new to linux

[splintitan]

im a super noob and have no idea what it realy means to use a linux system. i have seen really cool things people have done with it but is it worth the trouble to stray from the comfort of windows? at the moment i have a ubuntu and fedora on vmware but dont know what to do with it.
as one who parted from his gaming pc for a laptop (e1405), also i have haerd of issues with linux graphic drives. i dont know anyone who can help so any point in the right direction is welcome.


It's been 9 years since the OP asked for help. As Maximilian pointed out, he's probably become a linux god by now.
admin allisolm

 

[Nothinman]

We do all the same things in Linux that you do in Windows, some things are more of a pain or just don't work like some Windows-only games but the rest of the is fine and in lots of cases better. The binary nVidia and fglrx drivers can be a bit of a PITA, I've actually had very few problems with the nVidia drivers on most of my systems. My laptop has been a bit problematic but laptops are usually unique in a lot ways so it depends heavily on the manufacturer how well they'll work. Supposedly Ubuntu Edgy will install and enable them by default (even though it's a GPL violation) so you might not even have to do anything if/when you install that. And installing it will be the only way you'll be able to find out if you like it better or not.

 

[daniel49]

Originally posted by: splintitan
im a super noob and have no idea what it realy means to use a linux system. i have seen really cool things people have done with it but is it worth the trouble to stray from the comfort of windows? at the moment i have a ubuntu and fedora on vmware but dont know what to do with it.
as one who parted from his gaming pc for a laptop (e1405), also i have haerd of issues with linux graphic drives. i dont know anyone who can help so any point in the right direction is welcome.

does that Job title come with a cape

for super easy linux I recommend pclinux os
Text
try the live cd for a look and feel of the distro.
There are drivers for ati and nvidia in the repo.
biggest challenge may be your wireless but thats getting better also.

also one out called mint I believe that is based on ubuntu and tries to make things easier for the windows convert.
http://www.distrowatch.com

 

[splintitan]

thanks, pclinux sounds interesting.

 

[DasFox]

Dude this is twice you've said:

"I dont know anyone who can help so any point in the right direction is welcome."

Hey look I don't mean to be rude or anything but you had problems reading the Linux post I made?

It's real simple just read it, then pick one, and try. Any one of the top 5 distros should not be a problem on just about most hardware out there.

There is nothing mysterious about this, and I don't know why you keep going around saying there is no one to help.

If you would of just read the Linux post and followed it you wouldn't be having problems, all you need to do is just pick one and use it.

Now you have someone here recommending PClinux, and as a super noob you claim to be, as I pointed out in this post you want to start at the TOP of the list and work your way down. The distrowatch list of 1-100 is there for a reason.

Now you complain there is no help, then you want to start at #6.

Ubuntu, openSuse, Fedora, and Mandriva, are going to be much better choices for you at this point in time then PClinux.

Oh well if you're not going to follow all the information in that post then I don't know what to tell, it's there for a reason.

Now PLEASE tell me, in all honesty you read everything in that post very carefully? If you did you forgot this part:

If you're not sure about your hardware, and the software support you need with the ease of use, again pick one of the top five. They are the top picks simply because they support the widest range of hardware and software no matter what your needs are.

ALOHA

 

[splintitan]

first, i dont see why you are twisting your panties. i cant try every distribution... and like i said, i have been trying ubuntu and fedore. But so far two main issues arise: I dont see any real difference between them, and i cant seem to get anything to work like installing desktop costumization progs. i am also confused abou the "free software" difference between ubuntu and linux mint. does ubuntu not allow downloaded songs and movies to be played? These seem to be noob faults.
Are my concerns not valid?

 

[nortexoid]

I don't see why you are not twisting *your* panties! (Or you sister's, at least.) Are you a straight heterosexual norm abiding citizen?!

 

[splintitan]

...? Well, thanks for the tips so far.

 

[imported_Ned Flanders]

3D Desktop rocks.

 

[Nothinman]

But so far two main issues arise: I dont see any real difference between them,

I guess that's at least partially a testament to their abstracting away the base of the system. The main differences are lower level stuff like the package manager, config file layout, etc while the packages themselves (Gnome, Xorg, etc) are largely the same although there will be differences in the selected packages that each distro chooses. The biggest difference from an end user's standpoint is the amount of packages in the official repositories, Ubuntu (once you enable universe and multiverse) has over 16,000 packages available right in Synaptic (or apt, aptitude or whatever front-end you want to use) but Fedora comes with their base system and that's about it, and if you want anything outside of that you'll have to look for 3rd party repos (not a good idea because you have to trust those repos implicitly) or compile stuff yourself which is a PITA.

i am also confused abou the "free software" difference between ubuntu and linux mint. does ubuntu not allow downloaded songs and movies to be played? These seem to be noob faults.

Linux 'mint' is just the kernel, it has no userland software so it's pretty useless by itself. And if anything Ubuntu is less free than the Linux kernel or some other distributions because they redistribute the non-free nVidia (and probably fglrx from ATI as well) drivers.

 

[Brazen]

First of all, there are subtle differences, mostly under the hood, as Nothinman pointed out, but they can affect how you set up and configure certain things. If you are trying to learn them both, you are going to get confused on how things are done in which distro. Personally, I would suggest go towards Ubuntu. It has fast user switching, a cleaner shutdown dialog, nicer system tools such as Synaptec and network configuration, and better community in the form of documentation, forum, and wiki. I was a diehard Redhat/Fedora fan and when Ubuntu 6.06 came out, I switched from Fedora. I have also recently started switching new servers from Redhat to Ubuntu Server 6.06 LTS.

As for your problems: there are simple answers in the ubuntu wiki or ubuntuguide.org. I suggest reading through those first, then you can ask more specific questions here.

 

[drag]

Just start off with Ubuntu.

Find their wiki, just look through it. Glance around. There is a official one and then there is unofficial ones that are usefull.
Register with their online forums, maybe say hi. Look at the help or troubleshooting stuff and see what problems other people are going through.
Find their IRC channel, you can probably get good help there.

Use it for a while until you feel comfortable. Then if your curious try out other distributions and you'll find something you may like better.

 

[DasFox]

splintitan no one has their knickers in a twist, just don't keep going around saying no one is helping.

Did you try openSuse 10.2?

desktop costumization progs? You mean like ---> Compiz ?

Opensource "free software" is the same in any Linux version, AKA Distro

You can download with P2P apps, and torrents in any Distro if this is what you're asking about songs and movies, it doesn't matter if it's Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, etc.. for something like this, they all work the same.

Also I said in the Linux post when you have a problem it's best to seek Tech support on IRC, not a forum for something like Linux, because it can be quite involved sometimes.

I suggest you go back and re read that post.

ALOHA

 

[splintitan]

DasFox, i never said there was no help, you just PMed me alot to find out for myself what people can tell me and save time.
thanks for all the tips so far. now to play around with the enableling universe and multiverse for the 16,000 packages available right in Synaptic.

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: splintitan
DasFox, i never said there was no help, you just PMed me alot to find out for myself what people can tell me and save time.
thanks for all the tips so far. now to play around with the enableling universe and multiverse for the 16,000 packages available right in Synaptic.

I believe in Edgy (6.10) there is one check box in the Synaptec options for each repo. Personally though, I like to edit my /etc/apt/sources file by hand so it looks like this:

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper main restricted universe
deb****** http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper main restricted universe

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-updates main restricted universe
deb****** http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-updates main restricted universe

#deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse
#deb****** http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ dapper-backports main restricted universe multiverse

deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted universe
deb****** http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper-security main restricted universe

Just change 'dapper' to 'edgy' and add multiverse to the end of each line if you want the multiverse repo.

 

[Brazen]

hmmm, '-src' is vulgar?

 

[sparks56]

im a super noob and have no idea what it realy means to use a linux system. i dont know anyone who can help so any point in the right direction is welcome.

Tell us what you need to do.
1. audio / video 2. programmng 3. applications
a. podcasts -> gpodder
b. books and news -> calibre
c. stars and stuff -> stellarium
d. email => thunderbird browser => firefox, chromium
e. office stuff => LibreOffice
f. pdf viewer = atril

IN SHORT it depends on your ability to learn or have someone do it for you.

 

[Maximilian]

Tell us what you need to do.
1. audio / video 2. programmng 3. applications
a. podcasts -> gpodder
b. books and news -> calibre
c. stars and stuff -> stellarium
d. email => thunderbird browser => firefox, chromium
e. office stuff => LibreOffice
f. pdf viewer = atril

IN SHORT it depends on your ability to learn or have someone do it for you.

Well its been 9 years since he posted that. OP has probably become a linux god by now. Or maybe he just stuck to windows... who knows.