General Gaming Article |
- Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA SuperNova 650W PSU, WD Black 4TB HDD, and More!
- Kangaroo PC Puts a Windows 10 System in Your Pocket for $99
- Microsoft Opens Highfalutin Flagship Store on Fifth Avenue
- Gigabyte BRIX GBBXA8-5557 Review
- Asus MG279Q Review
- Fractal Design Define S Review
- Razer Kraken Pro Review
- 8 Things You Need To Know Before Switching To Linux
| Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA SuperNova 650W PSU, WD Black 4TB HDD, and More! Posted: 26 Oct 2015 10:58 AM PDT Top Deal: A power supply's job is a thankless one. Think about it -- the PSU dutifully shows up to work every day, powers the entire show, and only draws attention when it messes up while the CPU, GPU, and sometimes storage always get showered with praise. Thankfully, the best built PSUs rarely turn against their owners, and if you're looking for one, check out today's top deal for an EVGA SuperNova 650W G1 Power Supply for $75 with free shipping (normally $85 - use coupon code: [EMCKANP68]); additional $20 mail-in-rebate). It's a modular PSU with a 80 Plus Gold certification for up to 90 percent efficiency under typical loads. Other Deals: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4G 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 Video Card for $320 with free shipping (normally $340; additional $20 Mail-in rebate; Free Rainbow Six Siege or Assassin's Creed Syndicate, limited offer) WD Black WD4003FZEX 4TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch Internal Hard Drive for $190 with free shipping (normally $199 - use coupon code: [ESCKANP26]) Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced - Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and All-Black Interior for $130 with free shipping (normally $140 - use coupon code: [EMCKANP32]; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) Desktop Memory Model for $73 with free shipping (normally $88) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kangaroo PC Puts a Windows 10 System in Your Pocket for $99 Posted: 26 Oct 2015 10:29 AM PDT Is that a Kangaroo in your pocket or are you just 'hoppy' to see me? InFocus is kind of breaking new ground with what it's dubbed Kangaroo, a mobile desktop PC running Windows 10. Kangaroo is smaller than a NUC or any number of mini PCs on the market, and more flexible than a stick PC. It's also affordable at just $99. Inside the Kangaroo is an Intel Atom x5-Z8500 System-on-Chip (SoC) based on Cherry Trail. It has four cores operating at 1.44GHz (base) to 2.24GHz (burst) and 2MB of cache. Kangaroo also features 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 32GB of eMMC storage expandable via microSD, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, fingerprint reader, and a micro USB port for charging the device. Fully charged, InFocus says the Kangaroo lasts for up to four hours of "casual use." There's also an included dock that adds HMDI output and two USB ports (2.0 and 3.0). The dock can be used to connect the Kangaroo to a variety of displays, from PC monitors to big screen TVS, and even projectors and iPad devices. "Consumers own many different devices including tablets, laptops and desktop PCs. Each device is used in different locations for different purposes. Kangaroo is the first product to allow you to use the same PC for all applications, in any environment," said Lawrence Yen, director of Kangaroo product marketing. "Unlike stick PCs and other pocket PCs, Kangaroo works with all of your existing devices and can be docked at home or tossed in your bag to use anywhere, powering and providing Windows 10 access on the go." Kangaroo is about the size of a larger smartphone. It measures 805. x 124 x 12.9 millimeters, plus another 80.5 x 46.9 x 12.9 millimeters for the dock. You can purchase Kangaroo now at Newegg. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microsoft Opens Highfalutin Flagship Store on Fifth Avenue Posted: 26 Oct 2015 09:32 AM PDT Now open for business Microsoft now has more than 110 retail location spread across the U.S., Canada, and Puero Rico, the newest of which is its first flagship store located on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The new flagship is the biggest to date at over 22,000 square feet. That gives Microsoft plenty of room to showcase an assortment of products, including its new Surface Pro 4 tablet, Surface Book, Microsoft Band fitness wearable, Xbox One console, Office suite, Signature Edition PCs, and more. "The larger footprint means a deeper customer experience of Microsoft's ecosystem in what we consider to be one of the greatest shopping districts in the world," said Kelly Soligon, general manager, Worldwide Marketing, Microsoft Retail and Online Stores. "It really is an awesome canvas to be able to highlight products and have them come to life for customers." According to Soligon, customers frequently ask Microsoft when they can expect a retail location in their city, with New York being one of the most requested outlets. Microsoft answered the call with an address that sits just a few blocks from Apple's own Manhattan store. Apple device owners are welcome to stop by and check it out. "If you bring your iPhone in here, I'd love to show you how to use Office on it," Soligon said, according to The New York Times. One thing that's unique about the Fifth Avenue store is an exterior culture wall measuring 50 feet wide by 20 feet high. The wall displays non-commercial, artistic digital imagery representative of Fifth Avenue's shopping district culture. On the inside, Microsoft has various immersive video walls to "engage directly with visitors while streaming videos, images, and information." That includes a two-story video wall behind the Answer Desk that can be seen on either one of the location's two floors. Among other things, customers can play Xbox One on video walls while surrounded in directional sound. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gigabyte BRIX GBBXA8-5557 Review Posted: 26 Oct 2015 06:50 AM PDT at a glance (+) Lego (-) Cinder Block This article was published in the October 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories, subscribe here. This compact PC could make for a great HTPCSmall PCs have gone through quite a few revisions over the years. From the first standardized mATX solutions in 1997, we got proprietary cases and motherboard form factors (e.g., from Shuttle), then Mini-ITX went mainstream and did away with the proprietary stuff. Since then, the micro-computing market has exploded. From ultra-small PCs to compact but amazingly powerful systems like the Falcon Northwest Tiki (September issue, p.78), Mini-ITX solutions can fit just about any computing paradigm. But what if you want to go even smaller? We end up going full circle and returning to mostly proprietary designs, which is what Intel did when it launched the NUC (Next Unit of Computing) a couple of years ago. Intel's NUCs obviously use Intel processors, but other manufacturers are free to expand on the idea, and that's precisely what Gigabyte has done with its BRIX line. The model we're looking at dumps the Intel Ultrabook components and instead uses AMD alternatives, in this case a 35W A8-5557M APU with HD 8550G graphics. Last year, Gigabyte had a beefier version of this Brix with an R7-M275X GPU alongside the APU. Many complained about the noise from the system fans, so Gigabyte came back with this trimmed-down variant, complete with a lower price. Six of OneConsidering Intel's Ultrabook parts have a lower TDP, not to mention the fact AMD makes better GPUs than Intel, what you get is the usual compromise of a slower CPU with faster graphics, for a lower price. Intel's Core i5-5250U Broadwell CPU posted better numbers in Stitch.Efx, Proshow, and 3DMark, and Intel's NUC uses less than half as much power. But for games, the A8-5557M was better. Just. The fact is, neither of these integrated solutions are very fast. They work better as streaming solutions. And not just for games. Whether it's online movies, YouTube videos, or files served from your local NAS, micro-PCs such as the Brix make for great HTPCs, though we do have to note that the A8-5557M processor wasn't powerful enough to handle 4K H.265 videos (1080p H.265 worked OK). For those with modest computing needs, the A8-5557M is fast enough, and outside of gaming, the discrete GPU isn't really necessary. The small system fans are noisier than we'd like (41dB from 12 inches), but at least under load they don't get much louder (43dB). This Brix isn't intended to be a powerhouse, but it can be a decent SOHO device. It has two SO-DIMM slots for up to 16GB RAM, built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and support for both mSATA and 2.5-inch SATA drives. Getting the system up and running is as simple as adding your own memory and storage, and then installing your OS. We used a 16GB kit of G.Skill DDR3-1866 memory, which the Brix only ran at 1,600MHz, and for storage we used a 1TB Samsung 850 Pro—overkill, probably, but it worked well. Ultimately, this Brix is a niche device, but it can go places where even Mini-ITX is "too big," and it's cheaper than the NUCs. It's too bad the fans aren't quieter, though, especially for HTPC use. $240, www.gigabyte.com Specifications
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| Posted: 26 Oct 2015 06:40 AM PDT at a glance(+) Messiah (-) Very Naughty Boy This article was published in the October 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories, subscribe here. Behold, the messiah of monitorsConsider the key metric s. We're talking 27-inch, 2,560 by 1,440 pixels, 144Hz, and adaptive syncing. Oh, and here's the real kicker. We're also talking IPS. Cue much rejoicing. The new Asus MG279Q ticks an awful lot of boxes. It's not a super-wide panel with 3,000-plus horizontal pixels. Nor is it a 4K box. But 2,560 by 1,440 pixels is arguably where the sweet spot is right now in terms of matching pixel grids with GPU power—4K panels are marginal for smooth rendering on a single GPU. Intriguingly, you get all this for less money than Asus's familiar ROG Swift monitor. That panel is very similar in many regards. It's 27 inches, has 2560x1440 pixels cranked out at 144Hz, and also sports adaptive sync. But it also differs in two critical regards. The ROG Swift's adapative sync is the Nvidia-flavored G-Sync technology and its LCD is a TN item. This screen, meanwhile, sports AMD's competing FreeSync tech and packs an IPS panel. Game on for fratricidal fun? Yes and no. For starters, it's absolutely no contest when it comes to image quality. This new IPS model whips the Swift raw with the spiky end of a DVI cable. It's an absolutely gorgeous screen. The colors are as good as we've seen pretty much anywhere on any screen. It's just the most glorious combination of accuracy and saturation, at the same time as seeming perfectly natural and not remotely forced, the latter being a routine issue with VA panels, which often look punchy but thoroughly OTT. Ghost StoriesWhere things get complicated, both in terms of the comparison with the Swift and in terms of actual technical implementation, is when it comes to adaptive sync tech. Adaptive sync means aligning the refresh rate with the output of your graphics card for improved smoothness and an end to screen tearing. We've known for a while that AMD's FreeSync technology is a little rough around the edges, and unfortunately, that remains the case here. For starters, FreeSync doesn't currently play nicely with response-enhancing overdrive tech. Long story short, you get some nasty inverse ghosting with FreeSync enabled. The MG279Q actually does a good job of getting to grips with the problem, thanks to a wide choice of adjustments for the overdrive setting, which is accessed via Asus's excellent OSD. Set it to minimum and there's little-to-no ghosting, but a fair bit of blur. Crank it up to max and the ghosting is utterly grim. At around 40 percent the blurring is fine and it doesn't add any noticeable ghosting either. Next up, the FreeSync in this implementation is also limited to a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz. That's enough to get much of the smoothness benefit of high refresh rates, but not all of it. Of course, you could argue that once you're up over 100Hz, the benefits of adaptive sync are marginal. So, if your graphics card is up to it, running with FreeSync disabled and the panel set to full 144Hz reheat could be the answer. Casting a shadow over all of this is the fact that you'll need an AMD GPU to run FreeSync, while G-Sync screens like the Swift need Nvidia graphics. Given that monitors are generally pretty long-term purchases, that makes for a potential GPU vendor lock-in that leaves us a little uncomfortable. Not that this is Asus's fault. But it's certainly worth bearing in mind. That said, you're not really paying extra for the FreeSync capability. So view the Asus MG279Q as mainly a 144Hz IPS panel and it's still a very appealing proposition. Is it the best gaming monitor yet? Very possibly. $600, www.asus.com
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| Fractal Design Define S Review Posted: 26 Oct 2015 05:52 AM PDT at a glance(+) Well-Defined (-) Fuzzy This article was published in the October 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories, subscribe here. Does Sir require liquid-cooling support? This case has it in spadesWe know what you're thinking. Yet another Fractal Design Define midtower case looking just like all the others. Well, before you doze off, the Define S has a few tricks up its sleeve, not least of which is a price tag a few bucks lower than its predecessor, the Define R5. While it may look very similar to the R5, one difference is immediately apparent: The Define S has a solid front bezel instead of a door. The reason is simple, there are no 5.25-inch drive bays. In these days of digital content, the good old optical drive is needed less and less, meaning it makes sense to get rid of the bays to save space. From the outside, the Define S may look like all its siblings, but on the inside, it's a completely different ball game. More than ever before, Fractal has designed the internal layout with liquid cooling support in mind. For a start, there are no conventional drive cages. We instead get three drive trays housed on the rear of the backplate. Each tray supports either 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives, while there's also two more dedicated 2.5-inch trays to the rear of the motherboard tray. It's very neat, but you can't help thinking there isn't going to be much in the way of cooling for the drives. Where the drive cages would normally be found, there's a big, empty space. At least until you look closer. The backplate has been drilled for mounting a liquid-cooling reservoir (mounts are included) and the base can support many different types and sizes of pump units. There's no real excuse not to have a very tidy setup. As for radiators, it comes as no surprise that the Define S can support the odd one or four. There's room at the front for a rad of up to 360mm, regardless of thickness, while you can get anything up to 420mm long (with a thickness limit of 55mm for the longer lengths) in the roof. Plus, the back panel can house either 120 or 140mm units. There's room in the base for a 120mm rad, but bear in mind if you go for this option that there's a 165mm limit for the length of the PSU. The case also features Fractal's ModuVent covers on the top panel. All of the covers can be removed to allow fans to be fitted. As an aside, the $75 nonwindowed version has a fourth vent in the side panel as well. So, Why So Cheap?As they say, the devil is in the details. It's only when you take a closer look that you begin to understand why the Define S comes with a low price tag. For starters, there are only two USB 3.0 ports in the I/O bay—the R5's bonus pair of USB 2.0 ports have gone. Also gone is any form of integrated fan controller, plus the side panels are back to being the notched variety, not the previous latched version. A really nice design touch is the small hole at the bottom of the mobo backplate, close to where the audio header on a motherboard is situated. It means that this is one case where you don't have to drape the front audio cable across the front of the board—it just runs neatly behind the backplate, along with all the other cabling. Fortunately, despite the price tag, the Fractal Design attention to detail and superb build quality remain as high as ever, even down to the simple things like cable management.
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| Posted: 26 Oct 2015 05:45 AM PDT at a glance(+) Cracking (-) Cracked This article was published in the December 2015 issue of Maximum PC. For more trusted reviews and feature stories, subscribe here. All about the buttery biscuit bassWhat is it with Razer and just not doing so great lately? If there was ever a time for it to shine, you'd think it would be now. After years of research and development, it should be winning hearts and minds with its LED-encompassing peripherals of power. However, that's simply not the case. That's not the way the cookie crumbles, and nowhere is this more apparent than with the Razer Kraken Pro. Headsets have come a long way over the last decade. And even though this variant of Razer's prestigious Kraken series is priced competitively, at around $80, it just doesn't hold its own when compared to solutions from competitors such as QPad, Steelseries or Asus. It suffers from "gamer's syndrome." What do we mean by that? Simply put, too much bass. For some reason, many peripheral manufacturers have a tendency to lean too heavily on the bass production side with their headsets. And although this is great if you're looking to have dubstep playing at max volume constantly, it just doesn't cut it if you're looking for high-quality audio fidelity. This may be news to Razer, but a well-rounded headset consists of mastering not only the lows, but also the mids and the highs. The treble and the mids are just as important as the bass. Even in gaming, you need to hear the crunch of the explosions, the gun shots, the clash of swords, not just the dull thud of the bomb going off as it reverberates around your eardrums, slowly caressing them into oblivion. If you're looking to get these headphones for well-rounded sound reproduction, don't. Unless, of course, bass-heavy noise is your thing. In which case, these could be for you. However, it's not all doom and gloom for poor old Razer. The headset is a lovely fit. There's just enough tension, meaning that even after long periods of listening to music or gaming, it's still exceedingly comfortable. The earcups are a little small, though they do entirely surround your ears (as long as they're fairly small). Razer also provides an extension cable to ensure you have enough room to maneuver. Could Be WorseThe headset looks pretty stylish, too. The white finish for this particular special edition makes it a solid-looking headset. But unfortunately, you still wouldn't want to wear these things in public. Even with the retractable microphone, the garish Razer typeface littered across the top of the headband makes you feel like a bit of a donkey—not a design choice we're fans of here. The retractable mic is a fantastic addition, and has extensive noise-cancelling features, so much so that in some cases we couldn't get it to register sound at all. You might need to tweak it to actually get it to pick up your own voice, but all in all, it's quite the challenge just to register any noise on the poor thing, even in a busy office environment. Ultimately, these headphones just don't provide a compelling offer to anyone who's looking at Razer for more than brand worship. They don't provide good sound reproduction, the microphone is flakey at best, and, if you have ears even slightly more than average-sized, you're going to struggle to fit them comfortably around your lugs. The extension-capable, retractable mic, and four-pole adapter for mobile usage are nice additions, but they're just not enough to redeem its prior sins. When there are better, cheaper alternatives out there, such as the Kingston HyperX Cloud Gaming or QPad's QH-85, we're genuinely confused as to what Razer is playing at here. $80, www.newegg.com
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| 8 Things You Need To Know Before Switching To Linux Posted: 26 Oct 2015 12:00 AM PDT Creative commons photo by Liam Quinn. A few basic concepts every Linux newbie should knowChange is hard. It can be intimidating, confusing, and make you feel like a total newb. Migrating to a new operating system can certainly carry that kind of emotional weight. It seems like everyone else is an expert, and the language completely different. The language of Linux can seem especially dense to the uninitiated. We get it, and we've been there. There's no need to panic. Linux has evolved by leaps and bounds over recent years, and installing and using the OS can be accomplished without ever using a terminal window. If you're ready to dive into the open world of Linux, there's a few basic concepts you should wrap your head around first. 1. The "Linux" OS isn't what it seemsIf you talk to any hardcore free-software advocate, they'll tell you that what we usually refer to as the "Linux" OS is actually properly called GNU/Linux. Although most people will simply say "Linux" for brevity, there's a very important distinction to be made. What people think of as Linux is mostly the operating system GNU, short for GNU's Not UNIX (programmers love recursive acronyms). GNU is the collection of programs like task schedulers, code compilers, text editors, and other console commands. Basically, it's every program you need to do stuff on a PC. Everything, that is, except talk to hardware. GNU and Linux work together to form a complete OS. Linux is what's known as a kernel, and was written as a replacement for the UNIX kernel by Linus Torvalds (guess where he got the name). The kernel basically opens pipes for the OS and drivers to interact with the system's hardware. For hardware that is not natively supported in the kernel itself, the kernel can use drivers in the form of kernel modules. When you install your Nvidia driver in Linux, the driver communicates with the hardware directly, but still needs the kernel to tell it where the hardware is. Needless to say, an OS can't work without a kernel, and Linux has been the dominant kernel for the GNU operating system. There are other options (like GNU/Hurd), but for most GNU installations in the wild, Linux sits underneath. That's why GNU/Linux can be truncated to just Linux. Some may cry and wail, but it's just easier this way. Another thing that should be cleared up is that there isn't just one Linux OS. There are actually about 277 different active distributions according to DistroWatch. What is a distribution, you ask? A distribution is essentially a GNU/Linux package with a bunch of other program suites added on top. A distribution will often include a desktop environment (we'll get into that later) and a package management system. Distributions can also be based on other distributions, making customizing the distribution easier. Ubuntu, for example, is Debian-based, and uses the same package management system, Aptitude. Linux Mint is a derivative of Ubuntu, and also uses Aptitude. There are also "flavors" of distributions, too. UbuntuGNOME, Xubuntu, and Kubuntu are all the same Ubuntu under the hood, but use different desktop environments (we'll get to those later). The last, and one of the most important things to remember about the idea of Linux as an OS, is that there often isn't just one place to get support. For the most part, each program or package on a Linux system is developed by a different team, members of which may or may not talk to one another. In terms of support, this means there is no central place to call for help (or to blame). That said, there are plenty of places to find support. Ubuntu Forums is a helpful place to look, and the Arch Wiki has a wealth of information on how different programs work. 2. Filesystems, files, and devices are differentThe way filesystems structures are organized in Linux are much different than what you'll see in Windows. At first, it can seem confusing, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes pretty intuitive. The first thing to know is that the filesystem tree starts at one place, known as the root (not to be confused with A look at the root folder. While the filesystem tree is quite different than Windows, the underlying filesystems themselves are also quite different. Linux can use many different filesystems, and isn't limited to FAT32 or NTFS like Windows is. For most installations, Linux defaults to a filesystem called Ext4. Users can always change filesystems if they prefer something more specialized like BTRFS or ZFS. Linux has the ability to read and write to FAT32 and NTFS, as well. However, the drivers for those filesystems don't support user ownership, and aren't good choices for the Files themselves are quite different in Linux. Like Windows, each user owns their own set of files, with permissions given to groups or everyone, depending on what's needed. Unlike Windows, file extensions in file names are usually there to help the user, not the operating system. (That means executable files simply have the executable bit set, not an .exe extension.) Just like your mom told you, it's what's inside that counts. Both the files At this point you might have also noticed that Linux uses forward slashes for paths, and there is no drive letter designation. It's okay, you'll get used to it. What might take some more getting used to is the idea that devices like keyboards, storage, and monitors appear as files. The directory 3. You'll love your new desktop choicesIf you're a Windows or Mac user, you're probably quite well adjusted to what your desktop looks like. No matter the machine, you'll know exactly where to find buttons, menus, and commands. They'll all look pretty much the same, too. No so on Linux. Unlike Windows and Mac OS, the graphical environment isn't baked into the operating system as a core component. Instead, the program that pushes pixels (X11 or Wayland) is just another program like any other, and is completely optional. On top of that, the graphical server doesn't inherently tie you to any interface. You can take your pick of window managers and desktop environments, which, by the way, aren't the same thing. Huh? It's easy to get confused, but there is a big difference between a window manager and a desktop environment. A window manager, well, manages windows. It makes sure a window has a title bar, and can be moved, resized, and minimized. A desktop environment is a suite of programs that includes a window manager and a set of tools like a file browser, configuration tools, and other programs. The GNOME 3 activities panel. There's a wide range of desktop environments to choose from, but the most common ones are Unity (Ubuntu's default), GNOME 3 (Fedora's default), KDE, XFCE, and MATE (pronounced Ma-Tay, like yerba mate). While most users will opt for just one environment, it is entirely possible to have more than one desktop environment installed at once. If GNOME's got you down, you can just install and use KDE instead. If it turns out that you're not a big fan of how KDE does things, you can set GNOME to be your default again with just a little configuration. Desktop environments usually come with window managers as dependencies. Ubuntu's Unity uses the Compiz window manager, while GNOME 3 ships with GNOME Shell. If you want a super-lightweight experience, you can always just run a window manager like Openbox by itself. 4. Software repositories are awesomeRight after you're done installing Windows, what's the first thing you do? If you're like us, it's open up Internet Explorer to download Chrome or Firefox. From there, it's a race to download favorite programs like VLC. With Linux, all of this can be done much, much faster, and all without the need for a browser. Most popular Linux distributions come with a package manager, which keeps track of what programs you have installed and the version for each program. When you try to install a new program, the package manager queries the distribution's repository (or repo, for short) to look for the software package. If it is found, the package manager downloads and installs it automatically. If a program has a dependency of some sort, most package managers will attempt to install the dependencies first. The Ubuntu Software Center is a lot like an app store. Creative commons image by immysl. The majority of package managers and repos offer binary versions of programs, so you can use the program right away once it is installed. However, some distributions—like Gentoo—download the source code for a program and compile it before installation. While that may sound a little complex, it's not much different from the idea of having an app store, though Linux software repos have been around much longer than iTunes or Google Play. While some package managers come with a GUI, the command line is usually the quickest and most powerful way to manage programs. 5. You'll get over that terminal illnessNow that we've brought up the command line, we can feel some of you backing away. Many people haven't had to type text commands into a box since DOS and Windows 3.1. But it's okay, really. It's not as scary as you think. If you find yourself in a bind on Linux, there's a good chance you can fix it with a few terminal commands. Terminal commands can be powerful, and learning the basics will help you fix things and get stuff done, even if you use a GUI 90 percent of the time. And if you're frightened about messing things up, Linux does its best to keep you from shooting yourself in the foot. Remember how files have a pretty strict permissions system? Many configuration files and system operations require root access, which means normal users can't break things. Since you should NEVER log in as root for everyday use of a desktop, you'll likely use the command sudo. (Think of it as "super user do"). You can update all the packages on Arch Linux with a single terminal command. Sudo temporarily elevates a user's permission to that of the root user, allowing for editing of config files, and the installation of programs. Think of it as confirming administrative access in Windows. Only with sudo, you have to give the user's password (not the root password) and the user has to be in a special user group of "sudoers." With the help of the terminal and sudo, installing programs becomes a five-second affair. Want to install VLC on Ubuntu? Simply type sudo apt-get install vlc and bam! You're done. No searching on the web, clicking through dialogs. If you're unsure of what a command does, most programs comes with a manual called a man page. Man pages may not answer all your questions, but they'll clarify what parameters a command can take. If you want to know how to copy files, simply typing man cp will let you know everything about the copy command. Just a word of caution: don't go copying and pasting terminal commands from the web willy-nilly. While this method can be a time saver over typing in things yourself, it's best if you know what each command is actually doing. If you're unsure what a particular command does, look it up. There's a plethora of documentation available online for the vast majority of console commands. 6. Lack of hardware support makes you a (more) discerning shopperIf there's one thing detractors love to snicker about, it's the lack of support for certain hardware and software. And this, by far, will be the biggest annoyance when using Linux. For most of your hardware on Windows or Mac, you can expect the vendor to provide driver binaries for you to use. That's not always so with Linux. Most Linux hardware support is built right into the kernel, so if it's a common piece of hardware, there's a very good chance it will "just work." However, some devices (especially new ones) don't make it into the kernel, leaving the user to find a way to get it to work. This can be especially tedious for Wi-Fi drivers, since getting online makes installing, updating, and finding support much easier. Even though Nvidia provides a binary Linux driver that works quite well, you can kiss the GeForce Experience good bye. This isn't all Linux's fault, however. Many vendors support Linux by either providing open documentation for an open-source driver, or by providing a proprietary binary driver to use (like Nvidia and AMD do for their video cards). Some vendors don't see value in supporting Linux at all. Without vendor support, the only way to get a piece of hardware to work is for someone in the community to obtain the hardware, and try to reverse-engineer it or experiment until they get something to work. This takes a lot of time and effort, and can mean months or years spent developing a driver for a single piece of hardware. Users looking to switch to Linux should research the hardware they intend to use, and make sure it is supported. If you've got a laptop, double check the Wi-Fi card in use, as some laptop vendors lock the BIOS into using a particular Wi-Fi make and model. There are some PC makers that create machines just for Linux use, but options are far more limited. 7. Embrace the free-software lifestyleWhen you switch to Linux, you'll find a few programs you're used to on Mac or Windows available for your new OS. Chrome, Firefox, and even Skype have Linux versions available for penguin-loving rebels. But more often than not, you'll find yourself shorted, and looking for another way to get things done. If you use a key piece of software for that keeps you tied to Windows, you'll have to look for an alternative if you really want to make the big jump into Linux. Neither Adobe Creative Suite nor Microsoft Office are available on Linux. GIMP offers a good alternative to Photoshop, while LibreOffice can do most things that Microsoft's suite does. Of course, you can always try to run your Windows applications in WINE or a virtual machine, but doing so isn't officially supported. LibreOffice's Writer looks a lot like a dated Microsoft Word, and can read Word files to boot. As for games, Steam has a library of over 1,500 games available to Linux users, but it's a far cry from its Windows offerings. For gaming, many Linux users prefer to dual-boot their PC, using Windows only for gaming or other critical software. If you choose to dual-boot, it can be a pain in the butt. But at least you can take solace in the fact you can read files from your NTFS partition when you boot into Linux. There's one good thing about using free-software alternatives: Your data stays yours and you probably won't have to spend a penny on it. You also have the option to modify anything about the free software you use, since the source code is freely available. When it comes to security, Linux offers pretty good protection so long as you don't open yourself up to be easy prey. While the belief that there are no viruses or malware for Linux isn't technically true, the amount of viruses and malware that affect desktop Linux installations is quite low compared to Windows. (Many attackers exploit vulnerabilities in outdated software via SSH or telnet. As long as you keep your software updated and disable your SSH server, you'll probably be just fine.) When you use free software, there are no deliberate backdoors, phoning home, or—for those on the paranoid side—NSA shenanigans to worry about since all the code is open to (and auditable by) the public. 8. Prepare yourself for blank staresPC enthusiasts have a hard enough time trying to explain what it is they use or work on. Being a Linux user requires an extra level of patience when interacting with those not in the community. Chances are, if you go looking for a piece of hardware at your local electronics store, the staff won't have the slightest clue if the item has Linux support. In polite conversation with people, trying to explain that Linux is an operating system (and that no, it doesn't run on Windows or Mac) can take tact. And, since most people don't use Linux on their laptops or desktops, you'll find yourself becoming an unwilling Linux ambassador of sorts, explaining your OS and why you switched. Linux offers a great alternative to desktop users who want to try something different than what Microsoft and Apple are offering. As with anything, turning away from the mainstream comes with a few caveats. Luckily, Linux has a vibrant community of enthusiasts who are eager to help others migrate and experiment with their systems. So don't be afraid; dive in. The water's fine. |
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