Stovebolt.com Forums The Back Office IT Short Bus A Look Inside A Linux Alternative...

A friend asked if I could give him a look at a Linux operating system. He's interested, but hesitant. Seemed reasonable. I remember being hesitant also...in fact I was forced to learn about this when I got a laptop computer which did not have a hard drive. (remember this version of Linux can run without a hard drive...just a CD disk and a USB drive is all you need) Having this laptop since 2009 has given me plenty of time to get comfortable with the operating system.

So I'll share this with you folks also. Please remember this is absolutely free. It is also fun, easy to use, virus-resistant and respectful of your privacy.

I am running the Puppy Linux TahrPup 6.0 on a Pentium 4 laptop. I added some extra ram, but this laptop isn't a dual core or quad core or anything special. In fact it is a computer which was going to the trash heap when I got it. When I boot up, it takes 1 minute for everything to load. The same time it takes Windows 7 to boot up on my computer. I see messages about what is happening while it is booting up:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20boot%20messages.jpg

When it is booted up, I see a nice desktop screen with neat little icons...just about like Windows:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20desktop%20screen.jpg

If I plug in a thumb drive, it recognizes it at once:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20recognizes%20my%20thumb%20drive.jpg

If I tell it to play a recorded tv show on that thumb drive, it does so:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20plays%20a%20recorded%20tv%20program.jpg

When I open the Pale Moon browser, here's what I see:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20Browser%20startup%20screen.jpg

And there are some other convenient links:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20Additional%20browser%20items.jpg

If I look at a favorite page, I might see the Stovebolt forum page:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20internet%20-%20Recognize%20this.jpg

Or I could do some email:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20My%20Yahoo%20email.jpg

Nothing is happening there at this time, but if I want to watch Australian Parliament, I can do that, too:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums...an%20watch%20Australian%20Parliament.jpg

Or I could listen to some radio choices:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20Or%20listen%20to%20radio%20stations.jpg

I might need to open a pdf file with images or create a pdf file:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20Open%20a%20pdf%20file%20with%20pics.jpg

Or I might need to create or open a MS Word document file:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums...0or%20create%20an%20MS%20Word%20file.jpg

Maybe I need to make an XL compatible spreadsheet? Like the word processor and everything else I have it is free and included in the system:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20Spreadsheet%20just%20like%20XL.jpg

The basic menu:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20the%20basic%20menu.jpg

Which expands to reveal all sorts of neat things you can do and the simple file manager:
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20Simple%20file%20manager.jpg

The file manager looks different than the Windows file manager, but it is more similar than you might think.

And when I'm through I can click on the start button to leave...just like Windows...
http://i1154.photobucket.com/albums/p535/JonGoodman/Puppy%20Sign%20off%20choices.jpg

So, all in all not very scary stuff, eh? As I've said before I'm by no means a computer guru, but I'm happy to share anything I've learned. All you have to do is ask. I'd just suggest anyone considering continuing with Windows to ask themselves a few questions:
What do I want to use my computer for? That is, do I mainly want it to be an internet tool, an entertainment tool, a word processor and spreadsheet instrument and a communication device?
How much privacy and security do I want? How much do I want to spend on this?

I'll make this a sticky so folks can peruse this option for a while.

Thanks Tiny,
All this Windows 10 stuff has caused a real swirl of questions. I wish I had all the answers, but we probably need a 30 year old chap for that. What I have decided (based on what I've read and heard so far) is that Windows 10 -- like Windows 8 and 8.1 -- has been designed principally for newer devices like touch-screen and mobile gizmos. While it makes sense that would be the case in today's environment, I don't think all the people restoring old trucks are likely to be using those. Maybe some of you folks are more technologically advanced, but I expect several of us have the old style laptops and/or desktop computers...which honestly are just fine. I've also been told by more than a couple of people to expect some information gathering to occur while Windows 10 is being installed. I'm not in favor of that. Actually while I've been using Windows 7 on our main computer, I've decided to change that and go with a Linux alternative this weekend. I see no downside to it. I also plan to use DuckDuckGo as my search engine. I am sick and tired of being profiled and categorized. For any of you who watched "The Prisoner" (Patrick McGoohan circa 1968), I feel just like he did.

What I believe I'll do is disconnect the hard drive in our desktop, install one of the lightweight Linux programs on a small spare hard drive I have and see how I like using it day to day for everything. I may keep a list of my likes/dislikes and post those.

For anyone curious, I've mentioned you can try one of the Linux products without using your hard drive or upsetting it. If anyone here doesn't get that concept or wants instructions on how to do it or just wants to see proof, please let me know.

that is pretty awesome, nice to have an alternative to windows

We still run IBM Risc at work, bulletproof
they tried to sell us a windows based system which was refused

I'm also a fan of "darn Small Linux", which is incredibly light weight, and runs very well on extremely low powered devices.

On the flipside, a very decent computer can be had for under $100, and will come with Windows preinstalled.

If you are just looking for something other than windows (to each their own), then there are many different Linux distributions (also called Distros) out there to choose from. Most will allow you to download and burn to a cd/dvd, which you can then boot up and test it out, without having to install to your computer.

FWIW, I just reimaged our old notebook with Ubuntu. Pretty simple and I like it.

Good write up. I have a desktop that is a prime candidate for a Linux OS install.

Ok you computer nerds, just keep us up and running please!

Here's my issue with Windows 10:

They control the updates. And these updates are not optional. While this might not seem to be a big deal at first, it means that if there's an issue with an update, everyone gets that same issue. At one point in my IT career, I remember having either a corrupted device driver and a driver that wasn't tested enough causing the computer to not boot. Along with driver issues, there are DLL issues that also caused the computer to need some extensive recovery of that DLL so the computer would work again. Unless Microsoft has developed a way to test every combination of users computer components and the software that uses them, I can't say that I trust the forced update system.

Got to agree with you Allen. Just keep them running because I do not have a clue what they are talking about.