Cyber Geek talk for Real People

[Wakalapi]

Anybody else here use Linux? If you have a really messed up computer you're thinking of just junking, dispair no more.

The fix:

Replace Microsoft Windows with the secure, stable, fast and memory-efficient Linux operating system. Today, you don't have to be a computer geek to install or use it. It's easier than Windows (think Mac, which now runs BSD, a cousin of Linux).

A comparison:

WINDOWS - complicated to install and can take well over an hour.
Linux - can run entirely from a CD-ROM, but can be installed in about 15 minutes, and so easy.

WINDOWS - targeted by virus authors worldwide, architecture is a "trade secret" that only Microsoft engineers can see and fix. Problems are missed longer, resulting in downloadable fixes being spread over years.
Linux - most distro's are open source, allowing everyone to find problems and bring them to the attention of developer communities. Still, downloadable updates are available to ensure security and increase efficiency.

WINDOWS - is expensive and software to make your computer really useful is also expensive.
Linux - most distro's are free and most major office and graphics suites and thousands of other programs are absolutely free.

WINDOWS - legally restricted to one computer. Sharing or copying is "piracy".
Linux - Most distro's are GPL licensed and can be legally distributed to unlimited number of machines. Sharing and copying is encouraged.

WINDOWS - is popular only because Microsoft made sweetheart deals with computer makers long ago.
Linux - is catching up! More and more computers with popular distributions of Linux preinstalled are becoming available in the marketplace (and for lower cost than Windows machines due to Linux non-price and GPL licensing).

WINDOWS - includes codex to play proprietary file types such as MP3, encrypted (most commercial) DVD's, etc.
Linux - though some distro's do not include these codex by default due to patent laws in the USA, they are freely downloadable and easy to install. (Some distro's do include them, though.)

On my own computer, I have both Microsoft Windows XP SP3 and Ubuntu Linux 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex" using the Gnome 2.24.1 window manager. When booted into Windows, my computer is slower (the speed Windows users are used to) and the hard drive "thrashes" the whole time as Windows writes memory pages onto disk. When booted into Linux, my computer is faster (the speed Linux users are used to) and with better memory management, the swap partitions are used less frequently. My home system is 3.2Ghz Celeron with 1.5GB RAM. On my Gateway laptop with 2Ghz Celeron and 768MG RAM, the machine actually runs cooler when booted to Linux.

Check it out:
Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu (most popular desktop Linux distro)
Sabayon Linux Project Website (also popular)
Fedora Project (also popular)
www.centos.org - The Community ENTerprise Operating System (most popular server Linux distro, still good for desktops)
Puppy Linux (popular for older computers -- it's amazing)

CentOS is the most popular server on the Internet, beating even Microsoft IIS.

[OLChemist]

Ahhh... the three great religions of the world: Windows, Mac, Linux...

I'm trying to convert my father to the land of the Mac-faithful. He needs Windows to run one accounting app and open some legacy files. I've waved VM Fusion in front of his face and explained the much smaller threat profile for UNIX, but he won't surrender Internet Explorer. But the fact that his new laptop will come with Vista may be enough.

We use Linux on our nameservers at work, but I haven't used it much.

[ndnsooner]

I'm in the process of installing linux on an older PC. Just trying to figure out which version to use.

[Josiah]

I have used windows for so long not sure I would know how to switch
LOL
I started on DOS and Win 3.0
Now use Vista
I lived through the bad ole days of Win 95 and 98
XP was better and Vista is the most stable yet

But my older legacy programs are now gathering dust on my shelfs no longer able to use them on Vista

I have known about these other platforms of course
My Mother who is an Educator is a zealot when it comes to her Mac
But after trying it many times cant stand MAC
LOL

I went onto the websites that you had links for and read through the stuff
May have to give it a try....

[Wakalapi]

I'm in the process of installing linux on an older PC. Just trying to figure out which version to use.

I'd suggest Puppy Linux, Damn Small Linux, or simply an older version of Ubuntu. Depends on how "advanced" you feel going about it I guess, and how "old" your machine is. I picked up some PIII 700Mhz boxes with 64MB to 128MB RAM and got Puppy to run pretty well on them. Now that they've been reborn, they'll make donations to some of the families with kids on our drum who have no computers at all. Originally they ran Win 98SE. But if by "old" you mean just a few years (Pentium/AMD/Celeron running 1.0GHz or faster, 256MB RAM or more) I would just try throwing one of the latest distro's on.

With some, you can actually boot from the CD and if you don't like what you see, no changes were made to your hard drive for the trial run. Of course, it will run much slower that way but it will still give you an idea of what's in there and how it works.

[Wakalapi]

Ahhh... the three great religions of the world: Windows, Mac, Linux...

That's basically about it enit? I also have OpenSolaris but in terms of actual use it's not much different than Linux to the end-user. Same with BSD. By the time it boots up to your screen in GUI, it's all in which window manager you've got. KDE seems aimed at resembling Windows, Gnome seems aimed at resembling old-school Mac, and Xcfe seems aimed at resembling new Mac (all my opinion only). KDE is the most resource-intensive of the three, but still light and efficient compared to XP or Vista. Most programs can run under either window manager, and you can install unlimited window managers on your machine, select/reselect the default and pick and choose each time you boot if you want.

[ndnsooner]

I'd suggest Puppy Linux, Damn Small Linux, or simply an older version of Ubuntu. Depends on how "advanced" you feel going about it I guess, and how "old" your machine is. I picked up some PIII 700Mhz boxes with 64MB to 128MB RAM and got Puppy to run pretty well on them. Now that they've been reborn, they'll make donations to some of the families with kids on our drum who have no computers at all. Originally they ran Win 98SE. But if by "old" you mean just a few years (Pentium/AMD/Celeron running 1.0GHz or faster, 256MB RAM or more) I would just try throwing one of the latest distro's on.

With some, you can actually boot from the CD and if you don't like what you see, no changes were made to your hard drive for the trial run. Of course, it will run much slower that way but it will still give you an idea of what's in there and how it works.

I hope Puppy Linux doesn't cause my PC to pee on the carpet. Nothing more shocking than to find a cold wet pee spot while walking around barefoot. lol