Talk to me about Linux

spudmaster34 · #1 01-18-2008, 04:21 PM

So, a few months ago, I bought myself a laptop (Gateway MT6723). By that point in time, nothing was available without Vista, so I just decided to suck it up and deal with it.

Unfourtunately, Vista has failed to meet even my lowest of expectations and it pisses me off. An OS that uses half of my RAM just to run is not acceptable.

As I see it, my options are:
A.) Downgrade to XP,
Pros: I know it works, I know how to use it
Cons: Expensive (I don't want to steal a cracked version)
B.) Switch to Linux
Pros: I'm assuming most of the people who have opened this know the pros of Linux, I already use OpenOffice and The Gimp so I won't be missing many programs
Cons: I have never dealt with it before

Basicaly my questions are: which distribution would you recomoned? Is it easy enough to get it to dual boot with Vista? Should an amateur like myself even attempt this? Is it worth my time?
Thanks for the help.

Captain Chaos · #2 01-18-2008, 04:43 PM

Try Ubuntu. Also get Ubuntu Hacks, that book taught me a few tricks here and there (like how to install a printer or watch online videos.)

**Eric Perry** · #3 01-18-2008, 04:46 PM

Microsoft has made a deal with some 'puter companies, allowing them to "downgrade" to XP free of charge on new system purchases. I'd *definitely* check into it if I were you.

...Even MS knows Vista sucks!

Pilgrim · #4 01-18-2008, 04:46 PM

If the free downgrade option isn't available, I'd buy a sealed version of XP with the product key on Ebay. Cheaper than retail, nothing wrong with buying an official version with the product key. This isn't a slam against Linux - just that it's less headache to deal with a known version of software.

seanm · #5 01-18-2008, 04:51 PM

If you are a Linux newb, a laptop is not the place to start. Laptops tend to use more closed HW than desktops, don't know why. So they tend to be harder to get going.

That said, you *would* learn a lot. Everything on my Toshiba laptop works, including the web cam and the special Microsoft keys.

DigMe · #6 01-18-2008, 04:52 PM

How much RAM did you buy? Buying less than 2GB doesn't make sense at this point. Vista or not. I just bought 4GB of quality RAM for my new build and it was CHEAP.

bc

spudmaster34 · #7 01-18-2008, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric618

Microsoft has made a deal with some 'puter companies, allowing them to "downgrade" to XP free of charge on new system purchases. I'd *definitely* check into it if I were you.

Thanks for the tip, but it looks like its only for Buissiness and Ultimate, I have "Home Premium".

Jazz Ad · #8 01-18-2008, 05:02 PM

You forgot option C-Turn off all the gizmos and use the OS as such rather than a toy shop display. When properly configured, Vista doesn't eat much more memory than XP.
XP can be bought for like 30 on eBay anyway. Take note that if your computer is very recent, your DVD drive is most likely SATA and you won't be able to install XP from a CD.

Figjam · #9 01-18-2008, 05:03 PM

ubuntu ftw

seanm · #10 01-18-2008, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

You forgot option C-Turn off all the gizmos and use the OS as such rather than a toy shop display. When properly configured, Vista doesn't eat much more memory than XP.
XP can be bought for like 30 on eBay anyway. Take note that if your computer is very recent, your DVD drive is most likely SATA and you won't be able to install XP from a CD.

I tried that and it sucked. It looked worse than TWM. How do I turn off the eye candy without making it look horrible?

**Eric Perry** · #11 01-18-2008, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spudmaster34

Thanks for the tip, but it looks like its only for Buissiness and Ultimate, I have "Home Premium".

Bummer. Sorry dude.

msquared · #12 01-18-2008, 06:01 PM

Another vote for Ubuntu. Not only is it very well put together, but you can run it without actually installing it to make sure it will work with your machine.

**Eric Perry** · #13 01-18-2008, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

...XP can be bought for like 30 on eBay anyway...

I've seen this written a few times on here, but have never seen XP go for even double that price.

spudmaster34 · #14 01-18-2008, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigMe

How much RAM did you buy? Buying less than 2GB doesn't make sense at this point. Vista or not. I just bought 4GB of quality RAM for my new build and it was CHEAP.

bc

I got 2GB. The funds weren't really there for much more than that.

spudmaster34 · #15 01-18-2008, 08:05 PM

I'm thinking that trying Ubuntu off a disk may be the way to go. Thanks for the help and advice everyone.

mjolnir · #16 01-18-2008, 08:11 PM

I'm fond of PCLinux2007. It's what I'm using on my laptop and it's working great for me.

SuperDuck · #17 01-18-2008, 10:32 PM

There's no "easy" Linux distro. There's going to be something about every one of them that's going to give you a devil of a time. Even Ubuntu, which is supposed to "just work" can be a huge pain in the ass at times. I've had more trouble with Linux distributions than I have with Vista. I used Linux hardcore for a while and was in the process of creating one from scratch (check out Linux From Scratch if you're bored).

Then I got my new laptop, which came with Vista. That's pretty much all I use now.

Linux fans will go on and on about how inconvenient Vista is and how much M$ (you have to use the dollar sign, it's part of the Linux way) sucks, but they'll turn a blind eye to the pain the ass that is getting Java to work, or finding the right codecs to play DVDs, or installing the right codecs, or getting Beryl not to crash, or finding a distro that works with most of your hardware, or figuring out why transparency won't work in terminal, or realizing that no Linux distro supports your printer or your audio hardware...

middy · #18 01-19-2008, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperDuck

There's no "easy" Linux distro. There's going to be something about every one of them that's going to give you a devil of a time. Even Ubuntu, which is supposed to "just work" can be a huge pain in the ass at times. I've had more trouble with Linux distributions than I have with Vista. I used Linux hardcore for a while and was in the process of creating one from scratch (check out Linux From Scratch if you're bored).

Then I got my new laptop, which came with Vista. That's pretty much all I use now.

Linux fans will go on and on about how inconvenient Vista is and how much M$ (you have to use the dollar sign, it's part of the Linux way) sucks, but they'll turn a blind eye to the pain the ass that is getting Java to work, or finding the right codecs to play DVDs, or installing the right codecs, or getting Beryl not to crash, or finding a distro that works with most of your hardware, or figuring out why transparency won't work in terminal, or realizing that no Linux distro supports your printer or your audio hardware...

Yep. I've configured dozens of Linux servers and dozens of Linux desktops.

I still prefer it for servers, but I prefer Windows on the desktop, just because it's hassle free for the most part.

The only reason to use it on your desktop (IMHO) is if you really want to learn about unix. Use a more do-it-yourself distro like Slackware and figure out how it all works. Try to do as much by command line as possible, because that's where unix really shines compared to Windows. Soon you'll know more about make files and run levels and rc files and regular expressions than you ever really wanted to know.

Then, when you're comfortable with a unix shell and sick of trying to work around the dearth of drivers for all your gadgets, go back to Windows and stop geeking out on your operating system.

Komakino · #19 01-19-2008, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

If the free downgrade option isn't available, I'd buy a sealed version of XP with the product key on Ebay. Cheaper than retail, nothing wrong with buying an official version with the product key. This isn't a slam against Linux - just that it's less headache to deal with a known version of software.

If everyone thought this way we'd be sitting in caves trying to decide if rocks are edible.

Komakino · #20 01-19-2008, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperDuck

There's no "easy" Linux distro. There's going to be something about every one of them that's going to give you a devil of a time. Even Ubuntu, which is supposed to "just work" can be a huge pain in the ass at times. I've had more trouble with Linux distributions than I have with Vista. I used Linux hardcore for a while and was in the process of creating one from scratch (check out Linux From Scratch if you're bored).

Then I got my new laptop, which came with Vista. That's pretty much all I use now.

Linux fans will go on and on about how inconvenient Vista is and how much M$ (you have to use the dollar sign, it's part of the Linux way) sucks, but they'll turn a blind eye to the pain the ass that is getting Java to work, or finding the right codecs to play DVDs, or installing the right codecs, or getting Beryl not to crash, or finding a distro that works with most of your hardware, or figuring out why transparency won't work in terminal, or realizing that no Linux distro supports your printer or your audio hardware...

No offence dude, but did you try to find the most difficult to use distro or something? I've never had any of the issues you mention since the days of slackware 10, and with the current Ubuntu (gutsy) I've had no issues at all. Java was already installed (and even if it wasn't it's in the repository so I just have to click to install it). I thinik the only thing I've had to install was flash, and that was merely a case of downloading from adobe and running the installer. DVD codecs get installed automatically when you try to play a DVD, likewise mp3 codecs. My hardware all works on both my computers (a desktop and a laptop). Beryl is beta, so a few crashes are to be expected, although I haven't experienced any since it's been reunited with compiz, but then windows exporer crashes for no reason and takes everything else with it! Most printers, particularly HP ones, work out of the box, as does all but the very newest or some specialist sound hardware.

It's almost like you're talking from experience, but a good two years or so ago. Remember that the linux world moves MUCH MUCH faster than the windows world. I update my system maybe once a week...not once whenever MS decides they've patched enough holes to release another 'Service Pack'.