aaronbleop

So what exactly is a virtualbox or virtual machine? Is it different than dual booting? I'm pretty sold on Arch right now, so i'm just confused as to how i should go about putting it on my laptop. Should i install it on my SSD with my Windows 10? or the HDD storage? Should i use a virtualmachine? It's hard to know where to start and ask questions about this process when I don't know the seemingly major things it involves.

First off, I'd like to apologize if I've posted this in the wrong category; I figured it would either be programming or operating systems and that the latter was more appropriate. Anyways, I would like to start learning how to program, and was just wondering if dual booting a form of Linux with windows 10 is something I should be considering? I'm a computer engineering student (atm, I've also been thinking about software), so I routinely use CAD programs, Maple, etc. Do I need to work with a Linux based platform in order to learn programming? Is Dual booting the best route? What are virtualmachines? Essentially, I'm looking for a beginners guide to getting started with experimenting with Linux, if I need to and how I should go about it if I do. I wouldn't be using my main rig, I would dual boot my new laptop (Lenovo y700 i5 model). I'd love to hear anybody's' thoughts on what I should do

I, like it seems so many other people are doing, have been debating whether or not I should buy the dell inspiron 7559 or the lenovo y700. I like the look of the dell better but the lenovo touch pad and keyboard is seemingly MUCH beter. I also haven't heard as many stories of the lenovo, over time, not handling games as well (over heating etc). I'm looking at getting the dell with the 256gb ssd and an i5 for 779ish USD or the Lenovo with an i5 and an HDD and SSD for 750ish USD. i'll be playing games like bf4, chivalry and csgo, but i'll also be using CAD programs for school. Most people go with the lenovo with the i7, but it's a decent amount more. Any thoughts on what i should do?