Welcome
Welcome to The Linux Convert. I bet your wondering what this is all about, OK I suppose I’ll tell you.
I have since junior school used nothing but Windows, I still remember using painbrush on Windows 3.1. But now I think it is time I grew up. Windows has been a disaster for some years, and since I installed Windows Vista, I have become, well, annoyed with how bad it actually is. So, now I am gonna be moving to Linux. More specifically Mandriva 2007.
This blog is designed to tell you how my converting gets on, what problems I come up against, what things I like and what things I dont like, so that other people may follow in the same way. Linux is no longer the operating system for nerds, it has become as user friendly and easy to use as Windows, especially Mandriva.
So come back soon. I will not be starting the journey properly until I get my laptop for my birthday which is at the end of April 2007, I will be dual booting it with XP, so come back after then and stand by me when I need help, help an old Windows fanboy become a Linux enthusiast.
Thankyou!
If I may give you a hint:
Before you switch, read a bit about Linux.
Linux is different from Windows – it is not jsut a replacement or a copy, it is something else.
A typical example is that Linxu does not have drive letters like Windows has them – not at all. In fact, they don’t make any sense at all on a Linux system.
Also you should be aware that quite some Windows applications will not work or only work with some adjustments. So you might have to get used to new programs accomplishing the same task, but which are different programs with a different GUI, etc.
To be clear: these are not disadvantages of Linux – these are just differences. If you know them and if you are ready to learn a new OS, welcome to the Linux world. I’M here for years
And, when you start writing down your experiences, please also keep one thing in mind: many things which are normal on Windows are not standard or user friendly – they are just the things you are used to.
For example the menues in MS Office are far away from user friendly and intuitive (according to studies), but you are used to them. So other Offices with other menues which are more user friendly and intuitive to people new to computers might look strange and difficult to you.
But anyhow, nough said. I wish you good luck and I hope you enjoy the experiment.
Btw.: my first experiments with Linux failed brutally. But I tried another time, and I am stuck since then
And, since you are using Mandriva, you should know yoho: he knows his way around in Mandriva *pretty* well and I’m sure he would love to help