Tips on moving to Linux?

[Madshib]

I can only impart my experience here and nothing more, but maybe it will provide some guidance for you.

I stepped away from my Amiga and computers in general back in 98 thinking computers won't be as fun as they used to be(I was wrong on this point, but didn't realize until recently). I picked it back up in 03 and have been running XP then 7. They did what I needed them to do, minor music production and duplication, very few games, web browsing, iTunes, and Office work.

About 2 years ago I wanted to try something a little safer for my family in regards to security, privacy, and stability. I ultimately moved to Linux Mint LXDE/Mate for everyone after trying several "distros". It provides a platform for music production with Ardour and Audacity; it has multiple options for CD and DVD duplication; I use my Playstation or 1200 for games now even though Neverwinter Nights is an awesome RPG with a native Linux client; Libre Office does everything I used MS Office for, and Firefox seems to be updated weekly. I haven't tried to figure out an iTunes replacement yet but it's not a high priority for me at this point.

I have had mixed results but a lot has to do with the learning curve on my part. Fortunately, there is a ton of documentation on the net, support is there for those who can search forums, go on youtube for tutorials, etc.
Getting the desktop running with pre-installed software is cake and getting additional software not included is just as easy. I never had anything "break" until I really started messing with things in attempts to learn and I wasn't really knowledgeable as to what I was doing. I know better now. but that's part of the "fun" so to say (at least for me)

One thing that I have realized is that I feel a little excited again. Almost like when I first started using the Amiga. I have even started a new partition for Linux from Scratch and have started reading up on C+. There are fun hacks out there, different ways to implement the OS, different desktops, options in general are varied. Mint itself is fast, works on older hardware, and has a great support and development team.

Me personally, I like using Linux and use it everyday. It is different in some ways and will take some time to learn, but once you do, it affords you a well supported alternative.

If you want to dual boot, this is an option as is the USB stick. There are also "live" cds, but these provide a generally poor experience due to the nature of system access. If you don't want to mess with your hard drive yet, go with the USB stick.

Flame on

[Madshib]

7. Are all Linux strains compatible? I don't want to be stuck with a Linux branch that can't run common binaries.

Anything for Linux will run on any Linux flavour. The package installers vary depending on distribution, commands and such. But generally the package managers have pretty comprehensive repositories of software. Updates filter through flavours pretty quickly. If you want something that is not in them you can do a manual compile. This is a bit tricky but doable.

In fairness to the question you answered, I think it should be stated that pre-compiled binaries on on different architectures will not work when crossing over other Linux distributions. Debian vs Ubuntu vs. Arch vs. Puppy etc. I think that this should be spelled out for some as I didn't know this when I switched over. I am not trolling here at all, I think he should know that initially. The last bit you mention is part of the reason I wanted to learn C as compiling in Linux can be important at times if you want something arch specific. To your point though, most software is compiled for different architectures already in the repositories.

@TCMSCP - TY for Bitwig! I never heard of it and it looks well polished as a Linux DAW.

[Madshib]

I'm glad you got got Lubuntu downloaded and running!

I was trying to reply earlier with my 12 month on my lap (I should've known better) and say to look at some of the distributions on Distrowatch.com

Some are better than others at certain tasks. One person pointed out Ubuntu Studio. I think this is a good point to indicate that if you are looking for specific tasks like music production and video editing, Ubuntu Studio, or even better, AV Linux are good alternatives. They have optimized kernels for these tasks.

If you are looking for a business machine environment, Solaris or the latest Oracle with the security minded impenetrable kernel would be a good option.

So not only do different distributions use Linux as a kernel to a perticular user need/solution, the kernel itself can be modified to handle specific types of environments.

Distrowatch is where I was also exposed to Haiku which, at this rate, could be an OS contender if more  software is developed for it

Remember, Have Fun!!

[Madshib]

And that's no thanks at all to Microsoft, who had it within their power all along to provide that option and chose to try and shove Metro down everybody's throats and only made the most passive-aggressive concession possible to all the people who were screaming at them to stop.

This is a very good point about where Gnome went(this is still a Linux thread, isn't it? ) and why I won't use Ubuntu or Fedora. I know MANY people were complaining about the Unity interface. I didn't think it was such a big deal, but the departure from a more classic desktop wasn't for me after dual booting Fedora and Mint with MATE. I just like the more traditional better.
However, the difference in the Linux world is that you have lots of different choices when it comes to the desktop. Mint made it easier for Ubuntu folks by forking Gnome 2 into a modern, regularly developed for interface. You still maintain an Ubuntu core, but have all the niceties of Mint.

So I think it's important to understand that from a Linux user perspective. Window managers, file managers, desktop UIs....there are a bunch out there to choose from and they all have pros and cons. Try different distros with different desktops as standard and install different desktops from the repositories. You will be surprised and the level of customization you can achieve.

[Madshib]

This thread is out of control.

Ral-clan - Good luck. If you need any assistance, PM me, maybe I can help you out if you need it.