I've had it with Windows, I want to try Linux, can my computer handle it? Can I?
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Go to http://distrowatch.com and pick a distro to try first. Go to its website, download and burn a CD, and install.
Quote:
What should I expect?
--To spend a bit of time learning your way around Linux
--To try at least 2 other distros before settling on what you like the best.
--To discover how superior Linux is
--to discover that you really DID want a bit more RAM
Distribution: Xubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala and Windows 7
Posts: 4
Rep:
Try Xubuntu
I would definitely recommend Xubuntu. I'm in that same age range and it's unbelievably easy to use. It's basically Ubuntu, but with Xfce (instead of Gnome) and some lighter, faster apps. It runs flawlessly on my pathetic, ancient computer that can't even run Ubuntu. It's just as stable as Ubuntu (super stable.)
It's one download, and installs all at once. It asks you a few things before the install starts, then you can leave it alone for maybe twenty minutes, and it's ready to roll.
Internet should work out of the box, but if your adapter thing needs a proprietary driver then it won't work until you tell the popup to install it. But for flash, you'll have to download it from adobe.com (just like most other linux's.) E-Mail works just fine (at least for me.)
Trust me when I say that all the things I didn't like about Ubuntu (Tried it on my other computer) are fixed for Xubuntu.
P.S. I haven't tried the 10.04 version that just came out a few days ago yet, but I'm planning to. The 9.10 version is definitely pure awesomeness.
Linux is just a kernel, the part that manages resources. It's utterly useless on it's own. A distro is the Linux kernel + stuff you need for a productive system.
A window manager is the program that draws the frames around the windows and lets you manipulate them. Without a window manager, the windows don'tt have the frames on them and you would not be able to move or resize them.
A desktop environment is a window manager, a set of integrated applications, and a set of desktop utilities (like taskbars, etc) ann integrated together.
Is Xubutu all that rolled into one? Or just part of the equation?
Xubuntu is a complete Linux-based OS, including the Xfce desktop environment and many basic applications for productivity, internet, games, etc.
So yes, it's all rolled into one. All you'd need to do is download an ISO image, burn it with a program that will burn CD images to a real CD, such as ImgBurn. (Do not just use Windows Explorer and drag the file into the CD drive's folder window; it won't work.)
After that, it should be pretty straightforward. Once you boot from the disc and have a working desktop up and running, there should be an icon that runs the installer, and from there you can just follow the installer instructions.
We seem to be forgetting the specification of the computer that Parallaxis has! The minimum requirements for Xubuntu are a 500MHz processor and 192MB of memory: his computer would be just capable of running it.
I would suggest Absolute, Puppy, or SliTaz. All will run happily on a computer much smaller and slower than 200MHz/256MB. Have a look at the reviews section of this site - they are listed under "other distros".
As for teenagers using Linux, in many countries (e.g. South Africa) it's used in schools.
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