Linux

[cdwscout]

Do we have any fellow Linux users out there?

[nolesrule]

I don't use it on the desktop, but I have a headless 6TB Ubuntu server that stores and serves up my music and movies around the house (all acquired legally) and doubles as a personal webserver.

[smtroop168]

Do we have any fellow Linux users out there?

I still read Peanuts everyday to see what Linus is doing.

[eaglescout92]

Do we have any fellow Linux users out there?

I still read Peanuts everyday to see what Linus is doing.

*FACE PALM*

[agdparker]

I support a program put out by our company that runs on Linux, but I don't use it at home. I know just enough to fix things and not make the problem worse!

[kwildman]

i use it daily. Home server running a full LAMP stack and Drupal for web, also have 180GBs of music on PLEX server so i can stream it anywhere to PC or phone, I also use it for port forwarding so that I can proxy around any firewalls or work encrypted at locations offering free wifi.

Primary work computer dual boots between Windows 7 and Ubuntu 11.04. Rarely boot into windows anymore as I can access Windows XP and Windows 7 virtual machines through linux. My personal laptops and my sons laptops all run some form of linux on them. I forced them to switch over 2 years ago when i finally decided that I spend all day fixing windows problems at work and i wasnt go to do it at home any more. They have been virus/spyware free ever since. My wife is only holdout for Windows at home as she cant live without Quicken.

http://www.ubuntu.com

[nolesrule]

i use it daily. Home server running a full LAMP stack and Drupal for web, also have 180GBs of music on PLEX server so i can stream it anywhere to PC or phone, I also use it for port forwarding so that I can proxy around any firewalls or work encrypted at locations offering free wifi.
http://www.ubuntu.com

I use Squeezebox server for music. It has a client for any PC, plus physical devices for connecting to home theaters or some that have their own speakers, for bedrooms and such. It can also stream to Android phones (don't know if iOS can do it yet), and any device using the server can be controlled from any computer or Android/iOS using either native apps or some more impressive third party apps. I only have 91GB of music, all lossless except for what I bought from Amazon mp3, and I still have 50 CDs in a box somewhere waiting to be ripped to storage. I find SBS it to be the best server for music library interfacing, as the third party plugin support is outstanding like being able to create a menu heirarchy that uses custom tags designed for classical music, which doesn't work well in the traditional artist/album structure.

I use a Dune HD for streaming the video to the main TV. It allows for the creation of a nice UI via 3rd party software rather than just browsing an ugly folder/file structure.

It's nice to get all those CDs and DVD/Blu-rays off the shelves.

[cdwscout]

i use it daily. Home server running a full LAMP stack and Drupal for web, also have 180GBs of music on PLEX server so i can stream it anywhere to PC or phone, I also use it for port forwarding so that I can proxy around any firewalls or work encrypted at locations offering free wifi.

Primary work computer dual boots between Windows 7 and Ubuntu 11.04. Rarely boot into windows anymore as I can access Windows XP and Windows 7 virtual machines through linux. My personal laptops and my sons laptops all run some form of linux on them. I forced them to switch over 2 years ago when i finally decided that I spend all day fixing windows problems at work and i wasnt go to do it at home any more. They have been virus/spyware free ever since. My wife is only holdout for Windows at home as she cant live without Quicken.

http://www.ubuntu.com

I also use Ubuntu. My brother, the "real" linux user, calls it "linux for noobs". He uses something called ArchLinux, which is designed to be the fastest OS ever. Even on a 2-3 year old computer, it boots in 5-10 seconds. However, you have to do everything yourself. To install it, it pretty much gives you a terminal and tells you to do it yourself.

[RWSmith]

Eh, short answer... probably like a lot of other folks... each foot in two different worlds.

I've messed around w/ several flavors of Linux over the years -- it has come a long, long way.

• GUIs here; GUIs there; GUIs, GUIs everywhere.
• Plus, hardware drivers for almost everything under the sun.

Even so, as far as my notebooks are concerned, and primarily due to hardware compatibility issues (rather than OS preference), I still keep going back to Windows (XP, Vista, 7).

OTOH...

• My home wi-fi router purchase was made specifically because it runs on Linux, i.e., customization. It sits directly behind the Cable Co's DOCSIS 3.0 router.
• My network attached storage (NAS) device was also purchased because it runs a full Linux kernel and is highly customizable/hackable; it has built-in UPnP-AV and ftp servers, and talks to it's UPS, which I use; it also has DHCP and iTunes servers, which I don't use. May add NFS in future. And,
• I'm currently building a headless Linux server (mostly from spare parts), which will act as a(n additional) hardware-based firewall... and, maybe, serve web pages (if I ever get a round tuit -- I had one of those, at one time; but, I lost it).

[kwildman]

linux for noobs is a good thing... Ubuntu has an excellent support community behind it that is eager to help Noobs. Most people want to get functional system up and running with little effort. If you are 1337 type of user then you can tweak it to run just as fast as Arch. However, i never ever shut my laptops off, i just close the lid and put them in suspend mode, when i need them again i open the lid and tap a key and I am ready to go in a a couple of seconds.

I am comfortable in the command line or on the GUI. My kids dont even know the command line exists and they get along fine. The best part of linux is that with a little learning you can customize any aspect of your OS to suit your needs.

I will check out the other media servers.

[kwildman]

Maybe we need to start our own patrol on here....

[ThunderingWind]

Questions.....

1) Are any of the major Linux flavors professionally supported like Windows so I could call for help?

2) Which flavors are Super, Extra, New-User friendly with GUI like Windows for install, updates, end-user program installs, device updates, etc....

3) What major games are being published for Linux platforms without using a Windows emulator?

4) Does MS Office run on Linux? There is an Apple version now.

[kwildman]

Questions.....

1) Are any of the major Linux flavors professionally supported like Windows so I could call for help?

2) Which flavors are Super, Extra, New-User friendly with GUI like Windows for install, updates, end-user program installs, device updates, etc....

3) What major games are being published for Linux platforms without using a Windows emulator?

4) Does MS Office run on Linux? There is an Apple version now.

1 ubuntu has great community support, google can get you answer quicker than a phone call 99% of the time, chat on IRC can be very helpful to.

2. Ubuntu - not like windows but excellent gui and and very user friendly. Linux is not windows... if you switched to a MAC you would need to learn a few new tricks.

3. There are loads of free games - check out nexuiz, Xonotic, also look at playdeb for available stuff, World of Padman is also fun. Again its not windows so you wont find Call of Duty but you will find very similar games for free or for minimal charge.

4. MS office doesnt run on linux. I use LibreOffice which is a complete office suite and it is free. it does what most people need and it will open and save as a microsoft word document.

TW - get an older computer and install it and play with it. You can also boot it on a live CD and try it before you install it.

[ThunderingWind]

1. ubuntu has great community support, google can get you answer quicker than a phone call 99% of the time, chat on IRC can be very helpful to.

Good to know

2. Ubuntu - not like windows but excellent gui and and very user friendly. Linux is not windows... if you switched to a MAC you would need to learn a few new tricks.

I have no problem learning a few new things...but it ubuntu wrapped with a professional installer that will figure out what harware I have? What about printers? Kodak states they do not support any Linux flavor nor condone third-party drivers to make Kodak printers work.

3. There are loads of free games - check out nexuiz, Xonotic, also look at playdeb for available stuff, World of Padman is also fun. Again its not windows so you wont find Call of Duty but you will find very similar games for free or for minimal charge.

If I can;t play the game I already own, what is the point?

4. MS office doesnt run on linux. I use LibreOffice which is a complete office suite and it is free. it does what most people need and it will open and save as a microsoft word document.

How much formatting, colors, fonts, etc.. are lost in translation between say LibreOffice, openOffice and MS Office?

TW - get an older computer and install it and play with it. You can also boot it on a live CD and try it before you install it.

Who selss the CD? I can't burn ISOs.

[kwildman]

TW -

#2 - most devices are fully supported and actually better supported than the manufacturers. For example, Kodak wants you to install a >100mb program to use their printer for windows when all you need is a driver, they install all their crapware at this time kodak easy share, kodak photo edit, etc. None of this stuff is worth anything and it messes up all your file associations with standard windows components. Google your printer model and linux and you will see if there are issues with it. Ubuntu and Mint are two linuxes that have very polished installers.

#3 - depends on whether a game is the deal breaker and how you want to use your computer. My point is that there are options. If you went to a Mac it is likely your game isnt supported either.

#4 - very little is lost. LibreOffice/Open Office are two forks of the same project. I prefer Libre. There are windows versions available so you can try it out without commiting to Linux. I have never had anything that doesnt convert. My kids use it and a teacher has never noticed that it wasnt done without Word, Excel, or Powerpoint. Fonts can be an issue if you are totally set on something being Arial, TimesNewRoman, etc. Fonts are actually copyrighted and you have to "chose" to install proprietary fonts on most linux systems. Personally, i would prefer to use open source fonts. I doubt many people really notice the font unless you use something really unique.

#5 - i think you can request CDs from the creator. There are also instructions online how to use an ISO with a USB and not a CD. Also, provided that you have CD burner, there are free programs that let you burn an ISO image.

Bottom line is that you need to figure out what you want and what works for you and how comfortable you are with trying something different. If you only have one computer i wouldnt recommend switching unless that computer is totally jacked up. There are manufuctures that sell pre-installed linux systems.

[smtroop168]

I think we should make up a LINUX Interpreter strip!!!

[RWSmith]

Who selss the CD? I can't burn ISOs.

TW,

I will burn anything you want... just do a little research (pick your flavor(s))... e-mail me your home address... I'll send it out... NO CHARGE!

==================

P.S. If you have a desktop or laptop that's less than 10 yrs old, you can almost certainly burn CDs, and probably, DVDs too. If you want some help there, I (we) can use TeamViewer to look at your machine. Just let me know. I recommend a program called Imgburn for burning ISOs -- it's free and it works great!

[cdwscout]

I think we should make up a LINUX Interpreter strip!!!

I know there's already (a spoof) one for computerese... I wouldn't be surprised to find (a spoof) one for linux.

[ThunderingWind]

Who selss the CD? I can't burn ISOs.

TW,

I will burn anything you want... just do a little research (pick your flavor(s))... e-mail me your home address... I'll send it out... NO CHARGE!

==================

P.S. If you have a desktop or laptop that's less than 10 yrs old, you can almost certainly burn CDs, and probably, DVDs too. If you want some help there, I (we) can use TeamViewer to look at your machine. Just let me know. I recommend a program called Imgburn for burning ISOs -- it's free and it works great!

RWS: Thank you. I will look at a few and think it over. I do not run a lot of software that if "Freeware" becuase I was taught "you get what you pay for." The only thing I do run as Freeware is a PDF Printer that the many people in the Disaster Response business use on thier mobile office systems. I do have a burner on the laptop and the tower. I just do not own an ISO burning program. I have Roxio and Vista-64 to handle my data and picture disk creations.

[nolesrule]

I did the ISO on USB drive thing on my server because it doesn't have a CD drive.

That said, freeware ISO burners for CD are just fine. I've used 2-3 different ones, and never had an issue. "You get what you pay for"? if the program doesn't work right, all you're stuck with is a CD-shaped coaster, but that can happen when burning any other type of CD (music, data, etc) using commercial software anyway.