Linux for Non-Geeks and Technophobes

[Christopher Robin]

If you're anything like me, technology has become scary. A true technophobe, I was not anxious to try out Linux until there was no alternative but to either spend a zillion and twelve dollars on a Mac, or to spend a mere billion and twelve dollars for a new computer that could run Windows® without slowing to a crawl.

So I looked at a few of the Linux distributions because you can try it out without making any changes to your computer, using a "Live" copy of almost any Linux distribution (hereafter called a "distro"). So far, the absolutely most technophobe-friendly Linux distro, perfect for complete newbies who only want to point-and-click their way through stuff without having to use the dreaded terminal is Linux Lite. It's free, open-source, nimble, fast, and best of all simple, even on modest hardware. It has become my "daily driver" at home. It's used to keep older but perfectly good computers running in schools, and to give grandparents a simple way to keep up with their extended families without having to resort to squinting at a tiny cellphone screen.

Don't toss that old computer that can't run Windows or Mac anymore. Check out Linux Lite and message me if you need any help with it!

 

[dhh712]

Thank you, Robin! I will keep this in mind. My husband ***loved**** Linux (he was a chatterbox and it was one of his favorite topics). I had always been meaning to give it a try, but never got around to doing that (I'm a technophobe myself so anything I'm not familiar with I don't want to touch). But I may have to finally give it shot one of these days! (My laptop here appears to be on it's last legs... was considering getting a backup as I may have need of it very soon!).

 

[JimmyH]

A friend who was a systems administrator introduced me to Fedora 5 a decade or so ago. At that time a knowledge of the command line in the terminal was necessary as the GUI hadn't become as far advanced as it is now.

I've been using Mint for some years now without too much hassle. I do confess that without the aid of another sysadmin, a young man from my church family, I'd have been hard pressed a couple of times, but by and large I love Linux.

I have an old Lenovo laptop running Windows 10 but I'd be depressed if I had to rely on Microsoft for my PC needs.

 

[Jonathco]

I am a big fan of Linux. My personal laptop is a rather old Dell machine that struggled to run Windows 7. I run Ubuntu and it more-than-adequately meets my needs.

 

[Berean]

Thanks, Robin. What do you recommend for making a live USB stick of Linux Lite? Rufus? Will it have persistence? Thanks.

 

[Osnah]

Thanks, Robin. What do you recommend for making a live USB stick of Linux Lite? Rufus? Will it have persistence? Thanks.

Yumi will give you an option to setup persistence while setting up the USB drive.

 

[Christopher Robin]

Etcher has a good reputation for reliable LiveUSBs with persistence.

I understand Windows "upgrading" again in September and computers older than a year or two won't run it well. It's a resource hog, to be sure! Minimum specs for a computer to run Linux Lite satisfactorily are:


Minimum Recommended Specs:
1Ghz processor
768mb ram
8gb HDD/SD
VGA screen capable of 1024x768 resolution
DVD drive or USB port for the ISO image

Preferred Specs:
1.5GHz processor+
1024mb ram+
20gb HDD/SSD+
VGA, DVI or HDMI screen capable of 1366x768 resolution+
DVD drive or USB port for the ISO image

Login to the live desktop is automatic.

The first thing you MUST do after a fresh install of Linux Lite to your Hard Drive is run Menu, Favorites, Install Updates.

But run it from the LiveUSB for a bit, drive it around, kick the tires, see if everything works (sound, graphics, keyboard, printer, etc. If it works running it Live from a USB stick or DVD, it's likely run even better (certainly faster) installed to your computer!

 

[Berean]

@Christopher Robin If you run Linux Lite (LL) off a USB stick, and make changes to both LL and Firefox, and then install LL to a computer's HDD, will those changes carry over and still exist after the installation? Or will they have to be redone?

How difficult is it to install other Linux-based software that isn't in LL's repository?

When you update LL with its "just 2 clicks to update your system", does it also update your software at the same time?

Is there a clipboard manager that can sit in the tray?

Thanks, Robin.

 

[Christopher Robin]

A clipboard manager can be brought to the tray, yes. You can add software that is not in the software repositories, but it's discouraged. There are Linux equivalents for just about every kind of software there is for Windows and Mac. Some software is available as "flatpaks" or "snaps" that are installable easily on Linux Lite. Updates update all software that is installed on your computer.

Once installed to your HDD and adjusted to your preferences, added software, desktop configurations and all that, you can create an exact copy of your operating system with all the changes, bookmarks, themes, all of it, and write it to a USB key to take to work or school or transfer to another computer.

 

[Edward]

Back in the old days, when computers had CD/DVD players, I burned Puppy to a CD and used it on my cheap personal laptop when traveling. Boot from the CD, and I could be on the web in a couple of minutes, vs the long boot times on Windows. I wouldn't want to try to use the office software that came with that distro, but it made for a great internet appliance. And a few of the games were worthwhile timekillers. Many of my early PB posts were made courtesy of Puppy Linux. Alas, Laptops with CDs are a rare find these days.

Looks like Lite has Libre Office, which is full featured. But Lite is more than twice as fat as the current Puppy (which offers GOffice).
Lite clocks in at 1400 megs, Puppy at 400-500 megs. (But for really, really old, weak computers, go with the 5 year old version at half that at 199-235 megs). For comparison, Ubuntu clocks in at up to 2900 megs, and is likely to be as slow as Windows on an older machine.

So if your old machine can handle it, Lite does look like it's worth trying. And the LibreOffice can match up to Windows 360.

Here's what Distrowatch turns up for old Machines:

DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.

News and feature lists of Linux and BSD distributions.

distrowatch.com

And for beginners:

DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.

News and feature lists of Linux and BSD distributions.

distrowatch.com

 

[Christopher Robin]

Omygoodness, I remember Puppy Linux! Very fun. Of the Linux distros for old computers, I see that "antiX" is listed at the top. An excellent choice, but I won't use it because of this. Once a Linux distro "goes political," I'm just done with it.

 

[Deleted member 11889]

@Christopher Robin, have you used Lubuntu? It's more lightweight than Linux Lite, and also easier to install for n00bs like myself.

 

[Christopher Robin]

Yessir, I have! Lubuntu is lighter but less "newbie friendly" than Linux Lite, Linux Mint, ElementaryOS, etc. I think the best balance between "Linux for beginners" and "Linux for modest hardware" is Linux Lite. I have run a lot of "Linuxes" over the years, from the 'buntus to Debian and even Slackware (which is definitely not newbie friendly - neither was Debian when I was using it). To introduce Linux to new users (and technophobes) with modest - not ancient - hardware, LL is the best choice in my opinion. If LL doesn't run well, then Lubuntu, LXLE, or Bunsen Labs are excellent, but not as "newbie friendly."

 

[Deleted member 11889]

I ran into difficulty installing LL, but installing Lubuntu was a cinch.

 

[Christopher Robin]

Excellent! LL has two different installation options, Legacy and UEFI Secure Boot (a Windows thing) on machines that don't use the good ol' fashioned BIOS. You may have run into that issue. I think you'll like Lubu! Ubuntu Forums is a very busy and helpful place to get help if you run into any issues or unfamiliar stuff. And there's AskUbuntu.com as well. Enjoy!

 

[Deleted member 11889]

I think that part of the problem is that, while I am fairly comfortable with Ubuntu and other similar distros once they are up and running, I'm fairly inexperienced at things like partitioning hard drives, dealing with BIOS, etc...

 

[Christopher Robin]

Yessir, I totally get that. It's why I recommend Linux Lite, actually. The web site where you download it has very easy-to-grasp instructions on how to tell whether your 'puter uses UEFI or the Legacy (BIOS), how to download and make a bootable USB thumbdrive, and how to install LL to your hard drive.

The funny thing is, LL is based on Ubuntu and uses the same installer! So I kinda wonder what happened. But since you've got Lubu installed successfully already, stick with it and use the great tools the Ubuntu community has to learn the other stuff. Take your time with it and just have fun.