Why are you Scared of Linux?

Note: Before you read this Article I want to tell you that I am a big Linux fan and Linux being an open source Operating System is doing a Great Job.

Most of the people I know think Linux is very difficult for a layman to understand. They fear that after installing Linux they will not be able to do the normal tasks they do with Windows and thus they prefer paying money to Microsoft instead of even trying Linux.

There are lot of reasons behind this. Few reasons that I could figure out are:

1. Lack of Advertising about Linux compared to Windows. I understand that Linux is an open source product while Windows is Commercial but still I feel that there is lot of scope for advertising.

2. Lack of Awareness among the Retailers of Computers who advise the buyers to go for Windows instead of Linux. Some times its not just lack of awareness but also to gain more commission on the part of the retailer.

3. A very odd but a legitimate reason is that most of the time when people hear about linux is when a Geek is bragging about what he did on Linux last night and that layman will think “Man I don’t think Linux is for Guys like me!!”.

4. Most of the schools (atleast in India) teach their students Windows instead of Linux and thus the children when they grow up feel that windows is easy and safe to go with.

5. One reason for the Windows users not switching to Linux from Windows is that they are used to the working environment of Windows and So they are scared how they are going to do those regular task with Linux. Moreover there are many discouraging people around you who will be telling you stories of people who had to format their PC after installing Linux.

6. I also feel that the method of bring new versions every 6 months of different Linux distributions has many loopholes. First of all when a new release comes you are scared whether it is stable or not and whether his current apps will be compatible or not. So you wait for 1-2 months till you hear good reviews about it and just when you were about to feel that you got the one you can happily live with you hear about a new release which is better than that. Another reasons specially for Indian Users is that every time a new release comes out the user has to download it from net which is very time consuming considering the low internet speed in India.

7. The Last but the most important reason I feel why people don’t go for Linux is that the developers of Linux try to target more towards the technical guys instead of a normal user who is never going to code in his life. Linux only tries to compete with Windows in terms of a Better Development platform but it lags far behind from Windows in other areas. Though you may feel this reason to be invalid but this is what I feel.

I know a lot of Linux lovers will get hurt after reading this post and will be very angry at me but this is what is the harsh reality about Linux which can be changed if proper steps are taken by Linux.

Can you guys think of any other reasons? If so, I’d love it if you shared.

Note: The above written text are the author’s own views and they are not written to hurt the feelings of anybody

How to Install any Linux on a USB

        There are so many reasons why having a Linux distribution on a USB drive can come in handy. From having a “rescue” OS on your keyring to being able to install a new distribution on your EeePC, a “thumb drive” Linux has many uses. But getting Linux onto a USB drive can’t be simple. Right? Wrong. There is a tool, UNetbootin, that makes installing Linux
on a USB drive simple.

UNetbootin can be used on either Linux or Windows. In this article, we’ll be illustrating it for Both.

Note: Not all USB installations will work on all machines. This can be an issue with your BIOS or your USB drive. If you install an OS that doesn’t work, try another. But after all that work, you might wind up with a machine that simply won’t boot from a USB drive. You have been warned.

Using UNetbootin with Linux

1. The first thing to do is download a copy of UNetbootin. For our purposes we’ll download the Linux universal install binary (named unetbootin-linux-299). Once that has finished you will need to issue the Following command in order to make the file executable.
   

   chmod u+x unetbootin-linux29

2. Once the file is executable issue the following command (from the same directory unetbootin-linx-299 is stored) to see the application running.
   

   su ./unetbootin-linux-299

3. But you’re not ready just yet. Depending upon your distribution, you might come across an error involving p7zip-full. This might be in your distribution’s repositories. If you use Mandriva you can install p7zip but you will not have the full package. If you use Ubuntu you can get p7zip-full with the following command
   

   apt-get install p7zip-full

4. Before you run the application you will need to insert and mount your usb drive. Stick in your usb drive and then issue the following command to find out where your usb drive is located.
   

   dmesg

5. Mount that and then issue the following command. When you issue the command you will see the UNetbootin window.
   

   su ./unetbootin-linux-299

6. Once this window is up and running you are almost there. If you have very specific needs for your distribution you will most likely have an image file downloaded to use. If you do not you can select your distribution from the drop down list. First you select the distribution and then you select the version (or release). Note: Unless you have a very large USB drive you will most likely want to use a netinstall version of your distribution. If you do happen to have a large USB drive you can go ahead with a full distribution. If this usb drive is for rescue purposes, or just to have a version of Linux with you at all times, a distribution like PCLinuxOS Minime is a greate choice.
7. Once the process is done you will have two buttons to click, Reboot and Exit. Don’t bother with the Reboot button. Click the Exit button and UNetbootin will close. You can now unmount your drive and reboot your machine to see if the installation works.Note: When your machine boots you will need to make sure it first boots from the USB device.

Using UNebootin with Windows

1. Download UNetBootin for Windows.
2. Download your favorite Linux ISO (Don’t ask me from where just Google it).
3. Now Start the Unetbootin.
4. Click the Disk Image radio box and browse to select Linux ISO.
5. Now set your target USB drive and click OK to start the creation UNetbootin Live USB Creation from an ISO.
6. Once the UNetbootin installer has completed, click Reboot. Now UNetbootin installation is finished.
7. Set your system BIOS or boot menu to boot from the USB device and enjoy your favorite Live Linux on USB.