HOW DO I TRY LINUX

You are not old.. Just mature, look at the ages of most of our regular contributors[ well those brave enough to show them] you will find many of us are over 50, and a large proportion over 70
 


I think the Linux user base skews towards older people. We have more time. We have a long history with computers. Our first exposure to computers wasn't a phone, tablet, or Chromebook. Many of us were white-collar professionals (or still are, but are nearing the end of our careers).

That's just a guess based on what I see. I really only frequent a couple of Linux communities.
 
KGIII said:
I think the Linux user base skews towards older people. We have more time. We have a long history with computers. Our first exposure to computers wasn't a phone, tablet, or Chromebook. Many of us were white-collar professionals (or still are, but are nearing the end of our careers).

That's just a guess based on what I see. I really only frequent a couple of Linux communities.
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@Brickwizard / @KGIII :-

Over the decade I've been with the Puppy community, I can remember polls being started by at least 3 members to do with Puppy user age.....and on each occasion, they've shown - without a shadow of doubt - that our average user age is always mid-to-late 60s (with a sizeable proportion being 70 or older), so.....yeah.

I'd also agree that most of our membership are also long-term 'puter users; either as hobbyists (like myself; for the whole of my working life I never actually used one of these things at all, yet had been interested in them ever since the start of the "home computer revolution" in the early 80s), or as long-term users who had had to use them at work (for whatever reason). It's fair to say that most Linux users know their way around these "black magic boxes".....

(shrug...)


Mike. :p
 
@Brickwizard @KGIII @MikeWalsh

Sorry guys to burst your bubble but "older" community is not exclusive to Linux, when I was Windows user I've been active in one of the Windows forums where I know a good chunk of members were older people just like you.

I think it's more correct to say that a lot of forumers are older folks.
 
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I felt braver running Linux in VMs first, but on a low spec laptop there are serious performance issues that came along with that.
 
A simple way to start is by using a Virtual Machine (like VirtualBox) or a Live USB session to test it without changing your current setup. If you like it, you can later try a dual-boot or even a full install on an old computer. Whichever method you choose, Linux has a lot to offer, and there are many lightweight options if you're working with limited hardware.
 
I may be drowned out by all of these others. But here is how I tried Linux.

I picked the distro I was interested in. (note: I ended up buying a second drive I needed two at once!)
Next download the ISO from that website. Install Rufus on Windows and burn that file to a USB drive. (it is a little complex as you have to use the Select(?) button, choose the file, then it automatically finds your USB. If it doesn't find your USB then check the box that says show USB drives.

Now boot from the USB and every distro that I worked with will load and run and you can try it out. If you like it there is an ICON in the left upper corner to install it. Start with Linux Mint as that is the most popular among Windows users.
 
Keeping it too exclusive is the opposite of a Linux mindset IMHO, sometimes it's liberating to let go nostalgia. Besides, imagine an OS built only in assembly code, as i was reminded minutes ago in a different thread... A puppy in assy! It's fun to be day-dreaming! But materialization can't/musn't get delayed by perfectionism forever.

;)
 
Brickwizard said:
I want to try Linux, What is the best way?

There are several ways to try Linux on your machine, to get the complete experience, it is always best to install your chosen distribution direct to the hard-drive. But this may frighten some newbies.

Options
Install to Hard-drive either as a clean installation [this will remove all your existing OS and associated files]

Install to the Hard-drive, in a duel/multiboot system . You then choose which OS you wish to use at the boot stage, using multi boot Linux can be used to access your windows folders [pictures, documents, &etc.] BUT windows will never see your Linux files.

Install to an external drive [ I have several, which I use for testing various Linux distributions]

Install to a pen-drive with persistence [ you will need a pen-drive of at least 32GB] this has the great benefit that it becomes your personal portable computer drive, that you can carry around and use in almost any computer.

Install into a VM/VB [virtual machine/box] this has the advantage that if you mess up and cannot fix your Linux it is easy to delete and replace, also you can jump between VM’s and your main OS without having to re-boot each time.

WSL [Windows subsystem for Linux] If you have Windows 8,10,11 then you can install WLS from Microsoft [if its not already on your system] Personally I have not used Windows for many years, therefore I have little knowledge of WSL, except to say it is similar to using a VM and has the same benefits

There is one final option for those wishing to learn Linux, that is to do a full clean installation on a second computer [THIS I HIGHLY RECOMMEND], any old 64bit computer or most chromebooks can be used, if it has 4GB of ram then you can use any of the 500 or so desktop Linux builds, If it has 2GB of ram , then there are many medium/lightweight distributions that will work on it, and even if you have less than 2GB there is still a small selection of distributions that you can run.

And there you have the Brickwizards thoughts and advice, if you are a newbie please also read https://www.linux.org/threads/what-is-the-best-linux-distribution-which-should-i-use.43789/

Footnote.. Before you install your chosen distribution, Please ensure you read the full documentation, from the developers.a link is usually on the download page. full clean
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Comp. Toshiba Satellite win. 7 thinking to do a full clean - purchased new Hp with win. 11 YUK! quite difficult for this ole brain so Linux but first on this comp. yes kinda concerned that is why using Toshiba
 
Canhiya said:
- purchased new Hp with win. 11
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Welcome to the forums
You may have problems if it's a cutting edge computer, it can take up to 9 months or so for the boys and girls to back engineer drivers for the latest components, the Tosh may be a better starting point
 
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