Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[snadge]

I ask because both me and my dad are going to make the jump to Linux, he is totally new to it and is going off WebUser advice to install Bodhi... I have used Linux a few times before but still quite new to it.

I will be setting mine up with dual-boot W10x64, Ive been told I can run any windows application under WINE is this correct..? this has been my main reason for never making the switch before, I have loads of applications that dont have a linux counterpart.

thanks in advance.

[ejs]

How well wine can run any particular Windows program can vary substantially. Some programs might work fine, others very badly or not at all. If you are expecting every Windows program to work perfectly under wine then you are only going to be disappointed.

I don't really know about different distros because I've just been using the same one for years and I don't bother to try whatever new distro someone says is now the "best" one.

[snadge]

How well wine can run any particular Windows program can vary substantially. Some programs might work fine, others very badly or not at all. If you are expecting every Windows program to work perfectly under wine then you are only going to be disappointed.

I don't really know about different distros because I've just been using the same one for years and I don't bother to try whatever new distro someone says is now the "best" one.

theres that many distros its hard to choose, still I would rather have it that way.

It will just be a few programs as most of them now DO have a linux counterpart (after checking), gunna get one of the new Samsung EVO PLUS range of SSD's and set it up, these SSD's perform better than the 970 Pro range....allegedly....

[boost]

It's hard to argue against Ubuntu for a first timer, I suppose? It's the one I've noticed most consistently configures everything for first login.

[broadstairs]

I made the move to linux some years ago and converted my wife to it from windows and she did not really notice any significant difference.

As to distro any of the stable releases would be fine like openSUSE Leap and others, Ubuntu is popular but not my favourite ( personal preference). One thing I would suggest is using the KDE desktop as that is similar to windows in layout and operation, which means Kubuntu rather than Ubuntu which uses the Gnome desktop. Again KDE is my personal preference.

Stuart

[snadge]

thanks for the suggestions and information guys...more welcome.

I have tried MINT under Oracle VM just so I can test distro's.. I went to install TOR (in order to help my dad with it, too slow for me) and the installer package would not run, then upon searching i come across a whole page of instructions just to install TOR, i thought it was a bit much, now I remember why i stayed on windows lol... anyway, must learn so heads down...

Option two: Tor on Ubuntu or Debian
Admin access: To install Tor you need root privileges. Below all commands that need to be run as root user like apt and dpkg are prepended with '#', while commands to be run as user with '$' resembling the standard prompt in a terminal. To open a root terminal you have several options: sudo su, or sudo -i, or su -i. Note that sudo asks for your user password, while su expects the root password of your system.

apt-transport-tor: To use source lines with https:// in /etc/apt/sources.list the apt-transport-https package is required. Install it with

# apt install apt-transport-https
to enable all package managers using the libapt-pkg library to access metadata and packages available in sources accessible over https (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure).
sources.list: You'll need to set up our package repository before you can fetch Tor. First, you need to figure out the name of your distribution. A quick command to run is lsb_release -c or cat /etc/debian_version. If in doubt about your Debian version, check the Debian website. For Ubuntu, ask Wikipedia.

I run  and want 
You need to add the following entries to /etc/apt/sources.list or a new file in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/:

deb https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org stretch main
deb-src https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org stretch main
Then add the gpg key used to sign the packages by running the following commands at your command prompt:

# curl https://deb.torproject.org/torproject.org/A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89.asc | gpg --import
# gpg --export A3C4F0F979CAA22CDBA8F512EE8CBC9E886DDD89 | apt-key add -
We provide a Debian package to help you keep our signing key current. It is recommended you use it. Install it with the following commands:

# apt update
# apt install tor deb.torproject.org-keyring


Now Tor is installed and running. Move on to step two of the "Tor on Linux/Unix" instructions.

The DNS name deb.torproject.org is actually a set of independent servers in a DNS round robin configuration. If you for some reason cannot access it you might try to use the name of one of its part instead. Try deb-master.torproject.org, mirror.netcologne.de or tor.mirror.youam.de

.

[tickmike]

Well you have some good tutorials from 'Roseway' Eric above.
I used them years ago and installed PCLinuxOS
https://www.pclinuxos.com/get-pclinuxos/kde/
and still my best 'Distro' .

Join there forum for help, download and then 'Burn' a LiveCD, with that you can put in your computer DVD player and it will run a live session for you and your Dad to have a play about with and try lots of functions/programs.

If you like you can install it on your hard drive (if you want to keep Windows you make it 'Dual' boot).

I personally would not touch 'Ubuntu' or Mint or any of the other Ubuntu derived distro's.

[snadge]

@ tickmike - whats wrong with Ubuntu or Mint...?
also, are their linux distros that allow you to download app installers to run like exe files in windows? it appears that some do and some dont?

thanks

[siofjofj]

To be honest, you'll probably get as many different distros suggested as the number of replies on this thread. I would recommend searching for "best Linux distro" or similar then reading some guides comparing them. That way you can make a decision based on the features that are important to you, rather than the necessarily brief replies you'll get on a forum.

For what it's worth, I use Linux Mint as my only OS and recommend this to friends since this means I can provide local support if needed. If you know any Linux users local to you I'd recommend asking their advice for this reason.

With regard to installing software, essentially all Linux distributions come with a package manager which will, upon you searching for and making a selection of a piece of software you want, automatically download the software, install it and any other programs (so called dependencies) needed for the one you want to work. It will then easily allow keeping that program and its dependencies up to date.

It is nearly always possible (either natively or after adjusting the odd setting) to download a package file and then install it by double clicking, just like in windows. For a Debian based distribution (e.g. Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian) this would be with .deb files, for a Red Hat based distribution (e.g. openSUSE, fedora, RHEL) this would be .rpm files. However, it is recommended in the strongest possible terms that you do not do this. There are security concerns associated with installing software from untrusted sources (just like on windows), and by installing the wrong versions of programs you can end up with stuff not working due to also having the wrong dependency versions (so called dependency hell). The only reason to install packages outside the package manager is if the package you want isn't in your distributions repositories (i.e. doesn't show up in the package manager) / some other trusted repository which can be added. That page of instructions you found for Tor describes how to add an additional repository for Tor to a Debian-based installation.

[snadge]

ahh right Im using MINT and like its GUI so may aswell stick with it, so a bit like an APP store, Linux uses Repositories where the software has been vetted...is that right? im familiar with repo's through KODI... so have some understanding how they work...thanks

[siofjofj]

Yes, you could very much compare a package manager to an app store. In fact Linux Mint has the "Software Manager", which is very app store like in interface, in addition to a more traditional (and powerful) package manager called synaptic package manager and also the apt command line tools. For simple tasks they all achieve the same, so you should use whichever you feel most comfortable with.

Yes the contents of the repositories are (to an extent) vetted by the community, but are also "maintained" such that it is known that they will simply work once installed. It's a very good system. When it comes to programming (e.g. in C++) the package management system comes into its own when managing libraries etc, making tasks that are a complete nightmare on windows utterly trivial!

[snadge]

thanks for your input I really appreciate it, its great knowing why everything is beneficial over windows.

[Chunkers]

Kubuntu would also be my choice for a new user, I also prefer the interface to Vanilla Ubuntu and the great thing about Ubuntu is the user-base is so big and you can google any issue and almost always come up with an answer (or 5!)

Wine works reasonably well, I have also run Steam etc and played a few games with some success although if you are a serious gamer probably better to dual boot - I have found Ubuntu and W10 live alongside each other pretty well while you migrate.

Chunks
 

[snadge]

ive been trying a few through a VM and I quite like Ubuntu Studio as it comes with tons of media production software (which is what Im into, MIDI and Photo editing).

whats the best coding to learn for networking/pen testing etc... I have a book on C# and JAVAscript, i know PHP is probably essential, whats recommended?

thanks

[Chrysalis]

An interesting project I recently came across is puppy linux

http://puppylinux.com/index.html

A live linux iso that allows you to install packages etc. save your work etc. so next time you boot its saved what you done.  This in my view allows an easier way into the OS as you dont need to install it first to use it.

I think the only thing thats keeping windows as the big player on PC is its directX exclusivity.  If someone ever figures out to get that working cleanly on linux or vulkan manages to take over I can see a massive shift.