How To Grasp The Concept Of Linux

Hey guys, im a long time Mac user but I want to have a Linux computer in my office for web based stuff and fixing hard drives.... I'm going to buy a used computer from eBay to install my Linux software as I believe that Linux is a lot faster than Mac or windows and doesnt need the latest hardware to compete.

In order to be at least as fast as a windows computer but no more than $100. What range of computer should I be looking at? What specs should I look for? And once I get it should I run Ubuntu or mint for web based things and hard drive repair? As you no doubt know, the Linux lingo is a bit difficult sometimes so please bear with me. I'm doing the best I can.

Weird question I know, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

I'm writing this program for my own edification. I want to write and retrieve from a database. I will start on Linux and probably use MySql. After I get the program working on Linux I would like to be able to use it on a Windows 7 or 8 platform. Here are some sample entries I would like to write to and draw from. Which database would you use? Does MySql work on both Linux and Windows?

Casino Date Buy-in time-at-table exit-monies
Binions 05/05/2015 200 3.5 -400
Wynns 05/06/2015 200 5.0 +400

Trip Total -200

Thank you;

Sherman

I am an older, competent, windows user who would love to migrate to Linux. Unfortunately there is no easy path. Linux seems to be a program written by geeks who want it to be different, forcing a windows user wanting to move over to completely learn a new way to use the internet. Even moving to Apple is easier. To learn Linux is like forcing us to learn Chinese from scratch. That will not happen.

Unless a pathway, or a bridge, which is "somewhat" like windows is provided so we can assimilate into this new OS called Linux, I, we, will never really accept Linux to replace Windows. Even though we want to get away from Windows, there is no way to do it, because Linux is just too different to easily learn. I can play with Linux, but that is all I can do - play with it, not use it on a daily basis.
SAD.

And here we are, going to be forced to accept Windows 10 as the next OS, and I have nothing to say about it, for MS will soon kill Win7 like they killed XP, and force me to go to Win10, when I don't want to. I would love to use Linux, but the learning curve is just toooooo steep.
SAD

It would be nice to have a version which would make moving from Windows to Linux easy. The reality is, though, Linux is an OS for the younger geeks, or experienced programmer, not an OS for the avg user. Why can't that change? I realize this is an age old question, which has been around for years, but I'm realizing it is now becoming a reality I need to face.

Hello everyone,
Recently, I installed Linux Mint 17 (Cinnamon) on my HP dv6 Laptop. During installation Linux was not detecting my original Windows 7 and was attempting to occupy the entire hard disk. So I used the "Something Else" option to manually create separate partitions for Linux (Previously I had allocated around 120 GB free space for Linux using Windows Disk Management). This installed the Linux but after booting it does not detect Windows 7 and directly boots to Mint. I have tried installing and updating the grub but it did not help either.
Please Help...

Hello,

I'm looking for options/tools where I can get server performance counters for Linux OS (having Java application on it). For windows based platforms, we have PerfMon that provides this data. I'm looking for a similar tool for Linux platform java apps. Could you please help me in identifying the best options to get the performance related data like Perfmon?

Thanks,
NR

Hi, please excuse any misunderstanding about the title.

I'm an experienced computer user, but not with Linux. As a matter of fact, even with Windows, I only do so much at the command prompt.

I am looking for a very fast (boot and etc.) Linux system, that has nothing more than a command prompt. No X-Windows. However, I would like to configure X-Windows immediately after an installation.

I noticed the LFS project. Very cool, but way too complex for me. It is exactly what I'm looking for, except, I would like the basic system to already be proven, maybe even with security updates.

The biggest most important thing is (ONLY WHAT I WANT). I don't want dozens of browsers, a hundred text editors, or any other cool or stupid open source or commercial software. I simply am looking for what Dos 6.22 was in Linux.

There are many distros. Can you guys help me pick one out that is light, secure and ready to be configured to run X windows or X-Free or Xorg, I'm not sure what the best is right now.

PS: I'm a linux noob, but I have had several decent installations of Ubuntu, and some experience with the command line, including compiling software, but still a beginner.

Good day everyone,

I'm currently a student and as far as I'm aware I still need windows for some program I need, but I am going over to Linux.
(Thus I'm running Windows 8 at this moment)

Today I was going to install Ubuntu 14.04.01 alongside Windows 8, everything went well till I hit the 4th step (Installation type page) of the installation:

A message like follows showed:
"This computer currently has Debian GNU/Linux (Kali Linux 1.0.7) on it. What would you like to do?"

There are then 3 options available:
1) Install Ubuntu alongside Debian GNU/Linux (Kali Linux 1.0.7)
2) Replace Debian GNU/Linux (Kali Linux 1.0.7) with Ubuntu
3 and 4 is greyed out.
5) Something else (You can create resize partitions yourself, or choose multiple partitions for Ubuntu.

I just want to make sure what option to choose, I cant afford to lose all my data and windows.

Problem: Showing Kali Linux as current OS and not Windows 8.

Possible reason for showing Kali Linux as current OS:
I have a live CD of Kali Linux and ran it a few times in the past, but according to my knowledge it shouldn't have changed anything.

Maybe the 1st option is still the right one even though the current OS isn't listed right? Or the 3rd option is like a manual setting I guess.

Thanks for the time reading and helping!

Hello

As a learning experience, I want to jump from Windows 7 to Linux full time on my laptop. This isn't because of some antiWindows bullshit or because its free or anything like that. I just want to learn the ins and outs of Linux like I pretty much know on Windows.

I plan to go with Ubuntu. LTS or latest stable version? Thoughts?

First off, compatibility. I do need that all my hardware on my laptop be compatible. From shortcut keys to wifi. This is not a brand new laptop so there shouldn't be any problems. Its a Dell Vostro 1510.

Next, software. Basically on this laptop software I use in and out: uTorrent, Teamviewer, WMP, mIRC, Skype, vSphere Client, Microsoft Office......That's pretty much it IMO. Also Facebook and YouTube (Flash) are a must. I will run all this software in WINE. I don't want (most) of the Linux ports. Im not looking to replace programs I like and use daily. Just looking to replace the operating system.

Next, virtualization. Due to some things (like Office) cannot be ran in Linux, I use a VM. VMWare with its unity feature pretty much gives me what I want.

Next, streaming. I need to be able to stream media from a WS2012R2 to this Linux installation. Special setup?

Anything that is blowing over me, please mention.

Thank you

I am installing Linuc Mint Rebecca on this computer: CPU: I7, motherboard: ASUS X99-A, HD: 2x 2TB, motherboard BIOS RAID1, so the total hard drive size is 2TB

While I was installing LINUX MINT on RAID1 hard drive, the installation system pop up ??? ???windows at Wher Are You step, after I click OK, jump to Installation Type, no matter which type I select: Erase disk and install Linux Mint or Someting else, ??? error message pop up at Where are you.

And if I click either of the two disk, it shows "Unable to mount location"

however, I can double click and see the content of RAID1 2TB disk.

Question: what's the problem of LINUX MINT installation on RAID1?

Hello Linux experts (because I suspect experts are what I need). Being a newbie I tried to choose a linux distro that I could use most like windows XP in particular, to include apps, maintenance and ease. To me it seemed like ZORIN fit the bill so I installed Zorin 9 on a 500 gb HD and configured a desktop with Cairo Dock (that dock being like the quick launch bar in Windows). So far so good.

Two main tasks I have is finding a back up (clone) utility I can use to clone the entire HD to an external USB HD so that I can simply plug in that clone and have the identical Zorin back exactly the way it was. Secondly I want to install my Canon printer (all in one print, copy, scan, and fax) so that I can use it the same way as with XP.

So far I've been disappointed for both because the clone apps I see available are "dd" (terminal) which does not seem to work and/or if it did the advice is that a clone could take days or weeks? Say what? Is that nuts or what. In windows I can clone my HD in 45 minutes, plug it in the computer and have an exact working copy of the source HD. Obviously days or weeks to obtain a HD clone is not good, and I'm not even sure that if I did it anyway that I would actually be able to plug it in (in place of the original HD),having an exact working copy of all files including boot, system, files and apps.

Next, installing my Canon printer seems unlikely if not impossible because I can't find drivers for that printer available for Zorin.

Did I make the wrong distro choice, and if so which Linux distro should I have installed? Ubuntu? Mint? Or maybe I'm looking for more in any Linux that can be had to date? Any advice please? Save me from having to go back to Windows which everyone knows (including M$oft MVP's)sucks.