mfk Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Ok, so I was looking for a way out of the Windoze world and I found it, Ubuntu 7.10. Not the ultimate server system, but a great desktop, and with the new NTFS kernal package I can read and write my very large NTFS file system on this machine...this means I no longer have any Windows machines in the house. The version of Wine under Ubuntu runs the few windoze programs I like. Although Ubuntu is a little power hungry compared to Fedora Core 8, it is totally worth it. This machine is a 64 Bit AMD 4800+ X2, 3 GB of RAM and a graphics card with 512 MB of Ram and the Nvidia GeForce 8500 chipset. Now it flys, no problems with process control or any of the retarded stuff. Linux is a real multiuser, multitasking OS and man it shows. BTW, it has no issue with my Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme card, all still outputs through the digital IO module to spdif, to my receiver. For my server, of course I am still on the Red Hat side. for any questions, please ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I use the KDE desktop version of Ubuntu and found it easy to find drivers and play most all software. I think having Dell as a sponsor has given this project some teeth. Now that most high end games have a linux version, there is no reason to run windoze anymore. I have found the multimedia support to be better than windows. The first DVD I put in played without any problems. For servers, I have dumped my RedHat and have switched to using openSUSE. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Is it hard to learn? I'm always up for new things to try on my computer. I like how for a "free" program it is about 10-15 to ship it from most places. Still dirt cheap compared to MS, and apple. I looked into apple but there software is SO expensive let alone a desktop computer. Is Ubuntu safer more secure than Windows XP pro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Yes, it is much more secure than any windows OS. Reason is, windows has a bunch of serveses that run as local system. You find a flaw, you are the local system. Linux (UNIX) uses a much more secure spawning technique that has been working since the 1960-70's. Each process or Daemon you initiate is spawned off from a super daemon. So every thing you do is in its own space, naturally separated from the rest of the system. Also you can easily end one process without effecting the rest of the system. No more reboots everytime you do something. To get the software, visit this site. http://www.ubuntu.com/ There are a few versions. I use the KDE version Kubuntu. It was only a 1 CD download. Download the ISO file and burn it to a CD, then boot it. No shipping costs. I have found KDE to be a very friendly desktop. I have heard that there are some thin client version running on the Internet giving you a chance to run it remotely and get the feel. I have not looked into that but you may want too. There are several Ubuntu version you can download, so do some homework and see which is right for you. There is a kid friendly one and another that looks more like windows. The only quirk I found was if you are using WPA or WPA2 on a WIFI. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 JM thanks for the usefull info I have dial up I may have to buy it unless I download it overnight. I am gonna look into Kubuntu as well. The only big concerns I would have would be video editing and burning programs i'm used to. Maybe even running it but I am sure I could learn it pretty quickly ( getting everything to work may be a different story). A bootable cd sounds like the way to go. I need to back up some stuff before I try to do anything drastic to my computer. WiFi won't be a concern untill DSL arrives if it ever does. I heard that it maybe the law for all phone lines to be digital by 2010 like all tv's. I'm not sure if this is true I hope it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I also prefer Kubuntu (KDE) over Ubuntu (Gnome), but both are pretty straight foward to use. Ubuntu is the first flavor of Unix that I've run across where everything worked without having to do any manual configuring of anything. Just pop in the install CD and go (just like XP or OS-X). You might try visiting your local library to see if you can't download and burn a CD there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 You might try visiting your local library to see if you can't download and burn a CD there. Good idea. I haven't been in my local library in years. No idea what's in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfk Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 Personally, I am getting fond of Ubuntu 7.1, and I have a blu-ray burner on order from newegg. Yea, the open source world is wonderful. My X-Fi Extreme Audio card works well, my Hauppauge TV card and PNY graphics card all do the deed. In the living room I am using a client with not a lot of memory, and it does really well. VLC and VLS have really served me well for my audio/video needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfk Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 If an old swaby like me can learn, anyone can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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