Linux opinions

[yawningdog]

I'd like to hear from people who have experience with linux. I'm considering it as an alternative to windows and want to know if I can and should. Does it work well? Is it complicated? What are advantages and or limitations? Which is the best version for a beginner? Feel free to ramble.

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He thrusts his fists against the posts but still insists he sees the ghosts.

[iisbob]

I've used corel, linux-mandrake and redhat, they are more in line for someone right now who feels comfortable with command line options( like DOS ) though the new KDE and GNOME desktops in Corel/linux-mandrake are pretty close to emulating the famous windows GUI-i would recommend linux-mandrake as a good first timers version because they've spent some time giving it a " windows " feel " and look; it's fun to mess around with and it's a lot more flexible than ol' bills OS.

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iisbob
"Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run."

[Rick]

I have to agree with Bob on this one.
With One exception . Corel Linux is No longer supported by Corel.
It is a debian distro of Linux so getting support is possible .
With a little effort

In addition Corel Linuxt lacks support for the latest kernal (2.4)and much of the newest hardware.
Again you can use Corel Linux but don't count on it installing correctly.
It failed to install completely on an AMD 1 and 1.2 Tbird based system.
Using Both Asus and Iwill KK266 mother boards.


Redhat 7.1 did install correctly on both systems with no errors or failures.

Linux is an easy O/S to learn if you but a little effort into it.
It will work on almost any system and the performance is better than the same system with windows 9x or above on it.

Most of the new distro's have graphic install programs and update systems built in.
Easy to use desktops . Gnome and KDE make getting started simple .
You can have as much control over every aspect of the system as you like.

If you share the system with another family member who may like to tinker and tends to mess things up. You can limit their access with the user profile.

You can do anything with Linux that you can do with Windows.
In many cases even faster.
Yes you can even run that windows program that you just can't live without under Linux.
Again with a little effort and one of the many windows emulators.

Many people even get those windows Games to run under linux.

The download version of most distro's are as complete and feature packed as any person would want.
One thing about spending the $39.00 for the retail version.
You do get the online support and ALL the documentation on disks.
4 CD's in Redhat package . 2 install disks 1 documentation and 1 source code.

If you try Linux. Start out with a standard desktop installation
Include Both GUI's and alternate between them. Till decide what you like best.

The only short coming that I have found is with Dial-up networking.
It uses the Unix dial-up standard and can be a bit of a hassle till you understand the way it works.
If you are comfortable with editing script files and or Ini files you will have no problem using it.

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To ERR is HUMAN
To REALLY screw things UP, YOU NEED a COMPUTER !

[Ghost_Hacker]

Linux is a great OS. I have worked with Redhat 7.0 and have had no problems. It's very easy to install and the lastest version (7.1) has the new kernal. I have never used Mandrake but have heard it's much easier to use then Redhat. I also agree with Rick buy your distro instead of downloading it from an FTP server,that way you get the source code and documentation, then install it with all the GUI options.The Linux's command line is not user friendly so use the GUI for most things at first till you've gotten a feel for your distro. Also don't forget to download and install all the latest patches. (yes ,Linux is just as "patch" happy as Windows or any OS for that matter.) Play around with it to see what you like and don't like. One of the great things about Linux is it's configuration files, they're much easier to work with than the Windows registry.


Two things I would also recommend is first get a copy of Bastille Linux.( I belive it works with all distros) This is a simple script that will walk you thur securing your Linux distro. Very important if you are going to use a broadband connection.
Second get a good Linux book (I use Redhat Linux 7 Unleashed) but any "unleased" ,"sams" ,"O"Reilly", or "for dummies" book should do. (there's lots of Linux documentation on the web so the book just needs to cover the basics)

Good luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Comment heard from a Klingon programmer.

"Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!"




[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 07-19-2001).]

[yawningdog]

Thanks all. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

I must say, I'm surprised to hear that it can run windows apps. I've heard that you generally cannot.

What's a good way to set this up? I figure on putting Linux on a seperate drive and I want to be able to choose between systems on boot. I'm also thinking of simply using removable drives and just inserting the drive with the system on it I want to use. Any reason I shouldn't do this? I am aware that Linux only needs its own partition to work ok (exept phat linux).

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You cannot break God's law. You can only break yourself upon it.

[iisbob]

Personally i just installed it on an old computer i had; but if i were going to put it on my working current system i would get a nother physical drive and install it ( 4-6 gb ) would be plenty.

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iisbob
"Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run."

[Ghost_Hacker]

When you install Linux it will give you the option to install LILO on a floppy. Then you can boot Linux from the floppy and Windows from the hard drive.

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Comment heard from a Klingon programmer.

"Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!"

[brianZ]

I recently installed RedHat 7.1 on my machine, I use LILO to boot into Dos or Linux. It takes a while to get used to the shell interface, but once you know the commands, there is incredible power at your fingertips! Be careful as in the root shell because you can mess things up if you're not careful! Well at any rate, Linux is indeed much more secure and powerful than windows. Have fun! brianZ

[tobias]

Hey,
Has anyone tried the SUSI package? The support is good and it comes with a lot of software. Still tinkering with it.