Info Tech Buzz: Linux/Unix inquiry

Forwarded reply to a previous it10250 student with answers that may be of interest to existing students:

---
Hi Brian! Let me see if I can answer your questions as best I can. I am no expert in Solaris, I stopped at Solaris 2.5.1 and there have been years of improvements since then but will see what I can do.

-I had you last semester for IT and we talked about linux and Solaris 10.
-I have an HP(Compaq) R4000 laptop(AMD 64) and was thinking about
-installing the software to use as my OS. Question?

-1 Should I do this?

Well, the key questions here are CAN and SHOULD. You certainly CAN on a
machine of this calibre. Should is much more tricky. What are your
goals for doing so?

Common answers would be things like:
To avoid virusses and spam / get safer surfing
To learn more about Linux and Unix
To avoid Microsoft products
Because it is interesting/fun
Skillset for employment
Embrace Free and Open Source philosophy

If you find yourself saying 'yes' to any of the above, then yes, maybe
Solaris or Linux is a good fit for you.

-2 Can I access XP from the Solaris? Or like switch OS to OS

You sure can. In fact if you use something called a Live CD, you never
install the new OS at all, you simply boot to it from CD, do your work
in that OS and then the next time you reboot, XP is back like it never
knew it wasnt running. The downside of course is the CD is a LOT slower
than a hard disk. If you find that you like the new OS, you can install
it so that you get a Dual Boot mode, ie you can choose to run XP or the
new OS each time you reboot. You need to set a part of your hard disk
aside as a seperate partition, this is somewhat tricky but definitly
doable, especially if you follow any of the billion tutorials available
online.

The Solaris Live CD can be found here:
http://www.serverwatch.com/tutorials/article.php/3647306
<http://www.serverwatch.com/tutorials/article.php/3647306>
You can also check out Knoppix at:
http://www.knoppix.org <http://www.knoppix.org>
and Ubuntu at:
http://www.ubuntu.com <http://www.ubuntu.com>

Both are great versions of Linux that can be found either as installables or live CDs.

-3 I think I will have more security and be able to surf more effectively. True or False

Somewhat true, but you could get most of the benefits by simply ditching
IE and moving to Firefox. I'd start there and see how you like it.

-4. Do you like it?

For work, absolutely. For home, no I wouldnt use it as my only OS. I'm
too much of a gamer and games and Linux arent really on the same sheet.
Even Mac OSX is kind of lame as far as gaming goes.

-5. Any thing I should consider or Know about installation?

Back up everything =) And dont get discouraged if things dont go right
the first time. Unix is a lot different and it takes a bit of getting
used to, but there are many advantages in a lot of areas.

-Thanks Professor Posten, I hope you don't mind questions from time to time.

-Brian

My pleasure! Some other great places to get you started:
http://www.pjls16812.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/knowing-knoppix/index.html
<http://www.pjls16812.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/knowing-knoppix/index.html>
http://www.justlinux.com/ <http://www.justlinux.com/>
http://www.linuxnewbieguide.org/ <http://www.linuxnewbieguide.org/>
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/forumdisplay.php?s=
<http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=8>
&forumid=8
http://thelinuxnewbie.blogspot.com/
<http://thelinuxnewbie.blogspot.com/>