tempestuousknave

Thank you! I really enjoy the way you present information, and I like the progression prescribed.

I've caught a lot of second hand tech talk, living in society as I do, so I have enough casual exposure to feel like I know what things are without actually knowing what they are. None of the terminology is new to me, and it feels silly to ask questions like "what's a virtual machine?" when the answer is both common knowledge and self-evident, but the truth is I don't really know.

I mean, I do, I just read that virtual machines are computers inside your computer comprised of software (code) rather than physical components, which have their own operating system that can function entirely differently from the physical computers OS, and are insulated from access to your actual computers software. But what does that mean?

Lets say I run Linux Mint for in a virtual machine. How would programs that were installed via windows interact with virtual linux - could they? Would I have to install a virtual program? If the preexisting programs are operable, would they be operating in linux, or in windows at the command of linux (I'm aware that command has another meaning in tech speak, but so do the applicable synonyms, this is the least confusing I could come up with). Would I need new (virtual?) drivers for my wireless peripherals to use them in virtual linux? Is the operation of a program (or app, the terms are interchangeable at my knowledge level) in a virtual box a fair test of the operation of the program in the actual linux OS?

What about all of that stuff in a live environment? What's the difference between linux in a virtual box and linux in a live environment? I would expect that live environments don't insulate your computer from risk the way that virtual boxes do, but beyond that I can't even guess. Do virtual boxes insulate innately by virtue of not being computers, or does it need to be designed to be insulating?

What are the disadvantages of dual booting? Linux seems to have a small footprint, and space is fairly cheap. Why do people make games work in linux when they could dual boot? Does booting a different OS take significantly more time than rebooting? Do things ever get funky when you have two OS sharing a machine?

Thanks Pango, I'll be installing Ubuntu this weekend on an old desktop to check it out risk free and avoid downtime on the primary desktop. I'll be back with updates and pleas for help.

Thanks for the heads up and the breakdown. I'd like to think I'm clever enough to avoid inputting what is a obviously nefarious command, but I don't think I've fully plumbed the depths of my foolishness.

Jerboa is decent. Probably take a while to get sync/relay/Apollo quality apps, but this is a good start. Definitely better than mobile.

That's heartening. Got a project for the weekend!

Just checked it out, It's an I5 6500, a little older than I thought, but ubuntu recommended specs are pretty low: CPU: 1 gigahertz or better RAM: 1 gigabyte or more Disk: a minimum of 2.5 gigabytes

no uefi so I'm good to go. probably

I think it depends on what your goals are.

My main goal is getting off windows, not because it doesn't do what I need (my needs are basic) but because they put ads in my OS. Also, every iteration seems to make a bigger mess of the settings/control panel, and open shell isn't enough for me anymore, although I often think fondly of the IT guy who turned me on to that years back. And the uninstallable (or difficult to uninstall) bloat. And it may just be me, but it seems like there are performance issues - I've a new desktop at work with better specs than the laptop I've kept on 10, and it seems to be panting under some pretty light loads.

I have a perception, which may be inaccurate, of linux as being for programmers who need to customize to suit their projects and thus rather fiddly, so I wonder if going to linux to get away from windows commercialism and constricting UI is just trading one set of problems for a harder set.

WSL sounds like a great option, and from what I just read the install is stupid easy, but I'm unclear if it's a simulation of linux inside of windows or just the implementation of a feature of linux. I imagine the command line is like the windows terminal: a method of more directly calling for your computer to do stuff. So if WSL is just the command line, then it won't simulate how the stuff I want to do interacts with ubuntu, but let me tell my computer what to do like I would in ubuntu?

How important is command line in Linux? Will a casual user need to access it frequently? Will my modest needs be better met by learning it?

That's two votes for ubuntu. I like the idea of a virtual machine protecting me from myself. I've got desktop and a laptop, but need them both active. I've also got an old desktop in a closet somewhere, wonder if the hardware would still be functional enough to learn on. CPU is probably a 7th gen I5, to give you an idea of the datedness.

I subscribed to this instance specifically for the discussion of quality titanium products and now you're closing the magazine? Back to reddit I go.