Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change APOLOGIES
Just to say that due to a series of domestic disasters, I have neither the money to buy a laptop nor the time to get up and running with Linux in the near future. Thank you all for your advice which I am filing carefully, and hope to resume in a few months. David Smith -Original Message- From: C A Wills Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 10:45 PM To: Dorset Linux User Group Subject: Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change David It may be worth looking at Novatech.co.uk in Portsmouth, as they supply computers laptops without an OS or pick your own selection of M$ options. Service is very good and normally no problems with replacements or help. For us in the East Dorset it's an hours drive to go and view/collect if that's required. On-line and Telephone help is also available. Here's plenty of help in the group as well as in the forums. I changed when I bought a new Dell laptop with Vista installed, couldn't get on with it and installed Ubuntu, dual booted and after a month found I wasn't using Vista so reformatted and changed fully to Linux, never looked back! Good luck *Clive A Wills* /Powered by Linux Open Source Software/ On 21/03/13 18:20, Terry Coles wrote: On Thursday 21 Mar 2013 11:49:37 David Smith wrote: One more question - the laptop I buy will have webcam and audio built in. Will there be any problem with drivers? Not with any laptops I've used, but they've all been Dell. I can't speak for any other manufacturer's offerings, but audio and webcam types are fairly well covered in Linux these days. BTW, there is a potential issue with new Laptops that come with Windows 8; try 'Linux UEFI' in Google to get a flavour of the problem. There are workarounds, but it might be better to avoid the issue and get an older model that still retails with W7 on it. I know Staples and PC World have still got stock and there are still plenty available online. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
I'm a bit late to this! Lots of great advice already, but I'll stick my oar in anyway. On 20/03/13 15:43, David Smith wrote: 1. Is this the right way to go and if so what distribution would you recommend? Should I buy DVDs or download? I'd suggest downloading. As others have said, you can burn to CD or use USB sticks. Most distros now have a live variant. I recommend making good use of these. Firstly, it lets you get a look at the distro before you commit to it. Secondly, it lets you test if your hardware works well with that distro. Generally now if a piece of hardware works with one, it will work with most of them since most distros use an unmodified kernel. Remember, they are all free so go crazy! If time permits, try out a few. It's /reasonably/ easy to switch later. (If you get asked when you actually come to install something, try to choose a separate partition for /home - it will make switching distro or upgrading much easier). 2. Is it simple to find say printer drivers that run under Linux? I've found it to be easier than XP. http://www.openprinting.org/printers might help too. 3. Do I need antivirus software? (MACs now do) Any other security software essential? No. 5. Does Linux have the equivalent of DOS batch files? The nice thing about Linux is that most distros come with a number of programming languages installed already. As Ralph and others said you get a default shell which is very powerful and choice of a few others if you don't like that one. You probably also get Python and Perl installed by default. FreePascal is available. You can also get C#, lua, ruby and pretty much anything else you can think of! FYI I run the following software at present: Open Office Most Linux distros have switched to Libre Office now, a fork of Open Office but you will find it very familiar. Foxit pdf reader There are several PDF readers avaible. Firefox Tbird. Available and possibly installed already. Free Pascal Available A couple of other interesting things about Linux distros; firstly, after install you get a fairly complete suite of applications already installed (depending on the distro) so there's no need to look for browsers, office suites, PDF readers and the like. Secondly, most distros use some type of software repository from which your system can fetch software to install. Depending on the distro, the choice can be vast or fairly limited. Most mainstream distros have enough choice for anyone. One more thought - why not get a live CD and try it out on your current desktop? Or, try one of the portable lightweight distros that is meant to run from a memory stick, like Puppy. Just for fun. Remember it's free, so you can just have fun and play with it. It's like having the keys to a sweet shop! :) It might get you a functional machine to go and look at all the other links people have given you ;) In addition to the distros suggested (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Fedora) you could consider one of the Linux Mint variants (the XFCE one is nice). There's also OpenSuse and Mageia. All of these are very competent and decent distros. Have fun! John -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
1. Is this the right way to go and if so what distribution would you recommend? Should I buy DVDs or download? To answer your main question, I would suggest a flavour of Ubuntu. If you are willing to try a new fancy GUI, then plain Ubuntu, If you want something with a more traditional start button GUI- sort of like windows- then Kubuntu, or a simplistic GUI start menu, try Xubuntu. I keep trying others and coming back to Kubuntu, and I know Terry is a Kubuntu user. You could download all three and copy them to CD/DVD and try them from the bootable CD before deciding. Then you can make your computer dual boot, in case you ever need to use windows. I need to revert to M$ WXP to use my ancient scanner, but every time I boot it I need to allow time for all the updates before I can do anything. There are probably about as many linux variants as there are users on this forum, so wait for other suggestions. Cheers, Peter M PS In Xubuntu the menu is in the top left hand corner. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
On Wed, 2013-03-20 at 19:06 +, Terry Coles wrote: I'm not sure who you spoke to at HP, but they didn't know much about Linux. As Andrew has already said, Linux uses CUPS, but in addition, HP provide a Linux add-in called 'HPLIP' (http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/index.html). However, you DON'T need to download it from that site; I just provided that for reference. Nearly all modern Distros include HPLIP in their repositories, so once you've got your installation up and running, go to the Package Manager and search for HPLIP. The rest is achieved with a few clicks and an entry of your password. As a matter of fact, the Fedora distribution goes one better than this: the recommended way to install the correct available printer driver is: 1. Plug in the printer and follow the instructions If a printer driver is available (as part of the distribution), you will be prompted to install it, and a queue for the printer will be created automatically. Tim. */ signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
Thanks Tim, will pass on Bournemouth but hope to meet some of you in Dorch sometime. Thanks to rest of you for all your advice. I will carefully store all your messages and refer to them when I get that far. One more question - the laptop I buy will have webcam and audio built in. Will there be any problem with drivers? many thanks David -Original Message- From: Tim Waugh Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 9:26 AM To: Dorset Linux User Group Subject: Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
Hi, Peter Merchant wrote: You could download all three [Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu] and copy them to CD/DVD and try them from the bootable CD before deciding. Or USB flash memory stick as your BIOS may well boot from that. The links on the right-hand side of http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/try-ubuntu-before-you-install may help. Is you do install one of the three then the others are a package-install away, i.e. they all co-exist AIUI and you can select which desktop you'd prefer at log-in time. Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
Hi David,
5. Does Linux have the equivalent of DOS batch files?
Yes, as Andrew said, it has shell scripts. The shell is the normal
command-line intepreter that sits on top of the operating system. It's
just a program, like any other, so there are various shells available.
bash is the default, Bourne Again shell, a descendent of the Bourne
shell.
Unlike DOS, bash has control structures like
while [[ -f lockfile ]]; do
sleep 10
done
for f in *.png; do
pngtopnm $f | cjpeg ${f%.png}.jpeg
done
And the general Unix `software tools' philosophy is to have small
programs work well together using text as their common format, with the
linkage between them coming from I/O re-direction and pipelines, like
that | in the for-loop above.
Cheers, Ralph.
--
Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00
Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/
New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk
How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
On Thursday 21 Mar 2013 11:49:37 David Smith wrote: One more question - the laptop I buy will have webcam and audio built in. Will there be any problem with drivers? Not with any laptops I've used, but they've all been Dell. I can't speak for any other manufacturer's offerings, but audio and webcam types are fairly well covered in Linux these days. BTW, there is a potential issue with new Laptops that come with Windows 8; try 'Linux UEFI' in Google to get a flavour of the problem. There are workarounds, but it might be better to avoid the issue and get an older model that still retails with W7 on it. I know Staples and PC World have still got stock and there are still plenty available online. -- Terry Coles 64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
David It may be worth looking at Novatech.co.uk in Portsmouth, as they supply computers laptops without an OS or pick your own selection of M$ options. Service is very good and normally no problems with replacements or help. For us in the East Dorset it's an hours drive to go and view/collect if that's required. On-line and Telephone help is also available. Here's plenty of help in the group as well as in the forums. I changed when I bought a new Dell laptop with Vista installed, couldn't get on with it and installed Ubuntu, dual booted and after a month found I wasn't using Vista so reformatted and changed fully to Linux, never looked back! Good luck *Clive A Wills* /Powered by Linux Open Source Software/ On 21/03/13 18:20, Terry Coles wrote: On Thursday 21 Mar 2013 11:49:37 David Smith wrote: One more question - the laptop I buy will have webcam and audio built in. Will there be any problem with drivers? Not with any laptops I've used, but they've all been Dell. I can't speak for any other manufacturer's offerings, but audio and webcam types are fairly well covered in Linux these days. BTW, there is a potential issue with new Laptops that come with Windows 8; try 'Linux UEFI' in Google to get a flavour of the problem. There are workarounds, but it might be better to avoid the issue and get an older model that still retails with W7 on it. I know Staples and PC World have still got stock and there are still plenty available online. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
[Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
At present I run a desktop under Windows 7. I bought one of the first 64 bit pcs running Windows 7 - so new that there was no proper driver for my HP printer/scanner and so for a while I had no OCR software. It was great at first but a number of registry errors built up and in spite of buying a registry cleaner it is running slow, and I am told what I 'should' be doing is to spend real money employing a microsoft certified person to maintain windows twice a year! So I want to move to Linux, but how? I cannot afford to be non operational for long. I have decided I really need a laptop and so intend to get that running under Linux first. It seems that buying one with Linux pre installed is not the most economical option. I can buy a TOSHIBA Satellite C850D-11Q 15.6 Laptop from pc world for £290. It has 320 GB hard disc so I could afford to have Windows and Linux installed at the same time. I don't fancy a cloud computer. I would continue to back up user files on memory sticks. Having Windows there would help if I had to back to pc World with a suspected hardware problem. My intention would be to install Linux straight away. I have a few questions please and would be grateful if someone could answer any he/she is able: 1. Is this the right way to go and if so what distribution would you recommend? Should I buy DVDs or download? 2. Is it simple to find say printer drivers that run under Linux? I seem to remember that when I phoned HP they had no drivers for Linux. Their software for the HP printer/scanner/copier has things like OCR software included, but if this was not included in the driver I could find, could I scan something as image and use different software to convert to character? Not that I do this very frequently. 3. Do I need antivirus software? (MACs now do) Any other security software essential? 4. Does Linux have a full screen console? (see below) 5. Does Linux have the equivalent of DOS batch files? FYI I run the following software at present: Open Office Foxit pdf reader Firefox duckduck search engine Windows live mail - but would use Tbird. Free Pascal: I am not up to writing Graphics interfaces so keyboard input and display output is via the 'console' which in Windows is no longer full screen - very annoying. I initiate both compiling and running of programs using DOS batch files. Avast antivirus. I have in the past created a website by typing naked html into a text editor. Have also written a bit of javascript and php. However in the future I will stick to using wordpress.com. I am a dinosaur brought up on punched cards and struggle to keep up. regards David Smith aged 72 -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
Re: [Dorset] Hi from pissed off Windows user in Weymouth - wanting to change
David, Welcome to DLUG and Linux. On Wednesday 20 Mar 2013 15:43:51 David Smith wrote: 2. Is it simple to find say printer drivers that run under Linux? I seem to remember that when I phoned HP they had no drivers for Linux. Their software for the HP printer/scanner/copier has things like OCR software included, but if this was not included in the driver I could find, could I scan something as image and use different software to convert to character? Not that I do this very frequently. I'm not sure who you spoke to at HP, but they didn't know much about Linux. As Andrew has already said, Linux uses CUPS, but in addition, HP provide a Linux add-in called 'HPLIP' (http://hplipopensource.com/hplip-web/index.html). However, you DON'T need to download it from that site; I just provided that for reference. Nearly all modern Distros include HPLIP in their repositories, so once you've got your installation up and running, go to the Package Manager and search for HPLIP. The rest is achieved with a few clicks and an entry of your password. You can also do it from the console by entering the right commands, eg in Ubuntu: type the following command: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hplip-isv/ppa press Enter and if needed, type the required password type the following command: sudo apt-get update then type the following command: sudo apt-get install hplip My OfficeJet J4680 All in One works fine. 3. Do I need antivirus software? (MACs now do) Any other security software essential? Only if you wan to protect your Windows afflicted friends from viruses that you might accidentally pass on to them. ClamAV is the usual choice and it's also in the repositories. -- Terry Coles 64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-04-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
