es, that's it, linux operating systems don't *come* with mp3 support, you have to add it, but i also remember something about useing the codecs for mp3 on linux as being illegal, iirc

___________________
i'm the alchemist without the cyst without a doubt out of the mist
dig out the grout expose the pest to take it out without the rest

they will attest my patients restorations from the best

i'm from the west i'm not an acmeist only the alchemist

It is illegal for the distros to bundle it, but if you buy a linux like suse pro they can distribute with those, so the commercial linuxes can do mp3 right out of the box. Your free versions can't distribute because people own patents and want royalties, that is the same reason just anybody can't make their own mp3 encoder.

It takes like 5 minutes to get mp3s to work(if you know what you are doing). The DVD program is the really illegal one though, they wont license the decryption codes to linux softwares, so the linux DVD players have to use the DeCSS thing to play DVD's.

You don't have commercial vst's but there are plenty of instruments that actually sound pretty nice(again, if you know what you are doing). Some of the VST's can be made to work natively under linux, and others can be run through windows emulation, but that takes some work to acheive, you get more fun noises for your time if you just learn to use the linux programs.

But it is alot of learning(and it isnt pretty), and if you are having trouble learning how to maintain an XP machine, you probably don't have the patience for it.

i'm good with linux, i just thing its easyer to use win2k, plus, some games i play simple won't run under linux, under any circumstances

___________________
i'm the alchemist without the cyst without a doubt out of the mist
dig out the grout expose the pest to take it out without the rest

they will attest my patients restorations from the best

i'm from the west i'm not an acmeist only the alchemist

It always confuses me though, why so many people expect companies to develop software which runs on a platform that so few people use, of course your old programs aren't gonna work!

I dunno, I figure that when you consider ditcing windows, you are also ditching all the software which you ran on it, you can't separate them. So when people complaing that their vsti's dont work anymore, or that their directx game wont run, I just can't help but think that they are missing the point.

Linux is capable of creating some damn fine music without having to do silly things like windows emulation. You might not be able to buy the tools off a shelf, you might be the only person you know using them, you might be completely on your own to learn them through trial and error, but it is possible, people do it all the time, and the challenge is half the fun.

You can control trough midi, you can do low latency audio, there is a huge arsenal of softsynths and effects which you can chain together in every imaginable way, you have mastering tools, mixing tools, editing tools, everything you need. It is really flimsy jury rigged stuff hacked together by a bunch of ameteurs, you will find plenty of problems, but it can be done, and it works pretty nicely when you get it going. I wouldn't say it is a competitive alternative to win and mac, more a playground of experimentation, which isn't everybody's thing I guess. You can't say it is completely incapable just because your old programs dont work on it.

I think you guys are scaring the poor kid away from Linux.
Look years ago I made the switch and people were telling me the same stuff people are telling you now (Linux is hard. Why switch ...etc), years later down the road I thank God I never listened, I use Linux everywhere, my Laptop, office computer & work computer all run Linux period.


The problem here is that people are giving you advice but not much to back it up with, here is my 2 cents, learning Linux is no joke I agree, however once you know WTH you are doing then you will never regret having the knowledge, Linux is spreading like a virus nowadays (in a good way) many companies are adopting it (IBM, Lenovo, HP...etc) it's the way to the future, here some useful tips for you :


1- Download Fedora Core 5 (which is the OS I use) from here it's even easier to install than windows xp is

2- Consult this installation guide if you are unsure what do for your next step Guide

3- To take advantage of your Linux distro you need to bypass all the restrictions that our nice legal system has placed on software vendors, for example the availability of codecs and such stuff, I am not about to type down all the things that you need for this step as I found a perfect and easy step by step guide for you Here
that will show you hoe to handle those restrictions and how to install many of the software common to many different OS's

4- After you setup your Fedora installation, now you need to worry about applications, I know a good list of applications for music editing and all that good stuff, maybe this page can make things easier for me : Link

5- You might run into a situation by which the apps available for Linux don't have a certain feature that their windows counterparts do, so what do you do ?

You use your windows app on Linux pure and simple.

People will tell you that is a fancy term to describe emulation, BS! WINE which is the application that I use to run windows applications on Linux it doesn't emulate it even says that in it's name (WINE Is Not an Emulator)
What is WINE then ? WINE pure and simple is a compatibility layer for win32 apps to run Linux it provides libraries and dll's that windows apps need to run basic and complex tasks. Let me put it in sloppy terms what it does is that it translates from the Linux language to the Windows language.

Is their a grantee that the applications you want will run on Linux through WINE just like that ? NO! But there is a good chance that you will not have too much issues with many simple apps.

Where do I get WINE, Over Here

6- Ok I am running into issues blah blah blah I give up Linux Sux000rzz the BIG11111!1111!!1!

Easy there you have a problem, you are stuck on something, need advice ?
The best place to find support and what not is by going to that distro's main and most popular forums, so for this case you need to give Fedora Forum's a Visit
Those guys should be able to help with pretty much anything.

OK I am done now

quote:

Originally posted by dj alliance I have this solution, buy a new G5mac in October and sell my PC. ??? Macs are solid and aparently the core system cannot be attacked by Viruses plus i can still use MSN and Word.

Ouch I suggest not getting a mac unless you want to throw it away faster than your threw away your pc

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Uber hypnotiq myspace Uber hypnotiq website

no, i love linux, i really do, i have a ubuntu machine running KDE, its leet, ..but i just can't play games/do music, heh, its greta for hosting/networking stuff though

and actually, alot of games that have mutiplayer, have linux versions of their server software..[if only they would make linux versions of thier games :P]

___________________
i'm the alchemist without the cyst without a doubt out of the mist
dig out the grout expose the pest to take it out without the rest

they will attest my patients restorations from the best

i'm from the west i'm not an acmeist only the alchemist

quote:

Originally posted by cronodevir no, i love linux, i really do, i have a ubuntu machine running KDE, its leet, ..but i just can't play games/do music, heh, its greta for hosting/networking stuff though and actually, alot of games that have mutiplayer, have linux versions of their server software..[if only they would make linux versions of thier games :P]

Well a lot of popular Multiplayer FPS games do have linux versions , like :

- Unreal Tournament
- Wolfenstein Return to Castle
- Quake (many versions)
- Doom III

And many more and I know a lot of people that don't have to use Windows just because it happened that all the games that they play often have native versions for Linux.


DJ BERKAT

If you are serious about learning linux, imo you will need a test bed, an old laptop, P2, P3 type era. I was lucky as i was given an IBM ThinkPad 600 for free so thats what im learning on.

You do not want to slap a distro right onto your main PC because theres a high chance that being a linux newb you'll screw up your windows end. I'm on probably my 3rd Suse install due to various reasons. I've never rendered one inoperable, but "whats this do?" can have a negative impact as well.

I'd advise doing alot of homework on linux, forums, FAQ's, guides, I'm even working through Suse Unleashed as you cant just fumble around like windows learning things, you atleast need a good poke in the right direction.

so much bullshit and so little time to correct it all. First of all why do most of you people make statements when you don't know jack shit about what you're talking about?
Haven't you realized that this guy might spend lots of money and time on completly and utter useless things?


The absolutley best alternative for you would be to just have your computer disconnected from the internet. No cable at all.
But I'm also realizing that it's not an option for you.


First of all, there's nothing wrong with Linux. I'm not 100% shure about what apps can be emulated and how well it works so I'm gonna disregard that fact. But if you can get that to work acceptable Linux is deffo the way to go. But be prepared, it's a big difference from windows. As someone said, it's not just to click yes and then go. You have to know what the heck you're doing so expect some time to learn how it works.

If you decide to stick with windows you should deffo go with WinXP, no question about it. The 2000 vs. XP and the difference in performance is a myth as long as you know what you're doing.
If you turn off all the visual crap and optimize the settings a bit (nothing that's hard to do if you know how to left click) then XP is just as fast as 2000, it's even faster when it comes to some aspects.

When it comes to security there are some easy steps to follow.

First of all be smart, it's easy to be smart and it costs nothing.
If you experience lots of trouble with your computer then stop downloading movies, games, mp3's etc. to that computer. Don't install games and don't install apps that you don't intend to use.
The more stuff you install on your system the more unstable it will become.

when it comes to protection, whatever you do stay away from McAfee, Norton (wich is developed by Symantec and F-secure.

The best antivirus programs I've used are Nod32 and Kaspersky antivirus. They are both very low on your resources and they actually catch viruses every now and then They are also very nice to your wallet. Nod32 is around 50 bucks and kaspersky is free for personal use.

If you want to seriously protect your computer you should also consider:

*buying your windows copy if you haven't already. It guarantees that you will always be eligable for updates as long as MS supports the OS in question.

*Investing in a hardware firewall. And NO, that does not include a router or a switch. The routers you can buy for home use does 9,5 out of 10 times work as a NAT wich is something totally different. And a switch has nothing to do with firewalling. It's simply explained just a devide that handles network distribution in a more advanced way. Although some switches comes with firewalls it's not a serious option because most of the times they tend to work less good than a real dedicated firewall.

This last point can be quite expensive but well worth it since it will stop nasty things from getting in and out of your network wich is kind of nice.


This is all I can come up with right now, might add something that I've forgotten. It's getting quite late here

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by davedresden i suggest getting the gabriel & dresden prog-a-minute. in 3 easy steps you too could change the face of dance music. batteries not included. - dave

quote:

Originally posted by Vizay so much bullshit and so little time to correct it all. First of all why do most of you people make statements when you don't know jack shit about what you're talking about? Haven't you realized that this guy might spend lots of money and time on completly and utter useless things? The absolutley best alternative for you would be to just have your computer disconnected from the internet. No cable at all. But I'm also realizing that it's not an option for you. First of all, there's nothing wrong with Linux. I'm not 100% shure about what apps can be emulated and how well it works so I'm gonna disregard that fact. But if you can get that to work acceptable Linux is deffo the way to go. But be prepared, it's a big difference from windows. As someone said, it's not just to click yes and then go. You have to know what the heck you're doing so expect some time to learn how it works. If you decide to stick with windows you should deffo go with WinXP, no question about it. The 2000 vs. XP and the difference in performance is a myth as long as you know what you're doing. If you turn off all the visual crap and optimize the settings a bit (nothing that's hard to do if you know how to left click) then XP is just as fast as 2000, it's even faster when it comes to some aspects. When it comes to security there are some easy steps to follow. First of all be smart, it's easy to be smart and it costs nothing. If you experience lots of trouble with your computer then stop downloading movies, games, mp3's etc. to that computer. Don't install games and don't install apps that you don't intend to use. The more stuff you install on your system the more unstable it will become. when it comes to protection, whatever you do stay away from McAfee, Norton (wich is developed by Symantec and F-secure. The best antivirus programs I've used are Nod32 and Kaspersky antivirus. They are both very low on your resources and they actually catch viruses every now and then They are also very nice to your wallet. Nod32 is around 50 bucks and kaspersky is free for personal use. If you want to seriously protect your computer you should also consider: *buying your windows copy if you haven't already. It guarantees that you will always be eligable for updates as long as MS supports the OS in question. *Investing in a hardware firewall. And NO, that does not include a router or a switch. The routers you can buy for home use does 9,5 out of 10 times work as a NAT wich is something totally different. And a switch has nothing to do with firewalling. It's simply explained just a devide that handles network distribution in a more advanced way. Although some switches comes with firewalls it's not a serious option because most of the times they tend to work less good than a real dedicated firewall. This last point can be quite expensive but well worth it since it will stop nasty things from getting in and out of your network wich is kind of nice. This is all I can come up with right now, might add something that I've forgotten. It's getting quite late here

you basicly summed up everythign we said...thans for repeating us.

___________________
i'm the alchemist without the cyst without a doubt out of the mist
dig out the grout expose the pest to take it out without the rest

they will attest my patients restorations from the best

i'm from the west i'm not an acmeist only the alchemist