[Loki]

I've sort of been thinking about trying Linux out, partly just for shits and giggles, but also to see if it's a viable alternative to Microsoft products, which I'm beginning to seriously distrust. I think Microsoft, like Google and the other technobeasts, are more than willing (nay, EAGER) to sell all of us out to the increasingly invasive Police State.

First off, is it really worth going to Linux? Is it stable? Also, is it possible to have both Linux and Windows on the same computer? I'd like to use my old laptop for this experiment---it only has a 20GB HD, 256MB RAM, and a very old and slow CPU (AMD 1400+). The only reason I'd keep Windows on this machine is so I can run ArcGIS, which requires Windows. Any links, advice, or other info folks here can offer would be most appreciated.

Also, are there any decent open source Word type programs? How about spreadsheet programs like Excel? I'm already running Firefox, which usually works OK when it isn't crashing. But it's still better than Explorer, which I've come to absolutely loath.

[Novus]

I ran SuSE Linux as my main OS for over a year. It will run on just about any hardware and was easier to set up than windows XP. It ran firefox and open office suite just fine. Even if you don't dive full into Linux you can always check out http://www.openoffice.org for a free equivalent to microsoft's pricey office suite.

[cynicalheretic]

Look up Ubuntu, its a very easy distro for newbies to get started with.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'I')'d like to use my old laptop for this experiment---it only has a 20GB HD, 256MB RAM, and a very old and slow CPU (AMD 1400+).

[dukey]

linux runs on anything
and there are many flavours of linux
Yes you can dual boot linux and windows

Linux is designed with the X (graphical user interface) seperately. So you can use any X you want with your linux install. You can install 5 different X's if you want. PC i used to use had this. Linux is essentially a command line driven OS with a graphical user interface lumped ontop. It's not especially newbie friendly, but on the bright side its very powerful and is free, enjoy

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dukey', 'l')inux runs on anything

[Loki]

Edited out response to troll.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'U')m, gee, what changed? How about five years of computer technology?

[Aaron]

OpenOffice.org as mentioned.

VLC Media Player for Movies Music etc...

Media Player Classic for "Real" Video/Audio files.

Look into "dual boot" for running Linux & Windows on the same box.

The Gimp - Like Photoshop.

http://www.zoho.com

Ubuntu Rocks

Google is one of the only search providers who does not roll over for govt info requests. They also offer AJAX based online applications second to none.

GMail is the best mail platform.

[Aaron]

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?si ... 8&from=rss

[rostov]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', '
')First off, is it really worth going to Linux? Is it stable?

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rostov', '
')1) Dual boot. Personally, I'd avoid this.

[TommyJefferson]

> I've sort of been thinking about trying Linux out

So you are in need of a new hobby? (Just kidding.)

Another vote for Kubuntu. http://www.kubuntu.org

Kubuntu is a version of Ubuntu Linux with uses KDE as the interface. I believe the KDE interface is more Windoze-like than the Gnome interface that comes with Ubuntu.

Kubuntu advantages:
* Installs easy
* Recognizes most hardware.
* Good "Add/Remove programs" facility (similar to Wwindows)
* No DVD or huge number of CD's required as in RedHat, et al.
* Good support forums for beginners if you get stuck
* It's FREE

Kubuntu disadvantages:
* Fonts totally suck.
* Even if you install MS fonts, the font rendering still totally sucks.
* Did I mention the fonts suck?

I run a dualboot machine with the bootloader program Grub allowing me to select which OS I want at boot up.

Kubuntu has a nasty habit of re-writing the bootloader file after major updates. I have to hand edit the menu.lst file to re-enable Windows.

Avoid this by not having a dual boot system.


> 20GB HD, 256MB RAM, and a very old and slow CPU (AMD 1400+).

Kubuntu should run on that just fine. For snappier performace, try Damn Small Linux http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/applications.html

Open Office = MS Office (Word, Excel, etc.)

Firefox >= Internet Explorer

Thunderbird >= Outlook Express

These programs are available in Kubuntu's "Add/Remove Programs" facility. No more futzing with tarballs, learning UNIX command line commands, and endless dependencies as in past versions of Linux.

Adding programs can now be easily done without going to the command line.

[Loki]

I downloaded OpenOffice and have been checking it out. Looks pretty good. Thanks for the tip Novus.

Aaron, I've been using GIMP for a while. Works just fine for the very basic image manipulation I need to do. Is there an open-source version of Illustrator by any chance?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('rostov', 'W')hat's the model of your laptop? This site could probably yield some information on running various linux distros on your hardware.

[cynicalheretic]

If you really want to be on top of the game, just switch to straight old unix. Nothing like pure command line fun. Have you ever seen the web in just pure text. It's a sight to behold.

[Schneider]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Loki', 'I')'d like to use my old laptop for this experiment---it only has a 20GB HD, 256MB RAM, and a very old and slow CPU (AMD 1400+)

[Loki]

Thanks for the info re. laptops Schneider. I didn't know there might be problems when changing the OS. My laptop isn't in the list Rostov linked to, but none of the other Pavilion models listed there seem to have issues running Linux.

I managed to try out Ubuntu using VMware Player. I like it---I think it will work just fine for my purposes. It's pretty slow, but I assume that's because of VMware (plus the version of Ubuntu I'm using is very much scaled down---definitely not the full version). I think my next step will be to partition my laptop's HD and load the full version of Ubuntu.

One of my concerns is using wireless internet. I have a cheap wireless adapter that I use to access my city's free wifi service. What exactly do I need to do to make this work once I install Linux? Will it work automatically like it did in Windows, or do I have to install special drivers/programs?

ETA: Also forgot to ask how much space I should allocate for Linux and XP? My HD is only 20GB. I only need XP for ArcGIS, so I'd like to allocate the minimum amount of space possible for that. The rest can be devoted to Linux, but should I have a third partition for my personal data? I've never partitioned a HD before, so any advice would be appreciated.

All I currently have on my laptop are back-up files, so I don't have a problem erasing the HD and starting from scratch.

[Aaron]

Want to try out various distros with the install pain?

LiveCD's let you run popular distros without installing them.

http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

-------------------------------------

Illustrator blows... specifically what do you use it for?

[J-Rod]

How much RAM do you have? I'd do like 5 gig for XP, 5 gig for root, your swap should equal your RAM size, use what's left for /home. You could pare down the XP and Root of course, but I always leave a little leeway for stuffin the future you didn't think about.

[Loki]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('J-Rod', 'H')ow much RAM do you have? I'd do like 5 gig for XP, 5 gig for root, your swap should equal your RAM size, use what's left for /home. You could pare down the XP and Root of course, but I always leave a little leeway for stuffin the future you didn't think about.