So I guess I've had enough with M$ and XP after recently having to call them 3 times within a week because XP wanted me to re-activate it after I upgraded my motherboard, CPU, and video card. Vista looks like it will be more of the same, maybe worse, except possibly with pretty 3D graphical desktop eyecandy. OS X looked like a good alternative but the hardware is too pricey for me unless I go with Mac Mini, which isn't expandable enough for my needs (can't fit in a dual tuner tv tuner card, sound card, and additional hard disks). Looks like OS X for PC will require Apple PC hardware which will likely be pricey. So it looks like the only option for me is Linux.
1. I have a Mad Dog Entertainer 7.1 soundcard based on Envy24HT-S. The VIA Vinyl Audio Control Panel for XP allows you to use the Wolfson DAC on the card in "Hi Sample Rate 2 Channel' mode. Apparently, this sound card is also supported under Linux with ALSA ICE1724 drivers and, based on what limited info I've been able to find on Google, it is possible to use the Wolfson DAC under Linux as well. But I've only read about success in doing this up to version 1.0.6, and apparently configuration files that worked with version 1.0.6 no longer work with version 1.0.9. I haven't been able to find any posts of success getting things working again in 1.0.9 and would appreciate some feedback from users of this card under Linux with the Wolfson DAC.
2. I have an ASUS K8N Motherboard and would appreciate hearing from others
who are using/have used this board under Linux. I'd like to know if the onboard features (onboard audio and LAN) are supported under Linux "out of the box" or not. Also, I have an ITE8212-based IDE controller card and would like to know if it too is supported "out of the box" or not. Lastly, I have an NVidia 6200 video card and want to know if all the features on it are supported under Linux (of particular interest to me is whether the dual monitor feature is available under Linux, and whether the there is a utility similar to RivaTuner that will enable me to unlock the locked pipelines on the card and to overclock it.)
3. The last time I played around with Linux, a couple of things bothered me that
I hope have now been addressed: (a) the fonts looked amateurish and like total crap when compared to the ones in Windows, which looked polished and professional. I've read that it's possible to improve the look of fonts under Linux and would be interested in knowing how the best of those methods today compares with the fonts in Windows XP, with or without Cleartype. (b) when I moved the mouse pointer around under Linux, it was always jittery and not as smooth as under Windows for some reason. Changing the responsiveness of the mouse would help some, but it still wasn't as smooth as under Windows. I'm not sure what settings, if any, would give me the same control, precision, and feel I get with Windows. Any tips would be appreciated.
4. I want to setup MythTV and would appreciate info about how it compares
to Windows software like GB-PVR, BeyondTV, and FreyTV. Specifically, I'm interested in the following: (a) whether MythTV would be considered about the same performance-wise, more sluggish, or snappier. (b) whether MythTV is more or less of a resource hog. (c) how the video quality of MythTV compares to the Windows solutions. (d) anything lacking in MythTV that's available in the Windows solutions.
5. TrueCrypt is a nice program for XP, and a version for Linux is in the works,
but I would like to know if there's anything for Linux already out that is equivalent in quality and features that's also open source. I know there's BestCrypt but it's not open source and costs like $50.
Thanks In Advance!
1. I have a Mad Dog Entertainer 7.1 soundcard based on Envy24HT-S. The VIA Vinyl Audio Control Panel for XP allows you to use the Wolfson DAC on the card in "Hi Sample Rate 2 Channel' mode. Apparently, this sound card is also supported under Linux with ALSA ICE1724 drivers and, based on what limited info I've been able to find on Google, it is possible to use the Wolfson DAC under Linux as well. But I've only read about success in doing this up to version 1.0.6, and apparently configuration files that worked with version 1.0.6 no longer work with version 1.0.9. I haven't been able to find any posts of success getting things working again in 1.0.9 and would appreciate some feedback from users of this card under Linux with the Wolfson DAC.
2. I have an ASUS K8N Motherboard and would appreciate hearing from others
who are using/have used this board under Linux. I'd like to know if the onboard features (onboard audio and LAN) are supported under Linux "out of the box" or not. Also, I have an ITE8212-based IDE controller card and would like to know if it too is supported "out of the box" or not. Lastly, I have an NVidia 6200 video card and want to know if all the features on it are supported under Linux (of particular interest to me is whether the dual monitor feature is available under Linux, and whether the there is a utility similar to RivaTuner that will enable me to unlock the locked pipelines on the card and to overclock it.)
3. The last time I played around with Linux, a couple of things bothered me that
I hope have now been addressed: (a) the fonts looked amateurish and like total crap when compared to the ones in Windows, which looked polished and professional. I've read that it's possible to improve the look of fonts under Linux and would be interested in knowing how the best of those methods today compares with the fonts in Windows XP, with or without Cleartype. (b) when I moved the mouse pointer around under Linux, it was always jittery and not as smooth as under Windows for some reason. Changing the responsiveness of the mouse would help some, but it still wasn't as smooth as under Windows. I'm not sure what settings, if any, would give me the same control, precision, and feel I get with Windows. Any tips would be appreciated.
4. I want to setup MythTV and would appreciate info about how it compares
to Windows software like GB-PVR, BeyondTV, and FreyTV. Specifically, I'm interested in the following: (a) whether MythTV would be considered about the same performance-wise, more sluggish, or snappier. (b) whether MythTV is more or less of a resource hog. (c) how the video quality of MythTV compares to the Windows solutions. (d) anything lacking in MythTV that's available in the Windows solutions.
5. TrueCrypt is a nice program for XP, and a version for Linux is in the works,
but I would like to know if there's anything for Linux already out that is equivalent in quality and features that's also open source. I know there's BestCrypt but it's not open source and costs like $50.
Thanks In Advance!
