[VladTheImpaler1990]

I have heard so much about Linux and open source software and really want to get into it, but how, where can i get open source software such as linux. Will it run games on like the new need for speed pro street? Does it have A GUI interface is yes is it like windows, is it easy to learn, i cach on fast so do you recommend it for me, as i am using windows vista home edition.

[yeokm1]

This question has been asked many times over. But rest assured, I will give you a brief anwser here.

I have written on this topic before in my blog. So u can see it if you wish. Under alternative software.

Linux can be easily obtained for free over the Internet. However, free versions usually lack support. In order to get support, you have to purchase them. I recommend the boxed-versions as they contain all the instruction manuals and CDs to help you with the installation.

If you want to run games such as NFS, here is the bad news. Linux will not run 99.9% of the games in the market. It is based on a totally different platform compared to Windows. There are software such as Wine to mimick the Windows environment. When it comes to the latest games, Wine still has a porr track record.

GUI, yes! Most linux distributions come with a GUI. As to picking it up, it depends on the level of your determination. Changing to a new layout is always difficult, its up to you to unlearn Windows and relearn Linux. For newbies like you, I reccomend the Ubuntu linux distribution. It comes with a simple to use GUI installer and includes all the software that can help you start with Linux.

[viper99]

You can get Linux from their distros' sites (for free) by downloading directly to your PC. There are dozens upon dozens of distros, or types, of Linnux. My personal favorite is also one of the most popular(and most forgiving on people new to Linux), and you may have heard of it - Ubuntu. Ubuntu is written in the GNOME interface, since you wanted to know. Ubuntu was very easy for me to learn when I first tried it out, and it may work for you.
Linux does not run games inended for Windoze, unless you install a (Free) piece of software called Wine, which lets you run some Windows programs.
www.winehq.org/ is the site where you can get Wine at.
Hope I was able to answer some of your questions.

[AuroraDizon]

There is also Cegda and Crossover for playing games on Linux

http://www.codeweavers.com/products/
http://www.transgaming.com/

[TechyGuy]

Well, it seems that everyone else has answered your inital questions, though building on what viper99 said about Ubuntu, if you have a weaker machine, then a different version of Ubuntu, Xubuntu is a good choice. There is also another version of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and it is written in the KDE desktop interface.

[VladTheImpaler1990]

Ha ha newbie i like the sound od that, well you see i like challanges, and i might be new at pc world but not new with computers, ok you guys are alot better than me but still i will get there one day. So where can i get the best Linux, and don't worry i will be able to learn it. So don't worry about it if its complicated, and any way if i get stuck i got my great freinds o pc world to help me;-)

[TechyGuy]

In my opinion Ubuntu is the best type of Linux. You can get it at http://www.ubuntu.com/

[VladTheImpaler1990]

So that is not a boring GUI interface that i learn in two minutes, i want to get linux as a challenge, not just to get linux. I want to feel my brain heating ha ha.

[TechyGuy]

If that is the case then you may want to try out Debian or Slackware . (Good Luck!)

[rgreen4]

Yeh, but trying to understand even one version of Linux (Ubuntu) is like trying to learn a foreign language. I have it on a hard drive (1 of 3) on my new machine, got onto the Nvidia site to download a new driver, it downloaded onto the desktop ok, then I double clicked and - Nothing! Never did figure out how to install it.

Then when you go onto a distro site (I used the Linux Store in Canada) there is a list of variations that extends off the bottom of the screen. All very confusing, and although I have Rickford Grant's book Ubuntu for Non-Geeks, I am convinced that the title is an oxymoron - there ain't no such thing as any variety of Linux for Non-Geeks.

So far, I have it installed, used Firefox which came with the installation, played a few of the games. The version of Open Office actually looks better than the one I have loaded on the Vista drive (the 3rd drive has XP).

[TechyGuy]

I never found Linux that difficult, as you are implying, rgreen. I started out with Linux when Win ME came out, and I was able to learn it somewhat quickly, though I can't remember which Distro I started out with. I have tried out several distros since, but now I use Ubuntu/XP(desktop) and Suse/XP(laptop).

[yeokm1]

I agree with Techyguy. I could use Linux since the first day I had it. I even installed my first version without much help except from the initial readme.

I started with Redhat Linux 7.3. Then Fedora Core 3,4,5 Suse 9.2 to currently OpenSuse 10.2. I am intending to make the transition to Ubuntu soon as OpenSuse cannot use my wireless adapter.

Given the greater ease of use of Linux today, I do not see why you should not take the plunge. If you want to try out Linux without installing it yet, you can try using Live CDs such as the one from Knoppix. You can boot up from the CD and use it like any OS. Anytime you want to switch, just reboot your computer.

[rgreen4]

I did run the live CD on my laptop and what I initially saw looked good, so I installed it on a spare drive. This was a three year old laptop that normally runs XP Home and cannot be upgraded to Vista. I then spend three hours trying to get my wireless connection to work. I posted a help request on the Ubuntu community on the Linux forum, and got back a response from someone that had a similar problem. Apparently Linux has no support for Broadcom wireless adapters which many HP, Dell and other laptops have.

I then installed it on a drive on my newly built desktop and that is the experience I related above. As someone who has used Microsoft products from DOS 1.1 to Vista, Linux, at least the Ubuntu implementation is confusing. The simple act of downloading an update to the desktop and then doubleclicking on it works in Windows but apparently not in Ubuntu, generating only an error message that makes MS error messages seem like plain language.

I have not yet given up, even though I have not even been able to find out was is on the six extra DVD's that came with my order othe that "package". If I have this much trouble, the ordinary consumer doesn't have a prayer of ever getting it to work.

[yeokm1]

I have not used Ubuntu before. But based on my current knowledge, most Linux distros are still not at the stage of point and click to install programs/updates. You have to run certain scripts or type certain commands to install them. The only point and click file I have heard of are RPMs short of Redhat Package Manager files. This new technique is supposed to be the future for computing on Linux.

Can you please state what file you have downloaded? It may help.

For my Opensuse 10.2, it uses an application called YAST (Yet another install tool) to automate update downloads and installations. Maybe Ubuntu has one written for this purpose? Try searching for it in the applications list.


And yes, Linux has lots of problems with wireless adapters. I have my own fair share. Its here in a previous post if you have not seen it. Till now, I have not found the fix to the problem. Just bear with it or use a wired network.

[rgreen4]

Yeokum - thanks for the response. I made another stab, and with the book I did find out how to use the Synaptic Program Manager and got the Nvidia driver updated, and the 6 DVD's of "packages" mounted so that the installer will now look for them. How very different.
Some of Ubuntu is very easy to use. As I said, I have it installed on one of three drives on a new build, and it serves as a test bed for some of my trials on various arrangements. One this I have learned is that in a multi-boot system it is much cleaner to put each installation on a separate drive and use the boot menu to determine which system boots. Of course Windows only sees two drives (Vista and XP) and Ubuntu sees only itself.

This machine is connected to my network with ethernet so it sees the router and the internet. In fact I using it for this reply. But no matter what I do, I cannot access any of the files on my NAS or any of the shares on any other machine, even though Ubuntu sees those devices as being present on the network (when they are on, of course it always sees the NAS as it's always on).

I appreciate you comment about the Linksys USB wireless adapter, as that was one consideration, although I really didn't want to spend the money and probably would not have, since the machine functions perfectly well with XP and the built in Broadcom wireless. That two major wireless chips not supported by Linux.

I will probably continue to dabble in it from time to time, but as for now about the only thing I can do in it, is access the internet (wired) and play the games. Yes, I have Open Office loaded, but since I can't access the files, its a non-starter. I was responding to another post, and needed to access a Word document with a series of links pasted into it so I could pass a link on. I had to flip over to my Vista machine, open the browser, access the thread, open the document and paste the link. Then I came back to my machine with Ubuntu on it.

This does answer my question about why so many that talk about Linux, also still apparently heavily use Windows. They probably can't go Linux exclusively. Open Source is a nice idea, but the old saying "too many cooks, spoils the broth". Too many distro fractures the cohesiveness that Mac and Windows have.

We have a new member whose Avatar is Bart Simpson sitting on a stool with a dunce cap on. That is exactly how I feel trying to use Ubuntu. After 25 years of using Microsoft products, I can do most thing without even thinking too hard about them, but in Ubuntu, it's like I can't even find the on button.

[yeokm1]

It is actually a given in most multi-boot configurations that each OS must reside on a seperate partition. Windows can only see two drives as the Linux file system is different. It also depends on the partitioning scheme you use. For example, if you use the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) scheme of Fedora Core, it is almost impossible to view the Linux partitions from another OS (even another Linux distro).

It seems strange that Ubuntu cannot view the Windows partitions. Most Linux distros can read/write FAT32 and read NTFS partitions. You sure you have mounted the Windows partitions correctly?

Regarding devices on a network, my former Fedora Core (FC) 6 distro can detect all the shared services on the network. This includes all the shared folders and printers on the other Windows computers. It is possible that you have not set up Ubuntu correctly. Ensure that you have the Samba service up and running smoothly. This service allows Linux to access share Windows folders (or services?). For network printing, check for the process Common Unix Printing System (CUPS).

For the issue of too many distributions. Its all about choice. Different distros are written to cater to different groups of people. Distros like Debian cater to the more advanced groups while Ubuntu and Mandriva are for beginners. FC and OpenSuse are somewhere in between.

Too many cooks will not spoil the broth. As the source code of Linux is freely available, anybody with an idea have to share it. It allows for a collective improvement in the entire Linux community. On the other hand, if less people are involved in the code writing process, there will be less diversity of ideas.To mitigate the "spoiling" scenario as you have suspected, Linux software companies come in. Here is when companies like Redhat, Novell, IBM and Sun Microsystems step in to ensure that there is coherence and cooperation in the the development of Open Source software.

As for fracturing cohesion of the Linux, it is also not true. It is not as if one Linux software can only work on a particular distro. In most cases, they will work properly on others. That is why the RPM system was created. It standardised the method software can be installed and updated by simply clicking on it. Many Linux distributions today support this RPM system.

For being unable to find the "on" button, its a case of being too used to Windows. Not because Ubuntu is inherently difficult to use. Change is always difficult, its up to you whether you are determined enough to overcome it.

[VladTheImpaler1990]

Thanks guys for all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mphenterprises]

Hi Vlad. Since you have this Discussion marked as "Answered," please select the two (2) posts that you feel were "Helpful" and the post that you feel was "Correct."

[rgreen4]

I think you misunderstood the post, each OS is on a separate physical drive, not just a partition. My case has room for 5 hard drives, 3 are installed, one for each OS. Also, there are no problems with the printers, because each printer is attached to the network and except for the wireless printer are already installed and functioning on Ubuntu.

The installation sees the network and recognizes the devices as being attached to the network, but will not read the shares, all of which are NTFS except maybe the Infrant NAS.

[yeokm1]

Whether its a partition or drive does not really matter in the Linux world unlike Windows. Each partition from every drive is assigned a unique identifier under the Linux file system table.

Ability to access is really different from ability to read. Different processes handle these two tasks. A file system on a network drive (host) does not matter to the OS of the guest computer. It only matters if it is a local drive. OK, the difference between mine and yours is that my FC6 can access and read all the network shares on the Windows computers. Maybe its a firewall issue on either one of your computers. You may want to look into it.