To Try Linux?

So can Ubuntu and Mandriva - lots of distors can do that.

yes but i have had nothing but bad luck with Ubuntu. The first time i tried it was with version 5.04. It was horrible. It would never run on any of the machines that i was able to run other linux distros on. Also, it looked like crap (literally... who picks brown for a linux distro [regardless of the fact that Ubuntu is a type of coffee...])

I also downloaded Ubuntu 7.04 because i heard that it worked great with Cedega (formerly known as WineX, which is a "more advanced" version of wine), but i couldn't even get Cedega installed! (i also hate gnome...)

Perhaps others have had better luck with Ubuntu...


I do want to give Mandriva a try, though.

Perhaps others have had better luck with Ubuntu than i have...

Marks256 said:

I also downloaded Ubuntu 7.04 because i heard that it worked great with Cedega (formerly known as WineX, which is a "more advanced" version of wine), but i couldn't even get Cedega installed! (i also hate gnome...)

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Cedega fell way behind WINE over a year ago. WINE has a more advance DX9 stack and runs alot more games now because of it
Cedega has the advantage that it has support for copy-protected games (supposibly where the sub-fee's goes to licence) however even WINE is starting to reverse-eng that

If you don't like GNOME, get Kubuntu, just Ubuntu with KDE instead (not some cheap re-packaged ubuntu either)

I did try kubuntu (i mentioned it in a previous post), but i still don't like how it is organized.

I don't use cedega, as i could never get it to work (then again, it wasn't a legal copy.... )

I use wine 0.9.44. I will stick with SimplyMepis, OpenSuSe, and Debian for now.

Marks256 said:

i quad boot on my laptop; Windoz XP pro, OpenSuSe 10.1, SimplyMepis (6 something...), and kubuntu (KDE variant of ubuntu).

Click to expand...

I thought you were a Linux user, but just checking

Anyway my OP was todo with those wanting to try linux via using a virtual-machine (before commiting to a full install). I have a need for it the other way around (linux as main desktop, but need windows)

so all nice and fun \o/
This is more to test out a ghosting system for a mate. so I am testing in an isolated virtual machine before trying on his system

Hmm, so am I the only Debian user around here?! Been using it about 6 or 7 years now, had old Slackware before that. I've been using Linux 10 years now, and for much of that time, I've used it almost exclusively. This machine doesn't even have Windoze on it...

Marks256, I feel much the same way: I saw Ubuntu running (or hanging, I forget) on my dad's machine a few months ago. I remember very little about it other than being quite strongly repelled by it. Which is sorta ironic seeing as it's based on Debian... IIRC he uninstalled it a few hours later, although he still experiments with various other Linux distros.

well, as for Ubuntu ... It is not that crappy, as it could seem from the first try. There are various versions (is version a good word?), including Ubuntu (Gnome based), KUbuntu (KDE based), Edubuntu (never tried). Yes, it is much worse than Debian for experienced users, but it seems to me, that it is one of the most popular Linux distros for begginers in Finland.
As for me, I think that Debian is great, however I still use Slackware. (used it for the last 5 (?) years). First experience was with RedHat, but I think that if you are more or less know what you are doing, you should use Slack. Others are just trying to make it more user-friendly (read: windows-like). IMHO, it's not bad, cause it brings more ppl into the commmmunity.

i have been using linux purely for a decade. there is nothing that windows offers that i can't do on linux for everything i want to do. on the flip side, there is a mountain of things that i can do on linux that isn't possible or is difficult/improbable on windows.

i honestly have to say the only real problem i have is the attitude from windows land about linux. especially with regards to software offering.

how many times do you find a program that is barely more than "hello world" on windows that requires $19.95 to purchase or it is highly crippled? look, i have no problems with people making money off their work, that's great. but this is more like utter greed. i belong to a different camp where i feel it's more beneficial for software to be free, not only for the community, but also to me the software user -and- author. the more i give freely, the more others give freely and thus the more everyone benefits.

one of my biggest gripes are the a$$holes that take a GPL package and wrap it in a thin (usually ugly) windows GUI and charge a lot of money for it. they hide it inside and call it their own work. not only is it illegal but highly unethical. sadly it is VERY common in the windows world these days.

i've been out of the electronics "loop" for several years but i'm back now. i used to attempt interfacing with an 8-bit ISA card. now i have spiffy toys like pre-built USB modules and being an adult with a paycheck i can afford to buy a $10 IC at whim instead of unsoldering them from junk boards.

what i used to consider as a horribly ambitious project was making a lot of sensor input available to digital components and pretty blinky output or display for my car. now it's as simple as some sensors, pics, interfaces and a single board computer. and... affordable ;]

and the best part? i can do it all on linux and it's pretty easy.

the worst part? some things aren't readily supported under linux. i found a neat package called ktechlab, wonderful idea that i've always dreamed of having. sadly it has a somewhat limited PIC offering so i have to stick with command line stuff for some things :-(

all this said, does anyone have any suggestions for linux based software for electronic project design and testing?

(please don't say gEDA, it appears to be a big mix of how-the-hell-does-it-all-work-together??) :-/

i use gentoo on several machines and i'm trying to bear with kubuntu *erg* on my laptop.

p.s. anyone in south florida - please say hi