You will find many websites and blogs that are Windows bashers who will try to convert you to Linux based Operating systems, this is not one of them.
Reasons why people might choose to try Linux out?
Modern computers are designed to be used by members of the general public, not IT literate geeks, programmers and specialists. I have been working with computers in one form or another since I was 17. Big deal you say, well that was 40 years ago, the first computer I used was an Elliott 903, it was the size of a chest freezer, loaded software on 8 hole paper tape through an optical reader and could process a heady 40,000 instructions per second in machine code. The operating system was on two reels of paper tape, the programming language on another. They frequently ripped and it had 512 k of core store memory which lost all the data when it was turned off.
Enter the penguin
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| Tux - the Linux communities mascot |
Windows Operating systems are for people who need to use a computer without knowing how it works. But it is not the only solution, Android, Mac Os, Unix, Sparc and Linux are all alternatives and many are gaining popularity amongst people who want to do more than just use office software. Maybe they want to tweak their machine to suit them more, or just learn more about computers generally.
It is also popular with people (like me) who like to breath new life into old Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 laptop and desktop PC's that are no longer supported. Or maybe they have just got so old and slow they are candidates for the bin. Don't bin them, recycle them and install Linux and you will be amazed at how fast they run and how much you learn in the process. You could also donate them to charities if you have no further need for them.
Why don't I slag off Windows like all the others?
Simple! I have spent 25 years supporting Windows PC Users, writing software and building websites on Microsoft Windows platforms. I would not change that for anything. But for playing with computers, writing blogs and and daily browsing, Linux has finally won me over. It took maybe 10 years of failed installs and frustration, but thankfully it has recently has got a lot simpler. Nowadays anyone can do it. To prove it I will hold your hand as I show you how.
So what exactly is Linux?
Linux, its correct full and proper name is GNU/Linux, is an operating system that is free to use for non-commercial use, it in an alternative to Windows, Mac OS, and many more that you can find here. We will just call it Linux for now and there are many versions or distros.
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| My Samsung, satellite and cable receivers including Sky Boxes, like many others, and run Linux |
It is supported both by the developers who help to write it and also by large communities online. Many members of the general public contribute to the updates of this 'open source' software. This means that the developers who write and update it make the source code available for other people to work on and improve and submit back to be included in security and functional updates.
Having said that minor updates occur on a daily or weekly basis, major updates such as kernel updates only usually occur every few months. If you are a developer and need to see the latest builds nightly, that is something you can opt-in to. More importantly, you have control over when you have updates, and which ones. It odes not take over your life like Windows 10 seems to, even with it's good intentions. Because Linux is supported by such a large community of geeks, this means that hardware that did not have software drivers written by major manufacturers, is often supported by the community for the distro.
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| My Linux Desktop as I write this blog. Lubuntu 16.04 64 bit. |
What is a distro?
What I will refer to as Linux, or a distro (distribution) is generally a download of the complete Linux operating system usually as a .iso image. This image can be used to make a fully working installation on a DVD, USB stick or possibly even an SD card. We have to make a distinction because unlike Windows, GNU/Linux is composed of a Kernel, this is the first layer that communicates with your computer. Secondly there is the graphical desktop, this can be changed to suit your needs and may be Gnome (Gee-nome), Cinnamon, KDE, LXDE, Mate or many other alternatives. We also need a graphics system to make it user friendly, this is normally X-Windows or X11 (nothing to do with Microsoft). As we will see Linux distro's are available for many different processors such as AMD 32 bit, 64 bit, Intel 32 bit, 64 bit, and Raspberry Pi's. Also ARM processors used in tablets, internet wifi and routers, mobile (cell) phones and for embedded systems such as PDT's (portable data terminals) TV's, Satellite (including UK Sky TV boxes), HiFi systems, Sat Navs/GPS systems and many other applications. There is not much out there that cannot run Linux natively, or be persuaded to by somebody else!
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| Ubuntu is a very well supported version which spawned many variants |
Linux is also used by many of the Internet's Web Servers, these computers exist purely to serve the web pages that you are looking at now and every day. Windows Web Servers also exist but its seems that the majority run Linux. With Super Computers (yeah those things you see in Science Fiction films) it's now 95%! The reasons are that Linux and Unix (on which it core was based, but not copied) is inherently secure, supports true multi-tasking and multi-processor support (I mean like 64 processors not 2 or 3). The server versions do not have a desktop layer and generally the support is paid for to minimize downtime and maximize support. These are only for developers to use and offer no benefit for normal users. The Chinese government only use Linux servers to stop 'the decadent west spying on them!'
Distros
Distros are generally divided into Debian, Red Hat, Gentoo. Brand names you may hear are more friendly like Arch, Ubuntu, Suse, Lubuntu, Mint Linux, Peppermint, Zorin and many, many others that have been based on those and customized for one purpose or another.
How to choose?
Ubuntu is one of the most popular kernels and is based on a Debian core. This also has one of the biggest support communities. The only downside is that it needs quite a bit of memory and processing power to perform at its best. This is great of yoyu have a PC or laptop less than about 6 years old. But in the Linux world there are many alternatives and they are not inferior at all! Ubuntu can run many desktops such as KDE, Gnome, Mate, LXDE (lightweight desktop) and some distros also support obscure processors.
The Raspberry PI Micro Computer or SBC - single board computer runs a version of Debian Linux too - see my feature blog here https://raspberry-pi-tastic.blogspot.co.uk/
Zorin is a very well specified and complete package, it uses many graphical features that will perform best on more recent machines, version 9 is stable and version 11.0 looks amazing!
Slim Linux's
Mint Linux is based on Debian/Ubuntu and works well on older machines and uses the Mate or Cinnamon desktops.
Other slim distros are Trisquel Mini (similar to Lubuntu). Also Arch Linux (for experts only, you have to compile the kernel using the command line) and Raspian for Raspberry Pi Micro Computers and its clones.
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| Selection of Linux distros. ISO images stored on my pc to experiment with. |
But my personal favourite is Lubuntu, this runs the Openbox desktop which is suitable for kids or tablets, or LXDE (lightweight desktop) and has its own website and community. In no way is this a less able operating system, it just lacks the clutter and advanced features of full-blown ones like Ubuntu. If you have a powerful PC or laptop you can run these and enjoy them. But guess what, because Lubuntu. Trisquel and Mint are the same core as Ubuntu (Debian), they will all run the same software and desktops.
Another one used on many of my machines is Mint Linux , this is very similar and some of my machine's now run it in both 32bit and 64 bit versions.
Slow Burner
But if your PC/Laptop is really old and is running badly, how do you know it will be supported?
I am writing this on a machine I built myself, of moderate performance in 2008. AMD Athlon P4200, 2.2Ghx twin core 64 bit cpu, 4Gb ram and 3 hard drives; 2 sata, and one IDE. With office software, several browsers and media players installed Linux is using about less than 5Gb and I am a heavy user.
I have also installed it on a Compaq Presario 1500 (below) 2.2Ghz Intel Pentium 4 32 bit cpu, 512Mb ram and 30Gb hard drive which orignally had Windows XP on and was made around 2002.
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| c2002 Compaq Presario 1500 Windows XP machine now running Lubuntu 32 bit |
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- Compaq Presario 1500 Laptop c2002 [Linux only]
- Home built PC c2008 [Windows 10 and Linux]
- Newly built PC AMD A8 3.6Ghx, 8gb ram, 512Gb SSD hard drive, Windows 10, Mint Linux 18.2, Virtual Box histing many other distros for testing.
- HP Pavilion Quad core AMD A8 2.4 Ghz 8Gb ram c2015 [Windows 10 and Linux Virtual Machine or Live USB]
- Android 5 (Linux based) Samsung Galaxy Prime Mobile
- Samsung TV above [unknown embedded Linux].
- The picture taken with a Windows 10 Mobile Phone.
We will look at how to test if your machine can run Linux Next
