Does Linux require advanced programming know-how?

The newer Linux systems that are coming out dont really need you to be a uber coder or anything like that. The newer systems are GUI based and work great . Old myths that linux are only good for server system is gone now, they do a great job even as home systems.But what i would suggest is before actually installing a linux system , download a linux "Live CD" run it on your system , see how the hardware interacts with it and is everything being detected or not , if all is good go for the install . Good luck and have a great day

I wanted to buy a notebook with Linux already preinstalled as the main operating system. Unfortunately for me though, I'm a gamer and VERY strict about the companies that I buy from, and the only notebooks that are really sold with Linux preinstalled are Netbooks

hey always welcome mate .

Good luck
Gautam

Same as you (I wanted a gaming computer, so Vista), but yo can dual-boot with windows and linux. When I want to play a game, I go into windows, and when I want to actually do work, I use Ubuntu.
The advantage (I think) is that it takes 2 minutes to get from work to a game, which minimizes the amount of time I "waste" gaming. Works great.

as I said, I'd like to buy a computer, preferably a gaming one, that comes with an operating system besides Windows or Mac pre-installed, and not have any other operating system on that computer, if possible.

If you want to buy a gaming computer. you should go with Windows.

I'd rather have a computer with an operating system besides a Windows or Mac than have a gaming computer.

Yea but literally almost ALL games require Direct X (which is Windows).

You could try to install WINE but I wouldn't trust it all that much for 'heavy' gaming you intend to you.

It's reality.

Linux is a desktop OS but it's more for Networking/hosting servers. Same with all BSD, etc. Pretty much all unix-like and UNIX systems. They're meant for servers and mainframes.

As I said, I'd prefer to have any other operating system besides Windows and Mac. According to Wikipedia, those operating systems that I mentioned can or are designed to also work for home computers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_operating_systems

And I can't find any of those operating systems with Windows Direct X installed. Oh wait, Windows Direct X is for Windows.

Face the reality and accept the fact that if you want to game you do it on a Windows. The chances of making it work near perfect on a Windows is higher.

I already SAID that what is most important to me is having an operating system that isn't Windows or Mac. I also said that IF POSSIBLE, I'd like that computer to be a gaming computer.

As I said a few times I understand you want to have a gaming computer other than Windows or Mac. I'm not dumb.

I'm saying you will be disappointed if you want to have Linux or UNIX as a gaming rig because they're not made for gaming.

Unless you want to play Tetris and other online games, yay, go for Linux. If you want to play commercial games .. Windows (maybe Mac) but more Windows. Face it kthx.

Don't mind what Frank is saying.

You can have a PC with the right hardware for your gaming needs. Let's call that a gaming PC.
And you can make it dual boot, so you choose between Linux and Windows when booting. Use each OS for what you want to use it for.

No problem at all. What's your specific question?

Kees

While programming skills are not required there are simple problems you can dismiss on many machines with a command on a command line. Just last week some one told me that "Oh, you're a programmer" as I typed in the IPCONFIG command to see what was going on.

Back on topic, you can use whatever you choose but be sure you are ready to research your problems when they occur. I can't count how many dive in and expected ZERO TROUBLES. Zero troubles seem to happen only when we leave the machines off. (at least machine trouble.)
Bob

Thanks for the article!

Thanks for the advice! I've heard of Ubuntu before, and CNET had a review for it in the "Operating System" reviews, under "Software," but now they only reviewed/are reviewing Windows and Macintosh. I've heard of it being the best distribution of Linux, and of it being nice for those new at Linux.

I'm also trying to research other operating systems, such as PC-BSD; maybe RISC, though it looks very user-unfriendly and ugly; and ZETA, though the company that owned it stopped distributing and funding it. I'm definitely leaning more towards Linux and PC-BSD out of all of those.

Ubuntu is the best marketed LInux, but in my opinion, it's harder than necessary. Ubuntu users still have to learn the command line for things.

I'm a big PCLinuxOS fan, and I'm running the 2007 version. When I found this distro, it was the first I'd tried that required NO command line use, found every bit of hardware, and installed in about 20 minutes start to finish. It just worked. As a windows user, this was what I was looking for. I don't want to program, commandline su, or any of that. I want to turn it on and use it. PCLinuxOS is all that. I'm anxiously waiting for the 2009 version to come out soon, it'll be the one to have.

While waiting, I've tried:
Suse11.1 (weird fonts, difficult to find things, but otherwise okay. Never got my display right, ever),
Mandriva (pretty good),
Puppy (fast but not the most user-friendly),
TinyMe(stripped down version of PCLinuxOS and quite good),
Mepis (pretty good)
DAmn Small Linux (hated it)
Fedora 10 (quite good)
... and a couple others. I've not gone back to Ubuntu because I've had too much troublet
rying to do simple things, like play a stupid DVD, and hook up the wireless. These things should have been out-of-the-box ready to rock and weren't.

NONE of these are as simple and user friendly as PCLinuxOS. I keep trying them, then going back to a two year old distro. It's that good.

I've heard of more besides just Ubuntu. What about Red Hat?

Would you happen to have ever tried out PC-BSD, RISC, or ZETA?

I forgot to add AmigaOS, Haiku, OS/2, or ReactOS.

Nope. I just downloaded and installed Debian and stuck to it.

... that kernals aren't just for Linux, I was just giving examples of the kind of computer language that I don't understand.

and your purpose is to learn them, you'll have to install them yourself. Or buy a second-hand one with the OS of your choice already installed by the previous owner. Or hire somebody to install it for you.

But did you know Dell sells regular PC's with Ubuntu or other versions of Linux (Red Hat or Linux) already installed. That might be what you're looking for. Have a look at: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/ubuntu?c=us&l=en&s=dhs

Kees

The monikers 32 and 64 refer to the address bit space. Longer adresses require more powerful CPUs to translate.
ARM, SPARC, PPC are three other 32bit address space CPUs.
SPARC, PPC are two other 64bit address space CPUs.
The kernel is a bit more complex. It loads and unloads modules. It regulates.
Anyway, keep pushing on learning linux/unix.

A gaming PC using anything else than Windows seems like nonsense, indeed. I fully agree.

Kees