Linux

The following is an entry to Linux from a Windows point of view. It is assumed that you have at least some technical knowledge, and that are interested in learning how to install Linux - using Linux is not much different from using Windows.

Contents

About

Linux is an operating system such as Microsoft Windows, which has had a significant increase in popularity in the past couple of years. Linux mainly boasts of being more stable and more secure than Microsoft Windows. With still little adoption, Linux has extremely few to no virus attacks, and with a thought through user/administrator separation, attackers on Linux will not gain administrative privileges.

Why Linux?

Good question!

Getting started with Linux

Getting started with Linux can be a confusing task, so a couple of common problems are outlined below. The first problem to overcome is selecting a distribution.

Distributions

A Linux distribution is a bundle of programs, with an installer, that makes a complete operating system. That is, a Linux distribution gives you the equivalent of Microsoft Windows (although usually quite a bit more). The market is swamped with Linux distributions, so the choice can be hard to make. Basically there is at least one distribution for every need. To help you choose, here's a short summary of a couple of recommended distributions.

Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution out there. It was created in 2005, and quickly became popular. When installing it, you boot on a CD, and find yourself looking at a desktop without touching a button. Note, that no files have been either read from nor written to your hard disk! On this desktop you can try out Ubuntu on your own computer, and if you like it, the installation starts by clicking on the install icon on the desktop.

Novell SuSE is the distribution of choice at IMM, DTU. Just like Ubuntu, one of SuSE's main goals is ease of use. Novell has worked hard to make integration with Microsoft products better, and has, to achieve this, recently made a controversial agreement with Microsoft. Novell SuSE can be downloaded for free from the G-Bar software page, by DTU students and employees. The installation procedure is very smooth, and requires little input from the user.

Gentoo stands out from the other two, in that it is not user friendly at all. It's target audience is mainly people who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. All programs are installed from source, through a clever system that automatically downloads, compiles and installs the programs requested. The installation and configuration of Gentoo is mostly manual, and requires the administrator to read through many pages of user guides, however when the system is installed the user will be looking at top tuned programs specifically compiled for his computer.

Desktop Environments

One of the impossible questions a new Linux user often gets is whether he wants to run Gnome or KDE. Both supply a task bar, icons on the desktop and all the programs to fulfill your most basic needs. At first the difference might seem negligible, but you will find, that a lot of people will argue intensely for either one of them. For a new user the best advice is simply to pick one of them at random, and if you want to experiment try the other one at a later time, to see which one suits you best.

Post install

Unfortunately you might find yourself wanting more, after installing Linux. Below is outlined common problems just after a clean installation.

Ubuntu

After having installed Ubuntu a lot of convenient programs are missing. Luckily there are two easy solutions to this: Automatix and Easyubuntu. These two programs do the same thing: Install programs such as a decent video player and a flash plugin for Firefox. Note, that only one of these is needed! Do not install both Easyubuntu and Automatix!

Getting help

Installing Linux can sometimes be troublesome. If you find that there's a problem that you cannot overcome, there are several places to look for help.

Guides

It is always a good idea to see if someone has had your specific problem before you turn to asking for help. If your problem can be solved by a quick search on Google, this approach will be faster than asking people. A good place for finding help fast is in guides for installing and maintaining Linux.

Ubuntu

SuSE

Gentoo

Forums

There are several places to get help. A lot of these places are forums, where users come together to help each other, and to share their knowledge.

General

Ubuntu

SuSE

Gentoo


LUGs

For general or specific help you might want to try one of the several Linux User Groups available in Denmark. These user groups usually hold install parties, where experienced Linux users help newcomers getting Linux installed. They also tend to have mailing lists where you can always ask questions. Remember to describe the question in every detail, such that people have a chance to help you.

When moving from Windows

It is important to note, that while Linux is perfectly capable of doing the exact same things as Microsoft Windows, it is radically different in some key points, which inevitably will make a switch confusing.

Programs

Microsoft Windows programs do not run on Linux. True, they can be "emulated" through programs like Wine or Cedega, but nothing is guaranteed, and a native solution will always be preferred. This is a list of programs for Microsoft Windows, and their free counterparts. Since Linux is mainly about choice, the first listed program will be the recommended, followed by other alternatives. Remember that it is much easier to install (most of) these programs through your package manager, rather than manually!

If you find yourself wanting a program with certain capabilities, but you do not know the name, try out the SourceForge and FreshMeat sites. They are two popular places for developers to release their software, and even though most programs are targeted Linux and Unix, they do also contain software for Mac OS X and Windows.

Installing programs

In Windows, program installation usually consists of a few similar steps: Purchase a program, or find it online and download it. Run the install script and click through it. In Linux things usually work a bit differently. Due to the free nature of programs in Linux, installation can be made extremely easy. All of the above mentioned distributions track thousands of free programs, and make them easily installable through a central system. There is not a single unified way to do this, so the following will sum up how to install programs on each of the distributions.

Ubuntu

SuSE

Gentoo

Talking to Windows

Some concern might be the ability of your Linux machine to talk to your, or your friends' Windows machines. For the most part Linux can communicate perfectly with Windows, and offer better alternatives for communicating with other Linux machines, that Windows sadly do not support. Following is a short overview of the most common tasks.

Windows shares

This works very well in Linux, and most distributions make it easily accessible through the menu. Note that the protocol Windows shares use is called Samba, so it might be known by this in your menu.

Text documents

Openoffice.org is compatible with the Word .doc file-format, but not totally. The most basic formatting should not be a problem, but objects such as equations will most likely not survive, when moving back and forth.

Presentations

Openoffice can read Microsoft Impress presentations, but the formatting might not look wrong. Transition effects cannot be expected to be read correctly.

Pictures, Music and videos

Since pictures, music and videos usually are standardized this pretty much always works flawlessly.

File system

A difference from Windows that not only the administrator, but also the users of Linux will notice is the file system. In Microsoft Windows every partition on the disk is represented as a drive, e.g. the C: drive. In Linux there is only one "drive". This is, just like a Windows drive, a tree structure, but instead of having its base at C:\, it has its base at the root: /. It then has directories with different purposes, some of the more important ones are: /etc (Configuration that is the same for all users is stored here), /usr (All programs are stored here) and /home (All user files are stored here).

To elaborate a bit on the home directory, then it has a subdirectory for all users. So if your user is called Allan, then his home will be /home/allan. In this directory he will store local configuration, such as bookmarks and calendar data. This is also where Allan will store his own files, such as pictures and music.

The confusing part is, that if you have more than one disk in the computer, or more than one partition, then you won't find it as a different drive. Instead, it will be "mounted" in the already existing tree structure, usually in /mnt. So if you have one disk for Linux and one for Microsoft Windows, then Linux will be found in /, and Windows somewhere in /mnt, eg. /mnt/windows. Mounting basically means that you are attaching a device (partition) to a directory, such that when you enter that directory it will connect you to the device.

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