Operating systems

Joey has a PC running PopOS Linux but he wants to learn more about the secrets of the system. Leo says that there are books, but generally, it's through communities that you learn. REDDIT has many good subreddits. Reddit.com/r/linux is the definitive subreddit for it. Also, the Pop_OS subreddit would be good. Reddit.com/r/pop_os. There are also Linux and PopOS communities on Discord. That would be good too. 

Jacob wants to look into Linux, but which version to get? Leo says that there are various "flavors" of Linux, and based on your experience level, some may have different features. It's enthusiast driven, and so some devices may work, some may not. Most standard devices, like keyboards and mouses, will work natively. But you may need drivers for your monitors and peripherals like printers to get them to work. 

Nathan is 10 and he's interested in Linux. Would it be a good idea to switch to Linux? He's tired of Windows. Leo says switching would be an interesting thing for Nathan to do because he'll learn about Unix-based operating systems, which is the basis of most networks. Most servers run on Linux. If Nathan wants to grow up and get a job in computing, having an understanding of how Linux works would be most beneficial. Another thing that Nathan can do is get a raspberry pi computer for $35 and build his own. It comes with Linux and that way he can have both.

Jack is going to be moving to the Philippines soon, and he wants to know if Linux will be able to share the same computer with separate logins. Leo says that Linux actually invented the concept of a multi-user computer with individual accounts. So they've been doing that long before Microsoft did.

Can Linux run Microsoft Office? Linux can also run Microsoft Office by using an app called WINE, but Leo says it's much easier to use the online version of Office. It's pretty much the same. 

Doug wants to know how safe an open-source distro of Linux is from China. Leo says the key is that it's open-source and that likely means it's secure. HOWEVER, Leo stopped using Ubuntu because they added the capability to phone home back to Ubuntu. So he stays away from proprietary distros now in favor of community developed flavors like Debian or Manjaro Arch.

Michael wants to install Linux on a bootable USB key, but it doesn't work. It goes straight to Windows. Leo recommends Rufus for creating a bootable key for Linux. But the first thing you want to do is change the boot order in your BIOS to check the USB port first. Then, turn off secure boot. Modern PCs have this setting to protect your computer against a rogue operating system. Third, modern OS uses UEFI, not BIOS. So your computer likely needs to reflect that in your USB key. So you want to be sure your Linux Distro is UEFI compatible.

Timmy installed POP-OS Linux on an old HP laptop. But when he reboots, it won't update the system files. Leo says that this is a common issue in Linux, where, for security reasons, unsigned software isn't allowed to be installed into Linux. Leo says he will need to get the new key for that version of Linux and install it through the command line. Once that's installed, it'll update. Talk to System76.com support and they'll walk through it. What about the KeyRing password? Leo says it's probably login credentials.