Linux?

[xmastree]

I'm a man for good deals.

<checks location>. Aye, I'm sure you are. :p

[DaveW]

Idignant: What's what supposed to mean?

(jk)
-Dave

[xmastree]

Idignant: What's what supposed to mean?

(jk)
-Dave

Nothing... Nothing at all...
Just the usual the usual English - Scottish friendly banter...

(if you're offended I'll delete it)

[archmaille]

The big thing holding me back is the lack of comercial games.

that was my big hold back as well. I too used Wine which I researched before I ever switched to Linux and everyone in the linux community was like "yeah the game runs perfect and FAST" later I found out that their idea of "fast" was more like 15-20fps coming from a guy who's used to 85fps minimum I thought I was going blind :-P

I've heard great things about Gentoo, but personally wouldn't suggest it for a begginner, if I had to type out console commands and everything just to install it I would of given up... of course I would of had to stick to it since I've only got 1 computer in my house and I need something running.

[archmaille]

On a side note, i got Red Hat for dummies

I love Red Hat for their support and everything they offer, if it weren't for them I never would of survived using Linux. I got all the console commands and everything I know off of their websites! Even though I've never used Red Hat.

[xmastree]

My experience has been varied. I first tried linux ages ago. I got a CD with a magazine. This was before IDE CD drives so I had to make a bootable floppy using one of the images fromthe CD. I tried all of the options but none of them would recognise my CD.
Then, much later I bought a copy of Red Hat from a local shop. It was defective. All the disks they had were, so instead I took a copy of Mandrake 8. That worked, but I couldn't get my sound card working. I used it for a while and got to like it. Then I got a decent connection so I downloaded the latest version which I had a lot of trouble with.
I pretty much gave up on it until one day last year, out of the blue I received a box full of ubuntu CDs.
I tried one and ws amazed ho much of an improvement it was over previous versions. I've used it as a main OS since then, and even converted a few others too.
The forums are amazing. Without them ubuntu wouldn't be half what it is now.

[opengswede]

Have missed this thread, even though I'm a Linux fan.
Anyways, I agree with most points made, there is one HUGE advantage with Linux and that is safety. Windows, even the XP SP2 starts with all possible connections open and that, in my opinion is a big nono. In order to get windows remotely safe, you need to install third party firewalls and quickly. This is less needed in Linux, but recommended, if someone gets in they can wreck havock due to the scriptability of the system.

I use both systems for various reasons, one being that most of my employers documents are Word documents (even though I keep arguing that I refuse to read them). I know Open Office can read and write to older versions of .doc format, but not nicely...
If you feel just slightly comfortable with Linux (whichever flavour you're using) a Gentoo installation gives you core understanding of the system. I found this really rewarding to install, I get a kernel that is optimized and not bloated, I get all packages compiled for my processor (with the flags it supports), etc.

Another funny thing, if you like the multiple IM thingy. Look into KDE. THey have Kopete (multi-protocol IM), KMail (email client) and KOrganizer (calendar system). These all use the same underlying dtabase for contacs, which means you share user lists in all programs, very neat if you need to email someone about a meeting from your calendar, or email someone offline from your IM, if you understand what I'm saying.
Another good point, if you're programming is KDeveloper, probably the best developer environment around (for anything but C#).

need to stop ranting...

Yes, almost forgot: servers. It's really easy to set up almost anything you want (webserver, mailserver, ftp, sftp, whatever, SAMBA (for interaction with your windows comps in the house-hold).

-.erik

[crazybillybob]

What Linux will Run on A VIA Edan C3 Proccessor (Mini ITX board EPIA MII1200)?

Just kicking the Idea Around still.


Crazybillybob

[OvRiDe]

I think just about any distro would be just fine on that. Fedora and Debian are probably the leaders when it comes to support, just because there are tons of howtos, and questions posted by those users.

Check out this site. http://epialinux.org. This section here caught my eye.

Good luck with it..

[onelegout]

There's so much you can do with it in regards to eye candy. Check out 3d desktop...

First thing you have to do (if you haven't already) is enable the extra repositories and download all the good stuff. The easy way is to use automatix, but you don't have to. Plenty of advice on the forums.
Check out the gallery to see screenshots and what can be acheived.

Here's mine:
http://ubuntuforums.org/gallery/show...113&original=1

Apparently automatix does not work on AMD64 versions
Your desktop looks AWESOME! How do you do that?
I looked into it and found that it uses KDE instead of gnome is that right?
Could you point me in the right direction as to how to change to kde?
(I may have got completely the wrong idea here! I have realised that ive got a LOT to learn haha!)
Thanks!
H