Linux Question

Not sure where to post this ... just looking to buy a new system ... Wondering if I can use Linux ... as an additional system ... One my friends suggested Linux is secure and much like Windows, without the jazz effects. Is it true that I can use without being a techie?

I am looking at Windows 7 Professional .. cuz I heard only that versions allows XP mode .. any suggestions would be great ... I am not a techie and an average user. Thanks a lot .

Regards

Ubuntu would be good for you as a distribution, better than the alternatives I'd say. However google will be your friend to learn all the stuff you need.

The part about security is that there are more viruses and malware for windows than linux. At least that used to be the case, I am not that updated on this subject.

If you have a powerful machine you can install Win 7 and have linux in a virtual machine or vice versa. Also you can have 2 OSs installed.

Keep in mind most IM tools are for windows

I'm in the same position. Ubuntu is not for notechy people... It's user friendly, but not really good for people who are used with windows.

Waiting android to become that good so I could install it on my PC and live happily forever after.... Guess that would be possible on Androud 5.0 or 6.0...

I've tried to attach a mouse and a keybord on my Samsung Tablet 7" and it was amazingly easy to operate... perhaps even Android 4.0 (which is released already I believe) will be good enough for that purpose

Cheers,
Hades

Ubuntu is a great distro for newbies. I disagree about the "without all the jazz effects" part... you can IMHO get more/better jazzy effects on Linux. Like the multiple desktops on a cube, and you flip the cube around to switch desktops, etc. Its pretty slick.

If you're into creative arts check out Ubuntu Studio.

Linux Mint is pretty nice. I used to run that on a Samsung Q1 Ultra, worked great.

Hi sherinl,

To be honest, I'm on a Linux machine. I use Ubuntu on my Sony Vaio and
it works great. You don't have to be a techie. The developers have been upgrading the
distro's so much during the past few years that it has become much like a Windows machine.
Plug-n-play. Just jump in and go.

Just to let you know, you can download (for free) one of the Linux systems and burn it onto a
disc. This disc is the operating system and you can run it without installing. So, another words...
when you start your computer with the disc in the drive select the option "run live cd" and the
operating system will load to your memory and function just as if it were installed.

Another option is to dual-boot. This will allow you to keep your current OS and the Linux.
When you start you computer you can choose which operating system to run. This is a good
option for those transitioning from one OS to another... say from Windows to Linux.

As far as which Linux to choose... I think its a matter of preference. Try them all if you like.
If you want a Linux similar to Windows (but obviously better) then choose Ubuntu. Even that OS
has many different styles and flavors. ex: Kubuntu, Xubuntu, etc. There are too many to list here. I first
tried Fedora and couldn't understand it. I think, for anyone, its a trial-and-error process to decide which
will be the best.
Check this out to get an idea of some versions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_distributions

Thanks a lot for the suggestion .. Yep, I am browsing on Linux ... since several laptops come with Linux / DOS option .. I was wondering if Linux wud be an option / is it user friendly like the Windows ...

As for Virtual Machine .. I am not familiar with tht .. not that advanced yet ...

Looking to buy a fair configuration .... Probably i3 with 500 GB HDD and 2GB+ RAM .. Not sure what's the diff between i3 and Core2Duo yet .. or even if I will ever need anything more than Dual Core.

Regards

darkmonk said:

Ubuntu is a great distro for newbies. I disagree about the "without all the jazz effects" part... you can IMHO get more/better jazzy effects on Linux. Like the multiple desktops on a cube, and you flip the cube around to switch desktops, etc. Its pretty slick.

If you're into creative arts check out Ubuntu Studio.

Click to expand...

I completely agree.

Thanks a lot for the answers ... Yep .. I am trying to understand the difference between the different options .. and which version off the new ones are better for people like me .. (not techies).

Since I do not know much about installing and uninstalling and how to clean up after that .. I don't want to try with different stuff .. just one / two that would be more suitable for a person starting off ...

As for using it from CD, would it mean I can't use the file / save files?

Thanks again

Yep .. I am also looking at parallel windows .. to keep track and retain all the stuff I currently use (like IM software and other goodies around for Windows).. learn and swap between Linux & Windows ... so I can eventually use both .. effectively.

Regards

sherinl said:

Thanks a lot for the suggestion .. Yep, I am browsing on Linux ... since several laptops come with Linux / DOS option .. I was wondering if Linux wud be an option / is it user friendly like the Windows ...

As for Virtual Machine .. I am not familiar with tht .. not that advanced yet ...

Looking to buy a fair configuration .... Probably i3 with 500 GB HDD and 2GB+ RAM .. Not sure what's the diff between i3 and Core2Duo yet .. or even if I will ever need anything more than Dual Core.

Regards

Click to expand...

He is a listing of both AMD and Intel cpu's by gflops.

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/869018-intel-amd-gflops-data-thread-looking.html

You probably won't be able to save files if you are running from the live cd, unless you
mount the original OS and save the file to a location on that partition, which is very simple.
*Boot the Ubuntu Desktop CD, or another LiveCD, then mount the windows partition:
1. open a terminal (main menu/accessories/terminal)
2. run these commands...
sudo mkdir /win
then
sudo mount /dev/sda1 /win

*Replace sda1 with the appropriate device (a = disk, 1 = partition number), then mount the virtual disk.

Oh, and looking at some of the screen shots from the new version of Fedora, it might be
a good build. I haven't used it for years.

And yes, Ubuntu is very user-friendly.... however, some devices still won'y support a Linux-based
OS. Such as most printers. I recommend looking for devices which have wireless capabilities. Though,
Ubuntu knows this and provides many different work-around help, but this might demand you to get your
hands dirty and explore the power of its Terminal... in Windows its the CMD or command line

Yes, you can install both windows and linux on your machine it's called dual boot. You first install Win 7 and then on top of that you install linux. I personally use Fedora 15. Fedora 15 is free and open source.

Fedora comes with QEMU and KVM virtual machine managers so you can run windows xp, windows 7 or other linux distros from it.

I hear many people suggest ubuntu to noobs however fedora 15 has come a long way and my install worked just fine with just some minor tweaks.

Whichever distro you choose there are easy step by step guides which you can follow online and you dont have to be any kind of expert to follow them you can just copy paste commands into the command prompt.

For office work and Internet both fedora and ubuntu should work out of the box. You might have to install some codex for divx and dvd on fedora but thats about it.

Sorry .. but I did not understand ... what's conveyed in the thread .. .. really not that much into tech details ..

That's my problem I guess .. all the shops out here suggested i3 and added ... even dual core would be more than sufficient for people like me ... who are not into programming / designing / software development kindaa profiles . They said anythng abv Dual Core is a waste n u dnt use the capabilities ... though since i3 is smth you get easily .. go with it ...

So .. I am really stuck with what I need vs what's best ... and trying to read and understand and ask opinion .. so I can take an informed decision while buying ...

Regards

Roparadise said:

He is a listing of both AMD and Intel cpu's by gflops.

Click to expand...

The real problem is: I purchased a desktop about three years ago ... Core2Duo and with a range of options .... I begun using this full-fledged only when my laptop conked last year. Now, this system is acting funny ... shuts down often, toooo slow and other issues.

When I tried to check ... I realized the problem was something else... This system was used by one of my relatives ... who installed few casino programs that wouldn't uninstall. He has installed two different XP versions one is pirated and one is original I think ... So, I am not able to remove / clean most stuff ... Virus scans show spyware and adware in those casino software / tools and I am not able to fix it ...

So, I have decided to buy an external HDD to take a back-up and then reinstall Windows 7 (Prof / Home Prem) and use it, while I am able to buy a laptop / desktop. In any case, if the problem is solved after the reinstall .. I still think ... I wud be better off with a newer system, since its' already 3 yrs old.

So looking at a fair configuration and OS options that would work in sync. I have genuine lic for Windown Xp and not sure if I should be able to go with Windows Home Premium and work in sync with this OS lic ... instead of going for Win 7 Prof.

Rgards

I love Ubuntu and use that computer when I do my financial transactions. It's almost bullet proof in terms of protection against malware. It is much easier to use but you still need to go under the hood every so often so it's not a good choice for newbies. Besides more applications will run under Windows than any other OS straight out of the box.

I would recommend a system running 64-bit Windows 7 with 6 gigabytes of memory and a 1TB drive. If you are a gamer then you must also pay attention to the graphics card as well and look for a graphics card featuring a gig of memory, that gets you to better performers. Make sure you have dual outputs for two monitors.

Bowlcut3x said:

I completely agree.

Click to expand...

Ubuntu is really great. With the cube 3d the effect is really nice.
You can do almost all you do in windows and much more

Thanks a lot .. sure would do that ... Nope, I don't play games ... something like the Jardinains / DX ball 2 type ... when am really bugged .. I do play puzzles like Bookworm / Bejeweled ... online / offline. However, that's really rare.

Yep, I am also worried about getting used to Linux without tech background .. and for now prefer keeping it as an add-on to get used to ..

Most shops out here suggest that Windows will only use 2 - 3 GM RAM and everything else is just idle ... so did not think about 3 GB / more.

Regards

bertbaby said:

I love Ubuntu and use that computer when I do my financial transactions. It's almost bullet proof in terms of protection against malware. It is much easier to use but you still need to go under the hood every so often so it's not a good choice for newbies. Besides more applications will run under Windows than any other OS straight out of the box.

I would recommend a system running 64-bit Windows 7 with 6 gigabytes of memory and a 1TB drive. If you are a gamer then you must also pay attention to the graphics card as well and look for a graphics card featuring a gig of memory, that gets you to better performers. Make sure you have dual outputs for two monitors.

Click to expand...

There are many good posts in this thread. Also, a simple search on the web will provide so many more
opinions and help. I think it comes down to what I mentioned earlier; trial-and-error process of different
Linux systems, until you find one that will meet your needs and desires.

As far as you not being very techie...
I feel that goes as anything else in life, just like internet marketing, choose what we want to know, dismiss everything else. If to only use the simplest form of anything, remain within our comfort zone, then we only learn what we already know - progression doesn't evolve but rather has evolved, progress has progressed and humanity stands still with no further gain nor growth.

Im going to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS 64bit after reading this thread. Currently Im running 32 fedora 13,which sucks,since I have 8GB of ram and a 64 bit cpu.