linux: alternatives for common windows software

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: alex
As far as it being "the best" that's really a matter of personal preference. What I can tell you as a long-time Windows user that switched successfully to Linux roughly a month and a half ago is that Ubuntu is definitely one of the more user-friendly ditros out there.

In the past I tried Mandrake, Red Hat and Ubuntu pre 9.04 and really the only one that I stuck with was Ubuntu 9.04 this time round.

LoL! You'll probably appreciate this, Alex (being a Jaunty fanboi)...

http://vindsl.com/images/EeePC-Jaunty-Array.Org.png (VinDSL.com - Screenie)

I bought my first Netbook last Sunday, and I couldn't handle (the included) Windows XP - never did like it, sooo...

I installed Ubuntu 9.04 on my Netbook, with a custom kernel from Array.org (multi-booted with XP). Flies like the wind!

Don't know if you're interested in a 'Linux alternative for XP on Netbooks', but this is THE one!

Here's some linkage:

http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download (Ubuntu.com - 9.04 Desktop Download)

http://array.org/ubuntu/ (Array.org - Custom Eee PC Kernel for Ubuntu 9.04)

 

[Alex]

VinDSL thats sweet man!

I've been holding off on the whole netbook craze and definitely gonna get a new notebook before I even think about it but good to know!

Enjoy that!

 

[zoiks]

FreeNX - Remote Desktop over SSH. Absolutely amazing since there is hardly any lag controlling your ubuntu box from afar. I once used XWindows over SSH but that had so much lag it was unbearable.
http://freenx.berlios.de/download.php

Use the nomachine NX client to connect to the FreeNX server from Windows.

 

[VinDSL]

Here's a cutie for you!

http://vindsl.com/images/Ubuntu-Tweak.png (Ubuntu Tweak! screenie - Linux Mint 7 - 10" Eee PC Netbook)

After testing several distros on my Asus 1000HD Eee PC, I settled on Linux Mint 7 "Gloria".

Of course, Linux Mint 7 required a LOT of scaling and tweaking to make it function correctly on a 10" Netbook, but...

Ubuntu Tweak saved the day - made my install clean as a whistle!

I suppose the closest comparable Windows proggie would be Crap Cleaner AKA CCleaner.

So, you might consider adding it to your list...

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: zoiks
I once used XWindows over SSH but that had so much lag it was unbearable.

Here's a little tip for you...

I'm a distro hopper and have installed numerous versions of Linux on a multitude of machines.

Call it a 'hobby'...

I use SSH on a daily basis and have run across this 'problem' on every linux install I've performed.

SOURCE: http://www.redhat.com/archives...006-June/msg04104.html (chosen at random)

The default Fedora ssh_config file comes with GSSAPIAuthentication set
to "yes". This causes a DNS query in an attempt to resolve
_kerberos.[hostname] whenever ssh is invoked. During periods when
connectivity to the outside world is interrupted for whatever reason,
the ssh session won't proceed until the DNS query times out. Not really
a problem, just more of an annoyance when trying to ssh to another
machine on the LAN.

Is there a reason why the default ssh_config comes with
GSSAPIAuthentication set to yes?

Thanks,
Jay

Actually GSSAPIAuthentication is commented out on every Linux install I've seen, thus defaults to 'yes'!

Uncommenting GSSAPIAuthentication and setting the value to 'no' takes care of the lag.

You might want to try this on your install(s)... :beer:

 

[Alex]

Thanks! I added both suggestions to the list and gonna try out Ubuntu Tweak

I'm starting to think I gotta reorganize the list, its gotten a bit longer since the thread started...

 

[nsafreak]

Kino is a nice choice for a video editor but personally I find Cinelerra to be a bit more powerful video editor. I suppose if you're going for simplicity Kino would probably be better.

 

[Alex]

thanks ill add it

 

[Netopia]

Originally posted by: VinDSL

Originally posted by: zoiks
I once used XWindows over SSH but that had so much lag it was unbearable.

Here's a little tip for you...

I'm a distro hopper and have installed numerous versions of Linux on a multitude of machines.

Call it a 'hobby'...

I use SSH on a daily basis and have run across this 'problem' on every linux install I've performed.

SOURCE: http://www.redhat.com/archives...006-June/msg04104.html (chosen at random)

The default Fedora ssh_config file comes with GSSAPIAuthentication set
to "yes". This causes a DNS query in an attempt to resolve
_kerberos.[hostname] whenever ssh is invoked. During periods when
connectivity to the outside world is interrupted for whatever reason,
the ssh session won't proceed until the DNS query times out. Not really
a problem, just more of an annoyance when trying to ssh to another
machine on the LAN.

Is there a reason why the default ssh_config comes with
GSSAPIAuthentication set to yes?

Thanks,
Jay

Actually GSSAPIAuthentication is commented out on every Linux install I've seen, thus defaults to 'yes'!

Uncommenting GSSAPIAuthentication and setting the value to 'no' takes care of the lag.

You might want to try this on your install(s)... :beer:

If this setting is causing the SSH lagginess, then why isn't NX affected by this, since it runs over SSH?

Joe

 

[sgtwiltan]

Another one to add for MPEG converter : Handbrake
This was apparently from BeOS to Linux port software. Works great( don't update to GTK2)
There is also another browser called Midori which is webkit based like Mac Safari and Epiphany. Webkit is a KHTML fork originating from the HTML renderer use in the KDE Konqueror browser.

As far as distros, I've been lovin' PCLinuxOS 2009.2 and it's KDE 3.5 stability. It definitely feels more snappy than Mandriva 2009.1's KDE 4.2 version without having to install qt3 packages along with the qt4 ones just to get K3b to work. I tried Mint 7 but it felt too heavy (though pretty). I guess I'm just not a Gnome person. I've got PCLOS installed in 2 eeePCs,an S-10, 2 Conroe Celeron desktops, an Allendale desktop 3 P4(478) desktops and 4 AMD desktop systems (x2 4800,x2 4050e, Athlon 64 3800+,Athlon 64 LE 1640) I haven't felt the need to even run either of my GF9300 E5200s yet since those others run fine and I even game only on the 3800+.
Takes about 3 hours to rip a 3 hr DVD with Handbrake on the 3800+ and encode at 500kbps 1 pass 720x480. It's less on the X2 4800+ at 2.5 hours 2 pass with a much better output file. My poor P3 Tualatin is running the PCLOS LXDE version fairly well but chokes on Youtube HD content and is a little skippy on HQ. I also have PCLOS LXDE on 2 Compaq IPAqs (p3 833 on i815 w/ 512mb and P3 667 on I810Dc133 w/256mb) These two are best suited for just browsing since even regular flash video skips frames. They are however workable in Linux compared to XP or 2000 with a security suite. The best thing is that with old hardware, I can run a fairly modern OS. Don't get me wrong, 5 of my systems are dual booting with windows so's I can get my SP gaming on but they are way more advanced than the P3s which are basically a test of a distro's efficiency.

 

[aequasi]

another good diff tool is terminal
and aptana is a good dreamweaver replacement too

 

[aequasi]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: little elvis
Banshee or Amarok for music
Transmission - Torrent client

Is there anything close to foobar2000? I'm trying to setup my daughter(in Ubuntu) with a simple music player, but the way Rhythmbox and Songbird organize tracks doesn't work well with her mixmatched filing system. Foobar has a nice default structure that works well.

foobar is a cpu hog >.<
the only reason i like it is cause it plays flac lol

and sorry for the double post >.<

 

[konakona]

Originally posted by: aequasi

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: little elvis
Banshee or Amarok for music
Transmission - Torrent client

Is there anything close to foobar2000? I'm trying to setup my daughter(in Ubuntu) with a simple music player, but the way Rhythmbox and Songbird organize tracks doesn't work well with her mixmatched filing system. Foobar has a nice default structure that works well.

foobar is a cpu hog >.<
the only reason i like it is cause it plays flac lol

and sorry for the double post >.<

maybe you have some bad plugins? fb2k takes less memory and cpu than winamp does, provided you don't go crazy with extravagant plugins.

 

[konakona]

wow, bit of an old news but I just found out chrome for linux (chromium) is on its way: http://www.osnews.com/story/21...Way_Take_It_for_a_Spin

this, and only if they can make a good video player that compares well to kmp... I can't stand VLC

 

[Net]

i'm surprised eclipse isn't up there under Development IDEs

 

[Fox5]

I've gotta mention:
Octave for Matlab
Sage Math for Mathematica