I am just dipping my toe into the Linux world. I am a construction manager so please bear with me.

What attracted me to Linux is mainly that it isn't Windows 10. I am sure someone has made this point before, but the new MS system is really horrible, and I have been having a lot more security problems than with any previous OS. I am also furious with the total lack of privacy.

What worries me about Linux is that it looks insanely complicated to a non tech. I read through some topics on general and was lost. Is Linux a viable desktop for a non technical person, non programming person?

Hello and welcome to the forum

Honestly, there is a learning curve involved and some of it is very technical, particularly if devices are not readily supported or you need to repair the OS for any reason. In connection with that, the most important tool that any Linux user needs to develop a working knowledge of is the command line. However, it's usually not needed for basic use of the OS, like bringing up programs, browsing the web or checking email.

There are distributions that are geared for and, in my opinion, easier for the beginner to learn. These would include Linux Mint or Ubuntu (or any one of the official "flavors," although there are others.

Regards...

Welcome to Linux and LQ!

Linux is fine for non-techies - BUT - it is NOT Window$, so expect to learn a few new tricks! But then, you were not born knowing how to use Window$ either, so no big surprises there!

Try to NOT start with the mindset that "This is hard!", or it certainly will seem so! Instead, remember the reasons that you are using Linux - FREEDOM from the M$ maze - and patiently learn your way out of the maze! You may need to un-learn a few things that M$ has taught you to block your exit, so expect a little of that too!

But for ordinary uses there should be no problems - web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets (I bet a construction manager will use a few of those!), general office applications, printing, email... all should require minimal learning curves, just learn where things are and how to access them.

You do not need to know any programming to use Linux as your information platform, although you may need to do some limited, but ordinary configuration to get things going smoothly. There are plenty of nice people here to help with that!

It will also be helpful to read a little about the history of GNU and Linux and Unix to understand why the Linux landscape is as it is - and why that is better! One good piece of the puzzle is the FREEDOM link in my sig below.

So, get started, ask for help as needed, and Good Luck!

Welcome to the forums! Have you installed any Linux distribution, or tried one as yet? I do echo the suggestions for Mint or Ubuntu. They are complete desktop distributions which generally work, and in fact related in a common base. You can also try one out either as a live boot off of a USB stick or DVD, or load it under a virtual machine using VirtualBox.

If you have added questions about how to get started, please post follow-up questions in another forum such as the LQ Newbie forum.

Once again, Welcome! And enjoy!

If you are talking about just using a nice desktop or notebook computer, then no, the rumor of difficulty is something that M$ has paid people to repeat until it echoes from every corner of the net. That concern goes away when you actually get your hands on a machine to try out.

If you want a really pleasant introduction to the desktop or notebook, grab a copy of Ubuntu or Linux Mint and try one of them. There are several variants of each but they are all the same underneath, just with different pre-configured, pre-packaged defaults. The most cosmetic difference is the desktop environment. I'd recommend trying a sampler by using a DVD-RW or USB stick, both are reusable, and downloading several variants and give them a try in the Live mode before installing to get an idea of the appearances. For example:

http://torrents.linuxmint.com/torren...it.iso.torrent
http://torrents.linuxmint.com/torren...it.iso.torrent
http://releases.ubuntu.com/16.04/ubu...64.iso.torrent
http://torrent.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/re...64.iso.torrent

Those are the most recent Ubuntus and Mints, via torrent. There are also download methods, but torrent is fastest usually. Those will give you easy an easy to use Live session to try before you settle on one to install.

To reiterate what others have mentioned above, it is different, but not harder. Most people I have encountered, including myself, quickly find it easier once the shock of "different" is overcome. About the freedom, that is the most important and, whether you approach that from an ideological perspective or want to put a dollar value on it, you come out ahead.

Based on what I've seen from other people, you'll find one you like a lot.

No install as yet, I have been searching hardware compatibility and seeing if I needed drivers and it turns out my wireless card (Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 Wireless NIC) doesn't have native support. There seems to be a workaround, where you compile a kernel and I am trying to grasp what is involved with doing so.

I also was talking to someone I know who sells software and he said that if you do a dual boot config, that linux would not allow windows to run and that since I use my laptop primarily for work I can be sued, (Not likely he said, but possible), by something called the Business Software Alliance for violating my terms of service of the license agreement. I really need to figure out what legal liabilities I may be incurring and what, if any, recourse I have before I jump.

The Business Software Alliance has been used in the past to shakedown many businesses and upsell new Windows deployments. In effect it is like a sales branch. However, it's been a while since I'd heard of them and am surprised they are still around. From what I recall their criteria are not such that your average business is likely to have the right paperwork. If it is a concern to you, grab a browser, such as the TBB and check their web site for the unusual proof-of-purchase criteria they go by. You can get help with dual-booting here in the forum, but with messy legacy systems, it might be better to consider using a VM and keeping snapshots of the last-known clean state to roll back to as needed, using Linux as the host.

About the wireless, there is an active networking category here:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-networking-3/

An outrageous un-truth (aka, a fear-mongering lie)!

Who owns "your" laptop? Who owns "your" data?

Unless it is owned by someone else with clear contractual restrictions on its use there is ABSOLUTELY nothing to fear from the BSA Shakedown Protection Racket Mafia.

And Linux _NEVER_ prevents any other OS from booting in a dual boot config. Window$, on the other hand has several mechanisms to prevent other OSs from booting and will blindly overwrite other OSs and destroy your data in the process...

If you are afraid of such things, then perhaps you should install Linux on a separate system first and learn your way around it. Older systems are generally fine for this (I run all my own business systems on salvaged hardware, mostly 5-10 years old). That would let you find your own comfort zone and explore what Linux offers before unceremoniously showing M$ and their BSA thugs the door...

I booted M$ out the door long ago (~16 years), so I do not have the day-to-day awareness of their tactics except in nightmares and bad memories.

You would never, ever face legal entanglements from dual booting on hardware you own, but your post reminded me of someone who actually did face the BSA and Micro$haft and lived to tell the tale... Ernie Ball, the world's leading maker of quality guitar strings.

Find plenty of articles with a quick DuckDuckGo, but here are a couple and some excerpts to get you up to speed:

Ernie Ball Rockin' Without Microsoft

50 Years Old And 12 Years Free Of M$: Ernie Ball

Hi...

While no disrespect is intended towards the person who told you this but this is false information. No distribution that I know of (or have ever worked with) has ever purposely prevented Windows from booting. I run (dual boot) Lubuntu 14.04 and Windows Vista on my desktop system and have never had a problem with GRUB loading Windows when I wanted to. However, that's a key detail there. When you install a distribution of Linux, the OS will replace the Windows boot loader with its own and sometimes there are issues with getting Windows seen and/or booted by the Linux boot loader. If you decide to dual boot Linux with Windows, make sure to back up all your needed files and documents! This is very important in case something goes wrong.

I have never heard of this before. I'd be curious to what these liabilities are myself. Why would you get sued for choosing not to run Windows on your personal property?

EDIT: The BSA, from what I see here, focuses on preventing software piracy. So, if you're using a legal copy of Windows that is yours and that is not installed on any other computer, there shouldn't be any problems.

Regards...

Could be it is easier to pick up a Linux supported wireless USB adapter than fool with a card made for Windows.

Exactly.