Ubuntu Linux - Split Thread

[katzdvd]

Chewy move to Linux already, you won't have to worry about any of this firewall, spyware, or virus/trojan nonsense

anony - Over the years, I have given that some thought; I have a few questions.

1. What is the learning curve for Linux? Problem is, with "little ones" running around, I don't have alot of time to devote to schooling...
2. Seems like there is so many varieties, which one to go for?
3. Hardware Support/drivers?
4. Software Support/availability, i.e., my favorite programs that I already like that run in XP, including games.
5. Install as a standalone OS, or would you rec. dual boot? (I probably already know that answer!)

thanks, katz

[anonymez]

1. Depends on the distribution. Very little for general use, but if you're into tweaking it might take a few days to a few weeks. Forum and Wiki support aplenty.

2. Tried a few, favourite is Ubuntu by far. Probably one of the easiest for folks migrating from Windows.

3. Pretty good, considering how many different devices there are, and how little support they get from most manufacturers. A lot of hardware works "out of the box". With the latest (Beta, to be released on the 19th) version, wireless/wired networking is a breeze, as is installing restricted (proprietary) drivers.

4. The main reason many Linux users, including me, still have Windows on their PC. There are compatibility layers like Wine and Cedega which run Windows apps reasonably well. The latter is better for gaming, but is commercial. For many apps you have in Windows, there is one for Linux that is equal or better.

5. You can run entirely from the Live CD (won't make any changes whatsoever to your system), or dual boot. Don't recommend doing away with Windows till you're comfortable.

6. Hope I don't come off as a Linux zealot, I have nothing against Microsoft

[katzdvd]

anony - thanks for the info. I know there are many forums & help sites, so that is a plus. It is also nice to see you say that many devices work "out of the box". What about video, sound cards, etc. You do not need to install drivers?

You can run entirely from the Live CD

That sounds very interesting; a fellow can get his "feet wet" while safely learning!

I know that it is considered "safer", or "more secure" than windows. Do you experience quirks, hangs, BSOD, etc?

How many years have you been using Linux?

[anonymez]

What about video, sound cards, etc. You do not need to install drivers?

Most devices have open source drivers, which are included. For devices that don't, or do not work well, there is a restricted driver manager (in the latest release) that will allow you to download & install them with a single click.

That sounds very interesting; a fellow can get his "feet wet" while safely learning!

A good rescue tool too

I know that it is considered "safer", or "more secure" than windows. Do you experience quirks, hangs, BSOD, etc?

No recent crashes/bugs, even though i've been running an alpha, and now beta, release. I did experience a few quirks with networking in 6.06, but were resolved quickly with a kernel update. IMO it is more stable than XP. BTW you will never actually need to reboot when using Linux (aside from when, say updating the kernel).

How many years have you been using Linux?

Dabbled for a while, trying out various distributions, but have been using Ubuntu "properly" for about a year.

[katzdvd]

Hmmm... you are dangling the bait, & it looks tempting! Can you post some helpful links, download sites, places you recommended for a Linux "Newbie in training"?

I have watched & observed "techies" talk about it over the years (Leo Laporte, Patric Norton, others on the show...)

They used to mention Phat Linux, have you used it? Like - not like? What is the purpose of so many different versions?

It is odd that more people don't use it....

Would you consider using it as an only OS, leaving windows behind altogether?

gettin close!

[anonymez]

Hmmm... you are dangling the bait, & it looks tempting!

Really? I haven't even mentioned the good stuff, LOL

Can you post some helpful links

Many distributions have their own wikis and support forums, they provide pretty much everything including nice quickstart guides.

download sites

One of the great features. With the major distros you don't need to browse the web for software. Ubuntu, for example has a Package Manager, a nice app that lists over 20,000 open source/freeware apps/libraries. They are all categorized, searchable and automatically downloaded/installed in two or three clicks.

They used to mention Phat Linux, have you used it?

Nope

Would you consider using it as an only OS, leaving windows behind altogether?

It is my main OS, only reason I keep XP around is for gaming and Photoshop.

[katzdvd]

It is my main OS, only reason I keep XP around is for gaming

No gaming on Linux? My son won't be happy to hear that

Chewy, Chewy, where are U?!? Time to get your feet wet too!

[anonymez]

Well some Windows games work well with Wine (Half-Life 2, Quake III/IV, UT, World of Warcraft, etc), and many work well with Cedega (commercial, subscription based). But not all, and that's why we dual boot.

[katzdvd]

Well, I've been running CD Vers. for an hour or so, & I like it so far! Gnometris is cool!

Couple of dumb questions;

How do I access my hard drives? I can't seem to find a way to get into my windows files, etc. Is this possible?

I did notice something different so far; While using Linux, when I scroll on web pages, the "lag" of text, etc. that I noticed on my LCD monitor is gone!

I always (mistakenly) thought this way all pretty much "command line" based stuff, but the GUI is amazing, for a free operating system. If this works out well for me, I may say goodbye to Bill Gates forever!

BTW, what's all this about Linux being "ugly"?!?!

Looks fine to me!

[anonymez]

How do I access my hard drives? I can't seem to find a way to get into my windows files, etc. Is this possible?

Yes, it should be automatically mounted (ie there should be an icon on the desktop). If not it can be fixed with a little cli voodoo. But if you're running from the CD, that's normal.

I did notice something different so far; While using Linux, when I scroll on web pages, the "lag" of text, etc. that I noticed on my LCD monitor is gone!

We can probably narrow it down to drivers then

I always (mistakenly) thought this way all pretty much "command line" based stuff

The GUI is easier and covers quite a lot, but more often than not CLI gets the job done faster. It will soon be painless, most people pick it up pretty quick.

BTW, what's all this about Linux being "ugly"?!?!

You might want to head over to Youtube and search for Beryl. The desktops on display are cluttered, but will give you an idea of what Linux can do better than Vista on relatively old hardware. Unlike Flip3D (Vista), Scale and Cube/Workspace Switcher actually help productivity.

BTW, you may want to give this thread a quick look.

[katzdvd]

BTW, you may want to give this thread a quick look.

good thread; I did not know about the 32 bit/NTFS thing;

- Ubuntu can read and write FAT32 partitions
- Ubuntu can read, but not write to NTFS partitions.

Yes, it should be automatically mounted (ie there should be an icon on the desktop). If not it can be fixed with a little cli voodoo

Not sure what that means, but I guess I'll discover it sooner or later

Also, is there a list of pgms. that I can view that do work on Linux?
Before I go real far, I want to get a feel for what will work, such as;

All my ripping/burning apps. (Shrink, DVDD, & all the others)
Audio editor (I use Goldwave exclusively)
Games (my son wants to know this one!)

IIUC, I will need the NTFS-3G driver & also ext2fsd?

[anonymez]

Not sure what that means, but I guess I'll discover it sooner or later

For a drive to be read/written to, it must be mounted first. This is done automatically, and an icon is then placed on the desktop to each drive for easy access. No drives will be mounted automatically if you're running the OS from the CD.

Also, is there a list of pgms. that I can view that do work on Linux?

There are many lists of Windows apps and their Linux equivalents, but I haven't found them all that helpful. Many things are covered with the software included in the default install. The forums is a great place to start, then there's also Synaptic. The more popular software have their own Wikipedia entries.

All my ripping/burning apps. (Shrink, DVDD, & all the others)
Audio editor (I use Goldwave exclusively)
Games (my son wants to know this one!)

- Wine works well with Shrink, Imgburn, etc. There are native apps too.
- Audacity is probably the most popular, there are a few others I cannot remember than names of at this time
- Sites like this keep track of games that run natively.

IIUC, I will need the NTFS-3G driver & also ext2fsd?

The NTFS-3G driver is to be installed on Linux, which will allow NTFS reading/writing. ext2fsd is to be installed on Windows, which will allow ext3 reading/writing. Whether you need them is up to you-- I for example don't have ext2fsd installed.

[katzdvd]

I also found The table of equivalents Very informatve. Long list to go thru!

You may have noticed my recent pc build thread. Is it possible to install ubuntu only on this new pc, right from the start, without using windows?

Using a SATA 250 GB drive, what happens when I get to the "press f6 to install 3rd party/raid driver"? during the windows install? Or, maybe a dual boot system would be in order...I don't know, I kinda like the idea of cutting the cord w/ Windows altogether if I can. I do have my other pc to fall back on for XP work, if I absolutely need to.

As you can tell, I don't know what I am doing here, please forgive all the "newbie" questions!

BTW, I am a "tweaker", so if I get into this thing, I will want to go "all the way"

[anonymez]

Is it possible to install ubuntu only on this new pc, right from the start, without using windows?

Sure. Have you decided on the graphics card?

Using a SATA 250 GB drive, what happens when I get to the "press f6 to install 3rd party/raid driver"? during the windows install?

Not needed for Linux, for XP you'll need to have the disk handy.

Exciting, isn't it?

[katzdvd]

I have this vid card installed, just waiting on HD from newegg, then I'm ready to go!
GeForce 7600 GT OC/ 256 MB / GDDR3