Diving into Linux

[joejoe666]

Hey guys,

i have a spare laptop Dell latitute D530 and want to try Linux. I have zero knowledge in programming...none...but i would like to see what linux is all about.

Will Dell latitute D530 (core 2 duo) work with linux?
Try Ubuntu or Mint first? i will eventually install multiple ones to try new ones.
I will do a full format and install whatever distro you guys recommend

I am not dumb, but i have no programming/network/ professional computer experience. In fact i am not in the IT industry at all. I will certainly visit as many forums as possible, but please tell me if i should not even try. i'm hoping to try it this weekend

 

[lxskllr]

Ubuntu or Mint would be good for a first try. They're both easy, and have nice desktops you can work with.

 

[MChao1]

Ubuntu and Fedora have a lot of support in terms of forums and so on.

 

[WelshBloke]

You sound like you are in the same boat as me OP.

I just put Ubuntu on my netbook (Acer 1810TZ) and its been a breeze, very easy install. Dont worry about formatting the Ubuntu installer takes care of all that for you (particularly if you want to dedicate the entire laptop to that install).

The only thing I would say is when things do go wrong you might have to enter command line hell, but theres always someone around to help out. (*looks at lxskllr*).

 

[WelshBloke]

And its a complete ah heck to try and install things that arent in the software center.

Dont expect to be able to download a .exe and double click it.

 

[joejoe666]

update....i installed Ubuntu 11.10 from scratch. formatted the hd so its the only operating system. it was very easy to do! The basics of the system is pretty easy to learn if you know windows 7 i guess. i personally like unity even though most people seem not to. i watched a few youtube tutorials for additional info. like welshbloke said, its easy use the software center but anything beyond that is almost impossible for me to do.

for everyday use for me, 1 thing that is missing is a pdf editor like pdf x-change...where you can draw lines, arrows, boxes, comment, etc. Can someone show me how to install pdf x-change in linux?

good news!!!...i even thought my parents how to use it!!! they picked it up pretty easily. they have only used XP and within 5-10 mins both were ok with basic functions. they only browse, and play solitaire. i downloaded a new card game from software center because they NEEED spider solitaire or else the world would end. anyways, they agreed to use this machine as trial basis for a week for me.

 

[mv2devnull]

PDF is an "output format" as in you create a pdf and then others read it. It is less of an "editable document". Editable docs are usually in some other format and you simply "export/convert" a pdf output when needed. Several programs can generate pdf.

How about the openoffice/libreoffice or drawing programs? Cannot recommend one, for frankly I despise GUI.

 

[Jodell88]

And its a complete ah heck to try and install things that arent in the software center.

Dont expect to be able to download a .exe and double click it.

lolwut?

Debian based and RPM based distros have the advantage over other distro in that you can download a .deb or .rpm and install it just like a .exe.

Edit

To also add to the above information. There are also installers that end in .run that you can also install on your system.

With all of that said, it is better to use a package manager because in the long run it'll be less of a headache.

 

[WelshBloke]

lolwut?

Debian based and RPM based distros have the advantage over other distro in that you can download a .deb or .rpm and install it just like a .exe.

Stuff I tried to install only came as a .gz.tar or .tar.gz or something.

It was a nightmare. When I recover I might try and run the windows version in wine (sp?).

 

[Jodell88]

Stuff I tried to install only came as a .gz.tar or .tar.gz or something.

It was a nightmare. When I recover I might try and run the windows version in wine (sp?).

You most likely downloaded the source code. The distros usually packages it up and puts it in their repositories for download. If I remember correctly, you're using Ubuntu, which has packaged almost every piece of Linux software out there. What is it you're trying to install that isn't in the repositories?

By the way the software center in Ubuntu only contains some software. There's a lot more available to you if you use synaptic.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Linux is both simple and complex at the same time, for me. It took a lot of "un-training" myself from an Windows-only universe, but in the process I leared a lot about the general architecture of an operating system and how to utilize an open system like Linux to my advantage.

Sure, while it's true that I can't do everything in Linux that I can in Windows, there's a shit-pot full of stuff I CAN do with Linux without having to shell out $100 for another Windows license. I tend to upgrade my (Windows/Gaming) PC after at least one or perhaps several new socket-type iterations, so when I upgrade, I'm basically upgrading my entire core system (CPU/mobo/RAM). The leftovers merely need a case/PSU, sometimes an old video card, and some HDD space, and it can be fully functional again.

I'm also learning to love the command line because I've found SSH opens the doors to a world of possibilities, just as long as you can execute them in bash.

 

[WelshBloke]

You most likely downloaded the source code. The distros usually packages it up and puts it in their repositories for download. If I remember correctly, you're using Ubuntu, which has packaged almost every piece of Linux software out there. What is it you're trying to install that isn't in the repositories?

By the way the software center in Ubuntu only contains some software. There's a lot more available to you if you use synaptic.

I was trying to install a GUI for get_iplayer, i was well out of my depth.

 

[Nothinman]

Stuff I tried to install only came as a .gz.tar or .tar.gz or something.

It was a nightmare. When I recover I might try and run the windows version in wine (sp?).

The best answer to things like that is to just avoid them and find an alternative in the package repositories. I can count the number of apps that I have installed outside of Debian's repository on one hand and the only 2 I use regularly are VMware Workstation and Google Chrome and the latter at least updates via the standard package management tools once it's installed.

Generally anything that comes in a tarball should have a README or INSTALL file with installation instructions, however since you're building from source you'll need to make sure you have a development environment and all of the required headers (e.g. -dev packages) installed for it to compile. Debian has a build-essential package to get the base packages installed, but what other packages you might need to build something is up to you to figure out.

 

[Jodell88]

This one? http://sourceforge.net/projects/giplayer/files/

 

[WelshBloke]

This one? http://sourceforge.net/projects/giplayer/files/

It wasn't that one but I'll certainly give that one a go.

Cheers.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

My hindrance with linux has always been a lack of understanding the file system. It is easy for me to understand where my files are being installed and access from in Windows, but linux I never was quite able to wrap my head around where things are.

For day to day normal computer usage ubuntu will work without headaches.

 

[Nothinman]

My hindrance with linux has always been a lack of understanding the file system. It is easy for me to understand where my files are being installed and access from in Windows, but linux I never was quite able to wrap my head around where things are.

For day to day normal computer usage ubuntu will work without headaches.

The main idea is that if you're not an admin or developer, you don't need to care and should just let the package manager manage it for you. The layout is logical for the most part, instead of dropping everything for a program into one or two directories there are specific directories for each type of file. So all binaries go into one place, libraries another, etc.

 

[hasu]

Linux Mint 11 is more polished than corresponding Ubuntu. It has the looks of a modern operating system. (I personally did not like Linux Mint 12 with its Gnome 3)

 

[WelshBloke]

This one? http://sourceforge.net/projects/giplayer/files/

It wasn't that one but I'll certainly give that one a go.

Cheers.

That worked,thank you.

 

[joejoe666]

By the way the software center in Ubuntu only contains some software. There's a lot more available to you if you use synaptic.

what is synaptic? i went to nongnu.org and i still don't understand what it does and how i can use it.

 

[lxskllr]

what is synaptic? i went to nongnu.org and i still don't understand what it does and how i can use it.

It's a gui front end for apt. It shows more detail on the packages available for your system. Software Center is nice to browse for meta packages, but for small stuff, or libraries, Synaptic is better.

 

[joejoe666]

man i have some serious linux/computer lingo to learn (apt, packages)...lol

 

[Nothinman]

man i have some serious linux/computer lingo to learn (apt, packages)...lol

It seems a lot more complicated than it really is, once you spend a little time with it you'll start to see how logical (for the most part) things are broken up and how they fit together.

 

[WelshBloke]

It seems a lot more complicated than it really is, once you spend a little time with it you'll start to see how logical (for the most part) things are broken up and how they fit together.

The language is seriously weird though.

Windows is simple, internet explorer (something for exploring the internet), windows explorer (something for exploring windows), windows media player (a media play... well you get the message.

It probably seems simple and logical to you because you know it but the nameing scheme just seems like random words for most things. Apt, sudo and the rest mean absolutely nothing to me and the name give no hint of their meaning. I am learning, but it feels like I'm learning in spite of the system not because of it. Its like someone went out of their way to make it as esoteric as possible.

 

[lxskllr]

It's like learning DOS. You can operate the system with a handful or two of core commands, and most of it can be learned on the way with the help of DuckDuckGo, and reading forums. Much of it can be inferred from context.