linpus linux????

mfcordova2008

New Member
hey guys and gals i was surfing the web and saw walmart offering a computer with this program. i was wondering what the benefits of this program is over a os ex xp win7 etc.

is it a easy user interface for a first timer?
can i dual boot it, choose which one i wanna use linux or windows
 

NyxCharon

Active Member
It's linux, so you get the benefits of:
Open source software.
You can take full advantage of the package manager, making installing/finding/managing programs super easy.
For the most part, no virus's ever.
Linux usually runs much faster then MS, so it's a lot lighter on resources making multi tasking much easier.
etc.

And since it's linux, yeah, dual booting shouldn't be a problem.

As far as the interface, i'd say it looks extremely simple, tailored for the beginner user.
 

Irishwhistle

New Member
unless you're just getting it for basic web browsing, maybe some word processing and stuff I doubt if you'll be happy with it. it's a preference thing really, but if you're a first time user you can probably plan on some headache.

mind, what the guy above said IS true, but I would at least recommend you try before you buy.
 

pane-free

Member
Yes, you may dual-boot either via GRUB or (more easily for a Windows user) by means of EasyBCD and the Windows Boot Loader. If the latter is preferred, just do NOT install GRUB to the MBR (Master Boot Record), but install it to the root ( / ) partition of your Linux distro installation. Then boot to Windows and install EasyBCD. Follow the easy instructions.

Remember, only four (4) Primary partitions are allowed and recognized by any Linux distro. If Windows is installed on a C:\ partition and also another Recovery partition, first make a Windows Recovery disk, then shrink the C:\ partion about 40-50% -- in any case, only use two partions (at the most) for Windows.

Then, make a Primary partition using ext4 file system for root of 10-15GB and an Extended partition for most or all of the remainder of the hard drive. Within this Extended partition, make one Logical partition for /home and another Logical partition for swap (about 1.5GB), at least. The /home partition is where personal files will reside. I use gparted, in the System Rescue CD, to partition hard drives.

For such a netbook as the ones advertised by WalMart, xubuntu 10.04.2 is recommended.

I have listed some of my favorite mirrors below:

http://ftp.cc.uoc.gr/mirrors/linux/
http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/
http://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/
http://mirrors.cat.pdx.edu/
http://mirror.its.uidaho.edu/pub/

Best wishes!
 
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DMGrier

VIP Member
About a 99% chance you will be looking to install Windows after a week.:)

Dont always think that, my wife likes Windows but prefers ubuntu and she is the common end user.

Give it a shot, don't know much about that OS or what kind of software is available but if you decide you don't like it after you buy it remember you have 30 days to return it to Walmart and further more if you want to use a Linux os come on here and we can help you install another Linux OS that will give you the richer experience of Windows or OSX and with our direction it will be easy, fun and should take no more then 15-30 minutes from start to finish.
 

jonnyp11

New Member
go to the sight and dowload their wubi installer, it lets you boot into it on loading and it's the full normal thing other than no hibernating, but there are problems with older comps like mine as my internet adapter and cord refuse to work on it and my adapter that does work stops after a minute, but if you ghet a machine made with it it should be fine, and i just love how my athlon xp 2400+ 2ghz single core goes from a 5-10minute windows boot to a <1minute with firefox open boot, it's so fast and looks cool too.
 

Irishwhistle

New Member
Yeah, wubi = bad idea. Either go with Windows, Ubuntu (Really the only linux I think is fit for everyday home users), or both. But if you do decide to dual boot you should do it yourself (install Windows first on one partition, then Linux second.)

btw, some of the guys said you can dual boot it, that's true, but if you get a laptop that comes with linux you're going to have to buy windows separately, that'll run you about a hundred bucks. Also, remember that if you install a different OS (like Windows or Ubuntu), you're going to have to deal with installing drivers, and some stuff may take a lot of time and give you a lot of headache.

My advice is that if you want a laptop buy Windows, unless you want to do the linux thing, then get one that comes with Ubuntu (I'm pretty sure Dell makes those). If you want to dual boot then you should buy a Windows computer because that way you have windows already.
 

mfcordova2008

New Member
thanks for the info everyone appreciate it. im not worried about windows software i have practically all software since i like to fix computers for a hobby and job just never did really learned alot about linux i signed up for a class on linux and unix programs to get a good idea about it :):D
 

DMGrier

VIP Member
thanks for the info everyone appreciate it. im not worried about windows software i have practically all software since i like to fix computers for a hobby and job just never did really learned alot about linux i signed up for a class on linux and unix programs to get a good idea about it :):D

I would buy any computer, doesn't matter what it has and put on some Ubuntu. You wont regret it.
 

Perkomate

Active Member
ubuntu rips on my netbook, and that's a 1.6ghz atom, 1gig RAM. It makes it usable, i can have more than 2 tabs open on firefox without it lagging!
 

wolfeking

banned
getting worse doesnt always refer to performance.
But in my case it does. 11.04 with unity seriously lags on my AMD acer (HD4250, 6GB DDR3, Athlon II 2.3GHZ dual core) and just plain refuses to load at all on my Intel one (but so does PClinuxOS, due to kernel panic).

Seems that ubuntu is on a coarse to be a OSX wanna be. They are loosing their Linux roots, and to a point, their freeware roots also (they have been getting quite a few paid applications in their software repository).

At this point, Mint is the most reliable, and needs less tweaking out of the box.
 

NyxCharon

Active Member
And crunchbang linux will rip ubuntu in terms of performance. Any version of linux for the most part will perform much, much better then windows or mac OSX.
So performance isn't really THAT big of a factor unless your using extremely outdated hardware.
You need to find what you want to do with your computer, and i can guarantee there is a distro for that.
You want it to look pretty, and have everything work out of the box for basic use? Alright, sure, Linux Mint, Ubuntu whatever,there's plenty to choose from here.
You want to learn about network Security?
Sure. Backtrack5, Gnacktrack R6, Matruix Xeon
You want to develop software, build packages, build a custom distro, etc.
Sure. Crunchbang, debian, gentoo,etc
You want bleeding edge software and the newest tools?
Sure. Arch linux, Debian (experimental) etc.
You want performance?
Sure. Peppermint OS, TinyCore Linux, LBunutu, Xbunutu, etc.
You want graphics/video/music software integrated?
Sure. Ubuntu Studio, and several more which i cant think of.
You want a custom build tailored to your PC for the most optimal performance?
Sure. Gentoo (again), LFS, or even build your own distro using your favorite OS as a base.


Sorry if it seems like I'm on a rant, but I'm so tired of seeing linux users only ever using Ubuntu. There are SO many more distros out there, and i guarantee there's one out there for you, whoever you are. I don't agree with the path Ubuntu is following, but that's personal opinion. I just merely suggest giving something out there a try.

WolfeKing, good points, i didn't want to be the one to say anything :p
 

wolfeking

banned
on the leading edge software, it might be a good idea to add PClinuxOS. it literally has dozens of updates daily, and thats just the OS. They run on a rolling update schedule, and it reflects in the OS.

Didn't we have a conversation about the lack of merit of Ubuntu not too long ago? (I havent forgot the guide updates, Ill have them too you soon.)
 

NyxCharon

Active Member
Ah, yeah i haven't used that one before, (one of the few :p ) There's a lot of distros that work on a rolling update schedule.

Yeah, we did. Most of the things you mentioned where things i brought up. :D
 

DMGrier

VIP Member
You do know, there are other distro's other then Ubuntu right? :p

Ubuntu is great for starters right? Yes I am very aware of other Linux Distro's considering I have used many other's but for someone to start off with I am going to recommend Ubuntu.

Yes Ubuntu does offer paid apps but they haven't limited there open source either.
 
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