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moving to linux?

 
Greenhorn
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Hi,

I'm a bit of an IT beginner but even I'm frustrated by the limitations of Vista on my laptop. I'm comfortable enough using OSX on my Mac and am comfortable with command line stuff, etc. It's got me thinking about putting a linux system on the laptop, but I'm not entirely sure where to start, what to choose, etc. I guess what is really prompting this is that I need to use scientific software for Uni and it just won't work with Vista. I could backtrack to using an XP OEM but I'm wondering if I should just bite the bullet and convert to linux. Trouble is I've always thought that linux really is for IT experts... I don't *really* know what I'm doing, but with clear instructions I can usually learn.

I probably sound like a right idiot, but advice would be appreciated...

Thanks,

A.
 
Bartender
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A good place to start is our Unix and Linux FAQ.
After reading that, if you still need some help, try our Unix and Linux forum.
 
Ranch Hand
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Linux is no longer a geek toy, Linux is for everyone now Installing Fedora or Ubuntu is so easy. What you need to do is just boot up the Live CD and then click install to install to the harddisk. If you can't live without Windows, have a dual boot. If you just want to experiment Linux, install Linux as a virtual machine. That should give you ample time to familiarize yourself with Linux. Pick a right distro. The link provided by Joe Ess is a good start. I use Ubuntu 8.10 and Fedora 10 and I find both of them are pretty good for newbies.

Most of the time, you can accomplish most of the stuff in Linux with the GUI. But, I recommend you learn to use CLI once you get familiarized with Linux.

Have fun with Linux!
 
author
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I installed Ubuntu 8.10 on my HP laptop (dv2000 with Vista Home Premium). Everything worked pretty much out of the box (though installing the NVidia drivers was a little tricky), including wireless networking support. I have been very happy with it.

Vista has a built-in mechanism to shrink your partition and free up room on your hard drive, so you don't need a separate repartitioning utility.

Also, for every problem I have run into (example: commercial DVDs would not play) I have been able to google for a solution.
 
Bartender
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One of the most user friendly Linux I know is Knoppix ,it comes with almost everything bundled including Xine so you just plug and play it.
 
With a little knowledge, a cast iron skillet is non-stick and lasts a lifetime.
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