ADN

I am starting this thread as a guide for those of us who have ignored Linux for whatever reason, and now want to learn to use it...Hopefully this will be helpful for myself and others to figure out things and make us superior machine users...I will update this post with links and helpful information as this thread hopefully grows...

Part 1. The Very Beginning

First things first, you have to select a "distro"...From my understanding, what you choose is based on your personal preferences as well as the machine you're running it on...I don't think that drivers are as easy to come by for Linux as Windows, so this may be a big deal...

For what its worth, I've chosen to install Linux Mint 10 over Ubuntu, and just from first glance, I think that I've made a pretty good decision...Thanks to jdog for pointing that out for me..!

You can get Linux Mint 10 (code name "Julia" as of this posting) from here:

http://www.linuxmint.com/

I will also add the DVD ISO version to the AFS when time allows, and keep it there...There is also a smaller version that you can burn onto a CD...For speed and portability purposes, I wanted to install it onto a USB key...

To install Mint on a USB key is pretty easy...Once you download the ISO, put it into a folder by itself with a universal USB installer...I used the one from here:

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal- ... -as-1-2-3/

Will also put that into the AFS...The installation is pretty straight forward...Just make sure you have a USB stick of 4MB or better, point it to the Mint 10 ISO, and go from there...Also, there is an option called 'Persistence', which basically means that it will create a space on the key for you to be able to save programs and things like that...The more the persistence, the more you can save...

Once you set your computer to boot from USB (most modern PC's can) Mint 10 will start fairly quickly...It's a really handsome interface, with lots of familiar items and programs, and lots of things I've only seen in passing...I'll get more into that later...

Please feel free to add things...I'm more into the organic method we can do on the site, somehow I think I'll learn faster listening to you guys that I will if I simply read a manual...

For anyone that decides to do this, I will help out as best as I can with my experience as I have switched completely away from Windows and currently use Linux Mint 10.

First bit of advice is CD/DVD burning software. Linux Mint 10 comes with Brasero. It has an easy interface but lacks a lot of options. I highly recommend Nero Linux 4, which isn't technically free but you can get them here. Serial number included. You'll find both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions in both DEB and RPM package format. Linux Mint uses DEB packages.
There are various IM programs available for Linux. I prefer Empathy as it seems to have better support and more improvements over the years. It supports everything from AIM to YIM to MSN and even Gtalk. The default available for Linux Mint is Pidgin.

I use Deluge for my BitTorrent client. Transmission is the default for Linux Mint but it is extremely basic. Deluge offers a ton of options such as disabling seeding of a torrent after a certain ratio or even automatically moving the data of a torrent to another location after you have finished downloading it.

Actually Linux is just a kernel not an OS, please correct the thread title to "Let's go GNU/Linux", if we are going to educate people on open source let's start clean.

With that said let me add another alternative for GNU/Linux
Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

Enjoy

Linux Mint (main) is based upon Ubuntu. It just includes better, more user friendly features. Everything works right out of the box. Flash video streaming, Java, watching x264 HD video, FLAC, etc. It has the Mint menu, which organizes things better and also includes a built-in search. It has an updater that will sort by priority (ie untested vs Linux Mint verified). The new Mint 10 clearly has a more polished look right from first install, from the brushed metal theme to the Faenza icon pack. There's also the Mint Software Manager although you can still use the Synaptic Package Manager. Not sure if Ubuntu comes with Compiz pre-installed but it's enabled by default in Mint with a nice set of pre-selected Compiz options which can of course be adjusted like any Compiz settings.

It's basically a better, more user friendly and polished Ubuntu.

I thought Ubuntu these last few years was the more user-friendly one? Can't say for sure as I used to run Suse as part of my dual boot on my olde desktop.

Sir Jig-A-Lot wrote:I thought Ubuntu these last few years was the more user-friendly one? Can't say for sure as I used to run Suse as part of my dual boot on my olde desktop.

Compared to the rest of the distros out there? It was better but mostly because it had a LOT larger of a community for support. I remember when I was trying openSUSE 10.3 and had problems with something. I ended up going to the Ubuntu community for help.

The reason Mint is more user friendly is because it includes a lot of the restricted codecs and plugins by default. The Mint menu is by far the best for any Linux distro too, especially if you are coming off of using Windows for years.

Last time I checked, Ubuntu was going with a new desktop environment called Unity with their next release. A lot of Ubuntu users are pissed about it: http://unity.ubuntu.com

I personally like the change. Ubuntu is really going for that polished GUI look.

jdog wrote: I remember when I was trying openSUSE 10.3 and had problems with something. I ended up going to the Ubuntu community for help.

Lol. That's what I was running. Mint looks pretty & pragmatic though.

GNU/Linux distros are not better than others, they are more or less appropriate for each one.
I linked to the Ubuntu because I understood this is a thread to encourage people to try other OS than MS. Ubuntu has a very wide community so any problem a newbie would be one search away from solving it.
Menus are a matter of personal taste, e.g. I dont use them I map keys and mouse gestures and of course terminal. They just need being logical and intuitive enough for any user to figure them out.

Fapper wrote:GNU/Linux distros are not better than others, they are more or less appropriate for each one.
I linked to the Ubuntu because I understood this is a thread to encourage people to try other OS than MS. Ubuntu has a very wide community so any problem a newbie would be one search away from solving it.
Menus are a matter of personal taste, e.g. I dont use them I map keys and mouse gestures and of course terminal. They just need being logical and intuitive enough for any user to figure them out.

I meant better regarding an out-of-the-box vanilla install for a newbie user. Not having to go the extra mile for codecs or plug-ins from the start is a major plus. The Mint menu is also more intuitive.

But, that's the advantage of Linux, as you point out. You can configure it and set it up however you want. That's the freedom of GNU/Linux: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

Well, my first hardware issue is that I can't hear any audio from my realtek device...I'm sure it's a quick fix though, I'll detail it out when I figure it...

Also, just so that you guys know, I'm going to split this thread so that its more cohesive, and put the comments into a separate thread called "Linux/GNU" discussion per Fap's suggestion...