I mean far easier than Windows. I installed it for her once, and let
her do all the administration with it -- next thing I know she's
installed it on replacement laptops and on friends' laptops. She had
no prior experience with Linux and hadn't read anything about it
before I installed it for her. I was tired of repairing problems with
viruses. I said I would fix it one last time and she would never have
a problem with viruses again: I installed Ubuntu.
Hardware compatibility isn't a given. This is known to bite people
when they initially convert.
Also, make sure you back up anything on the computer that you want to
keep. You should be keeping backups as a normal part of your computer
life, but unfortunately this isn't a given.
Any time you use any tool to repartition a hard drive expect the
possibility that something could go wrong and you could lose all data
on that drive. If you have multiple drives and are not absolutely sure
which is which when you repartition you need to expect to lose all
data on the drive you were not planning to use.
What do you need to do with the computer and how fast do you need it
to be usable? How much time do you have to play with Linux before you
need to be productive with it?
For a simple "is my hardware compatible with Linux" test there are
"Live" CDs. Personally, I'm a fan of Ubuntu. Their desktop
installation CDs are also "live" CDs. You can boot up Ubuntu and
verify the hardware is supported before you install upon it. At this
point, I think most Linux distributions have Live media when they're
not the same as their desktop installation media. Some distributions
may require DVDs but most have just one required installation CD and
the rest of the packages can be downloaded from the Internet. (Debian
is available on 52 CDs, 8 DVDs, or 2 BD. You can get a bootable system
that can go online to download more packages with just the first CD.
Many packages are alternatives to other packages.)
The gentlest installation of Linux has got to be Wubi -- the Ubuntu
Windows Installer.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/windows-installer -- It is
actually easier to try out Linux with Wubi than it is to try it out
with a Live CD. It installs Linux like a Windows application -- no
repartitioning needed (though you need to reboot to boot in to Linux)
-- and this means it can be uninstalled just as easily. There are some
caveats with using Wubi -- disk access isn't as fast -- but
performance is more realistic than a Live CD and it is super fast and
easy. Since Wubi installs Linux in to space allocated within your
Windows partition there's no risk of loss of data stored in your
Windows partition.
If you know the hardware will work with Linux, there is no reason to
stick with the first distribution of Linux that you try. There are a
lot of different flavors. Some distributions are easier to use than
others, and most have slightly different hardware requirements. Linux
will run on a wide variety of hardware. Most Linux distributions have
similar hardware requirements to modern version of Windows. Some Linux
distributions specifically focus on lighter hardware requirements for
older hardware.
Personally, I started using Linux when my system had few enough
resources I only used a GUI if I wanted to see pictures on a webpage.
Everything else was done through the console. This meant that system
was still doing all kinds of stuff when it would have been unsuitable
for anything in Windows. If you're comfortable with something very
light-weight, I think the modern hardware requirements are a
Pentium-class processor or better. The GUI (and Live) CDs won't work,
but Ubuntu has an "alternate" CD that should work. Even when you need
to install in text-mode you should be able to use one of the
lighter-weight window managers. ([Off-topic] Though you need not throw
away even older hardware. FreeDOS released a 1.0 release -- compatible
with MS DOS 6.0 -- and ships with a lot of software.)
Cheers,
Steven Black
On Wed, Nov 23, 2011 at 9:44 AM, Mark Warner <mhwarner@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Do you have a spare machine you can load it on? My suggestion is to just
> load up a flavor of desktop Linux (my personal preference is
> SimplyMEPIS) and have at it. Be prepared to have numerous WTF! moments
> and to totally trash the system out and having to reinstall. Eventually
> it will all come together, and you'll wonder why you waited so long.
>
> JMO. YMMV.
>
> Paul W. Proctor wrote:
>> Hi,
>> I am ready to take the plunge with Linux! Been a diehard Windows user
>> for decades.
>> I would like to know when the next Linux Fest is. I would like to attend
>> one near IU.
>> I would also be open to any advice for a newbie.
>> I AM READY TO CONVERT.
>> Thanks,
>> Paul Proctor
>> proctor710@comcast.net <mailto:proctor710@comcast.net>
>
> --
> Mark Warner
> _______________________________________________
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> BLUG@linuxfan.com
> http://mailman.cs.indiana.edu/mailman/listinfo/blug
>
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