8 replies to this topic

[MikeSA]

Which Linux Distro can be deemed closest to Windows, can run Microsoft Apps with WINE installed and the size of the font of menus etc not too tiny?  I tried Zorin but found the menu text especially much too tiny even at a resolution of 1024 X 768.  It also is quite slow in starting. 

[paws]

Hi MikeSA,
Mint cinnamon and Ubuntu are often regarded as being "user friendly" for a Windows user.... however as always it's "different strokes for different folks".

 

You could give either of them a try and see how you get on...... if you do try them please let us know how things go as other folks may well be interested in your experience.

Regards

paws

[MikeSA]

Thanks for the prompt response.  I have in fact tried several distros including Ubuntu and Mint Cinnamon but I found the text menus and title bars are always quite tiny on all of them.  If I change the screen resolution to as low as 800 X 600, the size of the fonts admittedly increases but then the information overspills over the right screen edge and cannot be accessed as there is no horizontal scroll bar.  It appears the distro developers omitted to take cognisance of this aspect. 

 

 

[terry1966]

nearly everything in linux can be customised to suit, that would include font size/rendering.

you don't need to run at a lower screen resolution to get bigger fonts.

 

personally i run opensuse 13.2 with a kde desktop but find a distro you like and then let us know what distro it is and we'll try and find some good guides for you to follow to fully set it up including getting fonts to your liking while running at a monitors native screen resolution.

 

eg. here's a setup guide for mint with it's mate desktop:-  http://community.lin...orial/view/1395

 

here's wines app database where you can search to see if any windows programs you may want to run will work using wine :- https://appdb.winehq.org/

 

installing a distro is usually only the first part of many things you need to add/install before it can be called fully functional and a desktop your happy with, for instance you usually have to install some proprietary media extra's before you can play dvd's for example.

 

Edited by terry1966, 08 October 2015 - 02:04 PM.

[paws]

Hi MikeSA,

Excellent info from terry (as always...)

 

I think of terry as our Linux guru, and we are very lucky to have such an expert Linux user, keep us Windows users, comfortable in a Linux environment.

 

I hope that you will be able to find exactly what you need and with assistance from terry be able to customise it to your exact requirements.

Regards

paws

[MikeSA]

Thanks for the responses.  I have downloaded both Ubuntu and Zorin 9.   However, on Ubuntu, I note that all the desktop icons are piled up vertically on the left edge of the screen .  The rest of the screen remains blank.  The icons cannot re-arranged or moved so as to display horizontally across the screen in rows as with a Windows desktop.

 

And on Zorin, I find the menu fonts much too tiny.  Is there any way to increase the size of the fonts of the text?  (perhaps I am getting old and my eye-sight is no longer what it used to be!)

 

On PC’s running a Linux Distro, how does one install the drivers that come on a CD with a new motherboard?   On a Windows machine, the CD would automatically run and installing motherboard drivers is a simple matter but I find that is not the case with both Ubuntu and Zorin (and probably with all other distros).  I am however able to view what’s on the CD, but then, when I click on the setup file, nothing happens.   I just get an error message : Archive Manager cannot load file.

 

Once the initial and any subsequent issues are sorted out, I will choose between Ubuntu and Zorin but am I correct that Zorin would be a better bet as it appears that the operating system is similar to Windows and can also run certain Microsoft programs.  That’s what is stated on Zorin’s website.

Thanks

Edited by MikeSA, 16 October 2015 - 01:02 PM.

[terry1966]

 

Thanks for the responses.  I have downloaded both Ubuntu and Zorin 9.   However, on Ubuntu, I note that all the desktop icons are piled up vertically on the left edge of the screen .  The rest of the screen remains blank.  The icons cannot re-arranged or moved so as to display horizontally across the screen in rows as with a Windows desktop.

zorin is in fact more or less ubuntu but with a different desktop, the desktop can be changed in ubuntu from the default where the menu is on the left so it looks more like a windows desktop too. ubuntu's default desktop is unity and zorin's is a customised gnome 2 desktop i believe.

 

here's a list of desktops that you can install if you wanted to :-  http://askubuntu.com...s-are-available

my desktop of choice is kde which i use on an opensuse distro.

 

 

And on Zorin, I find the menu fonts much too tiny.  Is there any way to increase the size of the fonts of the text?  (perhaps I am getting old and my eye-sight is no longer what it used to be!)

never used zorin so best answer at the moment is to probably use "gnome tweak tool" here's where i got that info.

http://zoringroup.co....php?f=5&t=8613

http://zoringroup.co....php?f=5&t=8102

 

 

On PC’s running a Linux Distro, how does one install the drivers that come on a CD with a new motherboard?   On a Windows machine, the CD would automatically run and installing motherboard drivers is a simple matter but I find that is not the case with both Ubuntu and Zorin (and probably with all other distros).  I am however able to view what’s on the CD, but then, when I click on the setup file, nothing happens.   I just get an error message : Archive Manager cannot load file.

you don't need to install motherboard drivers, in linux all chipset drivers are already built into the operating systems kernel, so unless there is a specific problem/reason why you think you need a specific driver then i wouldn't worry about it.

 

 

Once the initial and any subsequent issues are sorted out, I will choose between Ubuntu and Zorin but am I correct that Zorin would be a better bet as it appears that the operating system is similar to Windows and can also run certain Microsoft programs.  That’s what is stated on Zorin’s website.

Thanks

all linux distro's can run "certain windows programs" but they use a program called wine to run them with, the main difference is zorin by default installs wine and a front end for wine called play on linux by default so should make things easier for you when it comes time to try and run any windows programs, just don't get your hopes up to high on running your windows programs though, some run great, some barely and most nope they won't run.

 

personally if people need a windows program then i always suggest they are better off using a windows os to run it.

best choice is run windows natively on a windows only pc or a dual boot pc with both windows and linux installed next best thing is probably running windows on linux pc in a virtual machine by using something like virtualbox.

rarely if ever would i recommend wine to run windows programs and why i haven't used it for years. tell a lie, i just remembered i use wine and pipelight all the time so i can watch certain streamed content that will only play using windows silverlight, eg. netflix.

 

here's a review on zorin :- http://distrowatch.c...?issue=20150824

 

install what distro you like best, and from there i will try and help you with any problems that you may encounter, even if it means installing the same distro to one of my pc's to try and help do this better.

 

you'll usually find any fixes for problems found by googling are for ubuntu but because zorin is ubuntu based they will also work for the zorin distro, same thing applies to all distro's based on ubuntu like mint.

 

below are some links that may give you some other idea's on what distro is best for you.

 

http://www.techradar...commend-1090058

http://www.pcworld.c...-beginners.html

http://www.makeuseof...rs-windows-mac/

https://www.linux.co...istros-for-2015

 

not trying to change your mind or influence your choice of desktop but personally i recommend either linux mint or opensuse for first time users, suse definitely takes some setting up to get everything to work correctly (not really hard if you know what's needed) but once done then it is a rock solid desktop.

 

give kde live a shot and see what you think from here (you'll find it listed under "alternative versions" in box below download link.) :- https://software.opensuse.org/132/en

 

here's links to reviews of both mint and suse :-

 

http://www.theregist...nt_17_2_review/

http://www.theregist...bles_into_town/

 

does sound like i'm trying to change your mind though.

 

but honestly i'm not and will download and install any distro you finally choose so i can help you better if you run into any problems.

 

Edited by terry1966, 16 October 2015 - 04:50 PM.

[MikeSA]

Hi Terry : Many thanks for the response.  OK I shall take your advice and go for OpenSuse.  But I note that there are two versions : Tumbleweed and Leap.  Which version would you say would be ideal for a newbie like me? 

[terry1966]

leap is the one you want to install and will probably (at the moment.) just take you to the same download page i linked to for you to test suse out with live kde and from there will just offer the opensuse13.2 version, leap doesn't come out until the 4th of november so i'd suggest waiting till then before downloading and then you should get the latest opensuse version.

 

tumbleweed will be the most up to date because it's a rolling release but that may also bring problems/hassles and stability issues (not as many as the factory version.) with it that a new linux user may not want or be able to easily fix but it will also be the one most likely to "just work" with newest/upcoming hardware.

 

personally i only run the stable version of opensuse and not the tumbleweed version at the moment but that may change depending on what mood i'm in later.

 

short reviews on leap :-

http://www.zdnet.com...-opensuse-leap/

http://www.theregist...doption/?page=1

 

   

Edited by terry1966, 31 October 2015 - 10:11 PM.