Who in here has Linux? If so, do you like it better than Windows? I have Windows XP Professional: Corporate Edition FINAL and I think it's a great OS (better than any other Windows I used). I'm planning on getting Linux and am going to have my system set up as a "dual boot" system so, I can have Linux and WinXP on the same system. What I would like to know is, what distribution should I get? There are at least 3 - 4 main distributions and it's tough to decide. Also, which is easiest to install? I never used any other OS besides a Windows OS so, I need something that's EASY and has Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) as well. I've read about the Red Hat, Slackware, Debian, and SUSE dists. I've also heard of Winlinux but, the info on their site's outdated a bit. So, can any of you (who use Linux) give me an insight as to what differences are there between the dists.? ALSO, are there any programmes that are made for Linux that AREN'T out for Windows? All answers will be greatly appreaciated! Thanks in advance! You can ICQ me at 145283256.

Last edited by ali92 on Jan-30-2002 at 15:28

Of course somebody will disagree with me, but...
Get Mandrake. It's very very easy to set up and it has a package manager that uses red hat packages (which will ease installation of new programs). But don't expect it to be windoze! First of all the file hierarki is way different, and you won't have that lovely registry to keep clean. Every program will install into it's own directory, and individual users can add programs to their own setup, without files being stored in 117 different places in system dirs. But give it some time and learn to appreciate the strengths that are inherent in linux way of doing things, and pretty soon you'll end up with windows for surfing and gaming, while linux takes care of the more serious side.

Btw.
Red Hat=pretty installation but geared towards people who want to set up their own servers=>more complex.
Suse=about the same, but with less attractive setup. Has more programs supplied with it than red hat.
Debian=true geeks only.

Hope you can use the info

quote:

Originally posted by trancaholic Of course somebody will disagree with me, but... Get Mandrake. It's very very easy to set up and it has a package manager that uses red hat packages (which will ease installation of new programs). But don't expect it to be windoze! First of all the file hierarki is way different, and you won't have that lovely registry to keep clean. Every program will install into it's own directory, and individual users can add programs to their own setup, without files being stored in 117 different places in system dirs. But give it some time and learn to appreciate the strengths that are inherent in linux way of doing things, and pretty soon you'll end up with windows for surfing and gaming, while linux takes care of the more serious side. Btw. Red Hat=pretty installation but geared towards people who want to set up their own servers=>more complex. Suse=about the same, but with less attractive setup. Has more programs supplied with it than red hat. Debian=true geeks only. Hope you can use the info

I can use it! Thanks! I just have to get used to it!

Just noticed the thing about programs for linux not available for win. You might want to get Gimp (which is an image processing program) and xfig which is simply *excellent* for producing vector graphics for your latex-documents or for presentation slides. Also emacs is the text editor to go for - very fast and if LISP-programming doesn't scare you it can do anything.
If I think of other programs I'll give you a shout.


Looking at my previous post - I might come across as a fanatic, which I am not (win has it's strengths), but it's just so rare to see people wanting to try out something unusual that I got carried away.

hmm.. interesting.

i find it funny this thread being right above one about the death of penguins..

anyway, i think linux is cool, open source is the way of the future.

I also plan on installing linux someday.
but will i be able to make it work with my hewlett crappard computer, with integrated video, and a soundcard/modem thing, that is impossible to find drivers for?

somehow i doubt it.

and if i could, will i be able to DJ with it? will i be able to listen to online radio stations with it? surf TA with it?

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Originally posted by RavingLunatic hmm.. interesting. i find it funny this thread being right above one about the death of penguins.. anyway, i think linux is cool, open source is the way of the future. I also plan on installing linux someday. but will i be able to make it work with my hewlett crappard computer, with integrated video, and a soundcard/modem thing, that is impossible to find drivers for? somehow i doubt it. and if i could, will i be able to DJ with it? will i be able to listen to online radio stations with it? surf TA with it?

That's why Windows XP is still the king of OS's. You just can't do certain things with other OS's that you can do with Windows XP. WinXP will be my primary Operating System until another Windows comes out (which is a while) because Windows is known by SO many and has the most compatibility with peripherials, modems, sound cards, graphic cards, game controllers, etc.

Last edited by ali92 on Jan-31-2002 at 14:24

As a computer programmer I deal with Unix/Linux on a regular basis, and know quite a bit about it.

However I have to say that it SUCKS, compared to Windows. What especially annoys me is those Linux geeks who have blind fury against Microsoft...

Don't tell me you wouldn't rather use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, IE, Adobe Photoshop, etc. for your daily needs...

Also keep in mind that if you have WinXP installed on something like Sony Vaio, you WON'T be able to use the modem in Linux. That goes for some other hardware items as well.

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Fully agree

Alot of Win X Hardware drivers on compensate that for single use and i f u r Dul booting with Linux this may limit the use of things such as your modem, possible some cards as well although there are some geeks out there who write sourc just to over come thses problems the thing is trying to find this

quote:

Originally posted by Eugene As a computer programmer I deal with Unix/Linux on a regular basis, and know quite a bit about it. However I have to say that it SUCKS, compared to Windows. What especially annoys me is those Linux geeks who have blind fury against Microsoft... Don't tell me you wouldn't rather use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, IE, Adobe Photoshop, etc. for your daily needs... Also keep in mind that if you have WinXP installed on something like Sony Vaio, you WON'T be able to use the modem in Linux. That goes for some other hardware items as well.

I LOVE those MS products such as Word, Excel, IE, Adobe material, etc.! I know why Linux doesn't work with some modems: Those modems are called "Winmodems". Winmodems are software dependent to run. Linux REQUIRES a physical modem. Even though physical medems are better, how much better is the new 56K, V. 92 standard? Is it worth buying the new modem that use it? What's the speed difference? I'd rather use all Microsoft products like Word, Excel, Adobe..., IE, etc. for my daily needs over ANY other products! I just wanted to experiment with Linux a bit. That's all. Remember, Windows will ALWAYS be my primary OS, NOT any other OS...

quote:

Originally posted by Eugene Don't tell me you wouldn't rather use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, IE, Adobe Photoshop, etc. for your daily needs...

NEVER EVER used any of those except for IE and it drives me fuKCing NUTS with its stupid errors. konquerer is much better.

so far i'm not using linux because i can't get my hard drive space straight and get organized wid all those mp3s. however, i do like it. i'm not using it for 4 reasons only: doesn't support my usb hdd YET, the driver is out there, but has bugs; i'm too lazy to import gozilla downloads to linux download managers; never bothered to figure out how to make my modem automatically reconnect; and audiogalaxy refuses to work. the font display is kinda funky too, but i can exchange that for stability.

what pisses me off about it though, is that M$ windows is so popular, that large companies started writing drivers for linux only a while ago, though it existed long time before that. windows is like that blair witch movie, half-assed and popular because of commercials and promotions. and i'm not talking about xp, i haven't tried it and not going to ever.

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Originally posted by TiestoInTheMix NEVER EVER used any of those except for IE and it drives me fuKCing NUTS with its stupid errors. konquerer is much better. so far i'm not using linux because i can't get my hard drive space straight and get organized wid all those mp3s. however, i do like it. i'm not using it for 4 reasons only: doesn't support my usb hdd YET, the driver is out there, but has bugs; i'm too lazy to import gozilla downloads to linux download managers; never bothered to figure out how to make my modem automatically reconnect; and audiogalaxy refuses to work. the font display is kinda funky too, but i can exchange that for stability. what pisses me off about it though, is that M$ windows is so popular, that large companies started writing drivers for linux only a while ago, though it existed long time before that. windows is like that blair witch movie, half-assed and popular because of commercials and promotions. and i'm not talking about xp, i haven't tried it and not going to ever.

Are you NUTS??? Why would'nt you give WinXP a shot? You should give it a go at least once! It's awesome!

quote:

Originally posted by TiestoInTheMix NEVER EVER used any of those except for IE and it drives me fuKCing NUTS with its stupid errors. konquerer is much better. so far i'm not using linux because i can't get my hard drive space straight and get organized wid all those mp3s. however, i do like it. i'm not using it for 4 reasons only: doesn't support my usb hdd YET, the driver is out there, but has bugs; i'm too lazy to import gozilla downloads to linux download managers; never bothered to figure out how to make my modem automatically reconnect; and audiogalaxy refuses to work. the font display is kinda funky too, but i can exchange that for stability. what pisses me off about it though, is that M$ windows is so popular, that large companies started writing drivers for linux only a while ago, though it existed long time before that. windows is like that blair witch movie, half-assed and popular because of commercials and promotions. and i'm not talking about xp, i haven't tried it and not going to ever.

I love you man.

Eugene, basically my computer writing has the form of poster/invitations (QuarkXPress), e-mails(pine) and science reports (LaTeX). I've once used Word for a serious project (due to lobbying from my collegues) and after having seen it crashing *every time* the 7th really huge picture was imported I just about had it. Word is like a huge prettified cow, with bells and whistles you'll never need while being less than impressive when it comes to text-editing abilities: Swapping things around in your documents (while all references is kept intact and sensible), spell checking at the right level and such.
Of the programs you've mentioned only IE and Photoshop (which is basically a mac emulation) are part of my collection.

I'm a bit surprised that you as a linux-programmer can say it sucks. At least the API to the system isn't cluttered with redundancy and ad hoc solutions like the winAPI.