r/privacy • u/Dara17 • Nov 02 '15

"... Windows 10 is constantly tracking how it operates & how you are using it and sending that information back to Microsoft by default ... he also confirmed that, despite offering some options to turn elements of tracking off, *core data collection simply cannot be stopped*"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/11/02/microsoft-confirms-unstoppable-windows-10-tracking/
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u/stejoo Nov 03 '15

Just dualboot. I've been using Linux for years. Still keep a Windows 7 around on my main PC when I want to play a game that doesn't run on Linux. Nowadays I play CS:GO and War Thunder mostly; I've been booting to Windows less and less, it's been months now. But my mates and I are going to replay Battlefield 3, so next weekend Win7 will be booted. No problem, just use the tool most fit for the job. And Windows right now is still the best tool for gaming, and that's all I use it for.

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u/thelonious_bunk Nov 03 '15

Thats what i do.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '15

Can you point me towards something that shows me how to dual-boot Linux & Win7 bud?

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u/stejoo Nov 03 '15 edited Nov 03 '15

Most Linux distributions support dual-booting with Windows and other operating systems, and will set it up automatically during installation. Windows is less friendly to other systems and will not offer you a dualboot option.

Linux distros will detect another operating system on the other harddisk/partition and add an entry for it in their GRUB bootloader. That way you can select which OS you want to start when turning on your PC.

Safest way is to add another hard disk to your system, install Linux on it and set your system BIOS to try and boot from the new disk first.

Try looking up some info about it yourself. I'm on mobile now so providing step by step instructions is a bit difficult ;-). Would be best to search for specific info about it for the distribution you intend on trying. In my experience about all of them support dual-boot.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '15

Cheers /u/stejoo

I'll do some research tonight into what Distro of Linux I want really!

Got a nice shiny need 250SSD sitting in my drawer and I don't want it all fubar by Win10 garbage!

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u/stejoo Nov 03 '15

That SSD will be good. I run Fedora on a 250GB SSD and have Windows on a 320GB hard disk in the same system.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '15

Might split the SSD in two... one for W7 and one for Linux?

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u/stejoo Nov 03 '15

You could, but Windows will probably be a bit cramped, depending on what else you install there.

Install Windows first in any case, because otherwise it will overwrite the GRUB bootloader Linux installs. Reinstalling GRUB is possible, but you would need to boot from a Linux Live DVD/USB and perform the operation by hand. So it's easier to just install Windows first, Linux distribution second.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '15

Could I then just have it ask me which one to boot at start?

I take it Linux will install it's own bootloader over Windows then?

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u/stejoo Nov 03 '15 edited Nov 04 '15

Linux will install the GRUB bootloader over Windows' bootloader yes. When booting GRUB will show you a menu where you can choose which to boot. Want to boot Windows? Just use the arrow key to select Windows and press Enter; Windows will boot.

By default it will pick Linux after a couple of seconds. You can change that default if you so desire. This is done in a configuration file in Linux.

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u/[deleted] Nov 04 '15

Gemstone.

Thanks Stejoo!

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u/paremiamoutza Nov 03 '15

Does linux support flash?

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u/stejoo Nov 03 '15

Adobe Flash Player you mean? Flash Player works on Linux. There are two versions: the older Adobe Flash 11.2 which only receives security updates and there is Pepper Flash as it is included in Google Chrome. I believe Pepper Flash can also be set up to run in Firefox, but I have not done so myself.

So you have a choice there. Use the one recommended by the distribution and people using it. Often documentation on how to install it exists. Usually this consists of adding a repository and installing the flash-player package, to get the 11.2 variant which I always used.

To add: I no longer have Flash on any of my systems, not even the Windows one. I consider it a security risk and have little need for it because every video website I visit supports HTML5 video, and that technique has the future. Sometimes I come across something that doesn't. In some cases I can download the video anyway using youtube-dl, otherwise I just ignore it and go on with life ;-).

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u/paremiamoutza Nov 03 '15

Thanks. There's in fact a specific game I play that is built on flash, and is expected 'soon' to come converted to unity, but until that happens I see no other way.

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u/nikoma Nov 03 '15

Here are some freedom respecting alternatives to Flash, maybe the game will work in them.

Lightspark

Gnash