The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

by **MistaT** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:18 pm

I'm sick of Windows, can't stand Apple and I've gotten a really nasty virus that I can't seem to get rid of. Sounds like a perfect time to go Linux. What do I need to know?

by **LobsterJ** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:20 pm

i was in your same situation and a friend installed this on my old computer for me. he assured me it was "just like windows." it isn't. i had to call him to walk me through changing the wallpaper on the desktop.

by **MistaT** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:21 pm

LobsterJ wrote:i was in your same situation and a friend installed this on my old computer for me. he assured me it was "just like windows." it isn't. i had to call him to walk me through changing the wallpaper on the desktop.

by **MistaT** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:25 pm

My biggest question would be what programs are available to me. Whenever downloading a new program it asks you is it for a mac or pc. What about Linux? Will I be able to run most of the popular programs such as photoshop?

by **Thunderstorm** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:55 pm

Install a version alongside your windows installation. That way you can switch back and forth while you learn the ropes. It's not hard at all, just a little different. I prefer it to Windows, but I need to be able to sync my Apple toys, and I can't on Linux.

by **LobsterJ** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:57 pm

oh and don't let my story scare you, i am terrible with computers.

by **MistaT** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:02 pm

Okay, so I see that you cannot run those programs without the assistance of WINE

by **MistaT** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:07 pm

Fuck it, I'm gonna take the leap.

Backing up my personal files now.

by **sdsichero** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:09 pm

Is he the Watcher's brother?

by **achilles** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:10 pm

The skinny on Linux, any version:

It's very stable compared to Windows. Crashes will seem like a thing of the past compared to Windows, (it's about as stable as modern Mac OSs, which are based on a similar code base).

It's very customizable. Which won't matter to you unless you know the command line pretty well and are comfortable with the Linux file system.

It's a lot more secure than Windows. Not completely secure, no system is, but it's better than Windows, both because of its structure, and because it's just not as popular a target since the installed user base isn't as large.

There are many FREE programs, some of which are useless to most people, some of which, like the many popular office programs, can be very useful, and even better than their Windows counterparts. Word processors in particular are plentiful and very good, and free. It offers REAL database programs often for free. They may not all be full-on enterprise relational databases, but they are a hell of a lot better than the Office crap I've seen used a lot by people who don't know better or have access to the real things.

Now the downside. It's harder to install. There's no getting around that. It requires you know a lot more to install it. And Windows comes pre-installed anyway on most computers, as do the Mac OSs on Macs. It isn't impossible, but you do need to know some things.

It can be, depending on which flavor you use, harder to install programs. You'll need to learn your package manager---which will likely require much more prompting than say a windows or Mac installation.

Many popular programs simply don't work on Linux, or require workarounds. Things like Wine can help in some cases. But again, more knowledge required to use.

Basically, you have to know more to update Linux, or install it, or change it in any meaningful way, (changing wallpaper is as easy as it is in Macs). In exchange, you get a robust, customizable system. Try Mint BTW. I've heard many people like it better than Ubuntu these days.

by **MistaT** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:11 pm

sdsichero wrote:Is he the Watcher's brother?

second cousin twice removed and then once replaced (albeit very briefly)

by **MistaT** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:18 pm

achilles wrote:The skinny on Linux, any version:

It's very stable compared to Windows. Crashes will seem like a thing of the past compared to Windows, (it's about as stable as modern Mac OSs, which are based on a similar code base).

It's very customizable. Which won't matter to you unless you know the command line pretty well and are comfortable with the Linux file system.

It's a lot more secure than Windows. Not completely secure, no system is, but it's better than Windows, both because of its structure, and because it's just not as popular a target since the installed user base isn't as large.

There are many FREE programs, some of which are useless to most people, some of which, like the many popular office programs, can be very useful, and even better than their Windows counterparts. Word processors in particular are plentiful and very good, and free. It offers REAL database programs often for free. They may not all be full-on enterprise relational databases, but they are a hell of a lot better than the Office crap I've seen used a lot by people who don't know better or have access to the real things.

Now the downside. It's harder to install. There's no getting around that. It requires you know a lot more to install it. And Windows comes pre-installed anyway on most computers, as do the Mac OSs on Macs. It isn't impossible, but you do need to know some things.

It can be, depending on which flavor you use, harder to install programs. You'll need to learn your package manager---which will likely require much more prompting than say a windows or Mac installation.

Many popular programs simply don't work on Linux, or require workarounds. Things like Wine can help in some cases. But again, more knowledge required to use.

Basically, you have to know more to update Linux, or install it, or change it in any meaningful way, (changing wallpaper is as easy as it is in Macs). In exchange, you get a robust, customizable system. Try Mint BTW. I've heard many people like it better than Ubuntu these days.

Cool, Thanks for the input. I did look at Mint somewhat and from what I understand is that the biggest difference is Unity/Gnome. Can you tell me more about these?

by **S.F. Jude Terror** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:15 am

Get Ubuntu. Mint is more like Windows and Ubuntu more like Mac as far as the desktop interface, but you will find Ubuntu is prettier and easier to use. What nerdyboy said was true in the past but Ubuntu past version 11.4 (stable is now at 12.4) is easier than Windows even. There is a software center, like an app store, except it has every program you need and they are all free.

by **S.F. Jude Terror** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:24 am

Now, I use my macbook pro most of the time lately because it is very portable and I love the design of the hardware. It's just very easy to carry around and put on my lap.

That being said, I use linux on my work PC, linux on my HTPC (which is what my TV runs, I don't have cable, it's set up with a linux box to be a full featured media center plus video game console emulator plus computer), and I have linux on another laptop. I use Ubuntu primarily, though I have used Mint as well. The new Unity interface is awesome once you get used to it.

Now, admittedly, I spend a lot of time in the terminal because I do a lot of programming both personally and for work (and the same is true on my mac). I am generally either in a terminal or in a web browser. So I install programs from the terminal (which is actually quite easy), and I am also adept at installing software that you can't get in the software center or more advanced versions of that software, but honestly, you can get everything you need in Ubuntu without ever opening a terminal nowadays.

You can get video players, office software, photo editors (GIMP, which is very similar to photoshop), skype, thunderbird, firefox or chrome, audio players, audio or video editors, and much more from the software center with the click of a button.

As nerdyboy said, it is very secure and it is very good for networking, both in your home network, and for remote servers. For instance, my HTPC hosts several hard drives and shares a music folder with the whole house over the network, as well as a comic server. The Outhouse server runs on linux (CentOS), and the old OH server ran on Ubuntu. My work uses Ubuntu servers. I've also worked with Redhat servers.

I have linux on one laptop at home, and I begrudingly use it only to use the program ComicRack, but that's only until I obtain a Windows license to install a virtual box on one of my other machines. I can't stand Windows, hate it with a passion, and I think once you've used Ubuntu you will come to feel the same. It is just a clunky, slow, error prone, crash-heavy, bloated, vulnerable system that saw its best days in the mid nineties.

Get Ubuntu, give it a try for a few weeks and you will feel like a pro.

If you need help with anything, let me know.

by **sdsichero** » Sat Jun 16, 2012 12:31 am

S.F. Jude Terror wrote:Get Ubuntu. Mint is more like Windows and Ubuntu more like Mac as far as the desktop interface, but you will find Ubuntu is prettier and easier to use. What nerdyboy said was true in the past but Ubuntu past version 11.4 (stable is now at 12.4) is easier than Windows even. There is a software center, like an app store, except it has every program you need and they are all free.

Woo Hoo! Someone else is nerdyboy now!

Have you tried installing Ubuntu on the Mac Jude?