Basic (probably) newbie questions, lots of 'em

MargaretA

Hello all,

I did a couple of searches and couldn't find answers to these questions, but if I missed something - a definite possibility - please feel free to direct me.

I have never used Linux; I have one friend who does and I just sent him these same questions. But I thought it would be good to post them here too. Here is what I said to him (edited in spots for this forum):

~~~

Long story short - my two-year-old laptop recently died. Replacing it with something I like has been a major hassle, so I'm starting to think that maybe Linux is the way to go. I have a few basic questions:

- How big of a hard drive would I need, generally?

- Is there any special processor and/or minimum processor speed I would need - Intel, AMD, older Macs (PowerPC, I think it's called), etc.?

- Will I be able to run the software I need with Linux? Mostly I use office productivity stuff - database, spreadsheet, and occasionally word processing - and Windows' Paint program and Irfanview for simple image manipulation (I make jewelry and occasionally use the images for that). I also need a web browser and preferably email; I'm currently using Firefox and Thunderbird.

- Will I be able to find a printer - an all-in-one, actually - that works with Linux? I don't think my current HP (a six-year-old PSC 1315) will manage it.

- Will a DVD drive work with Linux?

- What about the wireless card that comes with laptops now - the one that picks up public WIFI networks? Will those cards work with Linux?

- What about wireless internet? I'm getting ready to do some extensive traveling and wireless is really the only way I can think of to connect (satellite's too pricey). I'll contact the company I'm thinking of using and ask about their modems, but I thought I'd ask here for your experience with these.

~~~

I know there are different versions of Linux available (is that what a "distro" is?), but I have no idea of the differences or if there is a preferred one for a particular machine. The computer I have now has an AMD Athlon processor running at 2.4 gHz, with 4 gigs of RAM and a 320 gig hard drive. It's brand new but is going back to the store very soon; it has some major problems that I won't go into here. So I'm pretty much open when it comes to what I should buy to run Linux. The only restriction I have is a new Mac, because I just can't afford them.

I hope this all makes sense, and as I said before, feel free to direct me if these questions have been answered somewhere else.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Meg

Goineasy9

I'll try to get through some:

- How big of a hard drive would I need, generally?

I have Linux running on a 6gb Hard disk. Any of the computers that have been made in the past 2 years have Hard disks large enough to fit multiple operating systems on. To answer another question, if you have a computer made during the last couple of years, it will have no problem running Linux.

- Will I be able to find a printer - an all-in-one, actually - that works with Linux? I don't think my current HP (a six-year-old PSC 1315) will manage it.

Every HP printer I have ever owned has worked flawlessly with Linux, I have PSC's from 5 years ago that are still running strong.

- Will a DVD drive work with Linux?

Yes, CD, DVD, BlueRay, all of them.

-

What about the wireless card that comes with laptops now - the one that picks up public WIFI networks? Will those cards work with Linux?

Most do, some don't. Before purchasing hardware, make sure you know what wifi chip is being used (you can usually find that in the specs),

- What about wireless internet? I'm getting ready to do some extensive traveling and wireless is really the only way I can think of to connect (satellite's too pricey). I'll contact the company I'm thinking of using and ask about their modems, but I thought I'd ask here for your experience with these.

I have a laptop, using the Gnome window manager, that has an app called NetworkManager. Most desktops have a similar app. I have no trouble using wired, switching to wifi and then again, switching to tether my computer on my cell phone.

The different distros you ask about cater to different computing needs. For anyone new to Linux I recommend trying Linux Mint or Mepis. Both are very easy for newcomers, have repositories for programs that are extensive and have very friendly communities if you are in need of help.

Now about the software. Firefox and Thunderbird have Linux versions. Office productivity software and Paint or image manipulation software is freely available. They might not be the same as their Windows equivalents, but, the small learning curve for what you need them for would be worth the switch.

If I missed anything, let me know.

Tom

MargaretA

Thank you, Tom, that's really helpful. The only thing I didn't see an answer for was the processor type and speed. But then I forgot something too - the amount of RAM needed. I'll bet it's lower than Windows and possibly even Mac. I'd just like to be sure I have enough on whatever I end up buying, rather than have to add some later.

Meg

MargaretA

Oh, one more thing - Will Linux read my flash drive or my new external hard drive (that used to be the *internal* hard drive on my recently-deceased laptop)? I wouldn't expect it to open all the files - that would depend on the software I have installed - but if it can't read the disks at all, I'll have to find another way to access those files.

Thank you.

Meg

Goineasy9

OK....

- the amount of RAM needed

Anything over 500mb works, but, 1-GB allows for speeder operation. I seem to have 4GB on all my machines now. I wait for a sale, then when the extra GB's are for free I buy. Usually laptops come now with at least 2GB.

Will Linux read my flash drive or my new external hard drive

The simple answer is yes. Linux can also read Microsoft formatted partitions, so, you can pull data, songs, documents etc. right from the external drive into the Linux filesystem.

If you want to be more specific about what types of files you need to pull off of the external drives, we could give you a more exact answer. Data files, for instance, that come from a Windows-only based app could have problems. Word documents, spreadsheets, music, text files, etc., are very much less of a problem.

Edit: Forgot processors. Any modern processor will run Linux just fine. I have P4's from 5-10 years ago still chugging along, but, the modern chips like the Intel core duos, i3's thru i7's and AMD x2's, x4's and the newer 5 and 6 core 64's run amazing. I don't think you can get a newer laptop these days that doesn't have one of these chips in them. Netbooks with Atom processors also do well with Linux.

Tom

MargaretA

Cool. All what I was hoping to hear

I'm happy to hear the drives will be readable. I was figuring the file formats might be an issue; I've already had to deal with that a bit because, unlike my previous PCs, this one didn't come with MS Works and that's what I'd always used. I did install OpenOffice, and it had no trouble with the spreadsheets or the word processing files, but the databases - my financial records - were a big concern. I did manage to locate the Works install file on the old drive, and once I got that going I opened the files, printed out all the old records to PDFs, and saved the files in csv format - which OpenOffice had no trouble with. This is the Windows version, of course, but with any luck the Linux version will work the same. And I know that's a lot of detail, but I thought I'd mention it here in case it's useful to anyone else making the transition.

Now to find the machine. That's on the agenda for tomorrow, weather permitting - we're expecting about 6" of snow tonight...

Meg
(feeling somewhat better about all of this now)

MargaretA

OK, the computer is bought. It's a refurbished Dell Latitude D631 that came with a 2.1 gHz AMD Turion processor, 2 gigs of RAM, and a 120-gig hard drive - more than I was expecting to get, but the price was right and the company I got it from has a 30-day return period and a 90-day warranty - longer than just about anyone else for a refurb'd machine. And I'd heard good things about the Latitudes from more than one source. It definitely feels sturdier than any other laptop I've had.

The next step, I think, is to decide which distro (yes?) of Linux I want to put on it. Can anyone direct me to a place where the different ones are compared, including what type of user they'd work best for? I've done a bit of searching, and will do more, but haven't found anything so far. I'm sure there's something out there somewhere.

Thanks!

Meg

Goineasy9

You might want to peruse through http://distrowatch.com/