[conspire] (forw) [sf-lug] Dual boot (was: pair of own suggestion)

[Syeed Ali]

"Windows Subsystem for Linux" = WSL

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/


On Wed, 13 Oct 2021 15:13:20 -0700
Don Marti <dmarti at zgp.org> wrote:

> And there are new options available. Recent releases of Microsoft 
> Windows have the somewhat confusingly-named "Windows Subsystem for 
> Linux" ...

For those who don't know, the "XLaunch" component of "VcXsrv Windows X
Server" allows one to run GUI apps.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/vcxsrv/

> ... which gives users of those Windows systems access to a fairly 
> complete Linux install that has your existing files available.

On that note.


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For everyone:  DO NOT USE WINDOWS TO MODIFY WSL CONTENT

When running a WSL shell, you have files.  You can use explorer.exe to
get to those files.  If you modify them from within that Windows host,
it will work perfectly until it doesn't, and then you will be sad.  You
might think modifying a text file is okay, but not only might it
corrupt that text file it might do odd things across your entire
in-Linux experience.

IMO WSL is not a good idea in general.  For "trying" Linux?  I'm
not convinced.. maybe at the shell level?

I've had extensive experience with Babun, a bit of Cygwin, plenty of
Windows Subsystem for Linux and lots of VirtualBox.  Of all those,
VirtualBox is most recommended, though it may still require special
advice for getting it working across multiple monitors.

For "trying" Linux, Ventoy is the best.

https://www.ventoy.net/

It creates a USB stick which can have distribution ISOs copied to it
unmodified.  They can be live ISOs and can be easily given persistency
so they can be updated and used exactly the same as a dual-booted
system but with none of the bootloader risks.  (Of course a user could
still mount their Windows disks and stomp around, but they could do
that from within Windows anyway so it's not an additional risk.)

This does not address Rick Moen's first point:

> 1.  Although the user assumed he/she would be switching OSes as
> convenient through closing all applications and rebooting, over time
> the user discovers it's so disruptive to workflow that he/she stays
> 99%+ of the time in the more-familiar OS, and thus never really
> learns Linux or gets benefit from its presence -- rendering the
> entire exercise ultimately a waste of time.

Can this be mapped over to the problem of natural language-learning and
the benefits of "immersion"?

Identify and 1:1 map all tasks over to the equivalent tools on Linux,
then insist upon long periods of immersion.

Technically speaking, a mentor could customize a system and build a
persistence file for a mentee.

Though the mentor-mentee relationship is so rare my spell checker
doesn't think it's real.  :(



--


It's nice of Microsoft to EMBRACE Linux with WSL.  I'm sure that running
Linux and Windows apps will be great, and that Microsoft will endeavor
to EXTEND the functionality even further!  I wonder what Microsoft will
do next!

/snark