Among the things I like to do on my free days is , well, play with technology. My new computer runs, obviously, Windows 7. But I like to experiment, fool around, if you will. So I have the latest Ubuntu on a 4GB USB stick.
For the few people reading this who don't know what I'm talking about, Ubuntu is the most popular version of Linux, the free open source operating system developed by a finnish programming student in the early 90's. Linux, because it is open can be re-coded by anyone or any business. This is why there are 300 versions, called distros. Each uses the Linux kernel (the OS-Windows has one too). That is the system basically. Then you load on a filing system, a download program & everything else.
Most distros are based on one of three main distros, Debian, Red Hat or Slackware, which is what most people think of when hearing Linux. using the command line to do stuff. Debian has the biggest packages & is the easiest system to use. That's what Ubuntu is based on.
There are multiple ways to use Ubuntu. the easiest is to use a "live cd". This can be used without touching your hard drive. The problem is that when you shut down & remove the cd, it forgets everything you have done. If you downloaded anything, it just goes away. So creating a file is impossible.
A better way is what I did. I ran the live cd, & when I got to the desktop, I went in the Gnome system menu & opened the Startup Disk Creator. I plugged in my USB stick, click on the listing (4GB file system), & clicked "create startup disk". After about a half hour I had the entire Ubuntu distro on this stick. Now when I want to run it, I plug the stick in a USB port, turn on my computer, & when the HP screen comes on I hit Esc, which brings up the boot menu. I click the listing for the stick (San Disk), & Ubuntu loads instead of Windows.
Now Linux has a small market share. One percent compared to Windows 90%. It has no viruses, partly because the way Linux is written, very secure. But let's face it, the bad guys are not going to write a virus for that teeny share-what's the point? So, why not a bigger market share? The reputation that you have to be a programming genius to use it. Of course, different distros work differently. Ubuntu was written for you & me. The default browser is Firefox, which I use on Windows, & is the 2nd most used around the world. The office suite is Open Office by Oracle, which I used on my XP machine.
The problem is it's issues with drivers & hardware. Many horror stories about Linux not recognizing printers & wifi. Geeks may spend days fixing these issues. I don't have the patience. One of the easiest things is downloading software. Linux doesn't want you going to sites, so there is a built in package manager. in Ubuntu it is at the bottom of applications. You click on it, it takes you to the repositories, you find what you want ( a music player, an e-mail program, flash, whatever), & click "install". That's all. But because of the issues some stuff doesn't work great. Video for instance. So I use it to surf without having to worry about viruses. Until Linux fixes all it's issues it will remain obscure. But hey, it's fun to play with stuff, right?
For the few people reading this who don't know what I'm talking about, Ubuntu is the most popular version of Linux, the free open source operating system developed by a finnish programming student in the early 90's. Linux, because it is open can be re-coded by anyone or any business. This is why there are 300 versions, called distros. Each uses the Linux kernel (the OS-Windows has one too). That is the system basically. Then you load on a filing system, a download program & everything else.
Most distros are based on one of three main distros, Debian, Red Hat or Slackware, which is what most people think of when hearing Linux. using the command line to do stuff. Debian has the biggest packages & is the easiest system to use. That's what Ubuntu is based on.
There are multiple ways to use Ubuntu. the easiest is to use a "live cd". This can be used without touching your hard drive. The problem is that when you shut down & remove the cd, it forgets everything you have done. If you downloaded anything, it just goes away. So creating a file is impossible.
A better way is what I did. I ran the live cd, & when I got to the desktop, I went in the Gnome system menu & opened the Startup Disk Creator. I plugged in my USB stick, click on the listing (4GB file system), & clicked "create startup disk". After about a half hour I had the entire Ubuntu distro on this stick. Now when I want to run it, I plug the stick in a USB port, turn on my computer, & when the HP screen comes on I hit Esc, which brings up the boot menu. I click the listing for the stick (San Disk), & Ubuntu loads instead of Windows.
Now Linux has a small market share. One percent compared to Windows 90%. It has no viruses, partly because the way Linux is written, very secure. But let's face it, the bad guys are not going to write a virus for that teeny share-what's the point? So, why not a bigger market share? The reputation that you have to be a programming genius to use it. Of course, different distros work differently. Ubuntu was written for you & me. The default browser is Firefox, which I use on Windows, & is the 2nd most used around the world. The office suite is Open Office by Oracle, which I used on my XP machine.
The problem is it's issues with drivers & hardware. Many horror stories about Linux not recognizing printers & wifi. Geeks may spend days fixing these issues. I don't have the patience. One of the easiest things is downloading software. Linux doesn't want you going to sites, so there is a built in package manager. in Ubuntu it is at the bottom of applications. You click on it, it takes you to the repositories, you find what you want ( a music player, an e-mail program, flash, whatever), & click "install". That's all. But because of the issues some stuff doesn't work great. Video for instance. So I use it to surf without having to worry about viruses. Until Linux fixes all it's issues it will remain obscure. But hey, it's fun to play with stuff, right?
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