i was curious if anyone here uses this OS instead of the traditional Windows OS. I wanted to know because i want to step up to the open source community and see what its like. things have got to change... for a change. I just want to see other peoples point of views before i blow 120 dollars on this OS.
RedHat --- does anyone here use this??
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You need to talk to the resident Linux guru, Bob Sully: http://www.celicasupra.com/phpBB2/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=22
He would eat a bowl of earthworms with milk on them before he'd have Microsoft stuff on his PC. Hahahahahaha :wink:
He would eat a bowl of earthworms with milk on them before he'd have Microsoft stuff on his PC. Hahahahahaha :wink:
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I'm a Debian-head myself. RedHat or Mandrake is a good start for getting into Linux, but everyone eventually ends up at Debian, Gentoo or Slackware.
-Chan
-Chan
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Welllll....don't exactly know how to respond here...kind of feel like I'm walking into a hornet's nest. Yes, I run Linux...RedHat on my servers (both doing mail, www, firewalling, file and print serving), Mandrake and Debian on my internal and office machines. I won't go back. 
My servers have been up for two years straight, if you don't count voluntary power-downs to upgrade hardware, and one long power outage which outlasted my UPSes.
For a look at at one of the possible GUIs for Linux (WindowMaker), check out that thread where everybody's posting screenshots.
http://www.celicasupra.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=31716#31716
I will admit that Quick isn't by any means doing badly running xBSD on his firewall. It is quite secure.
My $0.02 worth (actually $0.00 - Linux and the apps are all free!)
-- Bob --
My servers have been up for two years straight, if you don't count voluntary power-downs to upgrade hardware, and one long power outage which outlasted my UPSes. For a look at at one of the possible GUIs for Linux (WindowMaker), check out that thread where everybody's posting screenshots.
http://www.celicasupra.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=31716#31716
I will admit that Quick isn't by any means doing badly running xBSD on his firewall. It is quite secure.
My $0.02 worth (actually $0.00 - Linux and the apps are all free!)
-- Bob --
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Short of a complete kernel recompile, drivers and updates are installed while the system is up and running. This tends to work very smoothly especially in debian. apt-get update ; apt-get upgrade.
My time was free when I started using Linux a couple years ago. Now I wouldn't switch back because I don't have time to deal with Window's random problems and crashes. After the initial learning curve, keeping a Linux machine up to date is a lot less painful than keeping Windows up to date. Instead of the go to windowsupdate, click on one patch, find out it can't be installed at the same time as the other 39 patches you selected. Install one. reboot. rinse. repeat. Debian especially is just apt-get update to get the latest list of software available. apt-get upgrade now all the stuff on your system is the latest version. It asks all the questions ahead of time. so you just answer those then minimize the window and let it do its thing with the upgrades.
-Chan
My time was free when I started using Linux a couple years ago. Now I wouldn't switch back because I don't have time to deal with Window's random problems and crashes. After the initial learning curve, keeping a Linux machine up to date is a lot less painful than keeping Windows up to date. Instead of the go to windowsupdate, click on one patch, find out it can't be installed at the same time as the other 39 patches you selected. Install one. reboot. rinse. repeat. Debian especially is just apt-get update to get the latest list of software available. apt-get upgrade now all the stuff on your system is the latest version. It asks all the questions ahead of time. so you just answer those then minimize the window and let it do its thing with the upgrades.-Chan
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Man -- you haven't used Windows in a while, eh? The patching process can be setup to run automatically now. Mine patches my system each night at 3am. I never have to touch it and I'm up-to-date.
Btw, I never have random Windows crashes. Of course I don't install freeware shit like a lot of people do...
Btw, I never have random Windows crashes. Of course I don't install freeware shit like a lot of people do...
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Chan's right....I check for security patches for my servers on a regular basis, download and install them while the machine's running. No reboot required. Debian's method (apt-get) is truly slick, without any dependency hassles. There is now a version of this out there for RedHat (and the later Mandrake versions), though you'll have to get and install the packages yourself (takes all of about three minutes).
Gentoo, RockLinux and the other "compile-the-whole-thing-yourself" distros aren't really for beginners. Mandrake is probably the best place to start....quite a few have said it's easier to install than Windows.
Yeah, WindowsUpdate....a couple of my kids' machines still run Windoze (2000) because they need one or two specific applications. When all those worms started making the rounds a couple of months ago, I went ahead and used WindozeUpdate to install the patches. On one of the boxes, the registry got completely hosed during the process and I had to re-install the OS. The other one blue-screens every time it gets shut down since - not enough to warrant re-install yet (since you have to re-install all the apps, too-at least the older versions (98, for example) would allow you to reinstall the OS and just clean up the registry in the process!!)
Linux isn't perfect, but it gives me a lot less headaches than Windows ever did, and I don't have to worry about Microsoft's legal team every time I set up a new machine (not to mention their alliance with the RIAA and the MPAA and all that entails!).
I actually got the wallpaper on my desktop from Sidman!! I'll put it on my FTP server if anyone wants it.
-- Bob --
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quick
Nope, I haven't used Windows as my desktop OS in like 5 years. Until recently though I adminned about 70 NT4 machines. They're all Win2000 now, which is a huge improvement but they can still be quite troublesome.
-Chan
Nope, I haven't used Windows as my desktop OS in like 5 years. Until recently though I adminned about 70 NT4 machines. They're all Win2000 now, which is a huge improvement but they can still be quite troublesome.
-Chan
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If you're happy with your stuff then by all means have fun. I'm the kind of person that uses the best tool for the job. When you work with computers all day the last thing you want to do is fuck with them even more when you get home. ...that's why I stopped using hobby os's a while ago.
Like I said -- to each their own.
Like I said -- to each their own.
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The fact that you have to recompile your own kernel is indicative that it's still at that level in my opinion.Malibyte said:
Let's not quibble here -- the point is that it takes time to set it up and keep it secure. That's time I'd rather use on other things.
Cheers.
for whats its worth, windows XP got rid of a lot of the problems and crashing issues... im not saying its perfect, cause yes, it CAN crash... i think i crashed xp once... and that was with an already corrupted install.
i accomplished it by going into the system folder and randomly deleting things that sounded important.
i trimmed down about 30 megs of stuff before windows got flaky, then i got about another 10mb deleted and boom, she went down.
repair installs allow you to fix MOST things that go wrong without reinstalling all the apps.
about the licensing thing... its only an issue if your using a cracked cd, a warezd copy, or if you reinstall on a monthly basis.
even if your using a "non-registered copy" for whatever reason, theres ways and means around it, if you choose to break the law.
most people do a critical upgrade about once a year, maybe not nearly that often, and with XP, ive found thats the ONLY time you need to do a full reinstall, unless you get a virus and are unable to remove it properly.
just my 2 cents on windows XP...
i accomplished it by going into the system folder and randomly deleting things that sounded important.
i trimmed down about 30 megs of stuff before windows got flaky, then i got about another 10mb deleted and boom, she went down.
repair installs allow you to fix MOST things that go wrong without reinstalling all the apps.
about the licensing thing... its only an issue if your using a cracked cd, a warezd copy, or if you reinstall on a monthly basis.
even if your using a "non-registered copy" for whatever reason, theres ways and means around it, if you choose to break the law.
most people do a critical upgrade about once a year, maybe not nearly that often, and with XP, ive found thats the ONLY time you need to do a full reinstall, unless you get a virus and are unable to remove it properly.
just my 2 cents on windows XP...
personally, i have win xp professional corporate version (no need to register) running on my home PC and i think it runs like a champ! hehe.. But im just tired of windows, and want to learn something new and interesting, henceforth the open source community. I see that there is a lot of support out there and a lot of users which makes for a good step up. And also, im just sick of the ridicolous priced programs that microsoft makes, especially being a student in college.
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