Coffee Dharma

When I first decided to do a Linux review I was going to approach it as I would view the experience. After thinking of my level of computer knowledge and some consideration I realized that it would be yet another tech review that was somewhat preaching to the choir. I wanted to be able to write this from the perspective of the majority of users out there. Many of us are happily using Windows or OS X without any need to switch to anything else. Many do not want to learn programming, code, advanced features, or troubleshooting. There is a large amount of people though who have heard of this Linux thing and are curious what it has to offer to the basic user. The typical image of a Linux user is one of stereotypical computer geeks compiling code and sneering at all of us “noobs” in our oblivious worlds of Windows and Mac machines. The truth of the matter is Linux is quickly becoming a viable option for the every day user. With a plethora of distributions and software available, plus some great eye candy, the Linux desktop will be seen in more common homes as the years go on.

I tested out a few popular distributions before deciding on one. Ubuntu has become one of the most popular choices due to a great level of documented support and an advertising edge via the web. I found Ubuntu to be a great distro but was left with a less than fulfilled experience when it came to customization and the lastest advancements of Linux development. After trying a few more distros (Slackware, Gentoo, CentOS, PCLinuxOS) I decided that Fedora was the one for me. While Fedora may not be the best starting point for someone with minimal computer knowledge, it is one of the most cutting edge flavors of Linux and has some amazing support. I started with Fedora 7 and was all ready to do my review when I noticed their newest version (Fedora 8) would be released in a few days. I scrapped the whole project to wait and see how the new version worked.

If you’re reading this to get detailed instructions on how to install, customize, and tweak Fedora 8 I am afraid you are reading in vain. I am truly a Linux noob and many of the things accomplished were done with copious amounts of Google and support forums. If you’re brand new to Linux and want to hear how this version could work for you, please read on.

I had already installed Fedora 7 on my computer via a separate partition (from Windows Vista) so I first decided to do an upgrade. A few hours later and some frustrating problems with graphics drivers convinced me that a clean install was in my future. The installation process is pretty straight forward. You choose your install method (partition, complete rewrite, update, etc…) and go from there. One of the first things I liked about Fedora was the fact that when setting up the boot manager it gave me the option of having Windows boot by default. I didn’t see this option when installing Ubuntu and found it frustrating to have to later edit files to make this happen. After choosing my installation method I was given the option of choosing what programs and features I wanted installed. This is purely optional though as adding software is very easy after the install as well. After plugging in all my information (same stuff as Windows… timezone, username, password, security choices) I had a fresh installation of Fedora 8.

By default Fedora uses the Gnome desktop (which I prefer) but at install you are given the option of also installing KDE and others. Windows users may find KDE a bit more familiar and OSX users may prefer Gnome. They are both easily customized though and you shouldn’t feel locked into either one. I use Gnome for my personal choice so from now on all screenshots will feature Gnome with the default theme applied.

The biggest question I have heard from Windows and OSX users when referring to Linux is, “Is there any good software for Linux?” For many people you are probably already using some Linux software. Firefox, Thunderbird, Songbird, Pidgin, OpenOffice, GIMP, FileZilla, VLC and more are all available on Linux and work great. While Windows and OSX software will not run on Linux there is usually a great alternative and some are even better.

The desktop in Fedora 7 (Gnome) is very pleasing to look at. With clean lines and soft colors it has a Mac-like appeal with the taskbars of Windows. You can easily add items to the taskbars (panels), move them around, make them transparent, and even remove them if wanted. Icons are clear and resizable so you’re not stuck with dinky XP icons. I have modified my desktop somewhat for productivity. One of the beauties of Linux is the degree of customization available to make your workspace the way you want it.

The file system in Linux is very simple to learn. Your “home” folder is comparable to both Windows and OSX.

Installing programs is usually as easy as clicking a checkbox in Linux. You are given a set of menus separated by type of program (games, office, graphics, etc…) and a brief description of what it does. To uninstall, simply uncheck the box. Many believe that there is a level of geekery needed to make things happen in Linux and that simply isn’t the case most of the time.

Ok, to answer the big question about software, yeah you can do the same stuff on a Linux machine. Most people are pretty familiar with Firefox. There are tons of other software programs as well to make your lives easy. Various mail, graphics, music, games, science tools, development, and more is readily available through the program install. I have already been using Firefox, Pidgin (a multi protocol IM client), and Thunderbird (mail client) for quite a while so I had no worries on that end. I am an iTunes user (I know, not a favorite on Windows) though and wondered if there was something I could use that would give me the same feel. I discovered Banshee online and now I doubt I’ll be using iTunes again. While it is lacking a few features (iTMS, some sound options, and custom tagging) it also is lacking the massive overhead of iTunes while still maintaining a great library and feature. This player is only one of many out there though and you can try a few out until you find one that fits.

The biggest thing holding me back from becoming an exclusive Linux user is the lack of Adobe support. I am an avid Photoshop user and losing access to that program hurts. I pray that as Linux becomes more of an affluent OS Adobe will start to look towards developing for it. There are some great alternatives out there. GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is probably the most recognizable. It’s a bit of a tough leap for Photoshop users though and is lacking some of the finesse of the Adobe powerhouse. If you use Photoshop on an amateur basis or don’t use it at all, then GIMP and others will be more than enough. Power PS users and professionals will have to keep the Windows or OS X machine around for now.

Office programs do not share this lack of feature problem. OpenOffice is a powerful tool when it comes to office productivity. There is very little I can do in Microsoft Office that I can’t just as easily do in OpenOffice. The greatest feature to OpenOffice is the ability to save documents in formats that can be opened in MS Office. You won’t have to worry about writing up that report or spreadsheet and then not being able to use it at work.

So I guess the question is, “Can I use Linux easily?” I believe the answer is “yes, you can”.

Setting up your computer and installing drivers may require a little bit of searching and copy/pasting but with some amazing support forums and documentation I found it very easy to do. I still have no idea how most of the code works on Linux and I did just fine. Linux gives you the opportunity to delve deeper though if you desire. You can use your computer as a standard user or become a skilled power user if you want. You have access to hundreds upon hundreds of applications that are powerful, well documented, and best of all, free. I’m not suggesting you have to make the leap to Linux by burning your PC/Mac either. If more users worked with multiple OS machine we would see development explode and maybe even rid ourselves of some of the fanboy mentality that is out there. Fedora gives you a glimpse at the bleeding edge of Linux development, though there are other flavors out there for all walks of life. Ubuntu Linux has proven to be a strong and capable platform for multitudes of users ranging from beginners (noobs) to advanced users. The idea is to become exposed to this world and find that computing can once again be fun, a great learning experience, and free.