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Thread ID: 56774	2005-04-14 22:58:00	A funny thing about linux	jcr1 (893)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
344942	2005-04-14 22:58:00	I spent lots of time fooling around, getting Gentoo up and running and enjoyed the challenge of the experience; its going fairly well now, only thing I can't configure is the scanner. But, when I get busy and I need the computer there & then for every day real world stuff I find that it's back to windows (XP Pro in my case); I trust it (or rather my apps on it) and I don't have to bother about a whole heap of configuring, which when the pressure comes on I wouldn't have time for anyway. I've found this in the past, I'll get so far with something in Linux, then I'll say to myself, something like, "well that's done but what use is it? I can do that perfectly well and far more simply with windows". But, after a while curiosity gets the better of me, and heigh, ho, back to trying something else with Linux (no wonder I make such slow progress with it). Are there many others I wonder who have these sort of feelings about Linux?	jcr1 (893)
344943	2005-04-14 23:46:00	Interesting points. But don't forget you are using a distro which is built from the source up and you get to specify what sort of support and programs that goes into it. General desktop distro's are more user friendly and should work for most things straight out of the box. This is of course assuming you don't have any hardware that is unusual or has very limited Linux support. All those distro's have the app's that you need for everyday use, eg office type, graphics, music, video etc. The only thing I can't do in Linux is change the ink cartridge on my el cheapo Epson 480. The mechanism to change the ink is run purely by software (Windows) :rolleyes:. I'm currently looking at getting a new printer which is more user friendly. :thumbs: But whatever OS suits your needs the best, is the one you should use. :)	Jen (38)
344944	2005-04-15 00:37:00	I find Linux is great for the fact everything I use is open-source, free, and non-pirated too.... That and its fast.... real fast! Nothing beats it when you optimise the hell outa a gentoo system, and Ive barely scratched the surface! There are definately things you can do in Windows which are easier, but same can be said for Linux too. Ive had so much troubles with a mates PC trying to get him setup with VNC via an SSH tunnel. Setup of mine was a breeze ;)	Chilling_Silence (9)
344945	2005-04-15 00:50:00	I agree with you jcr1. I started my first Linux experience, @ RedHat 4.2 and now have Suse 9.2. I even for a time connected to the internet via a Knoppix CD only. But still feel Windows does it for me. i.e. Playing the games I want to play. However, a lot of FPS can now run on Linux and some old RTSs too. I am watching this space tho.	KiwiTT_NZ (233)
344946	2005-04-15 05:22:00	Interesting points. But don't forget you are using a distro which is built from the source up and you get to specify what sort of support and programs that goes into it. General desktop distro's are more user friendly and should work for most things straight out of the box. This is of course assuming you don't have any hardware that is unusual or has very limited Linux support. All those distro's have the app's that you need for everyday use, eg office type, graphics, music, video etc. I presume Jen that you are referring to my recent experiences with Gentoo. I can honestly say that Gentoo is the best linux distro I have tried and the best compatibility with my hardware :D (in saying that I should mention the support that you & Chill have given me in this area). I don't want to appear as if I'm getting at Linux, because I think the open source philosophy is neat. But when the pressure comes on I jump back to windows (because its easier? or because I'm too lazy to see it through?). I really wonder, if someone started from scratch with linux and didn't know anything else, then one day they decided they should try Win XP, how would they feel? I started with Win 3.11, then 95, then 98, then a slight foray onto NT and 2000, then XP. So I suppose its pretty ingrained into someone like me. :confused:	jcr1 (893)
344947	2005-04-15 05:33:00	I find Linux is great for the fact everything I use is open-source, free, and non-pirated too.... I really like that philosophy That and its fast.... real fast! Nothing beats it when you optimise the hell outa a gentoo system, and Ive barely scratched the surface! I reckon my gentoo installation is faster than windows on the same machine There are definately things you can do in Windows which are easier, but same can be said for Linux too. Ive had so much troubles with a mates PC trying to get him setup with VNC via an SSH tunnel. Setup of mine was a breeze ;) It would be interesting to try that. Do you think it would work with my laptop (XP yet again) looking at my Gentoo desktop and vice-versa? On a wireless network - yikes could be compatibility issues again.	jcr1 (893)
344948	2005-04-15 05:56:00	I presume Jen that you are referring to my recent experiences with Gentoo . I can honestly say that Gentoo is the best linux distro I have tried and the best compatibility with my hardware :D (in saying that I should mention the support that you & Chill have given me in this area) . I don't want to appear as if I'm getting at Linux, because I think the open source philosophy is neat . But when the pressure comes on I jump back to windows (because its easier? or because I'm too lazy to see it through?) . I really wonder, if someone started from scratch with linux and didn't know anything else, then one day they decided they should try Win XP, how would they feel?I started with Win 3 . 11, then 95, then 98, then a slight foray onto NT and 2000, then XP . So I suppose its pretty ingrained into someone like me . :confused: I have recently upgraded my computer and loaded XP pro on that and have been toying with the idea of loading Linux only on my old box and giving that to my daughter (7) as an experiment to see how she gets around it . I love trying different Linux distros and I have tried Xandros, Suse, Redhat & Mandrake . They are all getting better and easier (the last one being Suse) recognising the equipment I have connected but the one thing that gets me is how slow it loads . Listening to Chill in order to get Linux to load quicker I would need to have some in depth knowledge of Linux which I dont know if I could spare the time learning . Maybe my next venture will be with Gentoo, is it available to download via jetstreamgames?	sam m (517)
344949	2005-04-15 06:01:00	jcr1 I feel very much the same way as you do and understand exactly what you are saying so you are not alone. ;)	FoxyMX (5)
344950	2005-04-15 06:31:00	Jen, I'm wondering whether you should try getting that ink changing mechanism working with WINE, either that or you can drown your sorrows with the bottle. Linux does all my everyday activities, there were some Windows programs I had to get working on Linux, like IE6 for example, since I had no other alternative that allowed me to view how an IE page would look like for web development, and when I did get IE working, I was shocked at how different it had formatted the webpage and layout, was far from acceptable (only reason I decided to install it was when I showed someone a site and they sent a screenshot of the problem). My everday activities, emailing, writing articles/letters/documents, scanning pictures/photos, printing, programming/web designing, playing music/movies, burning CDs, downloading, web browsing, chatting, graphic manipulation/designing and loads more. I've definitely replaced my needs for using Windows and probably increased my productivity hugely. When you first start out with Linux though, you're really just exploring it so you're not really stabilising yourself with it, once you get use to it and how it operates you may start feeling more comfortable with it and soon discover some potential. I think this huge increase though has sometime to do with the fact I've reduced the need to scan for viruses, spyware, defragment, and many more things which use to be a regular task of mine, I do however check out the logs that linux produce, but I use scripts to strip out only the relevant information so I'm not looking through the whole log that could contain things that happened last week. In saying this, I can't give up Windows because of the majority of people who use it and the amount of problems I would have to fix. It's best to actually use Windows and discover such problems to get a better understanding. Same goes with Linux. Kame	Kame (312)
344951	2005-04-15 06:33:00	But when the pressure comes on I jump back to windows (because its easier? or because I'm too lazy to see it through?) . I initially only "played" with Linux and dual booted for a while . When I built my current machine I put XP on it and decided to only use Linux on the old P3 . Then I decided I would really like to learn more about Linux (this is only from interest and not from any anti-Microsoft point of view), so I made myself use Linux and not XP to force myself to learn it (went cold turkey) . I found there was nothing I missed or needed from Windows . Linux provided me with an interest and challenge which Windows could not . It then occured to me that my nice new grunty machine was sitting idle and I was spending all my time back on the 933 :rolleyes: . So Windows got moved off and now Fedora only runs on the grunt machine . I really wonder, if someone started from scratch with linux and didn't know anything else, then one day they decided they should try Win XP, how would they feel?I wanted to do this with my Parents when I got them a 2nd hand PC . They had very little computer experience so I thought a Linux distro would be great . However my MS Certified brother nearly went purple at that suggestion, so Win98 it was . :rolleyes: I think either Linux suits you or it doesn't . Also depends on why you want to use it . If there isn't a motivation, then you will probably just use the OS does the job easiest and fastest for you . Which is what you should do . Using your choice of OS should be a pleasure and not seen as a chore . I think I have been very lucky with Linux, and taken to it like a duck to water . I haven't really had any major issues, or if there are problems I see them as learning experiences and not stumbling blocks . Guess I wear rose-coloured glasses in that aspect .	Jen (38)
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