Linux advice
- Thread starter Robert-B
- Start date
Go with Linux Mint 16, it's much more 'newbie friendly" than Ubuntu is. If you have a quad core go with or mint 17 or 17.1 'cause it's a bit sluggish on Core2Duo or below.
Use the KDE or LXDE versions rather than Cinnamon or MATE first off. But they all have a 'Live' DVD so you can try the it before installing.
You will not regret dropping Windows, it's not like losing an OS, more of gaining hundreds of very handy tools that Windows should have but would cost a small fortune to install.
No anti virus necessary 'cause they can't install without getting your permission.
No 'spyware' drive-by installs.
No "additional features" that you have to watch out for during installations.
No rebooting because something you didn't know you had has 'updated'.
One application does only one thing ... But does it well and does it correctly. But if you don't like one application's "look and feel" ... ... There are at least three more that are equally as useful, but different.
No more needing a "search indexer" using resources indexing things you will probably NEVER bother searching for, grep and egrep will find any word(s) quicker than you can check the options in Windows Search.
Install "Thunar" as the default file manager, it comes with the best damned renaming tool built in that I've ever used in a file manager, and if you need something that can handle multiple renaming patterns and sub-folders Metamorphose2 does that.
Use Claws Mail instead of the default ThunderBird, you can install and configure a SpamAssassin plugin that can make spam a thing you used to see and spend an hour or more a day deleting it.
Run a server? SSH, SCP and FTP direct from a terminal window (PuTTY free).
Anything you are not sure of just ask ... I dumped Windows completely about three years.
Use the KDE or LXDE versions rather than Cinnamon or MATE first off. But they all have a 'Live' DVD so you can try the it before installing.
You will not regret dropping Windows, it's not like losing an OS, more of gaining hundreds of very handy tools that Windows should have but would cost a small fortune to install.
No anti virus necessary 'cause they can't install without getting your permission.
No 'spyware' drive-by installs.
No "additional features" that you have to watch out for during installations.
No rebooting because something you didn't know you had has 'updated'.
One application does only one thing ... But does it well and does it correctly. But if you don't like one application's "look and feel" ... ... There are at least three more that are equally as useful, but different.
No more needing a "search indexer" using resources indexing things you will probably NEVER bother searching for, grep and egrep will find any word(s) quicker than you can check the options in Windows Search.
Install "Thunar" as the default file manager, it comes with the best damned renaming tool built in that I've ever used in a file manager, and if you need something that can handle multiple renaming patterns and sub-folders Metamorphose2 does that.
Use Claws Mail instead of the default ThunderBird, you can install and configure a SpamAssassin plugin that can make spam a thing you used to see and spend an hour or more a day deleting it.
Run a server? SSH, SCP and FTP direct from a terminal window (PuTTY free).
Anything you are not sure of just ask ... I dumped Windows completely about three years.
Last edited:
Thanks very much for that advice Chris. I will certainly have a look at both Mint and Ubuntu. As well as the dekstop environments. I will mainly be using it for web development.
If I have any questions I will certainly come back and ask.
Last edited:
I go back and forth between Windows and Ubuntu. Sublime Text 3 is definitely a good IDE. It's my go-to. Since you're on Linux, take some time to familiarize yourself with the command line. When you've done that, start using GruntJS or GulpJS to speed up your workflow. This can be done on Windows, but it feels more natural in Linux, especially once you've gotten comfortable with the command line.
Ive used the command line before and I have started using GulpJS along with SASS for all of my projects now. I will try it in Linux.
You may have to edit the grub configuration file (assuming you chose grub as the boot manager)
nano /etc/default/grub
then run update-grub in a terminal/console
You need to be logged in as 'root' or "sudo" the commands.
If Windows is the boot manager you can use one of these options http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2282-default-operating-system-change-default-boot-os.html
nano /etc/default/grub
then run update-grub in a terminal/console
You need to be logged in as 'root' or "sudo" the commands.
If Windows is the boot manager you can use one of these options http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2282-default-operating-system-change-default-boot-os.html
Sublime Text takes little or no setting up on Linux, download the archive, extract the files, run the executable ... job done.
[If Carling made installers ... ... ]
Give Geany a try as well ( sudo apt-get install -y geany* ) to install it and all the plugins, you can choose which ones to activate from Tools -> Plugin Manager
If you want a highly versatile text editor with the capabilities of Notepad++ (and more) go for KWrite
[If Carling made installers ... ... ]
Give Geany a try as well ( sudo apt-get install -y geany* ) to install it and all the plugins, you can choose which ones to activate from Tools -> Plugin Manager
If you want a highly versatile text editor with the capabilities of Notepad++ (and more) go for KWrite
Yep, you can also install it on a separate empty partition, or you can install Windows and then install Linux which can re-partition and resize an already installed Windows partition and co-exist quite happily.
Also if your machine has a CPU that supports 'virtualisation' and enough memory, you could create one or more "Virtual Machines" (VM aka VPS)
Also if your machine has a CPU that supports 'virtualisation' and enough memory, you could create one or more "Virtual Machines" (VM aka VPS)
Thanks Chris, I have a 1tb WD hard drive, so I was thinking of installing Ubuntu on that and leave Windows on the ssd. I have an Ivy Bridge CPU so I can use virtulisation.
That should work, when you install Linux, just make sure you select the appropriate drive and use 'grub' as the boot loader so it will then prompt you for which OS to start.
Have you looked at http://3000rpm.com ?
They sell "refurbished" laptops, refurbished generally means they have been returned to the manufacturer from wholesalers unsold stock, re-boxed and sold out as bulk.
They sell "refurbished" laptops, refurbished generally means they have been returned to the manufacturer from wholesalers unsold stock, re-boxed and sold out as bulk.
Excellent, hopefully more people will start to see that there is nothing 'scary' about Linux.