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Anyone On Linux?

By Larry Roll November 22, 2006



I have recently started using Linux. Namely, the Ubuntu distribution, version 6.06, known as "Dapper Drake." I'm enjoying it's very user-friendly, fast and secure web browser, Mozilla Firefox (ver. 1.5). I purchased a new Dell Dimension E521 specifically to run Linux, since I didn't want my Windows system, containing lots of valuable music downloads on iTunes, to be damaged by any of my newbie bungling while trying to set up a dual-boot system.

 

Anyway, I'm just curious if anyone else on Corolland is using Linux, or interested in doing so. I'm a totally non-technical newcomer to the system. I can't speak in terms of commands, scripts, or anything other than clicking on menu items. But I want to start the process of learning about that stuff. I haven't had a chance to buy any Linux books yet -- I'm going to get the Ubuntu-specific book as soon as I can find it or order it online, but would be interested in other suggestions of reference texts to look into.

 

Please post here if you are using Linux or interested in doing so.

I use Linux almost exclusively. Currently it's Fedora Core 5 and 6 at home and Redhat Enterprise Linux 4.0 at work.

i'm using Xubuntu to serve music to my windows box since i dont have the physical room in its case for the hard drives.

i havent touched the box in about....2 or 3 months except for one reboot due to a kernel update and one due to a power outage.

More of a mixed OS user at home (Mac OS 9/X, Windows 2000/XP, Linux, Solaris) and mostly Windows (2000/XP)and a little Linux (CentOS).

I really like the latest variants - much easier to install, auto-detection of hardware, and usually packed to the gills with built in tools. Current flavors of Linux I use at least once a week:

Ubuntu 4.10

Mandrake 10.1

Knoppix 3.7

SuSE 9.2

Lycoris

Fedora Core 6 'Zod'

CentOS (like RedHat Enterprise w/o the packaging and support = FREE)

I use Mandrake (Mandriva) and RedHat at work. I need to upgrade to the current versions.

What's wrong with Dual boot? Once you learn how to install & use it, its fairly easy.

My box dual boots WINXP/XP64/Ubuntu/SLAMD64

May I suggest some Linux Forums?

http://ubuntuforums.org/

http://www.linux.org/user/

There is no end to folks willing to help you out on your variant of linux.

I've have Ubuntu ( love that they send out the CDs free ), Delbian, RH, Slackware, and dynabolic ( http://www.dynebolic.org/ ).

BTW, don't buy a book. There's way too much documentation online. default_wink

I used to dual boot - Boot Camp on the Mac box and GRUB on windows/linux boxes. But I find that I generally stick to one box and OS for a given task - I don't really switch back and forth too often.

Only one that still has it is one of my newer Linux box - I have VMWare on it for the Windows to run inside a shell - runs flawlessly. This might be the way to go eventually - as computers are getting so fast, OS Virtualization might be an viable alternative to a dual/multi boot setup.

Kind of cool to run an image of an OS in a virtual environment and then flip flop between the two at will.

I've played around a lot with Linux over the past couple years, but always half-heartedly because everything 'was so hard'.

I've recently really fallen for Ubuntu. Right now, I've been playing around with using it as a web server (mostly for fun, a little for reference): http://pcspecialties.dyndns.org/ but I also fooled around on the desktop a bit first.

I keep telling myself (when stuff seems broken and just won't work) that I am not going to just format and start over, I have to find out what is wrong and fix it. Which means that a lot of things which seemed really complicated are slowly getting easier. After days and days of trying, I actually have Torrentflux, PHPMyAdmin and SugarCRM all running at the same time. I might go for WordPress or Drupal next. I've had this or that working, but I've always managed to break something during the process that would cripple something else....

...which just so happens to be the exact same way I learned DOS in the late 80's / early 90's as a kid. Break it. Be stuck with nothing but broken stuff and be forced to try to patch it back together from whatever I could scrounge.

Maybe some network storage would be next. vsftpd was pretty straight forward (very, actually, dunno why everyone goes on about Proftp, I couldn't get that right after an hour of tinkering), but Samba is really horrible.

The thing I like most about Ubuntu? Almost any question, I plug into google: "mysql apache ubuntu". By adding ubuntu to the search, I nearly always find an answer, usually with just enough digging and reading to start to understand a little.

I wouldn't dual boot, but that is simply past experience talking. It probably isn't so bad anymore...

I would have never guessed so many people here are using Linux either casually or regularly. I helped a friend pick out a computer a couple weeks ago, and we settled on the E521. Other than the unbelievable hassle of adding a DVD burner to it (thought I'd save a little money by picking up a LiteOn for $30, only to find out it has no parallel ATA...and a seeming BIOS bug prevented me from using a simple PCI PATA card to add a couple) it is a very nice machine.

I need everyone to keep in mind that I'm a new Linux user, and my programming skills are ZERO. I don't speak the language of computer "geeks." I really don't know if I'll EVER lose my computer user's "training wheels." I don't work in IT, and the last time I wrote a line of comuter code was in making a failed attempt to create a dBase program about 20 years ago.

I have Ubuntu Linux working on a new Dell Dimension E-521 with the AMD64 processor. Even though this is a 64-bit machine, I'm using a 32-bit version of Ubuntu since it seems to work better. I have my HP Photosmart 2575 all-in-one printer/scanner/copier working now as a printer, but I haven't figured out how to get it to scan. I have been away in New York over the Thanksgiving holiday (900 mile round trip in my Corolla), but tonight I used the GAIM Instant Messenger for the first time. So far, my Linux experience has been very Windows-like, but in time, I'm sure I'll be more involved on a nuts-and-bolts level.

I definitely will get at least a couple of Ubuntu books. Printed manuals are a lot easier than sorting through the endless postings in forums. Even forum searches don't really get you right to the point. There's just too many irrelevant postings to sort through. A well-indexed reference book is what I need, and I know the titles I want.

Thanks for the responses so far, it's nice to know other Corolland users are on Linux.

I have been exclusively using Linux at home for last 4 years. At work I have dual boot with microsuck windoz because there is a couple of programs that don't run under Linux. I have tried many distributions including Red hat, Mandrake, Ubuntu, Debian, but the most favorite one has been Slackware. It has conquered my desktop for last several years.

I have been exclusively using Linux at home for last 4 years. At work I have dual boot with microsuck windoz because there is a couple of programs that don't run under Linux. I have tried many distributions including Red hat, Mandrake, Ubuntu, Debian, but the most favorite one has been Slackware. It has conquered my desktop for last several years.

Very interesting. What features of Slackware do you prefer over the other distros? Which applications are included? Which desktop does it use? I'm trying to decide if I want to try something other than Ubuntu. Ubuntu is working great for me, it is very user-friendly, and I need that since I'm not a professional computer geek. Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop, which I like very much. I'd like to try KDE and whatever others are out there.

Is Slackware distributed on a "live" CD so I can try it out without doing a full install?

Bikeman982

All the Linux stuff is Greek to me.

I am using a laptop with Windows XP Pro.

It works for me.

Very interesting. What features of Slackware do you prefer over the other distros? Which applications are included? Which desktop does it use? I'm trying to decide if I want to try something other than Ubuntu. Ubuntu is working great for me, it is very user-friendly, and I need that since I'm not a professional computer geek. Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop, which I like very much. I'd like to try KDE and whatever others are out there.

Is Slackware distributed on a "live" CD so I can try it out without doing a full install?

 

Slackware is one of the mainstream linux distros, I just like the simplicity with which it operates. All major desktops are included except for Gnome, and for a good reason. Slackware 11.0 just came out. Slackware still uses the stable 2.4 series kernel but includes 2.6 kernel for people who like bleeding edge technology, as an option.

I have been through GNOME, KDE and those fancy desktops. I traded them all in favor of a lightweight window manager called Fluxbox. Fluxbox is fast to load, there are no icons, your system is up in virtually no time. KDE and GNOME both are such hogs for memory and processor power. You will notice considerable speed improvement with any lightweight desktop manager as Fluxbox. If Ubuntu is working for you, great! It uses 2.6 kernel by default. Ubuntu is more like windows xp where you dont get to learn much. With Slackware, there is great opportunity for learning Linux and improving your knowledge constantly.

Slackware has a live version called SLAX, google it. It is I think quite different from regular Slackware, but I could be wrong.

I get all of my Slackware support from IRC Channel #Slackware on FREENODE.NET. There is some really helpful and highly knowledgeable users there.

All the best!

I use Fedora and Redhat at work, but at home I am a Windows user.

Update:

I purchased a 20" Intel-based iMac in May '07. It is undoubtedly the finest computer I've ever used. I still have Ubuntu Linux running on my old Dell Dimension 8400, but the Dell E-521 is now Windows XP only, and I haven't used it in almost a year! I have a brand new computer mainly just taking up space! Oh well.

I'd really like to get more "into" linux and computers in general, but the learning curve is steep and nearly impossible to overcome. I need some training which starts at the beginning, and keeps the techno-gargon dumbed-down until the understanding begins to settle in, and NOTHING I've found ANYWHERE is like that. Even books that claim to be user friendly may start out that way, but they presume way too much on the part of the reader, and become unusable after a few chapters. What is needed is task-oriented, step-by-step cookbook-like instructions that begin with the same starting-from-the-beginning philosophy for each and every task. Linux for Dummies is actually Linux for Computer Science Ph. D's from my point-of-view. Those of us who are not doing tech-stuff for a living have no chance of learning this unless and until the writers of training materials start talking to their readers, instead of to each other.

OK, enough ranting. I just wish I know who to deliver this rant to. I'm sure people who create computer software training materials have heard it before, but they just don't listen.

Bikeman982

All I want to know is - how do I use it??

I have a computer set up as router and file server with Slackware. My HTPC runs Fedora 7 with Win2k as a backup.

It's like standard shift cars - you get to do most everything yourself, and I'm the only one in my family who knows how to work them. default_biggrin

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I have two Linux systems:

One is a Compaq notebook that used to run Windows XP. It has a 2.0 Ghz AMD processor and 2 gigs of RAM. When I switched to Ubuntu (a Debian Distribution), I was pleasantly surprised to find that my notebook not only ran cooler, but startup was 2 minutes faster and ran for 3.5 hours on one charge instead of the 1.75 hours it used to run for with XP.

Ubuntu with all the programs I have on it only takes up 10 GB of hard drive space, while XP with all the programs I had on it took 28 GB. I have WINE installed so I can run some windows only apps like EES. Luckily for me, the really important application I must have for engineering (Matlab) is available for Linux and it runs perfectly on Ubuntu. I also found OpenOffice to be equivalent to Word and PowerPoint for my needs and Gnumeric Spreadsheet easier to use than EXCEL for what I need it for. The computer is now totally unique, customized just for me.

Using it is easy, installing programs on it is an experience that requires some learning. Matlab, for example, took me 3 tries to get installed. I failed to realize that it was trying to install to the root account, which you do not control in Ubuntu. Programs such as Matlab must be installed in the root of the drive or they won't work, so I had to fake root privileges to install it. While it may sound like a pain in the rear, I'm willing to live with it because it makes Ubuntu so secure that when coupled with a decent Firewall it is virtually impossible to install a virus or hack into the system.

Another great feature about Ubuntu besides its great security is that it is on my University's list of approved secure operating systems, so I do not have to run any Cisco programs to access the network like those who use Windows do. When I had Windows, I had to run both Cisco VPN and Cisco Clean Access. Neither of these programs worked very well the way the University had them configured and they crashed all the time, leaving me without internet or my network drive. Ubuntu automatically logs me into the internet when I launch my browser and it automatically maps my network drives at startup and authenticates them when I log onto my user account.

My other Linux system is an Eee Pc. I bought it last week and it is an awesome little machine. It came with a modified version of Xandros as the OS. I enabled a full desktop in addition to the easy mode, but was still unsatisfied with the lack of customization features present. I was unable to add simple programs to Xandros that my Ubuntu machine had and that really hacked me off since I wanted the two computes to mirror each other as much as possible. After a little searching I found an Eee Pc operating system that was closer to Ubuntu called eeeXubuntu. It is a Ubuntu variant written to work specifically with the Eee Pc. It has all the features of Ubuntu but used XFCE as the desktop manager instead of GNOME. Installing it was easy and out of the box it worked almost flawlessly. I did have to make some modifications to get it to write to the SSD drives less since they can't handle as many writes as a traditional hard drive, and I did another mod to make it use less power. I finally installed a script that made the combination function keys work correctly and display the on screen confirmations that the Eee Pc had in Xandros.

All in all I love Linux with one small exception: Itunes does not work under Linux without Crossover Office, which I will not pay for (Everything is supposed to be free with Linux, so paying for an app to put another free app on the computer goes against everything Linux stands for). I have found a good alternative in Songbird, but it does not have a store like Itunes. Once Apple writes Itunes for Linux or Crossover Office becomes free, I'll be 100% happy with my Linux.

any of you play with 64bit ubuntu? ive been running the 8.04 64bit beta and it really runs well!

K_Watson

I have a computer with Ubuntu Linux on it collecting dust in the corner. I only use it when I have an issue with my XP machine. However, I must say I am impressed with the Linux OS, and would be using it full time if it just had the gaming support my XP machine does.

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I have a computer with Ubuntu Linux on it collecting dust in the corner. I only use it when I have an issue with my XP machine. However, I must say I am impressed with the Linux OS, and would be using it full time if it just had the gaming support my XP machine does.

What kind of games do you play?

The reason I ask is this: With WINE (windows layer for Linux) installed, you can install and play almost any Blizzard game including WoW and several Microsoft games such as Age of Empires. They run just as well as they do when being run in windows.

K_Watson

Old DOS games (DOOM, early 90's flight sims), emulated Commodore games, Half-Life series, Counter-Strike, Medal of Honor series, Microsoft Flight sims, MYST series, and others.

some games run native to Linux, doom3 and UT2k3/2k4 run native....and run alot faster in linux than on windows.

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I'm a bit slow to reply but I use Mac OS X for desktops/laptops (BSD UNIX underneath), and CentOS for servers.

i'll be installing a dual boot this weekend on the GF's pc now that 8.04 lts is out.

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