SHG Linux Beginner's Guide - Ditch Windows/Mac

Beginner's Guide put together by SHG Knights Renken, Knives, Alice and Marisa for educational purposes.

                            [So You Want To Quit Windows/Mac And Use Linux?]

Well we can't blame you. Who WOULD want to use something like Windows and Apple when they make it perfectly clear what they do with your info, how they publicly admit to mining it and how they spy on you and on top of that, more programs that you need to pay for on Windows/Mac have free alternatives in Linux. A lot of people are starting to thirst for a fresh new experience to just using computers again. But there are a lot of fallacies about Linux out there so we are here to help you out. Some will ask "Well what about Virus protection?"

This is good in more ways that one. While the threats still exist there are not nearly as much as there are for Windows simply due to the fact they Linux has such a small share of the market. But yes, there is virus protection software. Lots of it. You may also ask "But i heard Linux doesn't have the same programs as Windows"

Not true. And what is not out there is acknowledged by the industry very quickly these days since there are far more Linux users than there used to be. Some worry about their video games. Steam is on Linux now so that is a nice start but for those who enjoy emulators, there is a Linux version of just about every emulator out there that you enjoy now. And if you are worried about using third party controllers, don't worry. We will teach you all about that too.

One thing people must acknowledge is that when you switch over to Linux it is a huge difference in how you operate so we suggest people play around with Ubuntu for a bit. When you feel comfortable with that, go try out another one. Almost all Linux distros are free so you can't go wrong.

So how about we get started shall we?

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                                               [Getting Started]

The first thing you need to ask yourself is "Am i used to Linux yet?" After you answer this question, you will know where to go from here. If the answer is no, then we are here to help you.


Installing - Every distro installs in similar fashions. Our suggestion is using sites such as E How for simple step by step instructions if you find the Wiki articles for said distros to be too confusing. Word of advice to the novice who has never installed another distro. Once you install anything that isn't Ubuntu Dual Boot, you're hard drive will be erased, so back all of your files up before installing any distro. You can also dual boot other distros, but that is a walk through for another day and the instructions on how to are in abundance all over the net.


Know Your Distro - In this PDF you will find ample information to help answer your questions about Ubuntu, Fedora, KNOPPIX, Debian, OpenSUSE, and 13 Other Distributions. http://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/5514529/Linux_Bible_2010_Edition-BBL


Drivers - Not all Linux distros will come with the drivers you need right off the bat. To understand drivers and compatibility we suggest visiting this site first before installing your distro. http://www.linux-drivers.org/ Usually when you are lacking a driver the system will tell you what you are lacking and finding it is as easy as five seconds of typing it into a search engine.


                                        [Which Distro Is Right For Me?]

Deciding which distro suits you best can be a tough one at times. There is a article here that will be able to help you decide by your priorities. For more information on each distro we suggest looking into the preferred distro before you download it. Since there is such a cast amount of selections for Linux they will not all be explained in vivid detail here. We have more important info to get on with you know.

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/linux/articles/36132.aspx


                                             [Windows Alternatives]

There are literally tons of alternatives to Windows programs and that is always one of the biggest things that irks people when they think about switching over. Why would you want to get rid of what you like for less anyway? Well you don't have to. While we can't list all the alternatives, we will list a lot of the good ones that most people use in their every day lives. In here we will list things such as Media players, Email messengers and so on to help you.


File backup software - Unison: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/
TimeVault: https://launchpad.net/timevault

Imaging software - CloneZilla: http://www.clonezilla.org/ Mondo & Mindi:
http://www.mondorescue.org/
PartImage: http://www.partimage.org/Main_Page
Imgburn: http://www.imgburn.com/

Browsers - FireFox: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
IEs4Linux: http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/page/Main_Page
Opera: http://www.opera.com/

Console (Terminal) utilities - Terminator: http://software.jessies.org/terminator/

Clean Desk Top - Rocket dock: http://alternativeto.net/software/rocketdock/?platform=linux

Encryption - TrueCrypt: http://www.truecrypt.org/

Forensic tools - Helix: http://www.e-fense.com/products.php

HTML editing - BlueFish: http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/index.html
KompoZer: http://www.kompozer.net/

Image manipulation - Gtkam: http://www.gphoto.org/proj/gtkam/
GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/

Viewers - F-Spot: http://f-spot.org/Main_Page
GwenView: http://gwenview.sourceforge.net/

Web cameras - Cheese Webcam Booth: https://projects.gnome.org/cheese/

Instant Messaging & Video conferencing - Ekiga: http://www.ekiga.org/
Kopete: http://kopete.kde.org/
Pidgin: http://www.pidgin.im/

Mail clients - ThunderBird: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/

CD/DVD burning - Brasero: https://projects.gnome.org/brasero/
K3B: http://k3b.plainblack.com/

Audio Conversion tools - Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
SoundConverter: http://soundconverter.org/

DVD & Video Conversion tools - DeVeDe: http://www.rastersoft.com/programas/devede.html
HandBrake: http://handbrake.fr/

General Conversion tools - Ffmpeg: http://ffmpeg.mplayerhq.hu/

Desktop recording & presentation software - RecordMyDesktop: http://recordmydesktop.sourceforge.net/about.php XVidCap: http://xvidcap.sourceforge.net/
Wink: http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

Audio Players - Amarok: http://amarok.kde.org/
RhythmBox: https://projects.gnome.org/rhythmbox/
Winamp: http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Winamp-3-for-Linux/1002748075/1
XMMS: http://xmms.org/

Video Players - MPlayer: http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/news.html
Totem: https://projects.gnome.org/totem/
VideoLan: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Subtitles - Subtitle Editor: http://home.gna.org/subtitleeditor/

Office applications - Kile: http://kile.sourceforge.net/
LyX: http://www.lyx.org/
AbiWord: http://www.abisource.com/
OpenOffice: http://www.openoffice.org/

Partitioning software - GParted: http://gparted.sourceforge.net/

Peer-to-Peer sharing - Vuze: http://www.vuze.com/

Rescue & Recovery - Super Grub Disk: http://www.supergrubdisk.org/
SystemRescueCD: http://www.sysresccd.org/SystemRescueCd_Homepage
TestDisk: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Virtualization - Kiwi: http://en.opensuse.org/Build_Service/KIWI
Virtual Box: https://www.virtualbox.org/
VMWare Player: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/
VMWare Server: http://www.vmware.com/products/server/overview.html


So in conclusion there are an abundance of programs to help be alternatives to Windows software for Linux. So to help further quell your fears of switching to the free side we have added some links for you to view since there are literally sites out there just to list what alternative programs exist out there for Linux.

http://www.linuxalt.com/
http://www.foogazi.com/2006/11/10/alternatives-to-windows-programs/


                                                   [Video Games]

"Muh games" This is the response a normal Windows user says when they don't understand the fact that Linux is able to play almost everything the PC can. Here we will give you a run down of Emulators, Programs amongst other means to enjoy video games the same way you do in Windows.


Emulators - Below is a very comprehensive list of video game emulators available across all Operating Systems. If you have ever wondered if you can find X emulator on Linux then this is the place to check. The answer to just about all of them however is Yes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_console_emulators

Controllers - A big issue with people when they use emulators on any OS is that they enjoy using controllers. Well this can be done. However some people already have a Xbox 360 or PS3 controller so the articles below will teach you how to use both to play emulators on your computer.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8725674_make-linux-use-xbox-controller.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_7729420_use-ps3-controller-ubuntu.html

Steam - Ever since Steam was released for Linux lots of people have had questions about issues that are bound to happen when Steam goes through the conversion of Windows to Linux. Thankfully there is an abundance of help in the Steam forums and community to help you out. One of the biggest games people play on Linux is Team Fortress 2 so there is an article below to briefly address some common issues people will run into with it and other games like it.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=127562822


                                                  [Security]

One of the big concerns of people who are thinking about switching to Linux is virus protection and security. Some think that due to the fact that Linux has such a small share of the market that no one will makes viruses and such for it. But in this day and age that is just not true thanks to script kiddies. Here we will list some software that can help you secure you computer.

https://57un.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/ultimate-guide-how-to-harden-your-ubuntu-linux/


Fire Walls - Gufw: http://gufw.org/

Network scanners - Nmap: http://insecure.org/

Root Kit Tools - Ch Root Kit: http://www.chkrootkit.org/ RK Hunter: http://www.rootkit.nl/

Traffic sniffers - Wire Shark: http://www.wireshark.org/

PeerBlock - http://sourceforge.net/projects/peerguardian/

Anti Virus - Sophos: http://www.sophos.com/en-us/
BitDefender: http://www.bitdefender.com/business/antivirus-for-unices.html


                                  [Would You Like Some Wine With Those Falsities?]

What some people overlook is the fact that most Linux distros right out of the box come with Wine. In case you don't know what it is, the web page says it all.

http://www.winehq.org/

With Wine you will be able to run Windows programs in Linux now.


                                                [Customization]

Some people like to customize their desktops for a nice zen and unique feeling of their own. This is understandable since a desktop can often be your work environment. Here are some tools to make sure you don't have to give up that ability.

http://www.maketecheasier.com/10-of-the-best-linux-desktop-customization-screenshots-to-inspire-your-creativity/2008/11/28

http://www.ubuntuthemes.org/

Desktop Environments:

KDE - http://www.kde.org/
http://kde-look.org/
http://kde-apps.org/

Gnome - http://www.gnome.org/
http://gnome-look.org/

XFCE - http://www.xfce.org/
http://xfce-look.org/

E17 - http://www.enlightenment.org/


                                                  [Downloading]

We all download things. It's an earmark of today's computer usage. Here we will list some Linux friendly programs that you can use to do just that.

RTorrent - http://libtorrent.rakshasa.no/

Deluge - http://deluge-torrent.org/

UTube Ripper - http://sourceforge.net/projects/utube/

Get Youtube Video - http://kde-apps.org/content/show.php/Get+YouTube+Video+%28improved%29?content=41456


                                             [Improving Performance]

Sometimes an OS right out of the box is not enough for people. Fortunately there is software to help improve the performance of your system and OS. Here we will list some of them.

Dstat - http://dag.wieers.com/home-made/dstat/#screenshot

Sysstat - http://www.maketecheasier.com/monitor-linux-performance-with-sysstat/2012/05/15

Ifstat - http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Networking/ifstat-14020.shtml

Sysctl -  When it comes to actual performance tuning, you'll want to know sysctl. The sysctl utility is actually used to configure kernel parameters stored in /proc/sys/. The parameters will change with each kernel version, and how it's configured. To see all the parameters that are available, run sysctl -a, or sysctl -a | sort if you want them alphabetically.

It should go without saying that if you're going to tweak these settings you should either be working on a test system, or be quite sure what you're doing. Or both. Preferably both.

To change one of the parameters, run sysctl -w key.value="newvalue". Note that this will only hold the change until the next time the system is rebooted. To make a setting permanent, you can add it to /etc/sysctl.conf.

                                                  [In Closing]

After everything said here, finding your way around the Linux community should be far easier for you and with the help of the software, programs etc. mentioned here it should make your experience that much more enjoyable. If there is ever any other information you need to know, always remember that search engines are your friend. We hope this guide helped you get settled into your new Linux desktop environment and you enjoy your new OS.