Linux

K.S.H · 08-12-2004, 19:35

Anyone running linux on here?
have you got it on the same drive as windows or on a separate one?
How is it compared to windows, I know its a lot more secure but whats it like for speed, reliability etc
How limited are you for programs? I take it progs designed for windows wont work with it but there seems to be loads of free stuff out there for linux users
Just downloading a live cd as i type this so going to give it a try out later

Roy · 08-12-2004, 19:46

I run suse linux 9.1 on my laptop dual booting with windows xp on the same drive. The graphic user interfaces are very like windows, it wont take much getting used to! Like you mention there is a lot of free software, some of it you have to work a little to get working... Linux isn't as 'user friendly' as windows, but then it is mainly technical minded people that run it. Progs for windows don't work although you can get an emulator. There are programs available that do almost everything you can imagine, and they are nearly all free and open source!

Anyway, you might want to download openoffice.org first so that at least you can share word/excel files between the two systems...

Anyway, which distribution are you downloading?

entwisi · 08-12-2004, 20:21

Yep,
I am a big Linux user. I have been a user for about 5 years now. I started as ost on Mandrake as it is the most newbie friendly. I now run Gentoo on my laptop. It is Dual boot with XP but that is only used by SWMBO and when I want to install software on my PDA.

Gentoo is probably one of the most technical of distros as you compile all software from source although this is easily managed through a tool called portage. It is also extremely easy to keep up to date. I run a single command which checks for any updates, downloads and installs them all without a reboot(Kernel excepted). It also means that all software is fully optimised for my particular computer.( It is optimised for the exact processor etc). Speed wise is superb.

As Roy has said, most windows programs don't work althogh some are available for both platforms(Firefox, Thunderbird and OPen Office being excellent examples) but you can usually find an alternative. e.g. The GIMP is a very good replacement for Paint Shop Pro, Evolution for Outlook, Gaim managed all Instant messenging protocols in a single program, XMMS even uses Winamp skins.

As far as reliability I had a server( an old P2 300 IBM box) which ran as a file/print server, Web Server, FTP server, P2P box. I had remote access through either SSH or Tight VNC. It was running for just short of 3 years without reboot before it had a hardware fault.

Which Live CD are you downloading? Probably the best is Knoppix. I have used it on numerous occasions to rescue broken Windows boxes.

I'm happy to help you if you have questions, my MSN user is [email protected]( not used for email).

Ian

K.S.H · 08-12-2004, 20:40

downloading suse linux 9.2 evaluation, taking a while tho at 1.3GB

K.S.H · 08-12-2004, 21:01

It will have to be dual boot or even on a spare drive that i have as there are a few programs that I need and will not be able to get for use on Linux.
I will have a play with the evaluation dvd and let you know what i think

entwisi · 09-12-2004, 08:48

Suse is OK. Personally I didn't get along with it( tried it for 3 months). I prefer KDE to Gnome(which Suse uses by default) and if you want to do a HD install it is a bit confusing for newbies as it can only be installed over a network/internet connection without buying it.

YAST(the config tool) is quite nice but again, Mandrakes Control centre seems to edge it IMHO.

What I like most about Linux is the massive amount of choice. I use different tools depending on what I am doing. e.g. I use three different browsers. Konqueror is my main one. Firefox gets used for ceratin sites that don't like Konq. For ultimate speed(albeit in a very sparsely featured browser) Dillo absolutely flies!

As I said, happy to chat at any time, I'm normally online 8-4 and then in the evenings.

Ian