Linux too complex ?

I'm thinking of installing Linux on my T60. I have tried it a few years ago but I never really took the time to learn anything about it. I've also been a Windows user.

Now I'm thinking of giving it another try. Will Linux do anything for me that Windows (Vista) won't ? I won't be using it for the anything special. Just an alternative to Windows.

I really like the interfaces and the clean looks of the different distributions such as fedora, Ubuntu etc. Which distrubution will be the best for a guy who totally new to all Linux things.

I will be using it for text-processing, Internet, e-mail, music and occassionally movies/DVD's. I will still keep the Vista installation on the computer, so I'm thinking of creating a dual-boot. Is it best to do it on two partions or can I do it on the same partition. Also, can I install Linux now that I have installed Vista or do I need them to be installed on the same time ?

A lot of questions, but I hope someone a willing to help a newbie

Regards,
Jakob Laursen

 

Ubuntu or PCLOS 2007 would be good choices. The main reason I use Linux is to avoid having to install AV/antispyware and worrying about nasties invading my machine when I'm online. Plus, it's fun and interesting for me just to learn a new system.

My own machines dual-boot XP and Linux using separate partitions. There's no problem installing though, because the Linux CD allows you to partition as you please, as you install. You can install with Vista in place, using whatever percentage of the remaining room on the hdd you choose.

 

I will probably go with Ubuntu.

How is the performance in Linux ? Does it have any impact on battery life, faster boot etc. ?

Cheers,

 

Can't answer the battery life question; my laptop is a Mac and only has OSX installed. However, I was blown away the first time I ever booted into Linux - it was so fast. Every distro I've tried has booted very quickly, and they just plain run faster than Windows in general.

 

You can slow down the computer, just as you can in Windows, with a bunch of unneeded stuff/eyecandy (such as compiz), but Linux is very snappy. I run Ubuntu 7.10 on my T60 with no performance issues (and I have pretty heavy eye candy).

In general, the same laptop running Windows and Linux will get better battery life while in Windows. That's kind of just how it is. Not to say you're going to have an hour of battery; just don't expect quite the same amount.

Linux is different to learn, but it's not super difficult. There are tons of great forums and people out there who are glad to help newbies (such as myself). Google will become a very good friend of yours as you try to get everything working after an install or have questions about certain things.

There's not really a downside; go for it!

 

You should consider Linux Mint too.

 

I'm running Linux Mint 4.0 on my old inspiron 4000 w/512Mb ram and P3-850. Runs like a champ.

I'm also new to Linux distros. Previously I've used PCLOS 2007 that's on my other laptop and I've run the live cd on this laptop. Between the two, I think PCLOS2007 is more stable and runs a little faster. However, Linux Mint is as close to "out-of-the-box" ready as it gets. It's based on Ubuntu. Additionally, for laptops, PCLOS has troubles going into standby, which is why it's not configured automatically after install; you need to figure it out yourself. Linux Mint sleeps without problems. I haven't tried hibernate yet though. For laptops sleep mode is important for quick start up.

Battery life in Linux Mint seems no worse or better than in XP. I also run XP in virtualbox if I need to run some apps that are windows only. They run just fine.

The good thing about linux mint is that it pretty much has all the codecs and drivers included, so videos/dvds should work right away.

Between PCLOS (kde desktop) and Mint (Gnome desktop), Mint is easier to deal with.

EDIT: THe only time so far I've had to really access the terminal is when I installed Matlab and my printer drivers. But if you are fine with OpenOffice then you will probably never need to open a terminal.

 

i personally like F8, but it's a bit more 'bleeding edge' than the other Distros and, at least in my limited experience, requires you to tackle the terminal to get the most out of it.

as for speed - i honestly don't notice any positive difference between linux over Vista/XP. if anything, maneuvering through the default file manager (nautilus) and using Firefox/Open Office is noticeably slower than the Windows counterparts. Vista and F8 boot only seconds apart (both a shade over 30 seconds), and F8 reports about 20% lower battery life on my laptop over Vista (5+ hours vs. 4+ hours). speed issues aside i'm very partial to linux due to its sheer customization. compiz-fusion is glorious and tvtime is the best tuner app i've seen on any platform.

 

I fancy FC 8(GNOME) and OpenSUSE(KDE). If you like the command line, you'll like Linux...especially if you want a lot of "control" over your computer. Linux has come a long way...

 

if you're looking for a faster boot, you can definitely find that in linux. with ubuntu, the most you can do is disable those init scripts that you don't need at startup, but if you decide to go with one that has support for initNG (last i checked, ubuntu uses another startup process Upstart so initng won't work with it) you might be able to score boot times of less than 20 seconds! (well, on a lappy, it might be more like 30). there's also another speedy startup process called "parallelization" that's especially exclusive on gentoo-based systems. even if you don't opt for any of these, most linux distros still boot faster (from power on to full usability) than windows. they're also very user-friendly as well, so don't be shy!

 

Ubuntu? Really?

 

0% unpatched? Sounds good.

Linky.

 

Ubuntu is fairly good for a person going from windows to linux. It even includes a nice library of apps you can install fairly easy. If you tried linux in previous versions, you will be blown away by ubuntu 7.10... nothing like linux of old....

Also, check out http://www.koffice.org/ . I'm waiting to see what they do in version 2... some boards are saying it should be very nice.

Open source is getting there... you will be happy with what you find nowadays.

 

I recommend Linux Mint too - its basically Ubuntu with codecs etc added. So you will still be able to follow Ubuntu dierctions, and go to ubuntu forums etc.

Things linux will do:
1) It wont slow down with age, or as you add more software. 5 years from now, and with 1000 additional packages you install, it will run just as fast as a clean install.
Really
2) Much much more robust to viruses. I've never had a virus attack on my linux boxes.
3) All software present in central repository. No mess of going to different sites, downloading installation files etc. With linux (ubuntu), you just have to type
aptitude install booo where booo is the package. It will automatically go and fetch and install the package.
4) Free dvd burning program (k3b)

 

just got installing ubuntu (dual boot setup). Its best to install vista first then whatever linux distro you decide. Make sure that under the bios, compatibility mode is enabled for your ata driver. The latest version of ubuntu (7.10) has enough stuff installed within it that you can do what you outlined in your post.