Does anyone here have a Linux system?

[SarahB]

Tell me what you think about it. Considering a change here.

[Zomby Woof]

1. it comes with a good security blanket

Oh! You said LINUX, not LINUS. Never mind!

[JohnLocke]

2. LOL (nt).

[trotsky]

3. Don't let anyone tell you it's easy.

There are many real benefits to a Linux system, including the price and stability. But they are NOT for people who don't have a lot of technical experience.

Right now I'm on an IBM ThinkPad running FreeBSD. The performance is much better than Windows 2000 was (on this machine), but there were several tricks to get it set up.

Buttom line - unless you've got some UNIX experience, Linux is probably not the way to go.

[Deja Q]

4. I concur

I have been able to get through most Linux issues due to my technical backgroud. But I ran into some doozies, especially with the ATi video card I had at one point.

Pay-for distros like SuSE help things to an extent (it's amazing how Linux has improved over the last 3 years alone), but Linux isn't as 'easy to set up' as Windows yet.

Once it is configured then it's great.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

9. HT, ATI driver installs...

Can drive you mad. On the other hand, Nvidia makes it pretty damned easy. Not automagic, but damned close.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Yeah, it's tricky. Esp partitioning the hard drive, or so I hear

from my hubby, who has a Linux machine.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. Not here.

Mandrake Linux is dead simple. It will even do it for you. Just tell it to at installation runtime.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. Oh come on!!!

That's FreeBSD! The installation is nowhere near the ease of the major Linux distros. It is FreeBSD is good and fast and secure and stable, but setup?

They got a little work to do.

[trotsky]

10. I've run RedHat and SuSE as well.

Yes, FreeBSD was trickier, but if you think that ANY Linux distro could be set up, configured, and installed with software by a non-technical Windows user, you're crazy!

Besides, the /usr/ports collection in BSD makes things pretty easy. :)

[Rooktoven]

12. Actually Linux is HOW you learn UNIX

Most distros will find newer video cards, if not optimize them. If you are starting, go for Suse or Mandrake for the easiest set up. After you get an idea of what is going on, try Slackware (which I've used exclusively at home for 3+ years) or Debian.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. I do!! I do!!!

Mandrakelinux 10.0. It's pretty good. I love it.

On the other hand, if you want to run it, find a Linux User Group(LUG) and have them not only install it and get it running, but train you in a few of the skills you might need.

On a good Linux Desktop, there ain't much you will find that is terribly different.

It has no viruses, is very secure and incredibly stable.

[salvorhardin]

11. If you can...

...download and burn a copy of Knoppix first. It's a live Linux system on a CD that you can boot off of. For the most part, you put the CD in your computer, restart it and hit <Enter> when you see the Knoppix logo. A few seconds (or minutes depending on the speed of your computer) you'll have a Linux complete system running without having to install anything. It'll give you the ability to play around with a Linux system first to get comfortable.

When you're done, simply choose 'Logout' from the K menu and choose restart. After a bit, the computer will spit out your CD and you can hit <Enter> again. When your computer restarts you'll be all safe and snug back in Windows!

Also, you'll find a lot of help on the Knoppix user forum for any problems you're likely to run into. When you get comfortable, then you can play around with giving Knoppix cheat codes at boot and firther customizing your Knoppix system. In fact, I'm running it right now -- and listening to Mike Malloy in Real Player! :-)

[Rooktoven]

13. What Salvor said...

I forgot to recommend Knoppix, it's a harmless and enlightening way to learn. Further, Knoppix will allow to install to the hard drive if you ever so desire. (You will eventually want to)

[salvorhardin]

17. Yep, Knoppix rocks.

I do a lot of work on other people's computers and I use it to be able to bring my desktop with me wherever I go. I have a little 256MB USB pen drive and I have Knoppix store my home directory and config on there. When I boot into Knoppix I just specify 'knoppix26 myconfig=scan home=scan alsa' and in a minute or so (depending on the computer's speed) I have my entire desktop with me, including all my bookmarks, encryption keys, Firefox and Thunderbird with my favorite themes, extensions and plugins. I pretty much never have to touch the customer's hard drive!

[salvorhardin]

18. dupe. deleted. uggh.

[dolo amber]

14. I have Libranet

I love it as an OS, but there are issues with my p2p programs and messengers...There are ways to fix this but thus far I've not been arsed with it. I plan on doing this at some point when I can be bothered.

If I wanna be totally geeky and streamlined I go with my Debian, if I wanna be social I go with my Windows. :D

[cprise]

15. It's easy

See? I said it. :)

I will recommend only two brands, though:

Xandros, Linspire

I use Xandros at home and it came with a lot of near-necessities installed (RealPlayer, Flash, Acrobat, etc.). It detects all my hardware, correctly... the first time. It has file sharing and printing that surpass Windows' ease of use (these two things are typically very hard to setup on Linux).

It has great tech. underpinnings: I need only type a program name or keyword into the installer to get what I need 90% of the time... and it uses APT which helps eliminate difficult install problems. The others may use RPM instead, which means you have to pay a subscription to get access to an easy to use installer.

Xandros has lot of good touches, like an integrated CD burner, and a way to switch between users without logging out. You can get it with the CrossOver Office option, which allows you to run MS Office and other Windows programs.

Linspire is similar in its technology and ease of use.

I do not recommend Knoppix for a novice. It no doubt will run on your system, but you aren't likely to get far before running into major technical hurdles.

Mandrake and SuSE are based on RPM, which I gave up on years ago.

Lastly, none of the Linuxes are quite there when it comes to laptops. Linux still manages power very poorly (the hard drive will run constantly, resume and hibernate aren't likely to work, the screen savers support power-saving but this often doesn't work in practice).

[Guy Fawkes]

16. Before you go the distance and install linux, get Knoppix.

Knoppix linux boots from a CD, so you don't have to get rid of windows OR mess around with Elisa/OS switchers. Just make sure you set the cd-rom drive to be your first boot, then Hdd.