OT: New laptop thread got me thinking about Linux

[makoti]

Simply, is it beyond your semi-literate computer user to put on? Does it run most programs that run on windows without a hitch? How would I know if something ain't gonna work? I have a laptop that I could experiment with (old, XP, Pentium II I think), but wonder if it would be overreaching for me and the computer. Any good, easy to follow guides or how-to's?

[foo_fighter]

It won't run any windows programs at all save for things that are cross platform like firefox or chrome and specifically compiled. The only way you'll run windows programs is with an emulator or virtualized. I wouldn't bother running linux unless it's a backup computer and you want a hobby. Better to jump to OSX which is based on unix and will let you run a terminal if you need it. Macs can also dual boot windows and run parallels.

[makoti]

It won't run any windows programs at all save for things that are cross platform like firefox or chrome and specifically compiled. The only way you'll run windows programs is with an emulator or virtualized. I wouldn't bother running linux unless it's a backup computer and you want a hobby. Better to jump to OSX which is based on unix and will let you run a terminal if you need it. Macs can also dual boot windows and run parallels.

This saves me a lot of time.; Thanks!

[Rada]

It won't run any windows programs at all save for things that are cross platform like firefox or chrome and specifically compiled. The only way you'll run windows programs is with an emulator or virtualized. I wouldn't bother running linux unless it's a backup computer and you want a hobby. Better to jump to OSX which is based on unix and will let you run a terminal if you need it. Macs can also dual boot windows and run parallels.

You will have to do basically the same thing for OSX to run windows programs. Linux can also be dual booted with windows. Plus Linux is open source and free.

[Curve_in]

I use Linux for my desktops. There are work arounds for everything. Just try Linux Mint 17.x. it's free and you'll get a taste.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

[foo_fighter]

It's a lot easier to find pre-compiled software for osx than it is for linux so you can just run the osx version of the software.

I agree there are workarounds for most things on linux, that's sort of what I meant about it being a hobby. You'll have to do a bunch of research to figure out the workarounds and hacks to make a lot of stuff work.

For surfing the net and running browser based apps, a chromebook isn't a bad option.

[grawk]

crossover office does a great job for those windows apps you have to run, generally speaking. It's also good at a lot of less taxing games. Versions available for linux and mac.

openoffice or libreoffice do a great job of working with 95% of microsoft office documents.

The only reason I open my work windows box anymore is for a few weird flash programs we're required to use for training, and for some encryption stuff. Otherwise, I'm 99% linux and mac at work, and 100% mac at home.

[unterhausen]

it really depends on what you do. I am pretty much a windows user at work and a linux user at home. There is one thing I do that keeps windows on the work machine, I write data acquisition software. Oh, and solidworks.

I am really annoyed that our grad students that "work" on robotics are too lazy to use linux, you really can barely do robotics with windows. And the university cracked down hard on windows machines, but they leave linux machines alone.

[Rada]

Easier, but you are going to pay for that ease. Not to mention the price of the OS X software. He has an older lap top that is probably going to struggle with a new OS X, especially if he tries to dual boot with his old MS OS. His old lap top should handle a Linux distro fine.

BTW I would not call myself a computer expert and I run MS software on my desktop via PlayOnLinux and Wine.

[CunegoFan]

openoffice or libreoffice do a great job of working with 95% of microsoft office documents.


Maybe I have been unlucky, but my experience with OpenOffice has been it works not with 95% of MS Office documents but with 95% of a MS Office document. The other 5%, not so much. In other words, it is completely unsuitable for exchanging documents with a counterparty who uses MS Office.

I have various distributions of Linux on multiple machines, but for non-technical use the only reason I can see for a regular person to run it is to replace XP on an old machine. Why would a "regular" person want to run it?

[schwa86]

I have been using since the mid 90s, mostly for fooling around. I am a computer savvy person, but by no means a geek (eg I know enough to search the internet for whats not working and try to fix it myself -- kind of like my bike mechanic skills!) All my media stuff is on a linux server, and I have over the years done what you are proposing re old laptops. My basic observation is that you can get a working system out of the box with lots of useful features and software most of the time these days (versus when I started). It will be pretty straightforward to use.

However, when things go wrong, it can be a drag to figure out what the issue is and to fix it. This can happen because there is something "unique" about your hardware, or because you try to upgrade something and it doesn't go seamlessly, or because there is a specific configuration required for you r desired set up. As noted in an upper thread, if you do really complicated things on Windows and are looking to interchangeably do those same things on the Linux side, I probably wouldn't bother (as opposed to having a solid working laptop that does email, surfs the net, plays media files, has some good games, etc.)

There are lots of ways to try it out -- I agree with the above point re the Mint distro for beginners. Before you do any of it, google your specific laptiop model + "linux" and you'll more likely than not find a whole thread on how someone set it up, which distro used, and whether any issues.

[ptourkin]

It's a lot easier to find pre-compiled software for osx than it is for linux so you can just run the osx version of the software.

I agree there are workarounds for most things on linux, that's sort of what I meant about it being a hobby. You'll have to do a bunch of research to figure out the workarounds and hacks to make a lot of stuff work.

For surfing the net and running browser based apps, a chromebook isn't a bad option.

I haven't compiled a program in about 5 or 6 years. I've been using Linux exclusively on my home desktop since 1999 and know how to use the command line etc.. but it's entirely unnecessary now.

Put Mint on a USB drive or DVD and give it a whirl - you don't even have to install it to play. It has everything you need without "workarounds."

[palincss]

It won't run any windows programs at all save for things that are cross platform like firefox or chrome and specifically compiled. The only way you'll run windows programs is with an emulator or virtualized. I wouldn't bother running linux unless it's a backup computer and you want a hobby. Better to jump to OSX which is based on unix and will let you run a terminal if you need it. Macs can also dual boot windows and run parallels.

On the other hand, there are plenty of programs that not only run under, but are native to Linux that will do the job as well as Windows programs if not better. Cases in point: the GIMP photo editor, Libre Office. I only run Linux, and about the only thing that I could use that I'm missing is the programs the Library uses for circulation of audio and e-books, and that's due to digital rights management. Otherwise, I'm quite happy being Windows-free, and have been since the early days of XP.

[palincss]

I have various distributions of Linux on multiple machines, but for non-technical use the only reason I can see for a regular person to run it is to replace XP on an old machine. Why would a "regular" person want to run it?

Perhaps because they are sick of viruses and malware? Maybe they think the cost of Windows and its programs is far too high? Turn it around: how much of Windows does a "regular" person want or need?

[CunegoFan]

Perhaps because they are sick of viruses and malware? Maybe they think the cost of Windows and its programs is far too high? Turn it around: how much of Windows does a "regular" person want or need?

Most regular people can get along fine with a tablet, which has made computing into use of an appliance suitable for non-tech savvy people. All the significant free Linux apps that I can think of have been ported to Windows. A lot of Windows' problems with malware was due to MS' incompetently developed browser, but there are free alternatives that are better in every way and MS has tightened security a lot over the last ten years.

I am no fan of Windows. If I believed in hell then I would say Gates deserves to burn there for holding back progress and the unimaginable number of man hours that have been spent dealing with his company's crapware. But Gates is long gone and things have changed. I am struggling to see why a normal person would want to run an oddball OS like Linux. I do but I am weird and don't mind using vi when the situation calls for it.

[Rada]

The problem as I see it is that MS, OS X, and even Ubuntu are more interested in their OS's being cross platform and basically leaving the desktop as almost an afterthought. Most Linux distros focus on the desktop for users and have become very easy to customize to taste.

[don'TreadOnMe]

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/12/review-mint-17-3-may-be-the-best-linux-desktop-distro/

I'm a big fan of mint. Works for all kinds of people/users/needs.

[fuzzalow]

Whoo boy, you thought choosing a bike was tough, this is a entirely different ball of string entirely.

There's no way to answer this with any coherence or sensibility. Skill sets, motivations, user requirements are all over the map.

The best way I think to answer this is: If you think you wanna give it a go, then give it a go. This is something you can only answer for yourself.

[palincss]

The problem as I see it is that MS, OS X, and even Ubuntu are more interested in their OS's being cross platform and basically leaving the desktop as almost an afterthought. Most Linux distros focus on the desktop for users and have become very easy to customize to taste.

That's why I switched from Ubunto to Mint. I can't understand why on earth anyone would think it's a good idea to switch to a user interface intended for a small touch screen to interact with a computer with a big monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. Daft. So I left.

[palincss]

The best way I think to answer this is: If you think you wanna give it a go, then give it a go. This is something you can only answer for yourself.

Yes, and as has been pointed out, you can give it a go with no risk at all by running it from a DVD or a USB drive. It'll be slower, but it'll be the real deal with zero installation. And if you've got an old hardware platform that is still serviceable but no longer powerful enough to run the latest Windows, it'll probably run like a deer under Linux, so a whole new life for otherwise useless hardware.

[dalava]

A lot of times, what OS you run is somewhat pre-determined by the software you use everyday: some of them simply do not run, or run well, on another platform/virtual machine. There are workaround or similar software that does 90% of job, but for specialized needs, e.g. design studio, architects, photographers, sometimes, the app software almost determined the platform, unfortunately.

[makoti]

I may play with this, but I don't see it replacing what I am using which was my original thought. Oh well. If I feel like I have time for a new hobby, this may be it.

[Rada]

That's why I switched from Ubunto to Mint. I can't understand why on earth anyone would think it's a good idea to switch to a user interface intended for a small touch screen to interact with a computer with a big monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. Daft. So I left.

Same here. Unity killed Ubuntu for me.

[wallymann]

That's why I switched from Ubunto to Mint. I can't understand why on earth anyone would think it's a good idea to switch to a user interface intended for a small touch screen to interact with a computer with a big monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. Daft. So I left.

i took a different route, i soldered on with ubuntu 10.10 for a few years too long...and had no clean upgrade path to the current release this year, so i "ran the option" and did a clean install of Lubuntu so i could get my gnome desktop back, with the side benefit of the lightweight ubuntu distro breathing life into my aging quad-core workstation and making it scream again.

for the OP, to really "do" linux ya gotta have an appetite for geeky tweaking and command-line stuff at some level. sure there are various distros at various points along the scale of more or less hands-on nerdiness, but at the end of the day linux was made by geeks for geeks and yer gonna need to get your hands a little dirty.

[foo_fighter]

This thread did piqued my curiosity so I downloaded linux mint 17.3 and burned a dvd. I'm actually pleasantly surprised. I'm running it on a 8 year old laptop with a 2ghz core2duo and 2 gigs of ram. It actually recognized all of the hardware so far and is pretty snappy and has a nice interface even running off of the DVD drive. I guess Linux really has come a long way.

Would it be worth it for me to swap out the HDD for an SSD and do a full install? I'd keep the old HDD as a win 7 backup(Can't go to Win10 because the Nvidia mobile graphics isn't supported.)

Or should I continue to run off the dvd or move to usb and keep test driving it?

Too bad it can't run Zwift!

[J.Greene]

I'm running Linux on an older laptop and it's crazy fast. I'm pretty computer illiterate so if I'm being honest I'll say it's just an Internet machine at this point. Very little computing is going on. But did I say how fast it is? Holy smokes!

[wpod]

I'm running 64-bit Ubuntu 14.04LTS and it's quite fast and easy to configure and use. I would not hesitate to recommend trying Linux- it's the same, just different. Once loaded add a Virtual Machine( VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org) ) to run most any other OS- simple to configure.

Ubuntu, MINT, Fedora all make for easy installs or you can load to a bootable thumb drive (http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows) for a test drive. Quite a bit slower but will provide a simple test drive.

[Geeheeb]

also a linux user here since the late 90s

[unterhausen]

I knew a guy that used a bootable thumb drive for quite some time after his hard drive died. I really having one around. I can't see using a CD for long. Installing software is a drag.

I never realized that Unity was supposed to be a mobile interface. It's not obvious that is the case, unlike the Windows 8 disaster (obviously designed by people with touch screens).

[foo_fighter]

I switched to the usb thumb drive. It's better than the cd-rom but it sticks out the side and I couldn't get persistence to work so I might just spring for an SSD. The 250GB 850 EVO is $85. I don't think I'll have enough ram (2GB) to run virtualbox so I might try dual booting Win7 and LinuxMint.