What so “ SPECIAL “ About Linux Operating System?

[Itnozetr3]

Hello everyone, I wanted to know more about Linux, from how they operate, is it flexible enough for non programmers to use it, and also the pros and the cons of it, Thanks. 

[Itnozetr3]

3 minutes ago, Masters2150 said:

Do you enjoy booting up an OS everyone says is the most user friendly only to find simple things like Bluetooth just don't work? How about most of the software you enjoy using  just not working and must be switched for obvious poorly made knockoffs?

 

If you said YES, then WELCOME TO LINUX!

Probbably No, but i still wanted to try new things to me.

[aisle9]

That's like walking onto a Kia lot and saying, "What makes literally Kia different from a Ford Escort?". There are dozens of different flavors of Linux. Some are for only the most advanced of users or users with a specific use case (TinyCore, CLI distros, Tails), and some are designed to look and feel like Windows or Mac interfaces to make them "easier" to get into (Ubuntu, Debian, Zorin, Pop, etc). There's a learning curve to each, but with a distro like Mint and WINE installed, it's just a solid experience that can be quicker and smoother than Windows without all the data collection.

[Itnozetr3]

Just now, aisle9 said:

That's like walking onto a Kia lot and saying, "What makes Kia different from a Ford Escort?". There are dozens of different flavors of Linux. Some are for only the most advanced of users or users with a specific use case (TinyCore, CLI distros, Tails), and some are designed to look and feel like Windows or Mac interfaces to make them "easier" to get into (Ubuntu, Debian, Zorin, Pop, etc). There's a learning curve to each, but with a distro like Mint and WINE installed, it's just a solid experience that can be quicker and smoother than Windows without all the data collection.

Ahh alright alright..

[trag1c]

The biggest benefit of Linux is customization. I use Linux all day, every day in my work life and personal life. I work as a software developer in embedded/industrial systems. Part of what I do is design and build our own custom Linux OS's (distros). I can customize the OS so that it can fit on a device with only a few MBs of storage to a full fledge desktop OS thats several GBs big. That same customization applies to the software that I include with the OS. If there's a problem with it, I can fix it or find someone else's patch for it.

 

As far as the average joe using Linux, that gets a bit tougher since the user interfaces are simply not there yet. I would say you don't need to be super technically competent to use Linux but you do need how to actually research problems and diagnose/problem solve which is, unfortunately, a lost skill these days. I would also say that you can't fear the command line, yet again you don't need to be an expert (in fact you be quite incompetent) but you do have to use it eventually. Once you get a grasp of how Linux works (and the command line) you kind of fall in love with it.

[Gokul_P]

25 minutes ago, itnomink said:

Hello everyone, I wanted to know more about Linux, from how they operate, is it flexible enough for non programmers to use it, and also the pros and the cons of it, Thanks. 

Simple Differences

1) 99% Linux Distros Doesn't collect user data 

2) It is free

3) Linux Distros are like lego blocks you can change whatever you want (Be careful it could completely nuke the distro if you are not careful) 

4) It has very low Resource footprint compared to windows so a much smoother experience on low-mid range systems. (Depends on the distro)

 

The differances will depend on the distro itself so You should check for that rather than comparing Linux as a whole 

[Itnozetr3]

13 minutes ago, trag1c said:

The biggest benefit of Linux is customization. I use Linux all day, every day in my work life and personal life. I work as a software developer in embedded/industrial systems. Part of what I do is design and build our own custom Linux OS's (distros). I can customize the OS so that it can fit on a device with only a few MBs of storage to a full fledge desktop OS thats several GBs big. That same customization applies to the software that I include with the OS. If there's a problem with it, I can fix it or find someone else's patch for it.

 

As far as the average joe using Linux, that gets a bit tougher since the user interfaces are simply not there yet. I would say you don't need to be super technically competent to use Linux but you do need how to actually research problems and diagnose/problem solve which is, unfortunately, a lost skill these days. I would also say that you can't fear the command line, yet again you don't need to be an expert (in fact you be quite incompetent) but you do have to use it eventually. Once you get a grasp of how Linux works (and the command line) you kind of fall in love with it.

 

12 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

Simple Differences

1) 99% Linux Distros Doesn't collect user data 

2) It is free

3) Linux Distros are like lego blocks you can change whatever you want (Be careful it could completely nuke the distro if you are not careful) 

4) It has very low Resource footprint compared to windows so a much smoother experience on low-mid range systems. (Depends on the distro)

 

The differances will depend on the distro itself so You should check for that rather than comparing Linux as a whole 

Alright then, all of it sounds like fun! I would try it some day if i decided to test it. Thanks!

[Itnozetr3]

25 minutes ago, trag1c said:

The biggest benefit of Linux is customization. I use Linux all day, every day in my work life and personal life. I work as a software developer in embedded/industrial systems. Part of what I do is design and build our own custom Linux OS's (distros). I can customize the OS so that it can fit on a device with only a few MBs of storage to a full fledge desktop OS thats several GBs big. That same customization applies to the software that I include with the OS. If there's a problem with it, I can fix it or find someone else's patch for it.

 

As far as the average joe using Linux, that gets a bit tougher since the user interfaces are simply not there yet. I would say you don't need to be super technically competent to use Linux but you do need how to actually research problems and diagnose/problem solve which is, unfortunately, a lost skill these days. I would also say that you can't fear the command line, yet again you don't need to be an expert (in fact you be quite incompetent) but you do have to use it eventually. Once you get a grasp of how Linux works (and the command line) you kind of fall in love with it.

 

24 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

Simple Differences

1) 99% Linux Distros Doesn't collect user data 

2) It is free

3) Linux Distros are like lego blocks you can change whatever you want (Be careful it could completely nuke the distro if you are not careful) 

4) It has very low Resource footprint compared to windows so a much smoother experience on low-mid range systems. (Depends on the distro)

 

The differances will depend on the distro itself so You should check for that rather than comparing Linux as a whole 

But first, what i need to do before changing the operating system from windows to any linux? For example linux mint.

[LloydLynx]

1 hour ago, itnomink said:

 

But first, what i need to do before changing the operating system from windows to any linux? For example linux mint.

First, make sure all the programs you want/need are compatible with Linux. Then backup your data to another drive, as your main drive will be completely wiped to install Linux on.

 

Next you need to download the ISO file for the distro you want. An ISO file is a many gigabyte big file that is the operating system you want to install. For example, I downloaded LMDE5 earlier today and got a file named lmde-5-cinnamon-64bit.iso

 

Next, you'll need to put the ISO on a USB stick. It's not like dragging the file onto the stick. You need to format the ISO file onto the drive with a program like balenaEtcher. There are lots of other programs that can do this too. This USB stick you created is called bootable media. 

 

Then you need to boot your computer from the bootable media you created. Different computers will have different keys to open the boot menu at start up. You'll need to google it for your specific computer. Not every computer will call it a "boot menu" either. This is the most confusing step because every computer is different and requires googling.

 

Once you computer is booted from the bootable media, you should see that your choosen distro is now running on your computer. But it's not installed yet. There should be an icon or app named something like "install" or "installer" or some other similar name. It's different for every distro. You open the installer, run through the steps, choose to install onto your main drive(if you're replacing Windows), and go through any more steps there are. When finished, you'll be waiting a some time while the installer installs the distro onto your computer. 

 

After the installer is finished, turn off your computer and remove the install media. Then turn it back on and Linux is installed.

 

- Just to give you an idea what the procedure looks like

[Itnozetr3]

1 hour ago, LloydLynx said:

First, make sure all the programs you want/need are compatible with Linux. Then backup your data to another drive, as your main drive will be completely wiped to install Linux on.

 

Next you need to download the ISO file for the distro you want. An ISO file is a many gigabyte big file that is the operating system you want to install. For example, I downloaded LMDE5 earlier today and got a file named lmde-5-cinnamon-64bit.iso

 

Next, you'll need to put the ISO on a USB stick. It's not like dragging the file onto the stick. You need to format the ISO file onto the drive with a program like balenaEtcher. There are lots of other programs that can do this too. This USB stick you created is called bootable media. 

 

Then you need to boot your computer from the bootable media you created. Different computers will have different keys to open the boot menu at start up. You'll need to google it for your specific computer. Not every computer will call it a "boot menu" either. This is the most confusing step because every computer is different and requires googling.

 

Once you computer is booted from the bootable media, you should see that your choosen distro is now running on your computer. But it's not installed yet. There should be an icon or app named something like "install" or "installer" or some other similar name. It's different for every distro. You open the installer, run through the steps, choose to install onto your main drive(if you're replacing Windows), and go through any more steps there are. When finished, you'll be waiting a some time while the installer installs the distro onto your computer. 

 

After the installer is finished, turn off your computer and remove the install media. Then turn it back on and Linux is installed.

 

- Just to give you an idea what the procedure looks like

My games from steam are stored on my HDD, but my startup is on a SSD. I know i must wipe the SSD, but what about the HDD? Do i need to wipe it too?

[LloydLynx]

8 minutes ago, itnomink said:

My games from steam are stored on my HDD, but my startup is on a SSD. I know i must wipe the SSD, but what about the HDD? Do i need to wipe it too?

No. Just leave the HDD alone and you'll be able to access it in Linux. 

[Itnozetr3]

1 hour ago, LloydLynx said:

No. Just leave the HDD alone and you'll be able to access it in Linux. 

Will there be an option to wipe the drive from the linux installation?

[LloydLynx]

5 hours ago, itnomink said:

Will there be an option to wipe the drive from the linux installation?

Yes. The drive partitioning and stuff will all be automatic on user friendly distros. All you need to do is select which drive it installs to when that step comes. 

[ESBeesmark]

There's nothing special about it.  It's just another same-but-different desktop operating system like Windows or Mac OS

 

• It is better for some uses than other OS's
• It is worse for some uses than other OS's

 

Get VirtualBox, fire it up and install Linux for yourself and have a look around.  Debian, Fedora or Linux Mint would be a good starter distribution to run on your virtual machine or you can install the Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10 & 11

 

There are also the BSD's, Open, Free and Net

 

If you're going to be working in the IT field, Linux is good to learn

[Itnozetr3]

1 hour ago, ESBeesmark said:

There's nothing special about it.  It's just another same-but-different desktop operating system like Windows or Mac OS

 

• It is better for some uses than other OS's
• It is worse for some uses than other OS's

 

Get VirtualBox, fire it up and install Linux for yourself and have a look around.  Debian, Fedora or Linux Mint would be a good starter distribution to run on your virtual machine or you can install the Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10 & 11

 

There are also the BSD's, Open, Free and Net

 

If you're going to be working in the IT field, Linux is good to learn

Ok i will try using a virtualbox, thank you

[RollyShed]

We use Linux Mint with the Cinamon desktop. I've installed it for 40+ people.

 

It is reliable. It is FREE. It is faster.

 

After Microsoft wiped my partner's Windows10 in 2018 and changed it to Win7 and had deleted everything, she sat down at a Linux Mint computer with all of her saved/backed-up data and carried on using her computer as if nothing had happened.... except each month it carried on with nothing broken by MS.

No virus checkers needed.

 

You download an iso file and burn it to a USB stick, probably using Rufus. You will have to install Rufus on the Windows.

 

If the disk you want to install it on has Windows and you want to get rid of Windows, the option during install is to wipe totally and install Mint.

 

During installation, just below ther password boxes, you can tick a box so you don't need to use a password during bootup - if that is what you want.

You must use a password when installing anything.

 

By default there is Firefox browser and LibreOffice. You can add a massive range of extra apps via the Software Manager.

 

As for Bluetooth, it works if you ask it to.

[maplepants]

You're getting a lot of Linux desktop answers here. That's fine, but that's not really where Linux is the most popular. Linux is first and foremost a server OS. That's where it's gained the most popularity and where it has the most fans. Here's why I always choose Linux servers (Ubuntu specifically):

 

* Stability

A Linux server is rock solid and it typically will not fail on you in unexpected ways. Apple had that "it just works" marketing campaign years ago, and while it wasn't really true then or now for lots of their stuff. But this is 100% for your core Linux OS and toolchain. Core utilities like cron, grep, bash, sed, and more just work flawlessly.

 

You've also got stability in how the tools work over time. The first Linux server I ever administered was a Debian server running Debian 3.1 Sarge. Right now, I'm running Ubuntu 22.04 on most servers and lots of what I learned on Debian Sarge still serves me well.

 

* Software Availability

There are an absolutely staggering number of applications on Linux. Ubuntu's got 5968 arm64 packages in the main repo and 57941 universe packages.

 

If there's a task that you want your server to do, odds are extremely good that there's something in the repo that'll do it.

 

* Scripting and daisy chaining

Once you find some software in the repos, it's incredibly easy to write a bash script that'll do what you want done. And you can even run that script on other servers with the software installed, no problem. 

 

And if actually just found two scripts, each that does half the job you want it's trivial to pipe the output of one script into another. And there's no limit to how many times you can do it. I've got log search scripts that concatenate a bunch of files and narrow down the output multiple times before giving it to me. A book I like Wicked Cool Shell Scripts contains a bash script which is just hangman, the word game. 

 

Seriously the power of bash scripting and POSIX standards is one of the things that every Linux server admin loves. 

 

* Software development

If you can't find something that does just want you want, and you can't hack a script together that'll do it then there's no easier platform for development than Linux servers. Every compiler is available for it, and everything "just works" (aside from your own code, but that's what stackoverflow is for).

 

Those are just the things that come to me off the top of my head, there are probably loads more. 

 

It's just a great OS that does what you need it to do, and it's got enough power and flexibility to handle anything you can manage to throw at it.

[Itnozetr3]

7 hours ago, maplepants said:

You're getting a lot of Linux desktop answers here. That's fine, but that's not really where Linux is the most popular. Linux is first and foremost a server OS. That's where it's gained the most popularity and where it has the most fans. Here's why I always choose Linux servers (Ubuntu specifically):

 

* Stability

A Linux server is rock solid and it typically will not fail on you in unexpected ways. Apple had that "it just works" marketing campaign years ago, and while it wasn't really true then or now for lots of their stuff. But this is 100% for your core Linux OS and toolchain. Core utilities like cron, grep, bash, sed, and more just work flawlessly.

 

You've also got stability in how the tools work over time. The first Linux server I ever administered was a Debian server running Debian 3.1 Sarge. Right now, I'm running Ubuntu 22.04 on most servers and lots of what I learned on Debian Sarge still serves me well.

 

* Software Availability

There are an absolutely staggering number of applications on Linux. Ubuntu's got 5968 arm64 packages in the main repo and 57941 universe packages.

 

If there's a task that you want your server to do, odds are extremely good that there's something in the repo that'll do it.

 

* Scripting and daisy chaining

Once you find some software in the repos, it's incredibly easy to write a bash script that'll do what you want done. And you can even run that script on other servers with the software installed, no problem. 

 

And if actually just found two scripts, each that does half the job you want it's trivial to pipe the output of one script into another. And there's no limit to how many times you can do it. I've got log search scripts that concatenate a bunch of files and narrow down the output multiple times before giving it to me. A book I like Wicked Cool Shell Scripts contains a bash script which is just hangman, the word game. 

 

Seriously the power of bash scripting and POSIX standards is one of the things that every Linux server admin loves. 

 

* Software development

If you can't find something that does just want you want, and you can't hack a script together that'll do it then there's no easier platform for development than Linux servers. Every compiler is available for it, and everything "just works" (aside from your own code, but that's what stackoverflow is for).

 

Those are just the things that come to me off the top of my head, there are probably loads more. 

 

It's just a great OS that does what you need it to do, and it's got enough power and flexibility to handle anything you can manage to throw at it.

That's interesting

[RollyShed]

There are two different jobs -

1.) Desktop/laptop computers - running office jobs (documents, spreadsheets, presentations etc.), browser, audio listening and editing, video watching and editing, design, picture viewing and editing, etc., etc.

2.) Servers and their requirements

 

Remember the 500 fastest computers in the world run Linux.... and they aren't acting as servers.

 

The majority of us use Linux personally for job (1).

[RonnieTiger]

I don't really like the "Linux is a server OS" Argument, because it's both True and False at the same time. Yea, It's true Linux has the largest part of its market share on Servers and Super computers these days, second only to Smart Phones and Embedded Devices (Routers etc) But the "Linux" Aspect of that software stack is the Kernel which is just an abstraction between hardware and software. Linux is whatever you want to make it, otherwise by that same logic, Electricity is a Server resource and desktops should use hopes and dreams to run instead.

 

It's important to note that Linus Torvalds didn't make it for servers, he made it for himself. It was never intended to be a server powerhouse, it just organically filled that space on its own merit because Server Administrators are typically technically minded individuals who only want the best out of their platforms and aren't afraid to open a manual and do some reading. Linux just caters perfectly to that paradigm because it doesn't require convoluted licensing and middlemen to form it to your desired application by adding or removing parts as you deem fit. It just works.

 

I should also add that money plays a huge role in that too.
Option 1: Pay Microsoft for a per seat license model for large scale server farm deployments that could scale in to the thousands and require monthly support fees from them. 
Option 2: Use Free software that comes without restriction, May or may not have an associated support model that's optional anyway if you can employ specialists in-house to fill that skill gap.

Which one looks more attractive to the accounting department?

[maplepants]

1 hour ago, RonnieTiger said:

Linux is whatever you want to make it, otherwise by that same logic, Electricity is a Server resource and desktops should use hopes and dreams to run instead.

I don't think this comparison makes much sense. Linux targets servers much more directly than electricity. A better comparison is something like Xeon processors. Sure you can use one in your workstation, but most users are running them in servers.

1 hour ago, RonnieTiger said:

I should also add that money plays a huge role in that too.

Maybe it's just the countries where I've worked, but everywhere I've worked we paid for Linux. Mission critical software completely without any support model at all is a hard "no" for most organizations. 

 

People don't use Linux over Windows Server because it's cheaper. They choose it because it's better.

[Ultraforce]

I will say my reason for trying to see about using Fedora/Linux as my operating system isn't because it's special but kind of for the reason Ronnie mentioned of I was feeling too lazy to spend money when setting up the first computer I built myself to get a Windows license so just going Linux seemed like a good choice. I did plan on programming with it, but haven't so far because I haven't felt like it.

The biggest thing currently is that there are some elements where it's just a tiny bit faster on Linux and it installs a lot faster then Windows. Because of my particular weird set up it's also really nice to not have to worry about installing drivers. For troubleshooting I ended up adding a Windows OS SSD and am still unable to use the 10 Gigabit Ethernet port on it whereas it works with no problems on Linux.

[RollyShed]

1 hour ago, maplepants said:

Maybe it's just the countries where I've worked, but everywhere I've worked we paid for Linux..

As Linux is free, I'd expect that should more correctly be "We paid for Linux support."

Of all the decades I've been involved with Linux there has never been a cost, never had to pay for it, never found anywhere "selling" it.

[maplepants]

20 hours ago, RollyShed said:

As Linux is free, I'd expect that should more correctly be "We paid for Linux support."

Of all the decades I've been involved with Linux there has never been a cost, never had to pay for it, never found anywhere "selling" it.

It's true that you're technically paying for support rather than support and a license, but that difference doesn't really matter in day to day work. If you're more in the desktop and homelab Linux world, I could see forgetting about them. But RHEL has been used, though not exclusively, in every organization I've worked. I've also worked on projects using Oracle Cloud and their Exadata system.

 

At home I don't use any paid distros like RHEL, and nor do I have any Canonical support contracts. But I'm just trying to make the point that in professional settings people aren't choosing Linux because they want to pinch their pennies.  

[RonnieTiger]

On 3/16/2023 at 7:32 PM, maplepants said:

I don't think this comparison makes much sense. Linux targets servers much more directly than electricity. A better comparison is something like Xeon processors. Sure you can use one in your workstation, but most users are running them in servers.

Maybe it's just the countries where I've worked, but everywhere I've worked we paid for Linux. Mission critical software completely without any support model at all is a hard "no" for most organizations. 

 

People don't use Linux over Windows Server because it's cheaper. They choose it because it's better.

It was an analogy not a apples to apples comparison. What I'm saying is that it was originally designed as a personal project by a very passionate programmer. That it found its way in to wide spread server use is in no small part owed to its strengths and reliability, that however doesn't disqualify it to being anything other than a server platform "It is what you make of it"