Author Topic: Migrating from Windows to Linux  (Read 15888 times)

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Offline HalcyonTopic starter

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Migrating from Windows to Linux
« on: March 05, 2018, 10:53:34 am »
I've said this for a while but Windows 7 is the last version of Windows I'll be using, unless Microsoft performs some miraculous back flip. I've been a Windows guy since version 3.1 and pretty much know every version between 3.x to Windows 7 like the back of my hand. I can fix problems with my eyes closed.

Moving to Linux is something I've been dreading, because everything I spent decades learning is all of sudden largely irrelevant.

I'm considering Ubuntu as my primary OS. There are a few programs I use where there is no Linux replacement, but I can just run them under WINE or in a VM, I'm happy with that.

What advice would you give to a Linux noob? What habits do I need to break? What habits do I need to learn?
 

Offline bd139

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2018, 10:59:48 am »
Only advice, from someone who uses both on a daily basis, is to acknowledge that they are different kettles of fish. Don't try and make your Linux machine do the same workflow you are used to on windows.  That is the route to frustration and failure and scurrying back again. Start with an empty mind and no assumptions.

Also learn the shell properly. It is orders of magnitude more powerful than any GUI. Good resource here: https://leanpub.com/learnbashthehardway (yes it costs money but it's worth it and you can choose how much)
 
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Offline HalcyonTopic starter

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2018, 11:04:36 am »
Only advice, from someone who uses both on a daily basis, is to acknowledge that they are different kettles of fish. Don't try and make your Linux machine do the same workflow you are used to on windows.  That is the route to frustration and failure and scurrying back again. Start with an empty mind and no assumptions.

I'm fully aware of this, but on the other hand it's hard to just set aside decades of learning. For example: I almost fully understand the whole "everything's a file" concept.

Thankfully some of what I already know about DOS translates into the Linux shell, such as the TAB key completes file/directory names (or probably more accurately, what I already know about Linux translates into DOS).
 

Offline bd139

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #3 on: March 05, 2018, 11:07:47 am »
I was brought up with DOS and moved to Unix (SunOS) in the early 1990s and then to Linux in the late 1990s and it wasn't a big jump. You'll have it in no time :)
 

Offline Avacee

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #4 on: March 05, 2018, 11:19:50 am »
Another option to consider:
Install Windows 10 for the windows programs you need and run Linux in a Virtual Machine. (I assume you want to move your "personal" stuff to Linux as you don't trust Micro$oft).
Or vice versa and run W10 in the VM.
 

Offline bd139

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #5 on: March 05, 2018, 11:22:28 am »
On that note you can actually run a big chunk of Linux inside windows 10 now using WSL without a VM. This is what I use on a daily basis as it skips the power management hell that comes with running Linux on a laptop.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10

Yes hell has frozen over.
 

Offline Mr. Scram

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2018, 11:25:05 am »
Only advice, from someone who uses both on a daily basis, is to acknowledge that they are different kettles of fish. Don't try and make your Linux machine do the same workflow you are used to on windows.  That is the route to frustration and failure and scurrying back again. Start with an empty mind and no assumptions.

Also learn the shell properly. It is orders of magnitude more powerful than any GUI. Good resource here: https://leanpub.com/learnbashthehardway (yes it costs money but it's worth it and you can choose how much)
You need to learn the magic words, otherwise it won't work out. That's been a frustration of mine. If you look up how to do something, you're often presentated with a magic spell without any explanation or substantiation. You copy the spell and it works, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, check for typos. When you're sure you copied the spell correctly, you rinse and repeat until it does work.

I rarely get the feeling I've actually learnt something.
 
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Online tggzzz

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2018, 11:34:44 am »
What advice would you give to a Linux noob? What habits do I need to break? What habits do I need to learn?

Don't panic. I'm not clever enough to run Windows safely, and doubt I'll ever advance beyond XP.

Simplest/fastest GUI, most similar to WinXP is xfce. Try xubuntu to see what it is like.

Get LTS variants.

Try before you buy: get "live CDs" and run them from USB/DVD
Try before you buy: if you've only one computer, create multiple boot partitions wirh windows on one and a linux on another: choose which to run at boot time.
Try before you buy: run VMs with windows as the host and a linux as one of the guests
Try after you buy: run VMs with linux as the host and, say, Win7 as one of the guests.

When installing, create multiple partitions (equivalent to c: d: etc in windows). On one put /home (contains all your files, in /home/tggzzz), on another put the eveything else, leave a third blank and put windows on a fourth.

Use the blank partition if you want to try a different flavour of linux: install that on the blank partition and continue to use all your existing /home files. Choose which one to run at boot time.

While config is often done using GUI utilities, most of that will end as straight text files in /etc (for the system) or /home/tggzzz/.* for your personal settings. You can backup and tweak the text files, unlike the awful Windows registry.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
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Offline bd139

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #8 on: March 05, 2018, 11:36:17 am »
You need to learn the magic words, otherwise it won't work out. That's been a frustration of mine. If you look up how to do something, you're often presentated with a magic spell without any explanation or substantiation. You copy the spell and it works, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, check for typos. When you're sure you copied the spell correctly, you rinse and repeat until it does work.

I rarely get the feeling I've actually learnt something.

That's because you're looking in the wrong places and cutting and pasting.

Read the manual pages that come with it. They're pretty good! No spells, concise accurate descriptions.
 

Online tggzzz

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #9 on: March 05, 2018, 11:38:24 am »
On that note you can actually run a big chunk of Linux inside windows 10 now using WSL without a VM. This is what I use on a daily basis as it skips the power management hell that comes with running Linux on a laptop.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10

Yes hell has frozen over.

And when MS realises that it won't capture the professional market, it may "thaw" in the way of Microsoft PlaysForSure(TM).
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline Mr. Scram

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2018, 11:39:08 am »
That's because you're looking in the wrong places and cutting and pasting.

Read the manual pages that come with it. They're pretty good! No spells, concise accurate descriptions.
I've never seen, nor have I been pointed to a manual. Do you have an example?
 

Online tggzzz

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2018, 11:40:04 am »
You need to learn the magic words, otherwise it won't work out. That's been a frustration of mine. If you look up how to do something, you're often presentated with a magic spell without any explanation or substantiation. You copy the spell and it works, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, check for typos. When you're sure you copied the spell correctly, you rinse and repeat until it does work.

I rarely get the feeling I've actually learnt something.

That was my experience with Windows. I'm not clever enough to run Windows.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline saike

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2018, 11:40:46 am »
I have used Linux for 20 years now and one piece of advice I would say is essential is to make sure any hardware you have or are going to buy (printers, scanners etc) are supported. Don't listen to anybody who says almost all hardware is supported now, it isn't and it is easy to run into problems with this.
 

Offline bd139

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #13 on: March 05, 2018, 11:42:20 am »
That's because you're looking in the wrong places and cutting and pasting.

Read the manual pages that come with it. They're pretty good! No spells, concise accurate descriptions.
I've never seen, nor have I been pointed to a manual. Do you have an example?

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_page

You need to learn the magic words, otherwise it won't work out. That's been a frustration of mine. If you look up how to do something, you're often presentated with a magic spell without any explanation or substantiation. You copy the spell and it works, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, check for typos. When you're sure you copied the spell correctly, you rinse and repeat until it does work.

I rarely get the feeling I've actually learnt something.

That was my experience with Windows. I'm not clever enough to run Windows.

Windows is incredibly well documented. Much better than any Unix variant! Plus I have the source code  :-DD

This always surprises people when I post a link to it: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd208104.aspx
 
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Offline Karel

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #14 on: March 05, 2018, 11:46:14 am »
What advice would you give to a Linux noob? What habits do I need to break? What habits do I need to learn?

At home & for hobby or professionally & at work? Don't try to use it at work without having enough experience...
« Last Edit: March 05, 2018, 11:50:16 am by Karel »
 

Offline Karel

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #15 on: March 05, 2018, 11:49:51 am »
That's because you're looking in the wrong places and cutting and pasting.

Read the manual pages that come with it. They're pretty good! No spells, concise accurate descriptions.
I've never seen, nor have I been pointed to a manual. Do you have an example?

The man pages are usually read in the console. For example take the cp command:

Code: [Select]
man 1 cp
The meaning of the number 1:

    1      User Commands
    2      System Calls
    3      C Library Functions
    4      Devices and Special Files
    5      File Formats and Conventions
    6      Games et. al.
    7      Miscellanea
    8      System Administration tools and Daemons

You can skip the number if you like, it will prompt for it if necessary.
 
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Offline BravoV

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #16 on: March 05, 2018, 11:53:08 am »
I have used Linux for 20 years now and one piece of advice I would say is essential is to make sure any hardware you have or are going to buy (printers, scanners etc) are supported. Don't listen to anybody who says almost all hardware is supported now, it isn't and it is easy to run into problems with this.

+1  :-+ , especially on new platform, just becareful.

Currently I am the same condition as the OP does, and last year when I was on the new Ryzen system, when I was trying to toy around Linux by installing the latest stable Fedora, it went unfruitful after it trashed the system rendered it could not boot into the GUI part and left me in the dark on the prompt on boot.  >:(

It was the "suggested" auto update by the Fedora on the new Ryzen system, basically it broke the system "by it self".  :palm:

And no, I didn't tinker anything at all as I know the consequences as noob like SU this and that, fyi I consider my self DOS and Windows power user.

Offline BravoV

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #17 on: March 05, 2018, 11:55:53 am »
Don't try to use it at work without having enough experience...

+1  :-+ , agree, especially when you rely heavily your work/business/urgent matters when you're a noob.

Cause once broken, think about whether you have "time/energy" to search the internet or even whining at the forums for help to recover your system.

Offline bd139

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #18 on: March 05, 2018, 11:56:32 am »
I have used Linux for 20 years now and one piece of advice I would say is essential is to make sure any hardware you have or are going to buy (printers, scanners etc) are supported. Don't listen to anybody who says almost all hardware is supported now, it isn't and it is easy to run into problems with this.

+1  :-+ , especially on new platform, just becareful.

Currently I am the same condition as the OP does, and last year when I was on the new Ryzen system, when I was trying to toy around Linux by installing the latest stable Fedora, it went unfruitful after it trashed the system rendered it could not boot into the GUI part and left me in the dark on the prompt on boot.  >:(

It was the "suggested" auto update by the Fedora on the new Ryzen system, basically it broke the system "by it self".  :palm:

And no, I didn't tinker anything at all as I know the consequences as noob like SU this and that, fyi I consider my self DOS and Windows power user.

Stable Fedora is called "CentOS" :D
 
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Offline Nusa

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #19 on: March 05, 2018, 11:57:31 am »

Windows is incredibly well documented. Much better than any Unix variant! Plus I have the source code  :-DD

This always surprises people when I post a link to it: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd208104.aspx

You've confused documentation with source code. All that tells me is that you don't understand the term "source code". And anyone who's impressed by the claim that link gives it to you doesn't either.

However, the source code for most Linux implementations is actually available.
 

Offline BravoV

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #20 on: March 05, 2018, 11:59:09 am »
Stable Fedora is called "CentOS" :D

See that ? This is another very fine example that has been happening for decades, very effective method to demotivate a possible Linux adopter.  :-DD

Offline awallin

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #21 on: March 05, 2018, 11:59:32 am »
FWIW a lot of programs work on both OSs - so you can get used to them over on the Windows side already:
Gimp, Inkscape, VLC, Filezilla, KiCad, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Arduino IDE, Stellarium, - and so on.
 

Offline Karel

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #22 on: March 05, 2018, 11:59:42 am »
In case you didn't know already, the following programs run natively and without any issues on Linux:

- EDA software like Kicad, Eagle and the professional ones (expensive!) like from Cadence, Zuken, ADS (Keysight)
- Microchip MPLABX and accompanying compilers
- FPGA design software from Altera and Xilinx
 

Offline bd139

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #23 on: March 05, 2018, 12:07:56 pm »

Windows is incredibly well documented. Much better than any Unix variant! Plus I have the source code  :-DD

This always surprises people when I post a link to it: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd208104.aspx

You've confused documentation with source code. All that tells me is that you don't understand the term "source code". And anyone who's impressed by the claim that link gives it to you doesn't either.

However, the source code for most Linux implementations is actually available.

Err no.  :palm:

There are two points there.

1. The documentation is available and it is very good documentation.
2. I have access to the windows source code under Shared Source ESLP.

I know what source code is ffs
 

Offline Karel

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Re: Migrating from Windows to Linux
« Reply #24 on: March 05, 2018, 12:09:01 pm »
Replacement for hyperterminal: cutecom

p.s. one advice: always try to install software from the official repositories first!

 


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