EC videos are always so clear and thorough, so although I've learned to use Linux by trial and error and gone through all the stages presented here, I still learned something new and useful, and enjoyed watching the whole thing. Very much looking forward to the rest of this series, as well as any new videos by EC.
Another fine example of your ability to articulate the intricacies of the computing environment in terms that most lay computer users should find understandable.
In a previous video, you detailed the steps necessary to convert an older Windows laptop with meager resources into a functioning Linux laptop. I followed your instructions and the result was a new Linux laptop. Thanks so much for all your work.
@Mehedi Hasan Some distros do a better job at setting up than others so you could try alternatives on usb and see how they perform. Besides that its basically a separate support process for every machine & distro to optimise graphics, so finding a support thread that is relevant to your hardware is the first step and often possible with a popular distro. In firefox about:config enabling gfx.webrender.all and gfx.x11-egl.force-enable can make a difference. My lowish powered Intel Haswell cpu&graphics laptop plays videos better in Manjaro KDE than Win10.
@Mehedi Hasan My main TH-cam machine is an HP Stream Netbook powered by an Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N3060 @ 1.60GHz. Running the Xfce version of Mint, it works very nicely for playing TH-cam videos from the Google Chrome browser.
@Mehedi Hasan It's not a universal thing, just like in windows you will need browser specific, and maybe even graphics card/CPU specific instructions. I would start at the user forum of whatever browser you are using.
Please can I say to other boomers like myself not to be afraid of the change, it’s great fun learning. Christopher's video on the Linux Terminal is possibly the best one on TH-cam, it’s simple, logical and gives the important core instructions.
Hey, I'm a boomer, and I switched to Linux just before Windows 10 came out! I nuked windows completely and broke the installation disks! Not only did I hear about M$'s intentions, but I read the EULA, all 40+ pages, and was like "Hell no!". It didn't take me that long to learn Linux and have a stable worry free system, having no windows to fall back on forced me to get with the program: Best computing decision I ever made!
@@Bob-of-Zoid Was more gradual for me, but I see clearly what you mean. If anyone asked me to get back to Windows, I would really laugh for such an idea :D That would be like going back from a Tesla to Model T. It had it's time, thank you, but it is over.
Testing linux distro is fun. Lots of different UI to choose from. Currently i am using Fedora 34 on my Raspberry pi 4B. A good introduction to linux for new user.
RaspbianOS is also a good introduction, with lots of tools pre-installed, like Python, Mathematica, Wolfram, Scratch, and other program learning tools, along with dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of educational websites to take you from knowing nothing, to well on your way...
I tried an actual distro on my pi4 (I think it was majaro xfce) and it felt really sluggish, it had some processes taking up 90% of the cpu for a long time so I ended up going back to rasberrypi os, it boots as fast as my main pc that has an ssd and is just silky smooth. really was put off testing other distros
@@Mmmm_tea The official Fedora pi version have the same sluggish problem. I download a modify version. So far so good. Audio is ok for steaming and playback.
You can actually install pretty much whatever desktop you want without changing distros. On my laptop I have pop_os as my distro which comes with it's own desktop, but I also installed Cinnamon for when I'm running with just the laptop monitor because I prefer that desktop manager sometimes, and when I'm plugged in at the office I'm hooked up to multiple monitors and use i3wm which is a window manager rather than a desktop manager (no menus or shortcut icons). You can change desktops just by logging out and logging back in under that desktop. When I installed linux for a young friend headed to college I installed linux Cinnamon plus 6 or 7 different desktops so she could play with each and figure out which she liked best.
been testing 20.1 on an older machine.. and so far it's been flawless on the hardware. I have to say I'm impressed.. only one warning.. if updating the xfce version from 19 to 20 make sure you have no desktop customisations which WILL break your fonts.. nobody on the internet seems to have a solution.. look in your .config xfce files and where it says anything about fonts (xml files.. easy enough) make sure it says "empty" rather than any font being defined
Mint is decent. But not the only one. I would strongly advise beginners to take Mint, yes. Was struggling with Ubuntu after they went away from normal desktop, made some startup cluttering and the last drip was piece of garbage called Snap. They became the new Microsoft. Making my choice less, doing some stuff without my permission, making duplicates of unnecessary software take spaceon my disk, making startup of a browser on nvme like on a floppy etc. Now I am free again. My PC just works.
4 years passed very quickly, I work in fields related to video games development and animation, the lack of empathy of win11 led the company I work to switch 80% to Linux this year-end (only the localization team is half out), predictions indicate a 7% reduction in monthly expenses. A part of the team worked with Linux for 2 years or more at this time. Anticipating the next 3 years with win11 wouldn't be strange that other companies consider the same. Your videos are a constant reference, thank you very much.
I have a feeling that a lot of my clients are going to be switching to Linux as the end of life of Windows 10 gets nearer. If they need a primer on Linux I can send them here. Great video as always Chris.
My sense is that even Microsoft has come to realize that Windows as a product for the masses of general computer users is nearing its end of life. Permanently. Their actions seem to support that. Windows 11 can only be installed on severely restricted hardware. Windows 365 PC Cloud available for those who need only the occasional Windows-like experience, accesses through lightweight devices. Or Linux. And how can their exorbitantly overpriced Office suite, including annual rental, compete with Libre Office Which I now use exclusively, excepting occasionally for Office 4.5 from the 90's.
@@KameraShy I'd add that many 'mainstream' users are happy enough just using their smartphones for personal stuff. Microsoft pivoting to online services with a more corporate-oriented focus is a savvy move. Oh, is LibreOffice's compatibility with MS Office documents 100% yet? I remember having a bunch of formatting issues when using it, although admittedly that was pre-DOCX.
Started out with Mandrake back in the late 90's, but soon switched over to Xandros 2, then Xandros 3. From there went on to MANY other distros. Still had a Windows machine for 'certain' things I needed it for, but soon after learning all I needed too with Linux to get by without Windows, I did the complete switch. I probably couldn't use Windows today it's been so long. Linux has come a LONG way since it's beginnings.
I remember back in 1998, seeing Linux for the first time. My personal opinion was that it was not useful and usable for a mainstream audience... for the moment. I saw that it was the way forward, it just needed time to mature, and develop. This moment happened about a decade ago, in my reckoning. And since then, has become more and more mainstream friendly, too. Really glad, as it shows what people power can generate.
This series might be pretty important in the coming years as i suspect allot of people might want to jump ship considering how horrifc windows 11 is turning out and just generaly how windows has gotten worse over the years.
I kinda like Windows 10. In the end it became a pretty good OS. Windows 11 however forcing you to constantly be online to access your computer is just straight up bullshit. I've always used a local account and I will buy Windows 11 Pro if thats what it takes to do so. I'm never gonna daily drive Linux either for that matter. I'm currently trying to learn as much as I can about Linux. And the more I learn. The less likely it is to be a viable option.
I think you're right MISTER FIAT. In many respects I think Linux is far superior to Windows version 8 onwards (they are horrible), but while Linux is fine on a great deal of hardware it is not as reliable as Windows on the majority. This is perhaps not the the fault of Linux but the hardware manufacturers not making driver info available. Having an abundance of distro's is nice for geeks, but for the general public it can be very offputting and less choice might encourage uptake. Only time will tell...it's a shame Windows 7 (not 10) wasn't the final version of Windows...oh yeah, that didn't work out did it, lol.
I'd love to see this channel test out that windows FX as that will be one I'm sure alot of people will flock to when switching over for the first time as it'll be most familiar.
@@shadowarez1337 You could be right though I haven't even seen it myself. To be honest, almost every Linux distro out there is as close to Windows 10 as Windows 11 is, Ubuntu possibly one of the furthest removed and even that is easy to get used to (even if you don't like it). The biggest issues with moving to Linux isn't the GUI front-end (they aren't massivly removed from one another or Windows), it's the different ways that you go about the same tasks (such as installing software) and Christopher nailed the first one because Windows users are so used to dealing with drive letters and considering them very different entities to one another. Thanks for the heads-up on Windows FX, I'll have to check it out!
@@watsoft70 for me it was wrapping my head around the address changes like /etc /home and getting Linux to be able to read NTFS drives that what threw me for a loop. I kept going through Terminal as it felt like home to me.
Sir, I believe to have left my beginning days in Linux long behind me, but it’s still a pure joy to listen to your videos for the concise and well thought through information.
Once again, you have absolutely demonstrated the clarity and learning value of your presentational methods. I have also been "mucking about" with Linux for years but your distinction of "mountedness" for volumes even gave me an "aha" moment, allowing something to fall into place mentally that I can myself hopefully now use to pass on a knowledgeable enthusiasm for Linux. Thank you! 👍
I've already moved to Linux Mint Cinnamon a few years back but my wife and both daughters are wanting Windows 11. My oldest sister already got the Win11 update on her laptop.
I tried Win 11 three times because once you sign up to the Microsoft bumf it's a pain to get out, When running 11 i had issues playing videos on youtube in HD(couldn't get above 480P) and was completly locked out of facebook(i like the marketplace), To get rid of the microsoft bumf(win 11 updates) i had to reinstall win 10,Linux mint look good to me but i will buy a cheap laptop or desktop to test it out on first.
Great to hear that ChatGPT sent you here. :) There is indeed lots of Linux content -- there is a lot of all of my Linux videos on this page: www.explainingcomputers.com/linux_videos.html
So wish this was available back when I first dabbled in Linux, finally getting a distro with hardware support I needed back in 2008. Looking forward to the rest in this series.
There has been no real problem with Linux hardware for more than a decade now, probably even longer than that. Just for the record, there is a lot of older hardware (scanners, printers, etc.) that are no longer supported by Windows because they stopped making drivers back in the days of Windows XP or Windows 7. In most cases, that hardware will still work in Linux. Nobody in the Linux community has ever said that Linux supports ALL hardware, it just happens to support MOST of it. So that's therefore on you to do your research, exactly as you would expect anyone to do when they waste money buying a Windows computer that Microsoft then "rents" back to them, and to find out if what you plan to buy is fully supported by the OS that you going to run on it. Remember, Windows always has the advantage here because it's usually already the "parasite" OS that your computer comes with. If you're going to free yourself from your Microsoft abuser, you need to put in some of the leg work yourself - Google searches should tell you very quickly whether or not Linux supports a particular piece of hardware or computer system.
@@terrydaktyllus1320 We're talking circa 2003 so way more than the past decade (way back in the early days of Google even) 😀 But yeah, finally got away from Windows in 2008 for good and honestly have never looked back.
You know I have done IT work for 30yrs and I still enjoy watching your videos and then explanations you give. In the industry people no longer want to take the time to do that or for that matter to take time to listen about how it works. Thanks the video is appreciated
Your channel is one of the educational channels about computing on TH-cam. You give thorough explanations without getting too complex. Another excellent video!
Using Linux the first time is a survival guide. Using Linux for longer-term is a guide to thriving on your computing experience, *especially on older hardware.*
CB's mellifluous voice and confident presentation manner make it impossible to not click EC content; he's tamed a fair chunk of the internet (me included!). Another superior video. Thank you.
Yes, the distinct way of speech with specific pauses and slowdowns at start feels like strange. But when you get to the core, it is brilliant. And I have yet to spot any discrepancies :D The background work is superb. Looks like expert level knowledge over 10K hours. This is quality you don't get from paid courses.
I migrated to Linux Mint after watching some videos on this channel. And I have NEVER looked back. I will never go back to Windows. If I should absolutely need a windows software I can run Windows in a virtual machine. Thanks Chris for convincing me
This is exactly the video I needed to encourage me to try out Linux and 'start' the process. Before I'd keep seeing websites say "Just do it!" And I kept thinking there's no way it's that easy! Seeing EC in action showed me yes, it is that straightforward
Maybe a tree analogy would have helped to convey the difference between Windows and Linux? Windows is like multiple trees planted next to each other while Linux is more like trees being planted on another tree.
*DER RÜTTLER:* Yes, everything on Unix-like operating systems is represented by files that exist somewhere in or below the root of the filesystem. This is a crucial concept to understand when learning about Linux, etc.
@@jb888888888 Directories are trees in the computer science sense of the word: each directory either contains files (the leaves) or other directories (branches) that can lead to more files/directories. On Windows you have separate volumes parallel to each other (thus trees next to each other). On Linux you mount volumes somewhere on your root filesystem (thus trees on another tree).
Thank you for giving a plain and clear explanation on Linux systems as i am currently studying computer support technician course and part of the course covers Linux. After watching this video i have got a good idea on what Linux is and which system to download and install.
My introduction to linux was Raspian on a Pi 3B+. This gave me the confidence to try Mint on an old lap top. I now run Linux Mint Cinnamon as my main OS. I have been very happy with it.
I switched over only a few months ago (Debian) after wanting to do so for over a decade; as earlier I didn't have a computer I had full ownership of, or was always limited by things like low storage space of lack of internet. While I've become used to the ways in which information on common GNU/Linux procedures or problems are scattered across the web; I have always tried to find resources such as this, that are well prepared and explanatory, not just screenshots of code to use. So, thank you for the time and effort!
Aloha Chris. I wanted to thank you for help giving me the courage to make the jump to Linux a few years back when Windows 7 support from Microsoft stopped. I made the switch to Linux Mint Cinnamon, and used it up until a few months ago when I made the jump to Manajro. I wanted access to the AUR. I did not stay with Manjaro long though, as I found it troublesome for my workflow. A month ago I switched to EndeavourOS Cinnamon, and I have been very happy with it. Looking forward to the next in the series. When it is finished I plan on sharing it with a few friends who are currently on the fence about making the jump into Linux. Mahalo.
Mister Fiat is bang on the money. We learned to live with win10. win 11 is the last straw. I'm 'techy' enough to adopt Linux, but my wife isn't. So it is encouraging to see Linux distros stepping up to the mark for casual users. 3 years of further development before win10 eol, and I'm sure I can make it painless for her. Great job on this and all your videos.
@@ExplainingComputers I wonder, Chris, have you ever watched Linus Tech Tips? (Because, in case you haven't, that's the Linus and Luke that people are referring to. And, no, not "the other Linus" we're usually talking about with Linux.) Basically, with the coming of the Steam Deck, there's been talk in gaming circles about Linux and Proton - will everyone be able to play all their games on Linux? - and this lead to them, in their "WAN show" podcast, deciding to do a "Linux challenge". Both of them will attempt to use Linux as their daily driver OS and the first one who gives up will have to do a forfeit (don't know if they've yet decided what that forfeit will be). While Luke has previously used some Linux Mint (but quite a long time ago), Linus is coming at this completely fresh (well, they use some Linux for their servers, but he's never daily driven any Linux). This is generating some buzz, as Linus Tech Tips has 14 million subscribers. It's one of the biggest tech channels out there - with a hardware and gaming focus - and they're going to be having a video series about their "Linux challenge", which'll be viewed by millions of people. It's going to be big exposure for the process of transitioning over to Linux, to a more general "gamer" audience. Yes, Valve's Steam Deck is really generating a buzz around Linux, just exactly as Windows 11 is turning people off. This probably is the best time - Algorithm-wise - to be making content like this, as you'll possibly be getting some "recommendation" hits to your videos for this. It'll be "the year of the Linux desktop" one of these days, I tell you. One of these days. ;D
@@klaxoncow Thanks for this. I do keep an eye on Linus Tech Tips, but had not come across their Linux challenge until it was pointed out yesterday, as there is no video with an associated title on the main channel. Interesting times for Linux indeed! :)
Thanks for another easy to understand video, looking forward to more. Years ago I replaced my Windows 7 computer with a new machine. I took out the HDD in the old computer and replaced it with a new drive, in case I needed to go back to windows 7. I loaded different distributions on the new HDD to learn about Linux. I could keep my daily usage on the new windows machine and not worry about breaking the old computer as I was learning how to use the different distributions of Linux. : )
Thanks so much for making these videos! This household has been standing on the brink of the world beyond windows for some time now. Your explanations inspire courage to actually make the leap.
Great, looking forward to further episodes! Linux would be a 'wise' move for those who are concerned about privacy and security. I've been trying out Ubuntu Touch on a spare smartphone. Promising and slowly 'getting there'. The many Linux Distros are amazing. I installed Kali Linux on an older a ThinkPad T430 as a backup machine - just to experiment with the various tools and to teach myself something about Pen testing. Perhaps the single most amazing thing about Linux is the actual Linux community and the unparalleled generosity of those who provide this software , for the most part, for free. That alone blows my mind!
I wish I had this video 15 years ago. Like always well thought out. It took me a couple tries to understand drives coming from windows. Thanks for sharing!
You wouldn't like the way Linus Torvalds (the father of Linux) originally pronounced it then... He changed the way he pronounce it to ease communication with developers etc. and he has explicitly stated that there are many ways to correctly pronounce it.
As a full time Linux user, I still watch EC's videos just because of entertainment. Outstanding educational content for new users. Keep up the great work!
I have decided that, unless MS removes the useless and HW vendor favoring restrictions on 11, I'm moving to Linux when 10 support ends. So, this is very useful and very helpful. THANKS Chris. Well done.
Probably a good idea to start a soft move already. I decided the same, and currently using only software that are Linux compatible. I don't think I will move to Win 11 even if they remove the arbitrary limitation. Linux is maturing fast.
Thanks, Chris - this is exactly the content that I need right now. I am beginning the transition from Windows to Linux (well not me but my PC!). Look forward to the next video in the series. 😊😊
I'm transitioning from Windows to Linux using Oracle Virtualbox. The transition is fairly straightforward but the applications represent another hurdle. Linux has just about every application has and this road, like a distrobution has its snags. The first breakthrough in ANY contecx, whether choosing a distro or application, is using a well defined manual that explains the terminology with examples. I do this for a hobby because at 71 years old it reminds me of learning DOS when I was 30 years old. For sure, there is nothing new in this world except change. No one ask for this free information but if I had a do-over I would focus on cyber security with a heavy background in Linux. Don't get bogged down with applications, unless you need it, but focus on cyberspace. BTW, I watch Explaining Computers each Sunday night in Birmingham Al and really give a thumbs up with each episode. Thanks everyone. Jesus is "my Lord".
Excellent! You are an absolute expert in describing things at a level that clears up questions and doesn't generate more. This video was a good initial topic to cover as it is one of the most confusing aspects of Linux for the Windows user should they need to move from the file explorer to the command line. Looking forward to each presentation in the series.
You are The Man. I thought many times in migrate some users to Linux, but they want always the basic tasks that are "simple" and easy to achieve in Windows: create/manage MS-Office documents and PDFs, configure a multifunction printer too for normal tasks in a office environment, transfer photos and music from/to their Mobile Phones, connect to wi-fi networks, make video meetings with Skype/Zoom/Webex/Teams, etc. My fears come imaginate them calling me constantly for help by a strange and difficult OS to live with.
As I long time Linux user myself I couldn't have explained it to a newbie as well as you did, Chris! I always create a separate /home partition though so my settings and data don't get lost (fingers crossed) if I change distros or do an upgrade. I hope this video encourages more people to give Linux a try. Linux Mint Cinnamon is bang-on for a first timer to try, I wouldn't recommend vanilla Ubuntu though to anybody. Looking forward to the next video!
I am so thankful you have begun this. I was thinking about such a series when you asked for input and I don't remember if I responded. I have put this off far too long. Sincerest thanks.
Excellent overview. As a Linux "enthusiast" (nut). as well as a Raspberry Pi "enthusiast" (nut), (and a nut, er.. eccentric, in general), I always enjoy this kind of excursion as they usually include some nuggets of info that I can add to my limited body of "knowledge". This is the case here. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks, Chris.
Brilliant idea for a series, and a nice video. Only mistake I picked up was "Init system takes over once the bootloader has finished". Bootloader -> Linux Kernel -> Init System. Init takes over once the kernel has control of the harware, and starts it. However it wouldn't have fitted so nicely onto that ace slide you did.
@gilkesisking I don't use initramfs systems, I specifically compile support for that out of kernels. I prefer to have nfsroot compiled in. Either way the initramfs is only loaded into memory by the bootloader, so that it's memory address can be passed to the kernel for the kernel to execute the contents, after it has taken control of the hardware. bootloader stage1 loaded by BIOS/UEFI (from disk boot record(s)) -> bootloader stage1 loads bootloader stage 2 (think lilo/grub menu system, that's what stage2 provides) -> bootloader stage2 loads kernel and associated dependencies (initramfs) -> bootloader stage2 execs the kernel base load address. -> Kernel start (read in commandline arguments) -> hardware discovery + driver/firmware load -> call to init (either in initramfs (for rc exec to load anything required to access the rootfs, or maybe as an install/rescue system)), or on the rootfs. If extra drivers/firmware was required from an initramfs, pivot root to rootfs in the VFS. But all of that rather misses the point of the series, which is to make Linux understandable to normal (what ever normal is) people. So far the minor mistake I got is utterly irrelevant to 'normal people'. So I should shut up.
Chris I would encourage your followers who are using Win10 to take an old laptop or desktop and put Linux Mint 20 on it. Using both Win10 and Linux Mint concurrently is the best way to transition. What you find over time is that you can do 80% of what you do in Win10 on Linux Mint. Thanks for another great video!
Although Windows, by default, mounts each drive (or each drive's volume) as a unique drive letter, you can configure any drive to be mounted Linux style (you can have Windows mount a drive to any location you choose, via Disk Management -- which requires administrator rights). Although it is a simple process, it is not as simple as connecting the dots. You kind of need to know the Windows procedure. Once your USB drive (for example) is plugged in: You must first tell Windows (via Disk Management) to remove the drive letter. You then tell Windows (via Disk Management) to mount the drive via an NTFS mount point. That mount point must be an empty directory. Once mounted, that mount point (that directory) becomes an NTFS junction (pointing to some cryptic target, which I do not understand). But once set, your USB drive will now sit in the directory of your choice. When you go to that directory, you will be on your USB drive. This might be handy for someone that is running out of drive letters, or... this might be handy for someone that does not want to remember several drive letters, and would rather have directories that have meaningful names, where each directory is a different USB drive. Cheers!
This was also useful to me running Windows Media Center on Windows 7. I didn't want all the recorded videos to be stored on the boot partition in case I had to re-install Windows. Making the "C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV" folder a shortcut to the video storage area didn't work, so I simply mounted my big (4GB) hard drive partition on top of "C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV".
Because I watch your educational videos and have an old dell optiplex pc and no place to,put a removable disk bay, I bought a disk extension cable so I can plug hard drives with out keep taking the PC to bits. I bought some cheap 2.5 inch used disk drives so that I can try the distros I see you use. It is not ideal having the hard disk next to the pc but it gives me pleasure and seeing the different distributions.
Congratulations for this great video, 889 comments in 24 hours is rarely seen and it shows the quality that you put into your videos. This video is indeed the only explaining properly and clearly the distros that are the easiest and most stable for Windows users to switch to. The Linux distros are so numerous!!!! It is a real challenge but you clearly summarise it very well. Zorin 16 is said to be the top one that does not fault or crash followed by Elementary OS. The next task will be to multi boot Windows and Linus distros.
Great video Chris! Please cover security in Linux and discuss firewall and AV options (and perhaps the circumstances in which they may be needed, particularly AV software). Thanks.
@@ExplainingComputers On the topic of security, perhaps an idea for a future episode....making a TRUE random number generator wich writes to xlsx-format??
Thank you so much for this video! I have been toying with various distros over the years and very few videos go to the bother of explain what the terminal commands and values actually mean!
Awesome stuff. I have a friend thinking of leaving windows and I wanna make sure her transition is as smooth as possible. This video will help a lot. Thanks a lot!
the way Linux handles drives kept it from being a daily driver for the longest time, I used two previous operating systems that were designed in the 80s that JUST mount valid drives automatically they both either assigned a drive letter or a drive name, its good that most linux distros are auto mounting now and putting it front and center in some cases, though I still miss the drive letters!
Windows drive letters used to annoy the hell out of me since it assign drive letters according to the sequence that the device is plugged in. On a standard Windows install, it is usually A, C, D and then whatever was plugged in next instead of the Linux way of showing the partition name, so E, F etc. can be anything.
You're not alone. Old habits die hard. I switched to Linux 4-5 years back when I couldn't see any usefulness in all the telemetry etc. that Microsoft suddenly installed without notice. I sometimes miss the paradigm of storage volumes represented by separate device icons each with their own directory structures inside their own root directory separate from everything else. The Unix/Linux way of representing the system and it's drives is far superior in many ways for power users though.
Drive letters are a legacy thing that are just being dragged around by microsoft. Does anyone still use floppy drives A and B? Linux and Unix have had their file system arrangement for a long time and it has stood the test of time.
@@tbone9900 the other operating system I used before microsoft stuff was amiga workbench in the late 90s (though it dates back to the 80s and has some unix roots afaik) it had drive names such as df0 for the first floppy drive, hd0 for the hard drive incrementing the number but it also had a command "assign" so you could do something like "assign system: hd0:" then you could access the drive under system: or its device name hd0: that is what really got me hooked on driver "letters" the Microsoft version was inferior but still kept me in the habit
Your channel is one of the most informative and useful in all of TH-cam. Thank you for your content and the education you so clearly and expertly provide. Whenever I need a bit of encouragement in my quest to learn about technology I watch your channel. It helps every time.
Your videos are surprisingly easy to understand, thank you very much. I've started with Ubuntu, from there I moved to fedora, mint os, elementary os and finally reaching Zorin os which feels like home to me😊
It's interesting. You try one and you can say immediately "nope, i can't work with it". The others "if i have to, then maybe". And the third "that's nice, i can stick with it".
I choose Kubuntu for my HP laptop because it knew the keyboard mappings for volume control 'out of the box', you know what Im saying? sometimes a glass slipper just fits!
i hope you can eventually take a look at kde, lxde and other desktop environments, gnome is decent, but there are better nicer ones i always heard that debian is too complex for beginners, right now mint is my beginners recommended distro
@@arch1107 i did take a look at all the linux desktops Kde was good but too unstable on 13 year old hardware Xfce 4.16 is horrible compared to 4.14 Lxde doesnt have enough apps for it Patheon performs terribly on xorg(hope they move to wayland soon) Again its mostly my horrible hardware and i will move to kde once i get a better pc
Thanks for the video Christoper i'm looking forward to the next videos, I like the look of Linux Mint Cinnamon but feel i need more info before making the change.
I too very much favour the Oxford comma, especially in technology writing where lists can have complex compound terms, even though it is frowned on by UK copy editors! :)
@@ExplainingComputers _et al:_ According to the OED, the Oxford comma is purely a matter of personal preference for British English, and compulsory for American English. Full stops do indeed go inside quotes, so Warren Gibson is correct. Another one is -ize versus -ise, where the rules for this are the same as for the Oxford comma. :-)
@@cdl0 The "z" spellings are easier for me -- I've published a lot of books that end up on the business shelves, where "organization" is more commonly used than "organisation" (very different to in economics publishing). And most of my book sales have been in the United States, so for a couple of decades no desk or copy editor has even attempted to argue for "s" based spellings. :)
Back in the day, my favorite Linux distro was Red Hat. But then they went all "enterprise" on us and stopped doing distros that the average person could deal with. I guess Ubuntu would count as my go-to distro now, since they seem to have great support, at least so far.
clear & concise expo of Linux file system, which I've always found confusing: thanks. Noobs should get a Usb of Mint: Mint install is smooth: Mint Cinnamon has the bigest memory footprint & the most utilities Xfce has the smallest memory footprint & fewer utils.
Microsoft did some fantastic Linux advertising with Windows 11. I even heard a luddite political commentator I listen to saying he has to learn how to use it!
Excellent teaching video Christopher. A person can use Linux on just a USB or DVD by themselves without putting them on the Hard Drive. Linux also gives one the option to use a Dual Boot. Then there is also the VirtualBox. I know you will go over all this later. My favorite versions are ZorinOS, Lubuntu, and Mint is good also. I am using an old laptop w x64, so a 64 Bit, (ZorinOS Core), does not run as well as Zorin Lite. My favorite old laptop I use Linux on is a Toshiba A215, 1.9 GHz AMD 64x, 4 GB, and a Toshiba 500 GB External Drive. I have Lubuntu 18.04, and Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, Longhorn, ReactOS, and Haiku. All as up to date as one can get.
A timely video given the controversy surrounding Windows 11 and many people considering the switch to Linux as a result, I can see this series being very useful and popular for those who do move away from Windows in the coming years Chris.
EC videos are always so clear and thorough, so although I've learned to use Linux by trial and error and gone through all the stages presented here, I still learned something new and useful, and enjoyed watching the whole thing. Very much looking forward to the rest of this series, as well as any new videos by EC.
Hear hear!
Agreed
Another fine example of your ability to articulate the intricacies of the computing environment in terms that most lay computer users should find understandable.
Yes indeed. An excellent presentation, thanks very much Christopher.
I agree it’s very straightforward
In a previous video, you detailed the steps necessary to convert an older Windows laptop with meager resources into a functioning Linux laptop. I followed your instructions and the result was a new Linux laptop.
Thanks so much for all your work.
Glad to hear that you've managed to breath new life into older hardware.
@@ExplainingComputers I managed to do something similar with a HP t620+ thin client
@Mehedi Hasan Some distros do a better job at setting up than others so you could try alternatives on usb and see how they perform. Besides that its basically a separate support process for every machine & distro to optimise graphics, so finding a support thread that is relevant to your hardware is the first step and often possible with a popular distro. In firefox about:config enabling gfx.webrender.all and gfx.x11-egl.force-enable can make a difference. My lowish powered Intel Haswell cpu&graphics laptop plays videos better in Manjaro KDE than Win10.
@Mehedi Hasan My main TH-cam machine is an HP Stream Netbook powered by an Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N3060 @ 1.60GHz. Running the Xfce version of Mint, it works very nicely for playing TH-cam videos from the Google Chrome browser.
@Mehedi Hasan It's not a universal thing, just like in windows you will need browser specific, and maybe even graphics card/CPU specific instructions. I would start at the user forum of whatever browser you are using.
Please can I say to other boomers like myself not to be afraid of the change, it’s great fun learning. Christopher's video on the Linux Terminal is possibly the best one on TH-cam, it’s simple, logical and gives the important core instructions.
Hey, I'm a boomer, and I switched to Linux just before Windows 10 came out! I nuked windows completely and broke the installation disks! Not only did I hear about M$'s intentions, but I read the EULA, all 40+ pages, and was like "Hell no!". It didn't take me that long to learn Linux and have a stable worry free system, having no windows to fall back on forced me to get with the program: Best computing decision I ever made!
@@Bob-of-Zoid Was more gradual for me, but I see clearly what you mean. If anyone asked me to get back to Windows, I would really laugh for such an idea :D That would be like going back from a Tesla to Model T. It had it's time, thank you, but it is over.
Testing linux distro is fun. Lots of different UI to choose from. Currently i am using Fedora 34 on my Raspberry pi 4B. A good introduction to linux for new user.
RaspbianOS is also a good introduction, with lots of tools pre-installed, like Python, Mathematica, Wolfram, Scratch, and other program learning tools, along with dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of educational websites to take you from knowing nothing, to well on your way...
I tried an actual distro on my pi4 (I think it was majaro xfce) and it felt really sluggish, it had some processes taking up 90% of the cpu for a long time so I ended up going back to rasberrypi os, it boots as fast as my main pc that has an ssd and is just silky smooth. really was put off testing other distros
@@Mmmm_tea The official Fedora pi version have the same sluggish problem. I download a modify version. So far so good. Audio is ok for steaming and playback.
You can actually install pretty much whatever desktop you want without changing distros. On my laptop I have pop_os as my distro which comes with it's own desktop, but I also installed Cinnamon for when I'm running with just the laptop monitor because I prefer that desktop manager sometimes, and when I'm plugged in at the office I'm hooked up to multiple monitors and use i3wm which is a window manager rather than a desktop manager (no menus or shortcut icons). You can change desktops just by logging out and logging back in under that desktop. When I installed linux for a young friend headed to college I installed linux Cinnamon plus 6 or 7 different desktops so she could play with each and figure out which she liked best.
I am very impressed by the Raspberry Pi 4. Works so well.
Using Mint for years now and enjoying it.
Same!
Though I might try Zorin to see if it can really run Windoze programs without a lot of fuss.
@@fredashay what kind of issues? i have problems with delayed mouse reaction.
been testing 20.1 on an older machine.. and so far it's been flawless on the hardware. I have to say I'm impressed.. only one warning.. if updating the xfce version from 19 to 20 make sure you have no desktop customisations which WILL break your fonts.. nobody on the internet seems to have a solution.. look in your .config xfce files and where it says anything about fonts (xml files.. easy enough) make sure it says "empty" rather than any font being defined
i used fedora for some time in both kde and default de, then moved to mint, yes, is nicer, simpler and easier to maintain in my opinion
Mint is decent. But not the only one. I would strongly advise beginners to take Mint, yes.
Was struggling with Ubuntu after they went away from normal desktop, made some startup cluttering and the last drip was piece of garbage called Snap. They became the new Microsoft. Making my choice less, doing some stuff without my permission, making duplicates of unnecessary software take spaceon my disk, making startup of a browser on nvme like on a floppy etc. Now I am free again. My PC just works.
I like this kind of videos encouraging people to switch to Linux
4 years passed very quickly, I work in fields related to video games development and animation, the lack of empathy of win11 led the company I work to switch 80% to Linux this year-end (only the localization team is half out), predictions indicate a 7% reduction in monthly expenses. A part of the team worked with Linux for 2 years or more at this time. Anticipating the next 3 years with win11 wouldn't be strange that other companies consider the same. Your videos are a constant reference, thank you very much.
Very interesting to hear.
I have a feeling that a lot of my clients are going to be switching to Linux as the end of life of Windows 10 gets nearer. If they need a primer on Linux I can send them here. Great video as always Chris.
I guess your clients do not like Windows 11 I assume then?
Yes, I added this to my "Intro to Linux" lesson plans
Windows 10 was originally touted as the last version of Windows, I believe. ;-)
My sense is that even Microsoft has come to realize that Windows as a product for the masses of general computer users is nearing its end of life. Permanently. Their actions seem to support that. Windows 11 can only be installed on severely restricted hardware. Windows 365 PC Cloud available for those who need only the occasional Windows-like experience, accesses through lightweight devices. Or Linux. And how can their exorbitantly overpriced Office suite, including annual rental, compete with Libre Office Which I now use exclusively, excepting occasionally for Office 4.5 from the 90's.
@@KameraShy I'd add that many 'mainstream' users are happy enough just using their smartphones for personal stuff. Microsoft pivoting to online services with a more corporate-oriented focus is a savvy move.
Oh, is LibreOffice's compatibility with MS Office documents 100% yet? I remember having a bunch of formatting issues when using it, although admittedly that was pre-DOCX.
Started out with Mandrake back in the late 90's, but soon switched over to Xandros 2, then Xandros 3. From there went on to MANY other distros. Still had a Windows machine for 'certain' things I needed it for, but soon after learning all I needed too with Linux to get by without Windows, I did the complete switch. I probably couldn't use Windows today it's been so long. Linux has come a LONG way since it's beginnings.
I remember back in 1998, seeing Linux for the first time. My personal opinion was that it was not useful and usable for a mainstream audience... for the moment. I saw that it was the way forward, it just needed time to mature, and develop.
This moment happened about a decade ago, in my reckoning. And since then, has become more and more mainstream friendly, too.
Really glad, as it shows what people power can generate.
This series might be pretty important in the coming years as i suspect allot of people might want to jump ship considering how horrifc windows 11 is turning out and just generaly how windows has gotten worse over the years.
I kinda like Windows 10. In the end it became a pretty good OS.
Windows 11 however forcing you to constantly be online to access your computer is just straight up bullshit.
I've always used a local account and I will buy Windows 11 Pro if thats what it takes to do so.
I'm never gonna daily drive Linux either for that matter. I'm currently trying to learn as much as I can about Linux. And the more I learn. The less likely it is to be a viable option.
I think you're right MISTER FIAT. In many respects I think Linux is far superior to Windows version 8 onwards (they are horrible), but while Linux is fine on a great deal of hardware it is not as reliable as Windows on the majority. This is perhaps not the the fault of Linux but the hardware manufacturers not making driver info available. Having an abundance of distro's is nice for geeks, but for the general public it can be very offputting and less choice might encourage uptake. Only time will tell...it's a shame Windows 7 (not 10) wasn't the final version of Windows...oh yeah, that didn't work out did it, lol.
I'd love to see this channel test out that windows FX as that will be one I'm sure alot of people will flock to when switching over for the first time as it'll be most familiar.
@@shadowarez1337 You could be right though I haven't even seen it myself. To be honest, almost every Linux distro out there is as close to Windows 10 as Windows 11 is, Ubuntu possibly one of the furthest removed and even that is easy to get used to (even if you don't like it). The biggest issues with moving to Linux isn't the GUI front-end (they aren't massivly removed from one another or Windows), it's the different ways that you go about the same tasks (such as installing software) and Christopher nailed the first one because Windows users are so used to dealing with drive letters and considering them very different entities to one another. Thanks for the heads-up on Windows FX, I'll have to check it out!
@@watsoft70 for me it was wrapping my head around the address changes like /etc /home and getting Linux to be able to read NTFS drives that what threw me for a loop.
I kept going through Terminal as it felt like home to me.
I switched to Linux 10 years ago - never looked back and it's free (a donation is nice). All the best, Beamer.
Thanks for supporting Linux, Chris. God bless you my friend. Keep up the great work 👍
As a big Linux fan I love this idea for a series and this video is a great start.
Sir, I believe to have left my beginning days in Linux long behind me, but it’s still a pure joy to listen to your videos for the concise and well thought through information.
I've been using Linux Mint for a number of years and I'm completely satisfied...
Very stable and has many applications...
Once again, you have absolutely demonstrated the clarity and learning value of your presentational methods. I have also been "mucking about" with Linux for years but your distinction of "mountedness" for volumes even gave me an "aha" moment, allowing something to fall into place mentally that I can myself hopefully now use to pass on a knowledgeable enthusiasm for Linux. Thank you! 👍
This is a fantastic introduction for beginners. This comment to just help spread the word.
Much appreciated!
Windows 11 genuinely worries me. I will be moving to Linux on the day Windows 10 is no longer supported.
this video is very well timed indeed.
I've already moved to Linux Mint Cinnamon a few years back but my wife and both daughters are wanting Windows 11. My oldest sister already got the Win11 update on her laptop.
It genuinely worries me that a multi billion dollar company thinks its acceptable to have 3 settings windows (yes there are 3 now).
I tried Win 11 three times because once you sign up to the Microsoft bumf it's a pain to get out, When running 11 i had issues playing videos on youtube in HD(couldn't get above 480P) and was completly locked out of facebook(i like the marketplace), To get rid of the microsoft bumf(win 11 updates) i had to reinstall win 10,Linux mint look good to me but i will buy a cheap laptop or desktop to test it out on first.
No, you won't.
chatgpt suggested me this channel for linux and i was stunned by the clarity of explanation.
Great to hear that ChatGPT sent you here. :) There is indeed lots of Linux content -- there is a lot of all of my Linux videos on this page: www.explainingcomputers.com/linux_videos.html
So wish this was available back when I first dabbled in Linux, finally getting a distro with hardware support I needed back in 2008. Looking forward to the rest in this series.
There has been no real problem with Linux hardware for more than a decade now, probably even longer than that.
Just for the record, there is a lot of older hardware (scanners, printers, etc.) that are no longer supported by Windows because they stopped making drivers back in the days of Windows XP or Windows 7. In most cases, that hardware will still work in Linux.
Nobody in the Linux community has ever said that Linux supports ALL hardware, it just happens to support MOST of it. So that's therefore on you to do your research, exactly as you would expect anyone to do when they waste money buying a Windows computer that Microsoft then "rents" back to them, and to find out if what you plan to buy is fully supported by the OS that you going to run on it.
Remember, Windows always has the advantage here because it's usually already the "parasite" OS that your computer comes with. If you're going to free yourself from your Microsoft abuser, you need to put in some of the leg work yourself - Google searches should tell you very quickly whether or not Linux supports a particular piece of hardware or computer system.
@@terrydaktyllus1320 We're talking circa 2003 so way more than the past decade (way back in the early days of Google even) 😀 But yeah, finally got away from Windows in 2008 for good and honestly have never looked back.
You know I have done IT work for 30yrs and I still enjoy watching your videos and then explanations you give. In the industry people no longer want to take the time to do that or for that matter to take time to listen about how it works. Thanks the video is appreciated
Your channel is one of the educational channels about computing on TH-cam. You give thorough explanations without getting too complex. Another excellent video!
As a Linux only user since 20 years i find this video very informative.
This is inspiring, keep this series up!
Using Linux the first time is a survival guide. Using Linux for longer-term is a guide to thriving on your computing experience, *especially on older hardware.*
CB's mellifluous voice and confident presentation manner make it impossible to not click EC content; he's tamed a fair chunk of the internet (me included!). Another superior video. Thank you.
Yes, the distinct way of speech with specific pauses and slowdowns at start feels like strange. But when you get to the core, it is brilliant. And I have yet to spot any discrepancies :D The background work is superb. Looks like expert level knowledge over 10K hours. This is quality you don't get from paid courses.
I migrated to Linux Mint after watching some videos on this channel. And I have NEVER looked back. I will never go back to Windows. If I should absolutely need a windows software I can run Windows in a virtual machine. Thanks Chris for convincing me
Well, you can say no more than this! :)
Just yesterday I really got fed up with windows and thought about actually moving over to Linux. Great timing!
This is exactly the video I needed to encourage me to try out Linux and 'start' the process. Before I'd keep seeing websites say "Just do it!" And I kept thinking there's no way it's that easy! Seeing EC in action showed me yes, it is that straightforward
I shall certainly recommend this series to those who've asked me about Linux, both those who have already tried it, and those yet to try.
I already switched to Ubuntu a week ago and I'm already reaping the benefits. Linux rocks!
Maybe a tree analogy would have helped to convey the difference between Windows and Linux? Windows is like multiple trees planted next to each other while Linux is more like trees being planted on another tree.
Nice.
*DER RÜTTLER:* Yes, everything on Unix-like operating systems is represented by files that exist somewhere in or below the root of the filesystem. This is a crucial concept to understand when learning about Linux, etc.
I think that having a visual that showed the difference would have been valuable.
You know, "show, don't tell" and all that.
I've been using Linux for close to 10 years now and I have no idea what that analogy is supposed to mean.
@@jb888888888 Directories are trees in the computer science sense of the word: each directory either contains files (the leaves) or other directories (branches) that can lead to more files/directories.
On Windows you have separate volumes parallel to each other (thus trees next to each other).
On Linux you mount volumes somewhere on your root filesystem (thus trees on another tree).
Thank you for giving a plain and clear explanation on Linux systems as i am currently studying computer support technician course and part of the course covers Linux. After watching this video i have got a good idea on what Linux is and which system to download and install.
My introduction to linux was Raspian on a Pi 3B+. This gave me the confidence to try Mint on an old lap top. I now run Linux Mint Cinnamon as my main OS. I have been very happy with it.
I think a lot of people have gone this route -- the Pi provides a great "learn Linux without risking messing your PC" platform.
I switched over only a few months ago (Debian) after wanting to do so for over a decade; as earlier I didn't have a computer I had full ownership of, or was always limited by things like low storage space of lack of internet. While I've become used to the ways in which information on common GNU/Linux procedures or problems are scattered across the web; I have always tried to find resources such as this, that are well prepared and explanatory, not just screenshots of code to use.
So, thank you for the time and effort!
My nerdy side really looks forward to Sunday evenings, and another video from you. Thanks for another good one.
Thanks for demystifying Linux for those of us who want to migrate.
Aloha Chris. I wanted to thank you for help giving me the courage to make the jump to Linux a few years back when Windows 7 support from Microsoft stopped. I made the switch to Linux Mint Cinnamon, and used it up until a few months ago when I made the jump to Manajro. I wanted access to the AUR. I did not stay with Manjaro long though, as I found it troublesome for my workflow. A month ago I switched to EndeavourOS Cinnamon, and I have been very happy with it. Looking forward to the next in the series. When it is finished I plan on sharing it with a few friends who are currently on the fence about making the jump into Linux. Mahalo.
Mister Fiat is bang on the money. We learned to live with win10. win 11 is the last straw. I'm 'techy' enough to adopt Linux, but my wife isn't. So it is encouraging to see Linux distros stepping up to the mark for casual users. 3 years of further development before win10 eol, and I'm sure I can make it painless for her. Great job on this and all your videos.
I love that you put this out right when Linus and Luke from LTT are doing a Linux challenge.
You are the second person to mention this, but I did not know!
@@ExplainingComputers Well the stars aligned on this. I think it will be super helpful to the influx of new Linux users.
ROFL... was thinking the same; they should have contacted you beforehands 😁
@@ExplainingComputers I wonder, Chris, have you ever watched Linus Tech Tips?
(Because, in case you haven't, that's the Linus and Luke that people are referring to. And, no, not "the other Linus" we're usually talking about with Linux.)
Basically, with the coming of the Steam Deck, there's been talk in gaming circles about Linux and Proton - will everyone be able to play all their games on Linux? - and this lead to them, in their "WAN show" podcast, deciding to do a "Linux challenge".
Both of them will attempt to use Linux as their daily driver OS and the first one who gives up will have to do a forfeit (don't know if they've yet decided what that forfeit will be). While Luke has previously used some Linux Mint (but quite a long time ago), Linus is coming at this completely fresh (well, they use some Linux for their servers, but he's never daily driven any Linux).
This is generating some buzz, as Linus Tech Tips has 14 million subscribers. It's one of the biggest tech channels out there - with a hardware and gaming focus - and they're going to be having a video series about their "Linux challenge", which'll be viewed by millions of people. It's going to be big exposure for the process of transitioning over to Linux, to a more general "gamer" audience.
Yes, Valve's Steam Deck is really generating a buzz around Linux, just exactly as Windows 11 is turning people off. This probably is the best time - Algorithm-wise - to be making content like this, as you'll possibly be getting some "recommendation" hits to your videos for this.
It'll be "the year of the Linux desktop" one of these days, I tell you. One of these days. ;D
@@klaxoncow Thanks for this. I do keep an eye on Linus Tech Tips, but had not come across their Linux challenge until it was pointed out yesterday, as there is no video with an associated title on the main channel. Interesting times for Linux indeed! :)
Thanks for another easy to understand video, looking forward to more.
Years ago I replaced my Windows 7 computer with a new machine.
I took out the HDD in the old computer and replaced it with a new drive,
in case I needed to go back to windows 7.
I loaded different distributions on the new HDD to learn about Linux.
I could keep my daily usage on the new windows machine and not worry
about breaking the old computer as I was learning how to use the different
distributions of Linux.
: )
Thanks so much for making these videos! This household has been standing on the brink of the world beyond windows for some time now. Your explanations inspire courage to actually make the leap.
I think this series of videos might be the most important for people to make there mind up about Windows.
Great, looking forward to further episodes! Linux would be a 'wise' move for those who are concerned about privacy and security. I've been trying out Ubuntu Touch on a spare smartphone. Promising and slowly 'getting there'. The many Linux Distros are amazing. I installed Kali Linux on an older a ThinkPad T430 as a backup machine - just to experiment with the various tools and to teach myself something about Pen testing. Perhaps the single most amazing thing about Linux is the actual Linux community and the unparalleled generosity of those who provide this software , for the most part, for free. That alone blows my mind!
I wish I had this video 15 years ago. Like always well thought out. It took me a couple tries to understand drives coming from windows. Thanks for sharing!
It is so nice to hear someone who can properly pronounce the word "Linux". I hate it so much when people say "LeeNeex" or "LeeNix"!
You wouldn't like the way Linus Torvalds (the father of Linux) originally pronounced it then...
He changed the way he pronounce it to ease communication with developers etc. and he has explicitly stated that there are many ways to correctly pronounce it.
As a full time Linux user, I still watch EC's videos just because of entertainment. Outstanding educational content for new users. Keep up the great work!
I have decided that, unless MS removes the useless and HW vendor favoring restrictions on 11, I'm moving to Linux when 10 support ends. So, this is very useful and very helpful. THANKS Chris. Well done.
Probably a good idea to start a soft move already. I decided the same, and currently using only software that are Linux compatible. I don't think I will move to Win 11 even if they remove the arbitrary limitation. Linux is maturing fast.
Just sent this to my manager. So he might finally understand what I've been talking about...
Thanks for the video, by the way.
Thanks, Chris - this is exactly the content that I need right now. I am beginning the transition from Windows to Linux (well not me but my PC!).
Look forward to the next video in the series. 😊😊
Good luck and happy Linux! Extreme Tux Racer is waiting for you!
I'm transitioning from Windows to Linux using Oracle Virtualbox. The transition is fairly straightforward but the applications represent another hurdle. Linux has just about every application has and this road, like a distrobution has its snags. The first breakthrough in ANY contecx, whether choosing a distro or application, is using a well defined manual that explains the terminology with examples. I do this for a hobby because at 71 years old it reminds me of learning DOS when I was 30 years old. For sure, there is nothing new in this world except change. No one ask for this free information but if I had a do-over I would focus on cyber security with a heavy background in Linux. Don't get bogged down with applications, unless you need it, but focus on cyberspace. BTW, I watch Explaining Computers each Sunday night in Birmingham Al and really give a thumbs up with each episode. Thanks everyone. Jesus is "my Lord".
Very few likes, strange, being such well prepared content developed in a ver professional lesson. Thank you!
for some reason his video is so enjoyable even though he is just explaning how stuff works
Excellent! You are an absolute expert in describing things at a level that clears up questions and doesn't generate more. This video was a good initial topic to cover as it is one of the most confusing aspects of Linux for the Windows user should they need to move from the file explorer to the command line. Looking forward to each presentation in the series.
You are The Man. I thought many times in migrate some users to Linux, but they want always the basic tasks that are "simple" and easy to achieve in Windows: create/manage MS-Office documents and PDFs, configure a multifunction printer too for normal tasks in a office environment, transfer photos and music from/to their Mobile Phones, connect to wi-fi networks, make video meetings with Skype/Zoom/Webex/Teams, etc. My fears come imaginate them calling me constantly for help by a strange and difficult OS to live with.
As I long time Linux user myself I couldn't have explained it to a newbie as well as you did, Chris! I always create a separate /home partition though so my settings and data don't get lost (fingers crossed) if I change distros or do an upgrade. I hope this video encourages more people to give Linux a try. Linux Mint Cinnamon is bang-on for a first timer to try, I wouldn't recommend vanilla Ubuntu though to anybody. Looking forward to the next video!
Exactly!
Ubuntu -
Mint Cinnamon +
I am so thankful you have begun this. I was thinking about such a series when you asked for input and I don't remember if I responded. I have put this off far too long. Sincerest thanks.
Excellent overview. As a Linux "enthusiast" (nut). as well as a Raspberry Pi "enthusiast" (nut), (and a nut, er.. eccentric, in general), I always enjoy this kind of excursion as they usually include some nuggets of info that I can add to my limited body of "knowledge". This is the case here. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks, Chris.
Some people can just "explain" things simply. Thanks Chris.
Linux Mint is my daily driver, has been for three years. Thanks for a well thought out explanation Chris.
I think the next video should include difference between Desktop Environments and Window Managers, and universal package management options. :]
He did many distro already
Using Linux Mint over 5 years and so happy with it.
I've been using Kali Linux for quite some time and happy with the distro. Great content Chris!
I was using Mint with Cinnamon for years. Recently switched to Debian 11 with KDE and loving it.
Another great Sunday treat.. Thank you Chris
Brilliant idea for a series, and a nice video.
Only mistake I picked up was "Init system takes over once the bootloader has finished".
Bootloader -> Linux Kernel -> Init System.
Init takes over once the kernel has control of the harware, and starts it.
However it wouldn't have fitted so nicely onto that ace slide you did.
@gilkesisking I don't use initramfs systems, I specifically compile support for that out of kernels. I prefer to have nfsroot compiled in.
Either way the initramfs is only loaded into memory by the bootloader, so that it's memory address can be passed to the kernel for the kernel to execute the contents, after it has taken control of the hardware.
bootloader stage1 loaded by BIOS/UEFI (from disk boot record(s)) -> bootloader stage1 loads bootloader stage 2 (think lilo/grub menu system, that's what stage2 provides) -> bootloader stage2 loads kernel and associated dependencies (initramfs) -> bootloader stage2 execs the kernel base load address. -> Kernel start (read in commandline arguments) -> hardware discovery + driver/firmware load -> call to init (either in initramfs (for rc exec to load anything required to access the rootfs, or maybe as an install/rescue system)), or on the rootfs.
If extra drivers/firmware was required from an initramfs, pivot root to rootfs in the VFS.
But all of that rather misses the point of the series, which is to make Linux understandable to normal (what ever normal is) people. So far the minor mistake I got is utterly irrelevant to 'normal people'. So I should shut up.
You make Sunday the best day of the week. Thanks Chris.
Chris I would encourage your followers who are using Win10 to take an old laptop or desktop and put Linux Mint 20 on it. Using both Win10 and Linux Mint concurrently is the best way to transition. What you find over time is that you can do 80% of what you do in Win10 on Linux Mint. Thanks for another great video!
Although Windows, by default, mounts each drive (or each drive's volume) as a unique drive letter, you can configure any drive to be mounted Linux style (you can have Windows mount a drive to any location you choose, via Disk Management -- which requires administrator rights).
Although it is a simple process, it is not as simple as connecting the dots. You kind of need to know the Windows procedure.
Once your USB drive (for example) is plugged in:
You must first tell Windows (via Disk Management) to remove the drive letter. You then tell Windows (via Disk Management) to mount the drive via an NTFS mount point. That mount point must be an empty directory. Once mounted, that mount point (that directory) becomes an NTFS junction (pointing to some cryptic target, which I do not understand). But once set, your USB drive will now sit in the directory of your choice. When you go to that directory, you will be on your USB drive.
This might be handy for someone that is running out of drive letters, or...
this might be handy for someone that does not want to remember several drive letters, and would rather have directories that have meaningful names, where each directory is a different USB drive.
Cheers!
This was also useful to me running Windows Media Center on Windows 7. I didn't want all the recorded videos to be stored on the boot partition in case I had to re-install Windows. Making the "C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV" folder a shortcut to the video storage area didn't work, so I simply mounted my big (4GB) hard drive partition on top of "C:\Users\Public\Recorded TV".
Because I watch your educational videos and have an old dell optiplex pc and no place to,put a removable disk bay, I bought a disk extension cable so I can plug hard drives with out keep taking the PC to bits. I bought some cheap 2.5 inch used disk drives so that I can try the distros I see you use. It is not ideal having the hard disk next to the pc but it gives me pleasure and seeing the different distributions.
Great video! I am so excited for this series. Thank you!
Congratulations for this great video, 889 comments in 24 hours is rarely seen and it shows the quality that you put into your videos.
This video is indeed the only explaining properly and clearly the distros that are the easiest and most stable for Windows users to switch to.
The Linux distros are so numerous!!!! It is a real challenge but you clearly summarise it very well.
Zorin 16 is said to be the top one that does not fault or crash followed by Elementary OS.
The next task will be to multi boot Windows and Linus distros.
Another great video, thank you Chris
Thanks Mark. :)
I also wanna thank you for explaining those technical terms clearly.
Linux and this technology are part of my I.T. major.
Great video Chris! Please cover security in Linux and discuss firewall and AV options (and perhaps the circumstances in which they may be needed, particularly AV software). Thanks.
Good idea -- noted!
@@ExplainingComputers On the topic of security, perhaps an idea for a future episode....making a TRUE random number generator wich writes to xlsx-format??
@@Peter_Enis An interesting idea! :)
Thank you for a channel done with precision where every word counts. Well done and much appreciated for the respect for the viewer’s time
I use Mint as my main os for the past 6 years.
Thank you so much for this video! I have been toying with various distros over the years and very few videos go to the bother of explain what the terminal commands and values actually mean!
Thanks for this. I have a specific video on the Linux terminal here: th-cam.com/video/SkB-eRCzWIU/w-d-xo.html
Dear audience, first for the 25th time. Good sunday to everyone! Wonderful video about the loved linux system.
Wow. 25 is some tally! Another gold.
Awesome stuff. I have a friend thinking of leaving windows and I wanna make sure her transition is as smooth as possible. This video will help a lot. Thanks a lot!
the way Linux handles drives kept it from being a daily driver for the longest time, I used two previous operating systems that were designed in the 80s that JUST mount valid drives automatically they both either assigned a drive letter or a drive name, its good that most linux distros are auto mounting now and putting it front and center in some cases, though I still miss the drive letters!
Windows drive letters used to annoy the hell out of me since it assign drive letters according to the sequence that the device is plugged in. On a standard Windows install, it is usually A, C, D and then whatever was plugged in next instead of the Linux way of showing the partition name, so E, F etc. can be anything.
You're not alone. Old habits die hard.
I switched to Linux 4-5 years back when I couldn't see any usefulness in all the telemetry etc. that Microsoft suddenly installed without notice.
I sometimes miss the paradigm of storage volumes represented by separate device icons each with their own directory structures inside their own root directory separate from everything else.
The Unix/Linux way of representing the system and it's drives is far superior in many ways for power users though.
Drive letters are a legacy thing that are just being dragged around by microsoft. Does anyone still use floppy drives A and B? Linux and Unix have had their file system arrangement for a long time and it has stood the test of time.
@@bertblankenstein3738 the Unix/Linux way will also become obsolete one day. At that time maybe drive letters see a new renaissance. Who knows?
@@tbone9900 the other operating system I used before microsoft stuff was amiga workbench in the late 90s (though it dates back to the 80s and has some unix roots afaik) it had drive names such as df0 for the first floppy drive, hd0 for the hard drive incrementing the number but it also had a command "assign" so you could do something like "assign system: hd0:" then you could access the drive under system: or its device name hd0:
that is what really got me hooked on driver "letters" the Microsoft version was inferior but still kept me in the habit
Your channel is one of the most informative and useful in all of TH-cam. Thank you for your content and the education you so clearly and expertly provide.
Whenever I need a bit of encouragement in my quest to learn about technology I watch your channel. It helps every time.
Thanks. Your kind feedback is most appreciated.
Love your work, and it's great to see Linux getting some more love from ya. :)
Your videos are surprisingly easy to understand, thank you very much. I've started with Ubuntu, from there I moved to fedora, mint os, elementary os and finally reaching Zorin os which feels like home to me😊
For me it was relay hard to choose a distro
There are so many options to choose from
Currently on debian 11 gnome
It's interesting. You try one and you can say immediately "nope, i can't work with it". The others "if i have to, then maybe". And the third "that's nice, i can stick with it".
I choose Kubuntu for my HP laptop because it knew the keyboard mappings for volume control 'out of the box', you know what Im saying? sometimes a glass slipper just fits!
@@stalinvlad I have found the same thing with Manjaro on older laptops.. and then Arch people go and break the usb ..
i hope you can eventually take a look at kde, lxde and other desktop environments, gnome is decent, but there are better nicer ones
i always heard that debian is too complex for beginners, right now mint is my beginners recommended distro
@@arch1107 i did take a look at all the linux desktops
Kde was good but too unstable on 13 year old hardware
Xfce 4.16 is horrible compared to 4.14
Lxde doesnt have enough apps for it
Patheon performs terribly on xorg(hope they move to wayland soon)
Again its mostly my horrible hardware and i will move to kde once i get a better pc
As someone who has been thinking of switching, this video is a godsend for me! Thank you so much!
Thanks for the video Christoper i'm looking forward to the next videos, I like the look of Linux Mint Cinnamon but feel i need more info before making the change.
This is surprisingly timely with Windows 11 coming out. Thank you!
Finally, someone who EXPLAINS LINUX! Instead of telling me to SUDO my PACKAGE via a SUPPOSITORY or whatever....
Good basic info, deserving of a more upbeat title like “Guide to the joy of Linux.” (Yes, we yanks tuck our periods inside the closing quote mark.)
And I still like to use the "Oxford comma."
I too very much favour the Oxford comma, especially in technology writing where lists can have complex compound terms, even though it is frowned on by UK copy editors! :)
@@ExplainingComputers _et al:_ According to the OED, the Oxford comma is purely a matter of personal preference for British English, and compulsory for American English. Full stops do indeed go inside quotes, so Warren Gibson is correct. Another one is -ize versus -ise, where the rules for this are the same as for the Oxford comma. :-)
@@cdl0 The "z" spellings are easier for me -- I've published a lot of books that end up on the business shelves, where "organization" is more commonly used than "organisation" (very different to in economics publishing). And most of my book sales have been in the United States, so for a couple of decades no desk or copy editor has even attempted to argue for "s" based spellings. :)
@@ExplainingComputers Yes, '-ize' keeps Americans happy, while people using proper English don't care. ;-)
Very clear and well presented including the "mucking about" in terminal.
Don't know what it is but this is like Sunday mornings back in day but for adults.
Proud Linux user here since 2018 and I never used other OS(s). I could not ask more.
Back in the day, my favorite Linux distro was Red Hat. But then they went all "enterprise" on us and stopped doing distros that the average person could deal with. I guess Ubuntu would count as my go-to distro now, since they seem to have great support, at least so far.
Fedora is sponsored by Red Hat.
clear & concise expo of Linux file system, which I've always found confusing: thanks.
Noobs should get a Usb of Mint: Mint install is smooth: Mint
Cinnamon has the bigest memory footprint & the most utilities
Xfce has the smallest memory footprint & fewer utils.
Microsoft did some fantastic Linux advertising with Windows 11. I even heard a luddite political commentator I listen to saying he has to learn how to use it!
Excellent teaching video Christopher. A person can use Linux on just a USB or DVD by themselves without putting them on the Hard Drive. Linux also gives one the option to use a Dual Boot. Then there is also the VirtualBox. I know you will go over all this later. My favorite versions are ZorinOS, Lubuntu, and Mint is good also. I am using an old laptop w x64, so a 64 Bit, (ZorinOS Core), does not run as well as Zorin Lite. My favorite old laptop I use Linux on is a Toshiba A215, 1.9 GHz AMD 64x, 4 GB, and a Toshiba 500 GB External Drive. I have Lubuntu 18.04, and Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP, Longhorn, ReactOS, and Haiku. All as up to date as one can get.
Nice video my dude, this will be helpful for me
Hope so!
A timely video given the controversy surrounding Windows 11 and many people considering the switch to Linux as a result, I can see this series being very useful and popular for those who do move away from Windows in the coming years Chris.