This page is for the non-technical, general computer user, like myself. In explaining how I went about going from Windows to Linux on my desktop computer, I hope that this helps to entice others to make the switch themselves. A lot of Linux websites out there, I feel, don't do a good job of speaking to the general computer user (there are exceptions, of course!), which is probably one reason many users have shied away from Linux. This is my little way of trying to convey how simple this whole Linux business really is.
I'm not someone who likes to spend hours making my computer work. I have other things I'd rather do and really don't have the time between work and my interests. To simplify: Sure, I could change the oil in my car (I know how even), but I'd rather just pay someone else to do it; I'm just not that interested. I've known about Linux for years since I have many computer programming friends, but they seemed to be always spending so much time tweaking their computers to make them do the simplest things. I've come to understand that they actually LIKE to hack at their computers all day; it's fun for them. Not for me. No thanks. Windows was just quicker.
First off, I want to make it clear that I have used Microsoft's operating system, Windows, for a long time. It was what I used. It was at school, work, and thus it ended up on my various home computers. It worked well enough for what I had to do. It has been an accumulation of years and experience that led me to become dissatisfied with my operating system and thus the following are the main reasons why I have decided to FINALLY make the transition from Windows to Linux:
1) Over time, my software choices have shifted to products that are not exclusive to Microsoft Windows only. I've gone from Microsoft Word to using Corel WordPerfect (WordPerfect is organized much better, in my opinion). I got so annoyed with Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, that I turned to Netscape. Netscape then became Open Source, so it branched off to Mozilla (which I loved), then to Firefox and Seamonkey (the latter is what I currently use). The point: I'm more flexible than I realized, and I am willing to try/change products until I get what I deem more useful to me. There is so much Linux compatible software out there, that it's relatively easy to find an equivalent for a Windows-only product. And, CNR.com, which stands for "Click 'N Run," is making it even easier to find and put software onto your computer (If you'd like to read an overview about where CNR came from, click here).
2) Security. Linux is more secure than Windows. Even I can't argue this, and I'm always critical. The outlook for Vista is not good, so I absolutely refuse to use it. For more technical information on why Linux is more secure, please check out the Windows vs. Linux security report. Also, if you'd like a brief overview about computer viruses, click here.
3) One word: spyware.
4) I love computer games. This is the main reason why I haven't made the switch to Linux sooner. Most of the games I want to play are made for Windows only. Windows XP has been my turning point. I've been having to "tweak" my computer settings and having to download extra crap just to get my Windows games to work. I about had a mental breakdown trying to get D&D Online to work without crashing or freezing my computer. All my problems pointed to the operating system and NOT to the hardware. I even have games that worked fine on Windows 95 and 98, but refuse to work on XP. It's really frustrating.
5) Cost. Windows just keeps getting more and more expensive. Then you have to pay for all the software you want to run on it; for example, Microsoft Office (approximately $150). Windows Vista (which is your only Microsoft option for the new 64-bit computer systems) is between $300 to $500 depending on the version you get. Many distributions of Linux are already made for 64-bit computers, you can chose the distribution you want, and it and most of the corresponding software is FREE. Please note: Windows XP is only for 32-bit computers; you can run it on a 64-bit machine, but then it will only function as a 32-bit machine (what's the point?).
6) I've been getting more and more interested in the Open Source movement and thus want to support it. Open Source can be roughly summed up as: "Use it, improve it, and pass it on". Open source software is not only FREE, but you are free to use it in anyway you wish: the code is free for anyone to see/download, change, fix, and use in any way. Microsoft and Mac are both NOT open source (Mac has an open source backbone, but that by-itself is useless). Linux is completely, 100% open source. I'm tired of supporting monopolies.
If you'd like more information about Linux and what open source
is, try these sites to begin with:
www.linux.org/ (The central
source of Linux information on the web.)
www.catb.org/~esr/ (Eric
S. Raymond is one of the most influential people in the open
source movement.)
7) I went to Penguicon in April 2007. What I learned there, combined with all of the above, is what has convinced me.
I've been searching for a distribution of Linux that is meant for general users (a.k.a. me). I wanted an operating system that won't be a pain to set up. I don't want to spend hours making it work properly. I want it to contain everything I'll need. In other words, I want to install it and use it with little effort on my part. I searched though all the distributions listed at www.linux.org, and found 5 for "mainstream/general public" that are in "English" and for "64 bit" computers. With what I read about them, and what I learned from various people at Penguicon, I decided on Ubuntu.
Ubuntu's website speaks for itself: www.ubuntulinux.org. The operating system comes with equivalents of software that I use. So all I have to do is install it and use it. Then I can add/delete software as I see fit. Sounds easy. The following are the software that I need:
The only thing left are my games. I could be strong, but I NEED my computer games. I realize that more and more games are being made for Linux, and there are even gaming companies that make versions for both Windows and Linux. So, I'm thinking of this as a transition period for myself. Therefore, I'm going to have a "dual-boot" machine where I can chose to boot into Windows (if I'm going to play a Windows game) or boot into Linux (for everything else).
I found out from the Ubuntu website that you can partition your hard drive, but to make it easier, I'm going to have two hard drives on my computer. I want a complete physical separation, so later down the road I can just remove the Windows hard drive. My current hard drive is 20 GB and has Windows on it. I just bought a new $70 EIDE Western Digital 160 GB hard drive that will be all for Linux (Ubuntu).
On my next day off, I'm going to install Ubuntu. Wish me luck. If it sucks or is more trouble than I'm willing to put up with, I'll be sure to post a good long rant.
My installation process began with the arrival of my new 160 GB hard drive. Since Jeff built my current computer last year, he was kind enough to physically put my new hard drive into my computer. Using the jumper settings on each hard drive, he made the new one the "master" and the old 20 GB one with Windows on it the "slave". I'm sure Microsoft would appreciate this. The new hard drive came with an "installation CD," but it is useless since it's only for Windows. We don't need it anyway. This took Jeff maybe 5 to 10 minutes to do.
I went to Ubuntu's website and downloaded the 7.04 version, then burned it onto a CD. This is probably what took the most time.
Turned on my computer and popped in the Ubuntu CD before Windows booted, since my computer is set to boot from CD drive first (if there's anything in the drive). If I was too slow and Windows booted....I'd just have to put the CD into the drive, then tell Windows to "restart". Since there's now a CD in the drive, it would boot from that first. No big deal.
I had Jeff's laptop opened to Ubuntu's website since it has step-by-step directions, with pictures, on how to install the operating system (----> Community ----> Installation ----> Graphical Install). The directions were meant for the previous 6.06 version, but Ubuntu did not change it since they say that later releases should be similar. I only noticed minor differences, so it wasn't a problem. During the installation steps, there's a section dealing with partitions (if you're going to have a dual-boot machine), so I was able to tell Linux to install only on the new hard drive. What's funny is that if you do this the other way around (Putting Linux on your computer first and then putting on Windows into the other partition), it won't work. Windows is greedy and can't share. After the installation process, you take out the CD and restart your computer. This took about 30 minutes.
My first problem: When the computer is turned on, it's supposed to ask me which operating system I want to boot into. It didn't give me a choice and booted into Windows. grrrrrrr!
Answer: On Ubuntu's community website pages, I found out how to change the computer's boot menu so that it will give me the choice. Worked great. I turn on the computer and it asks me what OS I want. If I don't answer, it will automatically boot into Linux (my choice via a setting). Solving this problem took me about 20 minutes.
[Actually, the real issue is that the BIOS "cleverly" decided to boot from the second hard drive after we moved it. I just had to tell it to boot from the main drive instead. --jrb]
I navigated around the new desktop to get familiar with the layout. My initial impression: Simple. I like it. I installed my laser printer (the one that Windows XP refuses to see because Microsoft no longer makes drivers for it). This alone is totally worth it. I searched Ubuntu's depositories (one click thanks to CNR — see previous blogs), but couldn't find Seamonkey browser, which is what I'm used to using. Instead, I decided to give the Firefox browser a chance since both are Netscape based; they're similar. Since they use the same format for bookmarks, I was able to move my bookmarks file from the Windows partition into the correct spot on the new Linux partition. Nice. I changed some of the settings, like the desktop's appearance. I can view anything on my Windows partition, but if I open a Word file, for example, it will automatically open it with OpenOffice and is a "read only" file. This makes sense since Linux can't make changes to anything on the Windows partition. When I transfer files to the Linux partition (which is real easy, by-the-way), then open them, I can make all the changes I want. It's great: I can open all my Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect files with OpenOffice and the layout is the same (so far as I can tell); I'm really impressed. Images are all fine; they don't care what operating system they're on.
This leads to one of my main reasons for picking Ubuntu as my Linux distribution of choice: help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats Codecs for Ubuntu from CNR (and only CNR can legally do this) for flash, DVD, mp3s, RealPlayer, java,...etc. I had first learned about this at Penguicon (see my previous entries for the links regarding CNR). After following Ubuntu's directions, I went to the most flash intensive sites I could think of to test it, and it works GREAT. I'm so happy! Thank you, CNR!
My impression thus far: I'm really happy with Ubuntu! It was so much easier than I expected!
There are so many distributions of Linux to chose from, so pick the one that fits your needs/wants and your computer. Remember, www.linux.org/ has listings of all the distributions (with their corresponding webpages), so try searching their database. If you're interested in a specific distribution, read that distribution's webpage! If you try a distro and don't like it, try a different one. That's the beauty of Linux.
If you're interested in the Ubuntu distribution of Linux: The Community Docs page has all the important information you will need regarding installation and using Ubuntu. This page has a "start" section that contains installation directions. Pick the way that works best for you. I chose to use the "standard installation" and thus followed the indicated "graphical install" directions. I strongly suggest to read this whole page, especially the "switching from windows" section, which gives more information regarding how to prepare your windows machine for installing Ubuntu, plus other useful stuff.
After you install Ubuntu, but BEFORE you go surfing the internet (or use MP3s, DVDs, Flash, Java, etc), remember to install the multimedia codecs that I mentioned above (the ones you get thanks to CNR.com): Here are the directions again, so do it NOW while you're still thinking about it!
When you buy new hardware devices, they often come with installation CDs. If the CD says "Windows" on it, don't use it. Linux does not need it.
If you have any questions/problems, go to your distribution's website. They usually have free support, community pages, and/or forums where you can obtain help. The more you read, the more you know.
PRINTERS. Thinking of purchasing a new printer and/or you want to know in advance if the printer is compatible with Linux? Search the database at the Linux Foundation.
SCANNERS. Search the database at SANE to see if your scanner or the one you want to buy is supported on Linux. It usually will be, but it doesn't hurt to check first.
VIDEO CARDS: Check at X.org to check to make sure your graphics card is supported. Again, it usually will be, but it doesn't hurt to check first.
If you'd rather just purchase a new computer with Linux on it (instead of installing it on your 'old' computer), there are many companies that do....so just look! Linux.org has some links to companies that do.
Where to get computers with Linux already on them: Dell Beginning in May 2007, due to popular demand, Dell is now selling computers with Ubuntu Linux! HP Linux distributions include Red Hat, Debian, and more....