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Linux Install Fest |
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We have not yet scheduled a time during the spring semester for the
install fest. If you are interested in learning a little bit more
about Linux, we'll cover that here!
Linux comes in many different "flavors," usually called distributions. Many new Linux users are confused by the fact that there are different Linux distributions (and they all look different!). However, this is one of the main ways that Linux differs from Windows or Mac OS X. The main difference between distributions is simply the software they ship with. For example, Ubuntu, a popular Linux distribution, comes with OpenOffice, Firefox, and Pidgin pre-installed. However, Puppy Linux, a distribution aimed at older, slower computers, comes with AbiWord, SeaMonkey, and Kopete pre-installed (all of which do the same thing, but are optimized for speed). All distributions share the same Linux kernel, which is the underlying heart of the operating system. Therefore, any program that runs on one distribution will run on any other distribution. Some of the most popular Linux distributions are Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, and Mandrive. Do a quick Google search to see what they are all about! Another idea with Linux that confuses many users is that it does not "look" the same on some computers. This is because the desktop environment on Linux is simply another program that can be installed. Most Windows and Mac OS X users are used to only having one option for desktop environment - and that is the default one for Windows and/or Mac OS X. However, in Linux the desktop environment can easily uninstalled and replaced with another one. As another example, Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop environment, while Puppy Linux uses fwm95. The most popular desktop environments are Gnome and KDE. These are the environments used in nearly all Linux distributions, but hundreds more are available. Last year's install fest: When:Saturday March 24th 2007 starting at 1:00pmWhere:PPHAC 114(The Computer Science Lab)Welcome to all who are considering installing Linux or just interested in learning more about an alternate OS than Windows! Yes folks, believe it or not Microsoft is not the only group of people that make the essential software that bring life to your otherwise expensive piece of metal and silicon. The only difference is the folks involved in the Linux project believe that it should be... OPEN SOURCE! Now, I'm sure you're saying, yeah, right, open source, I'm all about open source... What is open source? Well, essentially it means that all of the developers have made the code of the operating system itself freely available to everyone and free to distribute. WOW!!! THAT'S AMAZING! Indeed, but ultimately what that means is... Linux is free yay! So, where can I get my hands on something so awesome? At the Moravian College Linux install Fest of course. Now, because the Linux source code is open source, there are many variants of Linux. So, you are asking How do I know which one to choose?! Simple! we will have available Kubuntu one of the easiest distros to install and setup. In addition, before we install this to your computer there will be a presentation as to what Linux can do. So, this allows you to decide if you want to install it or not. You may feel free to ask us questions you might have about something you might want to do in Linux or not, and we will try our best to answer them for you ^_^. So, if all of this interests you, come on over to PPHAC 114 at 1:00pm ! Here is a list of some of the common things you might want to do in Linux and the utilities they have available for you to do them:
If you are uncomfortable leaving windows completely behind, no worries. We can install Linux and leave your existing windows stuff in tact. That way if something goes terrible wrong you can still run windows in the event of an emergency. However, if you ditch Windows and run Linux you will learn it better and be much happier with it overall. Still have questions? Great! Please feel free to email either or with any questions!
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