Seeking Linux recommendation for BP6

OS / Drivers / BIOS
purrkur
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Post by purrkur »

hugoc wrote:Granted, and absolutely, but that's no reason to be repeating those errors in Linux, I'm sure you agree. It's plain to see that there are a great many uses out there, of which the desktop is only one, and Linux will do very well if it can not only adapt to the needs of the particular user or task but do so transparently. Currently, both are only done partially. Linux can be optimised for a particular task, but only so far (no way to turn off network window transparency for a standalone system) and with a lot of user involvement (Yoper's developer said that all of what he had done for speed could be done for any other distro, but it would take a lot of time and in-depth knowledge).?
Yeah, I agree with you here. Got one question for you though. Are you sure that the window transparency takes any overhead when not used?? I am not so sure. And I am not so sure that it is the cause of code bloat either (remember that this technology was made available before the 486 was a mainstream cpu). Also, now that X has moved to x.org instead of Xfree86, lets see what happens. I am pretty sure that the development pace of X will pick up now that the egos at Xfree86 are out of the picture.
First of all, I'm not the typical desktop user, I am actually an enthusiast and I like to tinker. Secondly, where would we be if James Watt had said, "hey, screw this steam-engine crap, horses are working out just fine"? Just because what I have now seems perfectly satisfactory doesn't mean that I might not find something even better, so I'm open-minded and willing to experiment.
:lol: :lol: How can anyone argue with this logic?? Good one! :D

Absolutely, but all the hoo-har in the Linux world right now is about the desktop market and how to unseat Microsoft. It seems that everyone wants to go there and I'm just offering my $0.02 on how they might be able to. I'm not saying that the core of Linux needs to change just for the desktop because plainly that would damage what has made it such a great server OS (for instance), however, we might also consider that one size does not fit all and perhaps the OS that made such a great e-commerce server might not also make a great desktop OS for the computer illiterate?
Yup. So true. However, it is the different distros that are making noise on unseating MS. Torvalds himself said that unseating MS will just be an unintentional sideffect :)

My point is that for a desktop user, Installshield is easy and transparent. The power user such as yourself can pick holes, but you don't need Installshield anyway. Linux should develop some kind of unified installer system, or settle on a standard it already has like apt. The trouble is that everybody is pulling in different directions, some developers release apt packages, some rpm, some are distributing source. We need to decide what method we're using and just announce, hey, from now on everybody needs to get using apt (or whatever). And then develop apt and make it as user-friendly and intuitive as possible for the desktop users, and remember to retain the advanced options for people such as yourself. :) The command line is great, but home users won't touch it with a ten-foot pole.
I agree. A standard would be nice in this regard but I don't really see it as a necessity. The two big packaging systems (not installers) are rpm and dpkg. There are others but I would say that 90-95% of all binary packages are built using either one of those. Apt, urpmi and so on are not packaging systems but installers and they are command line based. I don't see that as a problem either since 99% of Linux products are actually command line based and the graphical stuff is just a point and click shell sitting on top of the command line stuff. I think that is a strength since if somebody makes a bad gui for a program, anybody else can build a new gui based on the exact same program but I digress :)

If all major programs found in the Linux world are found as both rpm and deb package then I would think that it would be a very good thing indeed and this problem would be mostly eliminated. I actually see rpm as the bigger problem here since the different distros based on rpm cannot always share rpm packages between them. This shortcoming isn't as evident with deb packages.
Sure! Canadian beer is better than American beer. :)
Hehehe! Good stuff! I remember drinking that beer called Moosehead or something like that. Pretty good! Btw, I am glad to see more Linux techies hanging around BP6.com! Hope to see more of you here in the forums!
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PDR60
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Post by PDR60 »

This is avery interesting read. Its refreshing to see everyone discussing Linux instead of screeching about their distro. I have used Slack, Mandrake, Redhat and others. I think the battle for the desktop is coming and The great thing about it is the choice. It really doesn't matter what distro you choose. The kernel is to the point that installing linux is easier then windows anymore. I think the biggest hurdle for Linux now is the multimedia sector. There just isn't allot of stuff coded to run on Linux.

That being said I just finished a round of Doom 3 on my Mandrake box. Its coming and Microsoft knows it. As with others in this thread, I think RPM and apt are going to win the day in the end. Although for those of us that like it, Source code compiling is always an option. The avarage Joe is a point and click guy though. Systems like RPM and apt are very close to this. I run a site for beginers thats based on Mandrake. By the time the user finishes all the small How-To's there isnt hardly any command line needed. Good or bad???? depends on your point of view. For the transitioning windows user its great. For the Linux purist, it brings them to tears.

Funny thing is that the better you get at Linux the more you use the console. Its a learning curve. Heck I've only been running it for 3 years. I became windows free about 2 years ago. I've also stuck with Mandy(but Gentoo is looking "oh so cool")

I think in the end that Linux will win the day and as users we are helping improve and spread the Linux evolution.

PDR60
purrkur
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Post by purrkur »

Hi PDR60. Glad to see your input into the discussion.
I think the biggest hurdle for Linux now is the multimedia sector.
Well, I can get just about everything I want working (streams, video etc) so I believe that this hurdle is pretty much taken care of. However, there are no user friendly paths to get this working. Also, most of the solutions out there build on using Windows DLL's etc to get the stuff working so licensing might be an issue which might be the reason no one is interested in doing a user friendly solution. I have been hearing good things about Realplayer 10 for Linux though but I haven't tried it.
By the time the user finishes all the small How-To's there isnt hardly any command line needed. Good or bad????
Hmmm. I am an advanced user myself so it is command line all the way. However, I am not religious on this issue. If we can provide a command-line free distro then great! Just as long there is an alternative where I and other advanced users can have our faithful command line to work in.
2x533MHz@544MHz, 2.0V
640MB PC100 memory
Realtek RTL-8139 NIC
Maxtor 6Y080L0 80GB hdd
Debian Linux stable with 2.4.8 kernel
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