Posted: 12/27/2013 1:36:54 AM EDT
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I have an Older desk top and a Dell laptop i want to put to better use.
Are there any WINDOWS like linux distros for these that can be easily transitions to linux? faster booting than windows? can use something like MS WORD? Also been following STEAM OS. thinking about dual booting my gaming PC to that. |
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Most Linux flavors, especially the mainstream ones, are not that much different than Windows. It's the same basic idea, it's like having 2 Jeep Liberty's, one gas and one diesel. The big differences are on the inside, the parts you'll never really see unless you're an enthusiast or it breaks. |
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Most Linux flavors, especially the mainstream ones, are not that much different than Windows. It's the same basic idea, it's like having 2 Jeep Liberty's, one gas and one diesel. The big differences are on the inside, the parts you'll never really see unless you're an enthusiast or it breaks. I tried ubuntu, and the unity thing killed it for me. Mint seems mroe promising |
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I found Zorin OS to be most windows like of any linux I have tried.
I've been using it and putting it on family and friends computers for two years now. It's been very stable. Libre Office is a good office suite. Cons: Steam game choices suck and don't run smooth on older computers. Netflix work around doesn't work well with older slower computers. It is overall the easiest linux to teach to a linux newbie who wants a windows like experience with snappier performance than XP or Vista on an older pc. Zorin OS |
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I tried ubuntu, and the unity thing killed it for me. Mint seems mroe promising Quoted:
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Most Linux flavors, especially the mainstream ones, are not that much different than Windows. It's the same basic idea, it's like having 2 Jeep Liberty's, one gas and one diesel. The big differences are on the inside, the parts you'll never really see unless you're an enthusiast or it breaks. I tried ubuntu, and the unity thing killed it for me. Mint seems mroe promising Whats with all the unity hate? I have been running it for 2 years with zero problems |
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Whats with all the unity hate? I have been running it for 2 years with zero problems Quoted:
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Most Linux flavors, especially the mainstream ones, are not that much different than Windows. It's the same basic idea, it's like having 2 Jeep Liberty's, one gas and one diesel. The big differences are on the inside, the parts you'll never really see unless you're an enthusiast or it breaks. I tried ubuntu, and the unity thing killed it for me. Mint seems mroe promising Whats with all the unity hate? I have been running it for 2 years with zero problems I just liked it without unity better. |
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I have been using Ubuntu and Fedora for several years now and like them both. If you want Ubuntu but don't like Unity, you can install Cinnamon and it will give you a Windows-like interface. Linux Mint uses their version of Cinnamon out of the box if you don't want to fiddle with it. Mint works really well. Linux is at the point now where nearly anyone can pick a main distro and use it for all of their tasks. Unless you are routinely using some specialized software that requires Windows, you can find a Linux version of damn near everything. And even if you can't, you can use virtual machines pretty easily if you absolutely need Windows. The only problem is that this gets cumbersome if you need to use it a lot. |
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Quoted: I tried ubuntu, and the unity thing killed it for me. Mint seems mroe promising Quoted: Quoted: Most Linux flavors, especially the mainstream ones, are not that much different than Windows. It's the same basic idea, it's like having 2 Jeep Liberty's, one gas and one diesel. The big differences are on the inside, the parts you'll never really see unless you're an enthusiast or it breaks. I tried ubuntu, and the unity thing killed it for me. Mint seems mroe promising I've been a Mint user since Mint 6/7, I don't see much reason to use anything else. It does everything I need and more. Linux is much more versatile, if Linux and Windows switched places with regard to market share we'd be much better off as Linux is *WARNING: OPINION AHEAD* the better OS. 90% of the Windows to Linux learning curve is undoing all the stupid Windows programming of the masses but as it stands, the majority of us grew up with Windows and that's what we know so there are hurdles.
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Whats the difference between a LIVE cd, and a USB boot.. and installing oon an HD? Live CD: No changes are saved between boots. Nothing you configure or install will be there the next time you boot. USB: Functions like a normal hard drive install. You could also make a live USB in which case it would behave like a live CD. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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A live CD and USB boot are very similar. Basically you boot from the CD or USB drive and run the OS from there without installing it on your hard drive. This allows you to test out a Distro without the hassle of the install uninstall process. This can also be a very secure way to browse the web and do online banking and such since you do not have to save any data locally that can be hacked into.
All of the HD installations I have done begin as a live CD or USB boot. Once I have the OS up and running and I like it enough to install it to my hard drive I simply click the install icon and follow the instructions. Here you will see partition options, dual boot options and all your language /time/keyboard setups. Hope that makes sense. Four years ago I was a total newb and I was terrified to install a distro to any of my PC's Now I've done it dozens of times. Just read the forums for the distro you like and you will learn and get more bold with each distro you try. Distrowatch.com has a listing of the most popular distros out today. I like most of them, but Ubuntu, Zorin and Puppy have become my favorites. |
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Live CD: No changes are saved between boots. Nothing you configure or install will be there the next time you boot. USB: Functions like a normal hard drive install. You could also make a live USB in which case it would behave like a live CD. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Quoted:
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Whats the difference between a LIVE cd, and a USB boot.. and installing oon an HD? Live CD: No changes are saved between boots. Nothing you configure or install will be there the next time you boot. USB: Functions like a normal hard drive install. You could also make a live USB in which case it would behave like a live CD. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile As long as everything/anything you had on the machine is backed up or available on another machine.... Just do a full install it on your HD and don't look back. 
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As long as everything/anything you had on the machine is backed up or available on another machine.... Just do a full install it on your HD and don't look back. Quoted:
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Whats the difference between a LIVE cd, and a USB boot.. and installing oon an HD? Live CD: No changes are saved between boots. Nothing you configure or install will be there the next time you boot. USB: Functions like a normal hard drive install. You could also make a live USB in which case it would behave like a live CD. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile As long as everything/anything you had on the machine is backed up or available on another machine.... Just do a full install it on your HD and don't look back. can i make it dual boot windows and linux? |
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Quoted: can i make it dual boot windows and linux? Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Whats the difference between a LIVE cd, and a USB boot.. and installing oon an HD? Live CD: No changes are saved between boots. Nothing you configure or install will be there the next time you boot. USB: Functions like a normal hard drive install. You could also make a live USB in which case it would behave like a live CD. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile As long as everything/anything you had on the machine is backed up or available on another machine.... Just do a full install it on your HD and don't look back. can i make it dual boot windows and linux? Of course.
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I personally like Debian, many distros (versions) are biased on it. The latest release 7.x is musc more user friendly that the previous ones. If you can get a old PC and load it up and start playing with it. This +1. AntiX is debian based, and easy for older pcs. Simple install, no unity, just simpler desktops like ICEwm, Fluxbox, etc. Distrowatch.com |
Just to warn you guys, Ubuntu has what I believe are huge privacy problems right now and they are not apologizing about it in a way that they should. To date, I don't believe Canonical (Ubuntu) has tried to fix these problems either. They have turned into a bunch of creepy a**holes.  
Slash Dot Article http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/11/08/1335231/canonical-targets-ubuntu-privacy-critic EFF Org https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/10/privacy-ubuntu-1210-amazon-ads-and-data-leaks Blog Article https://micahflee.com/2013/11/canonical-shouldnt-abuse-trademark-law-to-silence-critics-of-its-privacy-decisions/ Edit: You can fix their problems (directions on the net). However, it's really too bad, I had high hopes for Canonical, but I personally won't be using or suggesting their stuff to people until they fix the privacy problems. 
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ubuntu
However dont expect to beable to add new hardware like windows. Linux just seems to want to stay difficult for some things. Quoted:
I have an Older desk top and a Dell laptop i want to put to better use. Are there any WINDOWS like linux distros for these that can be easily transitions to linux? faster booting than windows? can use something like MS WORD? Also been following STEAM OS. thinking about dual booting my gaming PC to that. |
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I just installed Linux Mint Cinnamon, and I must say, I REALLY like the features right out of the box. Just isntalled Skype and Steam. Now, on Libre Office. Can i send a document to PC and open it in MS Word? Liber Office has supplanted Open Office as the open source go-to office suite. Many of the key developers and programmers left the Open Office project to start Liber Office after some issues at Sun Microsystems. That being said, to use a Liber Office document in MS Word, you need to save it in a format that Word can use. Simple enough 
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I just installed Linux Mint Cinnamon, and I must say, I REALLY like the features right out of the box. Just isntalled Skype and Steam. Now, on Libre Office. Can i send a document to PC and open it in MS Word? Yes. When you "save as" a document and choose the folder you want it saved in, there is a file format option with a drop down list. Select the option that saves it in Word 2010 .docx format and your recipient will be able to open it in word. If they modify the document and send it back to you Libre Office will be recognize it and open it no problem. I have heard that there can be some formatting issues between Word and any linux based office suite, but I haven't seen it personally. All the complaints I have read about come from people who create complex documents and spreadsheets which I don't. I've also had good luck with Libre Office and Google Docs working well together. |
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Quoted: ubuntu However dont expect to beable to add new hardware like windows. Linux just seems to want to stay difficult for some things. Exact opposite of my experience. I've had Windows totally refuse to boot after some hardware changes, while I've taken a hard drive with Linux out of one computer and put it in a totally different one and it worked just fine. |
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Exact opposite of my experience. I've had Windows totally refuse to boot after some hardware changes, while I've taken a hard drive with Linux out of one computer and put it in a totally different one and it worked just fine. Quoted:
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ubuntu However dont expect to beable to add new hardware like windows. Linux just seems to want to stay difficult for some things. Exact opposite of my experience. I've had Windows totally refuse to boot after some hardware changes, while I've taken a hard drive with Linux out of one computer and put it in a totally different one and it worked just fine. Yep. All of the major distros have recognized my hardware no problem. I've also switched a hard drive between computers with no issues. Some of the bare bones distros like puppy have had issues in the past but are great now. |