Windows to Linux


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My Situation

I have used Windows computers all my life and the only time I ever used anything else was Mac when they have it in the stores so you can try it out. I used 3.1, 95, 98, and now we have XP on our main computer and 98 on 3 of our other computers. I just want to try out Mandrake Linux on one of our other computers to try something other than Windows for a while. My dad would be the one to install it, he said he would if I bought it. I wouldn't know how to do that, I just "use" it, my dad is the computer tech of the family.

Remember I have used Windows all my life so it's practically "all that exists" in my mind for OS's.

Confusion

I have read about Linux all over and the way I see it is "Ok, its another operating system, can't be too bad to switch. It can't be that different, right?" But I read all these articles and other people's opinions and it looks like switching between OS's is a bigger deal than I thought. How is Linux so much different than Windows? Why do people make such a deal about switching between them or how different they are? I read reviews saying its more "customizable", how is that?

Maybe I'm asking the wrong questions, I'm just so confused about why switching from Windows to Linux would be such a bid deal. I'm hoping someone will understand where I'm coming from and clear my mind of this confusion.

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I'd recommend downloading your first few distros of Linux if you have the connection for it, then once you've found something you like and can use I recommend you buy the distro with all the disks, manuals etc...

Other than that you'll get tons of advice here....

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How is Linux so much different than Windows?
Windows is a closed source environment, Linux is opensource. Windows gets more support because of how it was marketed (most widely used OS), Linux gets most of its programs from people who program in their free time. Mostly it comes down to is how it's developed and how the software is obtained.
Why do people make such a deal about switching between them or how different they are?

Windows and Linux are two different worlds. Windows is for the people who want everything done for them quick and easy, Linux is for the techie who wants it done his way. Switching is a tough deal, you have to find out what you need/want and if it's usable in Linux or if there is an opensource alternative to it.

I read reviews saying its more "customizable", how is that?

Linux is all about choices, if you don't like something, something else is available for an alternative. And being that it's opensource, you can change anything to something else. You get full control over Linux unlike in Windows where tons of files and features are kept encrypted or untouchable by you.

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One thing you might want to consider is a bootable distro, for example I was playing around with KNOPPIX last night, it's a version of Linux you can download and burn to a cd, then reboot your system and it boots from the cd, so you don't have to install anything, infact your computer doesn't even need a hard drive, however if it has one Linux will use some space as a swap to speed up the system.....

Personally I loved it, it even picked up my USB cable modem, which is pretty good for a bootable Linux.....

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One thing you might want to consider is a bootable distro, for example I was playing around with KNOPPIX last night, it's a version of Linux you can download and burn to a cd, then reboot your system and it boots from the cd, so you don't have to install anything, infact your computer doesn't even need a hard drive, however if it has one Linux will use some space as a swap to speed up the system.....

Personally I loved it, it even picked up my USB cable modem, which is pretty good for a bootable Linux.....

That's good advice.

Addition: If you start to like Linux by use KNOPPIX a while, then I suggest you to get a cheap machine or do the dual boot. You can't expect for the 100% complete switch when it's your first time to try Linux/BSD.

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:D sorry im off topik but is there any way to get in to msn chat with linux :)

suse has a bootable trile of suse 8.1 i think that might be good to try to

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Ok thanks guys I kinda get it now. Whats that distro thing where you boot linux from a disk? Is that just something I can just put the cd in and kinda run linux off the disk and not do anything to windows, kinda like a demo or something? and where do i get that?

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Ok thanks guys I kinda get it now.  Whats that distro thing where you boot linux from a disk?  Is that just something I can just put the cd in and kinda run linux off the disk and not do anything to windows, kinda like a demo or something?  and where do i get that?

Briandl79 already gave you this info. It's KNOPPIX. Just search in google.com and you will find it in the no time. That make me wondering if you are actually read whole replies. :P

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It took me at least a year from when I first tested Linux before I completely replaced Windows with it. If I knew about Knoppix at the time, then I could have had less trouble resizing the partitions. But that's no big deal. Mandrake is my recommendation as the Linux to start off with, but I'm going to give ELX and Red Hat a try once Red Hat releases version 8.1. I heard ELX was better than Mandrake, but I'll have to find out for myself. If you're into business, then you'd be better off with Red Hat. Just don't completely remove Windows untill you are 100% sure you can get everything working. So dual-boot until that time comes! :)

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It took me at least a year from when I first tested Linux before I completely replaced Windows with it. If I knew about Knoppix at the time, then I could have had less trouble resizing the partitions. But that's no big deal. Mandrake is my recommendation as the Linux to start off with, but I'm going to give ELX and Red Hat a try once Red Hat releases version 8.1. I heard ELX was better than Mandrake, but I'll have to find out for myself. If you're into business, then you'd be better off with Red Hat. Just don't completely remove Windows untill you are 100% sure you can get everything working. So dual-boot until that time comes! :)

You visit OSNews.com too? Hehe, I read a long article yesterday from OSNews.com..

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I just red the "Linux, Mac, and Windows in 2003" article from OSNews and I couldn't believe the reporter said "Down with KDE!". KDE is the best GUI for those who are just migrating from Windows. Mind ya, BlackBox is my preference despite using KDE most of the time.

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