Linux

/boot is where the Linux kernel images, as well as parts of the bootloader are stored. The "root" is simply the uppermost directory in a Unix/Linux file system. Any directory that is not given it's own partition will be placed as a subdirectory in the file system on the "root" partition. Assuming you gave a partition to /etc, /bin, /boot, /usr, and so on, you wouldn't need a "root" partition at all.

Yes.

grub ana LILO are the two boot loader in Linux

An old compaq laptop with XP is only considered obsolete because Microsoft has stopped issuing updates for it. Without the updates, the machine has a greater risk for virus and other malware infection. That is why companies that have successfully run production applications on the XP platform for years were forced to upgrade to a newer system (and newer hardware). Applications and games that run on the machine should continue to run as long as nothing else changes.

You can breath new life into an older computer by installing a suitable Linux distribution. It is free, comes with an Office suite that is compatible with Microsoft Office as well as many other applications and games. Linux versions are designed to make use of the latest hardware capabilities but certain version are ideal for use on an older computer. One such release is Linux Mint 13 (named Maya) with the Xfce Desktop interface. It is available in both 32bit and 64bit versions and is easy to install and use, even for windows users.

Autorun.inf is usually found on CDs. Unless the CD is rewritable, it cannot be deleted.

Technically, PC means personal computer, so yeah, a mac is a PC. However, usually, PC refers to a windows computer. So mac vs. pc means Apple computer vs. Windows computer.

Version 2 of the General Public License.

"Shell Script is series of command written in plain text file. Shell script is just like batch file in MS-DOS but have more power than the MS-DOS batch file."

$ lpinfo -m | head

The /, or root directory.

There are no "joined" Linux and Windows operating systems, so there is no name for them.

The Wubi application installs Ubuntu on the same partition as the Windows operating system. When the computer starts up it prompts you with either starting Windows or Ubuntu. If you choose Unbuntu an image of Linux loads on the Windows partition much like mounting an ISO image. The default folder on the partition is located in C:\ubuntu. This is referred to as a, "shell" accept in this case the, "shell" is an unpartitioned OS.

There are many differences between the Graphical User Interfaces of Windows and Linux. There are similarities as well.

To be exact, Linux, itself has no GUI per se. The GUI(s) that you can use, and there are literally hundreds to choose from, are separate programs running under Linux.

[speaking simply here]Linux itself is the core (kernel) of the Operating System, whereas the GUI, the file managers, web browsers, chat programs etc, are all applications that give the OS "features".

With Windows you only have the included GUI, that is unless you install a modification such as WindowBlinds(TM).

Linux, and many other POSIX compliant OS's can use many GUI, here is a brief listing and some links to GUI sites.

KDE - The K Desktop Environment: http://kde.org/Gnome (Pronounced with a hard "Guh" as in Guh-Nome: http://gnome.org/Enlightenment: http://www.enlightenment.org/blackbox: http://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwmAfterStep: http://freshmeat.net/projects/afterstep/ and many more...

The same as any OS - up to 4GB for 32-bit systems, and 16EB for 64-bit systems.

Yast is an administrator tool that allows administrators to install patches, add or delete users, etc.

Shift-g / capital G

mkfs -t ext4 /dev/

All drivers and devices in Linux are simply files or folders. Usually a link to them will appear on your desktop when needed. For example if you plug in an external hard drive or insert a DVD. If not if you look in /dev/ you will find everything.

For modern computers there is only one required partition: the root (/) partition.

For very ancient computers, the BIOS may only read the first few bytes to find the boot loader. In this case you should have at least the two partitions (/boot and /)

additional partitions may be suggested, but are certainly not a requirement.

SWAP partition (similar to a 'page file' from the Windows world. most people want this)

/home (contains user settings and data. most people want a separate partition for this)

/var (changable data that is still written to disk, like your print queue and things like that)

/usr (applications are generally installed here. You could separate it from the OS by partitioning it out)

i converted over to linux mint 12 a while back from windows,

i tried a few others like chrome os, ununtu, and some others. but this os seems to the best.

and hardley takes up any space.

The Hacker Culture.

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md5sum is a utility that calculates MD5 hashes. It can be used to verify file integrity (in other words, a checksum) like its related utilities sha1sum, and sha256sum.

change directory. cd /home/user/ wil take you to the home folder of that user.

With cd .. you go down a folder, so if you're in /home/user and type "cd .." you wil then be in the /home/ directory.

There are no wild forms of spyware known to exist for Linux. While some could be theoretically written, in order for software to be installed system-wide and thus spy on any users, it has to be granted explicit permission. Also, since most programs are only downloaded from trusted sources, there is little risk of a Trojan horse.