Switching to GNU/Linux FAQ
From BinaryFreedom.INFO
[edit] What is the intended meaning when you use the word "free"?
The word free still existed in Newspeak, but it could only be used in such statements as "This dog is free from lice" or "This field is free from weeds." It could not be used in its old sense of "politically free" or "intellectually free," since political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts, and were therefore of necessity nameless.
- —George Orwell, "1984"
You might wonder why we don't consider some software free even though it is offered at no charge. When we use the word "free" to speak about software, we refer to freedom, not price. The four essential freedoms that we believe every user of software deserves are:
- The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
- The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
- The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
You might be surprised to hear that even seemingly trivial freedoms like the freedom to use for any purpose are sometimes denied to users of proprietary software.
The Free Software Definition has more information.
[edit] I don't feel restricted by my current operating system. Why should I switch to free software?
Many of us are not aware of the many ways in which proprietary software is restrictive, because we are so accustomed to the proprietary way of thinking. Compare the following excerpts from software license agreements to see the difference.
The software is licensed, not sold. This agreement only gives you some rights to use the software. Microsoft reserves all other rights. Unless applicable law gives you more rights despite this limitation, you may use the software only as expressly permitted in this agreement. In doing so, you must comply with any technical limitations in the software that only allow you to use it in certain ways. You may not work around any technical limitations in the software; [...]
- —From the Microsoft Windows Vista Software License Terms (emphasis added)
The licenses for most software are designed to take away your freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software—to make sure the software is free for all its users.
- —From the GNU General Public License, one of the most widespread free software licenses (emphasis added)
Whereas the license terms for proprietary software typically resort to the threat of "civil and/or criminal prosecution," free software promotes sharing and collaboration. Which way do you want to go today?
[edit] I'm not a software developer, so how does free software change anything for me?
In the words of Richard Stallman, the founder of the GNU project:
As a computer user today, you may find yourself using a proprietary program. If your friend asks to make a copy, it would be wrong to refuse. Cooperation is more important than copyright. But underground, closet cooperation does not make for a good society. A person should aspire to live an upright life openly with pride, and this means saying “No” to proprietary software.
You deserve to be able to cooperate openly and freely with other people who use software. You deserve to be able to learn how the software works, and to teach your students with it. You deserve to be able to hire your favorite programmer to fix it when it breaks.
You deserve free software.
- —Richard Stallman, Why Software Should Not Have Owners
[edit] I want to give GNU/Linux a try. Where do I start?
First, you need to choose a GNU/Linux distribution. The FSF recommends gNewSense, which was created with the explicit goal of never compromising your freedoms.
gNewSense comes as a Live CD. This is a CD that contains the entire GNU/Linux operating system and a few essential applications in a bootable form. This means, you can insert the CD, reboot your computer, and start using gNewSense right away — if you don't like it, remove the CD, reboot, and you're back in your familiar oprating system.
If you do like gNewSense, the Live CD serves as a graphical installer which you can use to install gNewSense permanently on your hard disk. (If you choose to do so, it is possible to install gNewSense side-by-side with another, possibly proprietary, operating system.)
See Installing gNewSense for more information.
Note: You may be able to find local experienced people on our Users Help Users page who may be able to aid you in installing GNU/Linux or set up a dual-boot system. There may also be a GNU/Linux User Group in your local area.
[edit] Can I try GNU/Linux without having to remove Windows?
Yes. There are two options: A dual-boot setup and GNU/Linux in a virtual machine.
- Dual-boot: In this setup, everytime you switch on your PC, you can decide whether you want to boot into GNU/Linux or into Windows. Each operating system gets its own part of the hard disk, although it is possible to exchange files between them.
- Virtual machine: A virtual machine (VM) is a regular application that emulates an entire PC within it. Basically, a virtual machine allows you to run GNU/Linux in a window on Windows, or Windows in a window on GNU/Linux.
See the next two questions for details.
[edit] How does a dual-boot setup work exactly?
Setting up GNU/Linux for dual-boot is easy. When the gNewSense installer detects another operating system on your hard disk, it offers you two options:
- Remove the existing operating system entirely, and install gNewSense in its place
- Resize the area of the hard disk that is reserved for the other operating system and use the free space to install gNewSense (for the technically inclined: this is called "partitioning")
When you take the second route, the existing operating system remains fully functional, although the area of the hard disk that is visible to it becomes smaller. Everytime you switch on your PC, you can decide whether you want to boot into GNU/Linux or into the other system.
See Installing gNewSense for more information.
[edit] How can I exchange files with a dual-boot setup?
While Windows is not able to see the part of the hard disk on which gNewSense is installed, you can read your Windows files from gNewSense.
By using the gNewSense installer, or by using a partitioning tool after installation, you can dedicate an area of the hard disk for use by both Windows and gNewSense. To do this, create a small FAT32 partition.
[edit] How do I run GNU/Linux in a virtual machine on Windows?
A virtual machine is an application that emulates an entire PC within it. Depending on its implementation, a virtual machine can achieve "near native" execution speeds of the system that it runs.
You can find a comparison of virtual machines at Wikipedia. QEMU is a very good free software virtual machine that runs on Windows. There are also proprietary virtual machine implementations that are available at no cost.
The system on which you install the virtual machine software is typically referred to as the "host system". The operating that you install within the virtual environment is the "guest system". So, what you are interested in is Windows as the host and GNU/Linux as the guest.
This is the general procedure for using a virtual machine:
- Configure the virtual machine for the guest system (how much RAM should be emulated? what graphics card? what sound card? etc.)
- Create a virtual hard disk, which is a regular file sitting in a Windows folder (a 10 GB virtual hard disk file is initially only a few KB in size, until the guest system fills it up with data)
- Insert the gNewSense installation CD and start the virtual machine
- From this point on, everything works just as if you were on a physical PC
- There are different ways to exchange files between Windows and gNewSense running in the virtual machine. Typically, you will want gNewSense to connect over a virtual network to your Windows machine using the Windows Network Neighborhood.
[edit] How do I migrate my data to GNU/Linux
See Transitioning to GNU/Linux.
[edit] I'm not sure whether my hardware is supported by GNU/Linux. How do I find out?
Try the gNewSense Live CD. If it works, your hardware is supported by fully free drivers.
If the gNewSense Live CD does not work, you might still be able to use GNU/Linux. Some hardware manufacturers refuse to provide specifications for their hardware to free software developers. Instead, they provide GNU/Linux drivers that deny users some of the essential freedoms. Some GNU/Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, include these drivers, so that users of restricted hardware can use GNU/Linux too.
To support those hardware manufacturers that value your freedom, consider buying their hardware when you upgrade your computer.
- GNU/Linux Hardware Compatibility
- gNewSense Recommended Hardware
- Hardware Devices that Support GNU/Linux at FSF
[edit] Why do some hardware manufacturers refuse to support GNU/Linux?
Some executives haven't ever heard of GNU/Linux and don't know any better (although these are becoming rare ;-). In these cases, you can raise the awareness for GNU/Linux by telling them about your need for free drivers.
Sometimes, though, manufacturers knowingly restrict your freedoms. For example, some hardware devices contain Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and Treacherous Computing (TC) features, and hardware manufacturers rightly fear that free software developers would circumvent these restrictions if they have access to the specifications. Free software and DRM are absolutely incompatible. The most effective way to show your dislike for DRM is not to buy such hardware.
[edit] How do I install applications on GNU/Linux?
A typical GNU/Linux distribution includes hundreds or even thousands of pre-packaged software libraries and applications in its repositories that are available for you to install at any time. In gNewSense, for example, you can install, uninstall, and update applications through the "Applications"|"Add/Remove..." menu or through the Synaptic Package Manager. New software or updates are automatically downloaded from the Internet.
On GNU/Linux, all the software — whether it's a word processor, a basic system component, or a software development library — is managed in a central place. Compare this to Windows, where only uninstalling is centralized, and where Windows Update only handles Microsoft applications:
- No more hunting dozens of web pages for that "setup.exe".
- No more pointless installation wizards that are subtly different for every application.
- No more Windows Genuine Advantage that sends information to Microsoft, checking whether you're allowed to keep your system up-to-date.
These and other Windows annoyances do not exist on GNU/Linux.
[edit] You mean I don't have to compile all applications myself on GNU/Linux?
Exactly. You only compile applications if you want to.
[edit] What if I want to use some software that is not part of my GNU/Linux distribution?
Sometimes software is not part of your distribution because...
- ...it is still in its early stages of development, and will be included with your distribtion at a later time.
- ...it is not widespread enough or not of sufficient quality to be included.
- ...it is proprietary or restriced by software patents. In this case, your distribution might already contain a free alternative.
In these cases, different developers offer different ways of installing their software:
- Some software packages come with an interactive installer, similar to a "setup.exe" on Windows, that you can download and run. (After downloading, you might have to set "Execute" permissions in the file properties dialog to allow it to run.)
- Sometimes, the web site for the software provides so-called Debian packages (.deb files). Sometimes, these .deb files work for Ubuntu and gNewSense as well, although this is not guaranteed.
- Sometimes developers only offer the source code for you to compile yourself. This can be as simple as running
./configure ; make ; make installfrom the command line, but it can easily become a bit overwhelming for non-developers. Maybe some software package that is already included with your distribution serves your needs just as well.
[edit] I'm afraid that when GNU/Linux breaks, I won't be able to fix it. Is there any support available?
GNU/Linux is supported by a community that possibly outnumbers the support departments of any major computer vendor or software maker. Support is available where you'd get it for proprietary software as well — on the web:
- gNewSense Forum and Mailing List — open for your questions
- gNewSense Wiki with gNewSense-specific documentation
- As gNewSense was created from Ubuntu, the Ubuntu Support pages will mostly apply to gNewSense as well
- The Ubuntu bug database mostly applies to gNewSense, as gNewSense gets software upgrades through Ubuntu
- Our Users Help Users page and our list of GNU/Linux User Groups
- An article in the Free Software Magazine about Getting Help with Free Software
[edit] Many free software projects list tens of thousands of bug reports. Does this mean they're buggy?
In the world of open source software, bug reports are useful information. Making them public is a service to other users, and improves the OS. Making them public systematically is so important that highly intelligent people voluntarily put time and money into running bug databases. In the commercial OS world, however, reporting a bug is a privilege that you have to pay lots of money for. But if you pay for it, it follows that the bug report must be kept confidential—otherwise anyone could get the benefit of your ninety-five bucks! [...]
This is, in other words, another feature of the OS market that simply makes no sense unless you view it in the context of culture. What Microsoft is selling through Pay Per Incident isn't technical support so much as the continued illusion that its customers are engaging in some kind of rational business transaction. It is a sort of routine maintenance fee for the upkeep of the fantasy. If people really wanted a solid OS they would use Linux [...]
- —Neal Stephenson, In the Beginning was the Command Line
(A lot has changed since the article was written in 1999, but it is still an entertaining read.)
[edit] Windows is well-supported through regular security updates. Do these exist for GNU/Linux too?
When security problems are found in any software package that's part of your distribution, you are notified about the availability of an update and can install it with the click of button.
In fact, updating your software is even easier than with Windows: All the software packages — not only the operating system itself — can be installed, uninstalled, and updated through the same easy-to-use interface.
[edit] Can I edit Microsoft Office documents on GNU/Linux?
Yes. The OpenOffice.org office suite can read and write Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents. OpenOffice.org is installed by default on gNewSense.
We encourage you to use the OpenDocument format (an ISO standard, which OpenOffice.org uses by default) instead of Microsoft's proprietary formats for documents that you write. This is the best way to avoid vendor lock-in. Microsoft Office users (Office 2000 and above) can read and save to this format by using a plug-in.
OpenOffice.org can also produce PDF files from your documents without the need for additional software.
[edit] What about the multimedia capabilities of GNU/Linux?
With GNU/Linux, you can do everything you'd expect:
[edit] What else should I know about media formats on GNU/Linux?
(I knew you would ask. ;-)
Many GNU/Linux distributions, including gNewSense, do not contain support for proprietary media formats that cannot be implemented and distributed freely. Some of these formats are restriced by software patents, others contain Digital Restrictions Management. Either way, these formats are incompatible with the free software philosophy.
Among the formats that are problematic are:
- DVDs encrypted with CSS
- MP3
- QuickTime
- RealMedia (the RealPlayer format)
- Windows Media
[edit] I rely on these restricted media formats. Is there no way to make them work on GNU/Linux?
It depends on the specific format:
- For MP3 and DVD, free implementations exist that might be legal in some countries (unfortunately, the U.S. is not among them)
- You might have to enable a separate software repository before you can install them. See the FAQs for your GNU/Linux distribution.
- The RealPlayer developers offer a proprietary GNU/Linux version of their software.
- There are GNU/Linux media players that can use copies of Windows DLLs to play additional formats.
The best to handle these formats, however, is to avoid them...
[edit] What can I do to avoid restricted media formats?
- Save new media files in free formats. For example, use Ogg Vorbis instead of MP3.
- Convert your old media files. For example, the tool mp32ogg can be used to convert all your MP3 files to Ogg Vorbis at once.
- Ask web sites to offer their content in free formats. Support web sites that already do.
[edit] Will my kids be able to play games on GNU/Linux?
Yes and no.
- GNU/Linux distributions include everything a casual gamer wants: Card games, board games, classic arcade games, puzzle games, and much more.
- There are even MS-DOS emulators that let you play your old games that are already gathering dust.
- These are typically not the kinds of games that get the kids excited (but your kids might be different ;-) ). If we're talking about Windows games, some of them will run using Wine. There's no guarantee that this works, though.
But maybe you already own a dedicated gaming console anyway. Maybe you want to run GNU/Linux on it?
[edit] Can I hook up GNU/Linux to a Windows network?
Yes, you can, by using the Samba software.
- To access a Windows share, you need to install the Samba client and point your file browser to smb://computer/share.
- To share a GNU/Linux folder, you need to install the Samba server. In the gNewSense file browser, you can share a folder by right-clicking it and clicking "Share folder" on the context menu.
- To use a network printer, in gNewSense, open "System"|"Administration"|"Printing", then click "New Printer" and select "Windows Printer (SMB)".
[edit] Is there a way to run Windows applications on GNU/Linux?
Yes and no. The Wine project offers a reimplementation of the Windows Application Programming Interface (API) for GNU/Linux. To Windows applications, the Wine API is indistinguishable from the Windows API, so they will run just like on Windows — at least that's the plan.
In practice, the Windows API is a moving target for the Wine developers, and despite their hard work since 1993, many popular Windows applications do not currently run on Wine, or crash often.
Many applications (among them many games) do work, though. See the Wine Application Database or Frank's Corner for a list of supported applications.
Note #1: You might be able to find a GNU/Linux application that suits your needs just as well as the Windows application that you are currently using.
Note #2: If the license terms of your version of Windows permit it, you can install Windows in the QEMU virtual machine, which runs at excellent speed under GNU/Linux. This has the advantage of avoiding dual-booting during your transition to GNU/Linux. See also this question about virtual machines.
