Legit Reviews

... but what version?

shows i haven't done much research but after having a talk with a programmer friend, i want to give it a shot.

i'd go online and look around but i'm exhausted.

oh i've been using windows XP since it came out, so i'm used to it and all.
uses: gaming, music recording (reason, fruityloops, logic, etc...), general use

thoughts, hints, anything?

After Dragoncooler showed me a video of ubuntu 6.10 i'm going to give that one a try. I hear suse is good especially if you are new to linux (which I am) also redhat or its beta counter fedora. Those are the main ones I've dealt with really but there are a lot of them out there. And that is the beauty of it.

Die Hard SuSe fan here

Also have a look @ this thread
http://forums.legitreviews.com/viewtopic.php?t=4694

vote for ubuntu here. Its the only OS I ever had success with. They have a great user forum, ubuntuforums.org

kenc51 wrote:Die Hard SuSe fan here

Also have a look @ this thread
http://forums.legitreviews.com/viewtopic.php?t=4694

LOL, Ken is a Linux nerd, err, I mean pro. I started to get into it and I just don't have time to mess with it right now. I did pick up a Linux pocket reference guide I saw in the bookstore today for future reference

FZ1 wrote:

kenc51 wrote:Die Hard SuSe fan here

Also have a look @ this thread
http://forums.legitreviews.com/viewtopic.php?t=4694

LOL, Ken is a Linux nerd, err, I mean pro. I started to get into it and I just don't have time to mess with it right now. I did pick up a Linux pocket reference guide I saw in the bookstore today for future reference

Seriously if you want like Linux for complete ignorants, Linux for Dummies, I got it cheap like 5$ and it helped me get to know Linux enough so that I actually know what's going on now

awesome! i'll be heading down to barnes & noble or waldenbooks soon anyhow (researching stock market investing) so i'll pick that up!

but just what is the difference between ubuntu and SuSe? im going to read that thread but it's nice to hear WHY people like the OS versions so much

pretty sick! i could use that capability cause god knows how much i love to run a million things at once!

Well you could download their live cd/dvd and try them out. Try a few distros and see which one first works well with your hardware and then which one you like. I would go for Suse or Kubuntu for start since kde is much more windows familiar (In fact you can turn kde to look just like aero glass of vista). Well Suse is more complete out of the box, while ubuntu has a very good package management (in other words with a few clicks you add any application you like that is supported by the distro and there are lots).
You could aswell install vmware and try them within Xp. Its much easier this way. And more convenient actually. You do your work and say lets try linux now for a change, run it, set it full screen and you wont understand a difference.
Now about that video, beryl is nice, if only it was easy to get it to work..
Its very propable you will end up lost in conf files.
There is one distro i know with it preinstalled its kororaa and its a live cd. This could give you an idea how beryl is like (if it works), but installing this distro is not a good idea.

http://distrowatch.com/

got a live cd of ubuntu 6.5 i think but it didnt install properly with the other cds it came with

my buddy is hooking me up with ubuntu 6.10 today though, we'll see how much faster my crappy 633Mhz processor runs with a less demanding OS lol
thanks for the help guys!

oh and if you could, please take a look at one of my other threads, i need opinions ASAP as its not for me but a friend who really needs to buy a new vid card soon http://forums.legitreviews.com/viewtopic.php?t=9155

Such a system can run pretty well with a lightweight linux distro or WindowsFLP (official light version of XP. It doesnt lack things you will miss though).
Try these:
Xubuntu (i run it on my laptop, p4 1,7 with only 256mb PC100)
Zenwalk
And later when you have some experience you should definately try Arch linux. Its from scratch distro but its hell light-fast and the very edgy. It boots amazingly fast!

thanks man, i had the extreme luck of randomly bumping into a friends friend who is a programmer, he's been using linux and Be for freaking 13 years, so i've got a hookup to full software without the hassle of having to dowload ISOs and burn them, so yeah. never heard of arch linux but hahaha its like a baskin robins except with hundreds of flavors lol

Arch Linux isn't a "From scratch distro".

Its more in the likes of "From a clean base distro". That is, you select the option to install the fundamental components for your system to boot, and install X server, GUI desktop environment by hand.

Linux From Scratch (LFS) is the only one that really satisfies the definition "from scratch". Its a book that guides you to building your own solution from the ground up. (literally). You learn to appreciate the existance of package managers, etc. Then you continue to the next book Beyond Linux From Scratch (BLFS).

I don't use Ubuntu or OpenSUSE. I'm an active Arch Linux user. (I use it for my desktop, video capture/edit, etc...Its completely replaced all my Windows installations.)

I don't like pre-built distros that make it too easy. Simply because they attempt to provide alot of functionality out of the box and kills the opportunity for people to break their "Windows habits". (which ALWAYS guarantees it will be loading up crap and services that you will hardly use by default)...It reminds me of Windows. Install crap I never asked for to begin with. This is one of the reasons why Arch boots fast. Others include kernel tweaking and such by the developers.

But if you're starting off, might as well try something simple. Move to another distro if you want to learn more and have more control.

stopthekilling77 wrote:but just what is the difference between ubuntu and SuSe? im going to read that thread but it's nice to hear WHY people like the OS versions so much

Package management.

Ubuntu is based on Debian, which means they use apt-get (deb packages). This system is quite good and handles dependencies very well.

OpenSUSE uses RPM (same as Fedora/RedHat). Under certain situations, you may run into a scenario where certain packages don't match and the package manager will chuck a hissy fit and complain. The situation is called: "Dependency hell" when one package is linked to another, and another. RPM approach to packages doesn't handle this situation automatically, and it may be too much for the user to bare.

Ubuntu is slightly less polished than OpenSUSE, but OpenSUSE feels like a bloated cow in comparison.

I've used both distros in their early days, and I ended up today with Arch Linux. (I didn't learn crap until I challenged myself...Gentoo felt too time consuming, and Debian didn't feel like it was optimised for speed).

Finding a distro that suits you is a personal thing. You may have to experiment before settling in.

I do warn you, once you settle with a distro, stick with it and work to resolve issues you encounter. Don't keep jumping around from distro to distro like a headless chicken. It wastes too much time.


One of the biggest things about using Linux is the efficiency.

Example: instead of needing a DirectX 9 video solution just for desktop eyecandy and 1GB RAM (...Windows Vista), you only need a DirectX 7 class solution with 256 to 512MB RAM. A GF2 MX400 or a Radeon 7500 (really old video cards) can handle Beryl/Compiz (desktop eyecandy).

I can tell you now, even though my boxes have 1GB of RAM in them, I never reach to 512MB when using it as my desktop (That is, Arch Linux with KDE desktop running Azureus, Amule, Firefox with 80 tabbed windows, OpenOffice Writer and Calc, MPlayer or VLC, and a CAD app)...IF you use up your memory often in Windows, you'll notice that Linux is more efficient in memory management. (I found that Windows does things pretty sloppy...You'll hit swap alot sooner than in Linux).

I use my systems 24/7...The only time I reboot is when a system update requires it. (ie: Kernel update). At most X-server may need a restart. (logoff, Press Ctrl-Alt-Backspace, wait a bit and log back in).

In fact, in the opensource world, you are not "encouraged" or "pressured" into upgrading unless you really want to. That's the beauty of it. It takes the control that corporations have on their users/customers, and throws it back at you. Its YOUR CHOICE. There are NO intentional or aritificial limits that are in place to make a profit from you.

Always remember this: Its about the freedom to choose. You choose what YOU need to meet YOUR requirements.


If you want things to boot even faster (about 5 seconds or less), find a mobo that supports LinuxBIOS.

Simple response... PCLINUXOS

http://pclinuxos.com/

All you need to do is download the ISO, burn to a CD and install which involves a next next next install like windows. You can even run the CD live without installing anything to try it out. The thing i like about this is, its easy to use and it comes with BERYL, all those fancy cube desktops and wavy windows pre installed on it.

It is the easiest Linux distro i have found yet!!!

Awesome posts, I have been thinking for a while, and you have partially convinced me that ubuntu should be my next instal, you say to try out on virtual machine eh? I believe I have a copy of this and maybe an ubuntu image, not sure, the live cd and packes are great.

depency hell? I remember this all to well, trying to program some MRI software at a hospital in linux, forget what distro. all I know is, a guy with a phd was helping me, and I still was lost and runing into walls. heh, it was a job that needed many people though, not just me while i was really sick and not even at half capacity, it just got to be a headache, I wished I was programming in windows it got so bad.

***** UPDATE *****

okay so about 2 months ago i bought linux for dummies, and it came with "full fedora core and knoppix" its the 7th Edition.
anyhow i read it and i was like "damn this is actually pretty basic for me"

i got ubuntu 6.10 and tried installing it 2 times. ran into serious issues involving this generic old compaq motherboard and visual discrepancies. long story short, i tried the latest and greatest ubuntu a week or two ago, and another no-go happened, so i said "screw it i need a more efficient PC"
my dad calls me and says "hey i have an old P3 i dont need anymore" BINGO.
swapped out my DVD-ROM and put it in the p3 instead of the 633Mhz old school compaq, and used the live-cd (dvd) from the Linux For Dummies and installed from the live desktop.
smooth installation, then ran into a newbie problem but dkarko helped me outta that. got the graphical OS working just peachy, and now i'm hoping to optimize Fedora and make it my full time PC rather than this POS.

i'm brushing off my Linux For Dummies book again but i have a feeling i'll be back asking for more help eventually! just wanted to let everyone know i have successfully managed to start my migration to Linux after a few very slow moving months of really minimal effort here and there!