75 replies to this topic

[Phalanxman]

So, I'm thinking of changing my OS over to linux. I can't stand the compatibility issues of my Windows 7. Any advice? I mean as far as how it will affect my video games. Will Windows programs work on linux?

[Donkeymog]

I absolutely love Linux but if it's compatibility issues that are annoying you in Windows I don't really think switching to Linux will make your life easier.

 

Ubuntu is fantastic though if you do fancy trying something new. Give it a try and let me know if you need help with anything specific in Ubuntu.

[Phalanxman]

I'm thinking once I get my new desktop, I'll put Ubuntu on my laptop.

[Donkeymog]

What do you anticipate using your laptop for most? When I started uni I put Linux on my laptop for work and kept my Windows Desktop for gaming - worked well for me.

 

If you go here you can have a play around with Ubuntu and get a feel for whether it suits you or no.

 

Some people don't like Ubuntu's interface, but I think those people are just whiners. If, however, you find yourself confused and enraged by the interface like many other people then I suggest checking out Linux Mint instead. It's more Windows-like in it's appearance. I prefer Ubuntu though.

[Phalanxman]

I was thinking primarily what you're doing with yours. Is there a difference between Linux and Linux Mint?

[Donkeymog]

Linux itself is not a fully fledged operating system like Windows. Instead there are operating systems such as Ubuntu & Linux Mint, which run Linux.  

So no, there is no difference between Linux and Linux Mint. But there is a difference between Linux Mint and Ubuntu and any other operating system that runs Linux.  

Spoiler

Some nerds insist that you refer to it as GNU/Linux as all Linux operating systems are built on a combination of GNU technologies and the Linux kernel. I've hidden this because it really isn't important unless you're Richard Stallman. Here is some related insanity:

[Phalanxman]

I've been checking out Ubuntu. I hate it. lol.

 

EDIT: I think I love this Stallman guy. 

[Monkeydog]

I've been checking out Ubuntu. I hate it. lol.

Then there is no reason why you should be using Linux in the first place. Since that's probably the easiest distro of Linux to get used to from being a Windows user.

 

I prefer Mint though.

[lazlo falconi]

Stallman has some good ideas but he takes it way too far. He's a politician.

But on to the subject at hand, Linux is just a kernel, a program that lets your programs operate with the hardware in your computer. All of those Ubuntus and Linux Mints and Fedoras all run off the Linux kernel (And other stuff that is really technical and nobody except Richard Stallman and Dennis Richie understand). So yeah, they're the same, but you'll find that due to the way they've been built, there are differences. Especially between the RMP and DEB linuxes.

Ubuntu is a really great way to start (Read comments below), but as Bean said, a lot of people dislike the interface. I am one of them. I prefer something like twm or xmonad, but that's because when I use Linux I don't really use graphical applications except for Chromium and the GIMP. One thing that's important to remember is that if you don't like the window manager (The program that draws the window borders) you can always install a different one. If you open a terminal and type sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop, (From Ubuntu!) a bunch of text will fly by the screen, and the next time you log into your computer, you'll be able to choose between Unity (The default Ubuntu desktop environment) and KDE, which is much more Windows like, and some thing much prettier. You can look around for different Linux window managers and desktop environments (Which are two different but closely related things), but the big ones are Gnome, KDE, Enlightenment, and LXDE, xcfe, and blackbox. There are many more that I don't know of and probably more than you can ever imagine, so just look around. If something doesn't suit you, there's always another way to do it. That's the Linux gift: Choice.

Actually, strike that bit about Ubuntu being a good way to start. I just remembered that in order to do... anything, you have to install a bunch of drivers. I mean ANYTHING. Flash videos, mp3s, avi all need codecs installed. Linux Mint comes with them, so that may be a better way to go for you, since it will be much easier to get everything up and running.

Oh yeah, and gaming? Don't think so. Most modern games won't work on Linux. Indie games and some Source games (now kind of sort of) work on Linux, but depending on what you play, this is the area of life where you'll be most effected.

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Streets! Your very own LINUX legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with LINUX awaits! Let's go!

[Donkeymog]

Stallman has some good ideas but he takes it way too far. He's a politician.

 

I agree that he's a politician, and I know he's a bit of a controversial figure but I do actually think he does a good job of playing the necessary politics to defend our rights to use these technologies.

 

Actually, strike that bit about Ubuntu being a good way to start. I just remembered that in order to do... anything, you have to install a bunch of drivers. I mean ANYTHING. Flash videos, mp3s, avi all need codecs installed. Linux Mint comes with them, so that may be a better way to go for you, since it will be much easier to get everything up and running.

 

How long has it been since you installed Ubuntu? I've installed it on a few systems and have never had to manually install drivers, but I only switched to Ubuntu a year ago - maybe it's improved? Also, you can specify for it to automatically download and install third party codecs during Ubuntu installation, you just need to check the box.

 

Streets! Your very own LINUX legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with LINUX awaits! Let's go!

 

Go Streets! All you need to do now is check in with Prof. Oak and select your starter distro.

[Donkeymog]

Then there is no reason why you should be using Linux in the first place. Since that's probably the easiest distro of Linux to get used to from being a Windows user.

 

I prefer Mint though.

 

I don't know if I'd agree that Ubuntu is easier than Mint. They're both pretty straight-forward in terms of installation & configuration, but Mint provides a more familiar interface than Unity does.

Also, there are reasons outside of ease of use for determining which operating system you should run.

[Monkeydog]

I don't know if I'd agree that Ubuntu is easier than Mint. They're both pretty straight-forward in terms of installation & configuration, but Mint provides a more familiar interface than Unity does.

Also, there are reasons outside of ease of use for determining which operating system you should run.

But for someone who is migrating from Windows with what seems to be no reason but to try Linux he should probably use Ubuntu.

 

I guess Mint has a more familiar interface than Ubuntu does, but not by much. I feel like Mint's layout can get a lot more confusing than Ubuntu's at times. Plus from my experience it's a lot easier for a newbie to install software on Ubuntu than it is on Mint. At least based on the last time I used either, which has been admittedly a few months. 

[lazlo falconi]

All that stuff bean said.

I couldn't agree more on the Stallman bit. I guess I came off as a bit too negative in my last post. I dislike what he does but understand and support his reasonings for doing so. And yeah, it's been a long time since I installed Ubuntu. I had an Ubuntu Server installation on my laptop just last year, but it was a headless box, and I only used it as a server, so codecs were not something I even bothered with. Guess maybe it's different now, but I thought Ubuntu was supposed to be completely free, and not bundled with any non-free software. Of course, this is going back to about 2007 or so, so obviously there's been time for them to change their opinions on things. And I'm glad you got the Pokemon reference.
 
 

But for someone who is migrating from Windows with what seems to be no reason but to try Linux he should probably use Ubuntu.
 
I guess Mint has a more familiar interface than Ubuntu does, but not by much. I feel like Mint's layout can get a lot more confusing than Ubuntu's at times. Plus from my experience it's a lot easier for a newbie to install software on Ubuntu than it is on Mint. At least based on the last time I used either, which has been admittedly a few months.

It shouldn't be, both use Synaptic and apt-get for package managers, and are compatible with debs. I will say this, though: Mint has a habit of being a bit more difficult to customize. I don't think I ever figured out how to change the login screen on Mint, whereas in my first couple weeks with Ubuntu you wouldn't have even recognized it--especially once I slapped KDE on it and got to tweaking.



Oh and I just remember something: Stay the heck away from any rolling release distro. These certainly have their advantages, but unless you have the time to keep everything up to date, this will be a nightmare. (Arch: I'm looking at you)

[toysintheattic]

I don't have much to add to this topic, but I just installed Ubuntu (I briefly tried Linux Mint too, I can't say which one is better, but Ubuntu seems fine) because Windows 8 scared and confused me. I have zero experience with anything Linux before now, but I like it a lot so far. Everything was super easy to set up and configure, and the one windows program I missed was fairly easy to get running in Wine. I might be a convert.

[Donkeymog]

Yay, good work, Toyz. I never looked back. Steam on Linux is awesome or if you're low on moneys most GOG games run in wine pretty comfortably. 

 

I don't think it's ever been easy to pick up Linux. Most software people run on windows like Chrome / Firefox, VLC, Thunderbird etc. is all Linux native. The only thing that took me a while was finding a music player. Audacious is really good if you still like winamp style players though.

[toysintheattic]

This is on a laptop with integrated graphics, so I wasn't planning on doing a lot of gaming with it, but if I can get some of my GOG library to work on it, that'd be swell. I can play Minecraft on it well enough, maybe some emulators, that's all I really want from it.

 

For music, I just use foobar under wine, since that's just what I've always used. I might try audacious out, but for now this setup seems to work. My soundcard even works, too, I wasn't sure if it would.

[Donkeymog]

Yeah, I remember hearing a lot of shit talked about Linux's poor driver support. I've never had a problem though and I install Linux on just about everything I can get my hands on.

[Vicious Parker]

The only things I seem to have issues with are wifi adapters. Like, every WiFi adapter ever.

[Stars]

I have issues with every wi-fi adapter on my Windows computers, so I don't know that the issue is with Linux...

[Monkeydog]

I've never had a problem with wifi adapters, or Linux drivers in general. Linux just worked when I installed it on my Laptop, and ironically Windows 7 didn't (which is what it had come preinstalled with and I replaced it with Ubuntu).

 

I only reinstalled Windows for a few minor reasons:

A) My girlfriend's Macbook's charger died so she doesn't want to buy a new charger (at that price might as well just buy a new laptop). So she started using my laptop/desktop. Her main problem with my laptop was lack of Adobe Software/MS Office support.

B) I was having a heck of a time trying to get anything not Youtube to work with flash. Particularly since I used my laptop with my TV to stream sports and none of it worked, even legit stuff like ESPN. 

C) There was something off about playing video files with VLC. Mostly in the middle of playing videos it would stop syncing with the sound unless I rewinded it a bit and started it again. It was odd. The framerate could be a bit glitchy too.

 

I'd like to put Ubuntu or Mint back on my laptop at some point, maybe it's because I didn't seek out and drivers that was the problem.