Which OS

[Stepho_62]

G'day gang,

I'm posting this from a machine using Unbuntu. I've just started to use linux os and I'm curious to know what other think of the non MS/Mac OS.

I'm aware of Knoppix, Unbuntu Debian, Fedora, etc I recently downloaded a version of Debian but the ISO is corrupt as the check sum doesn't validate.

But back to the original question, Which is the best penguin OS?

One other question, is there a full functioning video camming app for linux? WhenI was running windows I was using Skype. What is available with similar functionality for linux?

Cheers

[justinc]

G'day A,

I have no idea what you are talking about, but just wanted to say Hi and hope you are considering a Gen3 and a Hollinger trans for the new silver toy you have secreted in the driveway...:D
And when you are talking to Sharples next, make sure you spruik lockers to him, he is teetering on the edge of indecision:p
Stay well!

JC etc

[austastar]

Hi,
as a bit of an experiment I loaded Ubuntu as the only OS on my computer at work about 3 years ago.
It is brilliant for Remote Desktop work on some of the servers I have to use for AD, print server, and general file server work.

Email and browsing are no trouble - every thing works.

Some compatibility problems with extreme MS Word documents - not all of the features are there, some fonts are not compatible and will give strange page layouts.

No problem with images - GIMP will do most of the photoshop tricks that are needed.

I turned it off the other day to move a power cord. It wanted to do a disk check on restarting - because it had been running 224 days since last restart.
Now get a Windoze box to do that being used all day every day.

cheers

[JDNSW]

Your question is a bit like "What is the best Landrover?". There is not really an answer! You have to define what you mean by best first.

Anything you can do with one Linux distribution, you will be able to do with virtually any other - just might be a bit easier. The commonly used graphic desktops are Gnome, which is what you are using with Ubuntu, and KDE - but you don't have to change distributions to change to KDE - unless you did a non-standard install you can select a KDE session from the bottom LH options in your login screen. The main differences between distributions are the tools to install and update, and the selection of software available/standard, but the overlap is so large that for most people this is not a factor.

Another difference is how up to date the software is - some distributions try to use only stable, well tested versions, others try to have the latest, bugs and all.

I have not used video camming, so can't comment - but I believe there is software available, although camera support may be the problem.

Most problems with Word documents come form using different fonts that are not exactly the same size as the MS fonts. the solution is to use the MS ones if they are installed in Windows on the same computer.

John

[mjm295]

But back to the original question, Which is the best penguin OS?

One other question, is there a full functioning video camming app for linux? WhenI was running windows I was using Skype. What is available with similar functionality for linux?

Cheers

The Best - IMHO RedHat but we pay for it at work

There is a program similar to Skype for Windows......its called skype:wasntme:

[Stepho_62]

Hi Folks,

Thanks for your responses.

JC, I'll makes sure he comes to a sensible solution. As for MissT the race car well I can get myself into enuff trouble without fiddling with it any more.

Austastar, John, Thanks for your responses. The version of Ubuntu I'm using came from Aussie PC user magazine and is called User Extreme OS. Its a modded version of the Ubuntu distro from last year (Hardy Heron) which was declared stable.

Austastar, u might be interested to know that they did a home server version too.

John, I'm looking for an OS that is as close to the MS OS but without the massive overhead that is built into Windoze for security, copyright etc. My biggest problem at the moment is ignorance on how they work (Linux).

I am slowly learning how to drive it and I'm amazed at the backwards compatibility of many of the windoze file formats, its great.

As for skype, I downloaded the linux version and it won't do sms messageing and it won't do video so unless I have some set up issues that I'm not aware of then all it appears it will do in IP telephony.

I'm still in discovery mode, any hints, tips, tricks etc antone can give I'll be forever grateful. :D

[mjm295]

Try here for skype with video, not used it myself yet.

Skype 2.0 beta for Linux: the Great Revolution - Skype for Linux (http://share.skype.com/sites/linux/2007/11/skype_20_beta_for_linux_with_video.html)

[djam1]

Suse is very good I personally use Fedora and its very good its a little too cutting edge sometimes with updates destroying things.
If you download Clonezilla that will not be a problem

[JDNSW]

Hardy Heron LTS is the one I am using. I like Ubuntu's update and package mangers, but the other two I have used to any extent are Mandriva and OpenSuse, and I don't think there is really a lot to choose - their style is a bit different is the main thing, but until you get used to one there is not really a lot to say one is better than the other, and then it will only be because it is the one you are used to.

If you are looking for something more Windows like (bearing in mind that Linux is not windows) I suggest you try using KDE desktop, which, as I said you can change to for either a single session or as your standard from the login screen. If you decide to keep using it you will need to go to the package manager and download some of the KDE specific files - for example some of the Open Office features don't work without under KDE their KDE files. Note that when you do this sort of thing in Linux, there is none of the rebooting you have to do in Windows - at most you just restart the application.

PCLinuxOS is supposed to be more Windows-like, but I can't comment on it from personal experience.

Knoppix is the most versatile of the live CD distributions and is very useful even for trouble shooting Windows systems - I carry one with me when travelling, for example, so I can use other people's computers with my portable hard drive - which is in ext3 format and hence unreadable by Windows.

I find the magazine "Linux Format" useful, and look at the table of contents each month before deciding whether to buy it. I have also run into a lot of unreadable DVDs with it, which they will replace, but it is a hassle, and takes time.


John

[Scallops]

I was using Linux on a work PC the other day. The one thing I found as a deficiency was that I couldn't get a shell up to run Unix commands on our database discs. Maybe Linux does support this function, but I couldn't find it.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I was using Linux on a work PC the other day. The one thing I found as a deficiency was that I couldn't get a shell up to run Unix commands on our database discs. Maybe Linux does support this function, but I couldn't find it.

It would definitely have it somewhere in there!

I use Ubuntu for our Media PC and it's stable and just does the job. This pretty much describes all the other UNIX variants I've ever used. :)