How do I switch from XP to Linux? What accompanying productivity software is best alternative to MS Office?
I have an old Dell laptop (2002) that is prone to crashing these days. I haven’t reformatted because I don’t have the XP and MS Office setup disks anymore. I’ve been interested in switching to the Linux OS and free software alternatives like OpenOffice. How do I reformat my laptop and basically start from scratch with Linux? Which Linux distribution (Ubuntu, Mandriva, OpenSUSE, etc.) is best for novices to install and use?
Get UBUNTU (or XUBUNTU if your computer has less than 256MB of RAM).
It’s a free, reliable and up to date operating system.
You can explore it from the "LIVE CD".
It’s easy to install and use. You can dual boot it with other operating systems.
Once you have it installed, you gain access to thousands of free programs created by the open source community. There is excellent support – see the WIKI starter guide, and the Linux forums.
Always back up your data before making changes to your computer.
Linux is open source, so you can download it through their Web site.
http://www.linux.com/
Try Open Office, this is a better, free alternative to Microsoft Office (which is not free).
http://www.openoffice.org/
References :
All three distros are fairly good for beginners, I’d tend towards Ubuntu myself.
The closest match of MS Office is OpenOffice.org (distributed with Ubuntu), but you might have better luck with Abiword and Gnumeric as these packages are lighter weight. It is worth trying out a few different options and seeing which fits your particular needs best.
References :
It’s easier to switch to Mac. That’s what you really want. Admit it. It’s okay.
References :
Kubuntu would be a great choice.
1. The installation is very easy
2. Takes no time to setup
3. Reformatting is a breeze (Select the "entire disk" option)
4. Comes with OpenOffice fully loaded.
Yet before you begin, make sure you save any documents(other stuff) you want to keep to CD / DVD or floppy. You will lose everything on the disk in the process.
References :
Only advice I’d offer is to think it through. There are many things people take for granted in Windows that are not so easy in Linux (at least not yet). For example if you connect to work via a VPN, use photo programs, set up printer sharing, etc…it can get ugly in a hurry. However if this is just for personal use, all three Linux are good alternatives. Just download the .iso files (disk images) and burn the to CD or DVD. Once you’ve got that, pop it in your machine and boot to your CD/DVD drive and the setup program will walk you through everything (partitioning, which files, etc). I’d also recommend KDE if you like fancy, glossy stuff as your desktop manager and GNOME if you prefer a more conservative/work-friendly desktop. Good luck!
References :
Get UBUNTU (or XUBUNTU if your computer has less than 256MB of RAM).
It’s a free, reliable and up to date operating system.
You can explore it from the "LIVE CD".
It’s easy to install and use. You can dual boot it with other operating systems.
Once you have it installed, you gain access to thousands of free programs created by the open source community. There is excellent support – see the WIKI starter guide, and the Linux forums.
Always back up your data before making changes to your computer.
References :
http://www.ubuntu.com
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto
http://partitionlogic.org.uk/
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Edgy
http://www.ubuntuforums.org
http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/
http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/linu...
http://www.linux.org/dist/
http://www.linuxquestions.org
http://www.linuxforums.org
http://www.gnome-look.org./
http://www.beryl-project.org/
http://wiki.beryl-project.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://forum.beryl-project.org/
http://www.openoffice.org/product/
http://www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org/
http://www.gimp.org/
http://gug.sunsite.dk/
http://www.gimp.org/links/
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/
http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Linux_software_equivalent_to_Windows_software