What can I learn from Linux?

[tp95112]

 I have been meaning to try Linux out for a while(going to run it on a virtual box), but I don't understand what experience I will gain from using it beside getting familiar with the os . 

[ARikozuM]

You can learn how to use the command line. That's about it from me.

[The Sloth]

http://blog.edx.org/why-learn-linux good read

depends on the flavor of linux, if you want a challenge use gentoo linux. 

ubuntu is the most popular. 

[killcomic]

3 minutes ago, tp95112 said:

 I have been meaning to try Linux out for a while(going to run it on a virtual box), but I don't understand what experience I will gain from using it beside getting familiar with the os . 

You can learn to appreciate how easy Windows makes it to get your computer up and running.

I tried Linux Mint about a month ago and the display drivers broke the OS.
I installed Windows 7 shortly after that.

 

However, when you get it up and running, Linux can teach you useful skills like compiling. I felt a great deal of satisfaction when I managed to compile some binaries.

[SSL]

An alternative way of designing an operating system. If you use the system at a superficial level, though, you won't learn much beyond the obvious.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, SSL said:

An alternative way of designing an operating system. If you use the system at a superficial level, though, you won't learn much beyond the obvious.

that is a pretty well formed point actually..

[tp95112]

4 minutes ago, SSL said:

An alternative way of designing an operating system. If you use the system at a superficial level, though, you won't learn much beyond the obvious.

I plan on learning as much as I can when I mess around with it and not just use it as a plain os

 

24 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

http://blog.edx.org/why-learn-linux good read

depends on the flavor of linux, if you want a challenge use gentoo linux. 

ubuntu is the most popular. 

 

When you say "challenge" what am I going to expect?

[SCHISCHKA]

You can learn how to make your computer work for you instead of being a computer illiterate noob.

[noahdvs]

Linux can be used by lots of different kinds of people, but if you develop software on Linux, you can really see how it's made by developers for developers.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, killcomic said:

You can learn to appreciate how easy Windows makes it to get your computer up and running.

I tried Linux Mint about a month ago and the display drivers broke the OS.
I installed Windows 7 shortly after that.

 

However, when you get it up and running, Linux can teach you useful skills like compiling. I felt a great deal of satisfaction when I managed to compile some binaries.

My Linux Mint install said I can safely remove my hard drive. I just laughed...

[Sauron]

It depends on what you do with it, mainly you can learn (and see first hand) how an operating system works, what it's composed of and what a proper command line shell is. Windows is a monolythic block of stuff that you can't modify or expand, meaning that you sometimes get way more than what you need resulting in lower performance and a heavier footprint.

[noahdvs]

5 hours ago, Fooshi said:

The biggest thing you'll learn is how easy Windows is. Installing software on Windows is as simple as downloading an .exe file and run it. On Linux, it's everything from that (.deb or .rpm) to compiling the software from scratch yourself via the terminal, dependent on which distro you go with.

 

I think it'll also make you appreciate Window's design more, as 90% of Linux GUI looks like Vista-era design.

 

Should the time of Windows' doom come, it would of course be nice to have some base knowledge of Linux, but I highly doubt we'll be seeing that any time soon, especially until we get distros that are actually user friendly. (The second you refer to the terminal, you've already lost 95% of the potential user base)

 

One thing I will say is it's really nice to be able to install Linux and teach my family the basics of it. It more or less eliminates a massive majority of tech calls and having to deal with unwanted trash like browser extensions, scareware (driver updaters are a prime example) and of course malware in general. Never felt so relieved after I installed Solus on all of my family members' laptops. Rock solid with no possibility of installing trash like WinZip Driver Updater.

Sometimes ease of use is really more of a relative thing. Like you said, it also depends on the distro you pick. I have no experience with RPMs, but you can just double click to install DEBs is you have a gui installer for them like qapt or gdebi. The thing that makes Linux harder for lots of people is mostly just unfamiliarity. As someone who uses Linux most of the time, I find Windows to be a bit of a pain in the ass to use. On Linux, almost everything is already in a repository that I can just download from and all updates can be done from one place. On windows, I have to hunt everything down. If you ever have to build a program from source on Windows, hunting down and setting up dependencies can be a real pain in the ass. Windows is easier for gamers to use for sure. Video drivers on Linux and game support for Linux simply isn't as good. Even the Linux versions of games can be buggy or poorly optimized. For developers and people who just use a web browser most of the time, I'd say Linux is easier.

 

Taste in GUI design is also relative. I wouldn't give Windows much praise for GUI design because I think Windows is a mess. The design was most consistent in Windows 7, but in Windows 10, the settings are spread all over the place and the looks are mixed with old and new. It's not that great compared to the setting menus and looks of most Linux desktop environments.

[tp95112]

11 hours ago, Fooshi said:

-snip

 

So far im sorta liking it. Spent an hour or two watching a tutorial on basic commands from this guy(only watched the first 4 video) and messing around within the terminal and I gotta say I can see il get some fun out of this. But I know once the real stuff like you said compiling software, that it's going to get a bit nerve wracking. Do you have any suggestions for more tutorials? So far the one I follow, the pacing has been a bit all over the place

 

[vorticalbox]

13 hours ago, Fooshi said:

Installing software on Windows is as simple as downloading an .exe file and run it. On Linux, it's everything from that (.deb or .rpm) to compiling the software from scratch yourself via the terminal, dependent on which distro you go with.

untrue.

 

For one you have apt to get software e.g sudo apt install appname I would say is easier as you don't have to first open a browser, open a Search engine, type in the name, open that website and download the app. Then jump through clicking next until till its done.

 

For debs you just open up the terminal and type sudo dpkg -I package.deb

 

this might be "harder" than windows but having all software in one repository means that chance on malware type apps is extremely low.

 

applications and scripts need to be marked as excitable before being allowed to run and any application wanting higher permissions require your user password. 

 

very resistant to malware. 

[noahdvs]

8 hours ago, tp95112 said:

So far im sorta liking it. Spent an hour or two watching a tutorial on basic commands from this guy(only watched the first 4 video) and messing around within the terminal and I gotta say I can see il get some fun out of this. But I know once the real stuff like you said compiling software, that it's going to get a bit nerve wracking. Do you have any suggestions for more tutorials? So far the one I follow, the pacing has been a bit all over the place

 

Compiling software is as easy as the developers of that software make it. In the best case scenario they'll tell you what packages you need to install. They almost always tell you what commands to use to build the software. Usually, it's `./configure && make && sudo make install`. In the less favorable, but common scenario, you have to figure out what packages to install based on the error messages. In the scenario where it's probably not worth your time, you need to install more than one of the program's dependencies from source.

[SCHISCHKA]

9 hours ago, vorticalbox said:

For debs you just open up the terminal and type sudo dpkg -I package.deb

I dont understand how this is harder. People are commandline-phobic

[SCHISCHKA]

11 hours ago, tp95112 said:

So far im sorta liking it. Spent an hour or two watching a tutorial on basic commands from this guy(only watched the first 4 video) and messing around within the terminal and I gotta say I can see il get some fun out of this. But I know once the real stuff like you said compiling software, that it's going to get a bit nerve wracking. Do you have any suggestions for more tutorials? So far the one I follow, the pacing has been a bit all over the place

 

i cant recall the last time i had to compile an application for linux except for installing a new SDK

[vorticalbox]

33 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

I dont understand how this is harder. People are commandline-phobic

typing is always harder than clicking no?

[SCHISCHKA]

12 minutes ago, vorticalbox said:

typing is always harder than clicking no?

who said you cant click to install? highlight command from wiki and middle click into terminal

[vorticalbox]

1 hour ago, SCHISCHKA said:

who said you cant click to install? highlight command from wiki and middle click into terminal

I love middle click to paste, don't debs open in the package manager anyway? 

[Night_]

@vorticalbox

Yes, but installing a Deb manually isn't always the right way to do it, as the package might not be the same as the one available in the repository. If you wish to click on a GUI, using a package manager frontend like Synaptic. However if you ask me, overtime it's becomes a lot simpler to just open a terminal window and type in the command with the package name appended (e.g "apt-get install <package-name>").

[LightBringer]

HI good people.

 

I also want to start using Linux.

I want to reduce the size of my current single partition to create space on my HDD to install Linus.

How much space should I clear for the Linux partition?

Should I format it from Windows?

How do I do the install?

What distro or flavour should I use?

I have heard about Ubuntu and Mint.

 

In other words is there a good step by step tutorial?

[noahdvs]

50 minutes ago, LightBringer said:

HI good people.

 

I also want to start using Linux.

I want to reduce the size of my current single partition to create space on my HDD to install Linus.

How much space should I clear for the Linux partition?

Should I format it from Windows?

How do I do the install?

What distro or flavour should I use?

I have heard about Ubuntu and Mint.

 

In other words is there a good step by step tutorial?

Most graphical Linux installers will have an option to make room and partitions for you to install along side Windows. Even non graphical installations like Arch Linux will have tools to edit and make partitions during installation. If you're unsure of what to pick, just go with Ubuntu (inb4 people shouting at you to try their favorite distro). Ubuntu gets a new major version every 6 months in April and October.

[kango_v]

I've now been using Ubuntu Linux since version 5.10 (nearly 12 years!) at home and at work. I last used Windows when XP had only been out around a year (ish). When I now go back to Windows I'm lost :).

 

So to install the Gimp:

1. Click "Software" icon

2. Click Gimp

3. Click "Install"

4. Run

 

or from the command line:

 

$ sudo apt install gimp

$ gimp

 

Now, that is NOT difficult. My machine at home gets used for games, software developing, video editing, kids homework.

 

I do lots of work stuff like testing clusters of Cassandra nodes (Netflix use this), PostgreSQL, Jboss, Ratpack, various data grids etc. I've never run anti-virus and never had any malware or viruses. I've always built my own PC's so that Linux friendly hardware can be selected.

 

Dive in! Linux today is a doddle to use. If my mother-in-law can use it, I'm pretty sure any one on this forum can

 

[Claryn]

On 5/11/2017 at 11:24 AM, Fooshi said:

The biggest thing you'll learn is how easy Windows is. Installing software on Windows is as simple as downloading an .exe file and run it.

Eh... it is just as simple on a Linux system. For someone running Ubuntu or any of the other major desktop distros, you can find 90% of what you need from apt-get or the Ubuntu Software Center. Most other shit consists of downloading an executable file or double clicking a script file in the zip file you just downloaded and extracted.