Linux uses a standard disk partition scheme and can share a hard disk with other systems, incl. with DOS.
There is a bootloader that allows you to selectively load the required OS from disk.
Support for file systems of other operating systems.
From Linux, you can work in the usual way with hard drive partitions and floppy disks containing file systems of other operating systems, incl. DOS, Windows 95, Minix, Xenix, Coherent, System V file systems. DoubleSpace, HPFS-2 (OS/2) and Amiga file systems are available in read-only mode.
File systems DoubleSpace/Stacked, etc. become readable and writable in Linux when the DOS emulator is running.
File system Linux OS supports all standard CD ROM formats.
Linux is capable of being both a client and a server for the NFS network file system. Linux supports NCP and SMB protocols and can serve as a file server or access NetWare and Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT.
Installing Linux on a DOS partition.
Linux supports the UMSDOS file system, which makes it possible to install Linux directly into a DOS file system without rearranging the hard drive partitions.
A 4-floppy Mini-Linux distribution kit is built on the basis of UMSDOS, which is installed in the DOS file system.
Working with floppy disks in DOS format.
From Linux you can read and write DOS floppy disks. This is done both by conventional Linux tools (then the floppy disk is mounted as part of the file system), and by special commands for servicing DOS floppy disks. Floppy disks are also available in the DOS emulator.
Execution of DOS application programs.
Linux runs dosemu, a DOS emulator. This program allows you to run a DOS system on Linux, which runs DOS application programs normally. You can run many DOS programs, but not all. For example, a DOS emulator allows you to work with
- information databases:
- Consultant +,
- Pulse of prices
- Wholesalers in Russia,
- and etc.;
- software packages for accounting tasks.
DOS applications running on Linux can use the file system of both the DOS partition and the Linux file system, incl. NFS network file system.
The DOS application runs in parallel with other processes. You can run multiple DOS applications at the same time.
Working with MS Windows applications.
The WINE system is under development, which allows MS Windows application programs to be run on X Windows. In this case, MS Windows is not used and its presence is not required. Currently, WINE allows you to run a limited number of MS Windows applications. Such popular programs as Word, PageMaker, CorelDraw do not yet work with the WINE system. The WINE project is under active development, and these and other applications will soon be available for use on X Windows.
The DOS emulator can run MS Windows 3.0 in real mode and related applications. MS Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups run on emulator version 0.63, although for these purposes dosemu should be considered an alpha version for now. The DOS emulator is developing rapidly.
Willows Software, Inc. developed the commercial TWIN XPDK system. This system contains a component similar in functionality to WINE, which allows X to Windows work ute apps Microsoft Office Applications, Word, Excel and Project. In general, TWIN XPDK is a set of tools for MS developers Windows applications(including for Win95), which allows the developer to easily transfer applications between a number of platforms, including Unix, OS/2, Mac.
Caldera, Inc. , the starting capital of which was investments from Noorda Family Trust, Inc. (Ray Noorda - former General Manager Novell), sells the Caldera Network Desktop system, which is based on Linux. Caldera has acquired a license from SunSoft, Inc. for Wabi, a commercial system that is functionally similar to the free WINE system. Priced at $200 or less, Wabi will be available as part of the Caldera Solutions CD.
Execution of programs from different versions of Unix.
Using the iBCS2 emulator, the Linux system allows you to run downloadable programs from SCO Unix, Xenix V/386, SVR3 generic, Wyse V/386, SVR4 (Unixware, USL, Dell), BSD/OS, FreeBSD systems. For example, SCO Unix applications such as CorelDraw, WordPerfect, Oracle run on Linux.
Programs from Unix System V and BSD systems are easily transferred to Linux (and vice versa) at the source level.
Linux supports open system standards, incl. POSIX. World leader in information technology standardization and holder trademark UNIX X/Open has certified the Linux operating system to the POSIX.1 FIPS151-2 standard. This means official recognition of the fact that almost all Unix applications can be easily ported to Linux. Certification regarding POSIX.2, POSIX.4 and POSIX.7 is on the horizon. Lasermoon, which produces the Linux-FT distribution, has an X/Open membership.
From time to time you buy new equipment, and, of course, you want it to work on Linux. It’s not that the free community can’t or doesn’t want to support devices - experience shows that it can and does. The point is greedy and stupid manufacturers who do not want not only to write drivers for their hardware, but even to open the specifications for their devices. Typically, if the hardware doesn't run on Linux, then that manufacturer is usually not worth considering at all.
This post talks about Linux and installing hardware in Linux. Installing hardware on Linux is easy, and below are resources to help you do it.
Where can I find information on compatibility of devices and peripherals with Linux?
http://linux-wless.passys.nl/ - extended database of WiFi cards for Linux.This is the most comprehensive resource for wireless support. network cards in Linux, you can look by manufacturer - and if it is supported, then the name of the driver is immediately given.
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-mfgs.html - list of scanners in Linux that are supported by the SANE subsystem.List of scanner models that work in Linux depending on the manufacturer. Gradations of compatibility: full support, partial, basic, no support. It also indicates what backend is required for the device to operate.
http://openprinting.org/printer_list.cgi - a database of working printers in Linux supported by the CUPS printing subsystem, which provides drivers for printers in LinuxLinux distributions.Convenient search by printer models and manufacturer. Gradations of compatibility: works, almost works, works to a limited extent, ballast.
Databases by device category
http://www.linuxcompatible.org/compatibility.html - a database of all Linux-compatible devices, from sound cards to printers and scanners. There are gradations of compatibility: it works perfectly, it works for the most part, some functions work, ballast. The database is very extensive and is updated from time to time by the site’s creators. Either way, a wonderful resource.
http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/ - base of devices supported by kernels 2.6.15 and higher. We simply copy the output of lspci -n from the console and get information about the support of the hardware located on the motherboard.
http://www.linux-laptop.net/ - the most comprehensive resource about Linux work on laptops. The page provides a classification by manufacturer, followed by links by model to specific pages users telling what and how they did to get the functionality of their laptops. Most information is in English, but other languages are also present.
http://start.at/modem - a large resource for supporting such defective devices as winmodems. It turns out that you can also extract something from this ballast: an impressive list of supported devices is provided.
http://www.phoronix.com/lch/ - user database of supported devices. It's starting to fill up, you can take part in it too. There are RSS feeds both for a specific type of piece of hardware and for all of them at once.
- A wonderful resource on Linux devices with links to HOWTOs and “how to set up”. On the page there is a classification by device type, followed by links to how to set it up and what problems may arise. There are also links to general information according to these devices. Very informative. There is a news feed for the site (new documentation).
http://cdb.suse.de/?LANG=en_UK - list of devices compatible with SuSE Linux. Updated database of devices compatible with SuSe Linux. As a rule, these devices work in other distributions too.
http://www.linuxtested.com/ - compatibility and operation of devices across distributions. The site contains information about testing devices in the following distributions: SuSE, Redhat / Fedora, TurboLinux, Debian, Mandrake.
http://www.linux.org/hardware/ - hardware running on Linux. The list is not complete, but it can be useful - there is information about exotic hardware for which there is support in Linux.
http://www.linux-drivers.org/ - Links to many resources on Linux compatibility. A large number of links to resources and hardware support in Linux.
http://hardware4linux.info/ - linux-compatible directory hardware
, divided into categories: “works straight out of the box”, “works with modification”, “unknown”, “partially works” and “does not work”. A fairly large and constantly updated database of devices.
http://www.linmodems.org/ - database on support for such vicious devices as Win modems. In them, all the main activities are transferred to the driver, written for you-know-what-system. As a result, there are almost no “brains” on the device, just as the manufacturers of such devices do not have them. Through the efforts of free programmers, many of these devices can be made to work in Linux.
Windows and Linux are the most popular operating systems on the world market. The debate about which one is better has not subsided since the advent of the systems. There are many adherents, as well as opponents, for each of them. Of course, both Linux and Windows have their advantages and disadvantages, which some users are willing to put up with and others are not. In this article we will try to once again pit these two giants against each other and finally find out which is better: Windows or Linux. Go!
Any platform has its advantages and disadvantages
Let's start with Linux. In general, this OS is less popular than Windows; working with it, as a rule, raises more questions among users. It is worth noting that Linux is more likely aimed at professionals, rather than at ordinary users. It is those people who want to get the widest possible possibilities when working with a computer who become the most ardent fans of this system. Now let's look at each of the advantages of Linux in turn.
The main and significant advantage is free distributions, the choice of which is quite extensive. Linux is the basis on which developers “hang” GUI for the convenience of users. All distributions are official and completely free, which means that you have the opportunity to get at your disposal a proven and reliable OS, which is a licensed product. In this regard, Windows has nothing to brag about. The most popular distributions can be called: Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Mandriva - this list goes on and on. Choose what you like best.
Free software
As you already understand, Linux is a real find for those who want to use a high-quality, licensed product for free. The choice of programs is quite extensive, but you still won’t be able to use the most popular tools for free.
Variability
Linux is very flexible system, which allows you to do literally anything with yourself. This makes this operating system an excellent choice for programmers. Computer professionals can do whatever they want in Linux, creating a wide variety of software to solve a variety of problems.
Design
Although the beauty of Linux does not lie in the graphical interface, one cannot help but note the stylish and modern design of some distributions, which many will like.
Performance
Linux OS is absolutely not demanding on hardware and works excellently even on the weakest machines. Experiment with distributions and find the one that gives you the best features with maximum performance.
Now about the disadvantages. Linux, for all its functionality, cannot be called an entertainment system. This OS is definitely not suitable for fans of computer games. In addition, you will have problems using popular software products, and instead you will have to use their analogues, which few people are delighted with. To summarize all of the above, we can say that the Linux OS is really good for computer professionals, for whom it gives advanced work capabilities, and for those who need a free, licensed operating system and software products. At the same time, it is difficult to really call Linux good choice specifically for home use.
It's time to talk about the mastodon and almost absolute leader of the operating systems market - Windows. This product is from Microsoft used on the vast majority of devices around the world. There is probably not a person in the world who has not encountered this OS. Some people like it, some don’t, but everyone has worked with it. Now let’s move on to analyzing all the advantages of Windows and try to reveal the reason for such success of this product.
Prevalence
The popularity of Windows has led to the appearance of a huge number of manuals and articles with answers to all questions related to working in the system or correcting errors in it. Although this OS is paid, there are not so many users of licensed versions. Precisely pirate Windows versions installed on almost every computer in the CIS countries due to their availability.
Simplicity
A huge advantage of this OS is that it is convenient for both simple users and advanced users. Windows provides the ability to work in command line, make changes in the registry and so on, but for those who do not need all this and who do not understand it, this OS offers a clear and pleasant graphical interface, which is not difficult to understand.
Games
Where would we be without this? Quite a lot of users regularly or occasionally play computer games. The undoubted advantage of Windows is that almost all existing PC games are compatible with it. This means that if you have a Microsoft product installed, you have access to a huge selection of computer entertainment.
Software
The vast majority of utilities and applications are created specifically for the Windows OS, which is very good for any user. All the most popular software products are implemented on Windows, and this gives you very wide possibilities when working with a computer.
Compatibility
Unlike Linux, you are unlikely to find any device that does not have Windows drivers. By choosing a product from Microsoft, you can say that you eliminate all problems with device compatibility, since all manufacturers primarily focus on creating products that are compatible with Windows.
Design
Recently, the OS from Microsoft can boast of these. Design latest versions very distinctive and original. The huge tiles of version 8 were not to the taste of many, but the developers’ decision to combine new and old designs in version 10 of the system satisfied many users. Windows 10 very organically intertwines the classic features embedded in old versions with the most modern and newfangled developments.
Microsoft Office
Anyone who has worked in Libre Office on Linux understands that they have not come up with a better text editor than Word. This utility is truly indispensable in our time, and compared to it, Libre Office looks like one complete misunderstanding, working with which brings nothing but torment.
As for the shortcomings, the main minus Windows is that this OS costs money. This problem is especially relevant for the CIS countries. All users constantly download pirated versions that are not verified and reliable, and this, in turn, greatly damages the reputation of the Windows OS and the Microsoft developer company. Another drawback, which to some extent can be associated with the first, is frequent system crashes. Perhaps everyone is familiar with the “blue screen” or, as it is also called, the “screen of death.” Windows user. Whatever one may say, the reliability and stability of this system leaves much to be desired. In conclusion, we can say that strong Windows side The point is that this system is for everyone. Everyone will find something of their own in it, regardless of their own skills or assigned tasks. We can say that this is what makes this product so popular all over the world.
As you can see, it is not possible to make a clear choice in favor of any of the systems discussed in the article. All that can be advised to you is to try to work with both one and the other, and then decide what is best for you. After all, everyone has their own ideas about good design, functionality, performance and other aspects in which comparisons can be made. With all the advantages and disadvantages of each operating system, it is impossible to give an objective verdict, since in the end it all comes down to elementary “taste”. This article is designed to give you the necessary food for thought, and it’s up to you to decide which is better: Windows or Linux.
Leave your review of the article and write in the comments your opinion about which of the reviewed operating systems you consider the best and why.
- In contact with
- regular form
It is enough to understand once what a blue screen of death or bsod is, as you like. Blue screen This is the inability to read the file. Moreover, it is completely impossible due to the absence of this file or due to the lack of a path to it. Now I’ll explain it easier. A file may be missing for two reasons. First. Damage to the hard drive, which is only possible on an old computer. Second. Driver mismatch. For example. A hard drive with a wide cable or harness, the so-called IDE interface, on which we install a new operating system that does not have such drivers. In this case, you need to take care and download the drivers separately and have them during installation. Another option. On a sata hard drive, or new hard drive install an old operating system, for example windows xp, Zver, and so on. These operating systems do not include satov drivers. The result is a screen of death. There are no other options and cannot be. If the drivers fully match, everything will be fine if you don’t deliberately mock the computer and don’t pull the plug from the socket to please your crazy. In this case, you will ruin your hard drive within a few starts and then you will receive a death screen due to an unreadable hard drive. It is better not to repair faulty clusters or places in the hard drive and not even waste time. The Winchester is a very complex device that requires respect and care. Take care of your computer. Don’t try to experiment, otherwise you’ll end up with so much pain and financial costs that it’s easier to buy a new computer.
Author)))) What would you know. Just for wild beginners and for home use Linux is perfect. At least because it doesn’t allow you to delete your system folders in the usual way for Windows. Secondly, the same Mint Mate is very similar in the arrangement of buttons and program menus to Windows. Thirdly, what is missing from Linux for beginners? Specialized programs - that’s how they should be written. Fourthly, Linux is bad technical support? I beg you)))) On the forums they will chew it out in a way that they don’t teach pensioners in computer courses. And they won’t laugh at the same time.
You must first work in LeebreOffiese to properly evaluate this program.
I graduated from LeebreOffiese Institute, made charts and wrote my diploma there. 4.5 years of practice.
All markers have different tastes and colors.
Or someone can say with 100% confidence that the sea is still better than a lake, and the ocean is better than a river.
Who is trying to prove what to whom? Unless you convince yourself once again...
Earlier I already described the situation with . In short, if you desperately need Word, then the only adequate solution is virtual machine. But is it necessary? After all, Linux has several native office suites.
Linux? No, have not heard…
In this article we’ll talk about this: are the office suites available on Linux compatible with MS Office, and if so, to what extent? I’ll make a reservation right away - I’m interested first and only working with texts, so everything below will mainly concern word processors- Word and its Linux analogues.
I would be happy to write something about presentations and table processors, but I’m not good at them. On the other hand, my work is closely related to texts, and almost every day a dozen text files pass through me, often containing, in addition to text, drawings, both made directly in Word and inserted from outside, tables, formulas, and often complex formatting. In general, the conditions for testing are very good.
When I moved to Linux, it became obvious that the most important aspect of local office suites for me was the ability to open anything created in Word document and how much of it appearance will match how the document appears in Word. Having discussed this topic on forums and in social networks, I came to the conclusion that this is precisely the point that worries many.
This is exactly what I will talk about below, of course, telling a little about each office package as a whole.
Let me start with the fact that initially I planned to create a kind of “synthetic test” - a page in Word, with different formatting elements, pictures, formulas, etc. However, it immediately became clear that the idea was not the best, since it poorly reflected the real situation of things. Therefore, I chose a different tactic - for two weeks I watched how this or that program opens created in Word text files, and I already mentioned above that I view an average of ten of them a day. Two weeks have passed, and now I have something to tell you.
Our test subjects are four office suites - two in currently are well known - Libre Office and WPS Office. And two less often mentioned are Softmaker Office and Calligra Suite.
Libre Office
I’ll say right away that if you need to open a document created in Word, and there is a need for it to look exactly as intended by the author, this is not about Libre Office. The main problems that caught my eye include the fact that it does not “pick up” some of the text formatting, and also has problems with drawings and diagrams made directly in Word. Some of them are distorted beyond recognition. Also, for some reason, Libre Office Writer did not correctly “pick up” the page margin settings in all cases, as a result of which the text looked anything but like in Word. On the other side, if you basically need to open a document, then Libre Office is “ahead of the rest.” While in other products some elements are simply not displayed, Libra will try to show everything, albeit a little askew. In other words, the package has its own interface, and does not copy anything. It vaguely resembles older versions of MS Office, but only remotely. Working with Libre Office is convenient and pleasant. Mostly on Linux I use this office suite and these lines are typed in Libre Office Writer.
I also cannot help but note that it is now preparing for release a new version Libre Office, which has many changes, including those aimed at increasing compatibility with MS Office formats. So the situation described above may soon change. Also, as far as I know, work is underway on a “ribbon” interface in the style of Microsoft products. I don’t know how, but I’ve already gotten used to this interface, and I think that it is very convenient, especially in the context of a text editor. So we wait.
WPS Office
On forums, WPS Office is often referred to as “fully compatible with MS Office,” so I installed it with particular interest. Indeed, there is some measure of compatibility. Let's not forget that we are currently only working with the alpha version, so everything is still to come, as they say.
Meanwhile, we can already safely say that most documents in WPS Writer look the same as in Word, and this is more of an achievement! For myself, I noted problems with many formulas that WPS, unlike Libre, does not show at all. He doesn't want to show some raster images, inserted into text files. Moreover, I was unable to identify any pattern. Some show up, some don't. The problem doesn't happen often, but it does pop up. Among other things, we can note several other minor problems, for example, markers in bulleted lists are not always displayed correctly, etc.
WPS Office has two interface modes, one more similar to Word 2003, and the other more like modern versions. Unfortunately, "tape" modern interface, in my opinion, not very well designed. However, in any case, the presence of an office suite that, even at the alpha testing stage, provides such high degree compatibility with MS Office, very pleased. Although for everyday work WPS, subjectively, is still “damp”.
Softmaker Office
The third product I want to talk about is Softmaker Office (). Version 2016 for Windows is available on the developer’s website, but only version 2012 is available for Linux so far. For some reason, I didn’t take this office seriously. And in vain. Oddly enough, exactly word processor from this package, in my opinion, provides the best compatibility with Word. Problems arose only with formulas for which a formula editor other than the “native” Word one was used. Everything else was just great.
Of course, there was a fly in the ointment. Softmaker Office is a paid product. Full version costs 80 dollars. There is a free version, which includes a number of restrictions - if we talk about text editor, then this is the inability to save files in DOCX formats and PDF - only DOC and “native” format, as well as a number of other restrictions. However, if the office suite is not the main working tool for you, then paid version quite enough. Here, by the way, it is important to note that it is free, including for commercial use.
Otherwise, everything is very good, the program looks serious, the interface, however, is similar to Word 2003, but in the paid version it is quite flexibly customizable. Although, for those who are accustomed to the “ribbon” interface, this may be a small minus.
Calligra Suite
The last thing we will discuss is Calligra Suite. Unfortunately, the discussion will be short. Direct disadvantages include the worst compatibility with Word (do not forget that the article is not about office suites themselves, but about compatibility).
I won’t even describe all the aspects in which Calligra “sucks” in terms of compatibility, there are too many of them. In addition, I personally was not at all impressed by the original interface of the program - all the toolbars in it are located to the right of the text. And although this may be very appropriate on modern wide-format “rectangular” monitors, it turned out to be difficult to get used to, although this is subjective.
Summarize
In recent years, the situation with office suites on Linux has improved radically. At a minimum, there is already Libre Office, which will really easily cover the lion's share of the needs of the average user.
If you need compatibility with Word, you should pay attention to Softmaker Office; the developing WPS Office is at least worth a look - that's for sure.
Calligra Suite, unfortunately, gives the impression of a bent product. From what I've read online, this seems to be the case.
Well, if you need “final and irrevocable” compatibility with Word, a virtual machine with Windows and MS Office is your choice.
( 2007-08-15 )
To decide whether a particular computer can run Linux perfectly or not, you need to check all its components - the video card, sound card, printer, scanner, digital camera and other devices for compatibility with Linux.
Of course, over the last decade, support for various hardware in Linux has improved markedly and now you have a fairly good chance of buying a computer and running almost any distribution on it without any problems. However, there is still equipment that is not currently supported.
Today, almost all equipment works well, but you should be wary of equipment that is controlled by programs rather than buttons. Because the programs are most likely written for Windows and sometimes Mac OS X.
Even when the manufacturer declares support for Linux, be very careful. Most likely you will have to go to the manufacturer’s website, where it is very likely that you will find not entirely up-to-date information. Searching on the Internet will also not be very useful, since it will ultimately yield many pages with outdated or not entirely correct information in your case.
Below is a list of some online resources, the information on which is regularly updated and is quite complete and detailed.
Video cards
If you want to check if your video card is supported, start with the X.Org website, there is a list of supported video cards. You can also check the manufacturer's website. This is true, for example, for video cards from NVIDIA and ATI. In addition, there is the Nouveau project, which develops open drivers for NVIDIA cards, and its brother - the Avivo project, which develops open drivers for ATI cards. However, none of these projects have yet presented an official release.
If you don't know what is better to choose - open drivers or proprietary ones - there are several ways to make this choice. Firstly, you can make a choice based on your philosophy, but most likely the choice will be made based on their functionality. Main problem open drivers- limited or completely absent support for 3D capabilities, while proprietary drivers are slow and (especially ATI) unstable.
Another option is the policy of the distribution you are using. Commercial distributions like Xandros and Linspire usually come with proprietary drivers already included, while Ubuntu uses open source ones. True, Ubuntu also has Restricted Device Manager, which makes it easy to install proprietary drivers on the system. Fedora 7 is one of the first distributions to use Nouveau drivers instead of proprietary NVIDIA drivers whenever possible.
Sound cards
Unfortunately, there is no single site with detailed information, but you can check out the list of Linux-compatible cards on the Linux-Sound website. You can also get information from the Linux Audio Developers mailing lists.
Another good source is Soundcard Matrix on the ALSA project website. If your card is in this matrix and the Notes column is empty, your card is guaranteed to be supported.
Printers
You are guaranteed to work with any printer that supports Universal PostScript. However, if you want to get more detailed information start with the Printer Compatibility Database, which is part of the OpenPrinting project (Formerly LinuxPrinting.org).
The Printer Compatibility Database is an almost perfect source of printer information. It contains almost all known printers. For each printer, it sets its own level of support: Good, Mostly, Partially and Paperweight :). The database also describes which driver works with which printer, and a detailed description of the settings for full use printer. As an alternative, you can choose a printer for your tasks, using part of the same database. All information is based on user reports..
Scanners
If you use a multifunction printer as a scanner, then the printer database can help you (see the previous chapter). However, the main source of scanner compatibility information is the SANE Project Information Retrieval Service, which will help you find suitability information specific model for use on Linux. If you encounter problems, it is best to ask questions on the SANE project forum.
Digital cameras
Modern digital cameras abandoned the closed protocols of the past in favor of the open one - USB, the support of which in Linux is very low high level. However, if you still need to make sure that your camera will be supported, turn to the gPhoto project, which has a database of more than nine hundred titles. Another source is Hubert Figuiere's database, which contains detailed information not only about supporting cameras, but also about configuring the system to use them.
Wireless adapters
A few years ago, the main gap in device support was modems. These days these are wireless adapters. In addition, the constant release of new models makes support even more difficult. For example, two related models may have fundamentally different firmware and, accordingly, require different drivers.
The only timely updated website with information on wireless adapters- , maintained by Jean Tourrilhes and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. The information on the site is posted quite chaotically, but you can figure it out if you want.
If your adapter is not supported, you may be able to launch it using , or, for Broadcom adapters, - . Both of these projects are actually wrappers for drivers from Windows or Mac OS X.
The downside to both programs is that you need to use lspci to get the Bus ID of your adapter. Therefore, before you buy anything, look at how many adapters similar to yours are supported by ndiswrapper.
Laptops and other mobile devices
Loading...
