re: gewg_ ? linux bound
Friday, November 13, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by gewg_
(4444 messages posted)
gary wrote:
|what info can you give me to make the change. have old dell with xp.
You don't say how much RAM you have or what speed your CPU is,
but if the box shipped with XP pre-installed, it should be able to run ANY distro.
Download the *.ISO for a distro[1], burn it to a CD, and boot to that CD.
You will get a Linux desktop--just as if Linux was installed to the HDD.
Previously in this forum I've described test drives without installing:
http://google.com/search?q=site:annoyances.org+"test.drive"+"posted-by-gewg_"
(It's also good to have a bootable Linux CD to do repairs when Windoze breaks.)
Ubuntu is the most popular distro and it has several variants.
Canonical will even send you a free CD and they will pay the postage:
http://google.com/search?q=inurl:shipit+inurl:ubuntu|inurl:kubuntu
(The free plastic disks are mainly for those who are bandwidth-poor
but who have lots of patience.)
NOTE:
Ubuntu 9.10 just released and a small but vocal group are finding problems.
Ubuntu 9.04 (from April of 2009) may be a better choice for several weeks.
In addition, *buntu 8.04 is a Long-Term Support version
and has full support for 3 years from its release date (April 2008 - April 2011);
regular *buntu releases get full updates for 18 months.
Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop (instead of Gnome) and you may like that better.
It's easy to try both.
Lots of help available at http://ubuntuforums.org/.
Linux Mint is an Ubuntu derivative
and has the most complete out-of-the-box experience. Highly recommended.
It also has Gnome, KDE, Xfce, and Fluxbox editions for test drives.
Excellent forums there as well.
Here's a good Getting Started page:
cache
of https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CriticismFAQ
There are links to some "Which distro" tools on that page. Here is another:
http://polishlinux.org/choose/comparison/?distro1=Ubuntu&distro2=Fedora
...and, frankly, I think this is a more useful DistroWatch link:
http://distrowatch.com/search.php
Here's another very significant page for n00bs:
cache
of http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/linux-newbie/57918-all-new-users-read-first.html
...and another:
cache
of http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5004671
Here's a useful page for apps:
cache
of http://ostatic.com/blog/over-20-free-tutorials-for-top-open-source-apps-and-linux
...and after you select a distro,
you're NOT roped into that distro's default desktop environment.
Want a different one? Just install it. Want more than one? That's OK too.
You're not roped into the default selection of apps either.
Don't like those? Get the ones you want.
(Windoze guys are just stoked when they see a Linux "package manager" in action.)
Linux is about CHOICES. Linux is about YOU.
[1] Since it only costs 20c for a CD blank (or nothing if you use a CD-RW)
and you DON'T have to _install_ anything to try it,
you can try *several* and see which one you like best.
When you find a distro you really like,
click on the installer icon and Linux will do all the heavy lifting for you
--partitioning, formating, installing the OS and apps, setting up dual boot...
without having to babysit the install and reboot, reboot, reboot, reboot...
and without it taking DAYS to get it all done.
- Written in response to:
- gewg_ ? linux bound (gary: Friday, November 13, 2009 at 12:38 pm)
Responses to this message:
|
|
All messages in this thread [show all]
 |  | re: gewg_ ? linux bound (gewg_: Fri, Nov 13, 2009, 3:19 pm) |
| |
| |
| |
Return to the Windows 98 Discussion Forum
|
|
