For those of you who don't know already, I have made the switch over to linux recently and now, I use linux more that windows.
I am starting this thread to provide some basic information about linux for those of you who may be interested.
First off all, I will attempt to answer the first basic question that comes to mind: Why Linux?
Here are some answers i managed to put together:
1. Its free
2. its generally more stable than windows
3. it requires less "maintainence" than windows
4. no issues with spyware, adware, trojans, viruses, etc
5. all programs for linux are free.
6. there are lots of programs for linux and they are easy to find and install.
7. all major scientific research is done on linux based systems. those people interesting in going into a science or computer field should learn linux. (not all, just alot)
As you can see, linux has many advantages that people will find useful.
So, how do you get linux?
The answer for this is simple too....
Go online and download it for free!
Linux, unlike windows, comes with many different distributions and most of these can be downloaded for free. each distribution has its own set of advantage and disadvantages. for beginners, i recommend ubuntu or mandrake as systems based on those 2 distros can be quickly and easily set up.
the linux world comes with two main desktop environments, gnome and KDE. According to some, gnome is initially easier to use and better suited for people just making the switch to linux. KDE is generally considered to be more customizable more "advanced". From my point of view, both gnome and KDE and pretty good and it basically comes down to personal preference. Personally, i prefer KDE so that is what i use.
For those of you who just want to test out linux, many linux distros come in something called a live cd. A live cd basically allows you to run linux without writing anything on your hard disk. essentially, a live cd uses your RAM as a hard drive and runs linux off of your ram. a live cd is good for testing out a particular linux distro, but on a live cd, you can't save any files or settings. a live CD is pretty much good for only testing purposes.
another option is to install linux on your hard drive and use it as your operating system instead of windows.
most people (myself included) go a separate, middle path. we use something called dual boot. dual boot allows both linux and windows to coexist on the same hard drive. using dual boot, you can choose which operating system you want to boot into when your computer first starts up. this is good because it allows you to have the best of both worlds. the downside is that a dual boot system can be tricky to set up. if your computer already has windows installed on it, the process is complicated even more.
the way dual boot works is through something called grub. Grub is integrated into your hard drives master boot record so when the computer start, it first runs grub before linux or windows, thus allowing you to choose which operating system you would like to proceed in. the tricky part is that windows and linux must be installed on different partitions. on systems that already have windows installed, the main partition probably takes up the majority of the avaliable disk space, leaving no room for linux to be installed. therefore, to install linux, the main windows partition must first be resized. however, there is yet another catch. before the window parition can be resized, the windows file system must first undergo the resizing operation. thus, one must first shrink the windows file system, shrink the windows partition, create new paritions for linux, and modify the master boot record before a working dual boot system can be achieved.
while this sounds way complicated, in actuality, its not THAT tough. the reason for this is many linux installers come bundled with something called NTFS resizer. basically, NTFS resizer allows you to resize your windows partition and create linux partitions during the linux install process. then, the linux installers will also automatically install grub if it detects another operating system on the hard disk! while this does require you to have some basic knowledge of partitioning, it is not as complicated as it sounds.
if anybody would like to get a start on linux, i hope this thread helps set you in the right direction on your journey to the free open source world. please feel free to post any questions you may have on here and i will try to answer them for you. good luck!
Resources
http://nocloud.hopto.org/club/forum/ (member: nocloud)
I am starting this thread to provide some basic information about linux for those of you who may be interested.
First off all, I will attempt to answer the first basic question that comes to mind: Why Linux?
Here are some answers i managed to put together:
1. Its free
2. its generally more stable than windows
3. it requires less "maintainence" than windows
4. no issues with spyware, adware, trojans, viruses, etc
5. all programs for linux are free.
6. there are lots of programs for linux and they are easy to find and install.
7. all major scientific research is done on linux based systems. those people interesting in going into a science or computer field should learn linux. (not all, just alot)
As you can see, linux has many advantages that people will find useful.
So, how do you get linux?
The answer for this is simple too....
Go online and download it for free!
Linux, unlike windows, comes with many different distributions and most of these can be downloaded for free. each distribution has its own set of advantage and disadvantages. for beginners, i recommend ubuntu or mandrake as systems based on those 2 distros can be quickly and easily set up.
the linux world comes with two main desktop environments, gnome and KDE. According to some, gnome is initially easier to use and better suited for people just making the switch to linux. KDE is generally considered to be more customizable more "advanced". From my point of view, both gnome and KDE and pretty good and it basically comes down to personal preference. Personally, i prefer KDE so that is what i use.
For those of you who just want to test out linux, many linux distros come in something called a live cd. A live cd basically allows you to run linux without writing anything on your hard disk. essentially, a live cd uses your RAM as a hard drive and runs linux off of your ram. a live cd is good for testing out a particular linux distro, but on a live cd, you can't save any files or settings. a live CD is pretty much good for only testing purposes.
another option is to install linux on your hard drive and use it as your operating system instead of windows.
most people (myself included) go a separate, middle path. we use something called dual boot. dual boot allows both linux and windows to coexist on the same hard drive. using dual boot, you can choose which operating system you want to boot into when your computer first starts up. this is good because it allows you to have the best of both worlds. the downside is that a dual boot system can be tricky to set up. if your computer already has windows installed on it, the process is complicated even more.
the way dual boot works is through something called grub. Grub is integrated into your hard drives master boot record so when the computer start, it first runs grub before linux or windows, thus allowing you to choose which operating system you would like to proceed in. the tricky part is that windows and linux must be installed on different partitions. on systems that already have windows installed, the main partition probably takes up the majority of the avaliable disk space, leaving no room for linux to be installed. therefore, to install linux, the main windows partition must first be resized. however, there is yet another catch. before the window parition can be resized, the windows file system must first undergo the resizing operation. thus, one must first shrink the windows file system, shrink the windows partition, create new paritions for linux, and modify the master boot record before a working dual boot system can be achieved.
while this sounds way complicated, in actuality, its not THAT tough. the reason for this is many linux installers come bundled with something called NTFS resizer. basically, NTFS resizer allows you to resize your windows partition and create linux partitions during the linux install process. then, the linux installers will also automatically install grub if it detects another operating system on the hard disk! while this does require you to have some basic knowledge of partitioning, it is not as complicated as it sounds.
if anybody would like to get a start on linux, i hope this thread helps set you in the right direction on your journey to the free open source world. please feel free to post any questions you may have on here and i will try to answer them for you. good luck!
Resources
http://nocloud.hopto.org/club/forum/ (member: nocloud)