The Linux system is an open-source system available to
the general public, based on a large community.
The system has become popular, especially in the
professional domain. However, over the years, it has rapidly evolved and become simpler to use for the general public.
Why Linux:
The reason I'm talking about this system is that most people use commercial systems Windows and Mac (for
Macintosh) without really needing the features added by default in commercial systems. What annoys me even more is the belief that Linux is just a black box (terminal saying that it's not meant for beginners or that it's very difficult to handle (I assure you, that's nonsense).
The latest recent distributions have become much
simpler than what's in Windows or Mac.
Well, it's not that I dislike other systems;
in fact, I use Windows along with Linux in dual-boot.
Speaking more...
History:
The history of this system began with the creation of two poles Red Hat (download),
Debian (download), these two being reused to
build other poles. We're also talking about Ubuntu, which is the most popular,
Fedora (download), Mandriva, ArchLinux, and many others...
I've tested Debian, Ubuntu, Mandriva,
and for the others, I've seen experiences from people who used them. They seem content. Before installing a system, check its characteristics and consider your needs. There are systems tailored for the professional world and others for the general public.
Installation :
The installation is very simple, like Windows or Mac. Recent versions
have made installation even simpler; you hardly need to use the terminal. The system
comes with preinstalled software, and updates and package installations are done using graphical tools.
Even if you encounter a problem, which is quite rare, forums and documented sites associated with the installed system will most likely provide a solution to your issue.
In reality, I've run into problems quite a few times (I'm not really skilled with the terminal). I search for my problem online, and I usually find reassuring results in the forums.
A piece of advice for beginners: avoid very recent distributions; they might have uncorrected bugs. Instead, choose versions that are considered stable and have a long lifespan.
Window Manager (WM):
The WM is the desktop interface used when starting a session. You can use as many WM interfaces as you want, but it really depends on the capacity of the PC. The more recent and powerful it is in terms of features (RAM, CPU, GPU), the better chance it has of working with any WM. The older it is, the more it will be limited to a number of WM options, often referred to as "Light" WMs.
Contrary to many documentations I've come across, I've chosen to categorize WMs into 3 groups. In my experience, dividing them into two groups creates difficulties for those in between (which is also my case).
1. Hard WM:
Starting with those who have high capabilities, if you want a combination of looks, design, and performance, you're in the right category. However, it's not recommended for systems with less than 2GB of RAM and a CPU slower than 2GHz (at least an i3 processor is recommended) with a graphics card that has at least 512MB of memory.
- KDE: For those seeking effects, reflections, a stylish look, and speed, KDE is the right choice. This WM is greatly enhanced in terms of visual appeal and effects. It can be used with any distribution. You can install KDE 16.04 (64-bit or 32-bit). If you already have a distribution with a default WM, you can add KDE by installing the package kde-desktop (check the distribution for the specific name; for Ubuntu, it's kubuntu-desktop).
- Unity: (the default WM used by Ubuntu in recent versions) is the most documented among all. If you want to save time, just use Ubuntu as mentioned in the note above, and it will install Unity by default.
And, of course, explore on your own. There are as many WMs as there are distributions (you can even create your own interface).
2. Medium WM:
These WMs are suitable for most existing PCs, except for very old ones (with a minimum requirement of faster than P4 and between 1GB and 2GB of RAM). They are not recommended for recent versions.
- Xfce: Xfce is one of the interfaces I really liked. It's completely customizable to your liking, and you don't need to use the terminal for that. It's simple and fluid, with fewer effects. It's used in many Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Debian, and other distributions. Suitable for Xubuntu (64-bit or 32-bit). Xfce is fundamentally a panel, as mentioned in the document on panels.
Note: Many documentations claim that Xfce is a light WM, but from my experience, that's not entirely true. On a virtual machine, Xfce works quite well with 750MB of RAM.
- Mate: : Mate is based on Gnome and is designed for simplicity. It's often used in Ubuntu to replace the heavy Unity version. Mate brings the simplicity and fluidity of Gnome, using fewer resources compared to Unity. (64-bit or 32-bit)
3. Light WM:
The concept behind Light WMs is to provide the minimal tools and programs necessary, giving users the choice to do as they wish. Many Hard or Medium WMs were initially based on these Light WMs, but not all of them.
·
- LXDE (or LQTE): The Light version of a very simplified desktop for minimal configuration and a minimal look. This focuses on performance, and it works well with Ubuntu under the name Lubuntu (64-bit or 32-bit)).
- Openbox (Another Light WM): Openbox starts from scratch, with the principle of providing a minimal empty desktop. By clicking the left mouse button, you can access the terminal and the web (Firefox is installed by default). A configurable file allows you to add applications to start with Openbox (including customizing the desktop).
For an older PC, I recommend starting Openbox with just two packages: wbar and nitrogen. You can place desired applications in the wbar panel, eliminating the need to open the terminal every time to start an application (I tested this on VirtualBox with a single core and 700MB of RAM, and it works very well).
Note: For more information on installing Openbox as the sole WM for the Ubuntu distribution, check out this page: https://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/openbox
There are many light WMs; among them is i3, which is not referring to the processor but rather a WM called i3. It's somewhat similar to Openbox but works differently and is somewhat optimized for programmers.
For more information: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LowMemorySystems
Ultimately, WMs are a matter of taste; they're just interfaces and ways to interact with the distribution.
Software:
Most necessary software is installed by default in most Linux distributions.
After all, the popular software used in Linux (excluding games) is generally provided in most cases and in almost all distributions (also referred to as distros).
For the internet, there's Chromium-browser (the open-source version of Chrome on Linux) and Firefox installed by default in almost all distributions.
For multimedia, there's VLC, SMPlayer, and Gnome-player (installed by default in WMs based on Gnome).
For text editing, Gedit is widely used, and nano and vi are installed by default in the terminal.
For images, there's Image Viewer, Gpicview, and many others. There isn't much difference; usually, the default ones are sufficient.
For writing, LibreOffice is recognized as the leading open-source office suite. It provides about 80% of the writing quality compared to Microsoft Office. It also supports reading Microsoft Office documents and saving in Microsoft Office-compatible formats. However, it still has room to improve. If you're used to Windows Office, you can install it with PlayOnLinux if you don't want to use Windows anymore.
Of course, there are many categories; explore the distribution's repositories to find a variety of software to install. Good luck.
Conclusion:
To conclude, I advise Linux beginners to seek information from forums and websites before attempting any risky actions (unlike Windows, Linux won't give you warnings, and a wrong move could be costly). It will greatly assist you. Having some terminal knowledge is essential to using Linux nowadays.
Don't be afraid; why not give Linux a try?
*I've included links for Ubuntu version 14.04, which I consider the best. You can search for whatever you need on the internet. The latest version of Ubuntu is 23.04 (64-bit), as 32-bit versions are no longer widely supported in most distributions unfortunately.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire