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144 Comments
- FlareHeart, on 01/28/2009, -5/+26Great! Finally a post about how to help Linux newbs instead of just bashing Windows users for not using it! It's very helpful and I am glad that the community is finally starting to be more helpful!
- ileftfark, on 01/29/2009, -2/+17"Wine is an emulation layer..."
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! - hartley, on 01/29/2009, -0/+12if you're doing a fresh install, just like with windows, then installing ubuntu is JUST as easy. In fact its easier because you don't need your serial number.
- coldkill3r, on 01/29/2009, -0/+9That's because most users have used windows all of their lives. I have given ubuntu to many friend when their windows installations got trashed, and none of them had any trouble navigating around the gnome interface.
- inc595, on 01/29/2009, -0/+8This is relative, you are just familiar with Windows thus it's easy to you. Windows still has drivers issues just as Linux. These are the fault of the hardware designers not the OS.
Ever try to install Windows on a system with RAID and no floppy drive? PitA indeed.
The same plain jane system you would expect a flawless install in Windows you would expect the same for Linux.
I use all three systems and run Ubuntu as my main OS. I still have windows in VMWare for some apps and their weak websites that require activex. - squigglethecow, on 01/29/2009, -0/+7You would be surprised.
- homemadejam, on 01/28/2009, -5/+12Nice post :) I shall have to show some of my mates who use Windows this!
- Lokonopa, on 01/28/2009, -2/+8I applaud anyone that takes a lot of time to craft a quick introduction to Linux guide. This guide felt a bit lacking, though. It didn't read as it would make the transition of a Windows user to Ubuntu or any other distro any easier. It might prove to be a handy reference guide.
- ptFoe, on 01/29/2009, -1/+7what no screenshots
- coldkill3r, on 01/29/2009, -0/+6You may want to give debian stable (http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/) a shot, it has been the most stable operating system that I have ever used.
- JKAL, on 01/29/2009, -4/+10Even though it is an Ubuntu article it is a start for real n00bs...
however in the spirit of open source and freeware an article written over so many pages full of adverts... is not free in my mind,
so... one page
http://www.networkworld.com/cgi-bin/mailto/x.cgi?p ... - Ford_Prefect2nd, on 01/29/2009, -1/+7Let me get this straight, if you right an article on an OS, then you must write on ALL OS's or your a fanboy? So if i write a guide to using Ubuntu, I have to write a guide to using SUSE, and if I write a guide for using SUSE, i have to write a guide for using Ubuntu... man, thats going to make for some annoying repitition.... A person can advise using thier prefured OS and simply like it, without being a fanboy... Maybe they think it is the best option. Opinions are ok, you will not that they did say "But Ubuntu is just one of many different flavors of Linux. Literally hundreds of distributions are out there, appealing to a broad range of users--from teachers and programmers to musicians and hackers" or, you didn't because you didn't read the article... fail x2, 2/3rds the way to epic.
- scottweiss, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5looks like someone has a fever...
- Krondor, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5Emulators simulate a hardware architecture and run the software against that (translating instructions to the native architecture). An example would be a Nintendo emulator. Nintendo Entertainment System is not based on x86 architecture, and as a result the workings of that processor are implemented in software and translated into a form x86 can interpret.
Wine on the other hand simply runs native code. If a Windows program uses a standard routine and not a Windows specific function, then it will run native against the architecture (with no performance hit). In the case where a Windows API call is made, Wine intercepts the call and maps it to a Linux equivalent (IE, mapping DirectX functions to OpenGL). This is also not emulation, as it is not mimicking a different architecture. - aclashingcolour, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5Just installed my first linux OS Kubuntu with that KDE 4.2 thing I saw on digg the other day. Very nice, wish I had tried linux sooner.
- AtraNoxVII, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5And there's only one cure...
- aclashingcolour, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5Nah so far its pretty sweet. Why dont you like it? Your post below is talking about kernel this and that but honestly that means nothing to me.
- coldkill3r, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5The only time where the user experience really becomes iffy is if they have unsupported hardware.
- coldkill3r, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5Newbies can use many distrobutions like ubuntu, mandriva, and mepis.
- 3242130193, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5Wine Is Not an Emulator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_(software) - factotum218, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5I gave Linux and FreeBSD a chance off and on for the last 6-7 years starting with Slackware and running through a couple dozen different distributions. Overall Linux and BSD are great for general computer use like web, email, chat, office, scheduling and of course all the great niche applications available. It works well and gets the job done for a wide variety of needs.
I gave it a go as a desktop publisher but ran into CMYK and font rendering issues. It just didn't work for me. I solved these issues by installing an XP virtual machine. By doing this another issue arose. I was spending all my time in that virtual system getting my work done. This made running Linux impractical for me. It added an unnecessary layer that sat dormant and unused. If I was starting over again before Windows XP was the norm I would have jumped on Linux and stayed there. Now I'm afraid it's a bit to late for me to consider relearning a different approach into what I have invested years into already.
If you have the opportunity to give it a go please do. Linux is an amazing foundation for a desktop or server environment. - coldkill3r, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5Try this out: http://wubi-installer.org/
You can install and uninstall it just like any other windows application.
Once you decide if you like ubuntu and want to do a complete installation, download a live cd from here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
Set your computer to boot from your cd drive and the the live cd should load, just click install and follow the graphical installation utility's steps. Make sure that you pay attention to what it is saying. - meean, on 01/29/2009, -0/+5I have Windows XP installed on my Acer Aspire One.
How easy/hard is it to install Ubuntu and completely get rid of Windows XP? - mrBitch, on 01/29/2009, -3/+7Wow, you mean to say that programs that REQUIRE Windows directx in order to run, are not running on an OS that doesn't have directx ?
You are a genius. - coldkill3r, on 01/29/2009, -0/+4@Ford_Prefect2nd
Have you tried a debian stable install? - techtock, on 01/29/2009, -0/+4Excuse me, 8.10.
- srg13, on 01/29/2009, -1/+5"The fact that it briefly mentions that there are other distros out there doesn't matter."
Sorry, but you're not really making sense - you're just contradicting yourself... You comment pretty much says "This person is a Ubuntu fanboy because they don't acknowledge that other distributions exist. The part where he acknowledges that other distributions exist doesn't matter." - techtock, on 01/29/2009, -0/+4Fairly easy: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne
- mooseofshadows, on 01/29/2009, -1/+5What do you think a Linux newbie uses?
- Bulletbillx, on 01/29/2009, -0/+4also linux mint and PClinuxOS. Some even use Sabayon Linux for teh eye candy.
- inactive, on 01/29/2009, -1/+5Which game in particular isn't running for you? I'm assuming you've heard of WINE, which is capable of running most of the popular Windows games in Linux. I use Ubuntu myself, and every game I played on Windows runs perfectly fine with WINE (with the exception of Left 4 Dead).
If you're a hardcore gamer on your PC then I will agree that a Windows partition is absolutely necessary, but I'd say that this article isn't aimed at hardcore gamers. It's aimed at the average person who is probably a bit intimidated by the idea of using a different OS than Windows, yet doesn't understand the potential for productivity increases it has. Your average user probably just wants to use a computer for e-mail, instant messaging, and internet access, and in such a case their biggest threat is spyware and virii/trojans. They also end up complaining that Windows "slows down" after time, since they constantly keep programs loaded in the background and don't ever defragment their HD. Linux comes with the ability to pretty much ignore any of those threats, and as such it's my opinion that the average user is much better off using Linux or OS X than they are Windows. - mrBitch, on 01/29/2009, -1/+5RE: " I don't know what OS is so I gave up there."
Let me assist you. An OS is an acronym for "Operating System".
An OS is required for you to run your programs, since the programs will call OS routines to be able to write to your display, to save your documents, to print something to your printer, etc...
An example of an OS is Windows.
Other examples of OS are Ubuntu (a Linux distribution), and OSX (which is an OS that is installed on Apple Macs and iPhones). - MattBD, on 01/29/2009, -0/+4How come there's so many books on sale in bookshops telling people how to use Windows and OS X?
- KingGorilla, on 01/29/2009, -0/+4Seasons don't fear the penguin. Nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain
- inactive, on 01/29/2009, -1/+5Have you checked the AppDB to get tips from people on how to optimize those various games? Obviously some of them do not run very well or simply don't run at all since they have to be reverse-engineered. Like I said - if you are a hardcore gamer then you should have a Windows partition for those games. Windows has Linux beat in that one area, and it's a rather niche one.
Not to start any trouble, but I don't have anywhere near enough time to play all the games you mentioned, and most of the people this article is aimed at don't either. This article is aimed at those people who don't know much about Linux and want to do average things with their PCs. It's not aimed at someone like you (or me) who already knows what Linux is. It's not aimed at a hardcore gamer that probably already knows Linux can't run most of the games they play. It's aimed at people who would like to check it out, but know very little about it. I'm not entirely sure why you'd bring up PC gaming in an article that's not aimed at PC gamers. - Ford_Prefect2nd, on 01/29/2009, -1/+5Heh, yeah, its right there in the name... Wine Is Note an Emulator...
- Krondor, on 01/29/2009, -0/+4ps aux | grep your program? What do you have against pgrep? pgrep myprogram ;) Interesting use of lsof... I've never seen it used to look for open ports. I've always used it to find open files. For open ports I've always used netstat -l.
- 3242130193, on 01/29/2009, -2/+5Great, thanks for letting us know.
Now what the hell do you expect us to do about it? In all honesty, that's in the hands of the corporations who make the game, not the GNU/Linux community. And the reason that this happens is because sheep like you just hunker down and accept Windows as the only gaming platform without asking software provides for change.
So if you want to know what the problem is, YOU! are the problem. And damn, it must feel great to be lazy and not give a *****. If you want people to solve the problem for you, then the best way to make it happen is to get involved in the change process. DEMAND CHANGE. Don't pretend you have a legitimate reason for there not being games on Linux. The reason is because you're not doing enough.
How's this for a start? Demand that MS publish specs for developing necessary gaming libraries on Linux (say, DirectX? then again, what do I know). As it is now, they wait for the WINE devs to reverse engineer it, and by then they release a new implementation ***** everything up again. Maybe we should do something about that? Then it wouldn't be half as hard to port software to Linux.
FYI there are a number of great OSS games (google around, here's a start: http://rangit.com/software/top-8-linux-games-of-20 ... and sure they're not as popular as WoW, but they do provide a good experience. - mrBitch, on 01/29/2009, -1/+4I've got a fever, and the only prescription... is more cowbell !
- techtock, on 01/29/2009, -4/+7"If you can do something with Windows or Mac OS X, you can do the same thing with Ubuntu."
......except gaming. I run Ubuntu 7.10 and it's great and wonderful for everything I use it for, but let's not kid ourselves. There's a few freeware gems out there for sure, but if you use your rig primarily for gaming, DO NOT USE LINUX! Use an XP or Vista partition. - srg13, on 01/29/2009, -1/+4Actually, I very much doubt that more than 30 - 40 percent of Windows users could install Windows for themselves... I mean, pretty much every time you will have to install a driver for your graphics card, and occasionally for your sound card, which I doubt most average users would work out. I even had to install a driver for my network card once - a bit tricky since I didn't have a driver CD.
- Akilah88, on 01/29/2009, -2/+5get off of digg please
- coldkill3r, on 01/29/2009, -0/+3Linux can handle eveything you said on that list, except for itunes. However, I personally believe we have much better apps like amarok, exaile, or banshee.
- keegangrayson, on 01/30/2009, -0/+3dugg for OCD
- Ford_Prefect2nd, on 01/29/2009, -1/+4Actually I have used Ubuntu and I think Windows is better, so no, I am not a fanboy of Ubuntu, I liked it over SUSE and Mandriva. I was not sarcastic once, nor was I hateful, I described. How does it not matter that he mentioned other distros if your claiming "the article is about ubuntu. ubuntu does not equal Linux (as in Linux as a whole)." It seems to be very relevant.
I sincerely doubt that the above type-o's forced you to have to read it over 3 times to gain understanding, if it did, I think we can go all the way to the trifecta of fail, which means... EPIC, meaning was easily had.
A lot of people can like an OS without being fanboys, fanboyism is when Apple makes a series of products that, where they made by someone else, Apple fans would scorn them, but as they are Apple, they love and excuse them. This can be true of any product, including Linux, but preferring something is not fanboyism. I happen to think Windows is the best overall OS, but was willing to try other OS's because there were aspects I didn't like and wanted to learn more, I still think Windows is the best, but I think other OS's have their uses. I am not a fanboy. It sounds like you might be though. - arbulus, on 01/29/2009, -0/+3If when people think of Linux, all they think about is Ubuntu, then I'm fine with that. It's providing a unified public front for Linux, which is sorely needs.
- 3242130193, on 01/29/2009, -0/+3AA1 support should be good. It's a popular new model with a lot of interest from the dev community. In fact, I have one myself, and it runs great, but I'm using Debian (same difference? not so much). There are some minor issues with the microphone and wireless took a while to fix, but now that it's been out for >6 months, most things work out of the box with a modern distro like Ubuntu.
- bdfariello, on 01/29/2009, -1/+3I don't use CentOS because I don't feel like keeping track of 5 CDs since I don't have a DVD burner. And yeah, I know you don't absolutely NEED all 5 discs for a basic install, but I'd feel incomplete if I had just 3 discs.
- Ford_Prefect2nd, on 01/29/2009, -0/+2er... NOT, not Note.
- PinkyTheWinky, on 01/29/2009, -0/+2FreeBSD?
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