Offline User Friendly Linux Distro with Updated Wine?

[nicholas]

Or this even?

http://www.dynebolic.org/

[nicholas]

The h-node project aims at the construction of a hardware database in order to identify what devices work with a fully free operating system.

http://h-node.org/hardware/catalogue/en

[nicholas]

Something nice from the Dynebolic FAQ I thought I'd share.   It made me ponder for a few moments and then I uninstalled the proprietary Nvidia driver.  100% Free software now. (Unless you count my miggies and the dirty OSX partition with Logic Pro 9!)

It doesn't works on my computer! some cards are not found...
 -------------------------------------------------------------
 A big difference between dyne:bolic and other popular operating systems around is that we adopt only 100% free software, which means our system is free from proprietary software.

The result is that we can provide support for less hardware cards (video, network, wireless and such): just those working transparently, following a well documented protocol and running free and open source drivers that make it clear to everyone what the device is doing.

It is frustrating on the short term to have such a limited hardware support, but we think is worth on the long term because it gives everyone the freedom to study, adapt and modify software and hardware and to clearly know what is happening inside our machines.

* Why freedom is better on the long term?       To explain why this is important, let us propose you an example in a   different context, that of food production: many farmers in the World   have been told by the global mega-corporations that by buying and   using their proprietary chemicals and seeds their farms would be more   productive.  

The result of this corporate fraud is that farmers become   dependent from foreign and proprietary chemicals and seeds: they are   often genetically modified so that plants won't produce more seeds,   plus they are protected by patents so that farmers themselves cannot   study, adapt and redistribute the technology they are using.  

It even   gets worst, since these proprietary and globalised products cannot be   appropriate to the contexts they are used: not even the promise of   productivity is maintained and the soil gets poisoned by the ignorance   and inability of the mega-corporations that will never be able to   supply very different needs around the world.      

Now, back to your computer :^) think of how important is the   technology you use to build your social interaction online, your   digital productions and audio/video creations.

As the importance of   this technology grows in your life, so it grows the power of the   mega-corporations which are acting unethically by locking you out of   your own device, denying your freedom to study, modify, adapt and   redistribute all what you use.

On the long term you will find yourself   depending from these technologies and being limited by them, you will   not be able to evolve and use your knowledge and skills at their full   potential.

You'll be a mental slave trained to say yes to license   agreements progressively corroding your rights and interacting with   prefabricated interfaces which will limit your freedom and squeeze out   your time and money while doing that.      

That's why we consciously eliminate support for the hardware that   closes you up in such traps.

For instance if you are a digital artist,   using dyne:bolic or other 100% free operating systems you can be sure   that your creations can be preserved in time, without being held   hostage of proprietary technologies needed to reproduce them.

* Ok! so you think you're smart, hu? what should I do then?!      

Next time you buy technology, think twice and choose wisely! here is a   useful initiative you can visit to find out which hardware is well   supported by free software: [http://www.h-node.com]      Liberate yourself from mental slavery!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGgbT_VasI

[XDelusion]

I'm aware of the various Linux Media Distros. Problem is, they are Linux ha ha ha!

 Speaking of Linux and the fact that I am prone to change my mind a great many times before I make it up sometimes...

...well certain things I'm just very set on, but well....


I got Aeros to boot finally! Re-downloaded it and it burns fine, boots fine and runs fine, though again I gotta get through the drivers issue a bit as it does not come with drivers for my Wireless and what ever else I have yet to discover.

 So far what I'm experiencing though, this is pretty interesting. Linux, with Wine, with an Amiga interface. I've love to see more energy pumped into projects like this!

[ElPolloDiabl]

Has anyone had the problem of leaving their hard drive setting in the bios to IDE instead of AHCI? The install just stops or doesn't recognise the hard drive.

I use Linux Mint with KDE or MATE interface (they are quite similar). Even if you hate Linux I recommend you try it. Under Wine you can play any Open GL game, but I think the Direct X port is stalled.

AROS can't do enough yet to be used as a primary operating system.

If there is a Linux you like I recommend persevering with it. The reason it doesn't install may be really trivial. Perhaps you should try the oldest distro first.

You don't even have to use a CLI most of it is GUI driven in KDE and MATE.
It took me about an hour to figure out how to use the preferences and configs under GUI.
As opposed to a few years ago when I would constantly be online looking for the right command to install something.

[CritAnime]

I did try AEROS once upon a time. Found it to be a good comprimise.
 
Also ElPolloDiabl I have had no issues with the HDD settings and installing Linux.

[nicholas]

On a related note: http://h-online.com/open/news/item/LXLE-extends-life-of-ageing-computers-1824111.html?from-classic=1

[XDelusion]

Why does nearly every Linux distro have an old Win 95 Start Bar?

[nicholas]

Why does nearly every Linux distro have an old Win 95 Start Bar?

Erm, the most popular ones don't.

Ones designed for ****ty old hardware seem to go for that in a lot of cases though.

Mind you, I see no difference between the Windows start menu/bar and the BeOS/Haiku Deskbar.

[XDelusion]

Mind you, I see no difference between the Windows start menu/bar and the BeOS/Haiku Deskbar.

I do mind damnit!!!

I dunno... when did BeOS start using that app menu? BeOS began in 91, Windows 95 came out in 95, so I'm not sure which came first.

Either way, the BeOS app menu sits default in the upper right hand corner of the screen. While it functions somewhat like the Windows 95 Start Bar, it seems far more practical in my eyes and certainly more configurable.
 
For instance, back in the day BeOS had themes so you could change it so that the folders functioned less like BeOS folders and more like Amiga folders, or there was a Mac theme, or a Windows theme, and to compliment that Windows theme you could drag the app bar down the bottom of the screen to look and pretty much act like a Windows Start Bar, or you could drag it to the top for a more Amiga/Mac type use. I rather liked it, it felt far less cumbersome than the Windows Start bar.

[persia]

I wouldn't touch a distro pushing a stupid pushup start menu.  It's really only the distros that lack imagination that have one.

[XDelusion]

I wouldn't touch a distro pushing a stupid pushup start menu.  It's really only the distros that lack imagination that have one.

A lot of Linux guys seems to fall in that category. Present party excluded cause they also have a lot for the more artistic and experimental OS's.

Said Linux distros are trying to hard to appeal to the Windows crowd. If you want to appeal to the Windows crowd you need to write an OS that not only has a Start Bar, but also invades your privacy, must remind you often that it is busy thinking, and...

...well just don't work quite as stable as a Linux environment.

OK, to say something positive about Windows that I can't say about Linux, at least I can "generally" install my drivers without issues "generally". Likewise, if I want to run something all I have to do is download it and install it, I don't have to download "X" amount of Mb worth of dependencies just to make it work, which sometimes becomes the case with Linux. Too many dependencies, too many files that need constantly updated and this and that. At least that was my experience when I used to keep it around all the time. Maybe with AEROS I will not have to worry about that crap as much cause I just want to set up WINE and I am using AROS as my GUI instead of some Start Bar based KDE variant or what ever.

 Of course again, the down side to Windows is it sucks. It is boring to use, and the history behind the success of the company behind it relies heavily upon the shattered dreams of others.

[gertsy]

I've become a big fan of Pear, it is beautiful, with some Mac like looks.

Don't they use that on iCarly?

[XDelusion]

Don't they use that on iCarly?

Freaking iCarly! Ha, too funny!

Have you ever noticed how Linux users tend to watch iCarly? Especially the over 35 variety?

[CritAnime]

A lot of Linux guys seems to fall in that category. Present party excluded cause they also have a lot for the more artistic and experimental OS's.
 
Said Linux distros are trying to hard to appeal to the Windows crowd. If you want to appeal to the Windows crowd you need to write an OS that not only has a Start Bar, but also invades your privacy, must remind you often that it is busy thinking, and...
 
...well just don't work quite as stable as a Linux environment.

Sounds like the latest Ubuntu lol. If you look back over recent years there has been a massive push to make the whole experience more user friendly. And yes it is to attract more of the Windows users that just want things to work. More and more generic drivers, which a lot of major manufacturers use in their products, are built into the kernel. I remember when wifi was still a new tech how much of a pain in the arse it was to get USB dongles to work. Now most work straight out of the box because they all use generic chipsets. Same applies to webcams, sound cards and a whole host of stuff. (On a side note I also remember when the do it yourself ADSL kits, 512kbs, came out in the UK and the sodding modem would not work with my rig at the time and I had to wait till I could get my old V92 modem back to download a random hack to make it work. Even then it was hit and miss. :anger:)
 

OK, to say something positive about Windows that I can't say about Linux, at least I can "generally" install my drivers without issues "generally". Likewise, if I want to run something all I have to do is download it and install it, I don't have to download "X" amount of Mb worth of dependencies just to make it work, which sometimes becomes the case with Linux. Too many dependencies, too many files that need constantly updated and this and that. At least that was my experience when I used to keep it around all the time. Maybe with AEROS I will not have to worry about that crap as much cause I just want to set up WINE and I am using AROS as my GUI instead of some Start Bar based KDE variant or what ever.

Again drivers for most generic chipsets are built into modern kernels. I have run into very few items that I have needed specific drivers for except my Nvidia card. But in Ubuntu there is a dialog that opens wich downloads a choice of stable or testing drivers. Also in Ubuntu there is a pack of stuff called restricted extras which you can dowload that adds more support. It's got a set of goodies that doesn't exactly fall into the realm of open source so it can't be given as standard with Ubuntu, though other distributions tend to stick them in anyway.
 
As for dependencies then the package manager should resolve dependency issues for you automatically. If your trying to compile source yourself then yes you need to be aware of the dependencies more. But it's like any new install of any new OS it takes time to get things up and running. Windows will generally need to download c++ or .NET libraries in order to get games to run or certain bits of software. Once the dependencies are there then you no longer need to worry. Most share common dependencies so it's all good. And if the dependencies aren't needed after software removal then the package manager will even handle that for you.
 
And really most Linux distros come with the KDE/Gnome setup because they are the popular ones. But there are some great window managers out there and I don't use KDE or Gnome these days.
 

Of course again, the down side to Windows is it sucks. It is boring to use, and the history behind the success of the company behind it relies heavily upon the shattered dreams of others.

Can't argue with you there lol. but Windows is a bit of a nessesary evil if your into gaming. Until Valve get their act together and get more developers onto Linux we are going to be stuck. Since Steam went public on Linux more games have started to turn up.

[haywirepc]

On a side note I also remember when the do it yourself ADSL kits, 512kbs, came out in the UK and the sodding modem would not work with my rig at the time and I had to wait till I could get my old V92 modem back to download a random hack to make it work. Even then it was hit and miss. )

I remember my first linux box, it was built from parts all specifically chosen because there were linux support or drivers for each part. I think the first linux I ran was red-hat 3.0 or maybe it was even 2.0?

People bitch about aros needing certain sound, network or video cards and not enough drivers, but linux was exactly like that once upon a time.

Most stuff in linux works right out of the box, but some freeware purists distros (Like dynebolic) don't include proprietary drivers, which means alot of hardware won't work. If your okay with closed source drivers most computers can run linux happily now.

I will use proprietary or closed source drivers, because honestly you just have to sometimes, which sucks. BUT I do agree with Linus Torvalds when he said "**** YOU NIVIDIA."



Steven