Getting Started with Linux: Why Install Linux?
Curious
about Linux, but not ready to dive in head first without a little
background? We're on it. As part of our our Night School series, we'll
be detailing, troubleshooting, and taking a deeper swim into the
open-source OS this week. Today, we're offering some encouragement for
the hesitant.
Why, in
this day of razor-thin and elegant Macs, a solid Windows 7 offering, and
cloud-connected gadgets would anyone bother to carve up their hard
drive and install Linux, the geekiest of the major operating systems?
Linux will never be everyone's desktop, but here's why it might be just
perfect for you, as a workhorse or a hobby.
In a
general sense, the core operating system on your computer is becoming
more and more abstract, as more services move onto the web, and as your
browser and sites' own code are capable of doing much more of the
traditional heavy lifting of daily work. So if you use a computer for
browsing, email, IM, and some light app functions, Linux can work just
as well for you as any other system.
There are many reasons to switch to Linux, as explained by your fellow readers. Here are some of the strongest cases to consider.
It's Totally Free, for Any System You Have
Let's just
come right out and say it—you, or at least a good number of people you
know, have installed not-quite-squeaky-clean operating systems on your
computers. Maybe it was testing out Boot Camp on a Mac, or upgrading a
secondary machine, or just avoiding a sudden $100-plus financial hit.
You had to pull a few tricks to get it to work, then forever after had
to keep a cautious eye on updates, service packs, and other potential
slip-ups. The same dark alley feel often comes with hefty apps like
Photoshop or Office.
Linux is
free, for one or 8,000 computers, with all future upgrades and potential
software included. If you've got hardware you want to use but not the
software, Linux is where you can turn to make it usable. Generally, even
a newcomer can get Wi-Fi access, a modern browser, and the essential
desktop apps running on a system in short order. Beyond those basics,
well—that's what this Lifehacker Night School Series will get into!
It Fits on Systems New or Old, Spacious or Small
If you've
got an older computer, or maybe a newer netbook or laptop that's not
quite running at turbo speed, Linux is where you can get both modern
capabilities and swifter operation out of it.
The core of
Linux is regularly worked on by efficiency-obsessed engineers who run
thousands of expensive servers, and most of the desktop versions meant
for personal use run lighter than their Windows and Mac counterparts.
Linux can also take up far less space on a hard drive, and may support
hardware and peripherals that you can't get working in the Big Two
operating systems.
It's a Fine-Tuner's Dream
If you read
this blog regularly, there's a good chance you like having your
computer desktop Just So. You want pop-up notifications of certain
important things. You like certain colors for your windows, taskbars,
and buttons. Keyboard shortcuts? Oh, you like your keyboard
shortcuts—all except for maybe a few of the defaults, which don't make
sense for you.
When you're
running Linux, everything can be modified. Right-clicking will get you a
lot of places. If you really want to get down deep, you can edit a
configuration file for nearly everything in the system. You can give
certain apps more prioritized access to the system, and set up automatic
tasks like nobody's business. You don't have to get in this deep, and
there are many tools to make this tweaking easier, but if you're eager
to tweak and customize, Linux is a dry canvas unto your
imagination/obsession.
It's the Best Way to Learn Deeper Computer Knowledge
Getting
good with a terminal, or command line commands, gives you the means to
make your computer do what you actually, really want it to do, without
having to click and guess. Linux is a great place to learn terminal
commands, along with many other fundamentals of a modern operating
system.
Some of
that learning may come about because you need to fix something, but it's
a rewarding trial by fire. You can learn, for example:
- How file permissions work
- How to spot runaway apps with the
top
command. - How USB drives, hard drives, ISOs, and other storage are "mounted" and accessed.
- What
rsync
is, and how to use it as your own personal Time Machine backup. - What the commands
grep
,tail
,whereis
andfind
do, and how they can make you feel like a Zen master of data.
There Are Some Really Impressive Linux Goodies to Play With
So, there's all that serious data/hardware/knowledge reasoning. But is Linux actually fun to mess around in? For sure.
You can make brilliantly beautiful desktops with real data and productivity at their core, or set the whole earth as your wallpaper. Give yourself a great way to launch and manage apps with Docky or the uber-powerful GNOME-Do.