Linux - how few know of it
Jul. 19th, 2010 08:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miriam_eWhen I meet people and discussion falls to computers, as it often does, I've often been surprised at how few people know of Linux. They generally think that putting up with Microsoft Windows is their only option. When told that Linux is a free operating system that can either replace, or co-exist with Microsoft Windows they tend to be either surprised or skeptical. This astounds me. How did Microsoft manage to so impoverish the computing world? Not only have they retarded computing technology by a decade or more, but they have blinded many people to even the possibility of advancement -- a very sad state of affairs.
Thank heavens it is slowly changing. Years ago Linux was something only computer geeks used. Now I know a broad range (but still a tiny minority) of people who have dropped Microsoft Windows, preferring the safety and lower cost of Linux... and in the case of Puppy Linux, the ease of use, speed, tiny size, and ability to revive old computers making them usable again. I think part of the change is coming simply from word of mouth, but also from live CDs, where people can try Linux before installing it on their machines.
On that last point, I've noticed an annoying number of computers recently that have their BIOS set up to prevent booting from a CD. It is easy to change, but most people don't even know what a BIOS is, let alone how to go into their SETUP to change the boot-device order. [sigh]
A ray of hope: lately Linux users seem to outnumber Apple Mac users on the net. (Thank heavens Apple didn't win the war for the desktop -- computer use would be even further retarded than with Microsoft. Apple are masters of propaganda.)
Thank heavens it is slowly changing. Years ago Linux was something only computer geeks used. Now I know a broad range (but still a tiny minority) of people who have dropped Microsoft Windows, preferring the safety and lower cost of Linux... and in the case of Puppy Linux, the ease of use, speed, tiny size, and ability to revive old computers making them usable again. I think part of the change is coming simply from word of mouth, but also from live CDs, where people can try Linux before installing it on their machines.
On that last point, I've noticed an annoying number of computers recently that have their BIOS set up to prevent booting from a CD. It is easy to change, but most people don't even know what a BIOS is, let alone how to go into their SETUP to change the boot-device order. [sigh]
A ray of hope: lately Linux users seem to outnumber Apple Mac users on the net. (Thank heavens Apple didn't win the war for the desktop -- computer use would be even further retarded than with Microsoft. Apple are masters of propaganda.)
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-25 05:49 am (UTC)If I download puppy linux from here
ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/puppylinux/puppy-4.3.1/pup-431.iso
like you said and just want to install it instead of keep it on the cd, would there be any reason to burn it to a cd?
no subject
Date: 2010-07-25 11:42 am (UTC)I'd never thought about it before. Interesting point.
It really is easiest to burn the image to CD so that you can boot from it and then decide whether to keep the Puppy CD for occasionally booting to Linux or perhaps installing it to your machine later so it runs from your hard drive. If you install to the hard drive then you will probably want to install grub (it is an optional part of the Linux installation process) to give you a boot menu which lets you choose whether to boot to MSWindows or Linux.
But I'd leave hard drive installation til later. Burn to CD first and test drive it first.
If you really want it on the hard drive it is always a good idea to back up your MSWindows data. It is very unlikely anything will go wrong, but MSWindows doesn't play nicely with others and you never know.
If you have another old obsolete computer perhaps try installing it there first. You can pick up old second hand computers for $10 or $20, sometimes even less. The good thing about installing Puppy on them is that they will run faster than they did under MSWindows and make the machines usable again.
I'd advise that you DON'T get rid of MSWindows on your main machine. Much as I dislike Microsoft and their operating systems, I have known some people who really don't like Linux. I would feel terrible if you did something irreversible and found yourself regretting it. Always give yourself a way back out of a situation.
When I changed over to Linux I did it gradually and pretty painlessly. I started with a bootable CD that I would play around with at odd times til I got the hang of it enough to want to install it. Then I shared the machine with Linux and MSWindows. Over time I gradually used Linux more than MSWindows, and after some years eventually deleted it from my drive(s) when I realised I just wasn't using it anymore. Now I don't have MSWindows on any of my computers, however I keep a spare drive with MSWindows on it for one of my laptops that I can swap into it if I ever need to use MSWindows. It has only been necessary once in the last couple of years, but it is nice to always have the option there.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-28 10:19 am (UTC)I don't tend to mess with such things much. I don't know enough to really and if anything I've often found it annoying. Who knows, that could just be my experience with Microsoft.
I don't have any spare computers or drives I can store stuff on so that's not an option.
Well, we'll see I guess.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-28 10:24 pm (UTC)You'll find booting from CD is less bother than you think. When you shut it down Puppy will ask if you want to save your session to a file on your computer. If you answer no then when next you boot MSWindows or Puppy there will be no trace of the fact you'd previously been running Puppy. But if you choose to save what you'd done it will store a small file on the hard drive which will not interfere with MSWindows, but will contain all your changes so that on your next reboot of Puppy it will remember what you have done... sort of a halfway point between installing and not installing Puppy.
I used to run one of my machines entirely from a Puppy CD because it was a very old, slow computer. It had plenty of RAM, and because RAM runs much faster than a hard drive I never bothered to install Puppy onto that machine's hard drive -- it actually ran considerably faster by booting from the CD. I used the hard drive purely for storing data. So in certain cases it can be preferable to not install to the hard drive. It boots a little slower from the CD than the hard drive, but still faster than MSWindows does.
I have to go out today, so I can't look now, but I recently stumbled across a tiny, free program that burns iso disk images to CD. I can't remember its name offhand, but I have a note somewhere here about it. I'll be back home tonight and can find it then if you like... or I can post off a Puppy CD to you... absolutely no trouble.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-29 08:43 am (UTC)I'm thinking my partner might want to convert his older desktop computer too.
And I'm thinking I will take you up on the offer of the Puppy Cd. :)
You're so kind.
Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 09:22 am (UTC)I haven't tried it yet but I will. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-08-07 11:01 am (UTC)Okay, two important things to do when you set it up...
First, click once (single-click in Puppy, not double-click) the "console" icon on the desktop. That opens the command line. Now type in "passwd" (without the quote marks). This will prompt you to set the password for the "root" user. Unlike most versions of Linux Puppy makes you the superuser, also known as root. Set the password to something that you will remember. Make it longer than 6 characters, don't use a normal word that can be found in a dictionary search. I tend to use numbers in one or more parts of the password too as that makes it even harder to break. Now that you have a private password it becomes virtually impossible for anybody to break into Puppy from outside, yet it is exceptionally easy to use from the keyboard.
The second thing to do comes after you have set up the network connection, which is done by clicking once on the "connect" icon on the desktop and choosing the button that is relevant (most probably "internet by network or wireless LAN"). There are help buttons at the bottom of the dialog that give you more info. When you have connected to the net then click on the "connect" icon again, and this time choose "setup a firewall". Follow the prompts and you will have a machine that is virtually impenetrable, yet extremely friendly for you to use.
If you get stuck with anything (you will -- you are not used to it yet) then try Puppy's help system (the "Help" icon on the desktop). If you still can't work it out (bound to be a few things you can't understand in the early stages) then please do contact me and I'll do what I can to help you sort it out. There is also a forum for Puppy users that is great for finding out answers to odd things:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/
When you get used to Puppy I'm sure you will find it a delight.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-14 11:26 am (UTC)I'm sure I'll be okay with it but I'll let you know if I'm stumped.
:)
Again, thank you.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-14 10:12 pm (UTC)Just go at your own rate and when you feel like it. No sense rushing it or trying to explore when something else is pushing at you. This way exploring the machine can be fun, in spite of the frustration that can occur... like how a puzzle or a suspense story can be enjoyable because of the frustration. :)
You'll find it will open a new door in your life.