Top Tips For Migrating from Windows to Linux

Datamation ^ | 05 October 2015 | Matt Hartley

[ShadowAce]

[Smokin' Joe]

bookmark for later.

[PastorBooks]

I’ve been a Linux user for 10 years, and even I find this article intimidating.

Getting into Linux isn’t that hard! You download it, put it on a USB drive to try it out, and mess around with it. If you like what you see you install it. If you come across any errors (like drivers or audio or such) you just google it.

Coping with Windows, auto updates and blue screens is far harder than Linux.

[ShadowAce]

Coping with Windows, auto updates and blue screens is far harder than Linux.

Not to mention the AV, anti-malware, etc you need to master just to keep it safe.

[fulltlt]

I started using UNIX in 1978 or so. I use both Windows and Linux now. Linux still has problems dealing with video, audio and printing. Other than that it is fast and stable as can be.

[frog in a pot]

Thank you for this.

[Mr. K]

or you can just buy a Windows computer and turn it on.

Until Linux geeks figure that out, they will never take over the computer world.

its only been several decades- i am sure they will be coming around any day soon. Maybe in the next ‘distro’

[Mr. K]

"Coping with Windows, auto updates and blue screens is far harder than Linux."

I have not seen a blue screen in 10 years... what version of Windows are you running?

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Every time I buy a new computer, I think maybe I’ll stick with Windows on this computer.

Every time I also buy a new drive, just as a fall-back, and install Linux on the new drive as a fall-back.

Every time, I end up using the new drive, and Windows just sits in the box.

Every time.

[ShadowAce]

You give Windows more of a chance than I do.

I boot up a new computer just to be sure the hardware all works.

Then I wipe the drive and install Fedora.

[Montana_Sam]

Have been using Linux for about 15 years, and it is my main OS for personal use.
Currently using Fedora 20 w/KDE (have hit the end of supported updates, so will be upgrading sometime within next year).
LibreOffice.
Opera (web browser).
Evolution (email).
SMPlayer (videos).
Amarok (music).
PostgreSQL (database stuff).
Eclipse IDE (any dev stuff I want to mess with), or Geany for lightweight C/C++ console apps.
HP OfficeJet 8600 Pro

For most people, and most small businesses, Linux is definitely a low-cost alternative to the big money systems. The OpenOffice/LibreOffice suites are amazingly full-featured. I have to use Windows 8.1 and 10 for work, and my wife still has Windows 7, but I think Linux is desktop ready for the home user. Have tried Mint, Debian, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, DSL and several other distros over the years.

One great thing about Linux to which the article alludes is that you can take an old, end-of-life PC and turn it into a modern system just by installing Linux.

[Delta 21]

Revived a Lenovo Thinkpad just this weekend my daughter was at odds with, with Linux.

I burned the bootable DVD and threw it and in 5 minutes I have a very servicable laptop/tablet with touch screen...yadda, yadda, yadda.........

I am prety much a computer expert now.

WINDOW 10 SUCKS !!!

[NorthMountain]

I haven't seen a BSOD in more than 10 years. My Ubuntu box likes to update itself at least as much as my Windows box. "Coping with Windows" ... does that even mean anything?

Posted from my Win-10 machine ... that simply works.

[kanawa]

I’m saving up for a high-end gaming computer.
I want an operating system that allows me to access the internet for online play and game updates.
I don’t want Windows or Chrome.
I’ll do all my surfing, commenting and emailing on another computer.
I want a clean, lean and mean gaming machine without any extraneous crap on it.

Is Linux what I’m looking for?

[norwaypinesavage]

For various reasons, I regularly use about a dozen, or so, PCs. For home use, I buy off lease Dell units, usually for $150, or less, and then pitch the most obsolete one in the pile. My most used software item is MS Excel. The Open Office Spreadsheet version simply doesn’t compete with Excel. It can’t handle any of the graphing or data processing things I do regularly. Excel ‘97 usually does, though I mostly use more recent versions. None of the alternatives that I’m aware of will support even that. So it’s Windows for me.

[ShadowAce]

Is Linux what I’m looking for?

It really depends on the game(s) you are wanting to play.

Steam has a native Linux client that is pretty good. There are Linux versions of several of the major games out there--but there are also several games with no Linux native versions for which you would have to run an emulator (like Wine).

Given that you have a specific goal in mind, I would perform more research into the titles you are interested in.

As far as Internet connectivity, that's a no-brainer. Linux will get you online faster than Windows typically does.

[ShadowAce]

Yeah--OpenOffice has lagged behind quite a bit.

LibreOffice, though, is head-and-shoulders above that. Give that a whirl and see what you think.

[dayglored]

> Let's face it, human nature is adaptive...but not without kicking and screaming the entire way.

Ain't it the truth.

[dayglored]

Tips on migrating from Windows to Linux ... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Thanks to ShadowAce for the ping!!