Sarasota PC Monitor
Tech Talk (08/03)
More Linux Options
by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D.*
Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc.I have been trying out various versions of Linux, some of which run from a CD-ROM. These make nice trial versions that don't leave traces on your hard drive nor do they require a separate partition. What I have been looking for was a version that is either free or inexpensive and doesn't require extensive computer experience to install and run. During this process I also upgraded my Lindows from version 3 to version 4. What a great experience that was!
I use Lindows (www.lindows.com) as a comparison to other versions of Linux. This is because it installs easily, it has a familiar graphic interface and it generally has no problem identifying all of my hardware. It also configured my Internet connection without assistance.
The download of Lindows 4 was in a compressed form that is referred to as an "ISO" format. This has to be burned to a CD-R or CD-RW. Usually the burner software has a special selection for this format that decompresses the files and burns the individual files to the disc. In this case I used a Linux CD burner program that prepared a bootable CD with all the Lindows 4 files on it. The only catch to this upgrade is that version 4 completely overwrites anything that is on the hard drive during the installation process. Although the Lindows web site indicates that version 4 will only upgrade your installation, this information is incorrect. One of Michael Robertson's (CEO of Lindows) newsletters pointed out that they are still working on the upgrade option. It should be ready by the next version.
Once I had the CD prepared, I rebooted the system from the CD. This brought up a series of windows that asked me what drive or partition did I want to use for Lindows. The next question was a user name and password. That was it. Ten minutes later the software stated the installation was complete and that the system would reboot. When I clicked on "OK", it asked me to remove the CD and then the system shut down and rebooted. When the loading process was almost complete, I had to enter the password. Then the Lindows desktop came up. The installation was complete.
I did have to go back to my page in the Click-N-Run warehouse to re-download software that wasn't included in this installation. With version 3 I had used Sun's StarOffice, but decided to use OpenOffice in this update. It also can read and write files that are compatible with Microsoft Office. In fact, this article is being written on my Lindows computer using OpenOffice. Anyway, the whole process, including the download and installation of my additional software took less than 20 minutes.
Lindows identified all of my hardware and my Internet connection. It did not set up my LAN. However, once I opened the control panel and entered the network IP addresses, I could access the Windows files on my XP-based computer. After doing that I was able to setup and print to my networked printer. This was done in just a few additional minutes.
In the new version Lindows has replaced the Netscape browser with one of their own. It is very similar to Netscape, but to me it seems faster in rendering pages. I should also point out that the computer that is running Lindows has a 500 mHz cpu, 384 MB of RAM and a 4 GB hard drive. I have Windows 98SE on a separate 8 GB drive. It's not exactly state of the art, but it does run respectably fast. Software opens at least as quickly as it does in Win98SE on the same hardware.
There is one problem that I have not been able to solve with this new version. A CD-burner program is included in the Click-N-Run warehouse. This same burner had been available in the earlier version. It finds both of my CD drives but refuses to identify the Mitsumi CD-RW. It has referred to it as an Adaptec CD-ROM, an M CD-ROM and as an unknown CD-ROM. In any case it refuses to work with the drive. I had another burner program called KreateCD that worked beautifully with Lindows 3.0. It was the one I used to burn the Lindows 4.0 CD. However, this program will not work with the updated Lindows. So I am looking for Linux burner software that will work with my drive.
There are several versions of Linux that can be freely downloaded and burned to a CD. The ones that I have tested are the SUSE 8.1 evaluation version (www.suse.com/us) and Knoppix (www.knopper.net/knoppix/index.html). In each case the download was an ISO file. I used my Windows CD burner software to prepare the bootable CD's. Since I already had Lindows on my second desktop, I decided to try both of these CD versions on my laptop computer.
The SUSE Linux booted and then asked my where it should put its temporary files. I indicated the D drive partition. It also checked what language (English, German, French, etc.) I wanted installed. Then it went on with the installation process.
One of the nice things about this Linux version is that it kept providing information as it went through the install. Nothing technical, just a graphic indicating that nothing had gone wrong. Once the installation was complete, it asked for a user name and a password. Then it loaded the SUSE desktop, which also resembles Windows. There was no re-booting or any further questions during the install process.
Since this version was an evaluation version running from a CD you can't save documents to the hard drive or a floppy drive. It does come with OpenOffice, a web browser, graphic software, various games, text editors similar to Notepad, and many other applications. The icons on the "taskbar" all provide a popup notation as to either their name or their function when the mouse is placed on the icon.
I found working with this evaluation version to be a little frustrating because it didn't save settings. For example, the OpenOffice Writer has a default setting for the European A4 page size. This has to be converted to use standard 81/2 x 11 letter size pages. Not a difficult process, but it has to be done every time you start a new document. You also have to convert the measurements to inches instead of centimeters. Finally, I had to convert the font to a size and typeface that was more comfortable than the default values. Presumably, changes to these settings could be retained once you purchased the working version and installed it on your hard drive. I was able to set up new default settings in the copy of OpenOffice that I use with Lindows.
I had no problem connecting to the Internet with the SUSE application. That worked just as expected. There is also an e-mail application included, but I didn't set up any addresses in it. The browser was Mozilla and was very similar to Netscape in many of its functions.
The problems I had with SUSE were primarily related to my local network. Although SUSE used setup Wizards very similar to those in Lindows, I couldn't get them to connect to either of my other computers. I also could not get it to find my networked printer. Whether this problem would still be present in the full version installed on a hard drive, I can't really say. However, Lindows did not exhibit this problem. I did have a similar problem in running Knoppix; another CD-ROM based Linux version. I did not try to install a printer connected directly to either a parallel or USB port. SUSE did work with other USB hardware attached to my laptop.
Knoppix is a version of Debian based Linux (www.debian.org) with a graphic interface and a very easy installation. In fact, Lindows, SUSE, and Knoppix are far easier to install than Windows. Even Windows XP takes more hand feeding during installation than do any of these Linux systems.
The Knoppix desktop is similar to the SUSE desktop, but has a different background. I found this could be changed quite easily. And, Knoppix had more wallpaper options than does the SUSE evaluation version. The CD version of Knoppix installed correctly with my laptop hardware and my Internet connection. It didn't find my local network nor would it connect to my printer. In fact, it didn't give me any printer connection options.
The Knoppix CD version can be installed to a hard drive and then run without reference to the CD. So that was my next step. I used the command line in the Console window to initiate the hard drive installation. After the installation, the system rebooted and a boot selection menu came up. Now, this installation process was more complex than just loading from the CD. In fact I had to create a Linux partition on my hard drive before doing the install. I first tried to use PowerQuest's Partition Magic, but it refused to run. So I used Paragon's Partition Manager instead. During the installation there were a few more questions related to which partitions would be used for Knoppix files and which for the Linux swap file. It also asked if I wanted LILO installed. LILO is the boot loader menu program so it had to be installed to allow for the dual boot selection of either Win98 or Knoppix.
When the system rebooted I selected Windows as the system to load. It came up without any problem and found all the usual software, the LAN and the printer. Next, I restarted the laptop and loaded Knoppix. During its loading it asked for a "root" password and a user password. The default user is Knoppix and the administrator level is referred to as "root" as it is in most Linux versions. Once that was completed I was online and could download any software that I wanted to install. The only thing I looked for was Synaptic, which is a graphic front-end for installing Debian software packages. For some reason, the apt-get command couldn't find or install this application. When I have some more time I'll work through that little problem.
Next, I tried to setup the local network and printer. The setup wizards were identical to those in Lindows. However, they didn't find the printer. I could find one of my computers, but an error was generated when I tried to open a shared folder on it. Now, I have to state that this version of Knoppix is still beta software. That means there can and will be bugs in it. I do like the interface, the way that it installs and the supplementary software that comes with it. When there is a final non-beta version of it, I'll be sure to try it out as well.
Knoppix comes with an application called WINE. This is a program that can be used to run Windows software. You can also get WINE from the Click-N-Run warehouse for Lindows. At present, this application runs any version of Microsoft Office from 97 to XP. So if you can't live without Microsoft Office, you can run it on a Linux system.
If you are curious about Linux and want to try it, either of the CD-ROM based versions would give you a good idea of the capabilities of Linux. They both install and run easily from the CD. You will also be able to test the range of software, which is provided with each of these systems. They include a Quicken equivalent, graphics editing, games, multimedia software as well as software for Linux developers. If you decide you want to get a fully mature and operational Linux, then I would suggest Lindows. At this point I believe it has become a strong competitor for Windows. As more software is developed for Linux it will only become a stronger competitor for the home and small office market.
*Dr. Lewis is a former university & medical school professor. He has been working with personal computers for more than thirty years. He can be reached via e-mail at bwsail@yahoo.com or voice mail at 941/925-3047. :
Copyright 2003. This article is from the August 2003 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,100+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.
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