computer geeks only

[Brosville]

"Beware the 'grass is always greener' brigade. Some see it as a badge of honour to use Linux, and to be honest if they call themselves geeks"

Ten years ago you may have been right -you needed a degree of geekiness to run Linux, but nowadays some of the modern versions are to my mind FAR easier to learn/use from scratch than the appalling Windoze. All I ask of an operating system is that it "disappears", and just lets me get on with what I'm sitting at a computer for, it's not perfect, but I have far less hassles with Ubuntu or Mint than I ever had with 'doze.

I think the whole thing's upside down - for buggy bloatware that demands increasingly fast processors and gobbets of memory, that's forever "crashing", freezing, getting viruses, and has a habit of telling you "this computer is Microsoft's, and don't you forget it", you pay £85 on the cost of a new computer.... for an operating system that "just does it", runs blisteringly fast on even elderly computers, and just doesn't have virus/freezing/crashing problems you pay nothing...

I'm very far from a "geek" - I want to get on with life, but I am impressed how easy a bit of geekery is with linux, and demonstrates how infinitely superior it is - first time I wanted to download and install "Digikam", I thought, "let's try it" - fired up a "terminal", typed in "apt-get install Digikam", hit "enter" - polite request for password, hit enter......... the programme hurtles down, installs itself, tidies up afterwards, and you have a new programme accessible from the control panel..........(that's brilliant and completely free)

I also hear a lot about "incompatable hardware" - having spent several hours trying to revive an aged laptop running XP and getting the wifi to work I gave up - installed Ubuntu, and fired it up - "connections available, would you like to connect?" - straight off, no faffing - it really does "just do it"...

I'd reiterate what I said earlier, soldier on with your "work" laptop with some extra usb memory, and get an old computer and try linux out.

 

[hedgerow pete]

it looks as if brosville has caught my eye, with his ideas, i dont want to twiddle with my lap top or the home computer but we do have an old desk top at home, i might set it up to have a play with linux to see where i get to

 

[Brosville]

My suggestion is to download the "cd version" of Linux Mint and burn it to cd using an existing computer - then find out how to make your old deskop "boot from cd" - it's usually something like dabbing the "shift" button while it boots up -choose "boot from cd" and fire it up - choose the "try it out" option and let it load - have a bit of a play, then just press the "install" button top left and follow the prompts - choose to either use the whole disk for it, or have a "dual boot" whereby the old Windoze is retained, and you choose whichever you want whenever you start it up....
Good luck!

 

[hedgerow pete]

ok, so I have just spent a hard morning at work, lol

well some times all those cups of tea can be hard work, ha ha ha

so any way i went to a site call linux dot co dot uk, which also has a web forum which i have spent the morning reading, it comes over as linux ubuntu bias rather than mint, whats the difference?

it also seems that i dont need to have security or the like progs, why?

as for the old computer i have decided to use , i cant remeber its sizes but once i have got hold of a new key board,mouse and screen i will set it up and see, i might even get the lad to sort out some new gumbings for the inside if they are cheap enough and then i can play with whats on it to see where i stand with linux and who it works with the programes i have to use at work.

the tip about the c clean worked very well and we have managed to find almost another gig so we have 48gb used out of 74gb.

it seams as the most usage is my docs at 15gb which i was going to transfer to a seperate hard disk thingy, as for the rest its all programes which i cant realy afford to lose as some are very expencesive to buy, that is if i had brought them. lol i love going to the office and seeing the it guy, my computer doesnt but i do

 

[Brosville]

In simple terms there's lots of different versions of Linux ("distributions", or "distros"), and different desktop options - the central core is similar, all the other parts differ.
"Ubuntu" has done much to popularise linux for us "point and clickers", and I'm writing this on my "main" computer that is running it - "Mint" is based on "Ubuntu", but has a different "look and feel" to Ubuntu, and also includes lots of the "bits and bobs" needed to run all sorts of stuff commonly available, particularly multimedia, which is why I suggested it as probably best for a newbie to Linux (it's nearly all there "out of the box")- I suggest going for the main option of "Mint" (version 11- Katya), and don't bother with all the other desktop options - if you go for the "cd version" and install that, you'll be presented with the choice of downloading and adding a few extra bits that would be included on the larger DVD version (that help run all the multimedia stuff). The only reason I swapped to Mint for other computers is that it's more "complete" out of the box, and I prefer the desktop layout to the new "Unity" design on the latest update of Ubuntu...........

Security is a contentious issue - as Windoze geeks will gleefully inform you, it IS possible to suffer from them when running Linux, but in over 4 years, I've never experienced it -the intrinsic programming is far more secure, and linux tends not to be targetted by hackers as they've haven't trodden on toes right left and centre like Microsoft - there is a basic firewall and antivirus included in the linux distros, so like most of it, "it just works" - every day or three there's a small icon showing there's updates available for the operating system, just click on it, bung in your password, and leave it to update - it keeps you up to date with all the latest improvements to keep you safe.

Programmes for Linux (like the operating system) are a cooperative effort by people who've often "done it for the love of it", so they're ALL free - the idea is that if you use a programme, and have the knowledge to improve it, you can, and submit it to become part of the next lot of updates. As I said, it is possible to run Photoshop in linux, but it's a hell of a faff, and "The Gimp" will probably do all you need (if I'm anything to go by, a lot more intuitively) and completely free.......there's programmes for everything - for digital imaging there's "Digikam", for torrents there's "Qbittorent" (and umpteen other freebies for every possible sort of programme -all available from the built-in "software centre" - choose, couple of clicks, downloads and installs, job done.......)

Hope that helps

 

[hedgerow pete]

well we had the old computer going today or rather tried to get the old computer going, any way the hamster inside it that turns the motor drive is dead, so rather than getting a new hampster i have been flicking through fleabay,

for the money is this worth it
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powerful-...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item3a6739fdda

Specifications

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz
Memory: 2GB (2048 MB) RAM
Hard Drive: Massive 1TB (1,000GB) Hard Drive
Optical Drive: CDRW/DVDRW Rewriter

Fast Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz speed processor
2,048MB RAM memory

Huge 1TB (1,000GB) storage hard drive

CD/DVD rewriter drive
(Read/Write both CDs and DVDs)


Built-in Intel extreme graphics and sounds
Fast Ethernet for Internet/broadband

its at £125 inc delivery and vat.

what i was thinking of doing it splitting the memory to half and half untill i get the hang of linux and as such i could set it up as a work computer rather than abusing the lappy

 

[hedgerow pete]

brosville i am sold on it . all i have to do is work out whether its worth chucking a few quid at the old computer or replacing it totaly.

i think for a ton the fleabay one is ok for what i want, i would think to get the other one working will need a new hard drive and a little more ram, which arent that much but knowing my luck because i changed those two every thing else will want tweeking to. better graphics, sound, proccessor etc.

 

[Brosville]

That computer sounds fair value, and with that specification and storage, running linux you'll have a flyer and a half!

I've just shovelled together a system for my daughter to use as her "home computer" for around £30 all-in - an aged Dell laptop with a 2.5 Pentium 4, which now has 1gb ram total (I added half a gig - £4 from Fleabay), 'puter and screen was £20 at my local market from one of the "house clearance" blokes, £2 for a new keyboard, £1 for a mouse, and £1 for a brace of Logitech speakers from a boot fair - £4 wireless card (Fleabay), Mint "Katya" - runs like a dream - will even play itvplayer full screen........

 

[Brosville]

ps, just had a closer gander at the Fleabay computer spec - ask for a hefty reduction for it without Windoze (tell them you're installing linux instead) - if you could get £25 or more off, you should both be happy.......

 

[DanBee]

ps, just had a closer gander at the Fleabay computer spec - ask for a hefty reduction for it without Windoze (tell them you're installing linux instead) - if you could get £25 or more off, you should both be happy.......

I'd be surprised - the Windows license is the COA sticker on the case, not something separate that they carefully tuck into the parcel. Probably more trouble than they're worth to peel off and try to stick on something else, and it'll be from an ex-corporate joblot where every one is identical, every one has its own sticker. You're getting £25 'value' for something that's intrinsic! They'll have imaged it with their XP install anyway as part of their pre-sale preparation so it's unlikely you'll save them any work at this stage.