35 replies to this topic

[James (Jim) Hillier]

Information Overload, on 30 August 2010 - 08:39 PM, said:

Thanks. I was looking to switch out my premade Windows system for a Linux not buy a premade Linux. I looked into it myself and am currently downloading the Ubuntu Netbook Edition, but I couldn't find a big enough flash drive as all mine are old 2GB ones so I'm going to be burning it to a CD via an external CD drive.  Hope this works. Its not my first time working with Ubuntu but it is my first time installing it. I'm hoping to still do freeware from my netbook so I'll be looking into Linux compatible freeware I'll have to set up one of my dad's computer's to do freeware on as well so that I can review both Linux and Windows freeware.

Hey Information Overload - I feel silly calling you that, plus it's a lot to type all the time!! Can you give us a name please. You don't have to, just would be easier.

Firstly: You do not need to install Ubuntu in order to test. If you download and burn the image to CD/DVD you can then use that to either install or RUN Ubuntu. Obviously it would run slower from that media than if installed on the HDD but you would still get the idea.

Secondly: Ubuntu (and many Linux distros) come equipped with 'repositories' which already include just about all the software (freeware) titles you will ever need. Adding new software is a simple matter of navigating to the repository, selecting the type of software and title, then hitting the "install/add/I want it now"...whatever button.

Of course, there is a little more to it than that. Users can also install a software emulator known as "Wine" which will allow Windows software to be run in the Linux OS. Plus there are other freeware Linux products available outside of those listed in the repository.

Not too familiar with the netbook edition of Ubuntu but I assume it would not include as many options as the desktop version.

Cheers....Jim

[Information Overload]

You can call me Connor. Guess I forgot to mention that.

Testing it would be a nice thing as I'm over the fence about installing it but I'm still peeking back and wondering what will and will not work on a Linux system. I should probably go for a dual boot system at first just to make the switch back a little easier if I need it. But I'd have to get my dad to show me how to dual boot the system. Either way I have to make the live CD anyways.

So its like the built in extensions system on browsers? Sounds handy! I'll have to look at that first thing and see what I want. I definately know I'm going to be changing some things around on the system but I just don't know what yet.

Thanks for the info!
Connor

[TheRaven]

Here's a little impromptu scenario for anyone just wanting to get a taste of what Linux or P.C.-BSD is all about:

• Download VMWare Player
• Go to the VMWare Virtual Appliance "Store" and download a VMWare Virtual Disk containing your particular Linux distro.
• Install and fire up VMWare Player and from inside the player open the virtual disk with Linux on it and you should be good to go.

VMWare Player acts as a virtual machine or an application that imitates a real world computer and the virtual disk emulates a real world hard drive -- in this case with Linux installed on it. Configure VMWare Player to use NAT for the network interface and it will use your Window's network with no muss or fuss. I do this all the time with new versions of openSuSE, P.C.-BSD, and several others as this is a far more convenient and recoverable testing environment. It may not appeal to everyone but, it's a valid option as opposed to installing the system every time on your HDD or just running a LiveCD version where you can't save any data without a work around.

P.C.-BSD is FreeBSD with a KDE desktop shell GUI ; MacOS X is built upon FreeBSD as well.

UBUNTU has a netbook dedicated distro that has two "modes" with one being the "netbook-mode" which has a fairly simply interface up front but, it has allot of functional power. Conversely, if the "netbook-mode" doesn't appeal to you there is the regular shell environment and both can be toggled back and forth. You can install any software from the repo (s) that you wish but, as with anything RAM, hard drive space, and processing power are going to govern how much you get to enjoy that software. Play it smart with netbooks and they can be extremely rewarding devices to have around.

...and yes there were and still are netbooks being distributed with Linux O.S. but, it is the manufacturer that generally picks the Linux O.S. leaving you no choice but to take it or leave it. Dell, HP, and ASUS all have netbooks, laptops, and desktop systems with Linux O.S. it is that you have to request the O.S. as Windows is the mainstream default.

[marko]

Nice call Jim, forgot about running Ubuntu from disk rather than installing it  

Raven, another nice call, I didn't even know VMware had that option to download the various distro's

Two great options there for you Connor

Cheers
Marko

[Information Overload]

Thanks for the options guys. I'm an all or nothing kind of guy though  so I went full install and I have to say I'm liking it. I killed my fist Linux system the other day by not shutting down properly and theres enough code to drive anyone, except a programmer, nuts, but I think it enhances the computer experience. I can now see why people look to Mac and Windows though as they are much easier to manage. I can now also give kudos to Apple and Microsoft for making all that code into a working GUI system. Now, I;m off to install a Perl code into my system to get this irssi script working so I can final get into this IRC server. Ugh and yay at the same time.

[Boyfriend]

Surely, I will try other/Open Source OS in case it is easy and provide all functionality I need and use.