From Windows to Linux for the average Joe

How to boot a Linux Mint or Ubuntu live CD.

2009-07-22T04:32:00.000-07:00

Now that we have burned our image of Linux we will be able to check that your existing computer is compatible with Linux by loading the Linux distribution from the CD without actually installing it. This allows you to try Linux without touching your current operating system. To check multimedia compatibility I suggest that you prepare a few audio and video files on your hard disk to test the audio and video subsystems. If you are testing with Linux Mint these can be in almost any format, but if you are using Ubuntu it is better to have then in the free OGM, OGG or WAV format, as with Ubuntu the non-free decoders have to be installed.

This will be a two part post. In the first part we see how to boot from the live CD, while in the second part we will see how to check that our computer is Linux compatible.

How to boot from the CD.

Place the linux Min or Ubuntu live CD in your drive and restart your computer. If your BIOS is correctly configured Linux should load when you restart your computer. If Windows loads instead this means that you Bios is not configured to start from the CD drive. This will need to be changed: restart your computer again, and when you see your computer manufacturer's logo press the "delete" key to enter the Bios. On some computers it's the F2 key instead. In any case you should see the mention "hit XXX to enter setup" XXX is the key you should push. Note that you may have to hit that key repeatedly, as it will only register during a specific part of the boot process. If you see the Windows logo it means that you were too slow and that you will have to restart the computer and start again.

Once in your bios try to find the "boot order" menu and ensure that CD/DVD is before (i.e. higher) than HDD. If you are using a nebook with an USB CD drive or thumb drive you may not have a CD/DVD option; If that is the case select USB instead. There should be instructions on how to navigate the menus on the screen, as this is different for various brands of computers I can hardly help much.

Once the change is done you need to "quit and save" the bios to make your changes effective. This is usually done by pressing the "F10" key.

After the changes are done restart the computer, and you should notice that it boots from the CD instead of the hard disk. You should be presented with a boot menu. Select the option to start the live CD. Let the computer boot up. This may take quite some time because a CD is not designed to be used as you boot device. Rest assured that if you actually install Linux on your hard drive it will boot much faster. If you see a login prompt with a countdown just wait for the countdown to finish and the boot will proceed. At some point you should hear the little Ubuntu or Mint "boot music" and finally be presented with the Ubuntu or Mint desktop. Congratulation, you successfully started Linux!

In the next episode we will see how to check that you computer hardware is supported by Linux.

How to download and burn a Linux Mint or Ubuntu live CD?

2009-06-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

Last week I told you that one of the nice things with Linux is that you do not have to buy a CD to obtain a copy to install on your computer, you can burn a Linux live CD yourself. This is a small guide on how to proceed:

1) Download the Linux live CD image

Most distributions have a site where you can download the Linux installation CD in the form of an "iso" or "img" file. The Linux Mint live CD image is around 700 Mb and may take a long time to download. The download page for the Ubuntu image is here and the one for Linux Mint is here. You can download the image file by clicking on the direct download link, but if you have a bittorrent client on your computer you are better to download the torrent version of the live CD image. Some distributions like Mandriva or the Linux Mint Universal edition also come as live DVD images. These include more software and / or languages on the disc, but the image takes a lot longer to download. I suggest you only use them if you need to install Linux in a language not included on the base CD as the other software can be downloaded afterward anyway.

2) Burn the Linux live CD Image with Nero

I will assume that most of you are currently using Windows. The most popular CD burning software that I know of is Nero Burning Rom, so I'll explain how to burn the image with that software first:

- Put a blank CD in your burner.
- Start Nero express

- Select that you want to burn a Disc image or saved project.

- Browse to your Linux live CD "iso" image (here it is Linux Mint 7) and click "OK".

- Check "Verify data on disc after burning" and click "Next" to start the burn.

OR

3) burn the Linux image with a freeware CD burning program.

If your burner or computer did not come with Nero, you can still burn the Linux live CD image you downloaded. First try to look in your current CD burning software to see if there is an option to burn an disc image. If you can't find any you will have to download and install some software to burn your CD image:

- Go download isorecorder here. Be careful to select the right download for your version of Windows.
- Once you have the msi double click to install the program.
- Put a blank CD in your burner.
- In Windows explorer, go to the folder where you downloaded the Linux CD image.
- If the file finishes in ".img" instead of ".iso" rename it so that it finishes in ".iso".
- Right click the iso file and select "copy image to CD" and follow the instructions.

Next time we'll see how to use the live CD we burned to start a Linux session and check that our hardware compatible with Linux.

From where do you get Linux?

2009-06-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

One of the questions that some beginners do worry about is "from where do I get Linux?" After all most people received their current operating system preinstalled on their computers or purchased a boxed copy of Windows at a retailer such as best buy or office depot. You can still do that with Linux, however there are also cheaper options.

1) purchasing a computer with Linux preinstalled

If your intention was to purchase a new computer at the same time you switched to Linux it possible to get Linux the same way that you got Windows: preinstalled on your new computer. Although Linux computer are not easy to find in brick and mortar shops, you do have a lot of choices online. Amazon sells an acceptable range of computers and netbooks pre-installed with Linux in the US. This gives you the advantage of dealing with a large retailer that you are probably familiar with, but you probably won't get much Linux support or advice from Amazon, and their range is limited.

If you would rather shop from a place that is specialized in Linux computers, there are a few online retailers that can provide you with computers designed for Linux. In the US Zareason has an excellent reputation for its Ubuntu computers, they even sell them with special Ubuntu keyboards on which the Windows key has been replaced by an Ubuntu Logo. If you live in Europe you should check out UK based EfficientPC.co.uk : they have a decent selection of computer that can be provided with several flavors of Ubuntu or even dual booting with Windows. They ship in the whole EU and have decent shipping charges. Finally, Dell is selling some models of computers pre-installed with Ubuntu, but only in some countries. Their Linux page is sometimes hard to find though.

2) Purchasing a boxed Linux distribution

It is possible to get boxed versions of Linux in shops just like there are versions of Windows. You should be able to find Ubuntu CDs at Best Buy and on Amazon. These are much cheaper than Windows installation CDs however, as the boxed edition of Ubuntu only costs $20. The advantage of a boxed edition is that often a few days of professional phone support are included with the purchase to help you get started.

3) Getting Linux with a book or magazine

Since Linux is free the books that teach you about Linux often include the whole distribution on a CD. The advantage is that if you intend to learn to administer Linux by reading that book you are sure that you will work with the version that the book was written for. The inconvenient is that often the books are one or two Linux releases out of date, so you do not get to use the latest and greatest version of your chosen distribution. Another option is to purchase a magazine about Linux that includes a distribution on the cover CD. These are relatively easy to find in most bookstores and newsagents and an easy way to get Linux if you are" not comfortable with online shopping. Often these magazines do not include large tutorials on how to install the distribution, so expect to rely on websites, blogs and forums for assistance.

4) Downloading Linux for free.

Most distributions allow you to download their product for free as a CD or DVD image. A CD image is a file that you can burn on a blank recordable CD to create a bootable Linux CD like the one you would find in a boxed edition of Linux or with a book. You can find the latest releases of Ubuntu here, and the Linux Mint images are here. The advantages of this method is that you always get the latest version of your chosen distribution and it does not cost anything beside the blank CD. The inconvenient is that you need a broadband connection, you will need to rely on online help for assistance (though Linux Mint provides you with a downloadable manual in pdf format) and that you need to know how to burn the downloaded image to a blank CD. Do not worry though, as burning a Linux image will be the topic of next week's post.

What is the best Linux distribution for beginners

2009-06-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

One of the questions I see the most in forums and sites like Yahoo Answers is : "What is the best Linux distribution for beginners?" or "What is the easiest Linux distribution?" Well, unlike what you may think these questions are not that easy to answer, as the easiest Linux distribution is not necessarily the best for all beginners because other factors like the availability of support and commercial applications availability have to be taken into account.

For the title of easiest Linux distribution for a beginner I would suggest Linux Mint.

Linux Mint is actually based on Ubuntu Linux, but simplified for users coming from Windows. The user interface has been tweaked to look and behave more like Windows. Most common applications like the flash pligina as well as video and audio decoders come pre-installed with the base distribution, meaning less things to configure for the beginner user. Linux Mint has a very polished software installer where hundreds of applications can be downloaded and installed in one click. You can also view a screenshot of the application that you are about install so that you can see what the application is about. Furthermore all free Ubuntu applications can also be installed on Linux Mint thanks to another installation utility: the package manager. On the downside there is no possibility to buy paid support and no application store for commercial applications. A great advantage for users that come from the Windows world is that thanks to Wubi you can install Linux Mint alongside Windows: it is like installing a Windows application. Upgrading Linux Mint to the next version is less intuitive than with Ubuntu, a design decision to ensure that the user understand that there is always a risk of problems during upgrades. This is not an issue if you intend to stick with your first Linux installation for a long time, but can be a problem if you want to upgrade your software from time to time. Should you run into troubles the community is great for providing help but is smaller than the one of Ubuntu.

To get a more in-depth look at Linux Mint i suggest that you check out my review on Tech-no-media.

The second best Linux distribution for beginners is Ubuntu Linux, even if it is not the easiest.

Even if it's not the easiest distribution Ubuntu is still easy to install and configure for the beginner. Like Mint you can even install it like an application in Windows. Once installed you can easily add more applications from within the add remove programs applet of Ubuntu because this distribution has the best selection of native Linux applications available. When a new release of Ubuntu is available it is easy to upgrade to the new release thanks to the Ubuntu upgrade manager, although this is sometimes risky. Because the community is large you can also easily get support and advice should you encounter a problem, the Ubuntu forums are in my opinion the best of any distribution for beginners seeking help. If you want to buy commercial software like PowerDVD or some professional phone support these are available through Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu. In the disadvantage column there is the fact that some common applications like adobe flash or video codecs must be installed manually, although it is easy to do thanks to the restricted extras package. Another thing that makes Ubuntu less desirable is that the user interface is somewhat different from Windows. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent user interface, but for beginners this may be disturbing. Despite this I still consider Ubuntu as one of the best Linux distribution for beginners.

To conclude I would say this: the easiest Linux distribution to install and use for beginners is Linux Mint, however if you want professional support or commercial applications the best Linux distribution for a beginner is Ubuntu. If you want an easy install "just to try Linux" you should use Linux Mint.

5 disadvantages of Linux

2009-06-09T01:48:00.000-07:00

When someone want to switch from Windows to Linux, he or she has a tendency to only think about the advantages of Linux and not think about the disadvantages. There is a bit of a "the grass is always greener at the other side of the fence" effect at play here. Most people have very good reasons to switch from Windows to Linux, but before actually switching it is important to review the disadvantages of Linux as well as the advantages. So what are the things that Linux does NOT do well?

- Linux does not run most commercial software. If you have some piece of commercial software ( i. e. software you purchased) on which you are very dependent, you may have a problem with Linux. Most software and game publishers do not yet have a Linux version of all their products, although the situation is improving. This disadvantage of Linux can be offset by two thing. First for most commercial applications there is a free equivalent application that runs on Linux. These equivalent applications are a good alternative in the vast majority of cases but they do not always have all the features of the commercial product they replace and do usually have a different interface. Initially you will need some time to get used to the new application. Another solution is to use WINE. WINE is a Linux program that allows you to use Windows applications and games under Linux. The disadvantage is that WINE is often difficult to use for new Linux users and does not work with all Windows applications or games.

- Less off-line help is available for Linux. If you look online you will find a lot of people willing to help you with any Linux problem you may have, probably more so than for Windows. Most Linux manufacturers such as canonical, the makers Ubuntu Linux, also allow you to purchase professional phone support for their version of Linux. If you require someone to pass by you house however, local Linux support is harder to find than help with Windows. In most cities there is usually at least one local company or support group close by that can help, but this can be disadvantage of Linux if you live in a rural or isolated area. On the other hand, the people supporting Linux are usually more experienced and knowledgeable than their Windows equivalent because a lot of technicians started on Windows and moved to Linux later, so once you have found help the quality of the support you get may be better than with Windows.

- Some re-training can be required. Although modern Linux distributions operate with a "point and click" interface, some of the underlying concepts can be different from the Windows world. This means that using Linux is very similar to Windows, but that maintenance tasks such as installing new applications can be somewhat different. If you have extensive Windows knowledge you may have to un-learn some habits and acquire others, which may be frustrating. Maintaining a Linux computer is actually easier than maintaining a Windows one, it is simply different, so if you had little computer maintenance knowledge to start with this may not be much of a disadvantage.

- Linux does currently not play Blu-ray discs. Well actually it's the other way around, it's the manufacturers of the Blu ray discs that forbid the creation of a Blu-ray player software like WinDVD for Linux. It is still sometimes possible to extract the file for playback on Linux but it is difficult and cumbersome! If you made an informed decision when buying your Blu-ray discs you probably knew that unlike DVDs you would only be able to play them on a very limited number of player (some Windows PCs and stand-alone Blu-ray players). Some people however assumed that they would be able to use them with the same flexibility as DVDs. This is not the case. For me this is not an inconvenient as I find Blu-ray discs too expensive and not flexible enough, so I don't buy them, but if you already have a large collections of Blu-ray discs that you wanted to play on your computer this can be a disadvantage of Linux.

- Not all hardware is supported. One of the problems of all operating systems is hardware support. Windows Vista for example does not support a lot of older peripheral. The Apple OSX operating system do not support some of the equipment designed for Windows PC. The same is true for Linux. Don't get me wrong: Linux has excellent hardware support, but that doesn't means that all your equipment is guaranteed to work. The most recent hardware is often not supported right away, so if you have a brand new computer that was designed for Windows Vista some of your equipment may prove to be too recent for Linux. Do not worry, compatibility of your existing computer is easy to check with a Linux Live CD. The same way that you need to look for and install drivers for Windows you may have to look for a solution or driver to make problematic hardware work with Linux. The good new is that most of the common hardware works out of the bow with Linux, but when something does not work it is usually harder to fix for new users than it would be under Windows.

As you can see Linux has some disadvantages over Windows, however the extent to which these disadvantages impact you will vary a lot depending on your situation and you tech savvy. If you have a lot of computer knowledge and learn new applications very fast the first 2 disadvantages will not impact you much. If you are a true beginner with little computer knowledge on the other hand then these can be real problems. In most cases these disadvantages are not a deal breaker however, but it is better that you start your journey to Linux with a basic knowledge of the trade-ins required when switching from Windows to Linux.

To get tech news for more advanced users check out Tech-no-media

What is a Linux Distribution?

2009-06-02T01:48:00.000-07:00

The first thing that puzzles someone new to Linux is the concept of Linux distribution. When you want to get Linux on your computer, what you install is actually a Linux "distribution" that contains a Linux kernel (see here for a definition of kernel) and some applications like Firefox (web browser) and Open Office (word processor and spreadsheet). There are several distribution available for you choose from, and one of the the first decision you will have to make is to choose your Linux distribution. To help you understand what is a Linux distribution I will take the Windows world as an example.

Currently most of you are probably using Windows, and that copy of Windows probably came installed on you computer when you purchased it. On your computer there was a little sticker explaining which version of Windows was on the computer. Common Windows versions include: Windows XP home edition, XP professional, XP starter, XP media center, Windows Vista basic, Vista premium, Vista professional, Vista ultimate. Soon there will also be Windows 7 starter, Premium, Business etc... These would be the Windows equivalent of a Linux distribution.

What is a Linux Distribution? It is a version of Linux that you install on your computer!
All of these are actually "Windows" and contain the Windows kernel that allows them to run applications designed for Windows. They also contain some applications like internet explorer or Windows media center. Sometimes the difference between the version is the user interface, sometime it's the applications that come bundled with that version of Windows, sometime it is how recent the version of Windows is. It can also happen that applications designed for one version '(e.g. Windows XP) don't work with another version (e.g. Windows Vista).

What is a Linux distribution? It is a Linux kernel bundled with an user interface and some applications!

In the Windows world the choice you had was probably limited to two or three options. The problem is that all the versions of Windows are sold to PC manufacturers by only one company, Microsoft, and they try to limit consumer choice to only a few possibilities.

In the Linux world there are several companies providing Linux distributions, each competing in a free market. This means that there is much more choice, many more versions of Linux than there are versions of Windows. Some distributions have specialized uses. For example the Linux distribution Mythbuntu is the equivalent of Windows XP media center edition, a version of Linux expecialy made for home theater computers (i.e. computers that you connect to your TV). Others like the Ubuntu Linux distribution try to provide the best all purpose experience for the home user and would be the equivalent of Windows XP home. Kubuntu offers the same home user experience but with an advanced 3D user interface and would be the equivalent of Vista home Premium. SUSE, a Linux distribution for the professional user and the enterprise, would be the equivalent of Windows XP professional. Some Linux distributions don't have an equivalent in the Windows world e. g. Ubuntu Studio which is a Linux distribution made for musicians.

Like there are applications designed for Windows XP or Windows Vista, some Linux applications are "compiled" for Ubuntu or SUSE, and these don't always work on the other distributions. Most big applications are common to most distributions however. For example Firefox and OpenOffice are available on almost all distributions the same way that Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office are available on all versions of Windows.

To answer the original question of "what is a Linux distribution", I'll conclude by saying that it is just a version of the Linux kernel bundled with a graphic interface and some applications, the same way that there are home and professional versions of Windows. The biggest difference is that there are more Linux distributions than there are versions of Windows. In a later post I will present the most common Linux distribution and explain to which kind of usage they are best suited.

In the previous post I have asked why you wanted to switch from Windows to Linux and highlighted a lot of very good reasons? In the next post I'll do the opposite and highlight a few of the disadvantages of Linux, so that you can decide if some of these could be deal-breakers for you.

If you want to know more about Linux distributions I suggest you also read the following article on Beginlinux: The Many Flavors of Linux

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9 reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

2009-05-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Before we start our journey to Linux land there is one question you need to ask yourself: why do YOU want to switch from Windows to Linux? What do you expect Linux to achieve? You don't want to spend the time and effort learning about Linux just to realize that changing your operating system to Linux does not solve the problem you have or does not deliver the benefits you expected.

I will list 9 of the most common reasons to switch from Windows to Linux and try to explain in which cases the switch to Linux has a good chance of delivering the expected benefits.

- Your computer is getting slower!
It is a known fact that the Windows operating system degrades over time (don't worry, I won't explain why to a poor beginner: let's just say it's technical). As a result a computer that seemed fast 3 years ago can now feel like a snail. Installing Linux will fix the problem permanently as Linux does not degrades over time like Windows. Note that you can also fix the problem for a few years by having Windows and all your applications reinstalled from scratch, so this is no in itself a reason to switch to Linux. The advantage of Linux over Windows here is that Linux fixes the problem permanently.

- You are fed up with viruses and spyware and you heard Linux does not have any!
This is one of the best reasons to switch from Windows to Linux! It is indeed more difficult to write viruses and spyware for Linux. This means that currently there are no Linux viruses out there and that an Antivirusis not required once you install Linux.

- Your old printer or scanner don't work with the latest version of Windows!
Windows Vista, which now comes with most PCs, does not work well with a lot of older peripherals such as printers or scanners. Linux usually works much better with old equipment and is compatible with more hardware than Windows Vista. We will show you in a future post how you can very easily check if all your equipment is Linux compatible. If some of your equipment does not work with Linux out of the box however, then Linux is maybe not for you right now. If you are in the market for a new computer and you know that your peripherals won't work with Windows Vista, this can be a good reason to buy a computer with Linux installed.

- You have a computer without Windows and don't want to buy Windows
One of the advantages of Linux over Windows is that Linux is free of charge, so you can install it without paying anything. This can be a good reason to choose Linux but you have to be aware that you will require a little bit of effort to adapt yourself to Linux at first, so don't expect to just get "Windows for free". Linux is more like : a bit of effort and then "Windows" for free.

- You want to run a Linux application.
It may sound strange but I think that this is not a very good reason to switch from Windows to Linux. Most programs available for Linux are also available for Windows. If it is not the case an alternative program can often be found on Windows.

- You want to (re)use an old computer.
If the original operating system of your computer is Windows XP, still fits your need, isn't full of viruses and has not degraded I would suggest keeping it as it is. If is an old operating system like Windows 2000 or Windows Me it probably does not support newer applications and peripherals. Also it will probably have degraded. In that case installing Linux can be a good solution to give the PC a second youth. Note however that if you have a very old Windows NT4 or Windows 98 machine it is probably better to replace the computer completely. Nowadays there are very cheap Netbooks that will work better than your old computer and will be more portable.

- You had problems with Windows activation.

One of the inconvenient of Windows (and some Windows software) is that it is linked to the physical components of your computer. If you had the computer repaired or upgraded you may have run into trouble with Windows activation. Even if the problems are usually solved with a phone call it is annoying and can undermine your confidence in the reliability of Windows. Since Linux does not require any for of activation this can be a good reason to switch from Windows to Linux.

- You do not like the new Vista interface of Windows.

With Linux you can choose what your computer desktop looks like to a much greater extent than with Windows, so this can be a good reason to switch. Be aware however that the interface is not exactly like Windows XP, even if it can be made to look and behave a lot like it.

- You are curious about Linux.

In my opinion this is one of the best reasons to try Linux. Since it is now possible to safely install Linux in addition of Windows why not try it just to see what it's like?

As you can see there are many reasons to switch from Windows to Linux, some good, some bad. What you need to realize is that a lot of things are better in Linux than Windows, but that better also means different. You should not expect Linux to be an exact copy of Windows. If you recognize yourself in some of the good reasons above I suggest that you continue reading this blog! Next week I will explain what is a Linux distribution, something you will want to know in order to get the right Linux for you. The week after I will present some of the disadvantages of Linux.

UPDATE: Brian Reich made a very complete reply regarding my 9 reasons to switch to Linux, and he raised some very good points. It is well worth a look, but be aware that the language is sometimes more technical than the one I use on this blog.

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What is Linux for beginners

2009-05-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

In the first tutorial of this blog I explained that this blog was for complete Linux beginners and that I would explain everything in simple terms.

The first question to answer is of course what is Linux.

If you Google what is Linux the typical answers are:

- an open-source version of the UNIX operating system (Princeton)
- Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. (Wikipedia)

Did you fully understand that? No? Good, that means this blog is for you! What I actually will explain is: What is Linux for the complete beginner?

The good answer for you is probably: Linux is a free program that you install on your computer to replace Windows.

This is probably what you heard, and in my opinion this is the best definition of what Linux is for a beginner. If you wanted you could stop reading this tutorial here, but if you want to understand a little better what Linux is there are two concepts in the "official" definition of Linux that you should understand.

First Linux is an operating system.

Well, what is an operating system?

An operating system is a group of computer programs (so a system) that allows you to operate your computer. This operating system provides you with an interface to use the computer (pointers, icons, windows etc...) and allows you to use applications like a Web browser or an e-mail reader. The operating system also allows all the parts of the computer such as the screen, the printer or the scanner to work together thanks to small programs called drivers. Since all computers require an operating system to work your current computer was probably delivered with a version of the Windows operating system such as Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7.

There are three common families of operating system: the Windows, the MacOSesand the Linuxes. All three families of operating system perform the same basic task: they let you operate your computer, but each family do it in a slightly different way, and each has it's own applications and drivers. You can change the operating system that your computer is using between Linux and Windows without too much trouble nowadays, and we'll see in the next post the reasons that may push you to change from Windows to Linux

So What is Linux? Linux is first a family of operating systems.

Second Linux is a kernel.

A kernel is the core of your computer's software, the heart of your operating system. It is the program that makes all the applications and drivers work with each other, the big boss, the CEO, the leader. What makes a Linux operating system a member of the Linux family is that the kernel program in charge of running your computer is a version of the Linux kernel. This kernel is the part that is common to all Linux distributions (I'll explain what a distribution is in a later tutorial). Different Linuxes can have different applications, different looks, different sizes (from the DVD to the thumb drive), the one thing they all have in common is a Linux kernel.

So What is Linux? Linux is a kernel program.

Now that you know better what Linux is let's go back to the first definition: Linux is a program that replaces Windows. The natural question is: Why should I replace Windows by Linux? I will answer that question in next week's tutorial: 9 reasons to switch from Windows to Linux

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This blog is an online linux tutorial for beginners

2009-05-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

This blog is an online tutorial for the complete Linux beginner, the non technical person, who is dissatisfied by the Windows operating system that came with is or her computer, but is afraid to try Linux.

The problem with most blogs, articles and online tutorials that have been published about switching from the Windows operating system to a better alternative such as Linux is that they usually assume a fairly high level of technical knowledge.

This blog is different!

This blog is more like Linux For Dummies!

This blog's online tutorials assume that you are a complete Linux beginner, that you can use the Windows operating system that came with your computer, install a new application or two, change your wallpaper, use the web and e-mail and that it! No technical knowledge, no experience editing obscure settings, no tweaking, just the expertise of the average user.

The time when you needed above average technical knowledge to install Linux is now gone! With modern Linux such as Ubuntu everything is as easy to use as Windows (even easier in many cases), but what is required is a simple, step by step online tutorial to explain to Linux beginners what installing and using Linux is about. I will not start with a tutorial on which Linux distribution to choose, I will first explain to you what a Linux distribution actually is! Often similar things are called by different names in the Linux and Windows world, and this confuses beginners. In my tutorials I will translate these terms in a simple, understandable language for you. I will sometimes ask and answer simple questions to guide you to the right Linux solution for you (which may be to stay with Windows, but I doubt it).

I will try to publish around one post per week, so come back next week for the answers to the first question: What is Linux for beginners.

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