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[RadtheCad]

Yeah, I remember that now.  I think there's a debian-affiliated 'non-free' repo- so assuming I'm remembering right, they've basically just segregated their free software from the non-free, to make it easier for people to go full freedom, which seems reasonable.

Then again, who knows?  Maybe OP (and I ) should get used to BSD instead now Torvalds has fled.

Best of luck, OP!

[anewaname]

I would suggest three things
1) Whichever distro you choose to try out, first learn how to boot it from a CD/DVD/USB device. This ensures you will be able to boot linux and rescue files if you break your linux install.

2) After you install your chosen distro, you will find yourself running commands to download and install apps based on instructions from the internet (...because, this will happen...). Each time you copy and paste a set of commands from the internet and run them, also paste those commands into a plain text file with a note as to why you did it... example:

Code: [Select]

### install image editor
sudo apt install gimp
### verify DT
setcap cap_sys_ptrace=ep DwarfTherapist
### install pdf reader
sudo apt install okular If you break your linux install, your list of notes will help you get things set up again.

3) Try multiple Linux OSs. Once you have the first Linux OS installed and Grub is allowing you to choose between Windows and Linux on the boot, you can just add another Linux distro alongside to try it out, it just takes some more hard drive space.

I have Ubuntu on a desktop but recently chose to use Kubuntu on a laptop. Kubuntu uses 0.6 GB RAM, Ubuntu and the pre-installed windows 10 both used about 1.6 GB RAM, but that laptop only has 2GB). I haven't tried any of the other distros but will once my learning bruises have healed a bit.

[Retropunch]

The best way is to set your laptop up to dual boot to linux and windows (tons of tutorials on the net) - it's really easy these days and most of the popular linux distros work out of the box. However, don't be fooled into thinking a full-fat Ubuntu version will be particularly light hardware wise if your laptop is old; it doesn't have as low system reqs as it did. Play around a bit to find your favourite, but don't get too hung up on it; you can easily make one distro look like another without too much hassle.

As good as things like WINE are, you'll come up with a lot more hitches than you would normally. Stuff won't work as well as it would in windows and you'll often not know why something isn't working right. Dual booting solves this, and you can keep your windows JUST for gaming which will improve performance no end.

[MantisMan]

The last time I waded into the Linux waters, which was years back, the thing that stopped me was a lack of printer compatibility. I couldn't find drivers for my printer, so none of the work I was doing could go to any other computer or person.

I'd check for printer compatibility, and maybe compatibility with cloud storage services so that you could easily transfer files to a windows computer if you ever need to for some reason. (I sometimes find myself doing work from several different computers throughout the week.)

[wierd]

These days, Linux has adopted Apple's CUPS service. (Common Unix Printing Services)

If your exact printer does not have a printer definition, you can often use the generic GNU ghostscript driver.  You just need to know if your printer is PCL, PS, or some other encapsulation type to get it working right.  (HP printers tend to be PCL. Ricoh printers tend to be PS. etc)  A little googling should let you know.

Still, not having a printer driver in the list is a rare thing these days. Often, the driver definition file for OSX (which uses CUPS), can be provided.

[Retropunch]

The last time I waded into the Linux waters, which was years back, the thing that stopped me was a lack of printer compatibility. I couldn't find drivers for my printer, so none of the work I was doing could go to any other computer or person.

I'd check for printer compatibility, and maybe compatibility with cloud storage services so that you could easily transfer files to a windows computer if you ever need to for some reason. (I sometimes find myself doing work from several different computers throughout the week.)

It was definitely the case, and was a big sticking point for me. It's all very well for everyone to say 'just move to Linux it does everything just as well if not better than Windows' but there's not much you can do if your hardware doesn't work with it.

I've not had that problem in recent years though, support has improved to a level which is at least on par with windows. More than that, a some stuff that isn't really supported on windows work fine with linux (a pair of bluetooth headphones for instance just will not work in windows, but work fine for me in linux).

As an aside, the big thing for me currently is bash scripting - I've been able to make some life changing (pretty much literally) automation to my workflow with bash. What took me before a good 30 minutes a day cumulatively now takes less than a minute. I'd highly recommend switching to dual boot for anyone with even minor workflow issues.