Linux non-technical FAQ

With the ever growing, interest in Linux these days, I am constantly being bombarded with questions, usually by those thinking of upgrading from the Windows to the Linux world. This page is the latest attempt at documenting the answers. Yes think of it as a big non-technical FAQ, which is just what it is.

With technical issues, I have now started a real technical FAQ aimed to helping with simple technical tasks, such as "how do I capture the screen?" and "how do I mount the floppy disk?" etc. Its early days, so the FAQ is growing from humble beginnings, but still may help you.

The Questions

1. Installing Linux is hard, right?
2. Is Linux hard to use?
3. Does Linux have good documentation?
4. Can I use my existing hardware with Linux?
5. Can I use Linux on the Desktop?
6. Can I use Linux on my Servers?
7. Can I use Linux on my Laptop?
8. What applications are there for Linux?

Installing Linux is hard, right?

No, installing Linux is not hard, not to say that its never been so, it has. In the old days you needed to be happy with the command line in order to install it. But now all has changed, with the major distributions all offering a fully graphical installer which comes complete with hardware detection, and all the other toys, you are used to with that Windoze thing.

These new graphical installers are maturing fast, to the point where more or less anyone would be able to use them with minimal effort. So my final answer to the question, is; "if you can install Windoze, you will not have problems with Linux".

Is Linux hard to use?

This is another area where there is a great deal of confusion and disinformation, with new users who think that they will have to learn UNIX in order to get anything useful from their Linux installs. Sure Linux is not Windows and yes there are a new set of commands to learn, but this is not as hard as it seems, as its now very possible with the newer distributions to never see a command prompt, you will boot right into a nice graphical user interface that can even be made to look like Windows to make you feel quite at home.

This in mind, once the systems been installed correctly, its possible for a novice end user to actually use the system with minimal problems. Indeed I have set up several systems this way for a corporate client to use as general user workstations, the users of these systems after a slight learning curve with the applications report all is well and like how stable the systems are.

Now yes I mentioned a learning curve, this is unavoidable as Linux applications such as word processors etc are not exactly the same as those you used on Windows. The differences are very application dependent, but if the applications are carefully selected this can be minimized. To further help in this I have now included notes on the applications that I myself use and that clients use, together with a indication of the differences with the Windows equivalent, its a lot of reading but its worth it in the end.

Does Linux have good documentation?

Another incorrect assumption that is often made about the Linux world, is that as its a free operating system, there is either no documentation or that what there is, is of poor quality and only of use to highly skilled techs. Again this is total fiction, their is at least as much documentation for Linux as for Windows, as for the quality, sure it varies greatly, but on the whole is very high quality, having technical complexity that ranges from newbie to experienced tech.

In the Linux world when you are stuck there is usually a publicly available free HOWTO to help you. While on the subject, a HOWTO is just that, a document that shows you HOWTO deal with a problem, all written by users or developers not by tech writers with minimal knowledge of the subject.

On this site are many HOWTOs written by myself and others over the past few years, all publically available. One good source for other HOWTOs is the LDP or "Linux Documentation project", this is one large repository which also has a searchable index. Follow this link to see what is on offer, other good sources for howtos is www.Linux.org, any of the mass of Usenet groups dealing with Linux, and finally the essential google search.

So, don't believe the propaganda put out by the "Anti-Linux" world, just look at any of the sources I talked about, and you will soon see through the propaganda.

Can I use my existing hardware with Linux?

Yet another fiction put out by the "Anti-Linux" world is that, Windows supports a huge variety of hardware, where as Linux does not. This is the most common mistake made by new Linux users, they think that none of their existing hardware has any hope of being able to run Linux.

Now this is not quite true anymore, with some of the more enlightened hardware manufactures producing Linux drives, for example Adaptec, Matrox, Nvidia, ATI and Creative Labs. If thats not a good sign, there are the ever growing number of drivers being included with newer Kernels, then comes those available from sites such as www.freshmeat.net and Sourceforge. With the new 2.4.x Kernels now supporting for what used to be Windows only hardware such as USB, DVD, Firewire and some unusual devices such as video cameras and capture cards. For more detailed help with the Linux hardware question, have a look at my main Linux Hardware Page.

To show the sorts of things that are now possible with minimal effort, I have personal experience with all of the following under Linux.

Polaroid Sprintscan 4000 Slide Scanner
Canon USB scanner
CD and DVD writers
DVD software Playback with all region support.
Tape drives.
Laser, Inkjet, Thermal and Dye Sublimation printers.
Several Different Digital Cameras
Palm Pilot
USB Video camera
Wireless network cards
Video capture cards
Firewire hard disks, and video devices
Hardware SCSI RAID controllers
Promise ATA66/100 controllers
Several sound cards
Hardware DVD playback with DXR-2 card
Broadband Internet connection
Dialup Internet connection
Pocket MP3 players

Can I use Linux on the Desktop?

This is one of the most common questions I am asked, well there is not real answer to this one as it depends on the user and applications requirements, but for general office use I would say "not quite yet", this is not due to any real technical issues, but more with average users being used to Windows and Windows applications, and not wanting to have to change things. The "Anti-Linux" world would like to reinforce the impression out in userland, that Linux is hard and Windows is easy, well on the surface Linux can be intimidating for those new to it, but this is changing with newer distributions such as Ubuntu, which is aiming to change things on the desktop. On the other hand there are many technical and specific types of niche users that are using it now with no problems, some examples being; high end video editing and 3D graphics rendering. [more]

Can I use Linux on my Servers?

While the use of Linux on workstations is not quite there for all users the same is not true when it comes to some types of servers. Linux and also other flavors of UNIX can be used on servers right now, indeed I am building several per week these days, with the demand rising fast. I have even added an overview of using non-Windows servers which will give you a understanding on when you can use Linux in-place of Windows.

Can I use Linux on my Laptop?

A qualified yes to this one, in that while Linux can be used on Laptop machines, it can not be used on every one, as with some machines there are major problems with hardware support as some manufacturers design for Windoze and nothing else.

I have installed Redhat, Gentoo and Slackware Linux on multiple different laptops, from IBM, Sony and Dell. For the last two I wrote HOWTOs that will remove the pain of installation. Now with other laptops you need to look at www.Linux_laptop.net, which is the source for everything Linux Laptop related, with howtos for all sorts of different systems from all sorts of manufactures.

Installing on Laptops is not all plain sailing, as I mentioned earlier there are in some cases hardware support issues, these are mainly related to the chip used for the video, power management, Firewire ports and other unusual things such as video cameras. With things like USB I have had minimal problems since the release of the 2.4.x Kernels, even things like the USB floppy drive on my Sony Vaio C1VM work with zero problems. [more]

What applications are there for Linux?

Over the past few years, myself and others have put together a large amount of information on Linux work alike apps for the Windows applications that are most common. This is one of the most common things that new Linux users ask, what applications are available?

There are equivalent Linux applications available for more or less all the common Windows apps, most are able to read/write files from Windows, and better than that all the apps detailed here are free with one exception. Every app listed has been personally tested here, and all in my opinion are at the stage where they are usable for day to day functions, regardless of there release status. Yes most are still beta.

Anyway with that out of the way the following brief list are the apps that I have tested and use.

	OpenOffice = Very high quality free office suite.
	Thunderbird = Internet Email and Newsgroups.
	Gimp = Photographic Editing.
	Dia = Diagrams and Charts.
	Firefox = Fast and Stable Browser.
	Gaim = Universal ICQ/AOL/MSN/Yahoo/IRC Instant Messenger Client.
	Xmms = MP3 player.
	Jpilot = Palm Pilot Desktop.
	PGP = Encryption.
	Vuescan = Film and Flatbed scanner support (not free, just buy it!).
	VLC = Video player.

These and other apps are covered in much more detail, which includes things like test results, problems found (if any) and general comments in my main Linux Applications pages. As time allows I will try and keep this updated and also add instructions on building from source code where possible, or binary installation.