Post by kopachris on Feb 16, 2009 10:29:01 GMT -5
Oh, you don't? Well let's assume you do, because it would be a good idea to. First off, I'd suggest the distribution of Linux called "Ubuntu" (oo-boon-too, not oo-bun-too) for new users. Ubuntu is the Zulu/South African philosophy of "humanity toward others", for instance, a village feeding a weary travellller who stumbles into their village. In a similar way, the Ubuntu community is very helpful for new people. There's a lot of info out there on Google, too. Next, let's explain a couple things about Linux.
Now that you know some of the terminology and where Linux came from, let's get over with the mandatory "why you should try it".
Whew. Now to dispel some rumors.
Okay, glad that part's over with. Now, to business!
1. Get the CD
Head over to www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download, choose yer poison, and download the disk image. This might take a while. If you feel safe downloading two things at a time, go to isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm and download the utility. An "iso" file is what's known as a disk image. It's not enough to simply burn the iso file to the blank CD, you need to burn the information in the iso file to the CD. Once you've downloaded and installed the ISO Recorder, and you've downloaded the disk image, I'd suggest making a back up of your system (in case things go wrong). Go about this your own way, or ignore it completely, but it's not my fault if things go awry. Okay, got that done? Now go to where you saved the disk image, right-click on it, and click on "Copy image to CD" (assuming you've already put a blank disk in your CD burner, of course). When the CD is done burning, it'll probably pop out. Pop it back in and restart your computer.
Alternatively, you can go to shipit.ubuntu.com/ and request a free Ubuntu CD that will get to you in 4-6 weeks.
2. Booting to the CD
When your computer reboots, it'll probably say something near the top or bottom along the lines of "Press [key] to enter setup" or "Press [key] to change boot order". Press the latter key if it says it, and change the boot order so that CD comes first. If it only says the former, press that key, find the menu for boot settings, and change the boot order there.
When it boots, you should see a menu with a big Ubuntu logo. It should pop up a menu on top of that for you to pick your language. Go ahead and pick your language, then select "Start or install Ubuntu" and hit enter. Now it should go to an Ubuntu logo with an orange pulsating progress bar beneath it. After a while, the progress bar will stop pulsating and will be a regular progress bar. It takes a while to boot to a LiveCD because everything has to be compressed onto the CD, then uncompressed into your RAM. After a while, you should be at the desktop. If it is, skip the next paragraph. If not, don't skip it.
I guess you're at a black screen and nothing will work, right? Hit the reset button on your computer, boot to the LiveCD menu again, choose your language, then hit the F6 key. You should now see a line of text near the bottom of your screen. Type "noapic noacpi" and hit enter. If it works, remember that trick next time you boot to the LiveCD. If it doesn't, you're hosed.
3. Trying things out
Keep in mind that it'll be slow from the CD. Chances are, you have a shiny green dot on the top toolbar. Click on it. It'll pop up a list of restricted drivers. You'll most likely want to use them, so go ahead and select them to enable them. Now you can connect to the internet, try out the built-in games, etc.
4. Installing
Double-click the installer icon on the desktop. The first thing the installer will ask for is your language. Pick your language and click "Forward". Next, it'll ask for your time zone. Pick the city closest to you on the map, then click "Forward". Next is keyboard layout. You know what to do here. Next comes partitioning. It'll probably want to resize Windows and use the free space to install Ubuntu in. If not, don't go any further (unless you know what you're doing), let me know, and I'll help you. If so, go on ahead. After partitioning, it'll ask for user names and passwords and stuff. Enter those in, go forward, and you should be ready to install. While it's installing, you can surf the internet, check your email, or play a game of Mahjongg. When it's done installing, reboot, take the CD out, and you'll see a text at the bottom of your screen along the lines of "Press escape to enter the GRUB menu" or something. Do so, and you'll see a few choices for Ubuntu and one for Windows. Select the one you want, and boot into it. Since Ubuntu is now the default OS, you can boot into it without pressing escape, but you'll need to press escape to boot into Windows.
5. Extra software
First off, it'll probably ask you to enable the restricted drivers again. Go ahead and do that. Next, you'll want some extra software. To facilitate this, you might need to enable some extra repositories. Repositories are large collections of software that the computer can read and search through so you don't have to. Go to System > Administration > Synaptic package manager, type in your password, got to Settings > Repositories, and go through the list making sure they're all checked.
5a. Firestarter
I talked about this earlier. It's a GUI frontend to the IP-tables firewall. Go to the Applications menu in the top-left corner and go down to "Add/Remove Applications". Search for firestarter, check the checkbox and click apply. That'll install Firestarter. To set it up, go to Applications > Internet > Firestarter, enter your password, and look through the settings, customizing to your liking.
5b. Desktop customization
Again, to Add/Remove Applications, search for and install CCSM, Compiz Fusion Icon, Screenlets, and Emerald Theme Manager. Go ahead and explore those and do whatever.
5c. Playing restricted formats
Yeah, mp3 and DVDs are restricted formats. Go to Add/Remove Applications again and install "Ubuntu Restricted Extras". That'll install mp3 support, Flash player, and the Java runtime. Now go to the terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and type in or copy and paste:
sudo apt-get install libdvdread3 gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly
Now:
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/install-css.sh
While you're in the terminal, I'd suggest getting a better media player, too. Do:
sudo apt-get install vlc
I guess the best way to figure everything else out is to just explore. Click stuff, see what they do. Get StumbleUpon and stumble til you can't stumble no more. If you need to know how to do something in particular, Goolge it. That's about the only advice I can give on this subject, so now for some links:
Forums:
www.ubuntuforums.org - Ubuntu Forums
www.linuxforums.org - Linux Forums
Games:
www.linuxlinks.com/article/20080522164112313/Games-Part2.html
www.linuxlinks.com/article/2009020806275229/Top100FreeGames.html
rangit.com/software/top-8-linux-games-of-2007/
Software:
linuxappfinder.com/all
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_software_packages
BONUS!
6. Changing Windows to the default OS
If you really have to, go to the terminal and do:
sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
Go down to where it says "default" and change the '0' to a '3'.
- Linux is just the kernel of the operating system, the part that regulates the hardware so you don't have to.
- The Linux kernel plus all of the other programs that make up the operating system is called GNU/Linux, because it uses the GNU toolkit.
- GNU stands for "GNU's Not Unix", was originally an OS, and is now just a free (freedom) software company.
- A set of applications with the GNU/Linux base is called a Linux Distribution, or Distro for short.
- There are a LOT of different distros out there. Check www.distrowatch.com to see most of them. Wikipedia has a nice list, too.
- Linux, Mac OS X, BSD, and a lot of other operating systems are based on the same foundation as a very stable operating system called Unix.
- The Linux kernel was created by a guy at a university in Helsinki named Linus Torvalds. The kernel was originally based on a Unix-based OS called Minix (Mini-Unix). He posted the source code (the human-readable code, rather than the binary code) on a newsgroup or something, and the project eventually grew.
- The name "Linux" was actually given by the university's system administrator, because he put the kernel in a folder and named it Linux for "Linus's Unix".
- The name of Linux's mascot, Tux (yes, the cute little penguin) is not actually a reference to the idea of penguins looking like they're wearing tuxedos, but actually means "Torvalds's Unix".
Now that you know some of the terminology and where Linux came from, let's get over with the mandatory "why you should try it".
- No viruses. It's partly because there's hardly anyone to make any, but also because weaknesses in the OS are fixed almost as soon as they're reported. With so many people all around the world working 24/7, the kernel alone might update several times a day.
- Very powerful built-in firewall. Linux uses a type of firewall known as an IP-table. What this does (if you wish to configure it) is it lets you route traffic from certain IP-addresses to certain ports on your computer, or away from it entirely. This is the reason why a lot of wireless routers are based on Linux. The IP-tables are kind of hard to configure from the command line, but there's a graphical frontend called Firestarter that I'll go through in the instructions.
- Great support. Have you ever called technical support just to be put on hold for half-an-hour before getting to speak with someone who's accent you can't understand? The Linux community in general is very helpful, and although your cry for help might take longer to be responded to on the forums, at least you can get on with your life while you wait. Oh yeah, most distros have their own IRC chat rooms for support, too.
- It's free! Yes, yes, I bet you're tired of hearing this one, but in this economy, free is very important. Not only is it free (as in free beer), it's also free (as in freedom). You can do whatever you want with it. With Windows, you're not allowed to touch the core system files, but with Linux, you can mangle them however you want. Plus, you get the good feeling of being part of a rebellion movement, what with all of Microsoft's attacks on open-source.
- It's got great compatibility, too. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a liar, or doesn't know what he's talking about. Well, as long as you don't have an ATI video card, anyway. ATI doesn't like Linux, so their open-source drivers are crippled . nVidia's drivers, on the other hand, work like a charm, and ATI's will work fine once DRI2 is implemented (don't ask me what it is). Linux is also really good for older computers. Linux is so compatible, I've even heard reports of people installing it on potatoes, light bulbs, toasters, and even dead badgers .
- It's stable. It is very stable, once you get it running. The computers that we have running Windows Vista at school are unstable. You only have a 50:50 chance of getting it to boot. Linux, on the other hand will run perfectly all its life once you get it configured right.
- It's also quite small and snappy. Windows Vista is about 10GB and has huge hardware requirements. Ubuntu is about 2.3GB, includes an office suite of programs, and is a lot cheaper in hardware requirements for the same level of aesthetics.
Whew. Now to dispel some rumors.
- Linux doesn't have a GUI. False. The two major desktop managers are KDE and GNOME. Linus Torvalds [used to] prefer KDE (the latest KDE releases have sucked). I personally prefer GNOME. GNOME is simple and intuitive to use. How do you change the panels? Right-click on them. Simple. If you need something lighter, you could go for XFCE or OpenBox.
- Linux is hard to use. It may have used to be hard to use, but not anymore. Most things work similarly (or even more intuitively) than in Windows because of parallel evolution. Human expect certain things to work certain ways, so the desktop managers evolved similarly. For instance, how to you make a new folder in Windows? Right-click > New > Folder. How do you make a new folder in Nautilus (GNOME's file manager)? Right-click > New folder. Why does Windows need all those other options in the "New" menu, anyway? To make a new txt file, wouldn't you go to Notepad, write it, then save it? Wouldn't you have to open Notepad to edit it anyway? Point is, Linux isn't hard to use anymore. It's even easy enough for my mom to use it.
- Linux isn't compatible with anything. We already went over this one...
- Linux is made for old computers. While it does run well on old computers, most distros have enough eye-candy to please people with high-end machines. For instance, you can make your windows burn when you close them.
- There isn't any software for Linux. Actually, there's quite a bit of it. There's a really good list here. I'll give you a list of links for games and such later on.
- There's no support for Linux. While most large companies don't really support Linux very well, there's excellent support from the community, and most large companies to have limited support for Linux.
- You can't game on it. This is a tender spot for most people. I'll give you a few links to lists of free games for Linux later on. There are quite a few free games out there. For the ones that are for Windows, you can check appdb.winehq.org to see if a game is compatible with WINE. WINE (WINE Is Not an Emulator) is a compatibility layer. What happens when you compile a program is that it calls functions from OS-specific libraries, so the executable file is linked against those libraries. The WINE project is doing their best to try to reverse-engineer Windows's libraries so Windows programs will call the right functions. If you just have to have your game, and it won't run on WINE, you can either set up a virtual Windows machine or dual-boot. The installation instructions here will go for dual-booting with Windows (assuming you already have it installed).
Okay, glad that part's over with. Now, to business!
1. Get the CD
Head over to www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download, choose yer poison, and download the disk image. This might take a while. If you feel safe downloading two things at a time, go to isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm and download the utility. An "iso" file is what's known as a disk image. It's not enough to simply burn the iso file to the blank CD, you need to burn the information in the iso file to the CD. Once you've downloaded and installed the ISO Recorder, and you've downloaded the disk image, I'd suggest making a back up of your system (in case things go wrong). Go about this your own way, or ignore it completely, but it's not my fault if things go awry. Okay, got that done? Now go to where you saved the disk image, right-click on it, and click on "Copy image to CD" (assuming you've already put a blank disk in your CD burner, of course). When the CD is done burning, it'll probably pop out. Pop it back in and restart your computer.
Alternatively, you can go to shipit.ubuntu.com/ and request a free Ubuntu CD that will get to you in 4-6 weeks.
2. Booting to the CD
When your computer reboots, it'll probably say something near the top or bottom along the lines of "Press [key] to enter setup" or "Press [key] to change boot order". Press the latter key if it says it, and change the boot order so that CD comes first. If it only says the former, press that key, find the menu for boot settings, and change the boot order there.
When it boots, you should see a menu with a big Ubuntu logo. It should pop up a menu on top of that for you to pick your language. Go ahead and pick your language, then select "Start or install Ubuntu" and hit enter. Now it should go to an Ubuntu logo with an orange pulsating progress bar beneath it. After a while, the progress bar will stop pulsating and will be a regular progress bar. It takes a while to boot to a LiveCD because everything has to be compressed onto the CD, then uncompressed into your RAM. After a while, you should be at the desktop. If it is, skip the next paragraph. If not, don't skip it.
I guess you're at a black screen and nothing will work, right? Hit the reset button on your computer, boot to the LiveCD menu again, choose your language, then hit the F6 key. You should now see a line of text near the bottom of your screen. Type "noapic noacpi" and hit enter. If it works, remember that trick next time you boot to the LiveCD. If it doesn't, you're hosed.
3. Trying things out
Keep in mind that it'll be slow from the CD. Chances are, you have a shiny green dot on the top toolbar. Click on it. It'll pop up a list of restricted drivers. You'll most likely want to use them, so go ahead and select them to enable them. Now you can connect to the internet, try out the built-in games, etc.
4. Installing
Double-click the installer icon on the desktop. The first thing the installer will ask for is your language. Pick your language and click "Forward". Next, it'll ask for your time zone. Pick the city closest to you on the map, then click "Forward". Next is keyboard layout. You know what to do here. Next comes partitioning. It'll probably want to resize Windows and use the free space to install Ubuntu in. If not, don't go any further (unless you know what you're doing), let me know, and I'll help you. If so, go on ahead. After partitioning, it'll ask for user names and passwords and stuff. Enter those in, go forward, and you should be ready to install. While it's installing, you can surf the internet, check your email, or play a game of Mahjongg. When it's done installing, reboot, take the CD out, and you'll see a text at the bottom of your screen along the lines of "Press escape to enter the GRUB menu" or something. Do so, and you'll see a few choices for Ubuntu and one for Windows. Select the one you want, and boot into it. Since Ubuntu is now the default OS, you can boot into it without pressing escape, but you'll need to press escape to boot into Windows.
5. Extra software
First off, it'll probably ask you to enable the restricted drivers again. Go ahead and do that. Next, you'll want some extra software. To facilitate this, you might need to enable some extra repositories. Repositories are large collections of software that the computer can read and search through so you don't have to. Go to System > Administration > Synaptic package manager, type in your password, got to Settings > Repositories, and go through the list making sure they're all checked.
5a. Firestarter
I talked about this earlier. It's a GUI frontend to the IP-tables firewall. Go to the Applications menu in the top-left corner and go down to "Add/Remove Applications". Search for firestarter, check the checkbox and click apply. That'll install Firestarter. To set it up, go to Applications > Internet > Firestarter, enter your password, and look through the settings, customizing to your liking.
5b. Desktop customization
Again, to Add/Remove Applications, search for and install CCSM, Compiz Fusion Icon, Screenlets, and Emerald Theme Manager. Go ahead and explore those and do whatever.
5c. Playing restricted formats
Yeah, mp3 and DVDs are restricted formats. Go to Add/Remove Applications again and install "Ubuntu Restricted Extras". That'll install mp3 support, Flash player, and the Java runtime. Now go to the terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and type in or copy and paste:
sudo apt-get install libdvdread3 gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly
Now:
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/install-css.sh
While you're in the terminal, I'd suggest getting a better media player, too. Do:
sudo apt-get install vlc
I guess the best way to figure everything else out is to just explore. Click stuff, see what they do. Get StumbleUpon and stumble til you can't stumble no more. If you need to know how to do something in particular, Goolge it. That's about the only advice I can give on this subject, so now for some links:
Forums:
www.ubuntuforums.org - Ubuntu Forums
www.linuxforums.org - Linux Forums
Games:
www.linuxlinks.com/article/20080522164112313/Games-Part2.html
www.linuxlinks.com/article/2009020806275229/Top100FreeGames.html
rangit.com/software/top-8-linux-games-of-2007/
Software:
linuxappfinder.com/all
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free_software_packages
BONUS!
6. Changing Windows to the default OS
If you really have to, go to the terminal and do:
sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
Go down to where it says "default" and change the '0' to a '3'.