Linux

Linux is the free, open source operating system of choice among Academy students. Various incarnations include the user-friendly Red Hat, Mandrake, Ubuntu and SuSE distributions, as well as Slackware, Debian, Gentoo, Arch, and Androgenous Mime.

For those who are currently using the Microsoft Windows Operating System but would like to the make switch to something a bit, shall we say, more fun the number of willing Linux geeks ( some more disturbingly hardcore than others ) makes the transition to Open Source much easier.

Besides, come on, all the cool kids are using Linux.

As an interesting side note, the Free Software Foundation promotes the name of GNU/Linux, as Linux is built around the GNU toolkit. However, as GNU tools can be used on any Unix based system (and most have been ported to Windows by now), many feel no need to engage in such pedantics.

Trying Linux

When people come to the Academy, they invariably come in close contact with other geeks. And when geeks come together, magical things happen. One of those things is the installation of Linux. This is just to really point you in the right direction, rather than a full-fledged guide of some sort.

Distributions

Trying Linux really is easy, but there are a ton of choices. If you just want a taste, try a Live CD, such as Knoppix. They allow you to try a fully-featured linux distribution in a matter of minutes, as you can just boot off the CD and go. If you want to take the next step and install linux, you must choose a distribution. This is one of the most confusing parts at first, since there are so many. If you try one and don't like it, try another one. This comparison of popular distros should help you choose.

LiveCD

• Knoppix - The most popular of the LiveCD sort. Choose this one if you don't know what to choose.
• Damn Small Linux - A distribution designed to fit on a 50 MB mini-cd.
• Slax - A Slackware-based LiveCD designed to fit onto a minidisc.

User-friendly

• Mandrake - The most popular distribution right now. Uses RPM packages (not necessarily Fedora ones, though).
• Fedora - The free successor to the ubiqutious Red Hat Linux. People often complain about RPM package management. It's okay though. I wouldn't recommend it.
• MEPIS - A relatively new player. People say good things about it in terms of ease of installation and use. Uses Debian package management.
• Ubuntu - Also new, and very popular distro based on Debian. A good choice in the user-friendly area, from what people say.
• SUSE - A good user-friendly distro. Uses its own RPM packages.

Do it yourself/Learning

• Debian - Uses apt-get for package management, more comprehensive than RPM or Slackware package management.
• Gentoo - Uses an imitation of the BSD ports package management. Generally, most or all packages are compiled from source. A great feature is USE flags, which let you easily select which features are to be compiled in to your packages. Also has an extensive installation guide and documentation, and a helpful troubleshooting forum.
• Slackware - Commonly cited as an ideal learning distribution and is relatively easy to install. Has a minimal packaging system.
• Arch - A minimalist distribution based on the ideas of Crux, with some attributes of RedHat. Includes the pacman package management and ABS ports system. Arch is still in beta, though it is surprisingly stable.

Choosing a Window Manager/Desktop Environment

Choosing a WM is another big choice. You should try different ones to see which suits your style. There are basically two ends of the spectrum: a full-blown desktop environment, which provides many of the essential tools for a desktop computer (like the default install of Windows XP), or a minimal window manager which draws borders around windows and not much else. Here's another handy comparison:

Desktop Environments (in order of minimal-ness, least to most)

• KDE - Most popular. Everything starts with a K. Has Konqueror, a very nice file manager/browser/samba client/ftp client/etc...
• GNOME - Good looking.
• Enlightenment - I would wait for the E17 version, as it looks very promising. I think its better looking than KDE and GNOME. Kinda confusing though.
• XFCE - Fast and good.

Window Managers

• Fluxbox (Blackbox and Openbox) - Very fast.
• IceWM
• Window Maker - I think it looks ugly.
• Sawfish
• FVWM - Very customizable, but takes effort.

How do I Open This File?

People often have problems finding programs that are comparable to the ones they used to use in windows. I will not list them here, bu this table of equivalents is extremely helpful.

Getting Help

• [linuxquestions.org/ Linux Questions]

See Also

• Linux (Wikipedia article)
• GNU/Linux Naming Controversy