Before You Install Linux - STOP! Ask Yourself Some Questions First

hello welcome to the OTB channel so linux has done really well over the last few years it's almost taken over the world the Internet infrastructure basically runs on it and big companies like Facebook Google Amazon all use it the chances are that it's already installed on your phone sort of in the form of the Android operating system and the chances are even the firm were in such things as your TV box already runs on Linux so you've been thinking about making the move to installing Linux on your desktop or perhaps you're already a Linux fan and you've decided that you're gonna convert all your friends and family and install Linux on their laptops and desktops well in either case before you jump in with both feet take some time out and ask yourself a number of questions this is what I'm going to be talking about during this video here's the intro okay welcome back so my first question really would be are you prepared for the linux install and more specifically are you prepared for things not working out quite as you planned the linux install is actually easy and 99% of the time there's no problems you hit next next next next and you're up and running in 10 15 minutes and all of your hardware works and you can connect to Printers without having to don't download drivers but there are those situations where things don't quite work out as planned and you might have to do a little bit of research too I'll jump through some hoops to get some of your hardware working the install might also not go quite as planned and in that case have you done a backup of all your data and do you have the technical know-how to put your computer back to the state it was in before you started this it's all about doing some research just in case if you prepared for the unexpected that's a good starting point the second question to ask yourself is do you enjoy the learning process because you're going to need to Linux works completely differently from Windows or Macs and if you want to do more than just browse the web or look at your email the chances are you're gonna have to learn new software and a completely different way of managing your system it really helps if you enjoy that process because if you don't it could be a really frustrating experience just something to bear in mind okay number three how will you actually choose the distro you're going to install this is a question that doesn't just affect new users but effect is all because we are absolutely bombarded with choices in Linux if you go to distrowatch comm you will probably see that there are well over 200 distros out there all based on slightly different versions of Linux and all looking slightly different from each other how do you possibly choose do you simply choose on the basis of what it looks like because Linux can look absolutely amazing or are you going off recommendations from other people well either of those is a legitimate way of choosing but please bear in mind that Linux is endlessly customizable so it doesn't really matter what it looks like to start off with as you get to know the system you can customize it to your heart's content so don't be persuaded right from the get-go of choosing a distro just because you like the look and feel of it many of us have fallen into that trap if I was a brand new user I would restrict my choices to three or four of the big names so you have a bond to Linux you have pop OS you have MX Linux you also have the likes of Theron OS and try and avoid choosing some of the harder to install distros right from the word go such as arch or even Gentoo and once you've chosen stick with it whilst you learning Linux don't just keep moving on and getting into that trap of hopping from one district to the next to try and resolve a problem if you face a problem try and resolve it within the distro that you've chosen once you've done that and you've got a good feel for the system there I've no doubt you will go on to try other distros but it's probably not a good thing to go distro hopping right from the word go stay with one learn the system customize it to your liking okay number four let's address what could be the elephant in the room will you need to use the Linux command line it's a legitimate question and possibly a concern because the command line tends to be used in Linux a lot more than it does on Windows whilst you have your command prompt in Windows are very much doubt the average user ever brings up a command terminal to actually work with it in Linux it's slightly different the Linux terminal terminal is incredibly powerful and know you don't necessarily have to use it when you install Linux you really don't especially in this day and age you can probably get away with the vast majority of things without ever opening a terminal but if you do that you're missing out you really are you should be prepared to learn some basic Linux commands in the terminal and you will get so much more back from using the operating system and in fact if you're searching for support on forums or the like you may be given certain commands that you need to run into in the terminal so it's nothing to be scared of it's a really useful tool in one way it's what separates us from some of the operating systems the fact that we still do go to the terminal much quicker than say a Windows or a Mac user would but that's a good thing don't let it scare you okay question number five and this is probably the most important question of everything we've talked about so far do you absolutely rely on proprietary software from say Adobe or Microsoft someone else where a Linux version isn't available because if you do the switch to Linux might not be a good move for you you've probably heard the Linux has this thing called whine which allows us to run some programs Windows programs but it's not perfect it really isn't some programs will run perhaps not all of the features but the basics of the programs may run others may be absolutely perfect others won't work at all so you should not rely on whine as far as gaming is concerned yes gaming under Linux has come on leaps and bounds in the last year or so but again you may struggle compared to Windows and you may have to spend more time configuring the system so that our Windows game runs now if you find yourself in this situation you may take that make the decision that perhaps you just stay on the operating system that you're currently running and that's a legitimate choice or if you're still really keen on moving to Linux well you do have options you can always dual boot or you could perhaps run Windows in a virtual machine on your Linux operating system either way it's perhaps not as straightforward as you've been used to so ask yourself the question is that something you're prepared for and is that something that you could live with right number six and the last but not least question that you should think about is how much support do you think you will need running Linux over your first three to six months this is a critical question because when you buy a machine from a shop they usually have an obligation to support you with Linux because you'd do it yourself for the most part there are the there is the odd place out there we can buy Linux pre-installed but the few and far between so you do it yourself and if it all goes wrong and you break it you have the freedom to keep the pieces there is no formal support channel in the vast majority of cases there are however lots of informal support channels IRC forums and information all over the place in the form of wikis and YouTube videos and you will probably find if something goes wrong you will need to refer to one of those informal sources now if you do that it's really important that you do as much work as possible yourself you need to do the research before you go on a forum and ask a question this is fair warning really that if you go on a forum and come out with a question such as please help my Wi-Fi isn't working you stand every chance of being flamed or given the RTFM read the flippin manual or an answer like that and that's because Linux users are usually prepared to help newer users more than prepared to help but there is an expectation there Linux is all about freedom but with freedom comes certain obligations and those obligations are before you go and ask a question that you should have done some research yourself if you're asking a question such as my Wi-Fi is broken you should be providing details of what Wi-Fi card or chip you're using what you've done so far to get it working what you've tried what sources you've looked at and then people will probably be more more inclined to help you you should also be aware that there are some questions that just elicits eyes from the whole community one that I see all the time is hey guys I've just moved to Linux which is the best Linux distro there is no answer to that one there is no best Linux distro all the distros have strengths and weaknesses and what's right for you may not be right for somebody else also that questions probably been asked 30 or 40 times on a forum search the for and find what people have said beforehand you'll need to be more proactive in terms of seeking out support then perhaps you have been in the past you may even end up really enjoying the process learn a lot and like many of us start to quite enjoy it when things go wrong because it means you get a chance to experiment and learn a little bit more but ultimately it's all about mindset have you got the right mindset and are your expectations in terms of what support you are entitled to appropriate because remember when it comes to informal support the people helping you have no obligation to support you that doing it out of the goodness of their hearts and because they want to help so please respond appropriately to them right so we've run through that and you're still of the mind that yep you want to install Linux well great welcome on board the chances are it's going to be a decision that you'll never regret you'll really enjoy Linux and welcome to the community just be aware that it is going to be different and you probably need to adopt a slightly different mindset to what you've been used to I'd like to come back at this point before we finish to those existing Linux users who are keen to install Linux on the computers of friends and family back in the day I was night attack and I was all about evangelism and I tried to install Linux on as many broken windows pcs as I could it turned out to be something that I regretted only do it if you're prepared to be that person's support channel perhaps endlessly and be prepared for the fact that Linux may not ending end up being for them and you may well have to go back and reinstall windows for them so always be honest with people about what their expectations and potential issues may be if they switch to Linux right that's it for today have a great day people and don't forget you can find us on library' as well [Music] you

Channel: OldTechBloke

Views: 15,408

Keywords: oldtechbloke, otb, linux, Don't install linux, linux support, rtfm, linux hardware issues, wine, running windows apps on linux, problems running windows apps on linux, formal support in linux, the linux terminal, take time to learn linux, is linux for you, is linux for everyone, linux vs windows, linux for beginners, linux operating system, which linux distro is right for you, linux advice, reasons not to install linux, linux mind-set, linux technical skills, linux installation

Id: OeNbRwGyuD8

Length: 15min 50sec (950 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 10 2020