Advice Request Should I give Linux another chance?

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Tiamati

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Hello guys!

In february/2020 a decided to give LINUX a chance to resurrect my old notebook. After some days, i gave up as i didn't have enough time to solve all problems LINUX was giving me.

If you are curious, here is my impression at the time.

Well, i tried both Linux Mint Cinamon and Kubuntu. IMHO, kubunto was more complete to use out of the box... Anyway, despite Linux was indeed fast in my notebook, i got tired of so many bugs and technincal difficulties

In 1 day i faced:
- Bug with nvidia drive --> black screen when installed
- had to learn how disable it through commands
- had to learn how to install nvidia drive from nvidia website (cause it was newer than the buggy one offered through linux), and face a LOT of errors during install, just to discover, after a large amount of time trying and learning, that the new drive was buggy too.
- had to learn how to install basically anything that is not in the software center
- bug with kubuntu changing system language to default after updates
- faced a lot of problems learning the new language when looking for forum helps.... Somehtings like, "use root" (but i didn't know how to use, and than i had to learn that too)

Sooo, i gave up. Despite i think i would be able to learn everything again if i wanted and had the time to do that, i didn't want it. I wish i could install, fix a few problems and let it go... That not happened. So for now, i'll wait till Linux get rly user friendly (despite it really improved from the last years). Having to solve almost everything through commands just sucks if you're not in the mood for learning everything



Now, my wife is asking to buy a new notebook for her, as her old one is giving it lasts breaths. I wish i could install linux for her and solve my problem. What do you think? (my wife's tech knowledge is almost zero)
 

wat0114

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Now, my wife is asking to buy a new notebook for her, as her old one is giving it lasts breaths.

You will likely have to pony up and buy your wife the new notebook she so desires :D

Seriously, it is probably your best bet, unless you and your wife don't mind having to address probable and maybe frequent "technical issues" with Linux on the old notebook, especially given the past issues you had running Linux on it. You could keep the old device and install Linux on it, keeping it as a backup or just for learning Linux from, if that interests you.
 

Burrito

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Hello guys!

Now, my wife is asking to buy a new notebook for her, as her old one is giving it lasts breaths. I wish i could install linux for her and solve my problem. What do you think? (my wife's tech knowledge is almost zero)

How 'bout Chrome OS?

It's on my 'To-Do List' to try Chrome OS on one of my dinosaur computers.

Why don't you give it a shot and let us know how it goes.

 
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Tiamati

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Ty guys!

How 'bout Chrome OS?

It's on my 'To-Do List' to try Chrome OS on one of my dinosaur computers.

Why don't you give it a shot and let us know how it goes.


i heard about that, but i honestly don't have any opinion about it....yet
 

amirr

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If you're using an Android smartphone, I think ChromeOS is easy to accept.
If you want to do something on your pc, the time to learn the os itself can be annoying.
May I add this as humour?
If you want to show respect and admiration to Bill Gates, then use Windows:
 

amitkumargiri

Level 1
Mar 13, 2022
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Yes go for Linux particularly Ubuntu , make some additional settings as per choice ... Njoy and even you want best alternative , then go for Android OS , very simple , similar to like using a smartphone. There are various Android OS do check them out .......
Hello guys!

In february/2020 a decided to give LINUX a chance to resurrect my old notebook. After some days, i gave up as i didn't have enough time to solve all problems LINUX was giving me.

If you are curious, here is my impression at the time.

Well, i tried both Linux Mint Cinamon and Kubuntu. IMHO, kubunto was more complete to use out of the box... Anyway, despite Linux was indeed fast in my notebook, i got tired of so many bugs and technincal difficulties

In 1 day i faced:
- Bug with nvidia drive --> black screen when installed
- had to learn how disable it through commands
- had to learn how to install nvidia drive from nvidia website (cause it was newer than the buggy one offered through linux), and face a LOT of errors during install, just to discover, after a large amount of time trying and learning, that the new drive was buggy too.
- had to learn how to install basically anything that is not in the software center
- bug with kubuntu changing system language to default after updates
- faced a lot of problems learning the new language when looking for forum helps.... Somehtings like, "use root" (but i didn't know how to use, and than i had to learn that too)

Sooo, i gave up. Despite i think i would be able to learn everything again if i wanted and had the time to do that, i didn't want it. I wish i could install, fix a few problems and let it go... That not happened. So for now, i'll wait till Linux get rly user friendly (despite it really improved from the last years). Having to solve almost everything through commands just sucks if you're not in the mood for learning everything



Now, my wife is asking to buy a new notebook for her, as her old one is giving it lasts breaths. I wish i could install linux for her and solve my problem. What do you think? (my wife's tech knowledge is almost zero)
 
Last edited:

The_King

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network chuck is an influencer only looking to enrich himself
lots of his online content is filled with caveats and exceptions that only the astute viewer detects
I have watched his content on YT for free. He showed me step by step how in install WSL on Windows as well has installing
Ubuntu even Kali Linux. I also managed to install and run Pi-hole and worked with Docker for the first time by watching many of his videos for absolutely free on YT.

To say he is out to enrich himself only is incorrect IMHO. However even if this was partly true he gave up his full time job to do YT.
I don't see any issue with his content or him enriching himself in the process. I have found many of his YT videos highly informative.

The idea to get over stigma and FUD that people have about Linux and actually get them to use it hands on, is a fantastic idea . Something I feel that enriches everyone in the process.
 
F

ForgottenSeer 72227

Personally I too have been on and off Linux over the years, however recently I have switched everything over to Linux and in all honesty I am quite happy. I still dual boot Windows on one of my systems and in a VM on another system for those just in case situations...however, I am exclusively using Linux daily and really haven't had the need to go back into Windows very much, if at all...

You mentioned that you tried it in the past, but ran into some issues, can you elaborate what kind of issues you have run into? One thing I've learned is that your experience with Linux will vary and it's important to choose not only the right distro, but the right desktop environment (DE) as well, at least when starting out. For example, I personally use Fedora (which I would recommend you try,) it's a solid distro, very up to date, while also being very stable...I personally haven't had any issues with it. By default Fedora comes with Gnome (which I really like) as it's DE. Gnome while a good DE, does have a very different workflow than what most people are use to. It's very keyboard, touch pad gesture driven and very simple in design which you either love, or hate. Personally, I don't think Gnome is a good DE to start off with....I would choose something like KDE as it's looks and feels very much like Windows by default, which may help make the transition a little easier IMHO.

Like some have mentioned, depending on your software and use cases, you may have some difficulty finding the same apps on Linux, Lets take Microsoft Office as an example...while it isn't on Linux (yet...seems like they may make a Linux version at some point) there are some great alternatives like LibreOffice and Only Office. However...if you don't need all the advanced features of Office and all you do is basic office documents and such, you can just use the online version of Office, or even Google docs. It's what I do, and it serves my use case well. So unless you have very specialised software that you use, there are some good alternatives out there.

What distros have your tried in the past?
 
F

ForgottenSeer 72227

Linux serves most people very poorly

I don't think it's that bad...in fact, I think Linux can serve most people quite well. What do the vast majority of people do on their computer? Read emails, social media, watch videos on YouTube etc...all things that Linux is more than capable of handleing. I fact I don't think you'll have a better experience in Windows, or MacOS doing these basic tasks.

Now if your doing more specialized stuff that may require certain software then yes, Windows and/or MacOS might better serve you (ie gaming, content creation, etc...), but I don't think Linux is that bad.

In fact I switched my wife's computer to Linux...to put it mildly, she and technology don't always get along. However, since the switch, she's using it fine with no issues. I just made sure to install a popular distro aka Fedora with a DE that mimics Windows (KDE) and all is well. All she does is exactly what most people do with their computers (like I mentioned above) and so far everything is running fine.
 

shmu26

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Jul 3, 2015
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Hello guys!

In february/2020 a decided to give LINUX a chance to resurrect my old notebook. After some days, i gave up as i didn't have enough time to solve all problems LINUX was giving me.

If you are curious, here is my impression at the time.

Well, i tried both Linux Mint Cinamon and Kubuntu. IMHO, kubunto was more complete to use out of the box... Anyway, despite Linux was indeed fast in my notebook, i got tired of so many bugs and technincal difficulties

In 1 day i faced:
- Bug with nvidia drive --> black screen when installed
- had to learn how disable it through commands
- had to learn how to install nvidia drive from nvidia website (cause it was newer than the buggy one offered through linux), and face a LOT of errors during install, just to discover, after a large amount of time trying and learning, that the new drive was buggy too.
- had to learn how to install basically anything that is not in the software center
- bug with kubuntu changing system language to default after updates
- faced a lot of problems learning the new language when looking for forum helps.... Somehtings like, "use root" (but i didn't know how to use, and than i had to learn that too)

Sooo, i gave up. Despite i think i would be able to learn everything again if i wanted and had the time to do that, i didn't want it. I wish i could install, fix a few problems and let it go... That not happened. So for now, i'll wait till Linux get rly user friendly (despite it really improved from the last years). Having to solve almost everything through commands just sucks if you're not in the mood for learning everything



Now, my wife is asking to buy a new notebook for her, as her old one is giving it lasts breaths. I wish i could install linux for her and solve my problem. What do you think? (my wife's tech knowledge is almost zero)
It all depends what your wife does on her computer. If all she does is open her browser and do things in the browser, she won't even notice that it is linux. You can install her favorite browser on Linux.
If she ocassionally opens Microsoft Word for light use, and she is a little bit flexible-minded, she could learn to use LibreOffice or some other alternative such as Google Docs.
 
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Tiamati

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Hey guys. Ty for your attention.


I tried Neverware Cloudready (aka Chrome OS) on my 10 years old notebook. It's unbelievable how fast it's working now. It's perfect for MY needs on that old little dinosaur. However, the lack offline compatibility make me think it won't feet my wife needs. So, i decided to give a chance to 1 Linux Distro before investing in a new laptop for her. any suggestions?

I need something light and like windows, otherwise she will kill me.
 

shmu26

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Hey guys. Ty for your attention.


I tried Neverware Cloudready (aka Chrome OS) on my 10 years old notebook. It's unbelievable how fast it's working now. It's perfect for MY needs on that old little dinosaur. However, the lack offline compatibility make me think it won't feet my wife needs. So, i decided to give a chance to 1 Linux Distro before investing in a new laptop for her. any suggestions?

I need something light and like windows, otherwise she will kill me.
You are hoping for a lot:
1 light
2 like windows
3 runs well on ancient hardware

You should try out distros on live usb before committing yourself.
Give it a whirl with Kubuntu LTS. Or Linux Mint. Both are similar enough to Windows.
 
F

ForgottenSeer 72227

Agree with the 2 posts above....

If your looking for something Windows like in terms of look and feel than a distro with either the KDE Plasma, or Cinnamon desktop environment(s) will be what you are looking for... In this case the suggestions above: Kubuntu for KDE and Linux Mint for Cinnamon, are good options. I will reiterate Fedora KDE spin as another option. I also agree that maybe trying it on a live usb first would be a good way to test out the DE and see how you like it. Keep in mind that performance wise the Live usb won't be as fast compared to running it fully installed, but it will at least give you an idea if you like the look and feel of it.
 
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Tiamati

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Nov 8, 2016
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Update:

I tried:
Linux Mint, Zorin, Manjaro and Kubuntu.

The best one was Zorin Core, but the most stable and fast were Mint (followed by Manjaro). I decided to stay with Mint. Ty for all your support guys. It really helped me.

Bonus question :emoji_beer:

Can you recommend an office suite that really "looks like" Microsoft Office? It's important it is as much compatible as possible with it.
I tried OnlyOffice and WPS till now...
 

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