New Linux User

12 opinions for The Free World: Who Are These GNU/Linux Newbies?

• Arnold Jansen
  Mar 29, 2006 at 5:58 am

  Hi there,
  I can’t speak for anyone else but for myself.
  I have installed a version of Vector Linux on the seccond box next to me and you are absolutely right , i do have alot of linux questions BUT i am working with computers since the Amiga 500 as a hobby and basicly atm i am a windows (xp) user, not becouse i like it but becouse i need it for my web business (some tools and the online MMORG Anarchy Online i play yes i know Cedega exists). As you can see i am not a newbee to computers at all, now linux is another story, i know a bit but i have alot to learn about it, eventualy i wanne be able to use the distro: “Linux from Scratch” to build my own system becouse as business stands right now i was unable to find a linux that suits my needs.
  What i think realy sucks in linux is that when i install a package it spreads files all over the place, i can never find the program again and add it to my startmenu, also what i dislike is that distro’s install 20 million tools wich may seem very nice for a linux guru , its not for me couse a) i dunno most of them let alone use it and b) can this be a clean system at all ? No then give me the good oll Amiga OS back , i knew were everything was, how to remove it cleanly and were the programs went in case of any problems.
  What i would like to see is a distribution wich would let me compile my own minimal linux optimized for my pc and let me choose the tools (+ explenation) that i would want onit, also it should tell me were the files are stored and how to uninstall it. There are mini distribution like on 2 floppy’s they run great, then i wonder how did these guys make them !? Another thing about Linux today is that some distribution’s got so big and fat that they run even slower then Windows XP itself, is this the way linux is headed ? I honestly canot see wy people would want such crap on their pc ! If linux goes further down this road it is completely missing its purpous. I like computers alot BUT i want them to run what i like them to run, not becouse some devs or distro maintainers think they will be usefull to me !
  Now i could go on and on about pro’s and con’s about linux systems but i won’t, i like to just say that a) Windows plain sucks and b) Linux has issues i dont like.
  This is all just my personal opinion,
  Regards,
  Arnold Jansen

• Jon
  Mar 29, 2006 at 6:22 am

  Hey Arnold,

  You bring up a lot of good points. There’s a lot of people that agree with you in that they feel desktop Linux is getting bloated.

  A distro that you might like (albeit you might not be ready for it - I know that I’m not!) is Gentoo. It’s distributed as source only and you have to configure and compile the entire thing. The advantage is that you know *exactly* what’s being installed and Gentoo users report that it tends to run a LOT faster than other distros because it was compiled specifically for that machine.

  I’ve heard tell that Gentoo isn’t for the faint of heart and at the very least you would have to have an intimate knowledge of the hardware on your system.

  Maybe something to look forward to :)

  I think the fastest distro I’ve run to date is Kanotix (Debian). Man…it is really good. I haven’t used it in a while now just because I like to swap up my distros a lot (am currently on Kubuntu) but I really found Kanotix zippy when I used it before.

• Tim
  Apr 1, 2006 at 3:18 pm

  Hi Jon,
  I started messing around with Linux in Oct 2004. I bought a computer from the Sam’s Club (Wal-mart) website that had a version of Linux pre-installed. It was called CPUBuilders Linux. At the time I had no confidence that I could install and configure Linux myself, but I always wanted to try it. Anyway the system worked fine right out of the box. I was able to hook it up to my new high speed internet connection. I gave my wife and daughter their own userids with email and web browser. I was rockin! I’m not new to computers but PC’s have never really interested me that much and I’ve never had much patience for them. Anyway after a couple of months I started to learn more about linux and all the different applications that are available. I was just completely blown away by the quality and quantity of open source software that linux PC’s can run.
  I think my next upgrade was to move my wife out of
  Mozilla and onto the latest Thunderbird/Firefox.
  I did it the hard way by downloading the tarballs but after some trial and error I got things up and running. She barely noticed the difference, but I had the satisfaction of knowing that she was using the latest/best stuff. It was the desire for the latest stuff that led me after 6 months to try another distro. I had come to the conclusion that CPUBuilders was never going to come out with a new release. I had found distrowatch by this time and was reading how all the recent distro’s were packed with the newest versions of the software I used. So over a 3 day weekend in Mar 2005 I took a shot at partitioning my hard drive. This was rather frightening to do the first time. I didn’t want to break my working system, but I knew I wanted to see what other distros looked like. Anyway, I didn’t break anything and I managed to install Vector Linux and Ubuntu alongside my still intact CPUBuilders. I migrated my wife over to Vector SOHO. She has since traveled thru Mepis and is now running Suse 10.0 (soon 10.1). As long as I keep her on KDE with the same wallpaper she really doesn’t care what’s under the covers. I use my two extra partitions to mess around with different distros when I have some time. I’m running Underground and a beta version on Suse 10.1 right now. So that’s my story. Thanks for all your new user stuff. It has helped me alot. TS

• Jon
  Apr 1, 2006 at 3:27 pm

  Hey Tim,

  Thanks for the note. Walmart up in Canada stopped selling computers (I actually don’t know if they ever did). In fact, there isn’t one major retail outlet in Canada that I’m aware of that will sell you a Linux box. There are some smaller ones (like sub 300), but none of the big ones. That’s a serious detriment to Linux up here. Like you say - you bought a box pre-installed because at the time you weren’t sure that you could install it and get it working. A lot of people are in that boat. I likely never would have tried it if I didn’t have a spare computer lying around to mess around with. I couldn’t have afforded the downtime on my main machine.

  You also bring up a real good point that most computer users don’t care what’s under the hood. As long as it looks and functions like something they expect - they’re good. I find that most of the successful ‘Linux migration’ stories involve older people or younger people. Probably the two demographics that don’t care how something works, just as long as it works.

  It’s nice to see that in two short years you were able to come from your first pre-installed system up to runing multiple distros and being a true convert. Great story - thanks!

  J

• corruption
  Apr 8, 2006 at 11:16 pm

  First off Slax IS NOT MY anything. SLAX Live CD and Linux Live scripts are both work of just a single person and his name is Tomas Matejicek. I am just in this author’s terms a “power users, hackers, and computer enthusiasts” in the windows world. Further I am soo the Slax Fan. Basic idea of my post here is to point new user’s at (what I like to call the ” window2linux bridge “) Slax SE !! Read below to see how Slax answers the needs listed above.
  If you go to shots.osdir.com they have the Slax 5.0.8 screenshots up. V5.1.0 is the same look and tools with minor bug fixes. I started with Slax KillBill v5.0.6 and was addicted and thankful ever since. That was 2/8/06. My friends are all playing with it now as I can’t help popping it in every PC that I see. So far I have been able to boot it on well over 30 varied machines without failure. I simply can’t speak enough in a week about the reasons why Slax is the new user choice. here next I give answer to quote’s from post above. not as challange but to show why Slax is a solution.

  1- “The fact that new Linux users aren’t necessarily new computer users — They just want something better and have chosen to attempt the switch to GNU/Linux.”
  A- I so think this is the case with most. Sums me up perfectly along with my PC friends that can also “power use” widows but are lost in the 400 choice distro list. At less than 200mg Slax can be tried with a short DL “even on dial-up” and a CD-r. I say 5 minutes after boot you will be Slax user for life. Know I was,lol.

  2- “when i install a package it spreads files all over the place, i can never find the program again and add it to my startmenu, also what i dislike is that distro’s install 20 million tools”
  A1- Slax uses a simple module system to add the thing beyond the basics for users to try and share. If you don’t like the install change you take away module from boot file, an just reboot, it’s gone. A2- Tomas made Slax to be a complete basic tool set for the linux user. The KDE desktop makes it feel and act alot like window common. As it fits on a mini CDr Slax has only one tool each task.

  3- “a distribution wich would let me compile my own minimal linux optimized for my pc and let me choose the tools”
  A- Slax has modules you can add that allow you to make anything I assume that linux offers into a .mo file for your custom Slax. What you Dl first will act as the base prewired perhaps. A large .mo storehouse makes finding the popular items a snap. anything else can be made. Right down to the kernel.

  4- “There are mini distribution like on 2 floppy’s they run great, then i wonder how did these guys make them”
  A- Floppy one starts pc an asks for floppy 2. they togeather start pc and load kernel. At root promt it is then where one would start an old school linux install. From here more things are added thru floppy or cdrom an then booted from HD someday. That day never came for me till I found slax. I have those disk here and they do start my pc just fine. Only then I’m lost in boring text hell. While powerful it’s just dull.

  5-”A distro that you might like (albeit you might not be ready for it - I know that I’m not!) is Gentoo. It’s distributed as source only and you have to configure and compile the entire thing. The advantage is that you know *exactly* what’s being installed”
  A- Well the slax you DL wont need any of this and you will know whats installed. If you read the installed package list on site along with change log to see what history shows as stable as it wouldn’y have been changed. Reading and linux go hand in hand so if reading and finding your own answers scares you then windows is where you should be. Would also say that most users after 6 to 8 weeks working with slax would be able to handle any linux distro install they choose to meet their needs. Slax is noobie heaven as it alows you to use with ease and if not a ready made solution for every need it still gives foundation for making wise choice for larger more intricate distro’s of linux that do.

  6- “I think the fastest distro I’ve run to date is Kanotix (Debian). Man…it is really good”
  A- When slax starts hit F1 to enter boot cheatcode for copy2ram if you have 256mg+ for speed after boot that will amaze even your guru type. If you have 512mg it will load alot of extra’s you choose and still be lightning fast. In case you have not gone to site yet. The greatest thing, is that it won’t harm your windows as you have no need to install it for things to work. You can wipe out windows in slax no problem, but that would be by intent and not by accident. It’s all saved in ram so wont affect window files. I think of slax for the noobs as a linux sandbox. safe to play and explore in. If you don’t have to worry about breaking your PC then linux can be fun to try. Slax makes this a reality.

  7- “Oct 2004. I bought a computer from the Sam’s Club (Wal-mart) website that had a version of Linux pre-installed.”–”my next upgrade was the latest Thunderbird/Firefox.”-”I did it the hard way by downloading the tarballs but after some trial and error”–”It was the desire for the latest stuff that led me after 6 months to try another distro.”
  A- First there are 400+ linux distro’s out because making anything that everyone can use is easy. Making one sytem that is right for everyone is in reality impossible. Making the choice for you is what Mr gates has done and from this you are here. That should say it all. In fact all noobs should have windows to start with and fall back on just as every window user should know linux to fall back on when windows fails. Also these systems can lock you into a way of doing things only they do. Just like windows and that is a deadend as you now know. Knowing that slax won’t hurt your windows makes learning less scary and the curve less steep.

  8- “I took a shot at partitioning my hard drive. This was rather frightening to do the first time. I didn’t want to break my working system, but I knew I wanted to see what other distros looked like.”
  A- First never do this if not back’d up files first. Frankly IMO if you can’t manage a re-install of windows or the linux installed then touching the disk becomes a hazard to avoid. The re-partition or sigle drive is worse yet. The best advice I give is to break new drives into at least two parts with just like 4 0r 5gigs for windows on drive one “c:\”. This makes later changes to the system for many reasons I won’t list here. With that said I say that no one ever has to go this route to try linux with the many CDrom based distro’s out. I push Slax as it has been booted with success and then used by every window user I have given a demo too. And at 200mg and safe anyone can easily see hands on if linux has met their needs yet. I don’t think it’s fun to use anything without a GUI and a mouse. I do see the power of the CLI but beauty and user interaction and recognition are top of my list as a new linux user just freed from my small window.

  9- “Like you say - you bought a box pre-installed because at the time you weren’t sure that you could install it and get it working”
  A- This is why I love Slax most. You dont install it just DL and burn an an ISO. That’s it and next you are using a linux OS. If say your wireless NIC has issue you simply reboot to windows and the slax forum search will have an answer. Add the wifi.mo and reboot. The main things work for sure out the box so to speak with typical things as printers being more to set up at first. Also linux as you may have read is limited as to what hardware supports it. So maybe you buy and find that now it will only run windows unless you add parts. With slax you can really get a basic linux compatiblity test right in the retail store. As it boots and then test to self configure anything that fails to load will probly not be popular linux hardware. Not foolproof but a real help.

  10- “I likely never would have tried it if I didn’t have a spare computer lying around to mess around with. I couldn’t have afforded the downtime on my main machine.”
  A- Seen this is very true. With slax as pointed out above this is no longer a road block. Slax allows a bit of relax as it welcomes new users to the land on linux.

  11- “You also bring up a real good point that most computer users don’t care what’s under the hood. As long as it looks and functions like something they expect - they’re good.”–”I find that most of the successful ‘Linux migration’ stories involve older people or younger people. Probably the two demographics that don’t care how something works, just as long as it works.”
  A1- If they don’t care why or how they never look past windows for alternative’s. The others will use what they can recognise better thus making a switch to or trial of linux very easy. A2- Think the second has more to do with freetime than not caring how it works. As linux won’t guess about what you want like windows tries to it requires some reading and trying of things to see what you like as well as what works. most things do work just not how you want so being in effect broken to you. The old and young might have that time but that don’t fly with the rest of us thus stopping or delaying the movement to linux. For us it must simply work first to be worth the time spent. Slax does just work first then expand to fit your needs. Some find later that another distro have more of the toys they want added to them and ready to use. This is good as alot of them are based on slax with added modules all preset a bit to aid new user’s. Only warning here is that they will be larger to DL obviuosly but as I have looked at the most popular one’s now I see that thought on how things are organized can be lacking. Tomas made slax much like windows in that things are where a typical user might think to look. Also He chose only the best and most current and stable programs to include in slax. As slax was made to fit and be fully functional on one mini cdr this must have been a real job alone.

  12- “It’s nice to see that in two short years you were able to come from your first pre-installed system up to runing multiple distros and being a true convert.”
  A- It is very good to have done this just wish someone had showed you slax before buying the box and working 2 yrs. that kinda work is what new users fear after all the work they done put into understanding windows. 2 months ago and being a strong window user I finally used my first linux desktop. Now I have a full slackware 10.2 install and itching to get that new 11.0 as it comes out anyday now. I only say this as to compare 2 yrs vs. 2 months and to say that my speed inlearning was 2 fold. 1- I owe it all to slax for working so I had linux in action to learn from. 2- I burt a bit of midnite oil witch might be more than some can give all at once. Safe bet to say that a user can understand linux and use it effectively in 2 months too one yr if they start with slax to train and learn on. Later after you know what you want in linux you can make an educated choice on what and how to install along side your current windows OS. Yes i said with as I dont think linux has what everyone needs yet and might never as windows does not completely satisfy or you wouldn’t still be reading now. as such I never say kill windows just too kill bill with the knowing that you now have choices and options. But he is counting on you not wanting to learn so that you keep paying over inflated prices for solutions that require lil effort from you. Your gonna pay somehow so make a wise choice.

  For answers to all other concerns go to slax forum. I have posted alot and even looked a bigger fool there if you search my name. If you weren’t corrupted before I hope you are now. Slax is highly addictive as the fear of linux is a thing of the past now. least with slax it is. Oh and last thing. Slax has a few combo’s sorta to make task orientated toolboxs if you will. slax server edition is a mini server. And KillBill is made to help run some of your window programs from linux. popcorn is even smaller for media playback and such needs. Now froto is text driven so not for the window convert to start with idealy but if you need to run a pc and only use 50mgs or so then froto is for you. Froto is slax core then add some music and video a browser an such. boom you got popcorn at 128mg or add office things an all the other basic needs of a pc and thats SE. for a small or private network slax server is the greatest being so easy. I miss old games like doom an such so killbill allows me to still enjoy them without the window drag. All these slax versions can be installed to usb drives thus making reality thIt’s nice to see that in two short years you were able to come from your first pre-installed system up to runing multiple distros and being a true convert.at you can install “with care” to your ipod an take to any usb bootable pc and run your slax. Talk about amazing your friends.lol If you wanna do it slax will make it easy compared to anyother linux distro out there. Plus once your accellerated learning of linux is advanced you now know what and how to install any linux you want with confidence. In the end welcome to linux hope it meets your needs no matter where you start.

  Hi I’m corruption, and I’ve been windoze free since 2/8/06, thanks for your support. And thank you Tomas for making Slax. Slax is how I started using linux and you should too. One final clue to knowing if you are new enough to linux to know if slax is where to start for you or not is if you are still reading this post. An exp. linux user would have stopped reading a post this long if ever they bothered to at all. From one noob to another I know by failing what works an slax works. Only wrote this as a way to give back in the way of helping another avoid time wasting an confusing distro’s that do work if you know how to make them work. The choice is always yours I just offer from the heart what might help. Peace and be well.

• Jon
  Apr 9, 2006 at 12:02 pm

  Wow…that’s an incredible post, dude. I’m going to point to it in an entry soon.

  Thanks for all that info.

  J

• corruption
  Apr 10, 2006 at 9:24 am

  I found all the prblems above over the yrs of trying to get my own linux desktop to use. They all stopped me then as they do many. Wish that slax was what I had tried first but till lately it was a linux secret sorta. The guru’s used it as a powerful yet portable linux OS but didn’t share or push rather that it was a great tool for noobies also. This last attemp to try linux on my PC I was looking for small. I didn’t want to waste days DL’ing just to be disapointed again. I liked the desktop screenshot I saw for slax so at 200mg it’s the one I picked. I thank god an Tomas daily for making slax now. The KDE desktop was like a second home, as if it was made to make a window convert feel at ease. Few weeks later I was already making custom versions of slax on cdr for each of my family’s home network PC’s. Now they all can duel boot either slax or windows and use the tools best suited for what they are doing. If linux is bad at something windows is good at it and vice verses. So having both is best IMHO. The family don’t know why or how slax does it, but they can use it an that’s half the battle, right. I can get long winded so that’s about it for now. I Like the rest of your website also as I am picking up new linux skills that I lack but every user should know. Keep the learning going and this great site as well. You was listed 3rd in my google search for basic linux skills how-to info in case you didn’t know. There will be many links made to here from my fan site to be built later. Keep up the great work of making the basics of linux into words the noobs can grasp and use. Bravo. Sorry about the typo’s in last post. This site doesn’t allow spell check to work in firefox and I was tired after all that typing, lol. Hope it helps some folks as slax has helped me. L8r.

• VividHazE
  Apr 11, 2006 at 4:49 am

  Hey Jon,

  I’ve been looking for a site like this for a while! Loads of actual help instead of endless pointless tutorials. I like your non-tutorials approach :)

  I’ve been using Windows for about 8 years, with about 4 of those years spent playing about with Linux, without any success. My first distribution I bought was RH7, I could get the GUI working after a long time, and then was never able to get my modem working, so I gave up.

  About 2 years ago someone introduced me to Firefox and I got hooked, then that OSS got me into Blender, which then lead to me a whole host of 3D apps that I enjoyed using in Windows, but which I discovered worked in Linux (BETTER than windows too).

  So basically the last few months have been spent trying out different distros. I’ve tried Ubuntu, which I hated, SuSE 9.2, which was good but out of date, (gotta remember to try openSuSE) and then finally settled on Kanotix. It has nearly everything I want pre-installed and as you’ve said before its very nippy. :)

  So your right, New Linux Users arn’t always new to computers. In the Western world I’d say peoples transitions would be Windows -> Linux. so they couldn’t be new users, but in the Eastern and poorer countries usage of Linux is more likely to be first timers.

  God I wish they had made me use Linux when I was young, would save on all this learning now! :P

  Great blog keep up the good work.

• eric
  Jun 27, 2006 at 10:04 am

  Hey Jon,

  I definitely fall into the ‘user’ and ‘enthusiast’ category.

  I first used Linux maybe 6 years ago when I installed Mandrake 7 on a box. A friend gave it to me and it worked surprisingly well, although I was so fascinated by all the available apps that I did a full install and ended up with thousands of pieces of software and was miserably confused.

  Although, I played with it for a few months and upgraded to ver 8, I was so heavily invested in Win apps that I didn’t feel I could migrate over. I’d just started a new business and had to spend my time working, so I didn’t have the time to tinker with the new OS.

  Since then, I’ve used Linux on a bunch of web servers that I use for hosting. Several different flavors, but all running programs like cPanel to help make admin easier.

  A few years ago, I leased a VPS that allowed SSH access and I’ve been trying to learn more about the workings of Linux since. Over the last year, I’ve installed Ubuntu, Fedora and several other distros locally so I can poke around and learn more.

  Now, in my home office I’m running the Ubuntu 6.06 LAMP server install on one machine for development (no gui) and another has a dual-boot of XP with Xubuntu, which I quite like because it’s slimmer and runs pretty quickly on 5+ year old hardware.

  Finally, I have to say one of my major motivations lately is that I’m fed up of the constant cost associated with Win applications. I’ve easily bought several thousand dollars worth of software over the last 6 years. Much of this is not MS software directly, but the lion’s share of it is. Between Office, XP etc, software is easily the most expensive part of most machines.

  I’m not opposed to paying for software that I need, but I find that most people (myself included) use a small fraction of most software capabilities, so it’s really easy to find a linux-based solution that saves a lot of money over upgrading to the latest commercial apps.

  Thanks for the great blog!

• Jon
  Jun 27, 2006 at 9:34 pm

  Thanks for the responses, guys. This has turned out to be one of the coolest questions I’ve ever asked. It’s interesting to see how we all took somewhat similar journeys to get where we are with Linux today.

  Very cool.

• Penis Enlargement
  Nov 2, 2006 at 12:50 pm

  Here you will find articles penis about serious penis enlargement products and much more like penis conditions, erection, sexual health, sexuality, jelqing, penis enlargement pills. Visit: http://www.sinepenis.com

• Andy
  Jun 20, 2007 at 6:30 am

  I’m not what you would call an advanced user of any OS. However- I have recently installed ubuntu (edgy eft) on to a rather old (P3@ 1.13ghz) Ibm thinkpad.

  Having said that I’ve noticed that ubuntu runs at roughly the same speed as my previous OS (win 2k) which is more than acceptable. However, it doesn’t constantly spin the hard drive or keep the CPU operating at 100%. In fact, the cpu generally stays put at 731mhz unless I’m doing something intensive like opening a new file. After the task is complete it immediately returns to its lower setting.

  The laptop itself even feels differently due to the fact that the left handrest (hard drive?) doesn’t get warm any more- not even when I’m downloading hundreds of megabytes worth of files.

  So, while arguably it’s not faster than win 2k- it’s much more efficient as far speed is concerned.

  I just don’t get how anyone could complain about the speed of a Linux Os- when I’ve observed that even a non-optimized complete OS can run extremely well on an old Ibm R31 of all things.

  That’s just my 2 cents and hopefully no one takes offense, thanks.

Have an opinion? Leave a comment:

• Use this area to discover new blogs and content in the b5media network.
• Beauty & Style
• Business
• Celebrities
• Entertainment
• Health & Wellness
• Lifestyles
• Music
• Sports
• Team Blogs
• Technology
• Travel & Culture
• Video Games