Thinking about switching to Linux? 6 things you need to know

ZDNet ^ | 30 March 2023 | Jack Wallen

[taxcontrol]

Bump for Linux Mint

[Openurmind]

Thank you Ace, This is an honest article that explains it very well and simple. :)

[Openurmind]

Look at this thread... Linux users are Clan and Tribe, they jump in to help each other at the drop of a hat.

[Openurmind]

Same here, in for Linux Mint.

[fretzer]

Yep, something isn’t right. The user that was created when installing the OS should have sudo privileges. Did you create additional user accounts?

[rockrr]

Thinking about switching to Linux? 6 7 things you need to know

7. Sharing files across your network, especially in a mixed Linux/Windows network, is horribly problematic.

Trying to set up clients (Linux and Windows PC's) to be able to "talk" with one another and share files in a hybrid environment is complicated, awkward, and cumbersome to configure and the results invariably disappointing. Sure, I can grab my USB drive and manually transfer files from platform to platform but I'm lazy and want to be able to automate file copies, transfers, and synchronizations.

It's so easy to configure in Windows and so difficult to do in Linux!

[Openurmind]

Have you tried “Warpinator”?

https://www.fossmint.com/warpinator-share-files-across-a-network-in-ubuntu-linux/

[rockrr]

Yes. It fails in several respects including inability to work with scripts.

[ShadowAce]

7. Sharing files across your network, especially in a mixed Linux/Windows network, is horribly problematic.

I do it every day at work. 5000+ Windows servers, 2000+ Linux servers, Storage network, NFS, CIFS, GPFS.

Not difficult, if you know what you're doing. But that's true for any element in IT.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Here is someone on Telegram who has Linux help and courses.

https://t.me/jeffrey_peterson

[dayglored]

>> 2. Linux is not just a kernel"

> Richard Stallman disagrees.

Stallman is indeed a disagreeable fellow. :-)

Not many folks these days recall that for many years after Torvalds released his Linux kernel with a huge surrounding body of open-source utilities and programs from Stallman's GNU ("Gnu's Not Unix") project, the combination of the two was referred to as "GNU/Linux" or "Linux+GNU".

Linus has always acknowledged that his contribution was the kernel that Stallman and GNU couldn't seem to get working (the GNU kernel, "Hurd", still isn't working 30 years later).

But users prefer short names, and "Linux" became the popular name of the combination, as well as the kernel.

Stallman still disagrees, of course.

[minnesota_bound]

You can download the FREE Oracle VM VirtualBox and install on Windows and then download FREE copy of Linux and install it in VirtualBox. https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Screenshots

You can size the window to your liking and have both Windows as your main OS and then use Linux to try it out.

[daniel1212]

I write this as I oppose misleading hype, but think Linux has much potential for the desktop, in which I have been a heavy user of a customized (it surely can use it) Windows system, by the grace of God.

8 things you can do with Linux that you can't do with MacOS or Windows

1. Change it

Actually as you know, Windows can be substantially customized - much improved - and rather easily so via safe freeware.

2. Revive old hardware

That is true, Puppy being my fav.

3. Never worry about lock-in

Rather, Linux distros lock you out of many functions unless you give you password, again and again or sudo something even on some non-system files. Not just click to continue, but typing. Yet there is this: If you’re the only one using your Linux computer, why have it continuously nag you for your password? Disable Sudo Password for Your Account Never tried it.

4. Upgrade without reboots

Usually. But when the kernel is updated it may be, and see Identify [Red Hat] packages that will require a system reboot after an update

5. Run Windows software That's right, for those who must run Windows software on Linux, there's a way, and it's called WINE.

Which is not a sure thing, nor necessarily easy.

6. Install tons of software… for free!

Likewise in Windows, and far more, usually better and easier. As with shopping, read reviews.

7. Wow your friends

Likewise in Windows, though most just accept the default.

8. Enjoy unheard of reliability

No, not in Linux.

[ShadowAce]

3. Never worry about lock-in

Rather, Linux distros lock you out of many functions unless you give you password, again and again or sudo something even on some non-system files. Not just click to continue, but typing. Yet there is this: If you’re the only one using your Linux computer, why have it continuously nag you for your password? Disable Sudo Password for Your Account Never tried it.

That's not the type of "lock-in" it's talking about.

4. Upgrade without reboots

Usually. But when the kernel is updated it may be, and see Identify [Red Hat] packages that will require a system reboot after an update

Actually, there is some new tech that allows even the kernel to be upgraded without a reboot.

8. Enjoy unheard of reliability

No, not in Linux.

Yes, in Linux. I've had some Linux boxes running without a reboot for literal years. I've heard rumors of a couple of installations that ran decades--since the mid '90s.

You can't do that with Windows.

Have you tried autokey for Linux? I know you're a big fan of it in Windows.

[Pollard]

That's why I chose Ubtuntu based OSes because it's the biggest. Do a web search for "How to _______ in Ubuntu" using duckduckgo and you're likely to have the top answer/result be from stackexchange or the Ubuntu docs/forums.

Stackexchange/stackoverflow are both good because they're vote ranked answers. askubuntu.com is an extension of that and half the time it will show on that special instant answer box to the right of the results, just like the wikipedia info box below. Ubuntu.com is the official ubuntu site of course.

380,000 questions means your question has likely been asked/answered.

Spyware? I remember that. I quit Windows when I saw the Win 8 desktop. It looked like something designed for a child. I had been running both Win XP and Ubuntu for a while at the time. Of course now I use a computer at work and have had to learn my way around Win 10. Having to have patience too but I guess it's ok to be paid to wait on an operating system? Doesn't help that most programs they use are online. I'd say 7% of my computer time is spent watching a progress bar/spinner graphic.

So nice to get home to Kubuntu and have everything near instantaneous. When I shut down my PC to head to work in the morning, I have to make sure I have everything in hand because I'm going to lose the light of the PC in under 5 seconds from clicking Shutdown.

I will say webcam support in Ubuntu sucks. There is no place in Settings to choose your webcam hardware. The built in webcam on this laptop is junk and I can't choose my Logitech USB webcam as default instead. Sometimes I get lucky and the web app will prompt me for permission to access the webcam and give me a choice as to which one I want to use.

[Pollard]

Agreed. Samba sucks.

[Pollard]

I’d say 1 out of 30 updates require a reboot and even then, it’s a single 30 second reboot and not forced and not a surprise.

I have to sudo once for multiple auto-logins, to install software or update the system and that’s about it. I use a 7 character password that I can type in two seconds so it’s not a big deal.

1. Change it: I’m settled in with Kubuntu and don’t need t change it though I did just install the Cairo Dock and will be using it instead of the Panel menu icons.

Wine is iffy from what I understand and I’ve never used it. I have one Windows only program I use a couple of times a year and rebooting into Win 7 Pro is no big deal. Win 7 Pro actually runs really fast because it’s not allowed to access the web and has never been updated. It’s basically a 6 year old fresh install.

People like to bash Linux for not having Business/Commercial software that they’re used to using at work or some obscure hobby that’s probably based on their work experiences.

Meanwhile most articles like this one are geared towards the average home user who browses the web, checks their email, maybe plays around with graphics/pics etc and mainstream Linux works fine for that.

Of course it doesn’t run all that proprietary business software because it hasn’t had billions of dollars put into that. Gates pretty much cornered the market on that. Mac grabbed a small part of the market for graphics software, especially in regards to print and now also webdev.

[revetment]

bkmk