Anyone use Linux?

[Greg]

OK, I screwed up and didn't get a Mac. I don't like Windows Vista and was thinking about trying Linux OS. Is a genius certificate required? Any input? Mahalo, Greg

[Carey]

Hubby says "if you haven't used Unix before, you will have to learn it. It is a text command line based system, but has a GUI interface overlay. You can do a lot of things without using a command line, but if you want to get into specifics, like peripheral drivers, you will need to get into the command lines."
If you are like me, this is all Geek language, but he is putting up wall board, so I am typing.

[bystander]

I just got this MS Vista PC I'm using to write this and it really sucks. I have to say that I see no improvment over XP or 2000. I tried RedHat once many years ago but did not like it. There was a lack of hardware driver support back then but things may have changed since.

[Daniel]

Mac OS 10.5 here soon. Really cool if you havent already checked it out.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/features/

I wanna get one.

Daniel R Diamond

[JohnS]

I am your local open source advocate and consultant. I use linux almost exclusively. Hubby is mistaken - there are dozens of graphical user interfaces for linux with all the features (and better) of Windows. I use KDE; Gnome is another popular one.

Personally I use the Debian distribution (debian.org) of linux, however there are dozens to choose from. For home desktop users wishing to escape from the Borg (Micro$oft) Ubuntu linux (ubuntu.com)is highly regarded as one of the most user-friendly "newbie" installations. To try linux without having to install it at all, you can download and burn a bootable CD image such as Knoppix (knoppix.com) and boot from CD to check it out (note that it will be SLOW because everything is loading off CD instead of hard drive).

Most distributions come with all the essential open source applications bundled - Firefox web browser, Thunderbird mail program, OpenOffice office suite (which handles Microsoft Office's proprietary file formats quite well in most cases and by default uses the Oasis international standard XML document format) and so on. The GIMP is your Photoshop replacement; Scribus is your PageMaker or Quark replacement; most major applications have equivalents in open-source land, and there is tons of specialized software, games, educational, etc..

Note that most open source replacements for Microsoft's (or Adobe's etc.) proprietary software are also available for Windows and Mac OS, so even if you don't want to switch operating systems (to linux) you can still get the power of open source applications on whatever OS you currently use.

Note also that Mac OS X is built on an open source base called Darwin, with the Mac proprietary GUI layered on top.

I am available for consulting on open source software as well - I don't visit this forum very often so contact me directly for more info.

cheers,
John S.

[oink]

I still use Xp but I have been using Open Office for several years. It is an excellent substitute for MS Office, and is free. I is continually improving. It can open MS files and save as MS file types. I'm very pleased with the spread sheet. I still like the Word Perfect word processor interface better though.
Knoppix is a handy tool to have.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

Edited by - oink on 09/20/2007 18:23:15

[wyatt]

Wow, you guys make me understand how little I know.
I would like to try a linux system some day.

Wyatt

[Aaron S]

Open Office tip for Windows and Linux I found on a forum I read.

1.Open Oo Writer, then select tools.

2.Select the memory option on the left.

Reduce the amount of undo steps to 20 or 30(from 100)
For graphics cache, set it to 128mbs.
Set memory per object to 20mbs.
Set cache for inserted objects to 20mbs.
Check or uncheck quickstarter. (optional)

3.Select the java option on the left side.
Uncheck use java runtime as this is just for sllly dialogues anyway.

Close and restart Oo. It should be much faster now.



Edited by - Aaron S on 09/21/2007 05:49:24

[Beachboy]

quote:

---

OK, I screwed up and didn't get a Mac. I don't like Windows Vista and was thinking about trying Linux OS. Is a genius certificate required? Any input? Mahalo, Greg

---

Greg, just go ahead and get a Mac! The OS is built on Unix Kernal( BSD), meaning it's rock solid and won't crash at all! But what Apple has done is making the end users experience as painless as possible! Which is cool about the new Intel Mac is you are not limited to Mac OS even though it is the best out there! You can operate Windows on it if you had too, and any version of Linux will run on an Intel Mac. You can partition you HD and have all three on them.

If you like iPods, iPhones, then you'll also be blown away by a Mac! Without a doubt they make the best Laptops on the market! Apple spends three times as much money in R & D than any other computer Co. out there and it shows. They are really easy to learn on to ig you're new to computing!