(Note, this is not for GBK specifically, it was simply a clever subject!)

I am formatting this computer. I have 2 you see, and one of them is my gaming computer. I've finally reached the point where all I use this computer for is irc (xchat), instant messaging (trillian), and internet (firebird)...

SO I figured...why the hell am I using windows on this? Windows Me no less. I tore all the crap files out, found the ones i want to keep, stuck them on the shared folder on my other computer, and now I'm getting ready to format and install an operating system.

Of course, then it hits me...I have no friggin' idea how to do that. And so I ask for help!

1. What distribution (that is the correct term, is it not?) of linux shoudl i get to get all kinds of fancy advantages WITHOUT having too hard a time setting everything up?

2. Will I have compatibility problems between this computer and my other Windows XP computer? It is essential that i be able to easily transfer files and stuff between computers, I treat them as one computer most of the time.

3. What programs would i need to get for that particular distribution in order to have basic funcionality...Firebird, xchat, and trillian(?) would all work on linux, obviously, but what about e-mail and word processing and all that? (I will be aquiring the GIMP also)

4. A general purpose question...how should I go about formatting and installing my new operating system, whether it be linux or just back to windows?

Phew...I hope someone can help me. I would like to be able to function in a linux environment as easily and smoothly as I do in windows, you know, without having to think about it. I think running both operating systems is a good way to do that...

(I hope this isn't soemthing that should go int he tech forum, I thought it was non-specific enough and also helpful enough to others that the general discussion was a good palce for it.)

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WOOSH.
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I suggest Red Hat 9.
Easy to install. Should have everything you want.
XChat, GAIM and browsers.

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To artificial life, all reality is virtual.

Slackware 9.1 with dropline gnome is actually very easy to set up and only takes a half hour.

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The first Linux distro that I installed was Mandrake 9.1. I found it to be very noob-friendly.

I would try Knoppix first, so you can get a feel for Linux. When you are ready to make the move, you can either literally make Knoppix your linux system, or pick Red Hat, Mandrake, or SuSE. SuSE takes a bit more work, but I perfer it over the other two. It requires you to download the distro on the fly. It's extremely easy to do, but it takes a few hours, depending on your connection.

All the distrobutions I mentioned will automatically format the hard drive for you in preparation of linux. Going with default settings is near-foolproof, and hardware compatibility should not be a problem if you don't need much more than simple sound, video, and internet.

Nearly every distributions come with Mozilla. It's not firebird, but similar. It's the big monstrosity cousin of it. You can install Firebird later if you wish, and it's quite easy, especially if you are able to use the RPMs.

Also, lots of distros come with XChat, and GIMP, so that's no problem. I'm not sure about trillian, since I've never used it on Linux. GAIM is similar, and works well, and is on most distros.

KDE, the main Graphical Inviroment (think Windows as compared to DOS), comes with multiple word processing programs. Some distros also come with StarOffice, which I HIGHLY recommend. It's basically MSOffice, but free.

As the person mentioned above me, Slackware is also VERY NICE, but it is a little scarier if you aren't used to dos-type graphics. It's not too hard, especially if you do a full installation, but it can be a bit scary for a first-timer. Also, the fact that Slackware has no support for RPMs can be a big pain if you want to install software later. But it is a great distro though, if you are willing to work a bit at it.

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"The future is not determined by a throw of the dice, but is determined by the conscious decisions of you and me."
I am addicted to ellipses!!! AHHH!!! ...

If you have a lot of free time, I'd go with Emon's usual suggestion and say Gentoo. It's not easy to set up by any means, but then again Linux is not an easy OS to operate. Installing Gentoo will teach you basically everything you need to know about how Linux operates, and it includes a tool called Portage which lets you automatically retrieve and compile virtually every program you could ever need.

I went from knowing nothing about Linux to becoming modestly proficient after installing Gentoo a couple of times and playing with it for a week. It still didn't last long on my computer, but I learned a ton about it.

Jon'C- As you say, Gentoo isn't easy to set up. So if it's his first experiance with Linux, I'd go with something easier. My personal preference would be Mandrake. I'm running 9.1, and after I realized that the CD's didn't burn (took me 24 hours), the install went like a breeze. (Shut. Up.)

I'd suggest Mandrake. And since you have two computers, you can come to people for help too, incase you get stuck!

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MadQuack on Military school: Pro's: I get to shoot a gun. Con's: Everything else.
"I'm going to beat you until the laws of physics are violated!!" ! Maeve's Warcry

RIP -MaDaVentor-. You will be missed.

Mandrake is very ease and I recommend it as well.

If you do get slackware and need to use RPMs, you can use the built in RPM2TGZ utility. It's not as good as compiling it from the source, but it is useful if the sc isn't avaliable.

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Definitely try Knoppix. You can try it w/out installing anything. If you like it, you can install it with one simple command and a few clicks. It auto-configures everything, and when it's up and running, you get the large and mostly flawless debian package system.

Good advice has already been given, but Id like to chip in my 2 cents...

1) Do *NOT* go with Redhat. Im serious about this. If your just gonna set up a server, sure, but for the love of kak dont use Redhat as a desktop. I speak from experiance.

2) DOnt worry about WIndows compatability. With Samba (which is included in most distros) you can share files with any Windows machine, and mount Windows shares like any other filesystem. Infact, Samba servers will respond faster than a Windows file server. And once youve gotten used to editing the config file, setting up file shares with Samba is faster and easier than Windows...

3) Firebird on Linux isnt as great as it is on Windows. That said, I am writing this post in Firebird on Linux. However, there are a good many other browsers on Linux, namely Konqueror for KDE.

4) As far as I know, there is no Trillian Linux port. There are, however, a plethora of other multi-protocol IM clients on Linux. The one Ive been using lately is Kopete - KDE's IM client. It can handle *every* major protocol, and it does so smoothly. Itll even connect to IRC.

5) Most distros include xchat, or you could download the sources and compile it yourself . . but its not the end-all be-all of Linux IRC apps. Ive been using KSirc for a long time, and I love it. Theres a dozen more I can name off the top of my head, and I know there are more I cant think of at the moment..

6) KDE works just like windows . . . by default. You can tweak it to your hearts content, but by default it works like Windows. KDE has its own office suite, KOffice, which Ive grown to love more than OpenOffice. KDE also has its own email client - KMail, which Ive also fallen in love with. KDE's apps have the advantage of #1, being integrated into KDE, and #2, being very fast and lightweight. KMail lanches 5 times faster than Thunderbird ever did, and God knows KWord will be up and running long before the splash screen for OpenOffice even loads. (OpenOffice is the open-source version of StarOffice...)

7) For the distro, Im gonna throw one in for my own favorite, SuSE. I cant speak for 9.0 (I havent gotten ahold of a copy of it yet) but 8.2 is clean, slick, fast, and stable. Its what I use as my home desktop, and I love it. The installer is very clean, and should autodetect *all* of your hardware.


8) SuSE, however, isnt free. You can use their FTP installer, but Id rather eat old rusty nails than sit through that. Mandrake, however, is free. Ive used Mandrake extensively in the past, and there are specific reasons why I never adopted it as my desktop, but those issues shouldnt be a problem for you. Mandrake does offer a very good hardware support base, as well as a defualt interface that is tweaked for ex-Windows users. If you dont want to shell out the doe for SuSE, Mandrake is the way to go.

9) Slackware, Debian, Gentoo, all those are a pain to install. Im not insuling the distros - all three are rock solid - but their installers need major work. And when youve never used Linux before, and an installer wants to know the name of the kernel module for your network card . . . well, its not a good thing. This is where distros like Suse, Mandrake and Redhat really shine - installers that dont ask any hard questions, and can auto-configure *all* of your hardware.

10) If you have any questions, dont hesistate to send me an email, right after giving it the Google treatment.

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The future is here, and all bets are off.

I just put Slackware 9.1 on my laptop as it is used mainly for various programming. Yes it was a bit of a trifle to install. Normally it detects my network card but this time it didn't which did not please me. I have used Mandrake 8.1 in the past. I did find the installation quite nice. Much pleased I was with that. Perhaps I will go back to it. Rewipe HD and all that good stuff. Perhaps it will even ease configuraion of PCMCIA/Wireless. I dunno.

KDE isn't the only WM (Window Manager) out there. I'm running WindowMaker right now. I like that one. Simple and clean. But KDE is nice. It really is easy to configure and change appearance. Konsole is a damn good terminal. And I've used Eterm, xterm, rxvt, etc. I use a lot of programs from the KDE suite (Kate, KMail, KSirc, etc.) Those guys did a bang-up job!

Anyway, I'm long-winded and I close soon.

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<scribbly handwriting barely resembling name>

Wow! Thanks for all the help, guys.

I was going to try knoppix to get a feel for it first, but then I decided that I'm going to put linux on this computer whether I liek it or not, so I might as well jsut go ahead and do it. My dad happened to have cds with Mandrake 9.2 on them, and you guys seemed to like it, so I installed it. Good lord is this a lot to take in. I am so very lost...but I have instant messenging going (using gaim) because it jsut worked right away, and i think my e-mail is working (also required no special setup, of course).

I'm honestly incredibly lost, though. I can't even seem to access the filesystem, and my scanner is not working, though i think my printer is. I'm not sure where a lot of stuff I saw installing went, and I don't know how to access any configuration thingies. Oh, to be a newbie again. Hurray for change, it's painful but good.

*rushes off to figure all this stuff out*

[Edit: And I'm currently using KDE]
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WOOSH.
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[This message has been edited by BobTheMasher (edited February 02, 2004).]

What do you mean, you cant access the filesystem? Running as a refugular user, most things outside of your home directory off off-limits, and wouldnt hold anything work looking at anyway. If you really wanted to see it, click on the tab with the little red folder icon on the left of the directory pane in Konqueror's file management mode.



Good man.


...Your scanner not working could be caused by a number of things. Make/model?

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The future is here, and all bets are off.

[This message has been edited by GBK (edited February 02, 2004).]

Well, you know, it just seems liek the way you deal with files is very different than in windows and I don't know how, heh.

The scanner is very old, it's the visioneer paperport onetouch. and by THE i mean the first one. It wasn't in the list so i kinda just left it alone.

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WOOSH.
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Aye, it is different. Better, in my opinion. I think youll agree once you get use to it.



Yeah, most Visioneer scanners are unsuported. I say this, because I have a small pile of scanners right next to me that are useless to me, because Visioneer never released the required specs for anyone to build drivers for them.

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The future is here, and all bets are off.

Mmm... wonderful. Well, luckily there's exactly 6 other computers in this house that would be glad to have a scanner attached to them.

Thanks for all your help. I'm sure I'll come crying to you soon enough with problems that google couldn't kiss better.

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WOOSH.
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