lets face it. I hate windows. I want something new. How long does it take to get used to linux? can i just go to sites and download stuff like I do for windows, or do i need to make sure that they are linux compatable????? is it easy to get used to?hard??
mandrake
- Thread starter syconub
- Start date
Nothinman
Elite Member
- Sep 14, 2001
- 30,672
- 0
- 0
Depends on the person and how willing they are to learn.
Sure, but not generally the same sites. And a lot of the time you don't have to because it's much easier to install things in Linux than it is in Windows.
Of course, otherwise what would be the point of a different OS?
Depends on the person and how willing they are to learn.
soft??
It seems that many people are getting comfortable using Ubuntu. Try that out.
usually it takes a couple distros before somebody fines something they are comfortable with.
Mandrake is nice for new Windows users because they incorporate software that is somewhat legally dubious (not in a bad way) and have a nice setup.
Ubuntu is nice because you have a wealth of software packages aviable thru a easy to use interface. Thousands of programs are aviable for you to install off on online repositories (ftp/http sites full of software) using apt-get and the easy-to-use synaptic GUI front end. That way you don't have to worry much about finding linux compatable software.
Bad part is that you have to setup extra repositories and such to get the gray software that allows you to play mp3's and most DVDs. This is easy to do and outlined in the FAQ on their websites.
Ubuntu is a Debian (my favorite)-based OS that has a nice default desktop setup. It gives you most of what you need, and very little of what you don't.
I also like Fedora Core3, but that is more interesting for people interested in new technology and want to get familar with Redhat-like software (which is the most popular distro used commercially and what is most likely for you to find at a job).
See my sig about the "hands on guide --introduction to Linux" if your interested in having a basic understanding of Linux and some administration ability without getting too deep.
There are a few basic things that are different with Linux vs Windows and can make things difficult if your not aware of them. For instance Linux has no A: or C: drive. Everything is part of a directory tree and you have to "mount" different filing systems to this overall directory tree to have access to them. This is the same for data cds, harddrive partitions, abstract things like "ramdisks", and network shares.
If you want to try Linux without risk to your computer setup check out Knoppix. It's a live-linux cdrom distro, which means that you boot off of the cdrom and run the OS from the cdrom without ever installing anything on your harddrive (although it can be installed to your harddrive if that is what you want.).
usually it takes a couple distros before somebody fines something they are comfortable with.
Mandrake is nice for new Windows users because they incorporate software that is somewhat legally dubious (not in a bad way) and have a nice setup.
Ubuntu is nice because you have a wealth of software packages aviable thru a easy to use interface. Thousands of programs are aviable for you to install off on online repositories (ftp/http sites full of software) using apt-get and the easy-to-use synaptic GUI front end. That way you don't have to worry much about finding linux compatable software.
Bad part is that you have to setup extra repositories and such to get the gray software that allows you to play mp3's and most DVDs. This is easy to do and outlined in the FAQ on their websites.
Ubuntu is a Debian (my favorite)-based OS that has a nice default desktop setup. It gives you most of what you need, and very little of what you don't.
I also like Fedora Core3, but that is more interesting for people interested in new technology and want to get familar with Redhat-like software (which is the most popular distro used commercially and what is most likely for you to find at a job).
See my sig about the "hands on guide --introduction to Linux" if your interested in having a basic understanding of Linux and some administration ability without getting too deep.
There are a few basic things that are different with Linux vs Windows and can make things difficult if your not aware of them. For instance Linux has no A: or C: drive. Everything is part of a directory tree and you have to "mount" different filing systems to this overall directory tree to have access to them. This is the same for data cds, harddrive partitions, abstract things like "ramdisks", and network shares.
If you want to try Linux without risk to your computer setup check out Knoppix. It's a live-linux cdrom distro, which means that you boot off of the cdrom and run the OS from the cdrom without ever installing anything on your harddrive (although it can be installed to your harddrive if that is what you want.).
This is a long one. Woo!
Well, let's run down the list of components in your sig:
The ASUS A7N8X appears to be fully compatable. I know there were some problems early on in the NForce2's life due to NVidia's stubborn refusal to release the documentation necessary to make an open source ethernet driver, but I think that's behind us now.
I don't know about what Mandrake specifically offers; it may or may not come with the NVidia binary drivers for your Geforce. If it doesn't, the installation program from NVidia is simple.
DDR is obviously no problem.
Any modern IDE CD-ROM drive ought to be compatable. So should the hard drive
Overclocking shouldn't be an issue either. You'll do it through your BIOS for the CPU and FSB, and NVidia graphics cards are OCed using a program called nvclock. They may not have 5x00 support yet, but they're working on it.
The Audigy 2 is supported by the ALSA project. If you're using advanced features of the card, you may want to ask around about how to use them (I personally am not experienced in that area).
Wireless chipsets are a different matter. Some chipset makers are real asses, like TI, and will release jacksh*t about their cards, making drivers impossible. Fortunately, you don't have a TI chipset. You have an Atheros chipset, and the mostly-open source driver is rather mature. The name of this driver is MADWIFI, and building it is easy enough (if it doesn't come with Mandrake).
The essential lesson of buying hardware for a Linux system: do thorough research. And even then, hardware companies have their ways of throwing in little surprises.
---You can skip this if it's too confusing or you don't care about history---
Now, as for software: I'm going to start at the graphics layers. Linux and most every other UNIX clone uses the X Window System, which has been around since 1984. It is on its 11th version, and this version is on its 6th major revision. Thus, it may also be referred to as X11, X11R6, or even just X. A program called an X server is basically responsible for actually drawing pixels on the screen, though most can do so much more than this.
The library used to interface with X is verbose, so programming in it is discouraged. Thus, we have toolkits which abstract the interface, allowing us to create windows, widgets, and user interfaces. The two major graphical toolkits are GTK+ and QT. Programmers are the ones who decide which toolkit to use.
Now, an X server does not by itself give you a managable desktop. You need a helper program to keep track of the state of various windows you open and to allow you to manipulate those states. This type of program is called a window manager. There are tens of popular window managers, from the elaborate (Enlightenment) to the lean (fluxbox).
Now, for many years, most UNIX desktops stopped there. However, due to the influence of Windows, Macintosh, and other environments, which tended to be rich in helper programs, another step has been added: the desktop environment. There are two major ones in use today: KDE and GNOME. Usually, the popular distros will choose one or the other as its default; I think Mandrake uses KDE.
The desktop environment adds yet another layer of abstraction, which decidedly integrates the desktop. For instance, KDE is a collection of programs that uses the QT toolkit and its own special window manager to give the user easy-to-use functionality. You can change the look and feel and other with dialog boxes instead of configuration files. You can add helper programs to menu bars, such as volume control, battery life, etc.... You have programs like a character map, a basic text editor, a filesystem viewer, and other such useful things.
---Start reading again---
OK, so what programs are which?
Konqueror or Nautilus replace Explorer
OpenOffice.org will replace Office except for Access and very advanced Excel work (each DE has its own office suite as well)
Firefox, Galeon, or Konqueror will replace IE (basically, anything except IE and Safari are available on Linux)
Thunderbird falls somewhere inbetween Outlook and Outlook Express, pending development and integration of the Sunbird calendar; Novell/Ximian Evolution is definitely an Outlook replacement.
MPlayer and Xine (and various frontends) play your media.
That should get you started. A few pointers:
Well, let's run down the list of components in your sig:
The ASUS A7N8X appears to be fully compatable. I know there were some problems early on in the NForce2's life due to NVidia's stubborn refusal to release the documentation necessary to make an open source ethernet driver, but I think that's behind us now.
I don't know about what Mandrake specifically offers; it may or may not come with the NVidia binary drivers for your Geforce. If it doesn't, the installation program from NVidia is simple.
DDR is obviously no problem.
Any modern IDE CD-ROM drive ought to be compatable. So should the hard drive
Overclocking shouldn't be an issue either. You'll do it through your BIOS for the CPU and FSB, and NVidia graphics cards are OCed using a program called nvclock. They may not have 5x00 support yet, but they're working on it.
The Audigy 2 is supported by the ALSA project. If you're using advanced features of the card, you may want to ask around about how to use them (I personally am not experienced in that area).
Wireless chipsets are a different matter. Some chipset makers are real asses, like TI, and will release jacksh*t about their cards, making drivers impossible. Fortunately, you don't have a TI chipset. You have an Atheros chipset, and the mostly-open source driver is rather mature. The name of this driver is MADWIFI, and building it is easy enough (if it doesn't come with Mandrake).
The essential lesson of buying hardware for a Linux system: do thorough research. And even then, hardware companies have their ways of throwing in little surprises.
---You can skip this if it's too confusing or you don't care about history---
Now, as for software: I'm going to start at the graphics layers. Linux and most every other UNIX clone uses the X Window System, which has been around since 1984. It is on its 11th version, and this version is on its 6th major revision. Thus, it may also be referred to as X11, X11R6, or even just X. A program called an X server is basically responsible for actually drawing pixels on the screen, though most can do so much more than this.
The library used to interface with X is verbose, so programming in it is discouraged. Thus, we have toolkits which abstract the interface, allowing us to create windows, widgets, and user interfaces. The two major graphical toolkits are GTK+ and QT. Programmers are the ones who decide which toolkit to use.
Now, an X server does not by itself give you a managable desktop. You need a helper program to keep track of the state of various windows you open and to allow you to manipulate those states. This type of program is called a window manager. There are tens of popular window managers, from the elaborate (Enlightenment) to the lean (fluxbox).
Now, for many years, most UNIX desktops stopped there. However, due to the influence of Windows, Macintosh, and other environments, which tended to be rich in helper programs, another step has been added: the desktop environment. There are two major ones in use today: KDE and GNOME. Usually, the popular distros will choose one or the other as its default; I think Mandrake uses KDE.
The desktop environment adds yet another layer of abstraction, which decidedly integrates the desktop. For instance, KDE is a collection of programs that uses the QT toolkit and its own special window manager to give the user easy-to-use functionality. You can change the look and feel and other with dialog boxes instead of configuration files. You can add helper programs to menu bars, such as volume control, battery life, etc.... You have programs like a character map, a basic text editor, a filesystem viewer, and other such useful things.
---Start reading again---
OK, so what programs are which?
Konqueror or Nautilus replace Explorer
OpenOffice.org will replace Office except for Access and very advanced Excel work (each DE has its own office suite as well)
Firefox, Galeon, or Konqueror will replace IE (basically, anything except IE and Safari are available on Linux)
Thunderbird falls somewhere inbetween Outlook and Outlook Express, pending development and integration of the Sunbird calendar; Novell/Ximian Evolution is definitely an Outlook replacement.
MPlayer and Xine (and various frontends) play your media.
That should get you started. A few pointers:
- Depending on how technically inclined you are, you will at some point find the console. Don't make the mistake of calling it a DOS prompt clone. It is so much more powerful than any GUI or DOS.
- The order of seeking help is generally as follows: man page, info page (especially if its a GNU program), README and other program documentation, program's website and FAQ, the Linux Documentation Project HOW-TOs, search online forums, ask on online forums (LinuxQuestions is good in general for this), and finally ask the program's developer. You should never exhaust that list for any one problem. And, of course, there is always the source. Use the Source, Luke!
- So, you probably want to know about games. In addition to the very many small-time games and clones of old small-time games, there is Nethack, which is IMO the most complex game ever to be written in code (not to mention a classic); and I have found LinuxGames and Tux Games to be most useful when it comes to commercial games. Oh, and all of iD's game engines from Doom up to the Quake2 engine are GPLed, and so there are many updates of those engines that enhance the game, for those times when you feel like it.
I don't think the nForce problems are behind us, unfortunately.
At least I've read nothing to indicate such, if you have any links, I'd be very happy, since I actually do like nVidias hardware, I just hate their no docs policy, especially for something as trivial as a NIC.
To the OP: Assuming I'm right, you might run into problems with that mobo of yours, especially the NIC since that will be required to download drivers(chicken and egg problem).
If you have a separate NIC that you can use until you can get the nForce NIC working that should be a non issue.
At least I've read nothing to indicate such, if you have any links, I'd be very happy, since I actually do like nVidias hardware, I just hate their no docs policy, especially for something as trivial as a NIC.
To the OP: Assuming I'm right, you might run into problems with that mobo of yours, especially the NIC since that will be required to download drivers(chicken and egg problem).
If you have a separate NIC that you can use until you can get the nForce NIC working that should be a non issue.
I agree with the idea of a test drive with "Knoppix LiveCD"
You can get some idea about if linux is easy to get used to
and if linux is for you
You can get some idea about if linux is easy to get used to
and if linux is for you
Safari = konqueror. The only difference is the interface.
nVidia still does not release docs, so throw them in the same pile as TI.
nVidia still does not release docs, so throw them in the same pile as TI.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 23K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Facebook
Twitter