Advice for new linux user
closed account (i8bjz8AR)
Hi all,
So I'm a computer science student at university. For my next class and upcoming classes (data structures, object oriented programming, etc), we will pretty must have to be working in the same grading environment as our professor, which will most likely be Linux. So I figured now over Christmas break would be a good time to introduce myself to the os. I'm just running windows 10 on a toshiba i3 processor. Which version would be the best for me being a absolute beginner? Our main language is c++ at the moment. Would you guys recommend something red hat or LTS or mint? Any suggestions would be great so I can familiarize myself with it a bit!
Also, I'm going to be getting a new laptop. I'm an android/windows guy, but did think about a mac book air or pro, just because they're small and light, and get good battery life. I've also heard Lenevo Thinkpads are commonly used among programmers, especially for coding because of their keyboard. Battery life is important and I'd atleast want a intel i5 processor, with a decent screen for editing programs all night and searching for that messing semicolon, along with it being semi lightweight. I would run Linux on this new laptop as well and i read you can dualboot OS X and linux on a mac and that it runs fine. What would you guys reccomend for me as a computer science major? Thanks!
So I'm a computer science student at university. For my next class and upcoming classes (data structures, object oriented programming, etc), we will pretty must have to be working in the same grading environment as our professor, which will most likely be Linux. So I figured now over Christmas break would be a good time to introduce myself to the os. I'm just running windows 10 on a toshiba i3 processor. Which version would be the best for me being a absolute beginner? Our main language is c++ at the moment. Would you guys recommend something red hat or LTS or mint? Any suggestions would be great so I can familiarize myself with it a bit!
Also, I'm going to be getting a new laptop. I'm an android/windows guy, but did think about a mac book air or pro, just because they're small and light, and get good battery life. I've also heard Lenevo Thinkpads are commonly used among programmers, especially for coding because of their keyboard. Battery life is important and I'd atleast want a intel i5 processor, with a decent screen for editing programs all night and searching for that messing semicolon, along with it being semi lightweight. I would run Linux on this new laptop as well and i read you can dualboot OS X and linux on a mac and that it runs fine. What would you guys reccomend for me as a computer science major? Thanks!
I'd recommend Ubuntu as it's easy to go from Windows to Ubuntu, as you can do most things without the terminal if you want to, and the stuff you do need to do is really easy to pick up. I really wouldn't go for a Mac, especially if you're also using Linux as it really doesn't give you any advantages over the cheaper (imo better) Windows. I'm currently using a Lenovo Z50 which runs everything I might want it to perfectly fine and can even handle things like Unreal.
If it's your first non-Windows OS, I think you can't really go wrong with the most recent Ubuntu long term support version (which I think was 14.04). The standard package repositories cover everything you'll need for programming, and its popularity means that you should be able to find help easily when you need it.
I'd recommend you take a look at some of the standard desktop environments that are available; coming from windows, you might find it easier to work with something familiar like Gnome Classic, which uses the ubiquitous Windows style of putting programs into various submenus from a Start button.
Once you're used to it and are comfortable in a Linux OS, you could then look around at options other than Ubuntu, but for a first time Ubuntu really isn't a bad choice.
I'd recommend you take a look at some of the standard desktop environments that are available; coming from windows, you might find it easier to work with something familiar like Gnome Classic, which uses the ubiquitous Windows style of putting programs into various submenus from a Start button.
Once you're used to it and are comfortable in a Linux OS, you could then look around at options other than Ubuntu, but for a first time Ubuntu really isn't a bad choice.
closed account (i8bjz8AR)
okay thanks for all the advice! Now for the Ubuntu that you guys recommended, will that allow me to use the terminal and the commands like
Also, will this version allow me to customize it a lot? I want to have people look at my screen and you know, admire the complexity of it.. haha. In regards to speed, I'm on windows 10 now. Will i notice a difference you think in smoothness, like is ram optimized better?
cd and ls to search through my computer and find my .cpp file and compile it to show the output as well?Also, will this version allow me to customize it a lot? I want to have people look at my screen and you know, admire the complexity of it.. haha. In regards to speed, I'm on windows 10 now. Will i notice a difference you think in smoothness, like is ram optimized better?
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I've certainly noticed a difference. Blender for one actually runs ludicrously fast on Linux compared to Windows when I'm doing fluid simulations. And yeah you can use the terminal to find things and compile them.
Ubuntu comes with a program creatively named Terminal. It shows you the command line terminal where you can enter all Linux commands you've heard about. You could also just copy the path from the file explorer (Nautilus) to the terminal, saves you the work of looking with ls.
You could start with changing the desktop background to something "cool". Just mess with the settings and colors a bit and it will look more than impressive enough. You could also just open 2 terminals executing a recursive ls (possibly with colors), it looks really impressive with all the names quickly showing up.
You could start with changing the desktop background to something "cool". Just mess with the settings and colors a bit and it will look more than impressive enough. You could also just open 2 terminals executing a recursive ls (possibly with colors), it looks really impressive with all the names quickly showing up.
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If you would like to learn more about the linux command line you may want to look a book called The Linux Command Line. Its free as well: http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php
I might be a little late, but I'd like to recommend Linux Mint. It's what I've been using for a while. It's based on Ubuntu, but it comes with a different desktop (I hate unity). Cinnamon and MATE will probably feel more familiar to you if you're coming from windows(they're the 2 desktops you can choose from when you download Mint). Then again you can always install either of those on Ubuntu.
See for youself, compare Unity with MATE and Cinnamon, see what you like better. To me Unity feels a bit like OSX, MATE feels like windows xp and Cinnamon like win10.
See for youself, compare Unity with MATE and Cinnamon, see what you like better. To me Unity feels a bit like OSX, MATE feels like windows xp and Cinnamon like win10.
closed account (1vD3vCM9)
You should try Linux Mint, it's a very good desktop OS that looks like windows.
Throwing in my two cents, after you get comfortable with Ubuntu, move on to Arch Linux. In my opinion Arch Linux is one of the absolute best distros as it balances simplicity and customization wonderfully for linux geeks.
Linux Mint is the best coming from Windows. It's most similar. Ubuntu has this dumb unity sidebar that (IMO) just gets in the way and mucks things up. And on top of it all there's no minimize buttons... It just irks me.
Austin J said:
I agree. But more importantly, after you get comfortable with Linux, you'll need to learn more about how it works and how to use it (which you can generally avoid doing on the more "user-firendly" distros), which is why I also recommend Arch. Why? Because you'll be force to install and configure everything yourself which is the best way to learn linux IMO. Also, don't be scared to try it. The Wiki they have is fantastic.
I run Arch Linux on all my machines, and the way I have it set up, it's as good as any of the other distros for a desktop environment (if not better).
Of course, that's my opinion. Feel free to disagree. :)
Austin J said:
| Throwing in my two cents, after you get comfortable with Ubuntu, move on to Arch Linux. In my opinion Arch Linux is one of the absolute best distros as it balances simplicity and customization wonderfully for linux geeks. |
I agree. But more importantly, after you get comfortable with Linux, you'll need to learn more about how it works and how to use it (which you can generally avoid doing on the more "user-firendly" distros), which is why I also recommend Arch. Why? Because you'll be force to install and configure everything yourself which is the best way to learn linux IMO. Also, don't be scared to try it. The Wiki they have is fantastic.
I run Arch Linux on all my machines, and the way I have it set up, it's as good as any of the other distros for a desktop environment (if not better).
Of course, that's my opinion. Feel free to disagree. :)
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