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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: swift240 on April 24, 2008, 01:35:26 PM
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Having used Winodws both 2000 and XP and Ubuntu 7.10 I have come ot the conclusion that Winodws is top but Ubunut is coming up fast.
Now with Ubuntu 8.04 out I am seriously thinking of going Ubuntu and staying there.
I may have a 2nd HD for Win2000 though.
But hey you good Amiga people out there what would you prefer Windows or Ubuntu/Linux of some type?
As the days go bye I am getting more and more impressed with Ubuntu as a free OS and not in any way connnected to MS.
To be honest if Ubuntu would have more TV card drivers I would go total Ubuntu and leave Windows out completely.
Mike.
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As a gamer, I'm pretty much forced to use Windows. I tried Ubuntu and love it, but until it can run any PC game I buy, right out of the box I'm going to stick with Windows. Linux drivers tend to always lag behind making it hard to play latest games on a Linux OS. If I weren't a gamer, I'd never use Windows and only use some flavour of Linux. Probably Ubuntu. Not just because it's free, though that's a powerful motivator, but because of the altruism behind open source. And the fact I really dislike Microsoft software.
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Funny this thread should appear, I installed Ubuntu again last night to give it another whirl. Read my blog (link in signature) to hear the results... in short I am extremely impressed with it.
It is a fast no-nonsense OS that does what you tell it to do without any nagging, crap running in the background, security software slowing you down, and constant hard disk grinding!
For games I steer clear of expensive PCs and having to keep them bang up to date to run the latest games and use an XBOX 360 instead.
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Xamiche wrote:
As a gamer, I'm pretty much forced to use Windows. I tried Ubuntu and love it, but until it can run any PC game I buy, right out of the box I'm going to stick with Windows.
but even Windows can't do that. Games are falling to "XP-only" and "Vista-only" while Linux can scale it's Windows support to the level needed. I run most PC games on Linux fine, only finding those that use the obscure "not-safe" DirectX calls giving me any real problem.
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HopperJF wrote:For games I steer clear of expensive PCs and having to keep them bang up to date to run the latest games and use an XBOX 360 instead.
Personally I can't stand modern consoles for gaming. I can afford a PC so that's what I use. Playing games on a console gamepad is horrible. Slow, imprecise and just downright annoying. I couldn't imagine using anything but a mouse and keyboard for gaming. The only console I'd have is a Wii. Hmm, maybe an original Xbox with Linux install to use as a media centre.
I just wish PC gamers had a serious alternative to Windows. Maybe Ubuntu will get to that point.
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downix wrote:
but even Windows can't do that. Games are falling to "XP-only" and "Vista-only" while Linux can scale it's Windows support to the level needed. I run most PC games on Linux fine, only finding those that use the obscure "not-safe" DirectX calls giving me any real problem.
My PC plays any game I buy, right out of the box. Apart from the occasional retro-ware that requires a little tweaking to run, I don't have half the issues running a game on Windows that I do on Linux. Until that changes, Windows is the OS I will use. Reluctantly.
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If the Amiga was still around today, no doubt that would still have that market, as a good games COMPUTER. :-(
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Xamiche wrote:
downix wrote:
but even Windows can't do that. Games are falling to "XP-only" and "Vista-only" while Linux can scale it's Windows support to the level needed. I run most PC games on Linux fine, only finding those that use the obscure "not-safe" DirectX calls giving me any real problem.
My PC plays any game I buy, right out of the box. Apart from the occasional retro-ware that requires a little tweaking to run, I don't have half the issues running a game on Windows that I do on Linux.
The games are coded for Windows though, so obviously it will run better on Windows. You can't blame Linux for that
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HopperJF wrote:
The games are coded for Windows though, so obviously it will run better on Windows. You can't blame Linux for that
Of course. I don't blame Linux at all. I'd love nothing more than to switch to Linux permanently. I think it's a superior OS. Hopefully if a Linux build like Ubuntu becomes widely used game producers might start focusing more on it. One can hope.
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I like my dual boot Ubuntu-XP atm. Though my XP installation is broken a few weeks ago. Didn't bother to repair it as for yet.
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Ubuntu for 99% of my computing at home.
Speaking of video cards, I need info on the best supported video card and software for Linux. I will be using a TV card again soon and I am behind the times. The last time I tried was several years ago and support was indeed weak.
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Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
I like my dual boot Ubuntu-XP atm. Though my XP installation is broken a few weeks ago. Didn't bother to repair it as for yet.
The dual boot is a great idea. I had Ubuntu on my system a few years back, but I needed space so I had to drop it. I think I may get myself a new HD and re-install it. My sister's boyfriend had WoW running on his Ubuntu set up. It didn't run as well as it did on his WinXP set up, but it was there at least.
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redrumloa wrote:
Ubuntu for 99% of my computing at home.
Speaking of video cards, I need info on the best supported video card and software for Linux. I will be using a TV card again soon and I am behind the times. The last time I tried was several years ago and support was indeed weak.
AFAIK the most videocard drivers are closed source. But NVidia is your best bet. TV cards should be no problem as there's often a standard philips chip being used.
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There are hundreds of linux ditros, so I don't see the choice being only ubunut. Try dreamlinux for a nice desktop or Opensuse if you want a server. Saboyan is huge but rewards you for that size with a stunning visual experience.
Don't limit yourself to one distro!!!!
check out distrowatch (http://distrowatch.com)
(http://www.seasonalemployment.com/Manor/bounce.gif)
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Xamiche wrote:
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
I like my dual boot Ubuntu-XP atm. Though my XP installation is broken a few weeks ago. Didn't bother to repair it as for yet.
The dual boot is a great idea. I had Ubuntu on my system a few years back, but I needed space so I had to drop it. I think I may get myself a new HD and re-install it. My sister's boyfriend had WoW running on his Ubuntu set up. It didn't run as well as it did on his WinXP set up, but it was there at least.
My fav game, Soldat, works very lousy on my system :-( .
I use XFCE and it's faster than Windows. It makes me keep using Linux.
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Downloading Dreamlinux now to see what it is like........
Nero will do the rest for me......
Mike.
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swift240 wrote:
Downloading Dreamlinux now to see what it is like........
Nero will do the rest for me......
Mike.
Tell us what your impression of it is. I'm thinking about setting up a Linux Box and would love to hear what you think of Dreamlinux.
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swift240 wrote:
what would you prefer Windows or Ubuntu/Linux of some type?
I'd definitely choose Ubuntu. No viruses, no activation b*llsh*t, no bloat, no paternalism... My fiancee is running it on her laptop and it works really great (including WIFI, audio and other stuff that sometimes tends to give headaches). I have never seen such an easy and fast installation of an OS including applications than with Ubuntu.
So, if you are not forced to use some piece of software that is Windows only and does not work with WINE, I'd say stick to Ubuntu. BTW: WINE has become really good aswell, I was really surprised how many things you can already run with it (including games).
To be honest if Ubuntu would have more TV card drivers I would go total Ubuntu
Why? How many TV cards do you have :-?
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Give Mandriva a try! Not many do anymore. It's gotten very desktop friendly yet has not strayed from the Red-Hat server centric old school Linux.
Personally, after 10 years or so, I just find Linux exhausting anymore. I still have to learn stuff and read man pages. And now I work with *nix every day, so double yawn.
Anyway, that's just me. Pick the best tool for the job. There's no one "right" OS.
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Ubuntu or Fedora Core. Windows is NOT necessary!
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gdanko wrote:
Ubuntu or Fedora Core. Windows is NOT necessary!
Can Ubuntu or Fedora Core run DirectX 10 games?
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As far as I can recall, the poster was asking for our opinions. Games are inconsequential to me. I would ask you if Windows can effectively use Bash scripting? cygwin doesn't cut it, either. It has its limitations that I cannot overcome.
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gdanko wrote:
As far as I can recall, the poster was asking for our opinions.
So the answer is no?
Games are inconsequential to me.
Not to me. And I dare say not to a large percentage of PC users. Which means Windows is not 'NOT necessary'. Unfortunately. :-(
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I have switched to Ubuntu 7.10, a few months ago.
I wanted to learn a little about linux, so I installed on a second PC. I have not even turned on my windows machine since.
I should really get around to installing on my best hardware, AM2, 2.6 Ghz, 2Gb DDR 800, ATI 3850...
My Ubuntu box, 2.0 Ghz, 2Gb DDR 400, NVIDIA 7600GS...
I don't really play any video games anymore, so I don't feel I am missing anything.
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thanos wrote:
I have switched to Ubuntu 7.10, a few months ago.
I wanted to learn a little about linux, so I installed on a second PC. I have not even turned on my windows machine since.
I should really get around to installing on my best hardware, AM2, 2.6 Ghz, 2Gb DDR 800, ATI 3850...
My Ubuntu box, 2.0 Ghz, 2Gb DDR 400, NVIDIA 7600GS...
I don't really play any video games anymore, so I don't feel I am missing anything.
Yeah, a Linux OS is the best way to go for a non-gamer I think - on PC at least. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would use Windows if they didn't use Window only software. I sure as hell wouldn't.
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Im running Ubuntu on my fileserver at the moment, it was a pleasure to install. On my workstation I am going to run XP and Ubuntu, dual boot (XP for Word, Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver). Currently on Vista and I am not going to miss it.
Choice is good but I think it is positive to have one big mainstream Linux and not call it Linux in the name. I hate that f"n penguin :-)
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Xamiche wrote:
gdanko wrote:
As far as I can recall, the poster was asking for our opinions.
So the answer is no?
Games are inconsequential to me.
Not to me. And I dare say not to a large percentage of PC users. Which means Windows is not 'NOT necessary'. Unfortunately. :-(
I think you are sadly mistaken. The percentage of people who use PCs for everything EXCEPT games is 10 times more than the PC gamers. So I think your "large percentage" of PC users that run games is more like 10% of all PC users.
Most computer users today only use them for e-mail and to browse the Internet when they are not using them for work.
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Yes, he meant a large percentage of his mates used PCs for games. Personally of all the people I know, maybe one or two are serious gamers, the rest surf the net, read email and do word processing. A little Dreamlinux box will do all that and not be susceptible to all the Virii that are out there.
(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)
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persia wrote:
Yes, he meant a large percentage of his mates used PCs for games. Personally of all the people I know, maybe one or two are serious gamers, the rest surf the net, read email and do word processing. A little Dreamlinux box will do all that and not be susceptible to all the Virii that are out there.
(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)(http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/Smileys/penquin/smiley.gif)
Yes, that is very true. Most people would be completely satisfied with a Linux box, Firefox and Open Office with a decent Linux e-mail program, or they could just use a web based e-mail account. Too bad they have all been duped into thinking that they must have a MS operating system and programs.
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The latest release of the Linux Distribution Ubuntu, (# 8.04, Hardy Heron), is now available for download (http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download) or shipment (https://shipit.ubuntu.com/).
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@Xamiche
I have downloaded the ISO of dreamlinux.
Tried the CD and wow the dock bar is a smart piece of work.
I am going to install it proper later tonight.
So far I have put a MPG4 video in it playes perfectly, MP3 perfectly this is from the CD as it stands.
I am impressed with dreamlinux so far.
It is a lot smarter than Ubuntu 7.10.
But then again I like smart apperance on any OS.
Mike.
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Dreamlinux can be downloaded from here (http://www.dreamlinux.com.br/download.html).
(http://www.genetics.wisc.edu/dept/computing/smiley37.gif)
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But hey you good Amiga people out there what would you prefer Windows or Ubuntu/Linux of some type?
I prefer Ubuntu/Linux because I can run AROS/hosted on it :-D
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persia wrote:
Yes, he meant a large percentage of his mates used PCs for games. Personally of all the people I know, maybe one or two are serious gamers, the rest surf the net, read email and do word processing.
So, my percentage based on my peers is wrong, but your percentage based on your peers is right. Interesting. We are in fact both talking out of our arses because neither of us have any real statistics, but so long as the percentage of gamers is not zero, Windows is not an unnecessary OS. Sadly. It is not as bad as it once was, and the number of Windows games that run on Linux has grown considerably, but that does not make Gdanko's hyperbole any the more true.
A little Dreamlinux box will do all that and not be susceptible to all the Virii that are out there.
I agree. I wonder why most people do not choose to use Linux? I think the next time I have a customer ask me to build them a new PC I will suggest they use Linux. I'd be curious how many of them will choose to use it. Give me a sales pitch I can use for Linux. :-D
swift240 wrote:
@Xamiche
I have downloaded the ISO of dreamlinux.
Tried the CD and wow the dock bar is a smart piece of work.
I am going to install it proper later tonight.
So far I have put a MPG4 video in it playes perfectly, MP3 perfectly this is from the CD as it stands.
I am impressed with dreamlinux so far.
It is a lot smarter than Ubuntu 7.10.
But then again I like smart apperance on any OS.
Mike.
Excellent. Thanks for the info. I might download it and try it out for myself. :-)
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PC Game sales have been declining while the big three games boxes (Wii, PS3, XBox) have been increasing. It appears that games players want dedicated hardware for their games. But there still are a lot of sales, it would be interesting to know real statistics. My nephew plays Grand Theft Auto on his PC...
(http://home.comcast.net/~theviperpit/smilies/a-australian.gif)
Anzac Day - Let us never forget
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persia wrote:
PC Game sales have been declining while the big three games boxes (Wii, PS3, XBox) have been increasing. It appears that games players want dedicated hardware for their games. But there still are a lot of sales, it would be interesting to know real statistics. My nephew plays Grand Theft Auto on his PC...
(http://home.comcast.net/~theviperpit/smilies/a-australian.gif)
Anzac Day - Let us never forget
Indeed. It doesn't take much to see the decline in PC game sales. My once excellent favourite gaming store, which had mostly PC games and a little corner for console games, is now the opposite. Mostly console games and a little corner for PC games. It's a bit like watching the VHS vs Beta struggle in the 80s. The only console I really like is the Wii (Nintendo Fanboy), mostly because it's the only exercise I get. I honestly don't see the need to buy an Xbox or PS. I have a PC.
I'm downloading DreamLinux atm. I'd be curious to see how extensive the list is of Windows games that will run under Linux. I don't think it would be good enough for a serious gamer, but it may be good enough for most of the people I build computers for. Even the Mums and Dads I build computers for ask about games. They have kids who want to play WoW or some other game. If Linux can cope with that it might be a way to shave 200 bucks of the price of a new PC for them.
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swift240 wrote:
@Xamiche
I have downloaded the ISO of dreamlinux.
Tried the CD and wow the dock bar is a smart piece of work.
I am going to install it proper later tonight.
So far I have put a MPG4 video in it playes perfectly, MP3 perfectly this is from the CD as it stands.
I am impressed with dreamlinux so far.
It is a lot smarter than Ubuntu 7.10.
But then again I like smart apperance on any OS.
Mike.
How do you mean, smart? Smart in appearance, smart in choice of applications standardly installed, how it is installed, or smart 'just to look at'? I don't understand.
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Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
How do you mean, smart? Smart in appearance, smart in choice of applications standardly installed, how it is installed, or smart 'just to look at'? I don't understand.[/quote]
You know how someone says, 'That suit looks smart'? That's what he means by smart. Aesthetically speaking.
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I love'em both.
This will sound silly but I'm such a novice with Linux that I got all excited last week when I managed to install LAMP on Ubuntu on a VIA mini-itx box.
The other thing I like about Linux is that it allows me to use my old laptop productively, without having to dish out big bucks for a Windows installation and all the virus checking software and tools I need on Windows. I got the laptop for free at work. Now I use it to blog, surf, prepare documents for a class I'm taking...It's great.
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Hi,
I have been using Ubuntu as my main OS for the past year now, I started with 7.05 and am now using 7.10 as my main system. Ubuntu seems real stable and easy to use, some people complain about playing movies or having problems with their TV tuners, well guess what I am using both the movie player to play movies and the TV tuner (win2000) on my Ubuntu system and all I did was downloaded them and installed them, then I did the unnatural thing and read the freakin manuals and help files, now why didn't any of these smart Amiga fans think of that!!!
Now I still use Windows XP but only for games and WinUAE from Cloanto, I wouldn't trust Windows with any of my important files like my pictures from my camera or movies and I would certainly not trust windows with my software and book databases or my checkbook program which by the way in Ubuntu is secured by scrambling. I also use Kino and open movie editor and live to edit my movies and use open office to match microbucks office.
For games I use Cedega, I know you have to pay $5.00 a month for usage, but its worth it.
Anyhow My OS's in order of usage
1. Ubuntu Main OS
2. Amiga Forever WinUAE version
3. Windows XP (games only)
4. Windows Vista (if I ever get it activated again (Eight time) What a waste of time, money and effort, not even trusted for games.
By the way my most trusted computer so far is my Amiga 4000, and Amiga 1200, haven't crashed or burned since 1992, they may be slow by todays standards but they boot in less than 10 seconds, multi-task, don't crash, no activation required, and the best -- shut off in less than a second with no Amiga shutting down screen, but I am sure some smart programmer could make a shut down screen :-)
smerf
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Just downloaded Ubuntu 8.04 iso and was not watching the whole download process, but in the beginning it said it was downloading a 699mb file, but the iso file is only 289mb.
Did I get the whole thing and is it okay to burn to CD, or do I have to download it again? The site I chose to download from was not very fast, that is why I did not monitor its progress until it was finished. :-?
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Hi,
I would try downloading again, do not burn or you will waste a CD with the download you have now.
smerf
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Over the past 12-18 months I've been playing with Linux: Ubuntu, Fedora, PCLInuxOS and PCUserOS ( A distro created by PCUser magazine based on ubuntu but using xfce).
No Linux distro I have tried has quite the ease-of-use, hardware support or reliability that my XPPro machine does (18 months and not one blue screen).
All Linux distro's I have used have exhibited some quirky behavior eg screen settings change on their own every time I boot, dial-up not working, selecting the firewall to start on boot but it never does and has to be manually started every time, install a 300 k emulator and have a non bootable system...
I appreciate that this may just be my system but go on the forums and have a look at the number and type of support questions: many problems are serious and a novice would never fix them, some are simple but require you to jump through hoops to get right.
I thought PCLinuxOS was the best distro I tried, until I realized they use a "rolling upgrade": as soon as anything in the repos has a new version, you can install it. Great except that that new thing may need to install several or even hundreds of megabytes of other updates to other things, some of which haven't been tested to work with each other. You could, like I did, end up with a non-usable system because you just installed a 300k emulator, which installed 100 meg of "updates" that forgot to install a 55 k library that meant your GUI wouldn't come up. Try then finding the problem as to why your computer no longer starts..
Media center funtionality is another Linux no-go zone: I did the mythTV thing and it took me nearly 6 weeks of searching, trial and error, reading copious documentation to set up. In XPPro,I downloaded mediaportal,installed some add-ons, rebooted. I can schedule, watch, record HD TV, burn to DVD, playback DVD's from a great GUI, play NES, SNES, N64, PSone, Megadrive, Amiga games, launch PC games, all via HDMI on 42" plasma. Total set-up time: under 3 hours.
Windows gets bagged for all the spyware and viruses, as if their existence is Microsoft's fault. These things exist because 98% of computers use windows, and therefore the writers of malware have a huge incentive to write malware for windows as opposed to Linux Or MacOS, both of which are not immune to malware either.
Don't get me wrong: Linux is very good for a free OS, but its not a Windows replacement for the average user, yet.
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thanos wrote:
I have switched to Ubuntu 7.10, a few months ago.
I wanted to learn a little about linux, so I installed on a second PC. I have not even turned on my windows machine since.
I should really get around to installing on my best hardware, AM2, 2.6 Ghz, 2Gb DDR 800, ATI 3850...
My Ubuntu box, 2.0 Ghz, 2Gb DDR 400, NVIDIA 7600GS...
I don't really play any video games anymore, so I don't feel I am missing anything.
You may find your ATI graphics card not as easy to get working as your nvidia..
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Hi,
I just removed my Win2000 TV card from my old computer system using winblows 2000, put it in my tri boot Linux, Windows XP and Vista system, Linux had it up and running in about 10 minutes, Windows XP needed to have new drivers downloaded for XP and then still took 2 hours to figure out how to get the sound up and running. Windows Vista crashed and burned, then after a week got a windows XP update. you know the 1-6 updates, don't know what they were because windows didn't tell me what they were but it was updating, Linux is nice it tells you first then lets you update. The worst part was that the updates in windows stopped my sound from working on my TV card. So I went back to Linux.
The only thing I keep windows XP for is for games, I wouldn't trust it as far as I could try to throw MS corp.
smerf
I make my living by MS, every body at work needs help at least once a week, if they used Ubuntu, I would be in the bread line.
They ought to change MicroSofts name to microsh_t but that wouldn't work because everybody knows they aren't micro they are one big Sh_t.
smerf
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Can anyone confirm the file size for Ubuntu 8.04 iso?
I will download again, but would like to know so I can check the next downloaded iso file.
Thanks in advance.
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Hi,
I see 699.1 mb on my download screen in Ubuntu, just started downloading, will see if there is a mistake on it.
smerf
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I am downloading from a site in Germany and the file size is 697.3. It is coming over at 344kb/sec which is much faster than the first attempt from a site in Australia. I usually try to use a site from a country where most of the population is asleep at the time I am downloading in an attempt to get the fastest download speed.
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@stefcep2
You may find your ATI graphics card not as easy to get working as your nvidia.
Hmmm...
Should I consider a different distro? Will I have trouble in with an ATI card in general?
The desktop effects, though unnecessary, are very slick.
Anybody else have any suggestions, or comments?
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cv643d wrote:
Im running Ubuntu on my fileserver at the moment, it was a pleasure to install. On my workstation I am going to run XP and Ubuntu, dual boot (XP for Word, Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver). Currently on Vista and I am not going to miss it.
Choice is good but I think it is positive to have one big mainstream Linux and not call it Linux in the name. I hate that f"n penguin :-)
Oi, that is my new avatar you are talking about ;-)
Yep after 2 days, I have decided Linux is for me. Unfortuately there is the odd-time I need to boot into Windows (at the moment my printer is unsupported) and for my video editing software, but for 95% of the time I am now on Ubuntu and it is a great fast operating system. :-)
The last time I booted into XP I was irritated at how slow it was after being used to the responsiveness of Ubuntu.
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Funnily enough, I'm posting this from my brand new Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron install, I've got to say i'm actually pretty impressed with how the install went... (Hardy Heron was only released yesterday, and is a release that has a 5 year support scheme from Canonical)
I installed it using the new option of installing inside windows, it uses wubi(http://wubi-installer.org/) to do this, and it works pretty damn well (I set a 6GB partition, as my laptop HD is only 40gb) when I boot up now I get two options, I can boot into XP or Ubuntu, and the best thing of all is that it didn't install Grub or any bootmanager... :-) Another key feature of installing ubuntu with wubi is that you can literally un-install whenever you want... it puts an entry in Add/Remove Programs so you can remove ubuntu whenever you want - and as there is no extra bootmanager installed its all easy and works well. :)
Its found all my hardware (WLan needed a couple of re-boots and then propietary driver install) and i'm just pretty much liking the new release... I tried the previous 7.10 release but it caused nothing but havoc with my laptop, sound didn't work fully, wlan required voodoo to get it working, and graphics weren't that much easier... So the 8.04 release has been a breath of fresh air.
The only complaints I have atm are that there aren't many development tools installed... Python is installed but specifically Ruby isn't, but its a pretty easy install using the brilliant apt-get anyway...
Well yeah, I'm just pretty blown away by the new release... I've been trying ubuntu off and on since the 5.10 Breezy Badger release but 8.04 is just amazing :-D ... So yeah, as you can probably tell, i'd go with Ubuntu. And if you really still need windows apps, you can allways use VirtualBox to virtualise XP/2000 on-top of Linux, or of course you could use Wine to run your Windows apps.
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stefcep2 wrote:
Over the past 12-18 months I've been playing with Linux: Ubuntu, Fedora, PCLInuxOS and PCUserOS ( A distro created by PCUser magazine based on ubuntu but using xfce).
No Linux distro I have tried has quite the ease-of-use, hardware support or reliability that my XPPro machine does (18 months and not one blue screen).
All Linux distro's I have used have exhibited some quirky behavior eg screen settings change on their own every time I boot, dial-up not working, selecting the firewall to start on boot but it never does and has to be manually started every time, install a 300 k emulator and have a non bootable system...
I appreciate that this may just be my system but go on the forums and have a look at the number and type of support questions: many problems are serious and a novice would never fix them, some are simple but require you to jump through hoops to get right.
I thought PCLinuxOS was the best distro I tried, until I realized they use a "rolling upgrade": as soon as anything in the repos has a new version, you can install it. Great except that that new thing may need to install several or even hundreds of megabytes of other updates to other things, some of which haven't been tested to work with each other. You could, like I did, end up with a non-usable system because you just installed a 300k emulator, which installed 100 meg of "updates" that forgot to install a 55 k library that meant your GUI wouldn't come up. Try then finding the problem as to why your computer no longer starts..
Media center funtionality is another Linux no-go zone: I did the mythTV thing and it took me nearly 6 weeks of searching, trial and error, reading copious documentation to set up. In XPPro,I downloaded mediaportal,installed some add-ons, rebooted. I can schedule, watch, record HD TV, burn to DVD, playback DVD's from a great GUI, play NES, SNES, N64, PSone, Megadrive, Amiga games, launch PC games, all via HDMI on 42" plasma. Total set-up time: under 3 hours.
Windows gets bagged for all the spyware and viruses, as if their existence is Microsoft's fault. These things exist because 98% of computers use windows, and therefore the writers of malware have a huge incentive to write malware for windows as opposed to Linux Or MacOS, both of which are not immune to malware either.
Don't get me wrong: Linux is very good for a free OS, but its not a Windows replacement for the average user, yet.
Yes, it's very crude on many accounts, but the command line linux is rock-solid. Firewalls in Linux are AFAIK IP-Tables (script) configurators, so once set-up, you won't notice it's there.
Linux, as is, (like Ubuntu) is either for noobs or for advanced users. NOT for someone in-between.
To me, it's really a productive, as well as 'sandbox' OS.
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@DBAlex,
I take it the sound for your laptop is now working with 8.04?
I ran it on my Dell tower from the CD last night after downloading and burning the CD, and the sound did not work. I have 7.10 on my wife's HP laptop and she has been complaining ever since I installed it that there is no sound and the plug-ins for websites are missing.
Should I uninstall 7.10 and install 8.04, or install 8.04 over 7.10? I am a newbie at Linux and expect it to be easy like Mac OS 10.5
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DBAlex wrote:
I've been trying ubuntu off and on since the 5.10 Breezy Badger release but 8.04 is just amazing :-D .
I haven't encountered anything amazing as for yet. I hoped for UDF cd handling, and proper OpenGL support for my video card. I'm *QUITE* disappointed in that. :-(
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Give it time, Linux has came a long long way since the first time I used SuSe 7.3 PPC in 2002.
As a noob, I take it that downloading and installing 8.04 automatically overwrites 7.10, and does NOT create another partition?
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amigadave wrote:
@DBAlex,
I take it the sound for your laptop is now working with 8.04?
I ran it on my Dell tower from the CD last night after downloading and burning the CD, and the sound did not work. I have 7.10 on my wife's HP laptop and she has been complaining ever since I installed it that there is no sound and the plug-ins for websites are missing.
Should I uninstall 7.10 and install 8.04, or install 8.04 over 7.10? I am a newbie at Linux and expect it to be easy like Mac OS 10.5
Just do a plain install of 8.04, and when you have installed it, go to Applications -> Add/Remove... (In Ubuntu) and click Show -> All Available Applications. From their you can install all the "restricted" (non-free) packages... As in Video drivers, Flash plugins, MP3, MP4. etc etc
And yes, sound works fine here, although it did *not* on 7.10 for some reason. One thing to try though is going to Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal and when in the terminal typing alsamixer and by using the arrow keys <- and -> move along the audio inputs/outputs... and if you find one that says MM at the bottom press M on the keyboard to un-mute it and press up until the bar is at the maximum (Basically - Un-muting all alsa channels) (don't do it for any that you get audio "feedback" [As in a loud screech] on (just press M again for those)) once you have done that for all of them press Escape twice to exit and save. Now try sound again, it should hopefully work.
If it doesn't then you can allways try the Ubuntu forums (http://ubuntuforums.org/) and if they don't help then you can allways try the Ubuntu IRC channel too (http://www.ubuntu.com/support/community/chatirc) they are usually both friendly and people will you help you in either.
Hope that helps a bit... One other thing that might help you is this: http://fosswire.com/2008/04/22/ubuntu-cheat-sheet/ [I downloaded and printed myself a copy] its a cheatsheet for commands in the Terminal... It can save you a lot of hassle and GUI work. :-)
Cheers, Alex. :-D
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Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
DBAlex wrote:
I've been trying ubuntu off and on since the 5.10 Breezy Badger release but 8.04 is just amazing :-D .
I haven't encountered anything amazing as for yet. I hoped for UDF cd handling, and proper OpenGL support for my video card. I'm *QUITE* disappointed in that. :-(
Which video card do you have?
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thanos wrote:
@stefcep2
You may find your ATI graphics card not as easy to get working as your nvidia.
Hmmm...
Should I consider a different distro? Will I have trouble in with an ATI card in general?
The desktop effects, though unnecessary, are very slick.
Anybody else have any suggestions, or comments?
No problem with my ATI Radeon Mobility HD 2600 here. Just download the drivers from ATI and install. They're not included with the distribution because they are closed source.
I'm using Fedora Linux 8 (Werewolf) x86_64 on a HP Compaq 8510P business laptop. It installed okay, but still doesn't have the power management, driver support, and ease of use that Windows XP has on the same laptop. (For instance, I still can't use DVI out (on dock) only DVI.) I'll stick with Windows until Linux becomes less of a pain in the ass, or until Windows becomes more of one. I will be upgrading to F9 when it comes out in a couple of days though.
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Btw, Heres a quick screenshot of my setup:
Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron Screenshot (http://www.lightwaredesign.co.uk/Screenshot.png)
[Sorry, couldn't imbed, image was too big]
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DBAlex wrote:
Only Amiga makes it impossible to get a computer.
Love that!
I checked out Ubutnu a while back, it was a hassle to get the pen gesture and accelerometer funcitons of my tablet to work right. I went back to XP and am very happy. Have not tried Vista, would have to hack it too much to get aero to work.
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@amigadave
Why not just check the SHA1? No use making any coasters.
@DBAlex
Looks like a standard Gnome desktop. Turn on the Emerald and Compiz Fusion! :-D
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adolescent wrote:
@DBAlex
Looks like a standard Gnome desktop. Turn on the Emerald and Compiz Fusion! :-D
It is on! I just don't like the bouncy windows thing... All it has atm is subtle transitions when you open menus, close windows etc... also it has transparency on window titles when windows lose focus. :-)
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DBAlex wrote:
Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
DBAlex wrote:
I've been trying ubuntu off and on since the 5.10 Breezy Badger release but 8.04 is just amazing :-D .
I haven't encountered anything amazing as for yet. I hoped for UDF cd handling, and proper OpenGL support for my video card. I'm *QUITE* disappointed in that. :-(
Which video card do you have?
Intel 915GM
There actually is OpenGL support, but it's extremely slow. (while it's fast on Windows)
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@Speelgoedmannetje
Check to see if direct rendering is enabled/working (using glxinfo). Also, do you have mesa installed? Is the DRI option (and configuration section) set in your xorg.conf?
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adolescent wrote:
@Speelgoedmannetje
Check to see if direct rendering is enabled/working (using glxinfo). Also, do you have mesa installed? Is the DRI option (and configuration section) set in your xorg.conf?
Everything checked, direct rendering is enabled, DRI and mesa installed. Tis just a bug, I recently read it'll be fixed in Ubuntu 8.10.
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Well I dumped XP for Ubuntu 7.10 then upgraded to 8.04 it does all what I want it to do.
No nags, no anti virus, no spyware, no firewall (behind a router)
Faster more memory left over.
I am still messing around with the configuration its really good, I can do more with this than XP.
One of the better things is the display bars top and bottom of the screen I can have them any size I want, XP you can have either small or large and thats it.
Ubuntu 8.04 is as it stands now better than XP for what it can do.
When I load XP in it will take a time for all to get up and running, but Ubuntu it don't a few seconds and thats it ready to roll.
And the choice I get from the Add/Remove is very god indeed not to mention the Synaptics manager.
And its all FREE you don't pay a huge wedge to get it like Windows.
Mike.
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Really glad you went with Ubuntu over XP and that you're enjoying it. Ubuntu is a really nice OS, and my second choice only to Mac OS X ;-)
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moto
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Well to be honest I only went with XP because I did not know about Linux and its many OS types.
Now I see there are many Linux type OS out there DreamLinux is another nice one.
But my big thing is that its FREE and legal Ok dont get me wrong not JUST because its free but lets face it Linux these days is pretty damned good, and the software is also, like OpenOffice 2.4
I did not fully realize just how good Ubuntu is, I am still finding out about it.
Bye bye Microsoft, its time for you to go.
Mike.
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I really advise you to check all Linux distros, Ububtu is a Debian Linux, there are at least half a dozen other Debian distros out there that are common, plus the Fedora, Mandriva and other distros. No one distro works for everyone, I had Ubuntu running on a couple servers and found it didn't work for me, OpenSuse was a far better choice.