The Inq's guide to free operating systems

24th December 2007, 18:09

XP IS GETTING a bit long in the tooth, Vista is a pig and you don't want to buy a Mac and join the Jobs Cult. So, you're thinking of having a look at Linux, but are bamboozled by the hundreds of flavours and don't want to spend a weekend discussing it with disturbingly intense bearded men in socks and sandals. So here is the Inquirer's guide to Linux: quick, clear, opinionated and unfair.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquir...free-operating

24th December 2007, 18:11

I often slam The Inq for some of the articles it sometimes publishes, but I think this guide is relatively stable enough for non-Linux users to read and get a brief glimpse into the Linux world.

I especially like the following quote from the article:

Quote:

First time around, don't use a laptop - use a desktop machine with a wired network connection. Don't dual boot it if you can avoid it - use a PC you can wipe clean. Don't try something state of the art, as there may not be free drivers yet. Most hardware vendors are too selfish to provide free documentation for open source developers, so everything must be reverse-engineered. You don't need much - just the same sort of spec as for XP. Half a gig of RAM, although more won't hurt, a 2GHz CPU and 20G of hard disk will be plenty. It's faster and easier to install than Windows, and once it's on, all your applications will be right there ready to use, and it only ever needs a single online update rather than half a dozen visits to windowsupdate.microsoft.com, rebooting each time.

jmke · 25th December 2007, 09:53

Quote:

rather than half a dozen visits to windowsupdate.microsoft.com, rebooting each time.

they aren't experienced much with XP are they now; all windows update are installed once, only require ONE reboot at the end

24th December 2007, 18:09	#1
Shogun Posts: n/a	The Inq's guide to free operating systems XP IS GETTING a bit long in the tooth, Vista is a pig and you don't want to buy a Mac and join the Jobs Cult. So, you're thinking of having a look at Linux, but are bamboozled by the hundreds of flavours and don't want to spend a weekend discussing it with disturbingly intense bearded men in socks and sandals. So here is the Inquirer's guide to Linux: quick, clear, opinionated and unfair. http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquir...free-operating

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Install Aero-Enabled Operating Systems in VMware Player	jmke	WebNews	0	2nd November 2009 13:55
The Cost of Switching Operating Systems	Sidney	WebNews	3	28th November 2007 17:07
INQ Guide to free software designed to protect Windows	jmke	WebNews	0	3rd October 2007 12:35
$1000 HTPC Systems Guide	jmke	WebNews	0	1st August 2007 12:37
HD DVD and Blu-ray Ripping Guide - HDCP free HD content	jmke	WebNews	0	27th March 2007 13:59
Gigabyte Mainboards Recover Operating Systems	jmke	WebNews	0	31st May 2006 13:33
guide to tweaking Doom3 for Ati graphics card systems	jmke	WebNews	1	2nd September 2004 11:18
List of fixes included in Windows XP Service Pack 2	jmke	WebNews	1	17th August 2004 15:03
Microsoft Postpones 64-bit Operating Systems Once Again	jmke	WebNews	0	28th July 2004 11:34
System Guide: Small Form Factor systems	jmke	WebNews	0	7th June 2004 11:07