Why are you Scared of Linux?

Note: Before you read this Article I want to tell you that I am a big Linux fan and Linux being an open source Operating System is doing a Great Job.

Most of the people I know think Linux is very difficult for a layman to understand. They fear that after installing Linux they will not be able to do the normal tasks they do with Windows and thus they prefer paying money to Microsoft instead of even trying Linux.

There are lot of reasons behind this. Few reasons that I could figure out are:

1. Lack of Advertising about Linux compared to Windows. I understand that Linux is an open source product while Windows is Commercial but still I feel that there is lot of scope for advertising.

2. Lack of Awareness among the Retailers of Computers who advise the buyers to go for Windows instead of Linux. Some times its not just lack of awareness but also to gain more commission on the part of the retailer.

3. A very odd but a legitimate reason is that most of the time when people hear about linux is when a Geek is bragging about what he did on Linux last night and that layman will think “Man I don’t think Linux is for Guys like me!!”.

4. Most of the schools (atleast in India) teach their students Windows instead of Linux and thus the children when they grow up feel that windows is easy and safe to go with.

5. One reason for the Windows users not switching to Linux from Windows is that they are used to the working environment of Windows and So they are scared how they are going to do those regular task with Linux. Moreover there are many discouraging people around you who will be telling you stories of people who had to format their PC after installing Linux.

6. I also feel that the method of bring new versions every 6 months of different Linux distributions has many loopholes. First of all when a new release comes you are scared whether it is stable or not and whether his current apps will be compatible or not. So you wait for 1-2 months till you hear good reviews about it and just when you were about to feel that you got the one you can happily live with you hear about a new release which is better than that. Another reasons specially for Indian Users is that every time a new release comes out the user has to download it from net which is very time consuming considering the low internet speed in India.

7. The Last but the most important reason I feel why people don’t go for Linux is that the developers of Linux try to target more towards the technical guys instead of a normal user who is never going to code in his life. Linux only tries to compete with Windows in terms of a Better Development platform but it lags far behind from Windows in other areas. Though you may feel this reason to be invalid but this is what I feel.

I know a lot of Linux lovers will get hurt after reading this post and will be very angry at me but this is what is the harsh reality about Linux which can be changed if proper steps are taken by Linux.

Can you guys think of any other reasons? If so, I’d love it if you shared.

Note: The above written text are the author’s own views and they are not written to hurt the feelings of anybody.

How to: Recover Important Data after your System is Crashed

 Suppose your computer commits suicide by inviting the latest virus and you are not able to get it back up and running. As a last resort you decide to backup your important documents, photos that you took of your girl friend and the ASCII text file containing your passwords. Today I will show how to do this very easily.

Create a System Rescue CD
Use an uninfected computer and download the System Rescue CD ISO file (latest version) from sysresccd.org. Now burn this ISO to a blank CD.

Start the rescue
After the ISO is written to CD, take it out, pop the CD into the drive of the computer that’s busted. Set the BIOS to boot through the CD first, hard disk next. And allow it to reboot.

You should see this beautiful System Rescue startup screen. Type these options after the boot: prompt and press ENTER.


rescuecd docache dostartx dodhcp

The docache option allows you to remove the System Rescue CD after it boots up, so you can enter another blank CD/DVD and take backups.

The dostartx option starts GUI automatically.

The dodhcp opiton automatically configures the network and connects you automatically to the Internet after booting.

Load the appropriate keymap when prompted (or just select the default US keymap).

It should start GUI automatically. In case it doesn’t, type startx at the command line and press ENTER.

Your desktop should have a terminal with a yellow background. We need to mount the partition and then do the backup.

Your Windows partition will most likely be located in /mnt/sda1 or /mnt/sda2. To check the partitions, run this:

fdisk -l /dev/sda

It should show you the partition names.

Then, to mount partition 1, run this:

ntfs-3g /mnt/sda1 /mnt/windows

If it mounts correctly, you should be able to see the files in your C:\ directory when you type:

ls -al /mnt/windows



Backing up your data to a CD/DVD
Now, to begin backing up your data, type this:

xfburn

The Xfburn program will show you a list of your partitions. Browse to the Windows partition(s) using the Filesystem menu option on the top-left and select all the files you need. Click on New Data Composition. Insert a blank CD or DVD and allow to burn all your data to the CD/DVD.

Backing up your data to a remote location
This is easier if you love using the command line. First, make sure the network is up by pinging to google.com

ping google.com

If it throws up an error, you have to run this to configure your network interface:

net-setup eth0

If you want to transfer the files in the directory C:\work to your remote server myremoteserver.com as user hungryhackers

The directory C:\work would be located in /mnt/windows/work. This command will transfer the directory:


scp -r /mnt/windows/work tricksandtech@myremoteserver.com

Enter the password for user hungryhackers and the file transfer will begin.

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