Help me pick a Linux distro

Post #138,841 by orion 1/30/04 12:22:34 PM Reply	Help me pick a Linux distro Earn points too: [link\|http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/Linux/Q_20868229.html\|http://www.experts-e...x/Q_20868229.html] That is if you want to answer my question at the Expert's Exchange. If I need to fill out a problem report, send me a blank copy and I will fill it out as best I can as I have no idea what one looks like. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,844 by ChrisR 1/30/04 12:27:57 PM Reply	Pick one and run with it Try installing RedHat. Then wipe it out. Then try installing Debian. Then wipe it out. Then try installing .... What distribution to use is as much a function of personal tastes as asking what color should my house be painted. Just pick a distribution and install it. If you don't like it, pick another one.
Post #138,846 by hnick 1/30/04 12:46:46 PM Reply	Ok. I use Suse. The last one I bought was 8.2 and they have a 9.0 out now that is supposed to be even better. It's dead simple. You boot from the CD or DVD (both are supplied) and make a few simple selections. If you can install M$ products, you will have no problem with this. If you buy the package, you get installation support from Suse included in the cost. This is one of these installations that they claim is automatic, but actually, you have to push the button. If you can screw up that installation, you shouldn't be near electrical equipment in the first place. It has all the toys you can play with. Have fun, Hugh
Post #141,224 by jb4 2/11/04 5:54:46 PM Reply	Does SuSE 9.0 contain the 2.6 kernel? Enquiring minds want to know... jb4 shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub* + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating that facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf.* BULLSHIT
Post #141,226 by pwhysall 2/11/04 5:56:32 PM Reply	No, it doesn't. AFAIK, the first distro to go with 2.6 as the default kernel will be Mandrake 10.0 Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home Page - Now with added Zing!]
Post #141,236 by jb4 2/11/04 6:12:50 PM Reply	Damn! OK, then...I wait for 9.1... jb4 shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub* + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating that facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf.* BULLSHIT
Post #141,249 by deSitter 2/11/04 6:41:58 PM Reply	Why? You can run kernels from different versions in parallel, even major versions. Just make sure you compile them against the same libraries with the same compiler. For example, my maintenance disks are based on kernel 2.2 because it's not as fat and leaves more room for goodies. -drl
Post #141,335 by pwhysall 2/12/04 3:08:24 AM Reply	Be aware, though... Running 2.6 means you need minimum versions of such things as modutils if smooth sailing is to be achieved. If you're going to add your own 2.6 kernel to a current distro, you'll have to read the documentation. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home Page - Now with added Zing!]
Post #141,440 by cforde 2/12/04 12:58:51 PM Reply	2.6 kernels You can find a list of [link\|http://www.distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20040209#1\|Distributions with 2.6 kernel] at DistroWatch. The [link\|http://www.distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=fedora\|Fedora Core Project] just announced beta of Core 2 with the 2.6 kernel. Have fun, Carl Forde
Post #142,000 by jb4 2/16/04 5:52:31 PM Reply	thanks, Carl YAN linux place to keep track of. thanx...I think... ;-) jb4 shrub\ufffdbish (Am., from shrub* + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating that facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf.* BULLSHIT
Post #138,848 by Simon_Jester 1/30/04 1:15:46 PM Reply	Blah - I don't think much of Experts-Exchange but that's me. What do you want to use Linux for? Specifically are you looking to play games (and which ones)? access the internet? run an email server? run a database? other?
Post #138,901 by orion 1/30/04 3:56:57 PM Reply	All of the above and whatever else I can do with it. I do not know what games I can run with Linux yet, so I'll research them later. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,953 by Simon_Jester 1/30/04 6:43:45 PM Reply	Are you sure? Games, sure, who doesn't want to play games. But Linux (with the exception of CrossoverX) doesn't play Windows games. No Dialbo 2, or Warcraft 3 or (insert game of the week). There are Linux games out there. Loki produced a couple before they went belly up and I think you can still get the demos, but Linux is still (imo) behind Windows in games. Access the internet - okay this is a freebie. Run an email server - okay, why? Note: I do not run an email SERVER. I access my email (POP3) from earthlink.net as a client. (I'm one of those crazy people who actually likes Kmail) Run a database - okay, actually this is a good reason to run Linux (imo). But which database? (Do you have a specific project in mind, or do you want to just play with a database to play with a database?) You might note that I'm trying to pull more information from you. You'd be right. :-) I want to know WHAT you want to do with Linux so that we can define what is "SUCCESS" and to see whether or not I would even be of any help. Most people (imo), don't define what they want to do, find Linux (or occassionally the task in question) difficult, and declare that it's impossible to use and give up. Shrug, it's their choice, but I think they're blaming Linux when it's not necessarily Linux's fault. Myself? I use Linux as my principle Desktop at home. I've got some games on it, but they're the older games that Loki produced way back when. (Alpha Centauri, RailRoad Tycoon, Civilization CTP, Quake III, Heroes of M&M III). I also play a lot of the free source games. Pengius, Backgammon, PySol, FreeCiv, Moria/Angsland. As my principle desktop, I use it for all my internet access. Netscape 7.1 as web browser (though I've used Opera in the past), and Kmail for email access. I've had a couple of databases up and running. Sybase, mySQL, and others. I've also had some internal web servers, both TomCat and Apache. I've also got a seperate box up and running as a Samba Server - for file and printer sharing. Mostly though, my requirements for my desktop was to allow me to do coding, in particular - Perl, C, C++, Java. I've fallen in love with the idea of multiple windows (rather than a single IDE) to code and test, but that's me. Looking through this list - you can see why I went Linux. I have some games, but my principle interest was in coding. YMMV.
Post #138,988 by orion 1/30/04 9:33:11 PM Reply	I am sure Games, sure, who doesn't want to play games. But Linux (with the exception of CrossoverX) doesn't play Windows games. No Dialbo 2, or Warcraft 3 or (insert game of the week). Those game of the week games are what my Gamehead brother wanted to play. We couldn't get WINE to work right with them, so he went back to XP. I have Civilization II: Gold right now. I think it might work under WINE. Run an email server - okay, why? Note: I do not run an email SERVER. I access my email (POP3) from earthlink.net as a client. (I'm one of those crazy people who actually likes Kmail) I own a domain name and would like to use it as email. Also it would be an account I can run SpamAssasin on. QMail sounds good enough to me to use. * Run a database - okay, actually this is a good reason to run Linux (imo). But which database? (Do you have a specific project in mind, or do you want to just play with a database to play with a database?) I want to learn a free/open sourced database, an alternative to SQL Server. I am looking as Postgre, MySQL, Firebird, and a few others. Project will come later after I learn enough about the database to program with it. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #139,170 by orion 1/31/04 10:52:46 PM Reply	Other games I am trying to keep what games I do play as web or Internet based. I only play them on study breaks or when I am stressed out and need to blow off some steam. Mechastrike is a web based Mech game. I should be able to play it with Mozilla on Linux. To sign up for the game click here: [link\|http://www.mechastrike.com/signup.php?refer=2059\|http://www.mechastri...up.php?refer=2059] It has the occasional pop-up which Mozilla blocks, except for one to imbum.com some sort of personals for IM users. Tradewars is another game I can play. [link\|http://www.eisonline.com/\|http://www.eisonline.com/] as it uses Telnet. In order to play better, one needs scripts or a TW Helper program. J-TWAT is based on Java and should run on Linux. [link\|http://sourceforge.net/projects/j-twat\|http://sourceforge.net/projects/j-twat] SWATH I registered but it won't run under WINE as of version 1.66 but 1.67 is being re-written to run under WINE. [link\|http://www.swath.net/\|http://www.swath.net/] ATTAC I alse use and registered, buggy but it works, no Linux version yet. [link\|http://www.tw-attac.com/\|http://www.tw-attac.com/] TWXProxy is the best one, but no Linux port and it does not run under WINE. [link\|http://www.twxproxy.com/\|http://www.twxproxy.com/] There are a ton of REXX scripts out there, so a Linux telnet terminal with REXX support can have the scripts modified to run under it. Other games I might run, The Sims, Civilization III, Monopoly 2, Sim City 3000, etc. I am not running them yet and I will have an XP workstation or laptop to run them on if needed. Hence the need for Windows still. I also have to do development in ASP, VB, Access, etc to keep my skills up to date in case I need them for a job. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,851 by mmoffitt 1/30/04 1:20:37 PM Reply	A friend of mine recommended this. Take any installation and install what you need. Then, every time you use something, go find the sourcecode, compile it and replace the binary stuff you installed from your distro. Doing that will teach you about what you're using and how it works. bcnu, Mikem I don't do third world languages. So no, I don't do Java.
Post #138,855 by deSitter 1/30/04 1:56:46 PM Reply	NO! That's horrible advice ..but I see what he is trying to get at. Modify this to - any time you put something new on, get the code. There are dependencies between package versions and glibc on all distributions, which if ignored will ruin your installation. -drl
Post #138,862 by Yendor 1/30/04 2:11:02 PM Reply	Your friend has too much time on his hands. -YendorMike [link\|http://www.hope-ride.org/\|http://www.hope-ride.org/]
Post #138,856 by deSitter 1/30/04 1:58:20 PM 1/30/04 2:02:17 PM Reply	Re: Help me pick a Linux distro You have high speed internet no? You can download an install boot disk set and install over the network. It's dead simple and preferable to installing from circular bandwidth. All you need do is tell me the target, and I will take you through it a step at a time. What I mean by "target" - email me an EXACT hardware report on the target machine. All devices, I/Os and ints if possible (some will be obvious, most even). -drl Edited by deSitter Jan. 30, 2004, 02:02:17 PM EST Expand All History
Post #138,903 by orion 1/30/04 3:59:16 PM Reply	Can I take a raincheck? I am not ready to do all that yet. I am getting ready to go out of town and then I have to study for a final exam. Plus I have to move data off my 98SE machine before the reformat. Will this be SuSE? *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,906 by deSitter 1/30/04 4:01:08 PM Reply	Don't think about it It will be Linux, that's all that matters. When you want to get started, let me know. -drl
Post #138,924 by orion 1/30/04 4:38:34 PM Reply	I sent you an email with hardware used and settings of that hardware from device manager. All but COM1 and LPT1 ports, COM2 is disabled. You should know the standard settings for COM1 and LPT1. I pulled the modem out of it, 3Com/USR Winmodem with no available Linux driver anyway. I do not need it as I have Ethernet and a DSL Router. Let me know what the next step is to download the net install disk. When I find the time and move my data off the hard drive, I will be ready for a reformat. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,926 by deSitter 1/30/04 4:41:58 PM Reply	enable COM2 and put the modem back in Most common Winmodems now have Linux drivers (this is coming from one). All the hardware should work. Do not disable anything. You must have a cheap 10bt card somewhere...if not go buy one at the junkyard for 3 bucks. -drl
Post #138,933 by orion 1/30/04 5:06:45 PM Reply	Any reason why? Why do I need a Com2? Also why do I need a modem? I got a Realtek 8029(AS) Ethernet 10bt PCI card which is as cheap as they get. The modem will be better off on a different machine so I can use Juno as an Internet backup in case my SBC goes down. Juno does not have a Linux client yet. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,934 by deSitter 1/30/04 5:10:33 PM Reply	Re: Any reason why? Fine, you can skip the modem (was going to try administration over direct ppp link) as long as you have ethernet that works. How many machines can plug into your DSL router? Why? Because we are men, and we make things work. -drl
Post #138,949 by orion 1/30/04 6:27:37 PM Reply	DSL Router 4 Ethernet plugs and it has wireless too. I have a hub to connect more Ethernet machines to the router if needed. I was going to go to Chicago to help my brother find a used car there tomorrow, chances are he may not want to go. I still need to study for my final exam. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,950 by deSitter 1/30/04 6:29:49 PM Reply	fine fine let me know when you want to proceed -drl
Post #138,857 by ben_tilly 1/30/04 1:59:11 PM Reply	Try knoppix Download the ISO, burn the CD, stick it in a computer, boot. It doesn't really install so you don't risk any data. It tends to be pretty friendly to hardware. I wouldn't recommend the knoppix->Debian upgrade path (install Debian first), but it lets you try Linux out. Ben "good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not" - [link\|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html\|Stefano Mazzocchi]
Post #138,859 by deSitter 1/30/04 2:01:08 PM Reply	disagree Knoppix looks easy to the initiate but will confuse the hell out of a newbie. -drl
Post #138,915 by ben_tilly 1/30/04 4:16:38 PM Reply	That is not the commonly reported experience "good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not" - [link\|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html\|Stefano Mazzocchi]
Post #138,904 by orion 1/30/04 4:00:04 PM Reply	Tried it works somewhat, but no network access. For some reason DHCP isn't able to grab an IP from my router. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,913 by ben_tilly 1/30/04 4:14:36 PM Reply	Are you SURE that that is the problem? One of the biggest things that Windows users face moving to Linux is a tendancy towards bad guessing. It is actually a problem under Windows, but you don't get trained not to do it because Windows never pushes you to really understand what you are doing. Furthermore often they actively hide the reality, so even if you are right, it is hard to know. If you booted but had no network access, then there are a number of things to check. Starting with whether the ethernet card that you have is supported. Cheers, Ben "good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not" - [link\|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html\|Stefano Mazzocchi]
Post #138,925 by orion 1/30/04 4:39:45 PM Reply	I think so the network card appears to show up when it is configuring the drivers. Of course there could be other things with it stopping it from working. Not sure how I can tell for sure. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #138,939 by ben_tilly 1/30/04 5:32:35 PM Reply	Did you look for an error log? /var/log tends to be a good place to look. Logs don't necessarily tell you what is wrong. But they tell you a lot about what the program found confusing, which is often pretty helpful. Ben "good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not" - [link\|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html\|Stefano Mazzocchi]
Post #138,941 by deSitter 1/30/04 5:38:35 PM Reply	Re: Did you look for an error log? This is what I mean by newbie confusion. Only a UNIX person is going to have any idea about that. -drl
Post #138,952 by ben_tilly 1/30/04 6:42:29 PM Reply	And this is better with any other distribution? There are only so many places that you can present information about what went wrong. Given that Linux likes to accumulate useful debugging logs, you are at a disadvantage unless you know that they are there. You are also at a disadvantage if you are unwilling to ask questions like, "How should I find this out?" You are also at a disadvantage if you are unwilling to put some work in for yourself. Such is life. But I still think that Knoppix is a good choice for someone who knows nothing because there are so many potential obstacles which will simply be nonissues. Cheers, Ben "good ideas and bad code build communities, the other three combinations do not" - [link\|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html\|Stefano Mazzocchi]
Post #138,955 by deSitter 1/30/04 6:47:35 PM Reply	Re: And this is better with any other distribution? Well, I sort of think it's valuable to see how something comes together, rather than just watch something explode onto your monitor fully grown. -drl

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