Linux users I want to leave the windows world. Please help.

[Room101]

I have haaaaad it with windows (for obvious reasons). Someone just gave me a copy of Red Hat Linux and I need some questions answered.

First of all I'm a former computer tech so feel free to throw geek jargon my way.

How similar is the install process from Windows?
How is the user interface of Red Hat?
Is there a comparable office suite to windows office?
What protocol does RH use?
Is it more stable than Windows?

Basically will I be happy I made this change in an OS?

Thanks,

[Sgent]

1. Answers

How similar is the install process from Windows?

You get to make a lot more choices, but for now just choose the default and go on with it.

How is the user interface of Red Hat?

There are many different UIs. You can use a windows or a mac clone, or X Windows, or any number of others. Try them out to figure out which one you like best.

Is there a comparable office suite to windows office?

Check out staroffice (available from sun). This, combined with NS Communicator, does 90% of Office, including reading and saving to office file formats.

What protocol does RH use?

Not sure what you mean here.

Is it more stable than Windows?

Absolutely, there is no comparison.

Basically will I be happy I made this change in an OS?

Maybe. On my personal computer I still use windows. The fact is that for me, Linux just isn't up to snuff for desktop use. That being said, I tend to use the h*ll out of a computer, and have Linux installed as a dual boot.

[billyskank]

2. Answers:

(Q) How similar is the install process from Windows?
(A) Easier. For a start, the Red Hat installer is graphical and slick, unlike the text-based Windows installer. Furthermore, the Red Hat installer does not require a reboot midway through the installation process (Windows XP requires two reboots midway IIRC). It will walk you through partitioning, setting up your mount points, and installing the software you want. You should have no trouble.

If, before you start, you divide your drive into two primary (physical) partitions and install Windows on one of them, then Red Hat will detect Windows on the first partition and will set up the bootloader to boot Windows if you choose it. In this way you can dual-boot your machine in case you're not ready to go 100% Linux just yet. You won't need me to tell you that partitioning your drive will wipe all the data from it, of course.

(Q) How is the user interface of Red Hat?
(A) You get several window managers to choose from, each with their own way of working. The one you will probably choose is KDE: this is the most developed of the Linux desktop environments, and also the most Windows-like. Many dislike it for that reason, but I do not share that view. It is Windows-like though; many of the controls will be familiar to you. It is highly customisable though, and by choosing themes you can make it look just about any way you want.

The other main window manager is GNOME. I personally use Fluxbox.

(Q) Is there a comparable office suite to MS Office?
(A) Yes: OpenOffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org). It is very fully-featured and its interface very similar to MS Office. It is available for Linux, Windows and OSX, and maybe other platforms too. It is free. If you want to pay, then Sun will sell you StarOffice which is similar but proprietary. Another open-source solution is KOffice from the KDE team.

(Q) What protocol does RH use?
(A) I do not understand the question.

(Q) Is it more stable than Windows?
(A) Historically yes, but Windows XP is very good these days. I don't recall having seen a BSOD on WinXP. I get crashes with X (the graphical server) from time to time. If you run Linux as a server (any kind) without the X Window system then it is rock solid.

Other notes: Linux fosters greater security than Windows because of the convention that you use the machine using a normal unpriveliged user, and only use root (the superuser, like an administrator account in WinXP) when you need to carry out system administration tasks, like installing new software. Also, those horrible ActiveX exploits are ineffective on Linux.

(Q) Will I be happy I made this change in an OS?
(A) You may be. Many people are. But don't take anybody's word for it: pro or against. Try it yourself, and see how you find it. If you have problems, there is plenty of help out there. An excellent site is http://www.linuxquestions.org. And remember, google is your friend! Any time you see an error message, google it first!

Good luck!

[Ready4Change]

3. My responses.

I'm a longtime Windows user (from back when you installed over the DOS you already had running), a 2 years Mac user, and have just started trying out Linux on a spare PC.

How similar is the install process from Windows?

It looks different, and many questions will be unfamiliar to you. As said above, go with the defaults whereever possible.

How is the user interface of Red Hat?

Linux distros can use a variety of GUI's. Most are enough like Windows that you wont have too much trouble there.

Is there a comparable office suite to windows office?

StarOffice or OpenOffice are both good.

What protocol does RH use?

There's probably a way to use whatever you need it to use. I'm not much good for specifics on that, though.

Is it more stable than Windows?

I say that's a mixed bag. I think, once you get it set up the OS is solid, and there are applications for it which are solid as well. HOWEVER (heard that coming?), especially for a new "explorative" newbie, I broke the OS several times while trying to figure out it's ins and outs. It's not hard to knock it off balance if you don't know exactly what you're doing.

Also, some of the apps are less reliable than others, and some older hardware may not work at all.

Basically will I be happy I made this change in an OS?

If you're into fiddling and learning new stuff, you're likely to have an interesting experience.

If you just want to install and get to work I'd say it's a 50/50 thing. Your odds are better if you are installing on a machine with fairly recent, but not bleeding edge, components. But, if you have an old network card, like I had, you may need to run out and get a new part. Than can be frustrating.

Good luck!

[Sentath]

4. Which Red Hat?

'cause unless its RHEL (red hat enterprise linux) then I'd go for DL'ing the more up to date FC3 (fedora core 3) or maybe even Ubuntu ( http://www.ubuntulinux.org/ )


>How similar is the install process from Windows?

Not too bad. Being a very international product you'll see more about alternate languages, currencies, time zones, and keyboards. Its also a server capable OS so expect to see some options that you'd expect to get in a server install and configure. You can opt not to install those components, but do not underestimate the utility of having a web server / ftp server on your desktop.


>How is the user interface of Red Hat?

I like Gnome. If you really like the way M$ products work you might want to try KDE.


>Is there a comparable office suite to windows office?

The previous poster suggested StarOffice. I'll opt for the free OpenOffice.org


>What protocol does RH use?

IP? Check
FTP? Check
Samba? Check
Depends on what you want to do .. theres probably an OSS project to implement it on Linux.


>Is it more stable than Windows?

Almost Always (:


>Basically will I be happy I made this change in an OS?

Happy might take a little while. Satisfied and productive should be almost instant.

[Room101]

5. Thank you guys!

I appreciate the responses.