[SLUG] £100computer (part2)

[Bob Garrood]

Hi

Here is text for the short leaflet on setting up Linux.  Please feel free to 
post comments:

The £100 Linux Computer-part2

Getting up and running with Linux

DISCLAIMER.  You follow the advice in this leaflet at your own risk.  It may 
cost you, it might turn you into a geek.  The author and SLUG cannot accept 
liability.

In this part of the £100 Computer we look at what to do to turn your computer 
into a working  Linux machine.  If you need help do get in touch with Slug by 
subscribing to our mailing list at : 
http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/scarborough
If you decided to buy Linux pre-installed you can skip to the section on 
Connecting your computer to the Internet .

Installing a Linux distribution

Installing an operating system can be difficult and you may find it best to 
get in touch with SLUG to see how we can help.   But if you want to try for 
yourself  here is a short introduction.  There is a learning curve with 
plenty of unfamiliar terms involved, and in a document this short all I can 
do is let you know where to find details on two of the most popular 
distributions, (there are hundreds).  Both these are available as a live CD 
for you to try, and as versions to install.  

SLUG hopes to offer help on installing in the near future, and we might use a 
popular distribution called Ubuntu.  This is the most popular new 
distribution at the moment. It is one of the easiest to install.  You can 
learn about this at www.ubuntulinux.org/ .  

By contrast, consider installing a distribution called Slackware.  You can 
find out about it at www.slackware.com/ or about the live CD at 
slax.linux-live.org/ .  Slackware has been around since the early nineties, 
but in a sense is even older as it relies much more on Unix.  Unix has been 
the system on which computers have been built for thirty years.  Slackware 
needs a little more work than Ubuntu, but it is a stable and flexible system.    
It has the advantage that it works with less powerful hardware ( 32MB of Ram 
minimum).  Its other advantage is good  documentation.  You can get it by 
buying the book with the installation discs from the Slackware website, or 
you can download the book if you know some one who can print it out for you.  
Even without the book, the install disc gives you plenty of help.  There are 
some articles on installing Slackware at: www.ofb.biz/modules.php?name=News& 
file=article&sid=315 (This website poses the biggest navigation problem since 
Vasco Da Gama.  You may have to paste in the URL by hand.  Change 315 to 317 
and 327 for parts II and III)

How hard it is to install depends on what else you want on your system.    You 
may need to learn about partitioning.   This is the act of splitting your 
hard disc into parts to hold different operating systems.  If you only have 
Linux, the installation software will do it for you.  If you want to install  
Linux alongside a version of Microsoft Windows, you will need special 
software.  Try this website for information about partitioning that leaves a 
Windows system intact. www.gnu.org/software/parted/parted.html 

Connecting your computer to the Internet 

Once you have Linux working, the first thing you will want is an Internet 
connection.  You will need an ISP -Internet Services Provider.  Any ISP will 
do, but the well known ones are often unhelpful about Linux, or use unhelpful 
proprietary software on their website.  You can use the free discs you get 
everywhere on a windows machine to set up an account  with one of them.  You 
then need to take the following details to your Linux machine.  Phone number 
to connect to.  User name,  eg   jbloggs77 at tiscali.co.uk . Password.  
Outgoing mail server, eg smpt.tiscali.co.uk.  Incoming mail server, eg 
pop.tiscali.co.uk.  Do not lose your password.  I have used tiscali in this 
example, because though talking to them is a waste of time, they do send a 
useful list of all necessary information to you to print out, after you have 
connected.  They even provide a guide for Linux connections using the KDE 
window manager.  This would work for you if you installed Slackware, but not 
if you installed Ubuntu.   The guide is at:

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/help/connectionsettings/linux_kppp.html

You can also use one of the specialist firms that work with Linux.   These 
mostly offer Pay-as-you-go, and you pay through your phone bill.  Try:

www.freebielist.com/isp.htm       www.uklinux.net/  .

 
Printers

A printer of your own is the first extra you should consider.  It will add to 
the £100 budget but it is the one thing that needs to be added to a computer 
system to make it really useful.  If you use the computer to run a business 
it is a necessity.  Students who use it to produce essays and other 
documents, and anyone who still sends letters by snailmail, must have them 
printed.  It is possible to rely on others to print for you, at work, at 
school or in the library.  This has drawbacks.  Since these places mostly use 
Microsoft programs you will have to save your documents in the file formats 
they use, - Microsoft's .doc or .rtf formats.  These do not let you use all 
the features of OpenOffice or KOffice.   You will probably need to save the 
documents to a floppy disc, one thing that is not always easy with Linux.  
You will need to take them to where they are to be printed.  And it may cost 
you.

At one time Linux had a reputation as a system in which it was difficult to 
set up a printer.  This is no longer true.  You should find it simple to 
connect your computer to a printer using any modern install. 

 You can try second hand locally for an old dot-matrix printer (they use 
ribbons) that can be picked up for about £5.  Often they can be made to 
produce output with a drop of WD40 on the ribbon.  But make sure they come 
with all the cables needed and remember that buying a new ribbon (try: 
phoenix-printink.co.uk    ) will cost you more than the printer.   The noise 
may alienate your neighbours and it will take all night to print a document 
of any length.  This an option for geeks only.  Try the dealers you contacted 
to buy the computer.  They may offer you a laser printer on reasonable terms.  
These are a possibility, but basically, they are too large for home use.   
What you need is an inkjet printer.   The point to bear in mind here is that 
the biggest cost involved in inkjet printers is in the cartridges. You need a 
minimum of 2 cartridges (and the prices do not always include these), one 
colour, one black.  Learn to use re-fill kits.  If you do find a cheap second 
hand printer, you will spend a lot of your life soaking old cartridges in 
cleaning solution and trying to get ink off your fingers.  You do not save 
much compared to buying new and locally.   Budget on  £50+. 

Bob Garrood       -November 2005

This document is copyleft.  If you wish to use part or all of it in another 
document you are free to do so, on the sole condition that such document is 
also copyleft.