Please help with Linux!!

Razorlite · Feb 12, 2007

Hi All,

This is a question aimed at anyone who has a knowledge of, or runs Linux operating systems on a PC.

Here goes - I have a desktop PC that I want to set up and maybe let my son use too. The system has a wireless network card which I would like to have working (for the internet). I wanted to give Linux a go as I heard some good comments about it, and want to know:

Which version of Linux should I use?
Is the wireless networking side easy to set up on Linux?
I have NO experience of Linux so, is it easy to use? (I'm an XP man).

A BIG thanks in advance to all who reply!!! :biggrin:

liege · Feb 12, 2007

I went to a site called "distrowatch.com" and downloaded a version of Ubuntu. It was a live CD (almost 700MB download)which means you can boot up your computer with the CD in and it will load the operating system(Ubuntu) into your memory. Play around with it and see if you like it or that it's for you. If you would like to keep it on your system you have the option of installing it. If not, reboot without the CD and everything reverts back to normal. I am probably going to dual boot XP and Ubuntu. There are a lot of user groups on the Distrowatch.com site to help with virtually any questions you might have or any problems you encounter

RichGem · Feb 12, 2007

Razorlite said:
Hi All,

This is a question aimed at anyone who has a knowledge of, or runs Linux operating systems on a PC.

Here goes - I have a desktop PC that I want to set up and maybe let my son use too. The system has a wireless network card which I would like to have working (for the internet). I wanted to give Linux a go as I heard some good comments about it, and want to know:

Which version of Linux should I use?

Is the wireless networking side easy to set up on Linux?

I have NO experience of Linux so, is it easy to use? (I'm an XP man).

A BIG thanks in advance to all who reply!!!

Hi,

I can't say which version of linux to use... there are tons. But, the most popular are Fedora, SuSe, & Ubuntu. All have "live cd" where you can try them out and NOT change anything on your system. Wireless networking is generally good, but it depends on the chipset you are using. Some chips do not make their specs available and so are not supported or are not supported well. Google for more on that.

Is linux easy? Well, generally yes. But, you have to get used to a few things like better security and having an admin ("root") password for some things, mounting external file systems, etc. That said, it isn't for the totally green. But, if you consider yourself an high middle to advanced windoz user you shouldn't have major problems.

I started using linux almost 4 years ago and yes there was a learning curve and some frustrations. But, no way am I going back to windows. You will probably experience the same thing. But, linux is also a lot easier to use now vs. then. If you have any Unix experience, this will be a big help to you.

My advice is to try out the "live cds" and go from there. For a while I set up a dual boot system and that helped a bit. Also, make sure that there are linux equivalents of any software you just cant live without.

Hope this helps.
Richard

RichGem · Feb 12, 2007

ps: also you may want to google for your nearest Linux Users Group or LUG (there are quite a few in the UK and in Europe). You may be able to go to one of their meetings near you and see things first hand and talk to the local gurus. Linux guys are generally very helpful to newbies and potential converts.

webguru24 · Feb 12, 2007

Hey Razorlite,

Since you have an XP background, I would highly recommend using Ubuntu. This is probably the easiest distro to use IMO and is remarkably pain free to setup. Any additional software is easily downloaded through a GUI application (Synaptic in this case) and makes adding and removing new software a breeze.

As for wireless networking, yes, Linux does support it and it usually works very well; however, not all wireless chipsets have Linux-native drivers. If your wireless card has the dreaded Broadcom chipset, you'll have to pass your Windows driver through a small program called Ndiswrapper (http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/). This should be in whatever the distro's package manager. Setting it up is command line only though.

Good luck, you can PM me if you've got anymore questions and I'll answer them as best as I can. I'm far from a Linux guru, but I know my way around fairly well.

_JP_ · Feb 12, 2007

I would also give Ubuntu a nod as probably the easiest distro of Linux for a newby. You can either download it, or order a free cd from here: https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

Another way to check out Ubuntu (and lots of other operating systems or other stuff) is to use VMWare, which is free. Be sure to grab the browser appliance, which is an already configured ready-to-go copy of Ubuntu. Using this method, you can run Ubuntu on your current system as a virtual machine instead of having to install it.

RichGem · Feb 12, 2007

Oh, and for the record, I'm a Fedora user having started back in the days of Red Hat 8.0.

Also, look to Knoppix... not designed for installation really, but it is the "classic" and very well stocked live cd (also now comes in a very very well stocked DVD version).

wesbaker · Feb 12, 2007

My mom uses Ubuntu pretty well for her email and internet. I set it up to backup both her browser activity (bookmarks, cookies, saved passwords..etc) and all of her email (address book included) to a seperate computer on the network. So if she ever does mess it up (which hasn't happened yet) I can just copy the old files over. She can't get the most common viruses and malware and she doesn't know enough to break it.

I've kind of decided that Linux is a all or nothing kind of OS. You'll really like it if you do very little (email, internet and office) or if you do a lot (command line, programming, bit more experienced stuff). It's the middle grounds that it falls short in. The worst place is in gaming simply because no one supports it except for Unreal Tournament and ID software.

Knowing all that, I recommend Ubuntu if you want to give Linux a shot. It's a great distro that does nearly everything for you. And it's not like other noob distros where it doesn't really grow with you; it will allow you to do anything you want with it.

fatpig · Feb 12, 2007

I haven't tried ubuntu but a coworker liked it quite a lot.

if you don't want to download too much stuff try giving a peek to puppylinux
http://www.puppylinux.org/ it is a smaller distribution that crams most of the basic needs in about 80Mb.You can download a disc image and run it from a cd or an usb drive before installing to your hard disk,if you want you can also save afile in a folder on your XP system where you can save all of your Puppy settings and downloaded extra files and data.

Also Knoppix while bigger has some quite good self detection of cards and options on the pc so maybe it is easyer to set-up.

infotech · Feb 12, 2007

Razorlite said:
Hi All,

This is a question aimed at anyone who has a knowledge of, or runs Linux operating systems on a PC.

Here goes - I have a desktop PC that I want to set up and maybe let my son use too. The system has a wireless network card which I would like to have working (for the internet). I wanted to give Linux a go as I heard some good comments about it, and want to know:

Which version of Linux should I use?

Is the wireless networking side easy to set up on Linux?

I have NO experience of Linux so, is it easy to use? (I'm an XP man).

I usually take a couple of months each year and install the latest build of Linux that's getting all the hype at that time and one that is known as the hacker edition.

Last year I installed Ubuntu, Suse, Slackware and a few of the Live CD's. Suse was my favorite and I continued to use it for a few months.

Wireless networking has the potential to be a real PITA to setup. Your best bet is to check the hardware compatibility list of the version of Linux you're going to install and make sure you card is listed. If it isn't I'd suggest buying one that is. There's a possibility you can get one that isn't on the hardware list to work, but be prepared to put half a day or more into trying. You could save yourself a few hours of banging your head against a wall by shelling out some cash for a new one. :biggrin:

Having more than one computer will help because when/if you run into problems you can get on your other machine and search for solutions.

Here's a good linux forum:
www.linuxquestions.org

flippantfig · Feb 12, 2007

Another vote here for going for Ubuntu.

If you decide to try it out, it works for you and you go for an install one thing that will help add a little magic to the mix is Automatix for Ubuntu and other Debian based Linuxes (Linii?).

Automatix2 is a graphical interface for automating the installation of the most commonly requested applications in some Debian based distributions.

This means amongst other things it covers:

1. Acrobat Reader (Adobe Acrobat Reader and plugin for Firefox 1.5)
2. AMSN 0.95 (MSN client with webcam support)
3. Amule (Latest version of a P2P file sharing client)
4. Archiving Tools (Additional archiving tools (rar, unrar, ace, and 7zip))
5. AUD-DVD codecs (NON-FREE Audio and DVD codecs) (Installation of this option is illegal in the United States of America)
6. Avidemux (Video Editing Tool)
7. Azureus (Installs Azureus bittorrent client)
8. Backup and Restore (A graphical backup and restore solution for Ubuntu (GNOME))
9. Beagle (A search program)
10. Bittornado (Bittorent Client)
11. Boot-up Manager (Easy configuration of startup and shutdown scripts and services)
12. Brasero (CD burning tool for Gnome)
13. Checkgmail (A nifty gmail checker)
14. Ctrl-Alt-Del (This configures Ctrl-Alt-Del to Open Gnome System Monitor (GNOME ONLY))
15. DCPP (Linux DC++ client)
16. Debian Menu (Shows all installed applications on your system)
17. Democracy Player (Internet TV platform)
18. DVD Ripper (DVD ripper)
19. Exaile (Amarok like Music Manager fro Gnome)
20. Extra Fonts (Additional fonts and msttcorefonts)
21. Flashplayer (Adobe Flash Player for FF)
22. Frostwire (P2P file sharing client (Clone of Limewire))
23. Gdesklets (eyecandy for Gnome)
24. Gaim 2.0 beta3 (The latest version of a popular IM client compatible with YIM/MSN/AIM/Jabber etc)
25. Gambas (IDE based on a Basic interpreter like Visual Basic)
26. GFTP (FTP client for GNOME with ssh capability)
27. Gizmo Project (VoIP phone)
28. Glipper (Gnome's clipboard manager)
29. Gnome Security Suite (clamav antivirus and firestarter firewall)
30. Gnomebaker (The best GTK2 CD/DVD burning software)
31. GnomePPP (Graphical dialup connection tool (GNOME ONLY))
32. GnuCash (Money management software for GNOME)
33. Google Earth (Satellite Earth imagery application from Google)
34. Google Picasa (Photo editing application from Google)
35. GyachI (Yahoo Messenger client with voice and video support)
36. iLinux (iLife Alternative (Banshee, F-Spot, Kino))
37. Liferea (A RSS reader for GNOME)
38. Lightscribe support for Linux
39. Listen Media Manager (Latest version of a new media manager and player for GNOME)
40. Media Players (Totem-xine, VLC and Beep Media Player (with docklet))
41. MPlayer & FF plugin (MPlayer and Firefox 1.5 plugin)
42. Multimedia Codecs (Commonly needed audio and video codecs)
43. Multimedia Editing (Audio (Audacity) Video (Kino) and ID3 Tag (Easytag) editors)
44. Nautilus (file manager) Scripts (Open Nautilus, and any file with gedit with a right click, as root (GNOME ONLY))
45. NDISWrapper (A driver wrapper that allows you to use Windows driver for network cards)
46. Network Manager (A program and menu applet that allows you to easily change networks)
47. NVIDIA Driver (Installs NVIDIA drivers on select NVIDIA cards)
48. Opera Browser (Opera Web Browser)
49. OpenOffice Clipart (clipart in OpenOffice)
50. Programming Tools (Anjuta (C/C++ IDE), Bluefish (HTML editor), Screem (web development), NVU (HTML editor)
51. RealPlayer (RealPlayer)
52. Rhythmbox (Latest version of Rhythmbox a music manager)
53. Ripper and Tuner (Streamripper (rips Internet radio streams) and Streamtuner (Internet radio client))
54. Security Suite (ClamAV AntiVirus and Firestarter Firewall)
55. Skype (A free (as in free beer) Voice Over IP software)
56. Slab (Novell's "Slab" menu used in SLED 10)
57. Songbird (Music Manager)
58. SUN JAVA 1.5 JRE (Sun's version 1.5 JRE & The Firefox plugin)
59. SUN JAVA 1.5 JDK (Sun's version 1.5 JDK (Most users DONT need this))
60. Swiftfox Browser (optimized Firefox browser for your specific CPU)
61. Swiftfox Plugins (Java, Flash, Acrobat, Mplayer, MS fonts)
62. Thunderbird 1.5 (Email client)
63. VMware Player (OS emulating platform)
64. Wine (Installs Wine the windows 'emulator')
65. xDVDshrink (Linux counterpart of DVDshrink)
66. XChat (a popular IRC client)

That's a lot of groovy stuff.... But it means your Linux installation is more rounded and had 'added value' (to steal a phrases from dodgy UK public sector meetings).

RichGem · Feb 12, 2007

fatpig said:
I haven't tried ubuntu but a coworker liked it quite a lot.

if you don't want to download too much stuff try giving a peek to puppylinux
http://www.puppylinux.org/ it is a smaller distribution that crams most of the basic needs in about 80Mb.You can download a disc image and run it from a cd or an usb drive before installing to your hard disk,if you want you can also save afile in a folder on your XP system where you can save all of your Puppy settings and downloaded extra files and data.

Also Knoppix while bigger has some quite good self detection of cards and options on the pc so maybe it is easyer to set-up.

I'm sorry to disagree, but just skip PuppyLinux. It's a great distro to throw on a business card cd and stash in your wallet for emergency use, but IMHO, for getting the linux experience, just forget it. Why? Because it's soooo small, very light weight programs were used and corners were necessarily cut. The end result is function, but it looks dated (with all respect to the maintainers) and not as polished as one would expect especially coming from XP. Not something I'd recommend to a future convert. But, AFTER you've converted (and you will... <evil laugh here>) then feel free to play around with it after you've seen all that Linux can do (which, btw, beats the pants off Vista as of over a year ago).

joea527 · Feb 12, 2007

Razorlite said:
I have NO experience of Linux so, is it easy to use? (I'm an XP man).

Try Mint Linux. It is based on Ubuntu but it has proprietary drivers and multimedia players. It is a live CD and is easy to install. It will save you a lot of time getting software with Synaptic. (I am using it now)

Joe :biggrin:

_JP_ · Feb 12, 2007

Live CDs can be very useful, but keep in mind that in some cases network configurations might not work with a live CD. Also, by their very nature they usually take several minutes to load up every time you use them, even longer on older hardware. That's why I think using a virtual machine program such as VMWare is worthwhile. Once you set up the virtual machine, it loads up very quickly every time you use it.

smn · Feb 12, 2007

FreeBSD is my *NIX of choice. Check FreeBSD.org and make sure the wifi card is supported. You can put as much or little work into it and it's much simpler to upgrade, IMO. I'm not going to dismiss others' opinions, but I've run linux and three of the BSDs for years and I enjoy using FreeBSD the most.

-smn

RichGem · Feb 14, 2007

Van,

The March edition of "Linux Format" magazine contains a "live DVD" which will boot into Knoppix and Fedora (you get the choice at boot time). They run slowly since they run off of DVD and not your hard drive, but it will give you a starting point. Your local newsstand (news agent?) may still have copies. Unfortunately, here in the States, I get the magazine a bit after the UK folks.

Keep me posted & all the best,
Richard

micah1_8 · Jan 14, 2008

RichGem said:
I'm sorry to disagree, but just skip PuppyLinux.

I have to thoroughly disagree with you on this one. Puppy is the breed that finally brought me into the linux fold. It runs smoothly on older less powerful hardware, and it really is a breeze to run. Sure, like you said, don't go for it if you want tons of expandability and lots of fancy bells and whistles, but if you need a quick easy setup with "the basics", it's hard to beat a puppy. The newer versions are really a step up from the early days of puppy, and it's a solid little OS. Granted, I use mine mainly for websurfing and a little light writing, but for that, it's great.

Woknblues · Jan 15, 2008

try them all. they are free. I am trying to perfect my iso burning technique. having a hell of a time trying to get gOS. I have used ub/kub/xub so far, and so far, have stuck with the gnome environment. I want to see if gOS would be good for my mother and grandmother...

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Please help with Linux!!

Razorlite

liege

RichGem

RichGem

webguru24

_JP_

RichGem

wesbaker

fatpig

infotech

flippantfig

RichGem

joea527

_JP_

smn

RichGem

micah1_8

Woknblues

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