Comments by Chris at end > On Saturday 02 April 2005 19:28, Chris BONDE wrote: > > Christian Einfeldt > > > > I am planning on updating my machine. I have a 2000 Jan one. I > > have been thinking of having 'dual boot', that is, Windoze XP home > > and a Linux variety. However, there appears to be more varieties > > than enough. What are people using, what is a stable one, and why > > would I want to do such to mix up this poor old mind? > > Hi Chris, > > This is a good question, or rather, two good questions. I am an > attorney who is a relatively simple end user. So I certainly > appreciate your concern about trying novel things that might be > confusing. > > I'll answer your second question first. Why would you want to do a > dual boot? As much as I like Linux and open source, I would say that > the answer to your question is maybe you DON'T want to do a dual boot > at all, unless you have a good Linux Users Group (LUG, for short) near > you to help you out; or unless you want to learn a lot of new stuff > about computers. > > Learning to use Linux is helpful for several reasons. It doesn't get > viruses, really. Theoretically, I have heard that there are viruses > for Linux out there, but Linux has so many built in defenses, it's > hard for a virus to spread rapidly as with Windows, so in four years > of using Linux on multiple computers all connected to the Internet, I > have never gotten a virus. > > Another good reason to use Linux is that it is more stable and > doesn't crash. Occasionally, I have had a problem with my desktop > crashing, but that is not really Linux crashing, that is the desktop. > So it is quicker to reboot, because you only have to reboot the > desktop, which is much faster than rebooting a whole operating system. > > > Another good reason to move to Linux is that there is lots of good > free software available for you, and you don't have to pay for it, > unless you need special services, such as helping you to install > stuff. There is a very, very simple Linux distribution (called a > "distro" for short) called Linspire, that has a special feature called > Click n Run (CNR for short) which lets you easily install new > software. But that distro won't let you dual boot, so you would have > to move completely over to Linspire Linux. > > I have a dual boot on my notebook computer. The reason that I have a > dual boot is that Windows requires updates too frequently, Windows get > viruses, easily, and all the other stuff I mentioned above. So I > decided that rather than risk Windows getting a virus, I just > installed SuSE 9.2. SuSE, like Linspire, will do just about > everything you need to do as easily as Windows. The difference is > that Linspire is much, much easier to install alone, but SuSE will > allow you to do a dual boot, which Linspire will not. > > To answer your first question, about which distro is best for dual > booting, my vote is SuSE. > > If you want to move completely over to Linux, I would recommend > going to Walmart on line and looking for a Linspire computer. I have > found that Linspire has a very tight, helpful community, which is key > to using any kind of computer. Plus Linspire has CNR, which is very > easy to install stuff. > > Some people say that Linspire is a bit more expensive than the other > distros, but IMHO, that is false. I usually spend about $50.00 USD > per year for SuSE Linux upgrades. (All figures here are in US > dollars). Linspire's CNR service is $50.00 per year. For $89.00, you > can get the newest Linspire PLUS a year's worth of CNR service. SuSE > pro (don't get the home version) costs $89.00, too, but it's installer > is more complicated. > > If you are confident with computers, there are lots of free Linux > distros. Xandros has an update service like Linspire, and they are > also about $50.00 per year for that service, but I *think* that > Xandros is free. The only reason that I haven't used Xandros is that > I just fell into using Linspire because there is a store in Canda, > called Sub500.com, which sells pre-configured Linspire notebooks, and > so it was easy to buy a Linspire notebook pre-configured. > > Other good, free, easy to use distros include Mepis, which is very > easy to install (don't know about dual boot) and Knoppix (I also don't > know about dual boot there). > > My dual boot on my IBM thinkpad with SuSE Linux and Windows was put > there by a tech friend of mine who does that kind of thing for a > living with a law firm. So I suggest that the best thing to do is to > join a local LUG (Linux Users Group) or hang out on the Linspire forum > or some other distro's forum, and see what distro you like best. But > don't attempt to do the dual boot yourself. You will probably get > frustrated, and then you will get a bad picture of Linux. It's better > to either stick with Windows (yuk); or back up all of your data and > install Linpsire 5.0 over Windows; or go to Walmart or Sub500.com and > consider buying a Linspire 5.0 computer. > > BTW, don't get Linspire if you don't have at least DSL. If you just > have dial up, you will get frustrated with Linspire, because it will > take too long to download stuff. > > I'm a simple end user, and I moved over to Linux, and I'm really glad > that I did, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of > friends. Fortunately, the open source community is very willing to > help you move over to GNU/Linux. > > BTW, although some people call Linux just Linux, the full name of > Linux is GNU/Linux, because a big chunk of the operating system is > actually GNU, which is a repeating name (recursive acronym) called > GNU's not unix. That whole thing is confusing to lots of people, so > many people just call the whole operating system Linux, although you > could say that's technically incorrect. It really depends on whom > your talking to. > Christian: Your comments about you being a simple end user should be probed a bit. After reading your comments, I would say that you are far from such, very far.
I donot under stand the separation of OS and desktop. I thought that there were part and parcel of each other. I was planning on the dual boot so that I could try to learn Linux in what ever form. There is no LUG near by. It is difficult to find anyone who knows much about MS Windoze. My little knowledge of it is much more than most of the people here. The people who know something are trying to make a business of it. The local small college has courses for Seniors, short one free, longer ones fee. However, all the software is MS. It is the predominant one. The reason for learning Linux, for me, was to find out so that I could start encouraging people to use it. I am trying to learn OOo. From there I shall try to encourage the use thereof in this area. One of the business, a married couple, was where I first learned about OOo etc. He will help me with some of my hardware, but I shall have to pay as he is earning his living that way. But I think that I shall be receiving more help than usual, since he doesnot like the constrictor hold of MS. Chris (not short for Christian nor Christopher)
