What you should not expect when switching to Linux

DarkDuck ^ | 17 September 2015 | Dmitry (Darkduck)

[ShadowAce]

Linux is a great operating system. Nobody in the Linux camp will argue about that. There are many articles on the Internet convincing you to try and to switch to Linux. There are also many articles that attempt to show you why you should not switch.

Let's look at this question from a slightly different viewpoint today. Say, you are now convinced that you want to switch to Linux. What you should NOT expect from this switch?

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1. Linux works much faster than Windows

This isn't too far from the truth. Generally speaking, Linux OS is less resource-hungry than Windows. However, it all depends on two factors:

• Desktop environment

There are several desktop environments and window managers available for the Linux operating systems. Some of them specifically target low-end hardware, so they work much faster than the default Windows interface. LXDE, Xfce, Openbox are good examples here. On the other hand, some desktop environments don't put speed of operation as the top priority.

You may experience approximately the same speed of operation compared to Windows if you use the Unity, GNOME 3, or KDE 4 or 5 desktop environments.

• Applications

Linux won't work wonders if you try to run many resource-hungry applications on a low-end hardware platform. Generally speaking, memory and CPU are managed very well by the Linux kernel, and resource use by the operating system itself is generally lower for Linux. But Linux cannot increase your physical memory size or reduce the amount of memory required by the application.

2. I will do everything from the graphical interface only

Again, this is not very far from the truth. Many desktop environments are now very well-designed. You won't need to enter the command line interface (CLI) to do most of the configuration or routine steps. However, there may be an occasion or two when you need to revert to CLI. Maybe because it is the only way to do something in your operating system. Maybe because it is quicker and easier to do something via CLI than via graphical interface.

Also, the entire CLI is unified across the Linux operating systems. It means that the same command is very likely to work the same way in many Linux distributions. That's why many how-to's refer to CLI when they describe system- or version-independent steps.

3. I will immediately start using Linux graphical interface like a Pro

Linux operating systems allow you to use many graphical interfaces, or Desktop Environments (DE). Many of them are so flexible that you won't be able to tell which DE it is when running the default set up of various distributions.

Some of the DEs are very similar to Windows, moreover they are aimed at Windows migrants:

• GNOME 3 in Zorin OS is configured to look exactly like Windows 7 by default, but allows you to switch to other themes too.
• Cinnamon and Plasma (KDE 4 or 5) interfaces are designed to be very similar to Windows 7.
• Xfce and LXDE desktop environments have a default layout similar to Windows XP.

Other desktop environments have a very different concept of desktop organisation and use. You will inevitably have a learning curve when starting to use MATE, Unity or GNOME 3.

4. I will immediately have all the software I need

Although there is a way to run Windows applications in Linux, it is not a good idea to always follow that route. Additionally, not all the Windows software is possible to run this way.

However, have a look at alternatives. Do you really need Windows Media Player, Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop? Or would VLC, LibreOffice and GIMP do the job for you?

One good thing is that many of these free software tools are available as Windows applications too. You can install and try them on your Windows system even before you install Linux on your machine. You will dip your feet into the Open Source world, along with trying the features and interface of your future tools.

Also, not all the distributions have the same default set of applications. You may have to install something specific you need from the repositories. Different distributions have different approaches here. I would distinguish three of them:

1. Barebones. You have the core system only, and then add the software yourself. Not very convenient for the beginning user, because you may not know the name of the application you need. Good examples here are Bodhi or SLAX.
2. Full-blown. You have many applications for the same task. It is sometimes very confusing, but it allows you to try different applications before you make a choice. Also, this is good if your Internet connection is limited. Good examples here are Zorin OS Ultimate, Emmabuntus or Knoppix.
3. Mid-range. Most of the distributions fit this category. You have default applications for most of the common tasks. If you don't like the default application, or something is missing, the repository is right at your fingertips.

All the above does not mean to stop you from switching to Linux. Just manage your expectations, and you'll be more ready to enjoy the new world!

[ShadowAce]

Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu (I believe), which itself is based on Debian.

All of my experience (with one exception) has been with Red Hat and Fedora, which are markedly different than that branch. I've never seen an issue with mice. Can you give me more details, errors you are seeing, related entries in /var/log/messages when you plug them in? I may be able to assist, but I cannot guarantee it.

[ducttape45]

Ok, when I get into that directory, what am I looking for exactly? There are many log files there. Which one should I look at for information?

[Bikkuri]

Lol, he wasn’t calling you a troll.. he was referencing the post you had read about changing the kernels. ;)

[Bikkuri]

Which Mint are you using, and have you tried a different brand (mouse)?
I am on android ATM, and have no PC to test, for the time being... would help more if I could :/

[ducttape45]

I'm using Linux Mint 17.2.

I've tried two different wireless mice (Logitech) and one wired mouse (generic). Each of them do the same thing in that they freeze up every few minutes and stays that way for about 15-20 seconds.

Something else I noticed is that when the mouse freezes up the CPU cooling fan speeds up. Not sure what to make of that but when that happens in Windows it usually means the system is processing more information than normal and it speeds up to cool the CPU.

When I'm working in Linux, however, I'm never doing anything that should cause the CPU cooling fan to speed up.

[ducttape45]

Opps, my bad.

Sorry ShadowAce!

[ShadowAce]

In the terminal:

1. cd /var/log
2. grep mouse messages

Let me know if there is any output, if so, paste it here.

[Stentor]

I ran Lubuntu on a Dell netbook. Worked fine. I have Elementary OS on it now. Works better. It actually runs Youtube without stuttering on both. The original Windows 7 Starter addition never worked out of the box. 1 gig.

Lubuntu 15.04 (Vivid Vervet)

elementary os

UNetbootin from Sourceforge.

[Bikkuri]

Cinn, KDE, Mate, Xfce,?
Also, could be hardware conflict (no promise there, but did have similar issue when 1 of my ram modules wasn’t connecting well.. I just unseated and reseated all of them several times to allow them good contact again).

[Pelham]

linux bkmk

[roamer_1]

I have Elementary OS on it now.

Thanks for that - I was considering Elementary, tho all of my media boxen are going Linux, as well as my DMZ'd server, and I had hoped to normalize around Mint... I am currently gonna try full blown Mint/Cinnamon on that Asus EEE PC, just to see... But I just might be going Ubuntu/Unity on the Media boxen anyway (maybe better presented for use on the TVs), so at that point, I won't have normalization anyway.

One way or anther, I'll give Elementary a go. : )

thx again.

[ducttape45]

Cinnamon.

I also wondered about USB 3 and Linux. Is it supported? I can use the USB 3 port with no problems, it seems, but I wondered about that too.

[ducttape45]

I’ll check this when I get home from work today.

[ShadowAce]

I also wondered about USB 3 and Linux. Is it supported? I can use the USB 3 port with no problems, it seems, but I wondered about that too.

Yeah, it's supported. I have a Logitech wired mouse plugged into a USB 3.0 port on my laptop with no issues.

[ducttape45]

I just checked (sorry this took so long).

There is nothing called grep mouse messages anywhere in that directory.

[ShadowAce]

No--grep is the command name

It searches for a string in a file

So typing in "grep mouse messages" at the command line will search for the word "mouse" in the file "messages" within the /var/log directory.

[ducttape45]

Hahahahahahaha, let's face it, this just goes to show how "Linux challenged" I really am!

I'll be back............

[ducttape45]

ok, next question, what’s “terminal?” Where do I type in the grep command? Sorry, I really am not good at this Linux thing.

[ducttape45]

Hang on, hang on, I found the terminal window, or rather, I figured out how to access it.

bkelley@bkelley50-PC /var/log $ grep mouse message

grep: messages: No such file or directory

I take it that's not a good thing

[ShadowAce]

Hmm. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Do you know which distro you are using? I'm coming from a Red Hat-centric point of view, so things may be in different places.