An Easy To Work With Linux

[pumblechook 0]

I would like to use Linux in preference to windows, but, being a complete idiot with programming, I don't like the manual programming part of Linux.Are there any versions which will allow you to install from the desktop direct, like windows, without having to first go into the program.Your help would be appreciated, if only to stop my computer being thrown out of the window.

[truefusion 3]

There are many Linux Distro's out there which allow you to install straight from the desktop itself: they're known as "Live CD's". Many Distro's, if not all, have a GUI for installation, so it doesn't require any programming knowledge. If you want to install a Linux Distro straight from Windows, you can download the Windows Ubuntu-installer. There are some things about it that it would be better for you to use a Live CD, but it shouldn't be all that big of a deal: you can always uninstall it from Windows.

[rvalkass 5]

It is a common misconception that Linux requires programming knowledge and involves loads of command line stuff. It doesn't. I have been using Kubuntu on my laptop for a few months now and it has been brilliant. As truefusion has already said, you can get a Live CD which allows you to try out Linux without affecting your system in any way. It boots from the CD and doesn't touch your system. If you choose to you click the Install icon on the desktop and follow a 6 step process (with a nice user interface) to install. If you look around the Kubuntu and Ubuntu sites you will find lots of useful information. If Ubuntu and Kubuntu are not for you, have a little look around Distrowatch. This site keeps track of just about every Linux distribution out there and provides lots of useful information. Look through for one you like the look of, or a name you like and just explore. Most communities concerning Linux are more than happy to help new users get started.

 

If you want any more information then feel free to ask. I think I also have a video of the install on my laptop somewhere if you want to see what it is really like to install.

[ghostrider 0]

If your looking for a really easy linux distro to you I would try KNOPPIX. I use it in place of windows. Its really nice because of the fact that it runs on a CD, so you can bring it anywhere with you. I've also seen distros of KNOPPIX that run on flash drives, for even more portability. KNOPPIX is very much like windows, it has a task bar, and a menu with programs. However the way folders are organized with Linux is different then the way in Windows. There are no drives per say on Linux, on knoppix they are accessible throught /media. Your root, or place with all the folders is in the directory /. Instead of backward slashes like Windows, Linux uses forward slashes (/) to seperate directories. That was the biggest problem I had to overcome when switching to Linux. KNOPPIX also has the ability to be installed on the hard drive. This however is harder to do, it took me all of lunch time with my friend David to figure it out, but if that is what you need you can PM me and I can lead you thorught the proper steps to do so. I hope this helps.

[Tetraca 0]

Linux and easy to work with don't belong in the same sentance, especially if you're dealing with Wireless networking or making your graphics card and monitor work correctly. I've never experienced and easy to use Linux - something was wrong about the distros I used one way or another. Debian isn't practical offline. Slackware refuses to get online with a wireless router and won't even support my GeForce card and 16:9 widescreen monitor over resolutions of 1024x768, and if you want to fix anything you need to dig into the command line and read up on your man pages(that goes with every Unix-like OS out there. It's not terrible to work from the command line but it's nice to have something like rio so I can browse YTMND properly. Unfortunately many people refuse to work from the command line to fix a problem and that is one of Unix's weaknesses in the "technically challenged" consumer market because if you hand any given non-geekly person a manual to operate something they won't read it because they are alliterate, and as such reading a manual is the equivalent of having cyanide poured down their throat.). Ubuntu won't even work on my system because it freezes on bootup. Other *nix systems were of no avail - FreeBSD wouldn't support all my hardware on my new computer(worked awesome on my old one though), and Solaris's directory mapping seems completely different from other systems not to mention it didn't support the same hardware slackware choked on. Another problem is I'd often be forced to compile the programs I want myself, and that is irritating because you end up having to download development packages you'll never use(if you're a FreeBASIC programmer like me), and then download dependancies which require more development packages to compile and when you compile those packages and install them the configuration script doesn't even recognize them and you can't compile! Until there is a distro that can support my hardware, I'm not going to install a single operating system that has a foward slash to separate directories.