[fleamailman]

I am looking for an os that is as simple as windows to install, I only need to do mail and Internet with it, my fear is driver recognition and my own stupidity.

No rush to answer this post but this might turn into a long thread if your answer sings to me.

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OS? As in buy a OS or use that Virtual PC? I dont if that is legal but I have seen it somewhere in GTG.
RockyIV

[RockyIV]

OS? As in buy a OS or use that Virtual PC? I dont if that is legal but I have seen it somewhere in GTG.
RockyIV

[Michael]

Slax is simple to use and very small and easy to use for a biginer (like me)

You could Get Myah which is very simple to use (and based on slax) the programs are called my that do and not there realy Linux name (an instant messager is called messager). Look down to the bottem of my signature. I have had not problems with either of these execpt that they do not detect my computer monitor properaly, but no worse than a new install of XP dose.

Also so I have found that Linspire is very good version of Linux only it in not noramly free, but till the end of the sixth they are giveing away free copies if you go to their web page, the only thing is you can't get through most of the time becase there servers are over loaded, so here is a short cut to the torrent file that you can get if you get to the end linspire_5.0.59.torrent.

All three are live CD's and can be install once you are up and runing, the good thing about that is if you don't like the live CD you don't install it.

Edited by Michael Buckley, 05 September 2005 - 04:50 AM.

[RockyIV]

Whats is Slax anyway? What does it do?

Edited by RockyIV, 05 September 2005 - 04:14 AM.

[Michael]

All are versions of Linux, which is a free operating system, there are lots of types to chose form. Some are just 50mb in size when download others are 10gb download (and that is compressed so when instaled is can blow out to 25Gb, which is a lot more that a fresh install of XP (800mb) if you do not countthe pagefile, and most of it is programs!!!! There are hundreds of versions of Linux to chose form because any one that knows how is allowed to rewrite it so it is how they what it. I am sure that you can find one that you like if you know where to look (I do and can give you a list of pages to look at if you what).

What dose it do well is depends on what version you download, with versions like debian (the 10GB download) it is more a question of what it dose not do. A small version like Slax (178mb download) you can connect to the web, get e-mail, edit documents,instant messaging, play games (there are good gamse for linux that are free I will give you a page on them it you what), make web pages and more, and if it dose not have a program to do something you can download it of course. Wall all in all just about any thing you can do in Windows (there is a program that makes it that you can run most windows program in Linux and well)

And there is one thing that Linux dose not do, and the is get Viruses (93% of people with linux never get one) and even the ones that you do get don't do as much as in Windows. Why? it is becase of how it is made I could get tecnical with it but to keep is simple, Windows packs every thing that is can into the core of the opating system, linux keeps as much out as possible. This makes as smaller target, becase it you dont attack the core (kernel, it you know the term) of the operating system the user will never know becasse it dose not affect them any more then stuffing up one program or somthing like that.

Edited by Michael Buckley, 05 September 2005 - 05:24 AM.

[fleamailman]

High, this is really a great thread, my last'ish question here is how easy is it to install and why doesn't dent Micro$$$oft's position seeing that it is so much cheaper.

RockyIV is correct in asking me about the licence of linux, being free I imagine I am allowed to use one copy on many machines, and if can get Internet and P2P out of it, I will never need to have buy Microsoft os again.

[Michael]

RockyIV is correct in asking me about the licence of linux, being free I imagine I am allowed to use one copy on many machines, and if can get Internet and P2P out of it, I will never need to have buy Microsoft os again.

Linux has a General Public licence, that means that you can install it on every computer there ever was form your one CD, you can also it you have the know how change it and sell or give the new version away for free, it is also legal to copy the CD as many times as you what and give them to other people for free or at a price.

Also if you what a version that is easy to use and can do just about every thing I am told (and I am downloading) SuSE but I did not list this in my first post becase fleamailman only what the internet (web + chat) the first can do that with out all the extra programs that make SuSE a 3.5GB download. It has all that he says he what in the quick launch by dafault

Just to give you and idea of how easy it is to install the first too you just pop the CD's in and reboot your computer (make sure that your bios it set up do do it, I have is so that it always look for the CD first, If I leave a CD like a game it just ignores it any way) then you just let it boot form the CD it will ask you to log in and load the desktop (it says how) and the in the start menu you chose the install program chose what hard drive you what and it installs is about 2 minets.

[Michael]

High, this is really a great thread, my last'ish question here is how easy is it to install and why doesn't dent Micro$$$oft's position seeing that it is so much cheaper.

It is not only cheeper (you can't get cheeper that free can you) but more stable becase of the way it is desinged, and error in Linux causes much less problems than one in Winodws. I read a long essay on it a a few weeks ago I will see if I can find it again. The reason that it is not popular is it has a reputation for being a thing for Geeks to play with and untill reciently that was true it was not easy to install, now that has changed it has to get over that reputaion. Also in many cases it is hard to install software, with slax you can add program to the .iso file which makes it very easy but after install it is not so easy. Also there has been untill lately very few games, that has also change and I can show you a page on so of the good ones if you what.

[shard92]

Well I'm no expert in the area of linux but I have been experimenting for awhile and there are some good suggestions here. A live cd will give you a chance to test to see if you like the software and they will detect your hardware( hopefully anyway! ) Also SUSE and Mandrake ( now Mandriva ) are both easy to install. I had a P2 400 gateway and both found everything and installed all drivers automatically for me. Including my External modem ( in fact the modem performs much better under linux ). In my opinion SUSE was much easier to get to work with the internet than Mandrake ( that is what it was called when I tried it ) but again that's an opinion. SUSE does have a live cd available as well so you could try it out before committing to it.

As far as e-mail the only e-mail I use is web based so I didnt' even have to set up anything with linux.

Good luck...

[fleamailman]

I am converted, where is the church door?

I am using a modem rooter and I want to try it out on this machine first, I don't play games so that helps, I just really want Internet and mail security, oh and when they discontinue the support of XP forsing everyone to vista I will be out of their range. I will have a copy of mandrake tomorrow. I will start a new thread to tell everyone how it went later. Thanks

[Thef0rce]

err.... 25 gb linux?? a full install of fedora core 4 and other newer versions of slackware, mandrake, etc is at the very most only 5gb and thats if you install 'everything'. more than an xp install for sure but its also about 100x better than xp.

lol and if they were 10gb to download it wouldnt have taken me 3 hours to download 4 cd's over a 1mb connection, it would've taken days.

linux doesnt get hard hit by viruses because not a lot of people use linux these days and virus makers generally want to spread their virus very far. there's no point getting one linux box and then waiting for it to find another when they can just sweep through windows pc's. partitions make it difficult for viruses to have enough priviledges to get at the kernel files. this is why you should always run linux in a user account and not as root, even if you're the only person who uses the system.

the only problem i'm experiencing is that kernels dont work with sis motherboard chips. my newer motherboard is cursed with those things which work better for xp but hate linux.

[Michael]

Wrong Linux is harder to attack then Windows. Did you know that 63% of internet servers run Linux and the rest run Windows, yet allmost all of the virues aimed at servers attack the Windows ones? The reason that Linux dose not get viruses is becase of how it is made, it is not set up like Windws at all. That is the reason that is dose not get viruses.

[fleamailman]

High, I have a comp of 2gb, which linux, which boot up disk.
another at 4gb, sane questioin.

Tried Kubunto for both, failled probably too big.
Tried smalller distro, cd doesn't say which one but I think it is DSL, failled also, for the 4gb machine.

I am running kubunto on my main machine, crashes, and broken sound on playing mp3s, but I agree it is wonderful for surfing and beyond the Empire.

[comanighttrain]

SLACKWARE!!!!!

hehe, sorry, if you ask a question like yours, you will get a hundred different answers. My personal favoured linux is slackware, but i like knoppix, fedora, Mandr(ake/iva), Yoper and Mepis.

For your purposes, with the small hard drive space, Knoppix is a good live cd, a cut down fedora or slackware will do nicely, by cut down i mean dont intall every package.

Yoper would work if you have a I686 machine (pentium, K6/athlon)

[Michael]

Try Suse 9.3 and don't install every thing, it is very good, if only I could get my wireless to work, which is very hard in Linux