Linux Screenshot

[TheTrucker]

I know most folks aren't familiar with Linux. It's just an operating system used to run the computer.

I have mine set up with what I think are some pretty cool features. I can have as many desktop screens as I like, and each one can look different if I want. I have some special effects set up for mine using some software called Compiz-Fusion and associated support applications.

It provides some pretty cool eye candy including window animations like wobbly windows, open, close, maximize, and minimize animation effects, and a bunch of others. Probably one of the coolest effects is that I have my four desktops set up on a cube that I can rotate from one desktop screen to another.

Yeah, it's mostly eye candy, but I like it.

[Nick912]

That does sound like some neat stuff there Trucker!

[buddha]

Is there a difference in susceptibility to viruses between Linux and Windows XP? Somebody told me once that Linux is almost virus-proof. Is that true?

[Mat]

There are a few reasons why Linux users are less-susceptible to viruses than Windows users - The foremost being that your average virus is written to run on Windows, as more people use it. Same reason as Macs have less viruses than Windows - The coders in question want to target the operating system with the most users.

That being said, Linux is still a highly secure operating system (some distributions more than others, but in general the rule holds true). This is mainly because Linux is an operating system generally only used by people who really know about computers; namely programmers. And programmers are a paranoid breed by nature, so they have every possible setting on lock-down.

In summery, at a base level, Linux is far, far more secure than Windows. But even so, it is far from virus-proof

[buddha]

Is Linux way more complicated to use than Windows XP? The reason I ask is because I have thought about switching over to Linux on my HP laptop but what has caused me to hesitate is not knowing how long it woud take me to learn how to do a passable job with it as I am not a programmer, nor do I possess a level of computer savvy tht would causeanyone to think I am. So could somebody like me expect to make a transition to Linux in a reasonable amount of time and would that transition be a practical move? 

[SonOfKrypton]

I've got love for Unix based operating systems!

[TheTrucker]

Th

Is Linux way more complicated to use than Windows XP? The reason I ask is because I have thought about switching over to Linux on my HP laptop but what has caused me to hesitate is not knowing how long it woud take me to learn how to do a passable job with it as I am not a programmer, nor do I possess a level of computer savvy tht would causeanyone to think I am. So could somebody like me expect to make a transition to Linux in a reasonable amount of time and would that transition be a practical move? 

There is a bit of a learning curve like anything else new, but no it isn't really all that complicated, just different. I'd suggest downloading PCLinuxOS and trying it. It's a LiveCD image. You just burn the image to disk (burn image not just copy) and you can boot your machine from it and gave a running Linux system from cdrom. Not as fast as installed due to cdrom read speeds, but it gives you a chance to check it out.

If you like it you can install it from the same disk.

By default Linux is far more secure than Windows on many levels. In order for a virus to even run it would have to be coded for Linux and even then you would have to actually run it yourself as Linux doesn't have self-executing files like Windoze. Also, even if you did run it as a normal user it still wouldn't have access to the core system and the worst it could do would be mess with your personal files, the system would remain untouched.

[buddha]

Here's another question. If I am currently using Norton A/V on my Windows system can I still use it if I make a transition to Linux?
I also went to the PCLinuxOS website and tried to download that program to burn it to disc but was told that my security settings do not allow this. How can I change my security settings to allow this download? I found another Linux program called Ubuntu and was able to download that and burn it to a disc so I don't get what is up. (See, I told you that you could not mistake me for a programmer!)
Also, how does Ubuntu figure into all this?
 

[TheTrucker]

Here's another question. If I am currently using Norton A/V on my Windows system can I still use it if I make a transition to Linux?
I also went to the PCLinuxOS website and tried to download that program to burn it to disc but was told that my security settings do not allow this. How can I change my security settings to allow this download? I found another Linux program called Ubuntu and was able to download that and burn it to a disc so I don't get what is up. (See, I told you that you could not mistake me for a programmer!)
Also, how does Ubuntu figure into all this?
 

Not sure about the security settings thing, maybe another Windows user can help with that.

As for the Norton stuff, you won't need it in Linux. As Linux is a totally different OS software written for Windows won't run in Linux or any other OS but Windows. There are some emulators like Wine and Cedega that allow you to run some Windows apps, mostly games and such, under Linux.

Ubuntu is another Linux distribution. It's based on Debian and uses the Debian Apt package management system. It's a very popular distro and many people like it. I am not among them, but that's just personal taste.

I recommend trying out LiveCDs of several distros to see what appeals to you.

[buddha]

OK, I got both PCLinuxOS and Ubuntu burned onto disc and have run them both. I can see where not having to run a security suite would be an advantage as I had to go in and lower some Windows security levels but once I did that I was able to download and burn OS.
One problem I am having, though, and this could be a deal breaker is that I cannot get into SBG on either Ubuntu or OS. I was having this same problem when I was running Firefox in Windows. I have no idea what the problem is. I get a pop-up that says that I can't get into my selected website. SBG is the only one that reacts this way in Firefox but I can get it in Windows. What it says is "the connection to the server was reset while the page was loading" and then indicates that the site might be busy or unavailable.

[buddha]

Hey Trucker here's another question.
I've been playing with the live cds from pclinuxos and ububtu. I'm definitely inclined more toward pclinuxos but in the installation instructions they talk about partitions. It seems like this is only necessary if you want to run windows and linux on the same computer. I'm leaning more toward wiping the slate clean and using linux as my sole os. Would I still need the partitions?
I'm considering getting out of windows because I seem to have picked up a trojan which often re-directs me to websites that I'm not looking for and Norton is not picking it up. I also had a problem with online ordering which I think is a result of that problem.
Did you install partitions when you installed pclinuxos? Is there an automatic partitioning that sets the os up according to presets?

[TheTrucker]

Sorry for the late reply, I've been pretty busy on the road.

As for not being able to connect to SBG, I am on the site right now using Firefox in Linux so not sure why you're having trouble. One possibility could be that since you're running from a LiveCD version it's unable to store a cookie or something. Just a guess as I'd need more data to be certain.

As for the partitions, yes, even if you wipe the Windows off the machine you'll need a minimum of two partitions to set up Linux. A primary partition, called "root" or simply "/" and a swap  partition. The swap should be double the size of your RAM, up to 1GB. A swap bigger than 1GB would be a waste of space.

Yes the installer will guide you through setting up the partitions and in both of those distros the defaults it automatically selects based upon your choices should do just fine.