In previous post I wrote about how to start with linux. This post is next on that topic.
As I wanted to be a computers guy I felt like home on linux. Developement of linux world is heavily geared towards developers. You will get state of the art compilers,tools and developing environments by default in linux distros. I had much less overhead to get some project working on linux than my other friends.
You should first try Linux in a totally risk free way as a Live CD or USB disk. Many sofisticated tools are available online that will help you in that. But if you are looking to install it the traditional way, backup your data and look over to some good partitioning and installing documentation and tutorial.
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinuxtipsproject/partitioning
One of the best things about the Open Source is communities. There exists communities for every Linux distro and the people there are very helpful. There are specially dedicated forums, irc channels for newcomers. If you got stuck just jump over there and shoot and be patient. Just know that the community people are very faithful and passionate about their projects so you should be careful and follow some ground rules. But don't be shy to ask questions no matter how silly it seems, they will help you on every step. I have wonderful experiences with communities and I am sure you will have too.
As linux is open source, extensive documentation exists for every part of the linux operating system. So it will help you to understand how computer works from the ground up. Trust me, I have learnt more by experiencing linux rather than an introductory OS course. You will get to know about every part of OS, processes, daemons, libraries etc. This is totally optional of course!
If you love having choices then linux got you covered, there are lots and lots of linux distro to choose from (distrowatch.com). There is one for every usecase you can think of. But choices doesn't end over there you will have infinite customization options. As a linux distro composed of several parts you can any assemble your own favorites and run them. You will have lots of desktop environments, window managers, themes etc. I was a distro hopper and I jumped over a lot of options to finally settle. Even now I ocassionaly try out some of them distributions.
For starters I will suggest to use a popular Linux OS and then they can carve their own path by keep tweaking. You should look for top things to do after installing. They will help you to get a more complete system. There are communities which are dedicated just for linux desktop customization you can look over there for inspiration. You will be amazed for sure. Furthermore there are many tools that can add to your productivity. You will discover them sooner or later.
If you are a little inquisitive and curious person than I think you will like Linux. There are certain lacks in Linux that I should tell you about. If you happen to be a serious Gamer then it may hurt you that certain games don't come for linux. Much development has been going on now in this area as Steam now has its own Linux OS. Much more games will be coming the Linux way for sure. But still you want to check your favourite game has a linux port or not.
Also the hardware support for wifi cards in linux is pretty infamous. Before installing a distro you should check with your wireless card if it is supported by the kernel version of the current OS. But don't worry people find a way to keep it working. As they say everything just works in Linux.
If you got a problem of overheating then maybe your graphic card is running wildly. You should find appropriate drivers for you card and look for some good discussions over the community forums for your problems. There exists several power control applications which will help you to enhance your laptop battery and keep it cool.
If you get further problems first google it and then jump over to the community forums.
If you have further questions mail me or drop it here.
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