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[Cloudef]

For those who never tried Linux, forgot everything you know about Windows. It will not work the same way. Just like switching to new kind of vehicle (Bicycle -> Car) you must learn to drive first. You may crash first, but then you master it and see the benefits.

 

[Grench]

This last weekend I installed 7 different Linux distributions on my notebook (T61p T9300 2.5Ghz C2Duo 500GB drive 8GB RAM 1920x1200).

The short story is that the best one I found for my use on my machine was Ubuntu 9.04 AMD64.

Debian's web installer kept failing as one of the required files for it's repository wasn't present. Since this is their primary distribution channel, I called that enough to score a fail.

Ubuntu 9.10 failed on audio - someone apparently decided to remove all usability from it's audio control system. The source mixer is -gone-? 64bit flash beta didn't like it much either - especially full screen Hulu playback.

Kubuntu 9.10 was OK, but didn't feel 'right'. NWN pegged both CPUs with one game instance - very strange and uncool.

Ubuntustudio 9.10 failed to install properly - the package installer didn't work right.

Ubuntu 10.04 Alpha 2 installed properly, but then crashed spectacularly when trying to install updates (Alpha - what should I expect, right?)

Kubuntu 10.04 Alpha 2 see above.

Ubuntu 9.04 worked right the first time - and is still working. VMserver is happy on it. NWN plays real nice on it. 64bit Flash beta is happy in all modes. Although I don't mind working from terminal when I have to, having an OS that I don't have to 'think' about for 99% of the time is very nice.

I didn't bother with RedHat or Suse this go-round. On previous run-downs like the above they drove me nuts on the install.

I'm not a Linux guru. So far, Ubuntu 9.04 has been my choice OS/version for myself, my wife, my mother (retired), my sister, her kids. My kids are using 8.04LTS because their machines are ancient and don't like the version 8.10+ (not enough CPU).

Your experience may, and probably will, vary.

 

[Klaus]

That's the beauty of free software: the choice!

 

[marshal]

I'm not a Linux guru. So far, Ubuntu 9.04 has been my choice OS/version for myself, my wife, my mother (retired), my sister, her kids. My kids are using 8.04LTS because their machines are ancient and don't like the version 8.10+ (not enough CPU).

My guess is that must have been something specific that didn't work well with Ubuntu 8.10+ on that particuliar machine. Bootime should be faster on recent version of Ubuntu and I don't think the they are significantly more demanding CPU wise. I don't have any benchmark handy right now but I am sure Phoronix has some.

That being said if Ubuntu 8.04 works just still with that for now. The new LTS (10.04) isn't even out yet anyway. Personnaly I still have a computer still running 8.04 at home. It's mostly used for word processing and web browsing and is doing fine.

 

[TrashyMG]

I didn't bother with RedHat or Suse this go-round. On previous run-downs like the above they drove me nuts on the install..

I tend to stick to the Red Hat(Fedora) camp of distributions, more of a comfort level to me.. but I've been using Red Hat since version 5.0(1997). Fedora 11 seems rock solid to me, Use it on my work issued T60 thinkpad with no issues.

 

[fusion_power]

For those who never tried Linux, forgot everything you know about Windows. It will not work the same way. Just like switching to new kind of vehicle (Bicycle -> Car) you must learn to drive first. You may crash first, but then you master it and see the benefits.

But why do many Linux-people say to Windows Users usualy "Switch to Linux, it is more easy and better than Windows, my grandma could use Linux..., you don't need Windows anymore..." ^_^

 

[3vi1]

64-bit linux in general is finicky since it's such a new & complex architecture, there're problems with it across the board afaics

Where did you get that idea?!?! I've been running 64-bit Linux for years. Other than a few hickups with Flash in the past, that have been completely ironed out, there's zero differences from running the 32-bit varieties. If you use a modern distro like Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu, you won't notice any 64-bit specific issues.

 

[3vi1]

But why do many Linux-people say to Windows Users usualy "Switch to Linux, it is more easy and better than Windows, my grandma could use Linux..., you don't need Windows anymore..." ^_^

Because all your grandmother needs is for you to point her to the web-browser icon that gets her to "the internet". Linux is dead simple for the needs of most users, and installs a easily if not more easily than Windows nowadays. I installed it for my parents and they've never had issues using it for everyday tasks.

 

[Klaus]

But why do many Linux-people say to Windows Users usualy "Switch to Linux, it is more easy and better than Windows, my grandma could use Linux..., you don't need Windows anymore..." ^_^

I never do that! In the end it will only mean more support-work for me...

 

[Prometheus]

I don't do that either. It is different, and it's sensible to make clear that it is different.

That said, the only switchers I've set stuff up for have been my folks, and they specifically asked me for Kubuntu, by name, beforehand.

 

[may88]

You've had some good advice here. As you want to peak under the hood then ubuntu is a start.
You must open a terminal window and play. Learn to script in bash. Pick up the syntax and you'll also start to pick up unix commands and options.
RTFM: man <command>
Learn vi (awaits an outcry), but vi is omnipresent on all Unix flavours. It is very weird but powerful and weel suited for command-line use.
There are quite a few concepts to grasp. mountpoints, users (/etc/passwd, shadow, profiles), permission, root user, sudo, cron etc...

Find a beginner's guide and read and play. Good luck.

 

[3vi1]

I don't do that either. It is different, and it's sensible to make clear that it is different.

That said, the only switchers I've set stuff up for have been my folks, and they specifically asked me for Kubuntu, by name, beforehand.

You've got smart parents. I use Kubuntu too, because KDE4.4 is so far ahead of Gnome at this point (other than the default desktop and defaulting to a set of QT based apps verses GTK ones, it's the same as Ubuntu).

Anyone familiar with Windows should have no problem navigating Kubuntu, and there are GUIs for doing just about everything.

 

[3vi1]

Learn vi (awaits an outcry), but vi is omnipresent on all Unix flavours.

I've used vi (and emacs) and I say don't waste your time - there's no reason anyone ever needs to use those in Linux. Most distros today have simple *friendly* editors like nano or joe (and you can install their package if they aren't there by default) for those those times when you *need* to edit something from a console window. Most of the time you'll just use Kate or Gedit from the even more friendly GUI.

You do not need to bother with the command line to use Linux any more than you need to learn PowerShell or regedit to use Windows. All the usual tasks can be done from a GUI (if you find something that can't - be sure to file a bug/wishlist request with your distro). Still, you might want to do it anyway like may88 said - for when you're wanting to do something extraordinary.

I'd say the most common use of the command line is to recover from botched playing around with beta video drivers. For those times, it *is* handy to know how to use apt-get or rpm from the command line. You might also want to install lynx so you can web-browse from a command line to lookup a solution. The better solution is to just use jockey and the stable drivers, unless you really know what you're doing.

 

[Klaus]

Learn vi (awaits an outcry), but vi is omnipresent on all Unix flavours. It is very weird but powerful and weel suited for command-line use.
There are quite a few concepts to grasp. mountpoints, users (/etc/passwd, shadow, profiles), permission, root user, sudo, cron etc...

Uauuauuuuauau!
Isn't there a common distro that doesn't include nano? It's much easier to use and well suited for the basic tasks. Learn the rest first, learn vi later. It's still on my todo-list, after more than a decade with Linux.

 

[WizardStan]

But why do many Linux-people say to Windows Users usualy "Switch to Linux, it is more easy and better than Windows, my grandma could use Linux..., you don't need Windows anymore..." ^_^

I never do that! In the end it will only mean more support-work for me...

more? What did you do wrong?

 

[Prometheus]

You've got smart parents.

Heh, thanks. :lol: We're all using KDE 3.something-or-other at the moment on our various machines, though (well, one of mine is using Xfce, instead, and another is using whatever Puppy 4.x uses, since it's ancient and won't boot anything else). I haven't taken a liking to the 4.x versions myself - they seem way too heavy for my hardware.

Find a beginner's guide and read and play.

Following on from this, may I recommend this one?

Whilst it's of course not necessary for any user to read in order to use things, it's certainly interesting to read if you want to learn. It introduced me to some stuff I find genuinely useful, too - such as CTRL+ALT+F[numbers] in order to switch between various virtual terminals (I happen to find this really handy for doing fiction writing in nano without distractions ).