Abstract: If you wish to setup Linux on your own machine, read these notes written in the context of courses such as CEG 233, CS 400, CEG 433, CEG 434, CEG 730, CEG 830.
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Our courses depend only on "the" general Unix environment, not on specifics of Linux or a distribution of Linux.
http://www.linuxnewbieguide.org/New to GNU/Linux? Scan the various forums of this site to get a feel for what is involved in setting up Linux on a machine that you will be in charge,
Linux driver releases for various hardware items are often several months behind the corresponding Windows drivers. Typical hardware items that have this problem are video cards and wireless devices (mice, keyboards, and 802.11). I suggest you chose hardware that is about six-months old. Linux does work on Intel/AMD/VIA/... x86, both 32- and 64-bit. On old 386, 486, ... also it can be made to work, but it is going to be difficult to install a modern Linux distribution on such old systems.
Linux is also available on non-PC platforms with non-x86 CPUs, such as Apple Macs, Sun, and SGI, but it is easiest and cheapest to do it on a PC clone.
Linux has no problems with x86 CPU clones such as AMD Athlon/Phenom. As long as the CPU is a x86-32 or x86-64, the MHz GHz speed is unimportant. Memory should be at least 256 MB, but preferably 2 GB. Hard disk size depends on how carefully you will prune the Linux installation. Given the current prices of hard disk drives (HDD), you will save a lot of your time during install if you were to "everything"-install Linux on a HDD of at least 20 GB. WSU electronic surplus often sells machines for under $100 that would be suitable for your Linux setup.
Linux is open source. It is cost-free only if you download ISO images available from certain sites. OSIS Lab has several ISO images available for download. Your instructor is willing to provide burned in ISO image CDs in exchange for blank CDs. These CDs do contain al the documentation and several books in the .html and .pdf formats. If you were to buy Linux distributions from a BM or on-line store, you will also get a printed copy or two.
There is not much point, in this document, to go into the polemics of why we chose Mandrake for OSIS Lab. So, for your Linux system on your own computer, you may wish to chose other distributions. Here are some suggestions.
Visit www.distrowatch.com for pointers to distributions. Consider either the "major", "live CD" distributions or the ones mentioned below.
The typical distribution will require you to devote one or two partitions exclusively for Linux use. If you are not comfortable partitioning a HDD, do not chose such a distribution; consider a live CD Linux. There are excellent "live CD" distributions that run entirely off the CD. These do not alter the contents of your HDD in any way. However, these lock the CD in the drive. If you have only one CD drive, you cannot eject the live-Linux-CD to play another CD. Obviously, your own work must be saved somewhere else -- removable media or a separate file server. Currently (2010), Ubuntu (www.ubuntu.com/), Knoppix (www.knopper.net/knoppix/) , and SLAX (www.slax.org/ ) are my Live DVD recommendations.
Linux installation is now quite easy. Power on the PC, insert the CD before BIOS finishes, and answer questions. However, there are two places where you must be careful.
The course CEG 233 has a lab where the students install Linux on a 4GB USB drive. This lab assumes that the ISO image on the file server of the Lab. But you should be able to modify its instructions easily. Also, look at the links given in that lab description.
Linux has several GUI to chose from. But, you won't be a power user until you learn shell, and other scripting languages such as Perl. You won't be a programmer until you learn C/C++ native libraries, and Unix/Linux system calls.
Quotable quote? "Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual
property
sense to everything it touches." -- Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, June 1, 2001.
last edited: September 11, 2010 00:13:19 -0400