Linux ? Why?

O

outop49

Active Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
I am using my PC for a couple of applications and surfing.
All the buzz around Linux, Open Source Software, etc, etc, sounds very exciting and challenging. Are there any direct rewards, other than satisfying my curiosity, in experimenting with Linux? Can one run Linux on the same computer as Windows XP? What possible ramifications can one expect by doing it? Thank you for your input.
 
Yes, you can run Linux on the same box and harddrive as WinXp - I've done it, but will leave the HowTo to the real experts.

The most serious ramification will be that you will discover there is life without Bill Gates :)
 
If you are curious, best thing to do is just give it a go, try a live CD even.
Do your research and pick a distro, GNU/Linux community = strong.
So much room to learn if you are interested in discovering new things, so many wonderful open source applications.
 
As a learning exprience it is good, but Linux is still far from ready for most people to run all the time. I used Linux from '97 to mid-2005, and whilst it made great strides, it is still far from being as good as Windows, let alone OS X.

Regarding your question about running Windows and Linux on the same machine. This is easily done via dual booting. Since partition resizing is highly risky, best bet is to back up everything you want and then start from fresh
 
JStrike, perhaps we could agree a live CD would be a good way to observe the user enviroment etc without committing to any hardware reconfiguration?
 
Beta : Most definitely. Ubuntu provide a great LiveCD that you can use to test it out
 
Last edited:
Excuse my ignorance. What is a live cd? I just received my Ubuntu pack (V6.06 LTS) Is this it?
 
PearlJam : In that pack should be some Install CD's and some Live CD's
 
My opinion: Depending on the flavour of Linux, you will get a completely different experience and each one is aimed at a different kind of user. Don't judge "Linux" as a whole on the experience you may find with just one flavour. If you get stuck on one (or for example can't get certain devices to work), try another.

Personally, I'm a BSD fan. In the world of "Open Source", there are generally 2 camps. Linux and BSD. Linux is the more common and popular one, but BSD has a closer lineage to Unix and a more direct descendent. OS X by the way is actually a BSD descendent, but most guys are oblivious to this thinking it's Linux based. One of the main differences is the distribution license.

I'm busy testing FreeBSD and OpenBSD as the two potential operating systems for my website. FreeBSD is far easier to setup and user friendly. OpenBSD is more hard core and is regarded as the most secure operating system in the world, as their motto "Secure by default" states.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth!
 
Thanx fellas, JStrike & Beta.
I came to the conclusion that I should register for a Launchpad account on the Ubuntu website and then request the cd-pack as mentioned by Pearljam whereafter I can have look on how this whole thing operates by running the Live CD.
What is a distro? It appears as if it is using a lot of bandwidth?
I am really interested to find out more about these new developments but it is important for me to have a reliable hazzle-free environment for my applications. I am hesitant to threaten the existing stability that I do enjoy with Windows XP.
 
Can I make a BIG suggestion, buy a small drive like 20GB or 40GB, even a second hand one if you don't have one lying around, at least even an 8GB drive and install Linux on that one! Even disconnect your current XP drive from the computer! Linux can sometimes detect disabled drives. Installing it on an old drive by itself to test is the best idea! Don't install a dual boot drive in-case you don't like the distro ... that's what a distro is ... distribution ... basically Ubuntu is a distro, Suse is another distro etc.
 
outop49 said:
Thanx fellas, JStrike & Beta.
I came to the conclusion that I should register for a Launchpad account on the Ubuntu website and then request the cd-pack as mentioned by Pearljam whereafter I can have look on how this whole thing operates by running the Live CD.
Click to expand...

I've got spare ubuntu / kubuntu discs lying around (kubuntu is same as ubuntu but with different desktop environment). PM me and we can make a plan - much quicker than launch pad.

@PearlJam: 6.06LTS is just one cd which is both live and install CD. Boot from the CD to try out ubuntu without making any changes to your harddrive. If you like what you see, there is an icon on the desktop that will ask you a couple of questions before installing to your desk.

(Don't take my word on this, and definitely BACK UP first, but i think you can install ubuntu next to XP or whatever ie dual-booting, from there.)
 
From the article posted above :

It's not unheard of for new users to reboot their computers because they couldn't figure out how else to get out of vi.
Click to expand...

LOL

I must confess, I was one of these.... :D and now I'm still laughing at the memory it brought back... now I'm a bit wiser and know my way around vi better... :D
 
Talk of the devil........tried vi for the first time a few days back, and guess what? :D
nano, or even mc itself, is a lot easier :)

Just installed Gentoo 2006 on a spare partition (triple booting), which is a great disto if you want to learn the ins and outs of Linux. NOT for the impatient tho :rolleyes: . Got as far as sorting out X. Still got KDE to d/l and 'emerge' (pity about the darn caps) !!!!!! Given Bill Gates and Micro$oft enough of my hard-earned money !

Plenty of distributions (and Linux info) to choose from here --->
http://distrowatch.com/
Ubuntu (as usual) on top of the list :) . Go, Mark, go.

Just look at these stats for http://www.ubuntuforums.org/index.php
Ubuntu Forums Statistics
Threads: 251,996, Posts: 1,485,778, Members: 164,717, Active Members: 124,348
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X