Who Is Using Gnu/Linux?

[zpman]

So, who all is using GNU/Linux? Just curious. Which distro are you using? How successful has your experience with it been? What are your favorite applications? What are you using for P2P? Are you a newbie, or a hardcore geeky power user?

I am using Kubuntu (http://www.kubuntu.org/), Hoary Hedgehog 5.04, which is, of course, Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntulinux.org/), but with KDE (http://www.kde.org), instead of GNOME (http://www.gnome.org) (for those not familiar). (K)Ubuntu is a Debian-based distribution of GNU/Linux. My experience with Kubuntu has been great! Check out some screenshots (http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=306&slide=29&title=kubuntu+5.04+final+screenshots) of Kubuntu. I run kernel 2.6.10-5-386. I'm running KDE 3.4.2.

I have used many other distros, but this is by far one of my favorites. I have had little trouble with it. Some of my favorite applications include GIMP, apt/Synaptic, Audacity, XChat, XMMS, and of course the Konsole. For P2P, I am using Limewire 4.9, aMule, Pan (Newsgroups), and Azureus. I'm sorta in between a newbie and a totally geeked out power-user. I've been a user for a few years, I understand it pretty well, I know many commands. But I'm not there yet. I still need to look up things (a lot, lol). There are many unanswered questions. I'm looking foward to Breezy Badger, the newest release, this October.

So how about you? Anyone else using (K)Ubuntu? Or another distro? What Desktop Environment do you prefer? Post related comments please.

[evilmegaman]

Okay, I will reply!

First of after all of the reading I have done I have concluded that GNU/linux DOES NOT EQUAL linux. I do not believe I use a GNU/linux distro. Correct me if I am wrong.

Anyways, I dual boot with windows and Zenwalk Linux.

click here (http://zenwalk.org) to check out zenwalk linux.

My favorite Desktop Environment is XFCE (http://xfce.org)

The programs I use are: cedega, Wine, gaim, Firefox, and basically any program I can. And the nvidia drivers too ;).

I love zenwalk so much because it's hassle free and STABLE. I love zenwalk. It's great! (It's based on slackware too somewhat which is a plus!)

[mxpxsumblink4182]

Im using SuSE linux 9.3 pro. I switched over from windows xp about a month ago. The programs i use are Limewire, Azureus, Gaim, Firefox, and i run DivxToDVD through Wine. I am liking linux alot better than windows well except for burning dvds. Ive been having a bit of trouble finding a program to backup my dvd movies 1:1. Right now im using GNOME but i use KDE on occasion. Im still learning how to install tar.gz/bz files but im getting it.

[haakon]

I just switched to Ubuntu from Arch Linux. Been using Linux exclusively since 1998. I always say that if you are not dependant on Windows games, and you are interested in computers, there is no reason why you should not use Linux.

[Mels_Smileys45]

I'll only switch if MS does all the crap it says its trying to do with its next OS. So far I've never had a real reason to use it (I know - shoot me) Ive always been happy with windows, but that may change soon enough.

[mcovey]

using debian, and occasionally mepis on my desktop machine.
debian with fluxbox gui on my server.

[zarquon]

Got a dual boot ubuntu 5.04 and xp.

[ducttapeBigSexy]

Mandriva Limited Edition 2005 all the way here :)

Personally, I'm a fan of KDE - I find it's easy, powerful, and looks nice (Qt looks much nicer then GTK+, in my opinion)

Also, nice choice on p2p apps - that's my exact lineup for apps :)

And, hey, don't worry about being a n00b - trust me, I don't think you exactly want to be a true 1337 haX0r of Linux - those guys tend to freak me out :P

[black_magiic]

Kubuntu and WinXP Home. The only reason I hang onto windows is that all my games are for windows and I am a heavy gamer. If all my games ever run perfect on Linux or as close to as possible I will switch exclusively.

[evilmegaman]

I just switched to Ubuntu from Arch Linux.

Wow. That's what I call a downgrade IMO. Arch is probably the best linux out there. It might be somewhat tough to use and set up. But it's speedy and it has the best package manager EVER.

Why'd you choose ubuntu over arch? Ubuntu's never treated me well. I always seem to screw it up...

EDIT: blackmagic, try cedega. You can get it from transgaming.org if you want it for free (as source code of course) or you can pay for a subscription and get point2play, which is easy. But you can't use point2play without an account.

[ducttapeBigSexy]

I've personally tried Cedega - it's amazing that they run at all, but it's nothing specticular - games that run perfectly in Windows (over 60 fps - full screen, graphical options all the way up) can't run more then about 5 fps in Cedega full screen (with graphical options all the way up) - even on their officially supported games. But, don't take my word for it - I'd recommend checking it out - you might get better results.

However, games that are specifically made for Linux (UT2k4, Doom 3) run excellent in Linux - I personally only play UT2k4 in Linux anymore (and, the greatest part is, if you already own the game, for UT2k4, the installer for Linux is already on install disc 1, and for Doom 3 you can just grab the Linux installers off the net for free :) )

However, other then those games, I'm still stuck using Windows for gaming :( But, here's hoping developers get on the ball!

[haakon]

Wow. That's what I call a downgrade IMO. Arch is probably the best linux out there. It might be somewhat tough to use and set up. But it's speedy and it has the best package manager EVER.

Why'd you choose ubuntu over arch? Ubuntu's never treated me well. I always seem to screw it up...
Well I used Arch for some 1.5 years, and I love the simplicity focus of it. But after a major hardware switch I had to reinstall anyway, so I figured I'd try something new. Initially the point was that Arch has no amd64 version while Ubuntu does, but I ended up using 32-bits Ubuntu anyway. So far I'm very happy with Ubuntu. Arch's "rolling release" often meant broken packages, which you never see on Ubuntu. I'll try Ubuntu for a while, and if I don't like it in the end, there is always Arch to fall back on :)

[zpman]

Wow. That's what I call a downgrade IMO. Arch is probably the best linux out there. It might be somewhat tough to use and set up. But it's speedy and it has the best package manager EVER.

Why'd you choose ubuntu over arch? Ubuntu's never treated me well. I always seem to screw it up...

EDIT: blackmagic, try cedega. You can get it from transgaming.org if you want it for free (as source code of course) or you can pay for a subscription and get point2play, which is easy. But you can't use point2play without an account.

What problems did you have with Ubuntu? I haven't had any. Did you use any guidelines for Ubuntu? Were your issues hardware related or library related? Did you find Ubuntu harder to use than Arch? Or did you just not like it as much for another reason? Just curious. I tried Mepis(live boot) and wasn't impressed the way I was with (K)Ubuntu.

The beauty of GNU/Linux, is the fact that there is so much choice. There are so many different flavors. This allows you to choose which one you like best. Whatever best suits your needs is best for you.

I've tried many many distros, and Kubuntu just happens to run the best on my computer. Mandriva gave me nothing but errors. Fedora was slow as a snail. I wanted Debian so I tried a few Debian-based distros and found my favorite.

I've had the pleasure of installing a Slackware system from scratch. I did this a little while back when I was an intern at college. My mentor insisted using Slack, cause he heard it was the hardest to install. It wasn't that hard. I did need a calculator, to measure partiton size. We got a great working system in a couple of hours. It wasn't all that hard.

I still prefer Debian-based distros. I cannot live without apt-get. It is just so simple. It's not that I can't install libraries manually, and compile many applications. This is no problem. Apt-get just makes upgrades so nice and non-complex. A few commands and you are done. I don't have to spend hours configuring things after a fresh install to get a good working system. I don't want to spend all of my time configuring everyday things. I'd rather spend my time configuring more complex things, hehe. I've even gotten my old scanner to work, and better than on Windows. It took some pretty good hacking, but it works.

That said, I always recommend (K)Ubuntu for beginners and non-beginners alike. But to each his own.

[sam923]

In our company we use mostly Red Hat 9 as servers. More recently, we have a Red Hat 9 server to be used as the Akeni Enterprise IM server. It is running great and very stable.

[AgentOrange]

Ubuntu is Debian based. I really like Debian, i think apt-get is a very clean system. Debian has by far the most packages (RedHat rpm's do not count, RPM's are a broken broken system). With debian you can choose to install one of thousands of peaces of software with one simple command.

When I am choosing an operating system I look for the number of packages (or ports) it has. Last I checked windows has none which makes windows difficult to use and maintain, as well as making the entire system insecure. When you get debian you not only have a stable operating system but access to tens of thousands of peaces of software that is extremely easy to install and update. Even if the software you install doesn’t have an auto-update feature, apt-get will update it when a new version is available. This makes Debian very secure.

I use KDE, sometimes fluxbox (mainly on older systems). As far as file sharing I use Azureus, sometimes limewire but defiantly GIFT!!!!

If you are interested in running multiple operating system I suggest snagging a copy of VMware workstation. I am sure you can find a demo on your favorite p2p network ;D
I have vmware running on my debian system and i am able to boot as many copies of windows as i want, as well as OSX (x86) and Sun's Solrius 10!

[truelyme]

I've been running linux now for a few months, so call me a newbee to it still. I have tried quite a few distros but something about the Ubuntu seems a bit more "friendlier" when coupled with the unoffical help guide and their forums. On the whole, I don't believe I have ever had to make a post there for help, I only needed to use the search function for finding where someone else had the same problem and what their answer was.

On fav programs, BitTorrent, Firefox, Gimp for the digital camera, Gnomebaker for the burner, Nvidia drivers for the video card, XChat, VLC for Gtk++, the open office suite, and XMMS are among the most used.

While I like KDE, I thought that I would give the Gnome a chance; how could I ever say that I preferred one over the other without giving both a through test drive?

[Kabifff]

I'm as green as it gets when it comes to Linux, but I'm trying to get the knoppix installer to give me the proper permissions to install to my hard drive. I'm definitely a fan though, I just hate trying to find drivers for it.

[MorphineInduced]

well all i can say is Gnome has been already been looked down on by the creater of Linux ...... and KDE is alot better if you were to ask me ....... iv ran both and i have ran most of the distro's that are out there...... and alot of people do go to Ubuntu since they say its more friendlier ....... but i would say if your just starting out to go with SuSE 10.0 ..... it honestly is the easiest distro that is out there ...... and there community is one of the friendliest out there if you ask me. ......... they claim how Ubuntu is so friendly but its not to say they arent but they do have problems with people that know what they are doing looking down on noobs and have had to post it in many places on how they need to stop....... but it doesnt from what i saw ..... from some of the answers i seen given to people ........

I dont want you to think Ubuntu or the people on there are fucked up ..... Im just saying that if your looking for a distro that would be good to learn on and people that are guarentteed to be nice no matter how stupid your question might actually be ...... then i would go with SuSe 10.0 ....... they have many forums written out on how to set it all up and what not just like the rest but well with YaST2 which comes on SuSE ...... it makes updating really simple........

Now knoppix is what got me hooked on Linux...... its great to learn on if u ask me ....... give Kubuntu a try sometime

[lifehacker]

Im using Fedora Core 4 Linux.

[nightshadow]

....Gnome has been already been looked down on by the creater of Linux....

What factual basis do you base this on?
I mean really, why would the developer of the kernel (Linus Torvald) give a rats a$$ what GUI you use?
I do agree with you that SUSE is a pretty good distro though, currently it's the only one I toy with when I have the time, but at least provide facts not your biased opinion.

-Linux is not an operating system it is only the kernel!

[.:sp00ky:.]

well all i can say is Gnome has been already been looked down on by the creater of Linux ...... and KDE is alot better if you were to ask me ....... iv ran both and i have ran most of the distro's that are out there...... and alot of people do go to Ubuntu since they say its more friendlier ....... but i would say if your just starting out to go with SuSE 10.0 ..... it honestly is the easiest distro that is out there ...... and there community is one of the friendliest out there if you ask me. ......... they claim how Ubuntu is so friendly but its not to say they arent but they do have problems with people that know what they are doing looking down on noobs and have had to post it in many places on how they need to stop....... but it doesnt from what i saw ..... from some of the answers i seen given to people ........

I dont want you to think Ubuntu or the people on there are fucked up ..... Im just saying that if your looking for a distro that would be good to learn on and people that are guarentteed to be nice no matter how stupid your question might actually be ...... then i would go with SuSe 10.0 ....... they have many forums written out on how to set it all up and what not just like the rest but well with YaST2 which comes on SuSE ...... it makes updating really simple........

Now knoppix is what got me hooked on Linux...... its great to learn on if u ask me ....... give Kubuntu a try sometime


You type.......like a.......retard......stop it.

[MorphineInduced]

he doesnt care what you use ..... he was comparing kde and gnome with each others pros and cons .... ..... if you dont believe me then thats fine ...... just go do the research about it , the article from what i remember is only a month old i think ..... also maybe you need to do the research before you go around telling people they are making shit up ....... if i saved my threads from my RSS reader i would link it to you so you could get caught up on what is going on ......



and typing out words with out the proper grammer doesnt rank you on a intellectual level

[Auggie2k]

Easy with the comments MorphineInduced, don't make me close this thread.

[MorphineInduced]

o wait a sec ..... someone can say something smart to a person and they cant be a smart ass in return...... thats pretty lame ........ or is it because you know the person ....... maybe you need to get off my back , because its not like i dont remember when you were even a smart ass to me at one point in time when i first came around here ...... apparently its ok for the select few in here to do that ........ next time when you go around giving warnings maybe when you do it in a post , you should prolly say something to both people not just to the person that was insulted ...... sounds kind of backwards to me bud......

[The Hunter]

Well Im saying to both of you "take it easy" and I have never known auggie to show favoritism to anyone.

[Auggie2k]

because its not like i dont remember when you were even a smart ass to me at one point in time when i first came around hereWhen in the hell was this? I barely know you...

[nightshadow]

Greetings Auggie, but then again I guess we've already met?
I'm aware of the rather old article, the point of it was he only showed a preference to the KDE implimentation, and that has been misconstrued in many more places then where he probably got it from.
Anyway I'll drop it.

truelyme has the right idea try them both and see which works and looks best to you.

[mfgbypooter]

When in the hell was this? I barely know you...Doesn't this guy smell kinda like freeloader to you?

*

[.:sp00ky:.]

and typing out words with out the proper grammer doesnt rank you on a intellectual level

The same intellectual level as someone who can't spell grammar? :P

also I don't care how people spell I know my english is crap but when I look at your posts all I see is lots of random dots like its written in morse code its very hard on the eyes.

[The Hunter]

Both of you just drop it. Ok?

[Nogoodpunk42]

I want to install linux I don't know what to do now. I heard Debian is good but, what is that; the distro? and what's with the GUI? I thought that was part of the distro? Please someone explain this to me. Thanks in advance.

[nightshadow]

Yes, debian is a distrobution or distro for short. Personally I'd recommend trying SUSE, but I don't have any experience with Debian so I can't recommend against that one either.
Each distrobution offers a different selection of GUI's or none at all in some cases. Currently KDE and Gnome are the largest most developed and consequintly most popular, so they are included in most distrobutions. Basically the GUI's are a collection of programs and graphical items that make up the look and feel of the operating system. Changing the GUI can make things look completely different, but basic system operations remain unchanged. Really the best way to see the difference is to install a distrobution and try them out. Unlike windows you can switch between more than one GUI if you've chosen to install them.

If your not ready to make a big switch to Gnu/Linux I recommend trying a "Live" version first, that should help answer most of your questions and leave you with no permanent effects.

[Nogoodpunk42]

thanks a lot - I did know what a GUI was but, I didn't know that GUI's are included and you could switch between them. I have another computer sitting in my closet I was just going to toy around with. what's a "live" version? is that where you boot from cd rather than install to hard drive? oh and one more question...if I have windows plugged into one port on my router and plug a linux system into another port would I get internet on both systems? I'm guessing yes but, I'm not 100% more like 98%. THanks again for your help.

[nightshadow]

The answer to all those questions is Yes, and good luck.

[Nogoodpunk42]

thanks I'll try it tonight

[MorphineInduced]

try Kubuntu or Knoppix if you are interested in just running a live cd for starters

[multi]

used Redhat 6 when that came out switched to Gentoo* sometime in 2002
dual boot with XP
run WindowsXP/98SE and DOS6.22 in vm-ware when in linux
(not usually at the same time ;) )




*Gentoo has a package management system called portage.
Portage is the package management system for Gentoo (http://gentoo-wiki.com/Gentoo), and is based off of the BSD (http://gentoo-wiki.com/BSD)'s ports system.
It distills the process of building a program from it's source code into one command: "emerge <program name>".
When you type emerge <program name>, it finds an 'ebuild', which is a text file that explains how to:

Download the source code for the program you want (lists addresses to get it)
Apply any patches (recent updates/changes, they come as small snippets of code that are inserted into the source you just downloaded)
Go through the steps of putting together the source code.
Install it to the right location, keeping track of it so you can remove it later by typing "emerge unmerge <program name>" You can sit back and watch that all scroll by when it's building your program for you.

[MorphineInduced]

Thats pretty nifty .... I might try that distro sometime , sounds interesting

[vixenk]

I'm a newb myself to Linux. Talked about giving Windows the boot *no pun intended* for several years but never got around to actually doing it, until like 5 days ago. I tried out Kubuntu first - BIG mistake. I couldn't get a bunch of drivers to work right. For example, Kubuntu insisted on running my resolution at like 800x600 and didn't give me any options to change it in the resolution menu. The Kubuntu forums tried to help me out, but nothing worked, and hardly anything was explained to me, they just threw terminal commands at me right and left *I don't like doing things without understanding what it is I'm doing*. The last thing they suggested caused a BSD at start up, and it was at that point I gave up. I didn't have a clue as to how to fix it short of reinstalling, and I couldn't get to the forums to ask because well, I had a blue screen, lol.

So I installed Mandrake 10 with KDE, and then Mandriva 2006 when I found out Mandrake 10 was rather outdated, lol. No driver issues, and other than the initial figuring out how to install 3rd party software that was packaged in tar.gz and bin files, things have went smoothly. No driver issues, no fuss, just A LOT of research, exploring, and experimentation. I'm having a little trouble understanding the file system itself, but that that was to be expected. I've already learned a bunch of commands to use in the terminal, and UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY DO, lol. The thing I love about Mandriva so far is most things can be done in the graphical enviroment without using the terminal, but the terminal is there if you need/want to use it, and Mandriva doesn't seem to try to babysit you as much as Windows does on its default settings.

I haven't installed any P2P yet, mostly because the main things I use are forums, IRC, and bittorrent. I'll probably install Azureus soon though, as it was the bittorrent app I used with Windows when I needed to run a tracker.

I haven't tried out any desktop enviroments other than KDE so far. I'll probably try them out eventually out of curiousity, but right now I'm happy with KDE. :)

[MorphineInduced]

I am glad everything is going much better for you since you switched to Mandriva ....... the Ubuntu Breezy had the same problems with some of my drivers but for the most part it ran clean .... Im sorry to hear though you were having blue screens with Kubuntu

[The Hunter]

A good friend of mine started using Linux, first trying the live cd versions, and this thread will take you through all of his hits, and misses when going through the learning process.

http://www.p2pconsortium.com/index.php?showtopic=5422

[Spyder810]

If your not ready to make a big switch to Gnu/Linux I recommend trying a "Live" version first, that should help answer most of your questions and leave you with no permanent effects.


Anyone new to Linux should try DSL(DamnSmallLinux),its only about 50MB, it can be installed, run off a cd, run within windows(through use of Qemu) and bootable off usb storage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_Small_Linux

[SoreVexed]

i used gnu for a while before specializing my own. its nice i guess.

"Software? Sorry officers no software here, I only have hardware! " -----I'm loving it nightshadow!

[Cydor]

Im using SuSE linux 9.3 pro. I switched over from windows xp about a month ago. The programs i use are Limewire, Azureus, Gaim, Firefox, and i run DivxToDVD through Wine. I am liking linux alot better than windows well except for burning dvds. Ive been having a bit of trouble finding a program to backup my dvd movies 1:1. Right now im using GNOME but i use KDE on occasion. Im still learning how to install tar.gz/bz files but im getting it.


just like you...I still don't understand how to install programs in Linux....God, why does it have to be this complicated?.....btw- Am liking SUSE linux very much!

Any one want to give me some directions on how to install programs in Linux?

I appreciate it.......cuse am a Linux Newbie, lol

[pecavi]

just like you...I still don't understand how to install programs in Linux....God, why does it have to be this complicated?.....btw- Am liking SUSE linux very much!

Any one want to give me some directions on how to install programs in Linux?

I appreciate it.......cuse am a Linux Newbie, lol

Perhaps if you give one or two specific examples of what software title you'd
like to install....
Basically, there are .tar.gz files; these are source packages which require compiling. Then there's .rpm (a popular package type for RedHat, SUSE and most linux distros) , .deb packages (Debian and its derivatives), .tgz (Slackware and derivatives)...
sounds complicated, but after a few .rpms you'll get the hang of it...
This link should be of help to lesser experienced folks:
http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/linux-hn/rpm

p.s.: Try a few rpms before compiling your own packages from source!
p.p.s: In a hurry? Refuse to read HOWTOs?
Try this command in a root shell (terminal): rpm -Uvh any_rpm_package.i386.rpm