Tell Me About Linux

[ownyourfuture]

Bought a total of 3 windows based PC's starting in 1997. (All new Gateway & HP) All told they lasted about 11 years.

In early 2008, I decided I'd give Apple a try. Bought a new 21” iMac directly from Apple. It gave me 10+ years of incredible performance before the hard drive died in November 2018.
Never had to purchase any virus/security software. The only out-of-pocket was for an OS upgrade (I believe it was $20.00) & around $125.00 to upgrade the RAM.

At that point, Apple had me. I was as loyal as a person can be. Bought a new 21” iMac from Best Buy in November 2018. From the beginning, I knew it wasn't as good as the first one.
Approximately 2.5 years later, I'm ready to move on.

Before Apple loyalists jump into the conversation, let it be known that it isn't a virus.

Your Mac may sometimes throw kernel panic errors when shutting down. Other users reported they encountered the same issue when waking their computers from sleep.

This problem has been around for a long time and fixing it is not an easy task. Let’s take a closer look at the root causes of this problem.
https://appletoolbox.com/fix-watchdog-timeout-kernel-panics-macbook/

I want a simple desktop, don't want/need touch screen, etc. Just want a minimum 21” widescreen to get online, & a machine that's capable of running Wondershare Filmora9 video editing software that I use for my storm chasing videos.

Beyond that, I keep a lot of different files/folders on my computer, but other than my storm chasing videos & GIFs, most of the folders just contain text/news stories.

I've heard that Linux is a very stable, somewhat easy OS, but know very little about it beyond that.

Would greatly appreciate any input from experienced users.

 

[Sunset]

I use Ubuntu, which is a "flavor" of Linux.
Basically Linux has many many "flavors" (don't know the official name to call the differences).

You can read about it here, and download it:

https://ubuntu.com/desktop

You can download Ubuntu and burn it to a disk or load it onto a thumb drive to try out a live version.
Of course , the best experience to try it out would be to grab some computer, stick in a hard drive and install it.

If you have ever used the terminal in a Mac, you would be familiar with the terminal in Linux, however you don't need to do that, it's just an option.

Basically, it's as easy to use as a Mac/Windows computer (windowing system).

You will have to get used to getting your software for FREE, which might be hard for an iMac user.
If you are stuck on 1 piece of software, it's possible that Linux does not run that. People either find an alternative, or use an emulator, or use a virtualbox, or keep another machine around (me) or don't use Linux

 

[homestead]

I used VMS, SunOS/Solaris, Linux, Windows, OSX in my w*rk.
The best one for stability was SunOS/Solaris. They usually only got rebooted when there was a power failure. Wasn't unusual to have over a year in uptime.
Linux was stable too.
Next was OSX (pun not intended)
Last was Windows, had to reboot every day.

I used OSX for my main CPU and was able to connect to all my other computers from there.
I tried switching to Linux several times over the years as it improved, but always ended up going back to my Mac.
Linux required more command line work and compiling apps and the mac just took care of all that for basic use.
The mac has command line but you don't have to use it at all if you are just doing basic stuff.
I believe there are free downloads of X86 Solaris you can get if you are mainly interested in stability but there won't be as many available apps.
Currently using MacBook Pro in retirement, haven't had the kernal panic problem and I am planning on getting a new M1 type cpu Macbook Pro 15" when they come out.
Linux may be easier to use now as it has surely progressed since I have been retired for quite a while now.

 

[Ramen]

There appears to be no Linux version of Wondershare Filmora9, so you'd have to use something like CrossOver, which might lead you deeper into the weeds than you want to go.

As for Linux in general, I have tried twice to bond with it and ultimately gave up both times. It's still kind of "off the grid" and can leave you stuck when you least expect it, such as when you need to use banking websites or security and privacy tools (like VPN apps) that require Windows or Mac.

I never found Linux to be stable either. The last time I tried it was last summer, when I spent several weeks using the Manjaro distro. Things started off OK, but then my machine started shutting down at random times when I was in the middle of something -- instant black screen, no warning. So I tried to switch distros (to Debian, as I recall) and could not even get it to image for installation.

That's when I went back to Windows 10, but only after spending some time learning how to debloat it and disable the telemetry settings (so MSFT cannot mine my user data).

Now I have two lean, mean Windows machines, both debloated and relatively private (considering they are just regular old daily drivers, not for critical work). They are also rock stable. Updates can be a drag, but so far so good.

As for Macs, I've owned a few. Never had any trouble with the OS or software but had lots of trouble with the hardware. One was DOA, and two died right after the warranty ended. Two were repaired under warranty. I'll never own another one.

 

[Sunset]

Many years ago, actually decades ago, I tried to use Redhat linux, but after compiling it, I couldn't get the x-windows to work. So I switched to OS2, then Windows.

These days, by using Ubuntu, there is no compiling needed. I pick the LTS (Long Term Support) as it's stable and updated for 5 yrs.

If OP had an old computer hanging around in the basement, OP could install Ubuntu and give it a whirl.

 

[harley]

I've run Ubuntu on a VMWare partition for a long time, although I don't really use it much anymore. I've become a user as opposed to being a sysadmin since FIRE. But it was fun and easy to use back in the day.

 

[target2019]

At that point, Apple had me. I was as loyal as a person can be. Bought a new 21” iMac from Best Buy in November 2018. From the beginning, I knew it wasn't as good as the first one.
Approximately 2.5 years later, I'm ready to move on.

Before Apple loyalists jump into the conversation, let it be known that it isn't a virus.

Your Mac may sometimes throw kernel panic errors when shutting down. Other users reported they encountered the same issue when waking their computers from sleep.

This problem has been around for a long time and fixing it is not an easy task. Let’s take a closer look at the root causes of this problem.
https://appletoolbox.com/fix-watchdog-timeout-kernel-panics-macbook/

I want a simple desktop, don't want/need touch screen, etc. Just want a minimum 21” widescreen to get online, & a machine that's capable of running Wondershare Filmora9 video editing software that I use for my storm chasing videos.

Based on what you've written in the entire OP, I don't think you'll be immediately happy with Linux or Windows. You've invested many years in MacOS and Filmora9. So you're better off fixing the current problem, working around it, or buying another iMac. If you determine Filmora9 is the problem, then you'll need to select a replacement app and determine what OS will fit best.

If you can supply a list of your hardware and software versions, how much memory, type and size of hard disk, OS version, it may be possible to implement something from the article, and limit how often you get a kernel panic.

1. Filmora9 may be the problem. Programs which grab lots of memory and need to cache on disk may not play well with your OS. Adobe products I would lump in there too. I've not heard of this product, so it leaves me wondering if the company fixes bugs frequently, and offers good support.

2. Hardware could be the problem. For example scratch disk requirements, connected devices, and so on. Is the disk(s) healthy? What all do you have going on there?

3. System software should be updated. Inspect all the settings and return it to default if possible. Run command to fix all permissions at startup.

I can empathize with you. I spent 5-10 years working with graphic artists who were on the bleeding edge with video and pixel editing. You have requirements which most do not understand.

If you turn the page and go with Linux or Windows it will take some time to get comfortable with new software and new OS.

 

[njhowie]

...& a machine that's capable of running Wondershare Filmora9 video editing software that I use for my storm chasing videos.

Doesn't run on Linux.

As far as a simple/capable/functional desktop, you may want to consider a Chromebook and plug an external 21" or larger monitor. If you have an Android phone, the Chrome interface will feel familiar. It doesn't carry around all the baggage that Windows does and doesn't need as much horsepower as Windows or Mac.

We purchased a Lenovo Chromebook for my mom about 6 months ago and it works for her. I believe we paid about $200 for it and it is a mid-range configuration. It performs well.

There are plenty of video editing apps available for Chrome/Android and surely one would meet your needs.

 

[jim584672]

With Linux most people start off with Ubuntu. If you are more advanced the next step is usually Arch Linux. Arch has no auto installer so people use Manjaro (or things like Artix), which is basically Arch with an installer. The advantage with Arch is it is rolling so it doesn't have a version number, every day is the latest version. It has a massive amount of apps in its repositories. Because the versions are so new it is more susceptible to breakages on updates.

If you want rock solid with something like Red Hat Enterprise Linux RHEL, CentOS, Scientific Linux (Fermilab) would be the ones to consider.

 

[easysurfer]

I use Windoze as my main computer. But also use Linux for certain programs which works better than my Windoze computer. Plus, I like the challenge and open source of Linux.

My biggest adjustment to using Linux which is different than Win is installing programs. In Win, I just find a program to download, double click and install. In Linux, there may be several ways to install a program. Or a program you really want might only have the source and you are supposed to do your own compiling and building (if I'm using the terms properly).

For the OP, as others have kind of asked, is the thought of leaving Mac to Linux mainly because of sick of the Mac and want a change? Or because of that one video program not working?

One best way to see if something like Linux is for you is if you have a spare PC around, to install a distro and try things out. The good thing about Linux is because of the open source nature, you shouldn't have to go buying software to try. More of a time investment than $ to try.

 

[teetee]

Bought a total of 3 windows based PC's starting in 1997. (All new Gateway & HP) All told they lasted about 11 years.

In early 2008, I decided I'd give Apple a try. Bought a new 21” iMac directly from Apple. It gave me 10+ years of incredible performance before the hard drive died in November 2018.
Never had to purchase any virus/security software. The only out-of-pocket was for an OS upgrade (I believe it was $20.00) & around $125.00 to upgrade the RAM.

At that point, Apple had me. I was as loyal as a person can be. Bought a new 21” iMac from Best Buy in November 2018. From the beginning, I knew it wasn't as good as the first one.
Approximately 2.5 years later, I'm ready to move on.

Before Apple loyalists jump into the conversation, let it be known that it isn't a virus.

Your Mac may sometimes throw kernel panic errors when shutting down. Other users reported they encountered the same issue when waking their computers from sleep.

This problem has been around for a long time and fixing it is not an easy task. Let’s take a closer look at the root causes of this problem.
https://appletoolbox.com/fix-watchdog-timeout-kernel-panics-macbook/

I want a simple desktop, don't want/need touch screen, etc. Just want a minimum 21” widescreen to get online, & a machine that's capable of running Wondershare Filmora9 video editing software that I use for my storm chasing videos.

Beyond that, I keep a lot of different files/folders on my computer, but other than my storm chasing videos & GIFs, most of the folders just contain text/news stories.

I've heard that Linux is a very stable, somewhat easy OS, but know very little about it beyond that.

Would greatly appreciate any input from experienced users.

Linux is not for GUI-heavy users who want things to just work. That's Mac's strength with their closed hardware / software design.

It is a great way to develope troubleshooting, documentation reading, and online search skills though.

 

[donheff]

I am more comfortable with Windows but only because I use it a lot. For about ten years starting in the late 90s I ran Redhat and the Ubuntu on a couple of web servers in the basement. I got pretty good at managing them at the time but I eventually got tired of dealing with them and shut them down. Fast forward about 10 years and I was not using an underpowered laptop so I gave Ubuntu another try. I was able to easily install Ubuntu and for most web browsing and other things it works quite well. The 4G laptop remains slow as molasses on Linux but it works well. I'm still more comfortable with my Windows desktop for the same reason as always - I use it more frequently.

I recently took the Ubuntu machine out from the closet after it had been turned off for about a year. It updated packages with no problem and is working fine. Try it, you will like it.

 

[easysurfer]

Deciding if wanting to use Linux is just the start. If the answer is yes, then what distro to use.

Took me about a year and 4-5 distros later to finally find one where I don't have the urge (still have the curiosity) to distro hop frequently.

But again, the appeal of kicking the tires in Linux is just invested time and not $.

 

[ERD50]

Linux is not for GUI-heavy users who want things to just work. ....

I disagree, based on my experience.

I run Linux (Xubuntu XFCE version is my preference), and rarely need to go to the terminal, I do almost everything in GUI.

Conversely, when doing some basic troubleshooting on DW's MacBook Pro, I had to get into the terminal to do very simple tasks that I do in the GUI in Linux. So you are making a big, and common, over-generalization.

I had multiple tabs in my Linux GUI file manager ("Finder" equivalent), years before Apple offered it.

-ERD50

 

[jim584672]

I disagree, based on my experience.

I run Linux (Xubuntu XFCE version is my preference), and rarely need to go to the terminal, I do almost everything in GUI.

Conversely, when doing some basic troubleshooting on DW's MacBook Pro, I had to get into the terminal to do very simple tasks that I do in the GUI in Linux. So you are making a big, and common, over-generalization.

I had multiple tabs in my Linux GUI file manager ("Finder" equivalent), years before Apple offered it.

-ERD50

Totally agree, you don't need to go to the terminal usually. Unless you are a nerd, then you like the terminal over the GUI.

 

[donheff]

I disagree, based on my experience.

I run Linux (Xubuntu XFCE version is my preference), and rarely need to go to the terminal, I do almost everything in GUI.

Conversely, when doing some basic troubleshooting on DW's MacBook Pro, I had to get into the terminal to do very simple tasks that I do in the GUI in Linux. So you are making a big, and common, over-generalization.

I had multiple tabs in my Linux GUI file manager ("Finder" equivalent), years before Apple offered it.

-ERD50

+1 After a decade absence, I too thought Linux would be a bit of a PITA, but after mentioning that on an earlier Linux thread here, ERD or someone disabused me of that out of date conception. So I installed a modern day Ubuntu distro it was very easy to use and the GUI seems excellent.

 

[easysurfer]

+1 After a decade absence, I too thought Linux would be a bit of a PITA, but after mentioning that on an earlier Linux thread here, ERD or someone disabused me of that out of date conception. So I installed a modern day Ubuntu distro it was very easy to use and the GUI seems excellent.

When I was deciding whether to use Linux or not, I did have thoughts of Linux being too much of a PITA. I say, don't settle for the first distro you find and try out one til you get one that you feel comfortable and productive with. Otherwise, to easy to draw a conclusion about Linux itself when the distro your tried was the true PITA and not Linux itself.

 

[ejman]

Just curious so I checked compatibility under WINE for Wondershare Filmora9 and it has a Silver rating which means most things work normally. The only anomaly the author determined is hardware acceleration did not work for his particular Nvidia card. As I understand it, Wondershare Filmora 9 has a windows version which is what was tested.



Wine (originally an acronym for "Wine Is Not an Emulator") is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant operating systems, such as Linux, macOS, & BSD. Instead of simulating internal Windows logic like a virtual machine or emulator, Wine translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly, eliminating the performance and memory penalties of other methods and allowing you to cleanly integrate Windows applications into your desktop.

 

[SnowballCamper]

FWIW I've been very happy with our Mac mini and a cheapo monitor. The stability has been great for about 7-8 years so far. I imagine the GUIs for linux versions have improved substantially over the past decade. If I were to try linux again, I'd get a paid version with help desk support for the first six months to a year.

 

[pjigar]

AFAIK there is a virtual tie between OSX and Linux for stability. The choice comes down to software availability for "normal" home users.

 

[ZachTB]

My 2 cents for the OP:

Zorin OS got me 'into' Linux, but Linux Mint is my personal favorite. I've tried both, and had mixed results as far as hardware compatibility on my older laptops. Mint is likely to be a little better in that regard: https://linuxmint.com/

It sounds like you plan to use a desktop. FWIW, I'd recommend doing the following:

1. Purchase a Windows PC that meets your requirements (discrete graphics, 21" monitor, etc.). If it has solid-state storage (an SSD), even better! Your computer will run noticeably faster than it would with a traditional hard drive. [Thank me later.]

2. Create a partition (explained at https://www.howtogeek.com/187789/du...-multiple-operating-systems-on-your-computer/) and install your chosen distro alongside Windows.

The steps described here will walk you through the installation process: https://www.howtogeek.com/693588/how-to-install-linux/

Since Mint and Zorin are both based on Ubuntu, the process to install either will be very similar to what is shown at this link.

3. Determine if WINE will allow you to run Filmora9. From ejman's reply above, it sounds like it will probably work well. If not...just boot up into Windows instead, and run Filmora9 there!!! You can still shut down when you're done, and do everything else in Linux instead

 

[ExPatKiwi]

IMHO the best Linux distro for the least painless transition from Windows is Linux Mint. It's up there with Ubuntu for popularity. My HTPC is running it. https://linuxmint.com/

 

[teetee]

I disagree, based on my experience.

I run Linux (Xubuntu XFCE version is my preference), and rarely need to go to the terminal, I do almost everything in GUI.

Conversely, when doing some basic troubleshooting on DW's MacBook Pro, I had to get into the terminal to do very simple tasks that I do in the GUI in Linux. So you are making a big, and common, over-generalization.

I had multiple tabs in my Linux GUI file manager ("Finder" equivalent), years before Apple offered it.

-ERD50

It depends on the distro developer's focus. I found it really difficult if I need to connect the Linux system with some of my devices: phone, scanner, a few printers, and networked drives.

It is also not obvious and require some investigation to set firewall rules, get software for some SLR cameras to recognize their raw photo format. The list goes on. Upgrading hardware drivers and virtual box / VMware involves in compiling and installing kernel modules.

You can argue it is the 3rs party and software development focus that are often on Windows and Mac systems. That is exactly my point. The usage on the surface on Linux may be on par with other OS type but as soon as any of the tasks mentioned above is needed, you are in a investigation territory and half of the time it requires some luck to get things to work as expected.

The requirement "just work" covers a lot more than opening up a software and see it run and not crash soon after.

 

[ERD50]

It depends on the distro developer's focus. I found it really difficult if I need to connect the Linux system with some of my devices: phone, scanner, a few printers, and networked drives.

It is also not obvious and require some investigation to set firewall rules, get software for some SLR cameras to recognize their raw photo format. The list goes on. Upgrading hardware drivers and virtual box / VMware involves in compiling and installing kernel modules.

You can argue it is the 3rs party and software development focus that are often on Windows and Mac systems. That is exactly my point. The usage on the surface on Linux may be on par with other OS type but as soon as any of the tasks mentioned above is needed, you are in a investigation territory and half of the time it requires some luck to get things to work as expected.

The requirement "just work" covers a lot more than opening up a software and see it run and not crash soon after.

Yes, I agree that connection to some hardware can be problematic (and downright frustrating sometimes). You can be drawn down a rabbit hole of terminal commands and package installations w/o success. Offhand, I can't recall where I've had those problems (I probably erased them from my memory!). A lot of it does seem to work pretty easily, sometimes easier than Win/Mac, but that's not always the case.

Cameras, I just do the simple approach of treating them like a flash drive and copy the files to the computer, I don't try to mess with any management. Scanners and printers and monitors have not been a problem for me.

We had an old Epson scanner, Linux was the only thing it would work on - no longer supported on Windows or Mac, but Linux saw it just fine.

Now I recall - I have a cheap ($30?) USB inspection camera. Comes up just fine in Linux, I can use it, but can't find anyway to control the focus or the brightness of the light. Those seem to be controlled by an app and outside the standard USB video driver. I haven't revisited to see if any of that is updated.

But your point stands, it isn't all unicorns and rainbows in Linux-land. But overall, I find the Linux world to be far less frustrating and easier to get my work done, than either Win/Mac. But it certainly depends - if you need an app that just isn't well supported in Linux, that's a problem.

Hmmm, I do recall now that I had the Google 3D program (SketchUp) running on my little Linux netbook and my desktop Linux, but at some point in the upgrade process I couldn't get it to run on Linux and gave up for the little I used it. I might revisit that.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

....

Hmmm, I do recall now that I had the Google 3D program (SketchUp) running on my little Linux netbook and my desktop Linux, but at some point in the upgrade process I couldn't get it to run on Linux and gave up for the little I used it. I might revisit that.

-ERD50

Hah! I forgot, they have a web based version now. I actually had used it, and totally forgot (I am getting old!).

https://app.sketchup.com/app

-ERD50