Going to try Linux for the first time, needing some advice

[Mulchman MM]

Ubuntu is a great distro to start with.

7.10 has a live cd if you just wanted to boot up into linux without installing anything... there may be one for 8.04 ... 8.04 also seems to have some built in virtualization support as when I fire up 8.04 in VMWare I don't have to install VMWare tools which is great. I'll be switching my current 7.10 box to 8.04 when I get some new parts in the next few weeks.

One of the greatest parts of Ubuntu is the package system - there's no compiling shit from source (for the most part) and running into all kinds of weird compilation errors and crap you know nothing about or how to fix.

The forums are also great. If you're having some problem just google "Ubuntu <problem>" and you'll most likely find an ubuntu forum post about the issue.

Also, I didn't read the thread so I'm probably being redundant.

[Circuitous]

I can confirm 8.04 having a Live CD.

[mervaka]

8.04 can also install from windows! haha

Paft: try out the different desktop environments. GNOME is the default. KDE is a lot more bloatey but feature filled, XFCE is a lot more lightweight, and fluxbox is rediculously light, and also minimalistic.

EDIT: probably an idea to say i'm into GNOME, with a few visual tweaks like i use the glider theme, and extra visual effects.

Originally Posted by Mulchman MM

One of the greatest parts of Ubuntu is the package system - there's no compiling shit from source (for the most part) and running into all kinds of weird compilation errors and crap you know nothing about or how to fix.

indeed, thats probably the biggest selling point of all debian based distros. the other cool thing is that you can download 3rd party apps as '.deb' files, and installs itself that way. you can even hook up 3rd party repositories (file servers). the ubuntu/debian repositories are like windows update and a really big library of software all rolled into one.

Originally Posted by Mulchman MM

The forums are also great. If you're having some problem just google "Ubuntu <problem>" and you'll most likely find an ubuntu forum post about the issue

amen to that. those forums have saved me countless hours getting this or that hardware to work. they're also useful for pointing out what software's suitable to get a said task done, which i must admit the package manager could be better on (but hey, where's windows' package manager, eh? )

[Agent Buckshot Moose]

They need to have a version of Ubuntu for each letter of the alphabet. Personally I'd use Qubuntu just to confuse people with the K sound.

[mervaka]

just a note to everyone that ubuntu 8.10 is scheduled for release on the 30th of this month.

http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/intrepid/beta

[Mulchman MM]

Originally Posted by mervaka

you can even hook up 3rd party repositories (file servers).

yep, it's how I get XBMC (XBox Media Center)

a couple packages i recommend for anyone starting out with an ubuntu box connected to the internet - openssh-server, openssh-client, & firestarter. you can get all of these through "sudo apt-get install <package>"

firestarter is a ridiculously easy to set up firewall (if you need to VPN from the linux box you'll have to modify the user-pre file for firestarter [again, just search the ubuntu forums! i can specifically help here if you use cisco as your vpn client as i do too])

and openssh-server & openssh-client are so you can ssh into the machine (and ssh into other machines from the machine). you want to make sure you disable password authentication and switch to public/private key authentication (again, search the forums!)

and then a convenience package (if your machine is headless and you want to easily copy shit to it from other machines on the network w/o SSH'ing/SFTP'ing into it) is samba. it lets you set up folders to appear as windows shares on your network. i tell firestarter to only allow lan clients to connect to the ports samba uses, though.

another thing i can't live without is being able to VNC into the box. Ubuntu has a built in way to let someone connect to your current session via VNC but I don't use that. i have xinetd running an Xvnc server so when i connect to the box remotely i can see the login screen and login as any user. i can then (provided i don't log out of that session) log back into that existing session later on if i choose. i tunnel the VNC traffic over SSH as well

[Paft]

So the inevitability is I will need Windows at some point for something. What are pros and cons of Virtual machine and plain old dual boot?

[Mulchman MM]

personally i hate dual booting. it wastes time and invariably i want some resource on the other boot that i can't get from the current boot. i used to dual boot windows & slackware linux back in the day and once i booted into windows i would find i would stay there most of the time as i was very comfortable there and then it's kind of like what's the point of having the linux boot if i'm never using it?

i'm a huge fan of VMWare and i would look into vmware on linux with your winxp/vista in a vm.

i use VMWare Workstation on windows all the time for testing software & torrents that may be questionable to verify their validity before installing on my real system. i also have a couple ubuntu vm's for testing packages before i put them on my real ubuntu machine.

[Paft]

Since it's active in here atm I might as well double check a query here.

So.. I have just one HDD in my machine that is partitioned. First half is just enough room for Windows/program files and second half is for data.

I am completely replacing Win with Linux.

So Is this right?:

/dev/sda
/dev/sda6 ext3 / ........................xxxxxxmb
/dev/sda5 ext3 /home ..................xxxxxxxxmb

[mervaka]

use guided partition for whatever drive you want. cant go wrong.

[Mulchman MM]

yeah, use guided if you're unsure.

if you do do it manually make sure you have a swap partition and at least one partition whose mount point is "/". i typically use ext3 for all my non-swap partitions as well. i also like /home to be on a separate (& very large) drive and swap size to be 2x ram amount.

i rarely make separate partitions for /var or /boot or /usr or /tmp or whatever else you'll see in some tutorials out here... but that's just me.

edit - also, if you have a drive larger than a terabyte you'll have problems using gparted on it (so use qtparted instead)

[R22B]

Originally Posted by mervaka

all operating systems are at the mercy of hardware manufacturers. dont blame the OS.

Exactly. I'd be more than willing to really give Linux a try if I didn't have to spend countless hours getting stuff to work.

Microsoft and Apple have "great" operating systems because they just tend to work right out of the box.

With Linux, its kind of like shooting in the dark. I'd suggest going with a Distro, seeing what works and what doesn't, and then research on how to fix it. The knowledge you get for getting stuff to work is great... but man, sometimes its a PITA to get crap working.

[KubeDawg]

Originally Posted by Paft

Edit: Asides from the obvious goodness I am noticing tiny things I'm liking already. Example: I was just watching the Experience ubuntu vid, turning up the volume using media keys on keyboard and what do I see? a volume OSD. Something to me that is a necessity. Which Windows doesn't have as standard...

I believe Vista has it in there by default. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by volume on screen display.

is this what you refer to?:

[Paft]

Kind of. Yes, that is a useful an improvement. Not on Vista now though. Just trialed it out for a while. Went back to XP since I don't have a licence. Not fussed anyway.

Something that shows the volume when keyboard volume keys are pressed:

[R22B]

Originally Posted by Paft

Kind of. Yes, that is a useful an improvement. Not on Vista now though. Just trialed it out for a while. Went back to XP since I don't have a licence. not fussed anyway.

Something that shows the volume when volume keys are pressed on keyboard:

Well, thats also dependent on the manufacture/keyboard maker/etc... My friend had that feature on his Windows 98SE box

[Paft]

Obviously.

It's the little things Mircosoft forget about. They build a pretty new look with widgets and shit but yet forget the real productivity side of things. Example: like the ability to minimize any window to tray and so on.

[R22B]

Originally Posted by Paft

Obviously.

I'm at work, so I'm only reading every 3rd word :P

[Paft]

Heh.

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http://www.linux-xp.com

[R22B]

Originally Posted by Paft

Heh.

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http://www.linux-xp.com

Ha, that actually looks kinda neat.

[mervaka]

fact of the matter is, while lots of people now have access, computer users have taken a massive nosedive in average computer literacy. the average user these days doesnt know their way around a computer outside of MS office or internet explorer. that's the real root of the problem. people cant, and wont learn how to use a computer. this linux XP thing is a step backwards