Anyone using Linux OS on their computer?

[light_emitting_dude]

I have been trying some LiveCD versions of Linux and am contemplating installing a version on my XP machine for a dual boot OS.

There seem to be so many open source Linux versions. I was just wondering if anyone else is a Linux fan and what version are you using. The best part it is FREE! I have also heard that some versions will run from a USB thumb drive if your bios allows you to boot from USB.

 

[tiktok 22]

Ubuntu 7. Works great so far. I've used others but like Ubuntu the best.

 

[parnass]

Fedora Core Linux run here.

 

[gadget_lover]

I have slackware on a couple, fedora on a couple more.

I've heard that fedora is good for beginners, though I was shocked at how easy the fedora install was.

The only caveat; make sure you have compatible hardware before trying this. It's just like when you went to XP or Vista, you had to find the right drivers or buy hardware that was supported by the new OS.

Daniel
Disclaimer; I'm a long time unix admin by trade, so most of Linux is familiar to me already .

 

[TigerhawkT3]

I wanted to load Kubuntu on a USB flash drive a while back, but couldn't figure out how to partition the thing. Any ideas on how to do that?

 

[Marduke]

Personally, I like the installed version of the Knoppix DVD and openSUSE, although I was impressed with the ease of use of the wireless of Ubuntu. Wireless is usually difficult to work right out of the box for most distros. Just about every distro has a LiveCD version, or the install disc itself can function as a LiveCD, so my word of advice is to do a free download of any distro you are interested in trying and play around with it. See if you like the features, and if it works with all of your hardware. It's well worth the $0.20 it costs for the blank CD.

 

[Mad1]

I hate Linux with a passion.

 

[Carpenter]

I hate Linux with a passion.

And that answers LED's question how?


LED, another thing you might look into is running a Linux distribution within a virtual machine.

My laptop has Windows loaded and a program call VMware player. VMware has many virtual machines (appliances) on their site with many of the favorite distributions already installed and configured for immediate use. It's a great way to find what distribution works the best for you before downloading and creating any CD's. The best thing about these appliances is that they will work on any PC as long as you have enough memory to run both Windows and then the Linux machine on top of that. Check out http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ and then PM me for more information if you are interested. :thumbsup:

Also, I agree that either Ubuntu or Fedora would probably be best for beginners. They both should get the job done, but if you are a gamer, you will have to stick with Windows for a while.

 

[tarponbill]

Been using Ubuntu for over a year, full time. Download the latest and burn a CD, put it in and try it. Very stable.

You can run it from a thumb drive, I have done it, not sure exactly how now, but directions should be on their site.

 

[Marduke]

As if you didn't already have enough to choose from:
http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

IMO, downloading a Linux ISO, burning it, and rebooting the machine and running off the LiveCD is the easiest way to try them out.

 

[meuge]

I use Ubuntu 7.04... and have been using Linux full time for about 6 months.

I loaded it as a gag on my laptop, just to see what the fuss was about. Stopped booting into Windows in about 2 weeks.

... and I had no previous experience with Linux.

Ubuntu 7.04 + Beryl (desktop effects manager) is better looking, faster and more responsive, more productive, and free. I've converted over 10 people to using it so far, and all of them happily ditched Windows.

 

[bitslammer]

I give some version of Linux a whirl every year for a couple weekes get fed up and go back to Windows. Recently wanted to try Unbutu but could nto get it to see my wireless NIC on my Compaq laptop and gave up.

Seems like I always have driver issues and I'm also a gamer which makes Windows somewhat a requirement. I'm not a higher fan of MS but for me at least Windows is hassle free because of driver support. That being said I don't use MS Office, Outlook, IE or just about any MS software. I'm quite happy to go elsewhere for those features.

 

[Pellidon]

Ubuntu 6.10 only on my main PC. Suse 10.1 and XP on my old desktop, when XP decides to not crash into oblivion. Big Laptop runs XP and Fedora Core 6, Soon to go to FC7 or whatever they call it now. My mini tablet PC Samsung Q1 runs only XP as Linux doesn't get the tiny screen right yet.

The dual boots run fine. The old XP crash-o-matic did that before my first dual boot install.

I even replaced my Ipod's OS with Rockbox so I can play OGG files. And an old Ipaq 3800 pocket PC runs Opie, a Linux desktop for pocket PC.

My lifesaver has been Puppy linux on a pen drive to recover PC's at work that get infections.

Excuse me, I think my cat ran off with my pocket pen case. BRB :twothumbs

PS: NO vista for me. I had a costly work related issue with the boys at Redmond last year and I'm through supporting buffoons and wastrels.

 

[Mike Painter]

Linux is like CP/M was. Everybody had a version and it might or might not run on your computer and with your hardware. Software you need might or might not be available, might or might not run with your machine, and might or might not get fixed. If you are doing something for fun and make it available freely, you don't have to fix it if you don't want to.

It's fun to work with if you want to play with an OS, but if you want to drop in a CD, have it install itself and start using it with support, it's the world of paying for things.

As with CP/M, the 'Nix guru is liable to tell you it's simple and if you want to fix it, just "write a few lines of code"

 

[meuge]

Software you need might or might not be available, might or might not run with your machine, and might or might not get fixed. If you are doing something for fun and make it available freely, you don't have to fix it if you don't want to.

It's fun to work with if you want to play with an OS, but if you want to drop in a CD, have it install itself and start using it with support, it's the world of paying for things.

I disagree. Have you ever tried to install Windows XP on 3-year-old hardware? Or have you ever tried to install Windows Vista on 3-month-old hardware?

Windows has a myriad of issues with drivers and hardware compatibility, but whenever such a problem arises, people inevitably blame the manufacturer.

Why, then, when Linux driver issues surface, people always blame the operating system? Just because some manufacturers are too lazy to port their drivers to Linux, doesn't make it a bad operating system. The driver support issues aren't inherent to an OS being free or non-free, but only to its market penetration. That's why so much hardware is simply not available for Macs. Yet again, few people complain, but rather take it as a given.

But Dell, Lenovo, and Asus, are all currently selling Linux-based PCs. And as the market penetration of the OS increases, and the demands of the OEMs grow more prolific, hardware manufacturers will take notice.

In the end, 99% of modern (read 3 years or younger) hardware is completely compatible with Linux. If you are purchasing a new computer, it is absolutely trivial to ensure compatibility.

 

[light_emitting_dude]

I tried ubuntu and like it along with LinuxOS 2007. I think I'm going to use one of my extra hard drives and a hard drive selector switch so I can boot from either drive and don't have to mess with partitioning. Then I will have my dual OS system!

Thanks for all of the replies. I have run the Live CD on several computers with no issues. I'm impressed with Linux. Wish I would have started using in sooner!

 

[PhotonWrangler]

A thought about booting Linux from a thumb drive; Linux, like any OS, needs to access the drive very often, particularly the swap file. Flash drives have a finite number of re-write cycles available before they begin to fail. This isn't an issue for the typical casual use of a flash drive, but when an OS pounds on the drive continuously, that's likely going to wear it out prematurely.

While I like the idea of having an "OS on a stick," I don't plan to use one this way until flash drive technology improves to accomodate this kind of heavy use.

Stick with bootable CDs while you're trying out different distros and you'll be ok. BTW I'm currently running Red Hat 8 on a server and Ubuntu on another one with no problems.

 

[Eugene]

And that answers LED's question how?


LED, another thing you might look into is running a Linux distribution within a virtual machine.

My laptop has Windows loaded and a program call VMware player. VMware has many virtual machines (appliances) on their site with many of the favorite distributions already installed and configured for immediate use. It's a great way to find what distribution works the best for you before downloading and creating any CD's. The best thing about these appliances is that they will work on any PC as long as you have enough memory to run both Windows and then the Linux machine on top of that. Check out http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ and then PM me for more information if you are interested. :thumbsup:

Also, I agree that either Ubuntu or Fedora would probably be best for beginners. They both should get the job done, but if you are a gamer, you will have to stick with Windows for a while.

One thing to be wary of, when you run any OS in a virtual machine under XP it runs very slow. The poorly designed memory management of XP fights with any large app.
Now running XP under Linux (undervmware) you almost can't tell it the difference between virtual and hardware.

I gave up on XP about three years ago and have been running Slackware on my laptop and my small server since then.

 

[Eugene]

A thought about booting Linux from a thumb drive; Linux, like any OS, needs to access the drive very often, particularly the swap file. Flash drives have a finite number of re-write cycles available before they begin to fail. This isn't an issue for the typical casual use of a flash drive, but when an OS pounds on the drive continuously, that's likely going to wear it out prematurely.
.

Your thinking Windows. Linux can run read only just fine so it doesn't wear out the flash drive. I'm running my home server from a CF card in an IDE adapter. I'll remount it read/write if I want to change anything but other than that it runs read only never writing to the flash.

 

[Mike Painter]

I disagree. Have you ever tried to install Windows XP on 3-year-old hardware? Or have you ever tried to install Windows Vista on 3-month-old hardware?

Um yes, lots and lots and older wrt XP. I upgraded my 300 Mhz machine to it with no problems.
As for Vista see below.


Windows has a myriad of issues with drivers and hardware compatibility, but whenever such a problem arises, people inevitably blame the manufacturer.

And rightly so. The local university is fighting Vista for the same reason they fought XP and the same reason they fought 95.
They don't listen to what MSFT has been telling them.
I can go back to DOS 2.0 for the same reasons.
Stuff does not work.
Why? Because they found faster ways to do things and ignored what MSFT said about using unsupported calls. (The techs get very quiet when I point this out.)
Same thing happened in the very early days when they found *ignoring* the OS and writing directly to the screen or drive was faster (and it was a *lot* faster then) Then things changed and the stuff stopped working.

Why, then, when Linux driver issues surface, people always blame the operating system? Just because some manufacturers are too lazy to port their drivers to Linux, doesn't make it a bad operating system. The driver support issues aren't inherent to an OS being free or non-free, but only to its market penetration. That's why so much hardware is simply not available for Macs. Yet again, few people complain, but rather take it as a given.

Theu don't blame the OS, they know it is because of the open souorce concept. Nobody has to write the code that makes a zonko three video card run if they don't have one. They are not getting paid to do it.
A manufacturor who sells on the other hand has money involved and will take the time to do it and get it right *if* there is a market. As yet it's not worth it.

There is little incentive for them to do that with Linux now because the market is to small. One driver, one install package for windows. For Linux it's CP/M days.


But Dell, Lenovo, and Asus, are all currently selling Linux-based PCs. And as the market penetration of the OS increases, and the demands of the OEMs grow more prolific, hardware manufacturers will take notice.

Could be. I've been hearing that sice day one and heard the same thing about Unix taking over.

In the end, 99% of modern (read 3 years or younger) hardware is completely compatible with Linux. If you are purchasing a new computer, it is absolutely trivial to ensure compatibility.