Forum Archive Home -> Linux -> What flavor of Linux do you use?
| What flavor of Linux do you use? | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Jan 29 10:25 | ||||||
| I have been using Ubuntu and really like it. My system is a dual boot Ubuntu/Win XP although about 95% of the time I'm booted into linux anymore. I can do pretty much anything I want using a combination of native linux apps and Wine for a few windows apps.
I'm curious what others are using. I know of Mint which is just a mediacentric version of ubuntu but what others do the rest of the forum members use. I would just like to see if there is anything out there that I might like better than Ubuntu. | ||||||
| disturbed1 posted 2008 Jan 29 11:26 | ||||||
| All our PCs are Ubuntu. My 2 work PCs, small file server, girlfriend dual boots XP/Ubuntu and 2000/Ubuntu. Also got 2 PCs setup for friends/family to have World of Padman frag fests, and the niece's and nephew's to do school work when they visit. At one time we had a PC connected to the TV for music/video playback, but it ended it's life a few months back. Been meaning to build another, it's gets old burning DVD-RWs when our entire movie collection is already on the file server. Thankfully the other PCs in different parts of the house are equipped with decent speakers.
Everything's wired with cat5e no gigabit switches yet :(. The server runs just basic NFS/SAMBA. Windows machines all have RDP enabled, all Linux machines have XDMCP/SSH/VNC enabled. Any machine can be controlled from anywhere. Even our Linksys router runs a hacked Linux firmware. Been using Linux since ~2000 (registered Linux user #196692). Used Mandrake, then Slackware until Patrick dropped Gnome support, which just happened to be the same time Warty came out. Played with Slackware/Gropline Gnome, and debian for awhile. Decided that Warty was the bee's knee. It was a long hard road forcing myself to use only Linux. Now, I'm barely able to function in Windows. I can crash my Girlfriend's XP in no less than 2 minutes :D If your a GNOME-Head like myself, there really isn't a better distro than Ubuntu, Arch is nice as well. If you like KDE, WindowsXP might be the best choice :lol: Seriously though, Mandrake(Mandriva) has always had a nice KDE, if your after stable, speed, and rock solid, there isn't anything that compares to Slackware. | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Jan 29 11:36 | ||||||
| Yes I like gnome and I had a feeling that I would hear that Ubuntu was probably the best. I was just wanting to see if there was anything better.
Not only am I a convert but wife is as well (which is funny because she is very resistant to change). She actually gets mad at me if she wants to use the computer and I'm booted into windows (mainly for developing with borland c++). :lol: | ||||||
| disturbed1 posted 2008 Jan 29 11:47 | ||||||
| You could always grab Virtual Box (http://www.virtualbox.org/) and go on a ISO download fest ;) Check out http://www.foresightlinux.com/ on your journey.
The only reason the GirlFriend still uses windows is because of The Sims, and her Karaoke fetish. | ||||||
| SLK001 posted 2008 Jan 29 11:59 | ||||||
| Slackware 12. | ||||||
| GMaq posted 2008 Jan 29 12:02 | ||||||
| Hi,
Don't have a bad word to say about Ubuntu, I have used MEPIS, Ubuntu Feisty, Gutsy, Linux Mint 3,4 OpenSUSE 10.2 (Jacklab) 10.3. Right now I am back at MEPIS 7 and it's slim version AntiX. They are based on debian, very stable but what I really like is they have the most friendly and helpful forum I have ever seen (other than Videohelp OF COURSE). I still virtualize and dual-boot XP for the real heavy duty restoration stuff, I actually prefer mplayer in Linux for DVD backup. Linux continues to blow me away! | ||||||
| tgm4883 posted 2008 Jan 29 12:30 | ||||||
| Ubuntu (or Ubuntu variation like Mythbuntu). I use to have windows in a VM, but have since deleted it. I usually install the dev version around the 4th release (this thursday :) ).
Where's the poll? | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Jan 29 12:51 | ||||||
Good idea! I just added one! :) | ||||||
| mats.hogberg posted 2008 Jan 29 13:06 | ||||||
| Ubuntu 7.10 for me too. Running XP in a VM when in a pinch, and some Windows software using Wine. From time to time, I've been having a Linux period, but this time, I really think I'm going to stay with it. I'm not missing anything from Windows.
/Mats | ||||||
| dphirschler posted 2008 Jan 29 13:13 | ||||||
| Ubuntu here. Started with Feisty 7.04. Currently in the process of upgrading to Gusty 7.10. I consider myself a Linux newb, but I am learning. I got MAME setup, which was a victory for me. Still working on perfecting ZSNES (sound issues). After upgrading to 7.10, I plan to set up the Samba file/print server and then move all my photos, mp3s, my software repository, and then movies/TV shows. I also want to move my printer over to the linux box and share through linux (rather than connected to a Windows XP machine and shared).
I was immediately impressed with Ubuntu and especially the Gnome GUI. And it continues to impress me every day as I learn something else that Linux can do right out of the box! I am still trying to figure out remote desktop/VNC. I set it up, but it isn't working yet. Once I get that working, I might be able to "make the switch" so to speak. Oh, I forgot, I need to get a good torrent client working. I installed uTorrent under Wine, but it's not working perfectly yet. Interested in Deluge, and just read about Transmission, so I may try one of those. Darryl | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Jan 29 13:55 | ||||||
If you like utorrent you might download ktorrent. It is pretty much a utorrent clone for native linux. You can get it through your synaptic package manager. | ||||||
| tekkieman posted 2008 Jan 29 14:13 | ||||||
| Since I am a Windows developer by trade, all my systems are dual boot with XP. My laptop runs Mepis 7.0, my desktop system runs PCLOS 2008 MiniMe, and my work rig runs PCLOS 2007, Mepis 7.0, Mint 4.0, and gOS 2.0 beta in VirtualBox.
All my machines have VirtualBox so I can always get to either Linux or Windows from whatever OS I'm in without having to reboot. | ||||||
| träskmannen posted 2008 Jan 29 14:41 | ||||||
| My main OS is still XP but one of my machines is a dual boot XP / Ubuntu. I am definitely a Linux newbie but I am trying to learn. I like it but I am not ready to take the step to Linux only yet, not by far. | ||||||
| GMaq posted 2008 Jan 29 16:34 | ||||||
Tekkieman!!!! Buddy where have you been? Half of videohelp is using Linux now because of your staunch arguments in the famous 12 page "Switching to Linux" thread of last year. We didn't get Lordsmurf yet, he's been seen in the Mac forums though!?! But there are a lot of new faces in the Linux forum over the last 6 months which I think is terrific, also some developers like our OP are already porting stuff over. Anyway as you were, I couldn't let this rare tekkieman sighting go by! | ||||||
| tekkieman posted 2008 Jan 29 19:03 | ||||||
Hey! Just been really busy. NAB is around the corner (or at least code freeze is), and there just aren't enough hours in the day. I can't take any credit (or blame) for anyone at VH using linux. I think there are just people who are looking for something different. In all honesty, I love XP for the most part, but it showing signs of age. Vista is a non-issue to me (other than work), and linux is just something different to get to know. I think it does what most people want it to do, and it gets better all the time. There is always something new being done with it. The model is just great for rapid change. I've noticed the new faces in the linux forum, and I've noticed you in there helping them out and moving video related offerings forward (WinFF). The long thread was fun, but I really enjoy seeing that some have ignored the negative press, tried it for themselves, and judged it on its own merits. It's not for everyone, and there are those who have no need for it at all, but it is nice to see it working for many within this group since video was a real shortcoming in linux for a long time. Take care, and keep up the good work. | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Jan 29 19:55 | ||||||
| To be honest that 12 page thread was what peaked my curiousity in the first place. It just took me until a month or so ago to finally take the plunge so to speak. Very happy so far. | ||||||
| Supreme2k posted 2008 Jan 29 21:57 | ||||||
| I have DSL on an old 500Mhz (maybe even 400) PC, and it runs like any of my 2-3Ghz rigs. I run XP on one audio/video processing machine, and the other is a G5 mac.
Our remaining 3 are Ubuntu. I tricked my wife into the switch on our notebook by skinning it like Vista. She mostly uses it for the web (with Firefox), so it was over 3 weeks before she knew it was linux (after I told her). Heck, even my Sansa and iPod are Linux (through Rockbox). | ||||||
| Steve Stepoway posted 2008 Jan 30 10:20 | ||||||
| I'm running the Planet CCRMA low-latency kernel from Stanford University, and it's based on Fedora, so that's where I start. Video editing system mostly runs XP, as Linux NLEs aren't quite there yet, but dual boots to Fedora/CCRMA. My PVR runs MythDora, so again Fedora-based.
I've looked at Ubuntu -- seems great. Good friend of mine loves it. But it doesn't look enough better to make it worth my time to switch. Steve | ||||||
| SingSing posted 2008 Jan 30 12:21 | ||||||
| Lab uses red-hat linux. I am suprised it is not listed as an option in this poll. | ||||||
| GMaq posted 2008 Jan 30 16:47 | ||||||
| OK,
Forgive me for getting philosophical but I really believe there is more behind the recent interest in Linux than just the improvements in the OS itself. On some level to people who have more than a casual interest in computers, like those who congregate on forums like these, Microsoft Vista has drawn a line in the sand. I don't know anything about Vista as an OS, the closest I've gotten is to install "Vistamizer" on my HTPC for fun. But whether Vista is a great or terrible OS, Microsoft has very flagrantly put their own Corporate interests above the actual needs of their customers. In my opinion Linux has become even more enticing to people because it's highest priority is it's respective Communities. I personally find this Community versus Corporation ethos, an interesting study in human nature. Even within the "Windows" environment , look at this site, a very modest percentage of the tools here are commercial in nature. The most enthusiasm is generated by the open-source programs and the developers (like our esteemed OP) who don't just create them in the first place but continue to improve them at the request of the end-user, some of them for years already. Anyway, just my opinion of course, it just kinda struck me that way today. | ||||||
| Timoleon posted 2008 Jan 30 16:55 | ||||||
| Fedora 8 here. Been dual booting Windows with Red Hat and its variants since version 4.0. :shock: | ||||||
| simonsonjh posted 2008 Jan 30 17:16 | ||||||
| Ubuntu Hardy Heron | ||||||
| DKruskie posted 2008 Jan 30 19:32 | ||||||
| Ubuntu ultimate 1.7 running with dual boot xp | ||||||
| 888888 posted 2008 Feb 04 00:07 | ||||||
| PCLinuxOS 2007 :yeah: | ||||||
| dphirschler posted 2008 Feb 05 15:56 | ||||||
It's websites like this and the free software community that I've come to love, that's drawn me towards Linux. It's like the natural progression. You start with a small freeware utility, then move into more complicated freeware applications. Before you know it, you are regularly using the free software more than the commercial applications. One by one the freeware apps replace their commercial counterparts, eventually leading to complete OS replacement. At least that's how it's happened for me. I still have Windows software that I cannot live without, but I've begun the switch. In time I believe I'll be Windows-free, but not just because I get used to doing things in Linux, but because more and more software will have a Linux port. Darryl | ||||||
| 888888 posted 2008 Feb 05 18:27 | ||||||
Very true. Before Vista, I used Linux out of curiosity more than anything else. Now, that the anti-consumer excesses of Microsoft, as evidenced by the DRM, validation, draconian activation, etc are firmly in place, it's more a matter of keeping control of MY computer (no pun intended). With Linux, I feel my PC is still my own. If the various industries that are pushing for the kinds of changes that Microsoft is implementing have their way, it will literally feel like I am renting my PC from them. Hopefully more and more people will make the switch and more game developers will start serving the Linux market. When that happens, Windows as an "enthusiast" platform will be all but dead... ok wishful thinking I guess. Anyway, sorry about the rant. | ||||||
| jpconard posted 2008 Feb 14 22:34 | ||||||
| Freespire 2.0.8, based on Ubuntu (Kubuntu?) 7.04. Linux newbie (2 weeks). So far I really like this OS. I've added many apps from CNR.com, apt-get (& Synaptic), debian (Gdebi), and some shell scripts. A lot was already included with this distro.
I'm running on an older Dell Inspiron 1000 notebook, and everything was detected. Issues I have, I researched as typical, if you have a solution I'd like to know. - 1) Hibernate mode doesn't work (suspend to disk), suspend to ram works fine. Do I need another partition (just have swap and root)? 2) Hidden SSID requires re-entering config (in Knetworkmanager), however does work if not using Knetworkmanager. This is known bug, so I un-hid my SSID and it works great. Not ideal solution but only working one. 3) No OpenGL support on the integrated SIS video. Known issues with SIS video. Can live with on this notebook, but when/if I attempt Linux media center on main PC will require better video support. Things I'm working to achieve - 1) Printing to Windows shared Lexmark (DONE, after converting RPM to Deb install package). 2) Easy, quality DVIX or XVID encoding. Still working on this. DVD::RIP offered fairly easy XVID encoding but many settings to select and quality wasn't as good as I've been getting from DIVX 6 in windows. I did install xvid4conf to tweak settings. Guess I'll have to learn all those settings. I did install the DIVX 6 for Linux, but I've yet to find a front-end that will use it. Anybody have ideas on this? If I could find a front end as easy as DR. Divx with this codec I'd be happy. 3) DVD rip GUI (currently using DVD::RIP), it is OK, probably can't handle newer DVD protections. Looking for others. May try Wine with DVDFabHD Decoder. 4) Media Center app, thought about LinuxMCE, but too complex, will try MythTV eventually, possibly Sage to Linux. Eventually I want to gradually move my main TV watching PC (XPMCE 2005) to Linux (probably Myth) and hopefully the new Hauppauge HD DVR (Component HD) card will be supported. And the comments earlier about Vista are correct. I have it on a new dual-core HP notebook and let's just say Microsoft is doing it to themselves. It popped up a crash report the other day, and number 1 bad application was Internet Explorer 7. What does that tell you? | ||||||
| GMaq posted 2008 Feb 15 08:25 | ||||||
| Hi,
To comment on only a couple of your issues, As far as open GL your choices are Nvidia,ATI and Intel (810+). Intel is the only one that seems to work out of the box and most distros have Linux drivers and install utilities available for Nvidia and ATI. SIS and other onboard stuff is only supported in a general way with no 3D/OpenGL support. I have had great luck with compiz etc with a GeForce FX5500 which is pretty low-end for Nvidia. As for Myth TV for a Media machine, it's probably wise to start out with a distro built on MythTV like KnoppMyth or MythTVOS based on PCLinuxOS. If you want to record TV Linux is REALLY picky about capture cards, You are almost forced to use Hauppage PVR 250 if you want things to go "smoothly". There are other cards that will pass with a big push, but IMO this is a definite "need to grow" area in Linux. For DivX it is commercial and Windows-centric therefore not well supported or even welcome in Linux. XviD is the only real alternative and there are some good apps Avidemux, WinFF, KMenc, OGMRip, K9Copy to name only a few. Many (not all, but many) recent ArCCos protected movies can be backed up with Mplayer and VLC as well, some of the very latest are posing a problem. | ||||||
| FulciLives posted 2008 Feb 15 12:57 | ||||||
| I use Linux Mint 4.0
It uses Ubuntu 7.10 as a base although they are toying around with the idea of creating new/alternative versions using other Linux distros. I know Fedora was mentioned and an alpha based on Debian Etch was released. All that might be on hold as I understand Mint 5 is being worked on right now. I do like Linux Mint 4.0 but I have tried other distros and I really liked Fedora 8 and openSUSE 10.3 Fedora 8 is a beautiful implementation of GNOME whereas openSUSE 10.3 is a really nice implementation of KDE ... the GNOME version of openSUSE 10.3 left me cold. I also tried Sabayon which I really liked BUT I absolutely hated the package manager (it is based on gentoo). Such a shame as it got so much "right" but damn gentoo's package manager sucks donkey balls. - John "FulciLives" Coleman | ||||||
| jpconard posted 2008 Feb 19 19:34 | ||||||
| Thanks GM, I understand the reluctance of Divx, but they do have an open-source version 6 codec. And according to them it has full "Pro" support without it costing anything. I really wish I could get a "Dr. Divx" type front-end (allows batching, easy parameter setting, watch lists, etc.)
DVD::RIP isn't bad, but I didn't get far with WinFF. Another question, why are there so many distributions? I can understand to some extent, but it seems people keep re-starting rather than migrating what they have to add the features they want. I've added package managers and many other apps to Freespire 2, and plan to upgrade to Ubuntu 7.10 (if it is worth it) without re-installing. I may not get far but to me it makes more sense to take this approach than re-starting. It seems like so many of these Ubuntu distros are for the most part the same. Am I wrong here? | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Feb 19 20:58 | ||||||
Check out disturbed1's responses to this thread for some good info on various distro testing. He is pretty much our resident goto linux guy here so you can give his statements good credit. | ||||||
| disturbed1 posted 2008 Feb 20 01:31 | ||||||
Thanks for the kind words. I don't think I'm any more of a guru than the next guy :D. Most of what I've learned is from other people. Most of the *.buntu's are pretty much the same. Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu, Fluxbuntu are all exactly the same, just one uses KDE, XFCE, GNOME, Fluxbox. You can install Ubuntu then add KDE to it, or any mix and match. They all share the same Ubuntu software sources. Distro's like Mint and Freespire take Ubuntu's base system, and add their own spins to some software, like Mint's menu and MintInstall. I've wondered the same thing about so many different distros. What eases my mind is to think about Linux Distros like Music. Linux is an expression of creativity much in the way of music. Great bands of today take inspiration from yesterdays artist. Linux shares, or at least has the option to share, all of it's code base with everyone. Some people like pure Debian, while others like the extra spin that Mepis puts on it. Underneath, they are exactly the same. But do we really need 300+ distros? Wouldn't it be better to join forces and make something great? Maybe, maybe not. It seems to work pretty well the way it is now. Keep in mind, some ditros are more or less time wasters or hobbies for some people, while other are a way to pay the bills. It doesn't mean one is better than the other. Ubuntu also gets it's roots from Debian, but adds quite a few spins on it. So much so, that it is becoming it's own Distro, rather than a based on Debian distro. Much in the way Madrake (Mandriva) evolved from Redhat, and Suse from Slackware. I like and use Ubuntu because it works for me, so of course I'd say give it a shot. But don't stop there. There are far too many other distros out there to limit it to a select few. I'd start with some of the "big" name distros, Suse, Fedora, Ubuntu, Mandriva, to get a feel of how things work. Don't forget the smaller Slackware distros like Zenwalk, and even Slax. Most distros are based off of, or operate similarly to one of those. Steer clear of the "advanced" distros, unless your not afraid to RTFM, and except a challenge (for the new(ish) to linux). Slackware, Gentoo, Arch, and of course LFS are great teaching distros. Slackware and maybe Arch are notably easier than LFS or Gentoo. Spend some time at www.distorwatch.com. Community is very important for when, not if ;), you run into problems. Be sure to stroll through distro's forums to check the friendliness, and amount of activity. There are also generic forums like Linuxforums.com. And just because you use distro X doesn't when you won't receive help from a distro Y forum. Gentoo's forums are most likely the most helpfull for advanced, tough and niche questions, Ubuntut's are most likely the best for new people, and average stuff. They'll attempt to help you no matter what distro you're using. Plus there's always IRC. Linux is all about choice, which can be a bad thing when there isn't one set clear winner, instead we have many, many great choices. If you're having issues with FFMPEG, post a new thread, GMaq could most likely answer it. As for Dr. Divx, if you're just looking to load up a video file and output a Xvid, look at Avidemux as well. www.getdeb.net - works with Ubuntu and it's clones (Freespire, LinuxMint......) | ||||||
| FulciLives posted 2008 Feb 20 11:35 | ||||||
| The thing I like about Linux Mint 4.0 is that it takes Ubuntu 7.10 and adds some stuff to it to make it even better and easier to use.
For instance with Linux Mint 4.0 they have tweaked things like installing a nvidia or ATI driver. They have also tweaked the fonts (most Linux distros have horrible fonts by default) and you also get all your multimedia codecs pre-installed etc. Also don't forget that most distros have a LiveCD version that allows you to test the distro without installing it. This is a great way to try out different distros. Granted a LiveCD is much slower than a true install and you are limited to what you can do (to an extent) but it allows you to very quickly try out a bunch of different distros. - John "FulciLives" Coleman | ||||||
| mats.hogberg posted 2008 Feb 20 12:28 | ||||||
/Mats | ||||||
| FulciLives posted 2008 Feb 21 22:16 | ||||||
| I've used VirtualBox under Linux Mint 4.0 so that I could run Windows XP Pro and I also used it once to test an install of PC-BSD which I thought was kinda neato but limited in the package listing dept.
- John "FulciLives" Coleman | ||||||
| GMaq posted 2008 Feb 21 22:34 | ||||||
| Great info guys!
Sorry to post again but this week I picked up a cheap AMD 5400+ 64x2 Mobo bundle (My first AMD!). Although on my older Linux test "Frankenbox" I was quite happy with AntiX I thought I'd see what this 64 bit stuff was all about. I installed Ubuntu 7.10 AMD64, of course there are many distros offering 64 bit, but Ubuntu (and derivatives) seem to have it fully realized and ready to go. With 2 gig of RAM I can effortlessly run Ubuntu with Compiz and XP in Virtualbox with 512Mb of RAM. I really applaud Ubuntu for having the whole package together. I agree with John that Mint is tops too, but I'm really digging how well the 64 bit architecture is supported. I cheaped out and bought last years technology but I can only guess how fast Gnome and the smaller desktops will run on Quad Core machines with 2Gig+ of RAM.  | ||||||
| oldcpu posted 2008 Mar 22 05:47 | ||||||
| I left Win95 for Red Hat Linux in 1998. I used Red Hat from 1998 to 2001. Then I switched to SUSE-7.3 in 2001 and have been with SUSE since. Currently using openSUSE-10.3. | ||||||
| 16mmJunkie posted 2008 Apr 03 04:00 | ||||||
| I'm a "New" convert to Linux. I'm using Ubuntu at this stage and loving it. I have a hobby of film collecting and I find it fits perfect for me. :D I can surf forums, websites I like and work on my film projects. Still getting wet with this OS, but I'm here to stay. Just got plain tired of driving the "Gatesmobile"....it was always getting repaired ! :evil: | ||||||
| Nitemare posted 2008 Apr 14 00:51 | ||||||
| Lately I've been hearing a LOT about Ubuntu and I decided to try it. Doesn't work so good on Virtual PC.. gets to loading the GUI on the LiveCD and shows me nothing. (It's a virtual PC issue) Now, (a week ago) my kid decided to use his PS3 for his internet full time so he gave me back his computer. I tried Ubuntu on it... it gets to the GUI and dies. This annoys me because I used to do command line linux but it was so many years ago that I forget EVERYTHING. So I tried Kubuntu... hits the GUI and dies. I heard good things about OpenSuse and wanted to download the LiveCD ISO. Every mirror I tried took FOREVER so I abandoned it. I had good results with Mandrake once upon a time so I decided to try Mandriva (formerly mandrake) ... it hits the GUI and dies.
Not a quitter, I had good results with RedHat back in the day but it annoys me to pay for linux. Then I heard about Fedora so I downloaded version 8. It's installed and running flawlessly. I was amazed/pleased/annoyed that everything was autodetected and working from the install. I used to spend hours configuring, testing, optimizing, and praying that my network crap would all work. Now I install it and BOOM! I'm on the internet and I can even see my windows network. Cha-ching! Now is the time for Linux. I agree with others that the appearance of Vista has changed everything. Microsoft released it. It had the unnerving effect of boosting Windows XP sales. :) People hated Vista. Shortly afterwards, Microsoft announced that they will stop supporting XP soon, essentially telling their customers to get with the Vista program or else. This leaves us windows users with only a few choices. 1) Comply with Microsoft's Vista push 2) Stick with XP and have no support 3) Try something else. Linux and Mac are poised to kick the sh!t out of Microsoft right now. If they play everything right, all they need to do is give MS enough rope and they'll hang themselves with it. Seriously. Most people use their PC for internet and that's it. They could easily use Linux for that. Apparently the old days of configuring your connection for hours are over. Like others, I think I'm going to linux for good this time. For years it was "Close, but no cigar!" with linux. Now it's pretty much there. All it needs is serious vendor support, which they'll get if they suddenly rule the market. [edit] I am downloading MINT now using the link that fulcilives provided... no reason to get complacent. That's one of the cool things about Linux... you can try them all! | ||||||
| ronnylov posted 2008 Apr 29 06:11 | ||||||
| I just installed ubuntu 64-bit on my new intel quad core xeon X3350 machine and it feels very fast and solid. Still dual booting with XP and also Vista x64. Video apps still seems to be mainly for windows, like I am an avisynth user so I will miss that in Linux (if I can't make it work there).
Many years ago I tried mandrake but did not understand a thing what to do. A few years later (like in 2003) I tried Red Hat and used it a little bit but did still not understand how to install software and the support suddenly just stopped from redhat so I stopped using that too. But now with ubuntu they promise free support and everything feels good so I may continue use it. By the way do you have a link to the mentioned 12 page Linux thread? I think I have missed that... | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Apr 29 07:17 | ||||||
You will be pleased to know that avisynth works perfectly well in with wine. There is also a native linux avisynth 3 in the works but so far not the most stable. Avisynth 2.56 works just as well for me in linux as it did in windows!
Here ya go! http://forum.videohelp.com/topic322913.html?highlight=thinking%20 ... ng%20linux | ||||||
| Nitemare posted 2008 Apr 29 08:02 | ||||||
| Hey, FulciLives (and the rest of the gang),
Mint kicks butt. I am totally crushing on it. I now have a dual-boot Mint/XP machine and a fedora8 machine on my network. Thanks for the tip on Mint. I'll try other distros from time to time, but I think I may officially be a Mint user now. Most of the software I needed was right there from the install. I had to donwload very little to be fully functional. Now if only linux had something as robust as DVDFabHDdecrypter... :) | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Apr 29 09:59 | ||||||
That also works well with wine! | ||||||
| FulciLives posted 2008 Apr 30 00:20 | ||||||
| DVDFabHDdecrypter works in Linux Mint thanks to WINE. So does AviSynth. So does HCenc. I've also used FitCD and DGIndex. I can't get CCE SP to work but seriously HCenc is really just as good most of the times ... only annoying thing is a lack of a true CBR video encode mode. Sure I mostly do multi-pass VBR but there are times I do and want CBR. Another "essential" for me that I can't get to work is TMPGEnc DVD Author although I've been told that DVD-Lab works. I haven't tried VideoReDo nor MPEG-VCR but would be nice if they work.
I suppose the "easy" way to get around this is to run WinXP in a virtual window. VirtualBox works pretty good with Linux Mint as the host and WinXP as the guest except I can get my CD/DVD ROM to work but can't get my DVD Burner to work. Also I can't seem to get any USB stuff working (although supposedly it is possible). Basically I do my authoring in WinXP and create an ISO file then copy it over to Linux (using a "shared folder") to do the burning. As for burning in Linux I use ImgBurn which works fine thanks to WINE. In fact I got a PAL 2 NTSC project I need to do now ... - John "FulciLives" Coleman | ||||||
| mats.hogberg posted 2008 Apr 30 01:03 | ||||||
/Mats | ||||||
| Nitemare posted 2008 Apr 30 03:17 | ||||||
| Everything I seem to run in WINE is either extremely slow or it crashes. I'm assuming it's a configuration thing, but I don't know. | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 Apr 30 08:06 | ||||||
| You might try running your wine programs from terminal. That way you can see any error messagaes if any that might pop up.
Like this in terminal
| ||||||
| buzzqw posted 2008 May 04 07:32 | ||||||
| for me Sidux, a great Debian Sid based distro
BHH | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 05 15:18 | ||||||
| I got adventurous yesterday and installed Ubuntu 8.04 on a spare computer. It went very smoothly and everything works properly. I used a 13GB hard drive formatted with NTFS, but since I told Ubuntu that it can use the whole drive without sharing, it reformatted the drive to it's own file system - I'm assuming some sort of UNIX file system. The drive properties shows the physical 12GB size, but the disk usage analysis shows 24GB available - so I am assuming that it is using compression.
The system has a Celeron 3.06ghz CPU, 256MB DDR Memory, CDRW Drive, DVD ROM Drive, and the 13GB Hard Drive. It is not connected to the Internet - but it can be if necessary. The GUI looks good, and it has some very nice programs installed. Now I'm not trying to be cute - but I live in a WINDOWS world - so for all practical purposes, what can I do with Ubuntu? Is it better than Windows for certain applications? Are documents and files that I might create under Linux compatible with programs under Windows? Thanks for any help that you can provide! | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 May 05 16:03 | ||||||
For an average user...yes you can do most stuff the same as in windows.
Can't really say it's better or worse for certain applications than windows so no... it's just different ... but it is more secure due to the fact that most virus are targeted towards windows. That doesn't mean there aren't any linux virus out there...but the percentages are much lower.
Yes there are programs that exist for both linux and windows (like open office = linux version of microsoft office) that can produce files that can be read by either platform. If you have some windows software that you can't live without or are more used to running it is very possible that you can run it with the help of wine. Please understand that linux is not windows. It will be different look and feel. But if you give it some time you might just come to like it. If you have any questions regarding linux you can post them here or at www.ubuntuforums.org | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 07 14:31 | ||||||
| Thanks for the response Freebird. I have been playing around with the Ubuntu system - it is quite different! I also found a very good guide on the internet that really explains Linux and Unix. I have to move this computer so that I can connect to the internet and install Wine - I tried downloading it, but I guess that it is not possible to get without a live install. It is not convenient for me to leave this computer near my internet connection, so I think that I will have a better experience getting to know Linux if I can have it installed on a laptop so that it is readily available to connect to the internet. I have an old Pentium 3 650mhz laptop currently with 96MB SDRAM - upgradeable to a total of 196MB - and a spare 6GB Hard Drive that I would like to use for this purpose. Can you suggest a flavor of Linux that will work on this computer? | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 May 07 14:48 | ||||||
| While I'm sure that others will chime in on various other distros I think that xubuntu would work well for that hardware.
here are the system requirements
So with your current setup you will need to do a text based install with the alternate cd (unless you do upgrade your ram). There are good guides for installing out there. Just google for them. Have fun with linux! | ||||||
| tekkieman posted 2008 May 07 15:04 | ||||||
Since I just read an article on the "Top 5 Tiny Distros", I figured I'd post a link for you. You might also take a look at antiX, although it seems you may need an older version of it for those specs. | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 07 17:05 | ||||||
| Well - I think that my main Windows laptop just got very angry with me for playing with Linux!! It is a Toshiba, and it already had 1 broken screen hinge - but the screen stayed in place. Just as I was downloading more Linux software, the other hinge obliterated itself :evil: !! BTW - Toshiba laptops are notorious for having bad hinges.
Freebird - I downloaded Xubuntu. I think that it will be perfect for my laptop - I will order another memory chip to bring the total up to 192MB, but It can't go to 256MB. When another salvageable laptop with better specs falls into my possession - I will use it instead. I'm assuming that a hard drive with Linux on it will reconfigure itself if it is moved into a different computer - can you confirm this? Tekkieman - thanks for the link to the Tiny Distros. Puppy looked very cool - so I downloaded it as well. | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 May 07 17:14 | ||||||
To be honest I'm not sure. I would assume yes. But I haven't tried it before. Perhaps Tekkieman could answer that as I know he has been using linux longer than me. | ||||||
| tekkieman posted 2008 May 07 18:21 | ||||||
Yes, many computer manufacturers have specifically designed their systems to fail when non-Windows operating systems are installed on them. This includes BIOS vendors locking systems to Windows only, laptop hard drives that melt, and fans that fail to start until after the CPU explodes. Installing linux also voids most warranties. :P (links provided on request).
Sorry, I can't. I have certainly heard of it being done, but I have never done it myself. There are only a couple of things that could really go wrong, and those are the video configuration, and the GRUB entries. Usually, these can be fixed pretty easily by rebooting with the LiveCD. Most current distros have reconfigure options in the menus of the LiveCD that will reconfigure the video or repair GRUB entries. | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 07 18:55 | ||||||
| Tekkieman - I wasn't loading Linux on the Toshiba, just downloading the files :( . It was just funny that the hinge destroyed itself at that moment. I removed the screen assembly and hooked up an external monitor. I'll get new hinges on eBay.
At this point I do not want to mix operating systems - I am installing Linux on independent hard drives or laptops. I just burned Xubuntu and Puppy to CD's and will install them over the weekend. I will also try moving a Linux hard drive to another computer and let you guys know what it did. Thanks for the help Freebird and Tekkieman. | ||||||
| FulciLives posted 2008 May 07 19:24 | ||||||
| TEENpup is a version of Puppy that has pretty much all the multimedia codecs and software you could ever want pre-installed. Give it a try.
You can find it at http://www.distrowatch.com/ - John "FulciLives" Coleman | ||||||
| Nitemare posted 2008 May 08 05:52 | ||||||
I would love to see those links... maybe in a new topic? | ||||||
| GMaq posted 2008 May 08 07:36 | ||||||
| OK,
Nitemare and Fulci, I think your avatars are scaring potential converts away! :shock: :P :lol: | ||||||
| Nitemare posted 2008 May 08 08:18 | ||||||
Slightly off topic but I had to reply...
Hey! That's a picture of my mom! (I am SO going to hell... and Mother's Day is less than a week away too) | ||||||
| FulciLives posted 2008 May 08 11:49 | ||||||
LOL Salem's Lot scared the crap out of me when I was a kid ... I vividly remember watching it when it first aired on TV as a mini-series. Freaked me out so much I thought someone was gonna come a tappin' on my window so I had this cross (Catholic upbringing) that I would lay on my chest (it was meant to hang on the wall ... wasn't a necklace) but as I would start to fall asleep and "shift" my body (I tend to sleep in any position but my back even if starting out that way) the cross would start to slide off of my chest and I would wake up all panic stricken and put it back in place. Would take me ages to finally fall asleep. This probably went on for a week or so ... :lol: - John "FulciLives" Coleman | ||||||
| dphirschler posted 2008 May 08 12:43 | ||||||
| After I watched "Jaws" I was afraid to go to the toilet... but this is way off topic. LOL
Darryl | ||||||
| tekkieman posted 2008 May 08 12:44 | ||||||
No problem, but before starting, the :P was left off your quote of my original statement. I purposely put that in there so people would not take the statements too seriously. I will also ruin your reading enjoyment by stating that after reading the provided links you will realize that the claims are complete BS. With that in mind... Windows only BIOS Linux kills hard drives Using linux voids warranty Note: I had the link to the fans not working for a thread on the Ubuntu forums, but the text in the thread were deleted by OP request. In fact, a quick Google search will show it is far more common for the fans to never turn off when using linux. My original intent in posting the statement was quite tongue-in-cheek over the statement the the laptop hinge broke because the poster downloaded linux with that machine. I know the poster did not really believe this, but as someone who reads dozens (if not hundreds) of linux related stories and posts daily, I have found many people who actually do believe things like this (although the Windows only BIOS story is quite real). | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 09 20:25 | ||||||
| I have been trying to install Xubuntu 8.04 in this laptop since Thursday night - but it will not install!
Laptop specs are: Pentium 3 - 650mhz, 192MB SDRAM, 6GB HD. The Live CD works perfectly. The install process gets all the way to the "Installing system" box - "detecting file system..." - Progress bar gets to 15% - then the system stops responding. I tried to let it use the available space left on the drive (75%), then I tried to let it use the whole drive (100%) - same results. I tested the drive by reformatting it to NTFS and doing a fresh Windows XP install - worked perfectly. I then repartitioned the drive to free up 3GB and attempted to install Xubuntu again in the free space - same results. I tried to install Puppy Linux 4.0 in the free space and it worked perfectly - creating a dual boot system with GRUB. I then tried to install Xubuntu in the Puppy space - same results. Finally, I deleted the Puppy space partitions and created 2 new partitions - 2800MB ext3 file system, and 200MB swap space and then tried to install Xubuntu - again same results :evil: !! It is obviously having a problem with the partitioning - but what? It can obviously work on this laptop because the Live CD works. Any thoughts before I decide to hurt this computer!! | ||||||
| tekkieman posted 2008 May 10 10:29 | ||||||
| @Number Six - The fact that Puppy installed fine for you should mean there is nothing wrong with your laptop, so no need to hurt it. More likely, there is something wrong with either the CD or Xubuntu (at least 8.04).
Did you verify the MD5 sum after you downloaded it? Did you try burning the CD at a lower speed? (This is usually the #1 cause of install issues) Does Xubuntu have an alternate install CD like Ubuntu? Did you try that? 192M is probably fine for Xubuntu, but may not be enough to handle the install after loading the LiveCD into memory. Can you bump it to 256M? Disclaimer: Just some random thoughts before finishing the first cup of coffee. I could be wrong. | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 May 10 11:02 | ||||||
| Yeah I would try the alternate install (text based) cd.
Also honestly I would install version 7.10 and not 8.04. 8.04 just came out and there are likely to be unknown bugs. 7.10 is rock stable for me. http://releases.ubuntu.com/7.10/ | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 10 13:00 | ||||||
| Tekkieman - I was installing from the boot menu - not from inside the Live CD Desktop - so all the memory was available. I did check the CD with the option in the boot menu - it verified OK. I just did a md5 sum right now - also OK. The laptop is maxed out at 192MB.
Freebird - I am downloading Xubuntu 7.10 as I am typing this - It was difficult to find. I will try installing it shortly. The dual boot system with Windows XP actually is cool - I will keep the same config if I can get Xubuntu in there. This laptop is purely for experimenting purposes, so I can try all sorts of things with it :P . Puppy is nice - but I can't get it to access the internet with this laptop. Xubuntu 8.04 was able to get on the internet via the Live CD Desktop. I also prefer Firefox to SeaMonkey. | ||||||
| GMaq posted 2008 May 10 13:02 | ||||||
Couldn't agree more freebird! 7.10 really IS stable. This is my only complaint with Ubuntu, a six month release schedule is kind of ludicrous. External package maintainers like Getdeb.net barely get caught up with the latest release and a new one is out. In fact Getdeb already has pulled updating packages for 7.10 likely because they will be scrambling to keep up with the latest and greatest cutting edge packages for 8.04, they used to update packages as far back as 6.06! Also WineHQ has pulled it's 7.10 repo already. This is the kind of strong-arm tactics that have been demonstrated by another certain OS Company. While I understand Ubuntu has always done it this way, what's up with the third-party support being withdrawn for 7.10 so fast? I love 7.10 and have a lot of work tied up in customized and compiled programs, I don't really like being pushed from version to version. This is one thing that makes "Rolling" distros like MEPIS and Sidux kind of attractive, you can quite easily keep a given version current for a couple of years at least with regular dist-upgrades. I have also never had a computer balk at installing 7.10, I have already run into 2 machines whose IDE Controllers that don't like 8.04 at all. Trying 7.10 is good advice! | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 May 10 14:25 | ||||||
Yeah I thought I was helping by providing the link to 7.10 but I forgot we were talking about xubuntu and not ubuntu :oops: I need to pay more attention sometimes.
Yeah dual boot comes in very handy. While I personally havn't been in windows in quite a while it is nice to have the option if I need it. Keep trying. If you need anymore help post back. We'll help where we can. Good to see more people trying linux! | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 10 19:06 | ||||||
| OK - I got Xubuntu 7.10 installed :D .
I installed 127 updates that it wanted. I installed CD Player, Juk, and Kaffeine. It recognizes an audio CD and a DVD - but I can't get it to play - it says that plug-ins are missing or can't find device. I can't find a list of installed hardware to check the sound card and DVD-Rom drive. Also, how do you add or remove hardware? Update: I found plug-ins for MP3 and WMV and MPEG - so the sound card does work. Also, WAV works but MID does not. Still can't get CD and DVD to work. I installed VLC Media Player - CD now works - still no DVD. | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 May 10 21:22 | ||||||
| Download vlc through synaptic package manager. Works much better as it uses it's own internal codecs. | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 10 22:38 | ||||||
| Freebird - I was installing VLC while you were suggesting it :lol: . I also installed Wine and Power DVD. Still no playback from a DVD.
How can I see if the DVD drive is being recognized as a DVD drive and not only as a CD drive? The drive does recognize a DVD and I can see the file structure. DVD playback works perfectly when the laptop is booted into Windows XP. Update: OK - it will not play original DVD's that are copy protected, but it will play my discs that I recorded off of television :? !! Any ideas? | ||||||
| FulciLives posted 2008 May 10 23:38 | ||||||
| This is something you should bookmark as it is an essential resource:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ Type in "restricted formats" in the search box. Several links are presented. One of them says the following:
Remember if you just do the "short cut" of the last part that you would type in sudo apt-get install xubuntu-restricted-extras The docs for Ubuntu are pretty good especially under "community" where you find the how to do ... for all the "dirty" stuff like installing "non-free" stuff ... such as DVD codec player ummm stuff LOL Good Luck :) - John "FulciLives" Coleman | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 11 01:02 | ||||||
| Fulci - Thanks for the info - it worked great :D :D !
I can't believe it is 2am - I have to get up at 5am to go to work - but I had to get this working because it was driving me crazy. There is a lot to learn with Linux - you really need to know programming, which is something I try to avoid at all costs :P . Thanks to everyone for all the help!! | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 May 11 06:55 | ||||||
| It's just different. You didn't just automatically know how to work windows. You had to learn how to use it. Same with linux. As before. If you need more help just ask. We have a good community with many willing to help.
Enjoy! ;-) | ||||||
| Number Six posted 2008 May 17 13:16 | ||||||
| I finally had a chance to take a desktop hard drive with Ubuntu 8.04 installed on it and move it to a different PC - Ubuntu reconfigured itself without even asking for the install CD, everything seems to work perfectly.
So it seems that you can move a system drive to another computer without any problems. | ||||||
| freebird73717 posted 2008 May 17 21:20 | ||||||
Thank you for posting. That is good to know! | ||||||
| joeboomer628 posted 2008 Jul 23 22:36 | ||||||
| It's the old "which linux distro?" question again. For general usage I use SuSE. I also amuse myself by trying out various distros frequently. I suppose if I was going to use one variety all the time I would probable custom build one off a minimal distro so I have the apps I like. I just can't seem to shake the kid in a candy store syndrome with all the free distros available. Yes, I confess I have windoz also. It came with the prebuilt boxes. Now that I do my own building I can't see spending the bucks for XP or Vista. | ||||||
| edDV posted 2008 Jul 23 22:58 | ||||||
| Linuxworld Expo is coming up in SF. Each year I look at Linux and beef up for the Expo but I admit that nothing excited me last year re: video.
Granted, serious Linux is deep into the industry for servers but at the consumer level is anything happening other than playing with the desktop to make it more like Windows? http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/ |
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