Linux Me vs Linux: Preparing for Round 5

zhopudey

zhopudey

Skilled
Hear we go again. :eek:hyeah:

I've d/led the Ubuntu random animal of the year CD. Have a few doubts before taking the plunge again.

I'll be able to install it just fine. Have reinstalled linux probably more times than darkstar :eek:hyeah: Then I'll d/l the drivers, updates, and any extra s/w I need. Its after this stage that things start acting up. So, I would like to create a new iso with all these updates. If ubuntu borks up on me, I wouldn't have to waste bandwidth d/ling everything again. How do I do this?

Better yet, any idea if acronis true image bootable cd will let me create an image of the install?

Another important doubt - Many times I screw something up, and X doesn't start. I'm stuck at the command prompt. I'm dead sure that X can be reset and restarted from the command line, if only someone will tell me how to! :p

A quick search reminded me that PCLOS had worked great for me last time. How does it compare to Ubuntu now? Any other distro I should try out?
 
zhopudey said:
Another important doubt - Many times I screw something up, and X doesn't start. I'm stuck at the command prompt. I'm dead sure that X can be reset and restarted from the command line, if only someone will tell me how to! :p
Click to expand...
startx or init 5 would start the x. if you get any error, then we gotta look into the logs.
 
My fiancee has installed Ubuntu on a system which he uses as a server..

I tried using it as a desktop system for a few days, but frankly, Linux is still far far away from Leopard or Windows in terms of usability

Don't get me wrong, it (seemingly) works great as a server platform but is far from prime for everyday usage

(Unless you are a very basic, grandma types user, in which case it works perfect)

Anything advanced requires 10 minutes of google searches and another 30 minutes of implementation time before it gets working..

which reminds me of the time he got a new HDD and tried adding it to the system.

It took 15 minutes of googling and 15 minutes of some gibberish (from my point of view) stuff that needed to be done via the commandline for something relatively trivial
 
Welcome to TE, sally :)

I agree with you that linux is not really there yet for mainstream everyday usage. I try it out once every few months just for kicks :)
 
zhopudey said:
I agree with you that linux is not really there yet for mainstream everyday usage. I try it out once every few months just for kicks :)
Click to expand...

Thats something I have been telling people again and again. :p Free OS like Linux is nice to play around, but not very practical for every day use.

It may just be good for students and researchers or people with minimal requirements to use But for any serious use, you have a lot of maintainence overhead on your hands. corporates using Linux have to hire people especially to take care of this. Its a common myth that Linux can be installed by anyone with a bit of experience installing OS and then you can keep to aside and forget about it.

I have been installing and trying out various flavors of Linux over the last 12 years and never have I come across a distribution thats well suited for mainsteam use.

The best way for keeping Linux around without having to worry about its maintainance is to use Virtual Box and run it on a Virtual Machine. Core 2 processors are even optimized for such use with their hardware virtualization support.

Anyone having a Core 2 class processor and 2GB+ RAM can have a virtual machine running inside their primary OS without loosing responsiveness of either OS. Dedicate a processor core and a decent chunk of RAM for the Virtual Machine and you will not even feel that its running from inside another OS. You can just keep backups of the virtual hdds with your favorite apps already installed and if anything screws up, you still have the backup. :p
 
Another important doubt - Many times I screw something up, and X doesn't start. I'm stuck at the command prompt. I'm dead sure that X can be reset and restarted from the command line, if only someone will tell me how to!
Click to expand...

if startx or init 5 dosnt work as suggested by booo try this.

Code: 
gdm

if it says gdm dosnt found...try this

Code: 
sudo apt-get --reinstall install gdm

then try again with gdm.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
The best way for keeping Linux around without having to worry about its maintainance is to use Virtual Box and run it on a Virtual Machine. Core 2 processors are even optimized for such use with their hardware virtualization support.

Anyone having a Core 2 class processor and 2GB+ RAM can have a virtual machine running inside their primary OS without loosing responsiveness of either OS. Dedicate a processor core and a decent chunk of RAM for the Virtual Machine and you will not even feel that its running from inside another OS. You can just keep backups of the virtual hdds with your favorite apps already installed and if anything screws up, you still have the backup. :p
Click to expand...

I have worked with vmwares in my previous company where I installed many popular flavours on vmware. all you need to do is give it decent amount of ram like 512 mb.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
Thats something I have been telling people again and again. :p Free OS like Linux is nice to play around, but not very practical for every day use.

It may just be good for students and researchers or people with minimal requirements to use But for any serious use, you have a lot of maintainence overhead on your hands. corporates using Linux have to hire people especially to take care of this. Its a common myth that Linux can be installed by anyone with a bit of experience installing OS and then you can keep to aside and forget about it.

I have been installing and trying out various flavors of Linux over the last 12 years and never have I come across a distribution thats well suited for mainsteam use.

The best way for keeping Linux around without having to worry about its maintainance is to use Virtual Box and run it on a Virtual Machine. Core 2 processors are even optimized for such use with their hardware virtualization support.

Anyone having a Core 2 class processor and 2GB+ RAM can have a virtual machine running inside their primary OS without loosing responsiveness of either OS. Dedicate a processor core and a decent chunk of RAM for the Virtual Machine and you will not even feel that its running from inside another OS. You can just keep backups of the virtual hdds with your favorite apps already installed and if anything screws up, you still have the backup. :p
Click to expand...

i don't agree with you. Newer versions of Ubuntu are very easy to use and provide a GUI interface for almost everything. My office colleagues have used Ubuntu without any pain. If you are a normal PC user who doesn't play games and is not heavily dependent on Microsoft software, you can easily do without MS Windows.
 
montylee said:
i don't agree with you. Newer versions of Ubuntu are very easy to use and provide a GUI interface for almost everything. My office colleagues have used Ubuntu without any pain. If you are a normal PC user who doesn't play games and is not heavily dependent on Microsoft software, you can easily do without MS Windows.
Click to expand...

We'll see about that :eek:hyeah:
 
If you are a normal PC user who doesn't play games and is not heavily dependent on Microsoft software,
Click to expand...

define "Normal PC user"

If this segment consists only of two extremes (e.g. My Grandma and true-blue nerds), perhaps you are right

And if you disagree, a few sample questions for you to answer:

a) How to add a new storage disk in three easy steps

b) How to map a network drive in three easy steps

c) How to play MP3s in three easy steps
 
If you are a normal PC user who doesn't play games and is not heavily dependent on Microsoft software, you can easily do without MS Windows
Click to expand...

That statement strikes me as a textbook Paradox.:eek:hyeah:

according to me the definition of normal PC user is by itself a person who uses only MS products not because he/she likes them or prefers them but because they dont know they have an option. about 90% of PC users have never heard of Linux. They think there is only one OS in the world(if they know what an OS is) and thats windows. if everybody knew that there was a better option available, things would be different.
 
montylee said:
i don't agree with you. Newer versions of Ubuntu are very easy to use and provide a GUI interface for almost everything. My office colleagues have used Ubuntu without any pain. If you are a normal PC user who doesn't play games and is not heavily dependent on Microsoft software, you can easily do without MS Windows.
Click to expand...

i agree with you .
newer versions are user friendly.
it was programming that made me switch to linux.....i use MANDRIVA
as far as basic things are conserned playing , music , video ,surfing,etc they are as simple as on windows OS .
photo editing..is better than tht on windows ....thats my view .

its also handy to install softs.....which are in .rpm format ...

BUT i had problem installing NVIDIA dirvers ......which were of some other format .
only drawback i see no GAMES......there are games for linux ....most (almost all) good games are on windows platform .

n wahtever happened to my windows OS (crashed , gone bad,etc) , linux was always untouched ...........so i can say it's more safe on linux .

there are problems for me......coz frm. start i have been using WINDOWS OS .....so naturally i had some problems in installing drivers , troubleshooting .

if anyone is made to use Linux from start....and then if he is asked to use WINDOWS OS ...he might feel WINDOWS OS as difficult to use
 
sally1708 said:
And if you disagree, a few sample questions for you to answer:
a) How to add a new storage disk in three easy steps
b) How to map a network drive in three easy steps
c) How to play MP3s in three easy steps
Click to expand...

1) Post your query on some linux forums
2) Follow the suggestions given
3) If it still doesn't work, goto #1.

:eek:hyeah:

PS: Google ads are great! Acronis True Image Echo server for linux, here I come! :)
 
zhopudey said:
Hear we go again. :eek:hyeah:

I've d/led the Ubuntu random animal of the year CD. Have a few doubts before taking the plunge again.

I'll be able to install it just fine. Have reinstalled linux probably more times than darkstar :eek:hyeah: Then I'll d/l the drivers, updates, and any extra s/w I need. Its after this stage that things start acting up. So, I would like to create a new iso with all these updates. If ubuntu borks up on me, I wouldn't have to waste bandwidth d/ling everything again. How do I do this?

Better yet, any idea if acronis true image bootable cd will let me create an image of the install?

Another important doubt - Many times I screw something up, and X doesn't start. I'm stuck at the command prompt. I'm dead sure that X can be reset and restarted from the command line, if only someone will tell me how to! :p



A quick search reminded me that PCLOS had worked great for me last time. How does it compare to Ubuntu now? Any other distro I should try out?
Click to expand...

That answers most of the part.. Though I won't recommend PCLOS as its too old and newer version is under development/ Why don't you try Mandriva 2009.0 Gnome version, PCLOS has been derived from Mandriva only :p Or should say its fork of both Mandriva and Ubuntu..

SO try Mandriva 2009.0 , check its review here http://www.techenclave.com/reviews-and-previews/mandriva-linux-2009-0-review-mixed-121553.html

Do not forget to check its Errata page 2009.0 Errata - Mandriva Community Wiki

sally1708 said:
define "Normal PC user"

If this segment consists only of two extremes (e.g. My Grandma and true-blue nerds), perhaps you are right

And if you disagree, a few sample questions for you to answer:

a) How to add a new storage disk in three easy steps

b) How to map a network drive in three easy steps

c) How to play MP3s in three easy steps
Click to expand...

1. Its simple , All major Linux detect and mount external storage easily, and if its cleanly removed from WIndows you can access it right away in case of NTFS partitions..

2. I have no idea about networking and samba stuff. If I knew I would have tell you ....

3. Gosh ! How you play files in Windows , Double Click damed.. ! In Ubuntu you will be prompted to install codecs and in some better distro Like SUSE and Mandriva it will work right away :) Even formats that don't run out of box in new Windows setup :p

Note : To start X from CLI Mode just switch to root and type startx ;)

Regards
 
vrd said:
That statement strikes me as a textbook Paradox.:eek:hyeah:

according to me the definition of normal PC user is by itself a person who uses only MS products not because he/she likes them or prefers them but because they dont know they have an option. about 90% of PC users have never heard of Linux. They think there is only one OS in the world(if they know what an OS is) and thats windows. if everybody knew that there was a better option available, things would be different.
Click to expand...

This is the main problem. Most of us are heavily dependent on some software and find it really difficult to switch to some other application even if it is better.
sally1708 said:
define "Normal PC user"

If this segment consists only of two extremes (e.g. My Grandma and true-blue nerds), perhaps you are right

And if you disagree, a few sample questions for you to answer:

a) How to add a new storage disk in three easy steps

b) How to map a network drive in three easy steps

c) How to play MP3s in three easy steps
Click to expand...

I have already defined a normal PC user.

sally1708 said:
a) How to add a new storage disk in three easy steps
Click to expand...

If you are talking about USB thumb drives. Ubuntu automatically detects and mounts USB drive now. I haven't had the chance to try out connecting another hard disk after installing Linux so can't comment on that. Ubuntu automatically mounts NTFS drives with read/write support now.

sally1708 said:
b) How to map a network drive in three easy steps
Click to expand...

It's very simple in Ubuntu. The interface is similar to Mac. You have to specify the mount details like IP, domain name, user name and password. I have tested it in my office network. You can even install a network printer.

sally1708 said:
c) How to play MP3s in three easy steps
Click to expand...

Fedora has some licensing issues due to which it doesn't play mp3 by default but i think Ubuntu plays mp3 by default and even if you don't have some codecs for playing mp3 or video files, it gives you an option of installing codecs automatically. Moreover, if you know the name of the software for e.g. vlc, you can just search "Vlc" in synaptic and install it in 1-2 clicks.

I don't wanna get in debate with MS fanboys bcoz i know this discussion will never end.

Edit: ah, darkstar beat me, i posted somewhat late :)
 
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