My Linux experience.

I have been using Windows for several decades. Ups and downs on their changing versions, but was quite happy with W7.

Recent introduction of W10 and talk of breach of privacy, etc, worried me, so I thought I'd see what else was available.

Never like Apple, and didn't want to fork out a couple of grand for a new system.

Linux up till then, was to me an unknown - just a word you hear people say, and assume, if you're a computer dummie, like me, that they must all be computer wizzes, or insiders.

Cutting a long story short, after some enquiry and discussion with folk here, I did the 'boot Linux off a USB' thing, and was very impressed with Linux, for reasons I will say later.

Next logical step was to do a dual boot along my Win 7 lappie. This proved to be enormously frustrating and time consuming for me - and I gave up in dispair.

But, once having bitten the fruit off the tree of knowledge, one does not forget the taste. So, I've had it it my mind, one way or the other, to give Linux a serious go.

What to do ? I had heard it said, reading around these forums, that Linux loads well in old machines. I had such a one in mothballs, probably destined to be included in our next spring cleaning garbage put out, so I dusted it off, fired it up, stuck the Linux USB in it, hit 'Install Linux'.

And the rest, I must say, for one who has been a compliant user of Windows for over 30 years, is nonething less than a revelation.

Firstly, it loaded beautifully - seamlessly, trouble free, not one single problem.

I have been using it more and more over the last couple of days, and am so impressed ..

(got to go, back soon to complete)

 

And the rest, I must say, for one who has been a compliant user of Windows for over 30 years, is nonething less than a revelation.

Yes it is.

 

I have been using it more and more over the last couple of days, and am so impressed ..

You will find that you will start using the Linux machine more and more, and when you do use a Windows machine you will not like it.

Welcome to Linux World! there are SOOO many choices here. My favorites are linux Mint Mate 17.2  and Ubuntu mate on my old laptop/ I still use Windows for a couple of apps but not much else. Linux Rules!

I have been using Windows for several decades. Ups and downs on their changing versions, but was quite happy with W7.

 

Recent introduction of W10 and talk of breach of privacy, etc, worried me, so I thought I'd see what else was available.

 

Never like Apple, and didn't want to fork out a couple of grand for a new system.

 

Linux up till then, was to me an unknown - just a word you hear people say, and assume, if you're a computer dummie, like me, that they must all be computer wizzes, or insiders.

 

Cutting a long story short, after some enquiry and discussion with folk here, I did the 'boot Linux off a USB' thing, and was very impressed with Linux, for reasons I will say later.

 

Next logical step was to do a dual boot along my Win 7 lappie. This proved to be enormously frustrating and time consuming for me - and I gave up in dispair.

 

But, once having bitten the fruit off the tree of knowledge, one does not forget the taste. So, I've had it it my mind, one way or the other, to give Linux a serious go.

 

What to do ? I had heard it said, reading around these forums, that Linux loads well in old machines. I had such a one in mothballs, probably destined to be included in our next spring cleaning garbage put out, so I dusted it off, fired it up, stuck the Linux USB in it, hit 'Install Linux'.

 

And the rest, I must say, for one who has been a compliant user of Windows for over 30 years, is nonething less than a revelation.

 

Firstly, it loaded beautifully - seamlessly, trouble free, not one single problem.

 

I have been using it more and more over the last couple of days, and am so impressed ..

 

(got to go, back soon to complete)

 

 

Apologies for the interuption, continuing ..

... so impressed ..

As I said, the installation went without a hitch - a couple of questions though, which I will ask in the other thread.

I sit back for a moment, and ponder this, as indeed, others in my predicament (dummies, newbies, disenchanted MSFT users) should.

I took a 10 year old machine (pentium 4, I believe) which I was going to throw out, and loaded a totally free operating system.

And it is like stepping out of servitude and slavery, into the cool crisp air of freedon. Really - I really feel like that!

It is so good, so junk free, so crisp, so well done, so .. perfect. It is COMPUTING as it should be. Not loaded with junk, bloat, contrivances, tricks, ruses, deceptions, bright flashing garbage all over the place (I took a look at my daughters brand new Windows 10 Dell  i7 yesterday and was HORRIFIED - if I get the time, I shall write a report on THAT, though it would probably be deleted off the W10 forum! ).

I say to anyone who is considering their computing future, try doing what I just did.

Dust off an old machine, and fully load Linux Mint17.2 on it (I looked at Ubuntu but didn't like it as much). You will most likely end up with a computer in front of you, that you will be as pleased with as I am. Try it!

And what's more, look at the FREE software ! WOW. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface, but I do a lot of bussiness stuff, and Libre so far has been super. It just WORKS ! There has not been one task that I haven't been able to do, only .. I I've done it better.

Even old Lotus 123 spreadsheets (I have hundreds of them) open in a breeze, though they then need some formatting (understandable) and they must not be password protected (so you have to remove the password first, if you have one on any sheet)

I'm just thinking out loud now .. imagine what a threat to the likes of MSFT it would present, if more and more people did what I just done - if folk ended up with a world class computer without having to bend the knee to MSFT, et al.

So, to the folk who develop Linux, and to the helpers and advisors here, a BIG thank you and thumbs up.

All power to you :-)))

Edited by jargos, 29 September 2015 - 08:34 AM.

 

 

And the rest, I must say, for one who has been a compliant user of Windows for over 30 years, is nonething less than a revelation.

Yes it is.

 

 

I have been using it more and more over the last couple of days, and am so impressed ..

You will find that you will start using the Linux machine more and more, and when you do use a Windows machine you will not like it.

 

 .. as we speak !

Welcome to Linux World! there are SOOO many choices here. My favorites are linux Mint Mate 17.2  and Ubuntu mate on my old laptop/ I still use Windows for a couple of apps but not much else. Linux Rules!

Thank you. Yes, I will keep one lappie with W7 on it .. even if for posterity .. Linux Rules !!!

That's great Jargos! it's a whole other computing world - and so hassle free - it does just work.  Keep us up to date on how that 17.2 is working out for you, as it is quite new.  I would also love to know the specs of that machine so we know how well this distro will work with Particular hardware.  I showed you the inxi -Fxz command in the other thread, Make and Model are even better sometimes, but only if you don't mind.

No worries pcpunk. Will get the info and post it.

Note to new users .. I wanted to say this earlier but forgot.

Whether we are concious of it or not, first impressions are always important, and often have a lasting effect on us.

Therefore, when you start playing around with Linux, perhaps with a USB boot, DO NOT be turned off by the drab colours .. greens and greys .. you will first encounter. You can of course, change it all - there are plenty of options in 'Preferences ..  effects, fonts, themes', etc - you can have a ball !

A further observation which I think may interest prospective users.

In Windows, both my wife (W7 i5 lappe) and I (W7 i3) use pdf docs a lot.

For the first time just now, I had the opportunity to test run the Linux default document viewer.

WOW !!! How impressive. Got my wife to email to my Linux Thunderbird emai account, a document of several hundred pages. Here are the results;

- Whilst viewing it on her lappe (W7 i5)it was jerky, and had a pesky delay of a second or more during scrolling. page down, etc.

- It took about 5 minutes to leave her lappe.

- It took less than a minute (about 45 seconds) to download in my eamil in Linux.

- I chose the default document viewer (whatever that is). It opened virtually straight away - less than one second.

- It was clear, crisp, uncluttered, and a pleaure to view.

- It scrolled instantly - no delay.

And all this, on an ancient machine, as compared to an i5 machine that's a couple of years old.

Way to go, Linux .. just sayin ...

I've noticed the same thing- I have ubuntu mate on an old laptop- with a Centrino processor - .pdf files open just as quickly as they do on my I7 Desktop! Gotta Love Linux!

Mate you deserve a medal.

You have been through trials and tribulations that might have deterred others less staunch.

Linux, and other 'nix options is/are like peeling an onion - the more layers you peel, the more you find.

And if you are a cook, you'll know that an onion well prepared can taste as sweet as.

Linux is what Windows COULD have been (had profits been less of a motive), but has gone on to be far better.

I applaud your starting this Topic - makes me feel warm and gooey ... and hungry (onions).

Later

Wizard

jargos, am glad to have you as a happy Linux Mint 17.2 user, and it shows the usefulness of not only the Linux OS, also of the computers that it's installed upon. There's no way of knowing other than it's certain, there's likely many more PC's & notebooks packed away in the closet for years, some may need a CMOS or notebook battery, otherwise are plenty for a Linux Mint install. While there's uncertainty whether or not the next or last LTS Ubuntu release (what Mint is built on) is the one that will be the last for 32 bit users (reports suggests the next is the last), yet that's OK, if it's the last LTS version, 14.04, one's supported until April 2019, if it's the next, then April 2021, chances are your computer won't outlive the last date w/out some major overhauling. 

Yet that's still lots of time remaining, Ubuntu 16.04 (what Linux Mint 18 will be built on), will provide 5 more years of support & be better than the last & so will Linux Mint 18. 

Any PC that has PAE instructions in the CPU can run a modern Linux system, regardless of age, and better yet, since the OS lacks the overhead of Windows, of course it'll run faster than some modern i5's, not all, yet some. It all depends on what one's doing. For general web browsing, extracting a file here & there, a P4 is perfectly fine for a Linux install. While onboard graphics will not be as good as Intel HD graphics or that of an addon card, some PC's does have a slot for a card, and if PCIe rather than PCI only, the more low cost & powerful options. 

Today's mainstream GPU's uses a fraction of the power as old gen ones does, if the motherboard does have a PCIe connection, it's likely that either a nVidia 750 Ti variant or even the GTX 950 will install, yet to be honest, AMD has the edge over nVidia when it comes to drop in Linux compatibility w/out a lot of configuration & there's cards in the $100-125 (or less) range that will do the job nicely. Some may require a 6 pin power adapter, of which an adapter for 2 molex to one 6 pin adapter are often included, and others simply runs off of the power of the MB. 

I've never used a PCI graphics card, so can't tell you nor anyone else to go from there. 

Am very happy to have you here & look forward to more of you Linux postings. Should you have any further questions, please ask. There's no such thing as a 'dumb' question on our forum, other than the one not asked when in need. As a community we & assist & learn from one another, sharing & exchanging ideas, that's the way a proper Linux community operates. 

Furthermore, now you no longer have to deal with the limitations of partitioning, as I recall, was a setback in another Topic. That PC in the closet freed you from the slavery of Windows, and as you said yourself, the more you use Linux Mint, the more you'll want to use it. I have 3 Windows installs on this PC & most of the time, rather than boot into one of those, will boot into the 40GiB Linux Mint 17.2 partition, my /home partition is on a HDD (a 1TiB sized HDD that was halved, half for Mint /home & the other, Windows Data) the majority of the time. With the resources that I have, don't have to, as Mint typically when Web browsing uses only 1-3% of the CPU & maybe 5% of the RAM, compared to 25% CPU & 25-30% of RAM on Windows. 

That's the oddest issue with Windows, the more resources one dedicates to it, the more it'll use, and Windows 10 made things worse than better. First off, the Ethernet activity light is like a Christmas tree, always being used & glowing on a notebook, and if the Device Manager were opened, one would see the increased usage over Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. That's because it's uploading like mad as much data about You as possible. Also, that's what makes Cortana more effective, the more she knows about you, the better she can help. The heck with that, Google has been my personal digital assistant for a long time, and with adblockers in place, don't need to give away my soul for a OS. 

I always maintained that Windows 10 wasn't going to be free, a catch to the deal. If one places a value on their privacy, grabbing a copy for $100 or so & use a Local account only is the best option. This can also be done with the more expensive Pro version, which also offers encryption via Bitlocker, yet that's only as good as how the computer is secured, if there's a place for a padlock, use it. 

Fortunately with Linux Mint 17.2, one doesn't need to be worried over these things, just enjoy the computer to the max & be happy that you found a new life for it. 

All the Best, 

Cat

Mate you deserve a medal.

 

You have been through trials and tribulations that might have deterred others less staunch.

 

Linux, and other 'nix options is/are like peeling an onion - the more layers you peel, the more you find.

 

And if you are a cook, you'll know that an onion well prepared can taste as sweet as.

 

Linux is what Windows COULD have been (had profits been less of a motive), but has gone on to be far better.

 

I applaud your starting this Topic - makes me feel warm and gooey ... and hungry (onions).

 

Later

 

Wizard

Hi Wiz .. agree, yes, there is very likely depth to Linux that I would never ever use, or even be aware of. But what I have used so far is just so .. good .. (without waxing lyrical again about Linux).

About Windows / profit motive - well, I'm no critic of the profit motive, being an active exponent of it myself. Healthy profit motive is one thing. Profit by deception, dissempowerment and creation of 'sheeple' mentality is another - and that is my main gripe with MSFT.

.. and yes, I LOVE onions - I was born in an area in Southern Europe whose main produce the last hundreds of years has been ,, onions :-)

jargos, am glad to have you as a happy Linux Mint 17.2 user, and it shows the usefulness of not only the Linux OS, also of the computers that it's installed upon. There's no way of knowing other than it's certain, there's likely many more PC's & notebooks packed away in the closet for years, some may need a CMOS or notebook battery, otherwise are plenty for a Linux Mint install. While there's uncertainty whether or not the next or last LTS Ubuntu release (what Mint is built on) is the one that will be the last for 32 bit users (reports suggests the next is the last), yet that's OK, if it's the last LTS version, 14.04, one's supported until April 2019, if it's the next, then April 2021, chances are your computer won't outlive the last date w/out some major overhauling. 

 

Yet that's still lots of time remaining, Ubuntu 16.04 (what Linux Mint 18 will be built on), will provide 5 more years of support & be better than the last & so will Linux Mint 18. 

 

Any PC that has PAE instructions in the CPU can run a modern Linux system, regardless of age, and better yet, since the OS lacks the overhead of Windows, of course it'll run faster than some modern i5's, not all, yet some. It all depends on what one's doing. For general web browsing, extracting a file here & there, a P4 is perfectly fine for a Linux install. While onboard graphics will not be as good as Intel HD graphics or that of an addon card, some PC's does have a slot for a card, and if PCIe rather than PCI only, the more low cost & powerful options. 

 

Today's mainstream GPU's uses a fraction of the power as old gen ones does, if the motherboard does have a PCIe connection, it's likely that either a nVidia 750 Ti variant or even the GTX 950 will install, yet to be honest, AMD has the edge over nVidia when it comes to drop in Linux compatibility w/out a lot of configuration & there's cards in the $100-125 (or less) range that will do the job nicely. Some may require a 6 pin power adapter, of which an adapter for 2 molex to one 6 pin adapter are often included, and others simply runs off of the power of the MB. 

 

I've never used a PCI graphics card, so can't tell you nor anyone else to go from there. 

 

Am very happy to have you here & look forward to more of you Linux postings. Should you have any further questions, please ask. There's no such thing as a 'dumb' question on our forum, other than the one not asked when in need. As a community we & assist & learn from one another, sharing & exchanging ideas, that's the way a proper Linux community operates. 

 

Furthermore, now you no longer have to deal with the limitations of partitioning, as I recall, was a setback in another Topic. That PC in the closet freed you from the slavery of Windows, and as you said yourself, the more you use Linux Mint, the more you'll want to use it. I have 3 Windows installs on this PC & most of the time, rather than boot into one of those, will boot into the 40GiB Linux Mint 17.2 partition, my /home partition is on a HDD (a 1TiB sized HDD that was halved, half for Mint /home & the other, Windows Data) the majority of the time. With the resources that I have, don't have to, as Mint typically when Web browsing uses only 1-3% of the CPU & maybe 5% of the RAM, compared to 25% CPU & 25-30% of RAM on Windows. 

 

That's the oddest issue with Windows, the more resources one dedicates to it, the more it'll use, and Windows 10 made things worse than better. First off, the Ethernet activity light is like a Christmas tree, always being used & glowing on a notebook, and if the Device Manager were opened, one would see the increased usage over Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. That's because it's uploading like mad as much data about You as possible. Also, that's what makes Cortana more effective, the more she knows about you, the better she can help. The heck with that, Google has been my personal digital assistant for a long time, and with adblockers in place, don't need to give away my soul for a OS. 

 

I always maintained that Windows 10 wasn't going to be free, a catch to the deal. If one places a value on their privacy, grabbing a copy for $100 or so & use a Local account only is the best option. This can also be done with the more expensive Pro version, which also offers encryption via Bitlocker, yet that's only as good as how the computer is secured, if there's a place for a padlock, use it. 

 

Fortunately with Linux Mint 17.2, one doesn't need to be worried over these things, just enjoy the computer to the max & be happy that you found a new life for it. 

 

All the Best, 

 

Cat

(Bolded, above) .. BINGO !!!

I had the opportunity last week, to test drive my daughters brand new, Dell i7 (whatever that is) Win 10 lappie.

It should have been fast, intuitive, productive .. yet it was none of these things. It was slow .. the display was insipid .. the menu is NOT better than W8 ... it's worse, IMO.  It was confusing, counter intuitive, it was, well, basically CRAP !!!

Play 'candy crush' off the main menu ? See my aunts dessert photos on Fakebook ? Read what the latest twit as Tweeted about Angelina Jolea ?

I spent nearly three hours on it and towards the end, got dangerously close to being overcome with that 'throw thru the window' urge!

GOOD GRIEF !!! THIS is serious computing ? THIS is the begining of MSFT' s promise (according to the very Orwellian W10 adverts we are incessently subjected to) to work with the next person that saved the world .. or something ?

Thanks for your post and your encouraging comments, and for your help in the past.

Edited by jargos, 04 October 2015 - 07:42 AM.

 

I spent nearly three hours on it and towards the end, got dangerously close to being overcome with that 'throw thru the window' urge!

LOL. That's Windows for you.