Which Linux?

[jj]

I have win 7 on my main pc.   And I am seriously conidering installing it on my laptop.  WIll see how it goes

[jj]

http://www.dailygyan.com/2008/04/how-to-have-dvd-playback-adobe-flash.html

Thanks that worked though I did have to split the fist command down into its actual sperate commands.
 
Couldn't find skype on that link , couldnt find package.
 
Also incase anyone else has problems with this distro and ati card and opengl flickering like crazy, just switch off all desktop effects.  Seems ATI drivers and opengl do not play well with desktop effects.
 
And I rather have emulators and video using hardware rather than softwware for rendering.

[Venkman]

I've just installed Ubuntu to my old laptop. It kept coming up with a BSOD under XP, and I tried to reformat with the restore disk, only to find that the disk didn't work anymore, and since the machine is almost 10 years old I can't get a replacement restore disk. So rather than give up on it, I thought I'd try Ubuntu. I was rather surprised at how easilty it installed and how well it runs. I did have a problem getting my Netgear pcmcia wireless network card to work, but I had a spare USB one and it worked as soon as I plugged it in.

[jj]

ubuntu and linux has come a long way, 9.10 was no good for my laptop , but 8.04 is just as good
 
my no name bluetooth usb dongle worked straight away and can connect to my home theatre using bluetooth and play music.
 
Xbox 360 wirless reciever works and so does xbox 360 controller with no extra work.
 
easy to add things and remove panels.  Its not as easy to use as windows but im finding it more configurable and more rewarding.
 
Ubuntu is the way fwd

[Karlos]

Another vote for ubuntu here, using the 64-bit 8.04 LTS release since it came out. I've never had any problems with it until last week, when a flash/firefox update appears to have made my X server unstable. To be fair, it probably isn't firefox's (or even flash) fault as I'm using the proprietry nvidia drivers (190.53) and I suspect there may be hidden bugs therein.

[jj]

I had to go from 9.10 beacuse the ati drivers for my card no longer worked, and the newest drivers dont support my card anymore.  Tried all sorts of things and ended up with a machine that would only run in low graphics mode.
 
If I could have got my ati card working i would have kept 9.10 it was just that little bit slicker than 8.04.  Faster loading as well.
 
But I must say i am still happy.  Last time I tried a linux distro was many many years ago and I was presently supprised at what a usuable os it is.

[Venkman]

I do have an issue with the nvidia 420 go in my laptop if I use the restricted driver that's available for download. All I get when I restart the machine is a flashing screen and no icons. I can see my desktop bakground okay, but that's it. However, since this laptop is only really used for chatting online and surfing the net, I don't really have need for the nvidia driver, and it works great without them.

I'm liking Ubuntu so much I'm actually considering installing it to my main PC on a dual-boot.

[jj]

Anyone know of a good media player that has the sort of feature os windows media player.  Just want to create an easy to view music library with album covers that will sync ass well as windows with my creative zen vision m

[persia]

Sabayon seems pretty cool too....  But really you can't go wrong with most of the big distros it's just a matter of personal taste.

Puppy remains my favourite on low end equipment....

[thanos]

I would also suggest Ubuntu.  The newer versions seem to be fairly polished, easy to use and install.

I have recently installed a copy on the the laptop for the wife's IBM Thinkhpad R40.  Great for surfing the web, I also bought a little cheap USB joypad so that she could play some old NES games under emulation.

The wife seems happy, so that makes me happy.

I have also tried a new version of Mint OS on my HP510 laptop, I liked it even more.

I think most Linux distros have come a long way and should serve most peoples needs.

Go ahead and play with a few, several seem to have live disks to test, so no installation is required to test them.

[cecilia]

I've been using Ubuntu 8.10 for a while now and it works very nicely indeed

I haven't installed any nvidia drivers because I'm afraid to mess things up and it works fine anyway.

this is a multi-boot system and has really extended to useability and life of my 2002 Dell laptop.

I love how I can plug in my friend's new digital camera and it is immediately seen. no fuss, no muss. Same with BlackBerry phones.

I wish the video editing was more mature, but that will come in time. I love linux.

[jj]

same with printers I found also.

[SaMiga]

Agree, but in my SaMiga i have installed Xubuntu, its quick, and it runs om my Amiga Box Emulator (A600HD with a Epia Pico ITX inside, and a Keyrah for the keyboard) with one 2.5 inch SATA 120 gb hd for Xubuntu, and one 2.5 inch 30 gb HD for Cloantos KX-Light.

check this link
http://www.amiga.org/gallery/index.php?u=5970

It runs like a charm.

Regards SaMiga

[motrucker]

I do not like Linux all that much. It has a few strong points, but there is just too much it can't do - easily!!!

Having said that, I do keep a copy of DSL  (Damn Small Linux) on a USB thumb drive in case something fouls up on one of my machines, or....

[stefcep2]

Anyone know of a good media player that has the sort of feature os windows media player.  Just want to create an easy to view music library with album covers that will sync ass well as windows with my creative zen vision m

kaffeine, rythmbox

[odin]

Another vote for Rythmbox from me. Get XBMC if you want to turn it into a fully fledged fancy 'Home Theatre PC'.