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stevepole

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As far as I know about Linux it is that its a free open source operating system basically. I've never tried it out myself. I want to try it out and get to know it a lot better but I don't know which Linux is best. I only really know a little about Ubuntu but I want to make sure, before I download it is the best choice.

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Well, it's a rather small install (the .iso for Ubuntu was like 700MB or around there). It's easy to get rid of almost every version if you don't like it.

 

 

 

But in any case, I would go with Ubuntu. It's got a large userbase (compared to other distros), which means support is pretty good. I've heard it's one of the closest distros to Windows in terms of familiarity and ease of use, but it's still Linux, and proud of it.

 

 

 

I've used a few different ones, and I'm gonna go with Ubuntu after I format my other computer. I may install it on here too, not sure on that yet though.

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So you sucker punched a kid in the back of the head? Good job.
What scares me is that you're like 10 years old.
-.- im not that freaking young
You were a couple years ago.
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Hmm... I wonder how one goes about throwing someone out a window in a mystic fashion :-k

 

The mental image for that is freaking awesome.

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I'll be frank - there is no such thing as the "best" Linux distribution. Ubuntu Linux happens to be the most popular, and who knows - it might fit your needs.

 

 

 

My advice is to tinker with Ubuntu and download the live CD -- this way you don't have to install it to see how it runs on your machine. Linux doesn't support everything in a computer right off the bat, so you've got to be prepared to do a little hunting for the answer (and with the Ubuntu community, you don't have to hunt for very long).

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I'll be frank - there is no such thing as the "best" Linux distribution. Ubuntu Linux happens to be the most popular, and who knows - it might fit your needs.

 

 

 

My advice is to tinker with Ubuntu and download the live CD -- this way you don't have to install it to see how it runs on your machine. Linux doesn't support everything in a computer right off the bat, so you've got to be prepared to do a little hunting for the answer (and with the Ubuntu community, you don't have to hunt for very long).

 

 

 

I'll have to agree with all of that actually. Ubuntu may not be the best distribution for you. Your needs may be different than those that Ubuntu was created to cater to. The reason I suggested Ubuntu is not only because of its popularity, but because of it's ease of use, and also because it seems to be a rather general-purpose distribution compared to others.

[hide=Funny Quotes]

So you sucker punched a kid in the back of the head? Good job.
What scares me is that you're like 10 years old.
-.- im not that freaking young
You were a couple years ago.
It's not racist if its true.
Hmm... I wonder how one goes about throwing someone out a window in a mystic fashion :-k

 

The mental image for that is freaking awesome.

[/hide]

- I dont need to "get a life." I'm a gamer - I have LOTS of lives!

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I'm doing my final year uni project on Ubuntu and it is very frustrating, it crashed for no reason yesterday and I almost lost my entire hard drive (I have a dual boot Vista/Ubuntu 8.04 computer). I was pretty pissed off to say the least.

 

The most annoying thing is finding drivers for your hardware, for instance I had a USB wireless adapter which took me about a week to find the driver for, then I had to download the software so Linux could use it, which is pretty difficult when you don't have internet. I ended up buying a 30m Ethernet cable.

 

In all I can see why people like it, but it is definitely not a simple as installing it and off you go, so be prepared that you will probably get very pissed off at some point.

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I'll be frank - there is no such thing as the "best" Linux distribution. Ubuntu Linux happens to be the most popular, and who knows - it might fit your needs.
I think we've all asked that question at one point.

 

 

 

For you, I would recommend Ubuntu. The support is great and it's possibly the best way to get into Linux; It's what I started with. If you want more advanced media capabilities, I would recommend Ubuntu Studio, but that's probably too advanced as the installer is not graphical. Ubuntu is easy to use though, and it's stable as anything. It comes with Openoffice too, great for schoolwork.

 

It may be that not everything acts as you expect it to at first but there's usually a fix. If you need help, just post here- There are lots of users around that would be willing to help.

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Remeber, you could also install linux on your PS3.

 

 

 

I would reccommend buying the disc and instructions on eBay. It's quite hard otherwise. Only cost me £2.50.

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Tear up the book and write your own damn rules,

Use all that heart, hope and soul that you've got,

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There's no "best" Linux. Every Linux is the same. What makes it different is the distribution.

 

There are many distributions: Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, Fedora, Mandriva, and many, many more.

 

Personally my first distribution was Ubuntu. Some call it a KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid!) Linux. Maybe it is, but it's ideal if you want to move from Windows. Using it is very simple. Sometimes, like every Linux, you need to take a look into configuration files, use Bash a bit etc. You can also use Ubuntu with Xfce or Fluxbox, which don't use much memory, and don't look this bad. I use Xfce, it uses up 150MB RAM not running any programs.

 

Of course there aren't only Debians out there. You can use other systems, my brother uses OpenSUSE with KDE and it's really good, but let's face it, it uses more memory. For maximum performance you can choose Slackware or DSL (Damn Small Linux). I'd recommend Slackware which can use Gnome, KDE, Xfce and so, but DSL runs on 32MB of RAM and on i486 or better CPU.

 

It's your choice. There are so many distributions, so you can actually find one to fit your needs.

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Ubuntu is pretty much the Windows of Linux. It's easy to install, easy to set up and most of the time, things will work out of the box. It's the only one I've played about with though (apart from a live boot into Fedora once or twice).

 

 

 

However when I build a new PC I'm considering running Arch or something crazy like that.

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I've messed around in Ubuntu a little bit last night, is there any good sites to get some apps? I got some programs and, I haven't used windows for a good two years so when it pull up the extractor I had no idea what to do for like 5 minutes. I felt like such a dumb... after I realized what it was. I would have explored around more but I got Little Big Planet today so I was messing around with that a lot.

 

 

 

I might try installing Linux on my ps3 when I upgrade my harddrive to 250gb.

 

 

 

Ubuntu Studio, so that is a more artistic linux? If so I might try that out.

 

 

 

OpenSUSE, nicer like visually or as a operating system as a whole?

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Ubuntu 8.10 (came out yesterday) is a big improvement for average users. It now has wireless card drivers built in. It detected my wireless card right after install and saw my wireless network with no install or tweaking necessary. I entered te password and I was online, it's a lot like Window's wireless now. Ubuntu 8.10 seems faster than 8.04. Ubuntu 8.04 seemed bloated/slow compared to older versions to me which 8.10 seems to fix.

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I've messed around in Ubuntu a little bit last night, is there any good sites to get some apps? I got some programs and, I haven't used windows for a good two years so when it pull up the extractor I had no idea what to do for like 5 minutes. I felt like such a dumb... after I realized what it was. I would have explored around more but I got Little Big Planet today so I was messing around with that a lot.

 

 

 

I might try installing Linux on my ps3 when I upgrade my harddrive to 250gb.

 

 

 

Ubuntu Studio, so that is a more artistic linux? If so I might try that out.

 

 

 

OpenSUSE, nicer like visually or as a operating system as a whole?

 

 

 

To answer your questions:

 

 

 

1) 97% of the applications that are installable on Linux can be found in repositories. Since you're using Ubuntu, you can go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager, then perform a search to find what you're looking for. The other 3% - including Wine - have to be placed into your repository, but luckily, they have instructions on how to do that.

 

 

 

2) Ubuntu Studio is geared towards the audio/video person, as it not only includes software to edit both music and movies, but it also comes with a real-time kernel, which, for whatever reason, really helps music and movie editing out.

 

 

 

3) OpenSUSE is probably nicer visually.

 

 

 

A note on Ubuntu x64: What are you going to be doing that requires the 64-bit version of the OS? Personally I'm waiting until Java's plugin hits the x64 scene before I hop, but other than that, I dunno why you'd want to use it...

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It's an OK OS if all of your hardware is supported. In my case, it was a painful experience. High CPU usage from Java, Flash crashed and used up a lot of CPU resources and getting a 1440x900 resolution on my ATI video card was a pain in the [wagon], not to mention my video card was lagging at basic 3d games because appropriate drivers didn't exist, even Beryl didn't work. The software I've used didn't have Linux versions and WINE is a piece of crap. I've used it for a couple of months, and decided to stick with Windows.

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It's an OK OS if all of your hardware is supported. In my case, it was a painful experience. High CPU usage from Java, Flash crashed and used up a lot of CPU resources and getting a 1440x900 resolution on my ATI video card was a pain in the [wagon], not to mention my video card was lagging at basic 3d games because appropriate drivers didn't exist, even Beryl didn't work. The software I've used didn't have Linux versions and WINE is a piece of crap. I've used it for a couple of months, and decided to stick with Windows.

 

 

 

1) On any machine I've been on (Windows, Mac, Linux), Java's always had high CPU usage. It's honestly to be expected.

 

2) Flash has always been poorly supported for Linux. Blame Adobe for that.

 

3) It's not hard to find fglrx from the repositories, nor is it hard to activate it.

 

4) If you didn't get fglrx, it's no surprise that anything relating to graphics-intense applications won't work.

 

5) What did you use? Unless you're an avid gamer, there's a replacement for 88% of Windows software out in the repos, if you take the time to look.

 

6) Wine is not failsafe or stable. You're using it at your own discretion.

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It's an OK OS if all of your hardware is supported. In my case, it was a painful experience. High CPU usage from Java, Flash crashed and used up a lot of CPU resources and getting a 1440x900 resolution on my ATI video card was a pain in the [wagon], not to mention my video card was lagging at basic 3d games because appropriate drivers didn't exist, even Beryl didn't work. The software I've used didn't have Linux versions and WINE is a piece of crap. I've used it for a couple of months, and decided to stick with Windows.

 

 

 

1) On any machine I've been on (Windows, Mac, Linux), Java's always had high CPU usage. It's honestly to be expected.

 

2) Flash has always been poorly supported for Linux. Blame Adobe for that.

 

3) It's not hard to find fglrx from the repositories, nor is it hard to activate it.

 

4) If you didn't get fglrx, it's no surprise that anything relating to graphics-intense applications won't work.

 

5) What did you use? Unless you're an avid gamer, there's a replacement for 88% of Windows software out in the repos, if you take the time to look.

 

6) Wine is not failsafe or stable. You're using it at your own discretion.

 

 

 

1) High CPU usage compared to Java on Windows

 

2) Of course, put the blame on something but Linux

 

3) Really? Find me an AGP version of Sapphire 3650 drivers for linux please, which support 3d acceleration of course.

 

4) I did for Radeon 9600, got like 200fps in glxgears, which is basically an extremely simple gears animation.

 

5) Xilinx, where did you get the 88% part from?

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No idea why you've decided to pm me instead of replying here.

 

 

 

 

1) Wrong. Depending on the size of the Java applet/servlet you're running, the CPU usage will vary. If you're running something minor like the Printer Simulation program I'm working on, the CPU usage will pale in comparison if you were running something like RuneScape. This is true on all platforms, without exception. I defy you to prove otherwise. ;)

 

 

 

2) You don't know much about Flash, do you... I'm in no mood to give you the whole history [read], but the quick synopsis is before Adobe bought out Macromedia, Flash was well-supported and stable in Linux. Nowadays, Flash is very unstable and rather risky - even on my machine, which is pretty decent (1.9GHz AMD Athlon X2, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GFX card), Flash will crash without a second thought. I've tested this several times, too -- when I access the crash-prone site with NoScript on, the browser doesn't crash at all. Could you possibly weigh in as to what else could be causing it?

 

 

 

3) Behold, the power of the repos:

 

 

 

Quote:

 

makoto@LATLON-Callisto:~$ sudo apt-cache search fglrx

 

xserver-xorg-video-ati - X.Org X server -- ATI display driver

 

fglrx-amdcccle - Dummy package for easy transition

 

fglrx-control - Control panel for the ATI graphics accelerators

 

xorg-driver-fglrx - Video driver for ATI graphics accelerators

 

xorg-driver-fglrx-dev - Video driver for ATI graphics accelerators (devel files)

 

fglrx-amdcccle-envy - Dummy package for easy transition

 

fglrx-kernel-source - ATI binary kernel module source

 

fglrx-kernel-source-envy - ATI binary kernel module source

 

 

 

 

 

If you're not keen on command line or even Synaptic: [Here's a hard link for you.] Amazing what a little looking around will do, eh? [And yes, your graphics card falls under the ATI 3600 series. [Here's the source for that.]]

 

 

 

4) glxgears isn't a benchmarking tool, so however many fps you got from that doesn't mean anything. No real benchmarking tools exist for Linux (that I'm aware of), but Super-Pi is pretty good.

 

 

 

5) I haven't really looked around to see what all the repos have. This is probably because I haven't needed to - everything that I use on a daily basis is provided for me in a typical installation. I've been told by friends, though, that they can't always find one or two programs that suit their needs. 88% could've been the strict majority in this case - but the reality is that the repositories can provide almost everything that a Linux user needs.

 

 

 

1) Tested on a runescape client, Linux ate up a lot more cpu resources than Windows, so much runescape was lagging. That was back when HD version was not available.

 

2) If you access it with no script on it doesn't crash? No [cabbage]. Sadly I need flash for my daily work.

 

3) You've searched for fglrx, and that proves...? My AGP version of 3650 doesn't fall into a 3600 category because it's an AGP version, it needs specific drivers for it. Good luck searching for those. (HD 3650 512M DDR2 AGP)

 

4) It isn't, but I compare those results to the results of others with similar video cards, who manage to get 8000 fps in that application, and superpi isn't a video card benchmarking tool.

 

5) A Windows program database provides a user with everything they will ever need. Beat that.

 

 

 

I'm not a Windows fan, but you are making Linux sound a lot better than it actually is. I've used Ubuntu and have concluded it doesn't fit my needs. I had to restart from ubuntu to Windows because I needed to use a one or another program Ubuntu didn't provide, or to browse youtube without crashing on every second video, which is a waste of time. I'm not jumping on a "Linux and Mac SUX lolz" bandwagon either, I'm judging based on facts and experiences, because I've actually used both of those operating systems.

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I have, to be honest I think Gnome makes it look like krap, I've had problems with switching resolutions, but that was with my old screen.

 

Try it though, you can always uninstall it.

 

 

 

Ha, that's very true. I'll give it a try later after I finish editing a movie I had to make today.

 

 

 

I'll try and post how I feel about it, probably tomorrow when I get some spare time from what seems like 4 weeks of midterms..

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2) Of course, put the blame on something but Linux

 

 

 

Sadly, Flash Player is still closed source (pretty sure). So you can't really blame Linux that software that they can't fix themselves won't work. It is Adobe's fault for not making it open source so it could be used with more OS's(without crashing)

 

 

 

And Linux has issues with a lot of ATI graphics cards, but works great with NVidia

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