@Ken Anderson I stopped using Mac's when I discovered Linux. I object to the built-in obsolescence which both Windows and the Macintosh platform promoted not long before Steve Jobs returned to the fold. Before the introduction of the iMac/eMac I never had problems with any Mac computer.they were built to last .Today , both their longevity and functionality are questionable. I still have an eMac which I keep in my studio for some basic image-processing, but I wouldn't use it for anything else, and I only transfer files via USB. Other types of files text files, for example , do not transfer intact, no matter what I do. So, I use my Linux Computer for everything else. My views on Tablets? I agree with Corie Henson. They are entertainment tools, and I can do everything they can do, and much more with my laptop and a lot quicker.I don't even use a smartphone for the same reason. A phone is for talking to people. Also, many apps for tablets are cut-down versions of the original software with limited functionalities while others are simply unavailable.This also includes text apps.Designing desktop software for laptops is not much of a stretch but Tablet's are a whole new ball - game.Often, the Techies consider it a waste of time. Tablets are not a replacement for Laptops and Desktops and that will not change till everyone is reading from the same page. So why linux? well, for one thing, no file transfer problems audio-visual, text or otherwise, and Evernote works fine and no Evernote problems either. Evernote and other windows software can work fine with Linux via W.I.N.E. which is a Windows emulator, though having said that, many Windows programs are also available for Linux, such as Scrivener, for example. I moved the Linux posts from the Tablet versus Computer thread in order to separate the two topics. A few posts are in each thread because they discussed both topics. -- Admin
Sorry, @Billie Lane - I missed this post somehow, and didn't mean to ignore you. At my age, I am not in the mood to learn another computer system. I tried to install Ubuntu on a Gateway computer a few years back and it crashed. That computer is still sitting around here somewhere, still on a failed Ubuntu install. At this point, I am not in the mood to learn another computer system anyhow, so I'll stick with Mac. Other than a nine year-old MacBook that wouldn't take the latest update, I haven't had any trouble with them, and I ended up selling that computer for a pretty decent price, and bought a new MacBook Pro, so I'm okay with that. I get online with my iPhone every once in a while to check the forum or Facebook, and I get online fairly often on my Kindle after going to bed, or while my wife is driving, but I don't see a tablet replacing a computer for me. My wife has an iPad that she uses quite a lot but she can't do a lot of work with it because there's just too much that it doesn't do, or doesn't do as well as her Mac.
I agree @Ken Anderson a tablet is too slow at some tasks compared with my laptop and mouse. I have managed with Windows and find 7 and 10 easy to operate, and the hardware much cheaper than Apple products of course. I have never tried Linux being too lazy to try I guess.
@ Ken Anderson & Terry Page, I believe windows10 supports running Linux in a Sandbox. As for learning Linux, there is not a great deal to learn. in today's world linux is mainly point & click and you don't even need to update the system by Command-Line. Incidentally, I was actually trained on Macs, but I still prefer Linux. I think perhaps I may make some posts on the Linux system, including how to install in different ways. The easiest way to try Linux though is by burning an Iso-file to hard-disk or USB-stick and from there installing into the RAM of the computer. This gives you a fully functional system that does not touch your hard-disk , and when you reboot, it is flushed from Ram completely. The ideal linux for that is called Austrumi. I would point out though, that Linux is open-source and Microsoft has contributed to the linux source-code , while linux-users also have contributed code to Windows. It is a feedback situation not commonly advertised.
I was using an install disk. It went through the installation process but when I try to boot the computer, it stalls at the point where it displays the Ubuntu logo. Since we used to own an Internet cafe, I still have about a dozen working PCs around, including six Gateways that were nearly new when we closed the cafe. When I get a chance, I'll move the Linux conversation from this thread to one about Linux.
@Ken Anderson Was this a cover install disk from a magazine or one from a disk you burned yourself ? Most magazine-cover disks are " deadlined", they are rushed out to meet the magazine deadline and do sometimes have faulty install scripts. Other factors affecting a bad install are bad disks, and bad downloads. To check if you have a good download you also need to download the md5- sum or sha and check if they match. One letter or number out and the disk is faulty. It is not just a problem related to Linux specifically. A lot of people have had problems reinstalling Windows. it is perhaps less noticeable because Windows usually comes pre-installed by the O.E.M. technicians. it should be pointed out though that when a Linux distro appears to stall at the Logo stage it could just be taking it's time checking out the hardware it's on, or writing the new file-system. The biggest problem with Linux is it's lack of paper-documentation. The apparent stalling process is a common occurrence but in most cases the installation will continue after a maximum of five minutes. The worst one i have found for this lengthy installation process is LXLE, which is based on ubuntu. I don't use Ubuntu, and usually advise newcomers to linux to try LinuxMint or ZorinOs. i was thinking of starting another thread anyway giving more information on the Linux options available. p.s. I didn't feel ignored at any point. i have been on and off the forum for a while due other pressures myself.
Neither one. It was a promotional disk from Ubuntu that was sent to us when we had an Internet cafe. They sent a box of installation disks, still in the plastic, which I didn't put out since it crashed our computer. Oh and no, we left it on overnight, so it had plenty of time.
For whatever reason , the Grub boot-loader has not been installed properly, or not selected during the start-up process. Before trying to boot Ubuntu, a black Grub* screen should have appeared giving a choice of at least two boot-options, selected by hitting enter after selection. if it didn't appear then the machine was trying to boot from Windows boot-loader. The Windows boot-loader until the introduction of the Windows 10 sub-system was designed by Microsoft to only boot Windows, and to deliberately ignore " other " operating systems.So, care had to be taken to ensure Grub was selected as the boot-loader during the installation process. However, Linux is a community, not just an operating system, and i am sure the Ubuntu forum could have resolved any issues, unless, of course the disks were faulty. Having said that, I have never considered Ubuntu as the ideal system for new users, and not ideal for an Internet cafe.Fedora would have worked better and could be fine-tuned for the purpose. Also, fedora has a fist-class support community. There are also other "Kiosk " versions of Linux designed for Internet Cafe's. I will need to start a new thread on Linux , and try to explain some of the differences between Linux and Windows. It's actually a lot simpler to use than windows...providing you can get it installed correctly. * Grand Universal Boot Loader.
Thanks, but I'm really not interested in trying Linux again. I am happy with my Macs. Feel free to discuss it though, as there may be others who are. I will split this discussion off now, creating a place for it. Who knows. I might try it again sometime.
I changed my mind. I just ordered a used laptop that comes installed with Linux from Laptop Mountain. It was under $100, and that was with free shipping. I don't, by any means, need another computer but I have never had a computer with Linux, and since my one attempt at installing Linux turned a perfectly good computer into an overgrown door stop, this seems like my best chance. I'm just ordering it to play with, but if I were someone who needed a computer at a low price, I could find several here. They have computers with Windows as well, and even a Mac or two, but I'd be more cautious about buying a used computer from anyone if it was going to be my only computer, or if I were paying more for it.
Hope you enjoy your New computer which i presume is refurbished and lower-spec than a New laptop. That's OK, though - Linux is ideal for that old computer you found when you were clearing out the attic. Which Linux is it by the way?
My old nemesis - Ubuntu. Yes, it's a low end laptop but since it's more of a plaything than one of my main computers, that'll do. One of the advantages of Linux, from what I have heard, is that they are not so demanding of resources. Like anything else, I'm sure that depends on what is going to be done with them. I have several working PCs. If not for the problem that I had trying to install Ubuntu years ago, I'd have simply used them. Although, there is an advantage to it being a laptop, since I won't have to designate space for it.
It's a good system but some words of advice If you get a pop-up which asks if you want to upgrade. -Don't! You may know this already but if you don't you need to know that Upgrading in Linux is not the same as Updating, the latter updates software and provides security patches while the former would wipe your Ubuntu install and replace it with a new Ubuntu. So don't upgrade . You only upgrade Linux with a new iso or disc-image, after first backing up your files.
Okay, it's unlikely to replace my Macs, but I am online with my Linux system right now and it seems to be working pretty well. Probably, my biggest problem wouldn't be with Linux but with the clunker of a laptop it's installed on. I surely wouldn't want to put it on my lap because it weighs almost as much as my iMac. This might be the very machine that Robert E. Lee used to compose his surrender of Confederate troops. It is gray, after all. I don't know enough about Linux to have an opinion yet because I have only just now set it up, but this should work well enough to give me an idea as to whether or not I like Linux.
Linux can be a steep learning curve but once you learn the file system I think it's well worth it. Ubuntu itself is probably the easiest distro to learn with and there are plenty of Ubuntu videos on youtube if you need advice on anything. You should also consider joining a Ubuntu forum- there are a few to choose from.