebody. Mint & Zorin.
1. Latest version of whatever distribution you pick, Debian or Ubuntu are both good IMHO. Depends what you want to do with it. Its all Linux, and it can all do the same, but different distributions are targeted at different users.
2. Pick you distribution, follow the install instructions on the site you chose, eitehr download a full set and burn to a DVD and install from that, or download a small bootstrap and do a network install.
3. Depends what you use now.
4. Nothing, you can pay for support, but don't have to, cost of a blank DVD
Download, install, use. If there are problems, come back.
Thanks for the reply Nick. It sounds complicated but if Geoff can do it, surely I can...........screw it up :eyebrows: I have a spare spare laptop running xp, so I may experiment with that one first. If it goes tits up, which is likely then it wont matter so much. :)
always up for a challenge, as long its one I can do!:D
walpurgis
23-06-2015, 23:09
Thanks for the reply Nick. It sounds complicated but if Geoff can do it, surely I can...........screw it up :eyebrows: I have a spare spare laptop running xp, so I may experiment with that one first. If it goes tits up, which is likely then it wont matter so much. :)
always up for a challenge, as long its one I can do!:D
Don't ditch Windows until you are happy with what Linux offers. I'd look into partitioning your HDD and running both to start with. Most Linux CD/DVDs are bootable, so you can run the PC directly off the disc to see how you like the distro. I've tried Linux a few times and there generally seem to be a few little annoyances. Although the latest Zorin I tried ran with no issues. Bit awkward and bland though, but it's just a tool.
Not heard about the W10 upgrade not being free though. What's that about?
Don't ditch Windows until you are happy with what Linux offers. I'd look into partitioning your HDD and running both to start with. Most Linux CD/DVDs are bootable, so you can run the PC directly off the disc to see how you like the distro. I've tried Linux a few times and there generally seem to be a few little annoyances. Although the latest Zorin I tried ran with no issues. Bit awkward and bland though, but it's just a tool.
Not heard about the W10 upgrade not being free though. What's that about?
Ive been hearing rumours that its for a shortish period(6 months or a year) and you have to sign up for a yearly sub to get updates etc or they will hang you out to dry. I dont think I will be taking it tbh. Have to say I thought it strange Microsoft were offering anything free. They are changing apparently from buying software to subs....I think It will kill them tbh
walpurgis
23-06-2015, 23:16
http://www.winbeta.org/news/stopping-fud-there-no-yearly-subscription-fee-windows-10
Interesting Geoff, but there are more than 1 way to skin a cat. I t gives me hope though...still wont take it initially..... and will probably try a lynux trial on a pc I dont need if it goes pear shaped...... have to say I dont overly trust microsoft or many big software companies.
nice find mate.:)
Firebottle
24-06-2015, 06:11
When Microsh*t finally became totally unusual, sorry should have typed unusable, :steam: I switched to Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon on both desktop and an old Compaq laptop.
I installed dual boot with Win XPpro on the laptop but only use Linux :)
Haven't looked back since.
:cool:
john blackburn
24-06-2015, 07:21
I had problems trying to dual boot Ubuntu with windows 8.1 on an Acer laptop using UEFI. In the end I erased windows and all was well.
I couldn't get the partitions to change even after supervisor and hdd passwords had been put in.
John
walpurgis
24-06-2015, 08:50
I had problems trying to dual boot Ubuntu with windows 8.1 on an Acer laptop using UEFI. In the end I erased windows and all was well.
I couldn't get the partitions to change even after supervisor and hdd passwords had been put in.
John
A little research will reveal the ins and outs of partitioning your HDD. If you look on respectable free software sites like Download.com, Filehippo and Softpedia, you'll find partitioning utlities available. You do have to uncheck a box or two or click a decline tag to avoid additional hosted 'free' software being included in your download, that's all.
john blackburn
24-06-2015, 10:22
So it says on the internet, but my experiences were very different.
It may be unique to Acer laptops but the partition manager reports an unmoveable object in the C partition that refuses point blank to be moved.
John
If anybody is keen to try Linux on their Windows laptop and assuming you have enough free drive space then don't muck about with partitioning and dual booting, install VirtualBox and create a Linux Virtual Machine (VM). You'll need either an ISO file or CD/DVD image of the Linux distro, VirtualBox installed and a bit of time to configure it. Much easier and if you don't like what the Linux environment looks like/does/or operates etc, just delete the VM and VirtualBox... :eyebrows:
Well I installed vmware trial(30day free) then a cinnamon linux all on my win 8.1 machine........ twas an exercise in futility lol. it didnt do much, or offer me much....obviously I'm a numpty but if thats all I can get to then I guess I will just have to remain a slave to bloody microsoft.....damn it!!! all deleted and I guess I used an hr of the 30 days lol
walpurgis
24-06-2015, 22:26
Many Linux distros can seem bland Grant, but they work, even if Firefox seems to be the browser of choice. Cinnamon is not great (in my opinion). Try an up to date Ubuntu, you may be pleasantly surprised. Just get a bootable disc off eBay for a quid or so and boot directly from it to try the Distro out. It will give install options should you want that.
You say "all deleted". Are you using a good uninstaller? When I set up a PC, I install 'Wise Program Uninstaller'. Far more comprehensive than the Windows inadequate effort. It works a treat and clears out all the crap the Windows app can't.
My OS of choice is Xubuntu (http://xubuntu.org/). It's a stripped down version of Ubuntu, with a very straightforward desktop system (http://www.linuceum.com/Distros/osDesktopXubuntu.php). That means that it provides a platform to launch programmes without any unnecessary bells and whistles. As it's based on Ubuntu, you get all the Ubuntu/Debian niceness, without the horrible Unity desktop.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Xubuntu_12.04.jpg
As for not breaking the Windows install, I'd recommend getting yourself a new hard drive. I bought a 120Gb Solid State Drive for my Toshiba laptop and with Xubuntu, it flies! I still have the Windows hard drive which I could swap back in if needed (never has been).
walpurgis
26-06-2015, 20:08
This little lot landed on my doormat today.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251079686117?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I'll give them a try over the weekend.
Many Linux distros can seem bland Grant, but they work, even if Firefox seems to be the browser of choice. Cinnamon is not great (in my opinion). Try an up to date Ubuntu, you may be pleasantly surprised. Just get a bootable disc off eBay for a quid or so and boot directly from it to try the Distro out. It will give install options should you want that.
You say "all deleted". Are you using a good uninstaller? When I set up a PC, I install 'Wise Program Uninstaller'. Far more comprehensive than the Windows inadequate effort. It works a treat and clears out all the crap the Windows app can't.
yes, I use Revo pro. its very good. For now I am leaving that can of worms alone; its beyond me without a hands on guide, and maybe after too:doh:
Q: why are Unix commands so user hostile? A: it keeps the plebs out.
Answer when I asked this to a Unix fan 25 years ago. It is the reason I am not fond of it or Linux. It is unnecessarily user hostile.
spendorman
28-06-2015, 21:24
I reckon that for a Windows user, Linux Mint is one of the best options. I would go with one that provides Long Term Support (LTS). I'm using Linux Mint 17.1 Mate, but I see that 17.2 is out.
I've tried many Linux distros but come back to Mint. Zorin looked nice, but I found a few limitations.
One can install and run Linux from a USB stick, it will run slower than if installed on HD: just download Universal USB Installer: http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
Linux Mint: http://www.linuxmint.com/
thats the version i tried but it didnt work. must be my fault; I am good with windows but can get nowhere with linux tbh. I was amazed I got the Pi to work
walpurgis
28-06-2015, 21:38
thats the version i tried but it didnt work. must be my fault; I am good with windows but can get nowhere with linux tbh. I was amazed I got the Pi to work
I tried five Linux distros on my PC yesterday before messing it up. Ran this briefly and was impressed: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lubuntu-15-04-32-bit-Run-Live-or-Install-CD-many-apps-inc-Firefox-Abiword-/261880394543?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cf949b32f
Looks nice and worked easily and without issues. The install option is on the desktop, if its wanted after trying the O/S.
spendorman
28-06-2015, 21:56
thats the version i tried but it didnt work. must be my fault; I am good with windows but can get nowhere with linux tbh. I was amazed I got the Pi to work
Sometimes a particular distro does not like working with a particular computer. I guess that once you have a working distro, you will quite like it. If you created a Live Disk, it's worth trying it in another machine. Loading from Disk can take a fair old time, also from USB too, depends on machine.
walpurgis
28-06-2015, 22:26
I've had Linux Mint 17v2 Cinnamon running fine on a couple of older computers.
spendorman
28-06-2015, 22:48
What I found with the lightweight distros, is that they run quite well, but to are more difficult to update and do things with that the "normal" distributions.
My Netbook was installed with W7 from new, it's always been a bit slow. I put Mint 17.1 Mate alongside W7, and it's much better to use. Never really boot to W7 on that now.
walpurgis
28-06-2015, 22:52
It's easy enough to boot from a live Linux CD and save stuff to a memory stick, never needing an installed O/S at all.
Q: why are Unix commands so user hostile? A: it keeps the plebs out.
Answer when I asked this to a Unix fan 25 years ago. It is the reason I am not fond of it or Linux. It is unnecessarily user hostile.
There are at least two answers to that, one of them is true.
"Unix iIS user friendly, its just picky about who its friends are"
The truth, is that the shell dates from the days where you may be using a teletype, short commands are much nice in that case, "ls" is a lot better to type that "ListMeAllTheFilesPlease /MakeThediretoryIAmListingTheCurrentOne"
Also, the commands are what they are, if you want to use the shell you just need to learn them, its not hard, it is a computer, so some complexity is allowed. If you want simple, thats what the GUI is for.
spendorman
28-06-2015, 22:55
It's easy enough to boot from a live Linux CD and save stuff to a memory stick, never needing an installed O/S at all.
This is slow, use Universal USB Installer and install to USB, when asked allow "Persistent", then you can boot from stick and also a save to it. Install to HD is on the desktop, just the same.
walpurgis
28-06-2015, 23:24
This is slow, use Universal USB Installer and install to USB, when asked allow "Persistent", then you can boot from stick and also a save to it. Install to HD is on the desktop, just the same.
Not actually tried that. I'm a relative newcomer to Linux. But I'm quite prepared to bugger that up as well as Windows! :thumbsup:
spendorman
28-06-2015, 23:34
Not actually tried that. I'm a relative newcomer to Linux. But I'm quite prepared to bugger that up as well as Windows! :thumbsup:
If you don't want to bother to install to USB, can buy them already done. e.g.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ubuntu-15-04-Latest-Version-Linux-on-a-Stick-USB-8GB-Flash-Drive-/161720761776
and Mint:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Linux-MINT-17-1-Rebecca-chose-32-or-64-bit-O-S-on-8GB-USB-inc-4GB-persistence-/251192144064
spendorman
28-06-2015, 23:49
Not actually tried that. I'm a relative newcomer to Linux. But I'm quite prepared to bugger that up as well as Windows! :thumbsup:
I don't really know much about computers, but friends think I do. A particular friend not very computer literate, was always buggering up Windows. I suggested Linux Mint 9 when it came out, sent him a CD, he was surprised that he managed to install it, ran for several years until updates were not available, sent him Mint 13 LTS, he installed it, all OK, He had not managed to break the Linux.
I have sent him Mint 17.1, but he's not installed it yet.
I use Slackware 14.1 and love that distro. It's stable, quick and installs on everything. I have used Linux for a lot of years. Never miss Windows for anything, especially not v.8.
openSuse will also serve all your needs:
https://www.opensuse.org/en/
There are at least two answers to that, one of them is true.
"Unix iIS user friendly, its just picky about who its friends are"
The truth, is that the shell dates from the days where you may be using a teletype, short commands are much nice in that case, "ls" is a lot better to type that "ListMeAllTheFilesPlease /MakeThediretoryIAmListingTheCurrentOne"
Also, the commands are what they are, if you want to use the shell you just need to learn them, its not hard, it is a computer, so some complexity is allowed. If you want simple, thats what the GUI is for.
Well criticising serves me right I am surrounded by Centos machines and am living/eating/breathing it all day every day at the moment, LOL.
Thing is realistically you can't stay GUI bound for everything, whereas you pretty much can for 95% of stuff on Windows.
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