Random Linux Questions?

Which is the most functional interface is a matter of opinion. Ultimately you would have to try different ones until you found one that you liked. This is itself an advantage of Linux - that a variety of window managers and desktop environments are available to suit different tastes. A person who wants lots of customisability may prefer KDE.

http://www.kde.org/workspaces/plasmadesktop/

Someone who wants something more minimalistic and faster/more lightweight may prefer xfce.

http://xfce.org/about/screenshots

For ease of use for the beginner, Gnome has often been favoured, although the new Gnome (Gnome 3) is controversial. Some folks love it, others hate it.

http://www.gnome.org/gnome-3/

One advantage of Linux over Windows in my opinion is package management.

Whereas on Windows you have to go to the website to download a particular app, on Linux you download all apps from a central repository. This means you can update your entire system with one command.

It also means that you can be more confident that you are not installing malware, because your distribution will not allow a piece of software to enter the repositories if it is not trustworthy. Also, one of the advantages of opensource software is that it means that your distribution will compile it's own binaries from the source code and it can check the source code for any malicious code or security vulnerabilities.

The iTunes app store is actually modelled upon this idea of getting all software through a central repository.

There are alternatives to iTunes - rhythmbox, amarok, banshee, audacious, vlc, clementine, guayadeque and more.

Some of these have features that iTunes does not - or at least did not last time I used it.

For instance, iTunes only supports a handful of formats. Good formats like Ogg Vorbis, Musepack, Flac, Webm are not supported, at least not natively.

Some of these can automatically fetch info from the internet on each song on the fly such as the lyrics, a biography of the artist from Wikipedia, photos of the artist etc.

Guayadeque can record internet radio streams.

Linux allows me to use my file manager to drag and drop files onto my portable music device. I don't have to do everything through iTunes. I remember once when I used to use iTunes and there was a bug and I could not put new stuff onto my ipod for a couple of weeks until apple got round to issuing a bug fix update. Also, syncing was taking ages - if had been able to drag and drop the new song onto the ipod it would have been much faster but no I had to do a full sync everytime.

The hiding of files is useful, since otherwise your home folder looks cluttered.

ls lists all non hidden files

ls -a lists all files including hidden ones.

Or you can set your preference in your file manager or alternate using a keyboard shortcut.

Open source is a fundamental aspect of Linux, so many of the top Linux apps such as Gimp (photo editor) have been ported to Windows.

Since Windows is not a Unix style operating system, the fundamental tools are different.

cron, rsync, shell scripts, grep, ssh - all of these things are great.

shell scripts allow you to automate tasks.

cron will run scripts or perform certain tasks at certain times.

ssh allows you to connect computers over the internet in an incredibly secure manner and all encrypted so no one can read the data - keeping your personal info private.

I know there is an ssh client for windows (putty) but i don't think Windows can act as an ssh server? Not sure about that.

nfs is the fastest network filesystem there is but nfs does not seem to work very well on Windows so most people in a mixed environment will use samba.

Samba mimics a Windows file server so well that it is used in big enterprises. Unlike Windows server, it is free but it can get the same job done.

http://www.samba.org/

My advice is to give Linux a try and make your own mind up. It is free so you have nothing to lose.

1. Linux is not an Operating System, it is a Kernel

2. MAC is a name, OSx is a Unix like operating System.

Linux is not every ones cup of tea and if running dual boot with Windows it doesn't make any difference which Linux you use. They all have a common base file system and can run exactly the same software files. What affects this is which Desktop Environment is installed. Running 24/7, 365 days a year with no down time and not chasing problems and issues down all the time or fixing this or fixing that is probably one of the biggest advantages. The other advantage is not having to find and locate hardware drivers, no matter what my computers have in them. 250 Distributions later installed on 30 different computers, the distribution you choose to use is the best for you. It is the one you feel the most comfortable with for many different reasons. I don't compare operating systems because every one of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Linux does have commercial software that you can pay for if that is the way you want to go and find software that is sold which meets your requirements. Not doing any research lately and Linux advancements, I really can't say what it will or will not work with. I know the repository files for the Linux I use has files for iTunes and iPods. There is no reason for me to convince you to use Linux.

Just dualboot or use VMware to try out what distros you like. I personally use Linux Mint, ubuntu is also pretty popular. I dual boot,b ut prefer to use linux. Ive used windows since version 3 too.

1 strength of linux is its customization and there are relatively no virus threats since most are made for windows.

1 weakeness is its inability to run certain software/games designed for windows.

These can still be donw with Wine or running a VMware version of windows inside linux though with no problem.

It's safe, faster etc..

ok I can't answer all question as I just don't know

but i'll answer some..

For ease of use, go with ubuntu they have a direction "easy, simple clean"

any other distro is different and not geared this way

I spent many years trying out different distros and well

Ubuntu just makes linux easy :) so that's a + and seems to have a bit more hardware support

for example my printer works in ubuntu but not other distributions.. so thats good that it works..

also for itunes and your ipod you CAN use it in linux..

if you chose to install ubuntu 32 or 64 bit

just install vmware player like I did (its free)

go to softpedia.com and grab a free copy of windows 8 enterprise trial edition like I did

good for 90 days after 90 days runs just fine but the metro stuff won't work.. os will work fine

and you'll be good to go :) you can boot up windows 8 any time in ubuntu via vmware player

witch I boot it up for example to update my gps as their is no linux software for it yet..

you can connect usb devices to vmware player and with windows "update your hardware"

so that works out really well..

+ you can share files between the virtual machine and the host..

as far as software quality?

think of linux as the "rolls royce" of computing..

I had a mac, linux and windows.. and I always always always go back to linux

why? its designed to be done "right"

thats my observation

and ubuntu has a "clear" simple goal of a "users" operating system..

very simple, very clean and each new version it gets faster and faster..

so the file system in linux is better, the lack of virsues is a bonus + all the software is free

and its all open so their is no limits!

never pay for updates

the system updater will update all software on your machine not just os updates

I did a update today and I got firefox 15 from the "ubuntu system updater"

so that makes maintenance on the computer super easy..

and the more you use it the more you like it and the less and less you use windows

so remember

ubuntu (give it a whirl)

vmware player (free)

windows 8 enterprise trial copy (free) works with vmware player 9

virtual box and windows 8 no so good buggy slow etc but vmware player 9 it works great!

so you can play around with windows 8 in vmware player

and use ubuntu when you turn the machine off..

update your hardware in ubuntu using virtual machine..

as far as software quality? its just so much higher in linux..

its just a better product.

as far as wtich distro is best? all depends on what you want to do

I want simple, fast, user based.. and thats what ubuntu is

im not a programmer so i dont need arch or something like that

im just the typical internet user.. so ubuntu works great

finds all my hardware "while installing" and on first boot

i setup my printer "easy" and im good 2 go!

Linux is easier to maintain. It doesn't require drivers for every piece of hardware you connect to a PC. You don't have to become some Microsoft wizards and go configure a OS. Windows doesn't recognize anything that was not paid for by using it's Microsoft Visual Studio. So, you don't want to buy Microsoft Visual Studio, don't expect your hardware or embedded system to run on their OS. With Linux your PC is as simply as a DVD player etc. How would you like it it your DVD player told you that a virus has infected the play button and you need a DVD made by the DVD media movie company camera to fix it.

You can install native linux apps which will work with ipod. If you want you can install Windows7 in a virtual machine using Virtualbox. Your best bet is to just run a 'live' distro and see if you like what you find without installing anything.

If your main concern is that you won't be able to use your itunes, then you are not the target audience. This simple example exposes a range of issues with your reasoning and a desire to continue the slave mentality.

ALL linux versions are awkward to use(based on UNIX) and are not for beginners you need to be an expert to use them if you have any problem, the limited range of software is poor quality and poorly supported, for laptops it is sometimes impossible to find drivers for custom circuit hardware