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General discussion

LINUX - which version

Sep 21, 2007 8:05PM PDT

Linux is a wonderful alternative to Windows. i have been testing out various versions of the OS, but i am still confused which is best for a basic user and supports a lot of drivers. i am wondering what versions are best for particular situations? So maybe you can tell me what LINUX OS, advantages and disadvantages, and why you might recommend it?

Thanks for your input and help,
randy

Discussion is locked

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Sorry, no.
Sep 21, 2007 11:25PM PDT

"So maybe you can tell me what LINUX OS, advantages and disadvantages, and why you might recommend it?"

The long answers are all over the internet so I'm going to share the versions I am currently using which are PCLINUXOS 2007 and DSL.

Most of the time I recommend Linux is to test if some hardware is working proper. It's cheaper than replacing the hardware and finding out it's a driver or OS. I find it rare to find an owner that will use it instead of Windows.

Bob

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Linux is excellent
May 29, 2011 1:14PM PDT

I have been using Ubuntu for a long time, but also SUSE 10. The Linux programs tend to be simpler OS's that enable you to get on the Web, find information, and get off. Need to do a report? Open office is right there, and excellent. But also IBM's Symphony is available, and that one is simpler to use also. Soo.. got an old computer laying around the house. Install Ubuntu or Suse for work, and use MS for the toys and games.

A serious point for Linux is that if you move to a hard drive that is solid state, it is mighty, might fast.

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About DSL
May 29, 2011 7:30PM PDT

DSL is with very old 2.4.x kernel. Very bad idea in terms of compatibility.
But it is very good for old simple PC.

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Re: alternative to Windows
Nov 3, 2011 2:08AM PDT

I just posted a great reply to this in another thread. Instead of duplicating it, I'll just link: http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6617_102-5226394.html

The basic info:
"Replacement for Windows" - As far as I know R4W is the only OS designed for
Refurbishing shops. The install is completely automatic and it comes on a
system restore disc we can send home with our customers.

R4W, like Ubuntu, is Debian based.

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Simple
Sep 22, 2007 7:17AM PDT

Linux is the kernel, GNU is the tool set. GPL is the license.
If you want a robust system, then go for the Debian based distributions. These include all of the Ubuntu releases.
If you want professionally supported yet community distributions, try Fedora and OpenSuse.
For a system that you want to custom build: Gentoo, Slackware, and Debian.
Fedora, Debian, and OpenSuse have the best support for virtualization, graphics, and sound.


Now for the disadvantages: You have to constantly maintain your system. This is easy. Set it up to only use necessary services and make your desktop simple. This will give you more memory to use for applications. Graphics cards are mostly supported but some of the newer ones may take some searching for drivers. Proprietary formats have to use special configurations. They are safe but everything requires that you do the work.


Advantages: you control your system. Root (administrator) is separate. There can be more than one account logged in. This is useful if you want to share files, services, or space.

A good word of advice for the beginning user: Only use open source alternatives until you have good control of the system. This takes a few months but is well worth the wait.

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Info
Sep 29, 2007 6:52PM PDT

I disagree with Bob on this completely and I am a bit taken back by his statement and him being one of the well known in the technical hierarchy of it all, this surprised me. Linux, mainly Ubuntu has been striving to be a user friendly OS and has done quite well. I have been in Linux for 6 months now and haven't much gone into Windows, with an exception here and there for my wife's stuff I'm too lazy to pull off the drive. I think Bob's view is way off on this one for a couple of reasons...

1. Testing hardware in linux is fine, however, most complaints are of hardware incompatibility with Linux OSs so not always the best alternative nor the only reason for people to run a Linux OS.

2. Plenty of people use some Linux distro for their main OS, especially with Ubuntu on the rise. Dell was dishing out computers with Ubuntu AAMOF, I would consider this a switch from Windows.

3.While Linux is not Unix, MS did get the idea of a shell from Unix, had there been a patent on the shell as it seems you can patent any software aspect, the shoe may have been on the other foot. So people can thank Unix for Windows being "user friendly".


Explanations:

The main issue with Linux distros are codecs and hardware incompatibility as mentioned. But Windows has it's hardware problems too. The codecs for your basic DVD watching pleasure, like libdvdcss2, and others are patented and illegal in the U.S. and Cuba that know of but legal to use in Linux in other countries where they refuse patent laws.

I have no problem with patents but they are being abused and were handed out by people who don't understand software. It's not hurting just Linux distros but many programmers who have to have a patent war trying to develop anything.

So this means you need to download illegal codecs to have a somewhat complete Linux OS that will do what Windows can do.

My opinion, I can do anything in Linux that I can do in Windows and have been. This said, my reasons of good and bad are...<remember, this is my opinion along with some facts>


Linux good: Most distros are free, I don't have to shell out 600 bucks to be told how to run my OS and how many installs and when. While I still take secure measures, for the most part I am virus\spyware\malware and rootkit free and don't worry about updating 15 security applications or bog down with Norton just to make sure I don't get infected. Linux is stable, handles most applications without a hitch and solidly. Provides enough software to make up for anything missed from using Windows. I am in Ubuntu right now AAMOF. Doing graphics work is great in Ubuntu or any Linux distro, it takes far less resources to run Ubuntu than all the Windows clutter. There is a lot of driver support currently.

Linux Bad: Well, first the codecs as mentioned which many still download anyway but it is illegal so that's a choice up to the user. Also, it's a different world using Linux, it is NOT Windows by any means and you have a whole lot of learing to do,mainly if you run into trouble. It can be very frustrating trying to install some things, working in a terminal very often, not having support for some hardware. It's not close to "user friendly" as Windows but is getting there. Once again, it's different, you either suck it up and learn or drop it, it can be easy for some and harder than heck for others. Most applications are made for Windows, not Linux so some of your favorites may not exist for Linux but there are replacements in many cases to be fair. While there is a lot of driver support, some you may have to track down and it can be a bear to get them installed.

Windows Good: It's user friendly and has support for many drivers, software, and user needs. Has some good applications and is compatible with a lot of hardware and other software. It's easy for anyone to use and takes little effort to install an application or little effort to find what you need. It's also easiest for most to connect to the internet , wi-fi, home network, whatever and easily shares files and folders. Basically, it's an all around user friendly "sometimes solid" system.

Windows Bad: Needs a restart every time you install something it seems, you have to activate and if you decide to change certain hardware and it doesn't agree, you must contact MS yet again to activate your copy. So MS does know when you change your hardware, I can't say i agree with that. It costs $$$$ and you can only install on one system. Security is rough. While many advanced security users can keep the OS from being infected, many users simply want to use the PC, this is what it was intended for but have to constantly worry about attacks. Many have to pay up the nose to get their computer cleaned up or re-installed. With the security software, it can eat up system resources slowing your computer down. Windows is not as configurable as Linux and is becoming more locked down. It can get tiring worrying about being infected, hacked, charged, updated, and other typical issues that arise.

That said, I find Ubuntu to be a huge step in the Linux world. Ubuntu is closer than most other distros to being complete right out of the box so to speak. I have been using this and Fedora for some time. PCLOS I had nothing but problems with but do like the interface. But regardless, Ubuntu is still the most user friendly Linux distro I have found and very solid.
With synaptic and other package managers, it's becoming quite easy to install from a very wide range of software. I haven't NOT found anything I needed and as stated, haven't even been into Windows in some time. The support at Ubuntu forums are excellent. I am partial to the people over at PCLOS though, a great group there. So after using Windows for over 10 years, I have made a switch and find it quite comfortable but it took effort and learning but not impossible.

Just this last week, I installed Ubuntu for 3 people, they are plenty satisfied with it as well. Our local college now has an Ubuntu class and many have been drawn in and admit to liking it more than Windows. Even my wife likes it and she doesn't like computers.

It still boils down to being in two different worlds but of course the decision is up to the user. I think Ubuntu has started something and the more user friendly it gets, the better chance Linux is going to have.

Cheers,

Paul

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Nice EVAL
Sep 30, 2007 4:04PM PDT

Overall i agree with your sentiments about windows and linux. Although i have been using PCLinuxOS and Simply MEPIS, as preferred over Ubuntu or KUbuntu. i do prefer the KDE over GNOME. Overall i have had no problems with PCLinuxOS. Although i am trying to do the updates for a new install for a very frustrating customer, and i need to make sure it is right. Unfortunately, i am having problems with the updates. It is running the updates right now and will see if it is successful this time. Otherwise, i will try Simply MEPIS and if that does not do it, either Ubuntu or KUbuntu. One of the things i like a lot about the Ubuntu line is the 6 month regular new version cycle and the regular patches and updates for the current OS. i think, one of my dislikes is the amount of memory it wants to use compared to PCLOS and MEPIS.

i have tried numerous versions, including Linspire and Xandros. i like Xandros a lot and it is not only pretty, but well put together. i think it is better than the Ubuntu series, but it is a commercial version. i have tried both the 3.0 OCE and the 4.1 OCE versions and find them excellent. I wish that the Xandros versions were freely distributed or downloadable like the Open Source / FREE models. Linspire, unfortunately is also pretty, but i find too many querks and problems as well as installation being a difficult task if you want to keep your current Windows installed.

Even though i have 30+ years of experience in the industry i continue to learn from others and want to hear more about what you think. i am constantly checking out the Linux DISTROS for download and what is current or new. i am open to make changes and the better Linux gets, the easier it will be to get customers moved over to Linux, the better OS.

i still have customers using AOL and do not know what to do other than to recommend them to get off of AOL so that i can bring them over to Linux. Does anyone know of AOL running on Linux?

randy

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a success story?
Sep 30, 2007 4:17PM PDT
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WRONG LINK
Sep 30, 2007 4:19PM PDT
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Suse 10.3 kopete has all the portacall...
Oct 1, 2007 5:13PM PDT

to AIM, MSN, Yahoo, etc.

Although I personally don't uses any IM services. So no actually practical connection experience.

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Try
May 29, 2011 1:45PM PDT

Mandriva Linux.

PCLOS is a fork of Mandriva so you get the same goodies + a bit more.

About AOL...

Most of the people that I know that had AOL are not users of AOL any more. They use their main web page as the browser home page and nothing more.

You can get AOL with the browser like Yahoo. For IM use Kopete or Pidgin. The advantage is that you can use at the same time 2 or more IMs on with tab browsing. For example, you can use more than 2 Yahoo instant messenger sessions on the same IM along with AIM and many more.

A thing about Linux, MS and Apple. The developers cater more to MS and Apple, so for Linux is up to the community to support and make things happen. So that is one reason Linux, feels like a bit left behind. Is taking traction and is supported even more. nVidia is a great video adapter and is supported on Linux, so is nice to have great drivers from them. Sound Blaster audio adapters... no so good. I have a Sound Blaster card that is a pain to load on Linux. All CPUs and Chipsets works and RJ45 Ethernet cards. For me, Netgear seems to be the most compatible Linux hardware for Wireless. Monitors, I have not seen one that does not works. Mice and Keyboard, mice seems that all works except for the fancy Keyboards with all sorts of multimedia buttons, the key works, the buttons is the luck of the draw.

Linux as said before is the Kernel of the OS and nothing more. What you see as GUI is called a Desktop Environment and the most popular ones are KDE and GNOME. In lame terms, KDE is more like MS and GNOME like a Mac. There are more but those are the most popular ones.

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My...
Sep 15, 2011 7:08AM PDT

Wife and Monther in Law are AOL users. They use it as their home page with so they migrated. We all use Mandriva Linux and they are highly satisfied with a very stable OS. The only problems is some they do wrong, other than that, nothing but praises. I found Mandriva (Mandrake) back in 1999 and still using the same distro since then. So far has been the most user friendly and the most easier distro to install, service and update.

They are now on a 1 year release but that brings good things and bad things.

The Good: Gives Users the opportunity to adjust and learn. Keep the Bleeding Edge off the users. No rush to release and time to set a bulletproof system.

The Bad: Some people complaint or get bored from the release and updates piles up. If you install from scratch and has been 9 months or so, it will take a good while to bring the system up to date.

Personally I rather have the 1 year release than a bunch of half baked releases due to deadlines (schedules).

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See Phil's issue.
Sep 30, 2007 11:08PM PDT
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Thanks
Oct 1, 2007 6:57AM PDT

for that link. My issues were a bit different and didn't have these update issues, this was perhaps back in June or July when my attempt at PCLOS was made.

When I loaded PCLOS, the first and reproducible problem was my root password resetting to, well, nothing. So when I tried to login, root and password were null and void, this occured numerous times e was asked if I "remembered" it correctly, which of course made me grit my teeth but from a technical standpoint, it must be asked so I understood. This also created a sudo and su issue when trying to do anything.

So my solution was just to sudo passwd root, which worked for a while then back to root resetting. Note, I couldn't simply login as username root, password root either. To make a long story short, I had to enter my username and password up to 5 times or do a restart to get it to log me in, every time I installed something, it wouldn't show and couldn't bring it up from command line, was creating a virtual disk somehow that I couldn't format off the hd unless I zeroed twice, which finally worked.

I even downloaded "in total" 3 isos, thinking it was a bad disc. Tried on 3 types of discs and two different DVD burners, 2 being CD on DVD, didn't matter. Not to mention even after fixing the config, I still couldn't boot into Windows or get an option to, I think maybe once or twice then it disappeared.

This was over a month straight of trying, I liked the OS even with these issues and those guys at PCLOS stuck with me the whole time which I am extremely grateful for but even they couldn't figure this out. I even did a poor man's install, no go.

So I have installed many others since and they all work fine, it seems PCLOS just doesn't like my machine but hey, I don't either. I have not since been brave enough to throw it back on but when my new system is built, I am giving it another run so either way, that link was informative as to what I can look out for.

Cheers,

Paul

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Ubuntu problems
Sep 12, 2011 7:50AM PDT

Paul, you have a good discussion on versions of Linux. I have used Ubuntu for several years now, but it acts too much like Windows. When a new version is installed it runs fine. After several months things to not work as well as when new. For example my desktop computer has both wired and wireless Ethernet. After using Ubuntu for several months it could not find the wired Ethernet so it used the wireless. Several months later it would not access either.

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Ubuntu killed my laptop
Dec 30, 2011 1:28AM PST

I had used Ubuntu more often than Windows 7 on my HP laptop with I5 processor. I got the notice of a new Ubuntu version and installed it. Now neither OS is working. I need to sent the laptop to HP to see what they can do with it.

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Wireless USB adapter
Dec 16, 2011 12:22PM PST

Do you know of anyone who was able to get the Netgear WNA3100 wireless USB adapter to work in Ubuntu, I have Ubuntu 11.10 installed but does me no good for online, doesn't detect the adapter, my Ub 11.10 install on my other pc uses a dlink pci adapter and it has internet.

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How I'd work this one.
Dec 17, 2011 12:52AM PST

I'd head to the Ubuntu forums and put WNA3100 into the search box there.
Bob

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I use Fedora
May 29, 2011 7:27PM PDT

Never had any issues with drivers, but I do not use something rare like fingerprint reader etc.
I can suggest Fedora too 15 version appeared few days ago, with Gnome 3 and advanced fast boot technologies.
But look into Ubuntu, Mint, Madriva, OpenSUSE too. Wink

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Linux is great, but...
Oct 13, 2011 12:38PM PDT

All OS's have drawbacks. Some are hardware hogs, like Windows. Some, like Linux versions, have problems with certain peripherals (like some Canon printers) and cannot stream Netflix (or other streaming websites). Netflix will not support/has not supported Linux distros because Linux makes up a very small proportion of users (in the USA, where Microsoft has a monopoly position).

I like Linux. It is fast, solid and difficult to infect with viruses. Ubuntu has a great user interface and ease of use. If it were not for the above drawbacks I would use it every day on my main system (which is now XP/SP3 and will no longer be improved, other than for continuing security upgrades--for awhile yet). However, be aware that you will likely spend more time trying to get your proprietary drivers--like for the aforementioned Canons--working properly on Linux distros.

In short, I would recommend Ubuntu if you want a very nice, easy to install and use, Linux system on a modern system (less than 5 or 6 years old with at least 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB RAM and 160GB Hard Drive). For an older system, like a Toshiba 300MHZ with 6GB of HD, try Puppy Linux or Slitaz or Damn Small Linux if you wish to stay in the Debian family. Others may have slightly different ideas. Slitaz has a nice user interface and decent apps and runs decently on old hardware, but so do Puppy and DSL.

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Havn't been here for years but,
Dec 29, 2011 11:19AM PST

Just thought I'd stop by and take a look and see what was happening.

Well, about 6 years back maybe little less I started using linux and I know that the op wasn't asking about why it was good or bad for certain things and what it could and couldn't do but at one point the discussion seemed to move in that direction so I figured I'd toss in my two cents.

I'm no guru and never will be but after using something every day for a long time you get somewhat familiar with it. My impression is more or less what another said in this thread. You can do anything with it that you can do with Windows but with one caveat and interestingly that isn't actually directly related to the os itself.

Software availability

People in the Linux community will have you believe that every single driver you need is right there available to you. That simply isn't true. I had a printer way back when I first started using it that I couldn't get a driver for at all. Open source or proprietary. The one I have now actually has an HP driver and works great. Many drivers are there at bootup that you will have to install in Windows later, and for the most part they seem to work great for me but one or two have some performance or feature shortcomings. Specifically my old logitech web cam seems slow and my sound has no hardware 3d acceleration.

If it was Windows you would say the problem is simple. The manufacturers made no Linux drivers for these devices. That's why I say it isn't actually the operating system I'm talking about.

The same could be said of applications and games. Personally I have never had need of a program that I didn't have, but then I am just a casual user. The ones I do use seemed the equal of the ones I was using in Windows from day one. I can't say anymore because the last Windows os I used was Xp and have hardly used it and haven't made any changes for years. My understanding is that there are programs that do things that certain people might need that nothing in Linux provides but it's also my impression that their number is rather limited. I could be wrong.

Then there are games. I can only say that because it's common knowledge though because being low income I don't buy them. I have what I consider some pretty nice stuff I've downloaded but I'm sure it doesn't begin to compare with the top of the line commercial stuff and my computer is old so I don't think it would run the new stuff anyway.

My suggestion to the the op is one I'm sure many of you have heard many times. Download a distribution and put it on a cd or usb drive. Then you can load it up and see how you like it. Yeah, lotta work doing that multiple times....

Also while you are in there you can check and see how well your hardware is supported. Ati and Nvidia both make proprietary drivers for Linux that I think are quite good so If you aren't satisfied with the performance of the open source ones you can install them for quite a performance bump.