shoestring
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SOME
LINUX DISTROS TO TRY
First,
WHAT ARE LIVE CDs? "Live" CDs are a way
to try out another operating system on your computer without actually
installing it or changing anything about your computer. This is
how they work: slip a live Linux CD into your CD drive and boot up.
It will ask a few questions and soon you will be up and running. Poke
around, have fun, don't worry about messing anything up because it
doesn't touch your computer's settings. When you are done, just
reboot without the CD and your computer is back to normal.
Your hard drive and all your settings remain untouched. Remember,
though: while using the live-cd, if you configured your network
settings or e-mail, etc., you will lose all your Linux settings when
you shut down and will have to reconfigure them next time you boot up
the live-CD. This is true of most Linux live-CDs. (Puppy is
different--see below.) Theres usually menu button in the lower
left-hand corner that acts like the “START” button in
Windows. If you don't see one, try right-clicking anywhere on the
desktop.
If you are on a a high-speed connection, chances are
that your Linux distro will find it automatically. If you are on
dialup, look for the “PPP” configuration program. I
really don't have the time to explain everything, but the beauty of
live CDs is that you can experiment freely; even if you “mess
up,” you can just reboot the CD and everything reverts to the
default settings on the next startup. Now, when you configure
something correctly, write down how you did it so you have that
information next time! (Note that with any of these distros, you CAN
save to your hard drive, CD-RW, floppy, or jump drive if you choose
to "mount" the device. For more information about
mounting drives, see the "Top Ten
Annoyances.")
One
thing to keep in mind about Live CDs: since they operate off the CD
and not the hard drive, they will run very slowly! Once
installed, a Linux system is quite fast.
WHICH VERSION IS BEST? WHY SO MANY CHOICES??? Hey – choice is generally a GOOD thing! Many, many people are involved in producing all these distros. This means that you can try several and pick the one that suits you best. There is, of course, no one “best” distro; there is one each user will tend to favor. Some are big and powerful but take up more of your computer's resources; others are “lighter” and faster, but somewhat less powerful. Some boast ease of use; others are geared for the more computer-literate. Your choice will depend on what you use your computer for and how powerful it is, as well as how technically savvy you are. Here are some I recommend trying:
First,
the big, powerful brutes that do it all. These work best on newer
computers:
UBUNTU:
This would be the #1 selling Linux distribution except for one thing:
you can't buy it! Like most Linux distros (versions), it is
freely downloadable. The good folk at Ubuntu will even send you
a CD in the mail if you request one! Ubuntu is an excellent
choice for someone who is used to Windows but never has seen Linux
before. Part of the reason for this is because Ubuntu comes set
up very well with the software and packages you need; another reason
is that it uses the "Gnome" desktop environment; "Gnome
refers to the way it looks and how you interface with it. Some
Linux programs are specific to the Gnome environment, while other
programs work in KDE or other environments; the major programs like
OpenOffice, Firefox, and many more work in all the Linux desktop
environments. (Homepage:
www.ubuntu.com ) There is a
Christian Edition of Ubuntu (Ubuntu
CE); I am really excited about this because it includes
easy-to-use "Parental Controls," something very good
for both home and school. More details about this on the
content filtering page.
Ubuntu CE will run live from the CD and also install from the
same CD. Other Ubuntu versions may be only "live,"
for testing, or only for actually installing Ubuntu.
MEPIS: This is my everyday working operating system. I've used this almost all the time at home for two years now, and use it at school for both personal use and teaching (students learn both Linux and Windows on the same PCs). All these computers are “dual-boot.”* I use Mepis because it is easy to understand and does everything I want it to! It's not hard to migrate from Windows to this distro. The Mepis CD, like Ubuntu CE, is both a “Live” CD as well as an “Install” CD, so if you wish to load it, you need nothing else. If you have a spare computer, that's a great way to start. (Homepage: www.mepis.org ). I recommend Mepis 3.4.3, but if you are familiar with Linux you may want version 6.0 or 6.5. Older computers may run better with MepisLite, which is designed for older machines with lower specs.
Blag (http://www.blagblagblag.org/) has been recommended to me for 64-bit computers. This is from Dean, who first introduced me to Linux and hasn't steered me wrong yet. His brand new laptop is a Compaq (NOT my favorite brand) and he experienced lots of trouble getting Linux up and running on it until he found this distro. (It also was the only one that displayed correctly on the wide screen.) Blag utilizes the Gnome desktop environment. Notice that they will even send you a free cd!
Next,
“mid-weight” distributions. These work nicely on, say
Pentium II's or slower P-IIIs, and should fly on newer
units!
DreamLinux: I immediately fell in love with this little distro! It
is fast and includes OpenOffice 2, which I almost consider a
necessity in my work. It is quick, intuitive, easy to install, and
includes most everything you need out-of-the-box. My only
disappointment was the inclusion of aMSN instead of Pidgin (formerly known as GAIM) for IMing.
However, DreamLinux's “apt-get” feature made finding, downloading, and
automatically installing Pidgin a snap! (NOTE: most of these
distros have an easy-to-use package manager, but this one seemed
especially simple for newbies.) It also is the first Linux I've seen
that lets you write to a Windows XP (NTFS) file system, if you know
how to partition your HD and dual-boot. (Note: i think Puppy does now, and more other distros as well.) Check it out at
www.dreamlinux.com.br/english/.
ZenWalk (www.zenwalk.org ) is another fine distro—it, too, doesn't need quite as powerful a computer to run on, but is very full-featured. It's just a little “geekier,” but a great, solid Linux based on Slackware -- the "original" Linux. It lacks OpenOffice but includes AbiWord, a great little (fast) word processor that also (like OpenOffice) reads and writes MS-Word documents. It's a good alternative (some would say "better alternative") to MepisLite.
Finally...well...how
DOES one describe “PuppyLinux?” It runs on almost
ANYthing, flies on most computers, plus...
PUPPY:
My, oh my! Whatta distro! This little puppy does stuff few others
can, just keeps getting better, and still it is pretty easy to use. The whole OS loads into your
computer's memory so you can remove the CD after booting and it stays
running—you can even insert a different CD and copy files.
Puppy will keep running without the Puppy CD! I think it will run on
as little as 64 Mb RAM, but 128 is recommended. Puppy will even work
on some Pentium 1 machines, which means you can salvage “obsolete”
PCs for your use. You can install it to a hard drive, but you
needn't—upon exiting you will have the option to save a small
file to your hard drive. This file remembers all your settings and
also your saved files. When you reboot from the Puppy CD, it searches
your computer for this file and then your computer restarts the way
you left it—you don't need to reconfigure anything. You can
even do this on a Windows computer; afterward, if you boot up without
the CD inserted, you get your Windows OS like you left it, but if you
boot up with the Puppy CD in the tray, you get Puppy the way you left
it. You can even use a jump drive and start Puppy on another
computer—it will boot up the way you set it up on the first
machine, like taking your own computer around with you! The computers
remain untouched by Puppy. All the Puppy information is saved in a
small file--as small as 32Mb. (For your information, you can
increase the size of this file later, but you CANNOT shrink it, so I
recommend starting with a small 32 Mb or 64 Mb file size.)
Another nice feature unique to Puppy is the “Wizard Wizard,”
which guides you into configuring everything for your computer (and
it will remember it all if you save your settings upon exiting).
There is a LOT of helpful material included on the CD and at the
websites (homepage: www.puppyos.org; a listing of helpful puppy websites is found here). Notes:
if after bootup your screen is almost
unrecognizable, click on the screen and go to the “Wizard
Wizard” or the “Xvesa Wizard” (if you can see that)
,configure your
screen settings. If you can't see anything clearly, press
CTRL+ALT+Backspace, then type in "xorgwizard" and follow the prompts.
Repeat this step if all goes blurry, picking other choices.
(800 x 600 is usually a good choice for older units,
or 1024x760), and if it looks good, click “OK.”
Otherwise, just play with it.) If you want OpenOffice or the Gimp,
etc—look for the packages manager, or get a full-featured
version of puppy. (Check the website, especially for the Community
Editions of Puppy.) If your machine is extremely old, try an older
version of Puppy, such as 1.04. Oh yeah – if for nothing else,
this makes a great rescue CD to access your files should your system
crash. (Any of the live Linux CDs should also do this; in fact, the
first “live” Linux, Knoppix,
was intended to ONLY be used live, although it is possible to install
it.)
Other Distros are listed at DistroWatch - including the "Top 100." Lots of information is to be found there, and it is deservedly a favorite place for Linux enthusiasts.
NOTES FOR ALL DISTROS: If you can't get a distro to work on one machine, try a different distro or a different machine. Most times things work fine—but not always. Printers? Most work, but not everything! Internal modems often are problematic, last I knew, because they are inexpensively built to rely on Windows. HP historically has made their products Linux-friendly, if that helps.
Remember: in Linux, SINGLE-CLICK, not double-click...usually! Ubuntu is a double-clicker. After using Linux awhile, I've come to prefer single-clicking.
Again, remember that running from a “Live CD” is NOT indicative of the speed you will get after installing!! It's a LOT slower. (Puppy is different because it loads in the memory.) Try clicking on things, and don't forget to right-click on things, even the wallpaper. Run in live mode and EXPERIMENT!!! One of these Linux distros just may be the answer for your lab.
You will often hear the term “wiki.” “Wiki” is from the Hawaiian word “waka waka” (“fast”) and is used as an acronym for “What I Know Is”). Wiki's are a way of sharing knowledge, and they are very helpful for Linux users, especially newer ones.
If you are on a a high-speed connection, chances are that your Linux distro will find it. If you are on dialup, look for the “PPP” configuration program. I really don't have the time to explain everything, but the beauty of live CDs is that even if you “mess up,” you can just restart. Again, remember that when you configure something correctly, write down how you did it so you have that information next time. Remember that there is lots of help available both online and included with the live-CDs.
There!
That's it! I wish I could have written more, but there is only so
much time... Remember that you can e-mail
me if you really get stuck—but i can't guarantee that I
know the answer you need! Do let me know if you find these CDs
helpful. For more info, check the links on these pages.
Best
wishes!
In Christ,
Marty
*
Dual-boot: that is, they have both Linux and Windows OSs and I
can pick whichever I want to use every time I boot up. This requires
some partitioning; G-parted is a great program to do this, but it's
best to find someone to show you how if you are unfamiliar with
partitioning. This is beyond the scope of this workshop, but I wanted
you to be aware of this option. (G-parted's homepage is
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
-- click on the LiveCD link to download the boot-up CD.)