In this series I’m going to covers the ins and outs of using Linux as your primary home computer operating system. It will cover in a realistic sense what you can and moreover cannot do with it.
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Getting real
I call the first part in this series “getting real” for the simple fact that contrary to popular belief, Linux isn’t easy if you just dive into it. What will probably happen is that if you do that, you’ll crash and burn miserably, end up frustrated beyond belief and just say “Screw this.”
If on the other hand you prepare before diving in, things go a whole lot smoother.
Use hardware that Linux “likes”
When I say “hardware” I’m referring to your computer box and its peripherals (mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc.)
Linux is picky about what hardware it “likes” and doesn’t like. If you can get all your hardware working without issue, that takes 99% of your frustration away right from the start.
General rules of thumb:
Linux loves Dell computers.
Truly it does. If you have a stock Dell that hasn’t been modified from its original delivered state, it’s more or less guaranteed that Linux will detect all the hardware in that box properly on first try. This applies to both Dell laptops and desktops.
If it’s brand new, it most likely won’t work.
Computer hardware and peripherals are designed for Windows first with Linux being well far behind. The reason for this is because computer hardware manufacturers don’t make any money from writing native drivers for a Linux environment. At that point it’s left up to the Linux community to custom fabricate drivers that work and that’s usually where you get your hardware support from.
If on the other hand the hardware you have is at least 1 to 2 years old (when the Linux community has caught up and written a driver), Linux will most likely happily detect it.
Support for your inkjet printer will most likely not exist.
Linux is well known to have poor support for inkjet printers. This is because most inkjet printers are software-driven, and of course that means Windows. Without the software working you don’t get the functions you want out of the printer and it just doesn’t work.
On the other hand, Linux has good support for laser printers because they are more hardware-controlled.
Popular hardware obviously has the most native Linux support.
Hardware that’s widely used (such as Dell computers) have drivers written for them first. Hardware that did not sell well or has sparse use usually will have no support in the OS at all.
Where you will notice the most lack of support is with anything that’s wireless. Wireless keyboards, mice, network cards, etc. This can be a real pain to get working under Linux.
But if you have wired hardware, the process of proper hardware detection is a whole lot better.
Up next: Recommended types of Linux distribution operating systems.
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A good article. It prepares people to a realistic approach to Linux.
Anyway, if your computer is, say, one year old and it comes with an inkjet printer of the same age, then it’s very likely that everything will work perfectly. Where the PC buyer needs to do some research is in the case of a brand new equipment array that is required to work with Linux from the very beginning: Make sure all the hardware and peripherals you want to buy will work with your Linux distro of choice.
In my opinion, one big hardware problem Linux has and that the community should address more seriously, is the use of webcams.