Linux Mint

[Lynchmeister]

Yeah, when the installer gets to the part where you can partition the drives, delete everything.

Then, create a new partition for Win 7. It should tell you it wants to create another really small partition for system files, and that's fine.

Will do. Thanks, and I'll be sure to update you guys.

Edit: This was a step that I did not do the first time I tried to do a "clean install" of Win7, so here's hoping. Regardless, thanks again Wes, Richard, and Jordan, and the rest of you smart-asses who've kept me smiling through this ordeal.

[weshofmann]

Actually, I will say that XP still has some distinct advantages over Windows 7. While Windows 7 feels much faster than Vista and even XP, much of that is illusory and misleading. Microsoft worked hard to tweak their kernel scheduler and other portions of their codebase that directly effect how responsive and fast the user interface feels. The truth is though, that Windows 7 preserved all of the additional plumbing for DRM and other technologies that Microsoft added in Vista, thus in terms of true throughput XP can be significantly faster. There's just a lot less overhead. And note that when I say throughput, I don't mean regular UI-centric tasks; rather, large file copies, very cpu intensive operations (encoding movies/music, encryption, etc), games, and the like. If you put XP head to head with Win 7 for those tasks, XP will come out ahead every time.


Also, it's worth mentioning, if you already have an XP license, you really should download one of the alternative versions of XP that are circulating the nets.

For instance, I use and recommend the Windows XP: Black Edition (search btjunkie.org, thepiratebay.org, etc and you should find it). Basically, they took XP Pro SP3, stripped all the unneeded junk out of it, added a huge number of current-generation hardware drivers, added some useful software (like the uxtheme.dll patch), etc, etc. It's really nice, it detects almost all of your hardware during install, and just really eliminates all of the pain of using XP. Plus, it validates as genuine.

Like I said, IF you already have a license for Win XP Pro, then the above shouldn't actually be piracy in a legal sense. It's what I run on my netbook and it's FAR faster on there than Linux or OS X was. It's even noticeably faster than the bundled/included XP Pro was. Once you add a lightweight virus scanner (I use MS Security essentials) and a windows-maintenence utility like TuneUp Utilities (it's REALLY essential to have in windows) then your windows is nice, safe, usable, and doesn't degenerate over time.

[Lynchmeister]

Deleting the existing partition and creating a new one was the key! It worked! Thanks Wes!

[gollum83]

Screw that!

Well you asked! :tongue_sm

[weshofmann]

Deleting the existing partition and creating a new one was the key! It worked! Thanks Wes!

No problemo! Glad I could help!

[Lynchmeister]

Obligatory first post from Windows 7. :tongue:

[RichGem]

Obligatory first post from Windows 7. :tongue:

:spockflam :incazzato:ciappa:

[blackfoot]

Obligatory first post from Windows 7. :tongue:

With screen shot?

[weshofmann]

Obligatory first post from Windows 7. :tongue:

While you're at it, you should check out the Office 2010 beta. Works really well with Win 7 and it's been rock-solid stable for me so far (about 1.5 weeks)

[weshofmann]

While you're at it, you should check out the Office 2010 beta. Works really well with Win 7 and it's been rock-solid stable for me so far (about 1.5 weeks)

oh, and it's a FREE download from microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default.aspx).

[RichGem]

With screen shot?

Score!

[RichGem]

While you're at it, you should check out the Office 2010 beta. Works really well with Win 7 and it's been rock-solid stable for me so far (about 1.5 weeks)


oh, and it's a FREE download from microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default.aspx).

Anyone for some post doping? :lol:

[weshofmann]

Score!

Guys, what's with the screenshots? He installed Windows, not Gentoo!

[RichGem]

Guys, what's with the screenshots? He installed Windows, not Gentoo!

It's just protocol.

[RichGem]

Cory's new wallpaper (hint hint):

http://www.eugeneandtex.com/whencheesegetsitspicturetaken.jpg


or maybe:

http://img.wallpaperstock.net:81/cheese-mouse-wallpapers_7421_1024x768.jpg

[blackfoot]

Cory's new wallpaper (hint hint):

http://www.eugeneandtex.com/whencheesegetsitspicturetaken.jpg

Me?

[gollum83]

Guys, what's with the screenshots? He installed Windows, not Gentoo!


It's just protocol.

Yeah, it's protocol. :001_rolle


Cory's new wallpaper (hint hint):

http://www.eugeneandtex.com/whencheesegetsitspicturetaken.jpg


or maybe:

http://img.wallpaperstock.net:81/cheese-mouse-wallpapers_7421_1024x768.jpg

I like the second one.:laugh:

[weshofmann]

Yeah, you guys are pretty cheesy....

badum-ching! Thank you, thank you! Please, try the quiche!

[RichGem]

Yeah, it's protocol. :001_rolle



I like the second one.:laugh:

I prefer that one too.

[blackfoot]

I prefer that one too.

I didn't see that one when I quoted you.

[RichGem]

I didn't see that one when I quoted you.

it was a last minute edit

[blackfoot]

it was a last minute edit

It doesn't say you edited it. :a32:

[gollum83]

It doesn't say you edited it. :a32:

That's 'cuz he's the fast keyboard in the West. :cowboy:

[RichGem]

That's 'cuz he's the fast keyboard in the West. :cowboy:

Waaahooo!

[Lynchmeister]

With screen shot?

D'oH! I knew I forgot something...


oh, and it's a FREE download from microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default.aspx).

Nice! Thanks for the tip-off.

[Lynchmeister]

I love the ease of taking a screenshot in Linux. Is there such a way in Windows?

In the meantime, I've got Office 2010 downloading. Looks great! Question...why would they throw this out there for free? I understand it's a beta, but once you've got that (and it works as well as Wes testifies), why would you shell out for the finished product?

[Confuzius]

It stops working eventually, it's meant to test it out.

EDIT: October 2010 to be precise
http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/faqs/default.aspx#14q

[funkyb]

I love the ease of taking a screenshot in Linux. Is there such a way in Windows?

In windows the PrintScreen key places a BMP screenshot on your clipboard. If you use ALT+PrintScreen, it only captures the active window.


I understand it's a beta, but once you've got that (and it works as well as Wes testifies), why would you shell out for the finished product?

Lot's of reasons - bugs and no update/security support, incomplete feature list, etc. They may even shut the beta down - my beta build of Windows 7 is set to start rebooting every two hours beginning in March. Who knows, maybe the Beta of Office 2010 will remove the save button :blink:

[RichGem]

I love the ease of taking a screenshot in Linux. Is there such a way in Windows?

In the meantime, I've got Office 2010 downloading. Looks great! Question...why would they throw this out there for free? I understand it's a beta, but once you've got that (and it works as well as Wes testifies), why would you shell out for the finished product?

Such a way? Yes. Is it as easy? No.

ctrl (or is it shift) + printscreen

then launch mspaint

paste onto the empty canvas

save it

then post it via attachment

[weshofmann]

I love the ease of taking a screenshot in Linux. Is there such a way in Windows?

In the meantime, I've got Office 2010 downloading. Looks great! Question...why would they throw this out there for free? I understand it's a beta, but once you've got that (and it works as well as Wes testifies), why would you shell out for the finished product?

I'm guessing they will expire it at some point after the final release of the product. For instance, all Windows 7 RC copies out there that were free are going to expire next june and quit working. I suppose they will start warning people about it every day, but one day it will just quit working.

But, I figure that using 2010 now gives you a good year or so of office for free. :)

[funkyb]

Such a way? Yes. Is it as easy? No.

ctrl (or is it shift) + printscreen



Just printscreen, no modifiers unless you want to use ALT to get just the active frame.

If you're really looking to save that split second it takes to slap a Win screen cap into a program for modification (which I always need anyway - not usually looking for a 3840x1024 raw grab), there are plenty of apps that fill the missing link by hooking the printscreen event and doing what you're after. SnagIT is what i use on my Windoze box at work.

[SRock]

scrap windows? :lol:

+1

[Confuzius]

http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/download.aspx
Moonlight2 just released. No news on if it works with netflix watch it now, but it's worth a shot.

Cory, feel like stepping up to the guinea pig plate?!

[RichGem]

http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/download.aspx
Moonlight2 just released. No news on if it works with netflix watch it now, but it's worth a shot.

Cory, feel like stepping up to the guinea pig plate?!

Cory enjoys a challenge.

[blackfoot]

Cory enjoys a challenge.

And we enjoy watching the "challenged" Cory. :thumbup:

[Lynchmeister]

http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/download.aspx
Moonlight2 just released. No news on if it works with netflix watch it now, but it's worth a shot.

Cory, feel like stepping up to the guinea pig plate?!

Absolutely!


Cory enjoys a challenge.


And we enjoy watching the "challenged" Cory. :thumbup:

Boy, you just teed that one right up, didn't ya, Rich? :001_tongu

[RichGem]

Absolutely!





Boy, you just teed that one right up, didn't ya, Rich? :001_tongu

Uh... look over there.. Jordan called you a guinea pig. :eek:

:tongue:

[blackfoot]

Absolutely!





Boy, you just teed that one right up, didn't ya, Rich? :001_tongu


Uh... look over there.. Jordan called you a guinea pig. :eek:

:tongue:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

[skklog]

Linux

this is a marker, so I can tell if I'm up to date ( in case you wonder why I post here)

[soapbox]

Linux

this is a marker, so I can tell if I'm up to date ( in case you wonder why I post here)

*cough*postwhore*cough*

[RichGem]

*cough*postwhore*cough*


:yesnod:

(linux)

[gollum83]

*cough*postwhore*cough*

He is a bit transparent isn't he? :lol::lol::lol:

[soapbox]

He is a bit transparent isn't he? :lol::lol::lol:

Who, me? :aureola: I don't "leave bread crumbs" to mark my place in a thread. That's transparent! :biggrin1:

[skklog]

Who, me? :aureola: I don't "leave bread crumbs" to mark my place in a thread. That's transparent! :biggrin1:

keep in mined that I don't understand half of what is said here, so it all looks alike.

[soapbox]

keep in mined that I don't understand half of what is said here, so it all looks alike.

Honesty makes for good posting :wink: -- if you want to walk down the Linux path, we'll help you learn what all the jargon means.

[skklog]

Honesty makes for good posting :wink: -- if you want to walk down the Linux path, we'll help you learn what all the jargon means.

have you heard of wubi?

[gollum83]

have you heard of wubi?

Yeah, I think its related to a Yeti...






Oh, you mean the Windows-based Ubuntu installer?

[blackfoot]

have you heard of wubi?

Yes

[skklog]

my friend said wubi is how I should install Linux, is it good or at least ok.

[soapbox]

my friend said wubi is how I should install Linux, is it good or at least ok.

I have a slightly different view of installing linux -- I think you should not mess with your existing Windows HD, should remove the Windows HD, install some old HD you have, and install Ubuntu/whatever directly onto that HD; I trust wubi -- I do -- but I'd rather not have anyone messing with bootloaders and partitions on a HD I can't live without.



//Yes, I use and like gparted. Yes, I trust it too.

[skklog]

I have a slightly different view of installing linux -- I think you should not mess with your existing Windows HD, should remove the Windows HD, install some old HD you have, and install Ubuntu/whatever directly onto that HD; I trust wubi -- I do -- but I'd rather not have anyone messing with bootloaders and partitions on a HD I can't live without.



//Yes, I use and like gparted. Yes, I trust it too.

All I have is a laptop

[gollum83]

Well if it installs Linux it can't be all that bad. :rolleyes:

But no, Jesse makes a good point. I wouldn't mess around with your existing Windows HD unless you have everything backed up. Even then your probably better off doing what Jesse is suggesting. Not that anything is likely to go wrong, but shit happens.

[blackfoot]

I have a copy of Ubuntu 9.04 if you want it.

[skklog]

I have a copy of Ubuntu 9.04 if you want it.

I don't have two HD's

[Lynchmeister]

I have a slightly different view of installing linux -- I think you should not mess with your existing Windows HD, should remove the Windows HD, install some old HD you have, and install Ubuntu/whatever directly onto that HD; I trust wubi -- I do -- but I'd rather not have anyone messing with bootloaders and partitions on a HD I can't live without.



//Yes, I use and like gparted. Yes, I trust it too.


Well if it installs Linux it can't be all that bad. :rolleyes:

But no, Jesse makes a good point. I wouldn't mess around with your existing Windows HD unless you have everything backed up. Even then your probably better off doing what Jesse is suggesting. Not that anything is likely to go wrong, but shit happens.

Agreed. Gparted is easy, intuitive, and reliable. Back up all your data, test your backups, then proceed with the dual-boot using Gparted. Best case scenario, everything goes off without a hitch. Worst case scenario, you have to restore from your backups.

Awesome to see Skklog having finally been sucked into the fold!

[slamjet]

Has anyone tried PCLOS?

[skklog]

is Gparted anything like wubi?

[gollum83]

is Gparted anything like wubi?

All Gparted really does is create partitions. Wubi, if I remember correctly, won't even create a partition when it installs Ubuntu but sticks its in a folder within Windows.

[RichGem]

All Gparted really does is create partitions. Wubi, if I remember correctly, won't even create a partition when it installs Ubuntu but sticks its in a folder within Windows.

correct on all accounts.

[OldSaw]

Hey guys, today's the day that I hopefully have a successful upgrade to Win 7. I backing up right now and have read about some of the common issues with upgrading from Vista, so find some wood and knock on it for me!

Edit: Of course this will be a dual boot setup with at least one Linux distro on it.


Saved yourself at the last minute there, buddy.

One tip: disconnect the external HD! DO IT. DO IT NOW. :wink:


:lol: Thanks for the tip, buddy! You may have just saved my marriage. :tongue_sm

Rich, thanks for saving Cory's butt on this. While it could have easily pushed this thread to 20K posts, he would have had to live first to do so. :thumbsup:

[OldSaw]

...oh, and Linux.

[OldSaw]

I decided to download 18 updates on my iPod Touch all at once. I don't think I'll do that again. It is taking too long.

I also seem to have developed a case of Lynchmeisteritis and while syncing the pictures of my son's college graduation and National Guard commissioning ceremony I removed every app that I had installed. Fortunately, I was able to recover everything, I think, but now all the icons are in a different order.

Is the iPod Touch a Linux device?

[RichGem]

I decided to download 18 updates on my iPod Touch all at once. I don't think I'll do that again. It is taking too long.

I also seem to have developed a case of Lynchmeisteritis and while syncing the pictures of my son's college graduation and National Guard commissioning ceremony I removed every app that I had installed. Fortunately, I was able to recover everything, I think, but now all the icons are in a different order.

Is the iPod Touch a Linux device?

:ohmy: Does Tamiflu help with that at all?

[OldSaw]

:ohmy: Does Tamiflu help with that at all?

Lost me on this one, but probably.

[RichGem]

Lost me on this one, but probably.

I was comparing lynchmeisteritis to Swine flu.

[soapbox]

...now all the icons are in a different order.

Is the iPod Touch a Linux device?

The iPod Touch and iPhone both run a cut-down version of Mac OS X! Earlier iPods did not, and you could run Linux on them as the native operating system, but there wasn't much point in doing so except to say you had done it.

You can move the icons around by holding your finger on one icon for a few seconds without tapping or moving it; all the icons will begin to "vibrate" and shuffle a little bit, and you can then drag them around to where you want (even across screens). Push the "home" button to end that process and leave all the icons where you have now placed them.

[soapbox]

Lost me on this one, but probably.

Are you at home for the holidays? You're going to have shave soap in your mailbox pretty soon...

[OldSaw]

The iPod Touch and iPhone both run a cut-down version of Mac OS X! Earlier iPods did not, and you could run Linux on them as the native operating system, but there wasn't much point in doing so except to say you had done it.

You can move the icons around by holding your finger on one icon for a few seconds without tapping or moving it; all the icons will begin to "vibrate" and shuffle a little bit, and you can then drag them around to where you want (even across screens). Push the "home" button to end that process and leave all the icons where you have now placed them.

Thanks Jesse. I know how to rearrange the icons, but the problem is now they are all in a different order and I need to rearrange 5 screens again.

[OldSaw]

Are you at home for the holidays? You're going to have shave soap in your mailbox pretty soon...

OH BOY!
I'll warn the missus. I am heading back out tomorrow morning.

FYI, My son just graduated from college this weekend and it got my wife and I me to thinking about me going back to school again. Maybe after I have a year of this job under my belt. Then I can go to school and work the trucking job in the summer. I need at least a year of full time experience driving to do that.

[blackfoot]

:ohmy: Does Tamiflu help with that at all?

No, but Bombay Sapphire Gin does. :thumbsup:


The iPod Touch and iPhone both run a cut-down version of Mac OS X! Earlier iPods did not, and you could run Linux on them as the native operating system, but there wasn't much point in doing so except to say you had done it.

You can move the icons around by holding your finger on one icon for a few seconds without tapping or moving it; all the icons will begin to "vibrate" and shuffle a little bit, and you can then drag them around to where you want (even across screens). Push the "home" button to end that process and leave all the icons where you have now placed them.

Speaking of, is there a mobile Linux OS?

[RichGem]

No, but Bombay Sapphire Gin does. :thumbsup:



Speaking of, is there a mobile Linux OS?

Android and Moeblin (sp?)-- and iPhone*-- are distros specifically designed for "smart phones," but really any linux distro can be pared down enough to fit. You then have to tinker with it of course. Android & Moeblin just add on the specific phone app stuff.

* as Jesse pointed out, iPhone is really just pared down OS-X which is a first cousin to Linux.

[skklog]

All Gparted really does is create partitions. Wubi, if I remember correctly, won't even create a partition when it installs Ubuntu but sticks its in a folder within Windows.


correct on all accounts.

So Wubi is not a good way to go?

My friend said it was the best way for ME to put Linux on my labtop

[RichGem]

So Wubi is not a good way to go?

My friend said it was the best way for ME to put Linux on my labtop


I've only played with an early version of wubi, so really can't help you here. Tho, at the time, it seemed workable.

Anyone?

[skklog]

I've only played with an early version of wubi, so really can't help you here. Tho, at the time, it seemed workable.

Anyone?

does it just run Linux in windows or does get you a dual boot os

[RichGem]

does it just run Linux in windows or does get you a dual boot os


IIRC, it's an odd hybrid... techinally, I guess, it's a dual boot. But, rather than install Linux to a separate partition (a true dual boot), Linux gets installed into a folder on your windows drive.

[blackfoot]

does it just run Linux in windows or does get you a dual boot os

I thought it was in Windows, but I am not sure.

[soapbox]

I thought it was in Windows, but I am not sure.

I had to read up on it, but it looks like it's a dual-boot install you can install and uninstall from within the Windows partition.

[skklog]

I had to read up on it, but it looks like it's a dual-boot install you can install and uninstall from within the Windows partition.

So is it not as good, or just easier to use,

the resin I'm thinking of putting Linux on my computer is that it's been running very slowly, when I have firefox going I have 10-20 physical memory free and I have killed as much as I can. vista just takes a crap load.

[RichGem]

So is it not as good, or just easier to use,

the resin I'm thinking of putting Linux on my computer is that it's been running very slowly, when I have firefox going I have 10-20 physical memory free and I have killed as much as I can. vista just takes a crap load.


I'm pretty sure that if you put resin in your computer, linux or no, it won't run at all.

[RichGem]

So is it not as good, or just easier to use,

the resin I'm thinking of putting Linux on my computer is that it's been running very slowly, when I have firefox going I have 10-20 physical memory free and I have killed as much as I can. vista just takes a crap load.

Easier to install, especially for those uncomfortable with, or not knowledgeable of, disk partitioning and yet have the need / desire to dual boot.

[soapbox]

Easier to install, especially for those uncomfortable with, or not knowledgeable of, disk partitioning and yet have the need / desire to dual boot.

+1. :thumbup1:

[blackfoot]

I'm pretty sure that if you put resin in your computer, linux or no, it won't run at all.

:lol::lol::lol:

[skklog]

I'm pretty sure that if you put resin in your computer, linux or no, it won't run at all.

Well, I thought Linux was good :mad3:

[soapbox]

Well, I thought Linux was good :mad3:

Good? Yes. Miraculous? Sometimes, yes. Able to ignore the laws of chemistry and physics? Only if you're playing Unreal Tournament...:001_smile

[skklog]

Good? Yes. Miraculous? Sometimes, yes. Able to ignore the laws of chemistry and physics? Only if you're playing Unreal Tournament...:001_smile

Unreal Tournament, great GAME!

[soapbox]

Unreal Tournament, great GAME!


apt-get install wine

:smile:

[RichGem]

apt-get install wine:smile:

goes well with cheddar!

:tongue_sm

[Mr. Gillette]

Gentlemen:

I see much has happend in my exile-- that there is a new Czar? Words escape me!

But I couldn't let this most blessed of days pass without logging on and sending best wishes for a blessed Festivus. Each time I penetrate the cloak of the Cheddar Curtain, (as I will once again today), I think gravely of what has gone on to drop this veil upon us. Even the imposed moving of Mar's Cheese Castle, the continued drubbing of the Packers by Brett and the Vikings-- this pillaging takes a toll.

All kidding aside, things are fine/have been fine for Mr. Gillette. I just decided to re-prioritze a few things in my life-- and I realized I was spending time on B&B (GOOD time, I might add) that could better be spent in other pursuits. I appreciate your collective indulgence in all of this. Anyone who wishes, might PM me and I'll get you my email address-- I AM a bit long-winded, and spending too much time here takes away from the things that bring me income, hence new blades, new soaps, AS, etc.

So this morning, I loaded my precious Fatboy up with a fresh Feather. I cranked that thing up to 7. I did my typical "Full Kyle" prep, with (of course!) some Williams, with a drop or two of glycerin, whipped it up with the 2008 B&B Essential, and went 4 passes. (okay, ONE tiny little weeper on the corner of my lip, but that went away with a drop of Thayers.).

Then I thought of the special day today is...and decided to break my self-imposed exile and wish each of you a most Happy Festivus.

(Did Cory get that house built?)

:w00t:

I will try to check back to take part in 10,000th post celebration, as well.

[gollum83]

I had to read up on it, but it looks like it's a dual-boot install you can install and uninstall from within the Windows partition.

Pretty much.


I'm pretty sure that if you put resin in your computer, linux or no, it won't run at all.

:lol::lol::lol:


Easier to install, especially for those uncomfortable with, or not knowledgeable of, disk partitioning and yet have the need / desire to dual boot.

:yesnod:


(Did Cory get that house built?)

Yes, but pictures are an entire different matter, right Cory? :tongue_sm

[Mr. Gillette]

This kid's GOOD (Gollum83)...joined in March 2009...let's see...that's about 9 months....and up to nearly 7,000 posts. I wonder how many of them were like Lynchie's, just a thumbs up, or a symbol somewhere.

I think I have a grievance about all of this. We'll talk about it tonight around the table. I want to discuss ALL the ways my family has disappointed me!!!

What day do you call into Unemployment? My day is Tuesday.:thumbup1:

P.S. My psychiatrist can beat up your psychiatrist.

[blackfoot]

Gentlemen:

I see much has happend in my exile-- that there is a new Czar? Words escape me!

But I couldn't let this most blessed of days pass without logging on and sending best wishes for a blessed Festivus. Each time I penetrate the cloak of the Cheddar Curtain, (as I will once again today), I think gravely of what has gone on to drop this veil upon us. Even the imposed moving of Mar's Cheese Castle, the continued drubbing of the Packers by Brett and the Vikings-- this pillaging takes a toll.

All kidding aside, things are fine/have been fine for Mr. Gillette. I just decided to re-prioritze a few things in my life-- and I realized I was spending time on B&B (GOOD time, I might add) that could better be spent in other pursuits. I appreciate your collective indulgence in all of this. Anyone who wishes, might PM me and I'll get you my email address-- I AM a bit long-winded, and spending too much time here takes away from the things that bring me income, hence new blades, new soaps, AS, etc.

So this morning, I loaded my precious Fatboy up with a fresh Feather. I cranked that thing up to 7. I did my typical "Full Kyle" prep, with (of course!) some Williams, with a drop or two of glycerin, whipped it up with the 2008 B&B Essential, and went 4 passes. (okay, ONE tiny little weeper on the corner of my lip, but that went away with a drop of Thayers.).

Then I thought of the special day today is...and decided to break my self-imposed exile and wish each of you a most Happy Festivus.

(Did Cory get that house built?)

:w00t:

I will try to check back to take part in 10,000th post celebration, as well.

It is great to see you back! I don't know if you even remember me. I joined shortly before your departure. You have been missed though.

[RichGem]

Welcome back Tom!

[skklog]

I have never met you, but Welcome back!

Linux

[soapbox]

Tom's back!! It is a Festivus miracle! Welcome back old man! Lots to catch up on.

[Mr. Gillette]

Pass the eyebleach, please.

[Mr. Gillette]

I see everything.

Oh really...I doubt it!

Notice this Lynchmeister Festvus incident found on an ancient cassette tape:

Lynch's Dad: "Read that book."

Lynch: (whining) "I can't read it...I need my glasses!"

Lynch's Dad: (shouting) "You don't need glasses...you just read...YOU READ!!"

Lynch's Mother: (angrily, shrill) LEAVE...HIM...A-LONE!!!!"

Lynch's Dad: (calmly now) All right, Cory...It's time for the Festivus Feats of Strength!"

[blackfoot]

Oh really...I doubt it!

Notice this Lynchmeister Festvus incident found on an ancient cassette tape:

Lynch's Dad: "Read that book."

Lynch: (whining) "I can't read it...I need my glasses!"

Lynch's Dad: (shouting) "You don't need glasses...you just read...YOU READ!!"

Lynch's Mother: (angrily, shrill) LEAVE...HIM...A-LONE!!!!"

Lynch's Dad: (calmly now) All right, Cory...It's time for the Festivus Feats of Strength!"

I have no idea what just happened. :lol:

[Lynchmeister]

Gentlemen:

I see much has happend in my exile-- that there is a new Czar? Words escape me!

But I couldn't let this most blessed of days pass without logging on and sending best wishes for a blessed Festivus. Each time I penetrate the cloak of the Cheddar Curtain, (as I will once again today), I think gravely of what has gone on to drop this veil upon us. Even the imposed moving of Mar's Cheese Castle, the continued drubbing of the Packers by Brett and the Vikings-- this pillaging takes a toll.

All kidding aside, things are fine/have been fine for Mr. Gillette. I just decided to re-prioritze a few things in my life-- and I realized I was spending time on B&B (GOOD time, I might add) that could better be spent in other pursuits. I appreciate your collective indulgence in all of this. Anyone who wishes, might PM me and I'll get you my email address-- I AM a bit long-winded, and spending too much time here takes away from the things that bring me income, hence new blades, new soaps, AS, etc.

So this morning, I loaded my precious Fatboy up with a fresh Feather. I cranked that thing up to 7. I did my typical "Full Kyle" prep, with (of course!) some Williams, with a drop or two of glycerin, whipped it up with the 2008 B&B Essential, and went 4 passes. (okay, ONE tiny little weeper on the corner of my lip, but that went away with a drop of Thayers.).

Then I thought of the special day today is...and decided to break my self-imposed exile and wish each of you a most Happy Festivus.

(Did Cory get that house built?)

:w00t:

I will try to check back to take part in 10,000th post celebration, as well.


Tom's back!! It is a Festivus miracle! Welcome back old man! Lots to catch up on.


Oh really...I doubt it!

Notice this Lynchmeister Festvus incident found on an ancient cassette tape:

Lynch's Dad: "Read that book."

Lynch: (whining) "I can't read it...I need my glasses!"

Lynch's Dad: (shouting) "You don't need glasses...you just read...YOU READ!!"

Lynch's Mother: (angrily, shrill) LEAVE...HIM...A-LONE!!!!"

Lynch's Dad: (calmly now) All right, Cory...It's time for the Festivus Feats of Strength!"


Oh my! I don't even have the composure to effectively multi-quote...

Tom! You're back, my man! Awesome!

The mix was dry, but the house was nevertheless built. Shoot me your email and I'll send you some pics.

[blackfoot]

Oh my! I don't even have the composure to effectively multi-quote...

Tom! You're back, my man! Awesome!

The mix was dry, but the house was nevertheless built. Shoot me your email and I'll send you some pics.

Woe, woe, woe! What's up with that? :mad3:

[RichGem]

Oh my! I don't even have the composure to effectively multi-quote...

Tom! You're back, my man! Awesome!

The mix was dry, but the house was nevertheless built. Shoot me your email and I'll send you some pics.


Woe, woe, woe! What's up with that? :mad3:


Don't worry Blake. I'm sure the pics will be the same ones that he posted for all of us -- you know from the Ikea catalog (Summer, pgs. 3-7). :lol:

[blackfoot]

Don't worry Blake. I'm sure the pics will be the same ones that he posted for all of us -- you know from the Ikea catalog (Summer, pgs. 3-7). :lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol: Okay then.

[soapbox]

Pass the eyebleach, please.

You're back, you're back! Hee hee hee... :w00t:


Woe, woe, woe! What's up with that? :mad3:

See here (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=915202&postcount=167).

[blackfoot]

You're back, you're back! Hee hee hee... :w00t:



See here (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=915202&postcount=167).

The last bit is classic! :lol::lol::lol::lol:

[RichGem]

The last bit is classic! :lol::lol::lol::lol:


Ah, the old days. <sniffle>


Oh, and in case anyone is noticing, I'll (most likely) be breaking 12k tonight. Since the Czar thread is gone, I'll just post that info here for you all to ruminate over.

[gollum83]

Woe, woe, woe! What's up with that? :mad3:

Yeah! What the heck man? :angry:


Don't worry Blake. I'm sure the pics will be the same ones that he posted for all of us -- you know from the Ikea catalog (Summer, pgs. 3-7). :lol:

Oh, those pics! Nevermind, oh former Czar, we don't need to see those again! :lol::lol::lol::lol:

[blackfoot]

Ah, the old days. <sniffle>


Oh, and in case anyone is noticing, I'll (most likely) be breaking 12k tonight. Since the Czar thread is gone, I'll just post that info here for you all to ruminate over.

May I be the first to offer congratulations.

[gollum83]

May I be the first to offer congratulations.

Start a... congratulatory... thread... oww!! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/dlinkwit27/Forums/Emoticons/Fish_slap_emoticon.gif

[RichGem]

May I be the first to offer congratulations.


You are indeed the first. :w00t:

[gollum83]

You are indeed the first. :w00t:

Come on! Two more posts! :w00t:

[blackfoot]

Come on! Two more posts! :w00t:

I notice you are not far from a milestone yourself.

[gollum83]

I notice you are not far from a milestone yourself.

I'll just stop short just to keep you all in suspense for the next few days. :001_tt2:

[blackfoot]

I'll just stop short just to keep you all in suspense for the next few days. :001_tt2:

Nice.

[Lynchmeister]

Woe, woe, woe! What's up with that? :mad3:

:lol: Oh, this is goooooood...


Don't worry Blake. I'm sure the pics will be the same ones that he posted for all of us -- you know from the Ikea katalog (Summer, pgs. 3-7). :lol:

Fixed that for ya. :lol:


You're back, you're back! Hee hee hee... :w00t:



See here (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=915202&postcount=167).

Awesome. :w00t:

By the way, the look on the concrete guy's face was priceless. :wink:

[soapbox]

By the way, the look on the concrete guy's face was priceless. :wink:

:lol: :lol: awesome.

[SRock]

Ah, the old days. <sniffle>


Oh, and in case anyone is noticing, I'll (most likely) be breaking 12k tonight. Since the Czar thread is gone, I'll just post that info here for you all to ruminate over.

It's not gone it just expanded and picked up a new name, but at the rate cheese is running over Linux in this thread. The Linux thread may be the next to join the merger.

Congrats on 12K BTW!!! :w00t::w00t:

[Lynchmeister]

It's not gone it just expanded and picked up a new name, but at the rate cheese is running over Linux in this thread. The Linux thread may be the next to join the merger.

Congrats on 12K BTW!!! :w00t::w00t:

It would be a shame if this thread were merged. The difficulty of weeding out the pertinent technical information would grow exponentially...and that's saying a lot! :scared:

[RichGem]

It would be a shame if this thread were merged. The difficulty of weeding out the pertinent technical information would grow exponentially...and that's saying a lot! :scared:

+1. There's a lot of good info here that, if merged, would get totally lost.

[SRock]

It would be a shame if this thread were merged. The difficulty of weeding out the pertinent technical information would grow exponentially...and that's saying a lot! :scared:

I couldn't agree more. I guess you'll have to help me keep it on subject. :biggrin1:


+1. There's a lot of good info here that, if merged, would get totally lost.

It's already getting buried in cheese. Look a the last few pages. I'm in no hurry to merge it, trust me. But like I said if this becomes Penguin Playground part two, why not?!?

[blackfoot]

:lol: Oh, this is goooooood...



Fixed that for ya. :lol:



Awesome. :w00t:

By the way, the look on the concrete guy's face was priceless. :wink:

:lol::lol::lol:


It would be a shame if this thread were merged. The difficulty of weeding out the pertinent technical information would grow exponentially...and that's saying a lot! :scared:

Ooh, big word for this early.


I couldn't agree more. I guess you'll have to help me keep it on subject. :biggrin1:



It's already getting buried in cheese. Look a the last few pages. I'm in no hurry to merge it, trust me. But like I said if this becomes Penguin Playground part two, why not?!?

That was the point of this thread. It is always here when needed. We go weeks or months without anything useful. During that time, we cheerfully make fun of Cory. Then, when help is needed, our friend is right here to turn to. If we didn't muddy the waters, this thread would be buried and die off. So, it is our good friend. You know, the one you let hang around because you know you are going to need him soon. :thumbup:

[SRock]

That was the point of this thread. It is always here when needed. We go weeks or months without anything useful. During that time, we cheerfully make fun of Cory. Then, when help is needed, our friend is right here to turn to. If we didn't muddy the waters, this thread would be buried and die off. So, it is our good friend. You know, the one you let hang around because you know you are going to need him soon. :thumbup:

Good recovery. :glare:

[blackfoot]

Good recovery. :glare:

Thank you....I think.

[SRock]

Thank you....I think.

:yesnod:

[soapbox]

I think a second disadvantage of merging this thread would be the preponderance of new threads from non-clown-housers saying "Are there any computer gurus on the forums? I have a question..."

So long as this thread lives discrete from other threads -- even in the clown house -- users can always be pointed here, or ideally will just know to come to the Linux Mint thread.

Granted, it's a shaving forum, but it has a fairly significant population of computer geeks, and some B&Bers might not know about, or want to go to the Ubuntu Forums website, or the Apple forums, etc. Yeah, we're often silly, but we provide a good public service when needed.


//God bless us, every one, etc.

[Confuzius]

Seconded.
I always check this thread, not to participate in the goofiness, but in the off chance someone has a problem that I can fix, which I'd like to think that other people can attest has happened several times.

That said, here's a slightly on-topic pictire
http://gnome-look.org/CONTENT/content-pre1/70260-1.jpg

[blackfoot]

Seconded.
I always check this thread, not to participate in the goofiness, but in the off chance someone has a problem that I can fix, which I'd like to think that other people can attest has happened several times.

That said, here's a slightly on-topic pictire
http://gnome-look.org/CONTENT/content-pre1/70260-1.jpg

You, sir, have been of invaluable assistance to me. :thumbup1:

[skklog]

Third, I just starting to get in to this hole Linux thing.

[Lynchmeister]

That was the point of this thread. It is always here when needed. We go weeks or months without anything useful. During that time, we cheerfully make fun of Cory. Then, when help is needed, our friend is right here to turn to. If we didn't muddy the waters, this thread would be buried and die off. So, it is our good friend. You know, the one you let hang around because you know you are going to need him soon. :thumbup:

Ah what the heck...merge it.

:001_tt2:

[blackfoot]

Ah what the heck...merge it.

:001_tt2:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

You are quite the long-suffering soul. :thumbup:

[soapbox]

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

You are quite the good-natured long-suffering soul. :thumbup:


ftfy.

[blackfoot]

ftfy.

Funny thing is, I originally meant to add good-humoured.

[Swampfox]

What would be the best thing to start with when I begin to dabble in LINUX?

[skklog]

What would be the best thing to start with when I begin to dabble in LINUX?

windows 7

[RichGem]

What would be the best thing to start with when I begin to dabble in LINUX?

A "live CD" version... runs slower than an installed, but lets you boot off a cd, run linux, then just reboot (minus the cd) to go back to win. nothing gets changed on your computer. Ubuntu is one of the favs, but others are around.


windows 7


:spockflam:

[Swampfox]

windows 7

I wouldn't buy Windows 7 to wipe my.........


A "live CD" version... runs slower than an installed, but lets you boot off a cd, run linux, then just reboot (minus the cd) to go back to win. nothing gets changed on your computer. Ubuntu is one of the favs, but others are around.

Where do I get a live CD?

[RichGem]

I wouldn't buy Windows 7 to wipe my.........



Where do I get a live CD?

You can go onto the ubuntu website and request one (free, but takes time). Or, you can download your own *.iso (from a number of sites) and burn it to cd yourself. also for free.

[Swampfox]

You can go onto the ubuntu website and request one (free, but takes time). Or, you can download your own *.iso (from a number of sites) and burn it to cd yourself. also for free.

Thanks! I am over there now, looking around.

[Swampfox]

OK, I put in a request for the Ubuntu.

Question: what is the difference between Ubuntu and other LINUX OS?

[soapbox]

OK, I put in a request for the Ubuntu.

Question: what is the difference between Ubuntu and other LINUX OS?

Really simple answer: it's easier to use than nearly all other Linux distributions.

Simple answer: There's not much difference except for some specific file locations and software package management. It does a better job with wireless networking than most.

Moderately complex answer: It's a Debian derivative, with a few more obstacles to making it as customizable/flexible as Debian. Good luck compiling your own kernel.

Snarky answer: other linux OSes don't have a multimillionare funding them.

[blackfoot]

Really simple answer: it's easier to use than nearly all other Linux distributions.

Simple answer: There's not much difference except for some specific file locations and software package management. It does a better job with wireless networking than most.

Moderately complex answer: It's a Debian derivative, with a few more obstacles to making it as customizable/flexible as Debian. Good luck compiling your own kernel.

Snarky answer: other linux OSes don't have a multimillionare funding them.

I'll take "Snarky" for $300, Jesse. :lol:

[Swampfox]

Really simple answer: it's easier to use than nearly all other Linux distributions.

Simple answer: There's not much difference except for some specific file locations and software package management. It does a better job with wireless networking than most.

Moderately complex answer: It's a Debian derivative, with a few more obstacles to making it as customizable/flexible as Debian. Good luck compiling your own kernel.

Snarky answer: other linux OSes don't have a multimillionare funding them.

LOL, thanks. I was curious, as I have known about (and that's about where it ends) LINUX and Red Hat for a long time. My late Brother-in-law tried to teach me about LINUX, but I didn't pay much attention then.

[soapbox]

I'll take "Snarky" for $300, Jesse. :lol:

"What is 'every answer to a linux question given by a Gentoo user', Alex?"

[SRock]

I think a second disadvantage of merging this thread would be the preponderance of new threads from non-clown-housers saying "Are there any computer gurus on the forums? I have a question..."

So long as this thread lives discrete from other threads -- even in the clown house -- users can always be pointed here, or ideally will just know to come to the Linux Mint thread.

Granted, it's a shaving forum, but it has a fairly significant population of computer geeks, and some B&Bers might not know about, or want to go to the Ubuntu Forums website, or the Apple forums, etc. Yeah, we're often silly, but we provide a good public service when needed.


//God bless us, every one, etc.

Like I said I agree 100%. So long as this doesn't become the "New" New Czar thread nothing will change. :thumbsup:

[Lynchmeister]

Like I said I agree 100%. So long as this doesn't become the "New" New Czar thread nothing will change. :thumbsup:

Ya know, if they would have just left the old Czar in power, none of these problems would have ever emerged.

I'm just sayin'...:whistling:

[SRock]

Ya know, if they would have just left the old Czar in power, none of these problems would have ever emerged.

I'm just sayin'...:whistling:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

[RichGem]

Ya know, if they would have just left the old Czar in power, none of these problems would have ever emerged.

I'm just sayin'...:whistling:


Not so sure about that. However, I am sure that we'd STILL have no house pics. :001_tt2::001_tt2::001_tt2:

[SRock]

No so sure about that. However, I am sure that we'd STILL have no house pics. :001_tt2::001_tt2::001_tt2:

Zing!

Merry Christmas you guys!

[soapbox]

I spent a significant portion of Christmas Eve working on a Perl module I'm writing to help with a big data gathering project. I'll get to run the computations on a nice Debian server running 8 CPU cores, each with 3 GB of RAM available to it. Yay for Linux! :drool:

[blackfoot]

Ya know, if they would have just left the old Czar in power, none of these problems would have ever emerged.

I'm just sayin'...:whistling:

:lol::lol::lol:


Not so sure about that. However, I am sure that we'd STILL have no house pics. :001_tt2::001_tt2::001_tt2:

Burn! :lol::lol::lol:


I spent a significant portion of Christmas Eve working on a Perl module I'm writing to help with a big data gathering project. I'll get to run the computations on a nice Debian server running 8 CPU cores, each with 3 GB of RAM available to it. Yay for Linux! :drool:

That is awesome! :w00t:














I have no idea what any of that means. :001_unsur

[soapbox]

I have no idea what any of that means. :001_unsur

:lol: :lol: just focus on the fact that I get to play with a machine with 8 processors and 24 Gigs of RAM...

[skklog]

:lol: :lol: just focus on the fact that I get to play with a machine with 8 processors and 24 Gigs of RAM...

are those processors single core , Dual Core, .....

[soapbox]

are those processors single core , Dual Core, .....

There are two mid-2009 quad-core Xeons, so eight cores, two CPU chips on that machine total. If I figured out how to use them, I could shanghai up to 24 other CPU cores (I have a small Linux cluster at work), but I don't have a really good job control engine installed, so it would mean a lot of effort to really use all 32 cores. Using eight will be quite manageable, however.

This job will be at the monthly level, whereas my previous attempts were at the annual level, so the job will take 12 times as long to run...but those eight cores will definitely improve things!

[skklog]

There are two mid-2009 quad-core Xeons, so eight cores, two CPU chips on that machine total. If I figured out how to use them, I could shanghai up to 24 other CPU cores (I have a small Linux cluster at work), but I don't have a really good job control engine installed, so it would mean a lot of effort to really use all 32 cores. Using eight will be quite manageable, however.

This job will be at the monthly level, whereas my previous attempts were at the annual level, so the job will take 12 times as long to run...but those eight cores will definitely improve things!

I've seen in some cases that to many core can slow thing down, ( I know, you know more about all this than me ) Have you ever seen this happen?

[blackfoot]

:lol: :lol: just focus on the fact that I get to play with a machine with 8 processors and 24 Gigs of RAM...

Gotchya! :thumbsup:

[soapbox]

I've seen in some cases that to many core can slow thing down, ( I know, you know more about all this than me ) Have you ever seen this happen?

Yep, too many cores can slow things down, like if they're all trying to connect to the back-end database server at once; that is, sure you've got 1024 cores able to process, but you've only got one database machine. Similarly, some processes just don't lend themselves to being run in parallel -- if the results of one computation determine the inputs to the next computation...it is very difficult to use multiple CPUs.

On the other hand, computing Pi is miraculously easy to run in parallel, and that's one of those "WTF??" things about math. Someone discovered a way to determine the nth digit of pi -- without knowing any of the other digits. :confused1

So really big supercomputers can perform huge huge huge computations of Pi and take advantage of all those CPUs with almost no performance hit.

[lirijavdekje]

Ill stick to my Arch Linux

[skklog]

I am a genius of unspeakable evil.

ah yes, and....Linux!

[RichGem]

I am a genius of unspeakable evil.

ah yes, and....Linux!

Mentioning that tho, does kind of contradict said statement. :whistling:

[blackfoot]

Mentioning that tho, does kind of contradict said statement. :whistling:

Experimenter Effect

[soapbox]

I am a genius of unspeakable evil.

I feel like that sometimes when using the Force.* You know that the power is great, and the results could be used for good or eeeevill.




*And by "the Force" I mean computer vulnerability scanning software...

[skklog]

Mentioning that tho, does kind of contradict said statement. :whistling:


Experimenter Effect


I feel like that sometimes when using the Force.* You know that the power is great, and the results could be used for good or eeeevill.
*And by "the Force" I mean computer vulnerability scanning software...

I was just dropping a marker.

my friend said every time you boot with a "live CD" you have to install every thing ( flash, some drivers ) again.

[soapbox]

my friend said every time you boot with a "live CD" you have to install every thing ( flash, some drivers ) again.

Technically true, but only true if you had to the first time (i.e. if the drivers aren't on the liveCD in the first place). Flash...well, yeah, I suppose you could make your own LiveCD or, better yet, custom build a live USB flash drive.

Er, or you could find a Live distro that includes flash... :001_smile

[skklog]

Technically true, but only true if you had to the first time (i.e. if the drivers aren't on the liveCD in the first place). Flash...well, yeah, I suppose you could make your own LiveCD or, better yet, custom build a live USB flash drive.

Er, or you could find a Live distro that includes flash... :001_smile

is Live distro something like a live CD ( you can boot with it, with out installing anything)

[soapbox]

is Live distro something like a live CD ( you can boot with it, with out installing anything)

Yes and no. a "Distro" is short for "distribution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution)", or rather, the set of software and organizational methods that makes a complete linux operating system of one flavor or another. "Live" means you can boot it from a medium other than the hard drive in a computer (though you can boot a live distribution from a hard drive, but there are not many situations where you would want/need to).

So, a Live distro could be on CD, a USB drive, an external HD, or -- in a very basic sense -- a floppy drive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_Linux).

[skklog]

Yes and no. a "Distro" is short for "distribution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution)", or rather, the set of software and organizational methods that makes a complete linux operating system of one flavor or another. "Live" means you can boot it from a medium other than the hard drive in a computer (though you can boot a live distribution from a hard drive, but there are not many situations where you would want/need to).

So, a Live distro could be on CD, a USB drive, an external HD, or -- in a very basic sense -- a floppy drive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_Linux).

so that might be a good way for me to go.

how long does it take to boot with a live CD

[soapbox]

so that might be a good way for me to go.

Yes, definitely. It's a great, easy, and non-invasive way to check out Linux.


how long does it take to boot with a live CD

A few minutes longer than a regular hard drive boot. It's not long enough to be any extra bother. Put in the CD or USB drive, select the boot device (on a Dell you would hold down F12 for a few seconds, for instance), and a menu will come up on your "for-the-moment" Linux machine.

[blackfoot]

So, a Live distro could be on CD, a USB drive, an external HD, or -- in a very basic sense -- a floppy drive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_Linux).

I actually still have a floppy drive on mine. It is a lot older than the computer and doesn't seem to work any more though. That was my useless interjection. :blush:

[SRock]

I actually still have a floppy drive on mine. It is a lot older than the computer and doesn't seem to work any more though. That was my useless interjection. :blush:

I haven't seen a floppy drive on a computer in at least 5 years.

[blackfoot]

I haven't seen a floppy drive on a computer in at least 5 years.

:blushing:

I guess I leave it there for that reason.

[SRock]

:blushing:

I guess I leave it there for that reason.

:cool:

[gollum83]

so that might be a good way for me to go.

how long does it take to boot with a live CD

Well Jesse already took care of this, but I just wanted to add that you should just go for it. A live CD is an excellent way to test drive Linux.


I haven't seen a floppy drive on a computer in at least 5 years.

Hey! Don't bash the floppy drive! :mad3:

[Swampfox]

I have some questions about accessories and puter building. Do you fellahs want me to ask them here, in the Shaved Penguins group or just start a new thread?


Well Jesse already took care of this, but I just wanted to add that you should just go for it. A live CD is an excellent way to test drive Linux.

That's what I am going to do. I put in a request for a live CD last week.


Hey! Don't bash the floppy drive! :mad3:

I still have one on the wife's desktop (we bought it in 2003), and I still use it from time to time.

[weshofmann]

I wouldn't buy Windows 7 to wipe my.........

Where do I get a live CD?

I know I'm in the minority here, but I use win7 on a daily basis and am actually quite happy with it. By far the best windows that MS has made, and a great desktop OS.

For what it's worth, I'm a linux dev and admin (using it for well over a decade, at many times as my sole OS), so I'm not exactly ignorant of linux. I'm just of the opinion that as well-written as the linux kernel and other underlying libraries are, the desktop-centric portions of linux (gnome, kde, evolution, etc, etc) just aren't ready for the... well.. desktop.

Let the flames begin!

[RichGem]

Hey! Don't bash the floppy drive! :mad3:

It won't work very well if you do. :tongue:

[RichGem]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I use win7 on a daily basis and am actually quite happy with it. By far the best windows that MS has made, and a great desktop OS.

For what it's worth, I'm a linux dev and admin (using it for well over a decade, at many times as my sole OS), so I'm not exactly ignorant of linux. I'm just of the opinion that as well-written as the linux kernel and other underlying libraries are, the desktop-centric portions of linux (gnome, kde, evolution, etc, etc) just aren't ready for the... well.. desktop.

Let the flames begin!

:spockflam:spockflam



:tongue:

[weshofmann]

I have some questions about accessories and puter building. Do you fellahs want me to ask them here, in the Shaved Penguins group or just start a new thread?



That's what I am going to do. I put in a request for a live CD last week.



I still have one on the wife's desktop (we bought it in 2003), and I still use it from time to time.

I enjoy posting help/advice to questions like this... if these questions were posted in a thread other than this one, what category would they be in?

[Swampfox]

I enjoy posting help/advice to questions like this... if these questions were posted in a thread other than this one, what category would they be in?

Well, didn't know if they wanted to keep the computer questions LINUX-centered here or not, since my questions may or may not have anything to do with LINUX.

Let's take care of thinsg one at a time.....

Anyone familiar with the Kingston Tech company? I saw a "value RAM" 1gig desktop memory DDR over the weekend. Is this thing worth my time or a piece of garbage? It said it was 400, 333 & 266 MHz compatible.

[weshofmann]

Well, didn't know if they wanted to keep the computer questions LINUX-centered here or not, since my questions may or may not have anything to do with LINUX.

Let's take care of thinsg one at a time.....

Anyone familiar with the Kingston Tech company? I saw a "value RAM" 1gig desktop memory DDR over the weekend. Is this thing worth my time or a piece of garbage? It said it was 400, 333 & 266 MHz compatible.

Most RAM out there has pretty good quality control now-a-days. For something mission critical, I might go with Crucial instead, but Kingston is perfectly fine for most things. I probably have it in 85% of the machines I've built for myself and for work.

[weshofmann]

Most RAM out there has pretty good quality control now-a-days. For something mission critical, I might go with Crucial instead, but Kingston is perfectly fine for most things. I probably have it in 85% of the machines I've built for myself and for work.

Just a quick clarification....

I'd avoid completely off-brand no-name memory like Fung's Finest or somesuch. As long as you stick with name-brand stuff like Crucial, Corsair, PNY, Kingston, etc, you should be fine.

[RichGem]

Just a quick clarification....

I'd avoid completely off-brand no-name memory like Fung's Finest or somesuch. As long as you stick with name-brand stuff like Crucial, Corsair, PNY, Kingston, etc, you should be fine.

And just what's wrong with Fung's Finest Fungus? Oh wait... never mind.

:tongue_sm

[weshofmann]

And just what's wrong with Fung's Finest Fungus? Oh wait... never mind.

:tongue_sm

If you need to ask... :tongue_sm

[Swampfox]

Most RAM out there has pretty good quality control now-a-days. For something mission critical, I might go with Crucial instead, but Kingston is perfectly fine for most things. I probably have it in 85% of the machines I've built for myself and for work.

OK, thanks. The product was labeled to be a booster to your current RAM, and I wasn't sure about it.


Just a quick clarification....

I'd avoid completely off-brand no-name memory like Fung's Finest or somesuch. As long as you stick with name-brand stuff like Crucial, Corsair, PNY, Kingston, etc, you should be fine.

I have had some bad experience with PNY, not sure I will bother with their stuff again. I wasn't familiar with Kingston, so I wasn't sure of what kind of reputation they had.

I went with my mom to Best Buy Saturday. I was trying to find her an external hard drive, and the selection was terrible. Any tips as to where I can get a good deal on one? She doesn't need the world's largest, just a couple hundred gigs will do.

[weshofmann]

I went with my mom to Best Buy Saturday. I was trying to find her an external hard drive, and the selection was terrible. Any tips as to where I can get a good deal on one? She doesn't need the world's largest, just a couple hundred gigs will do.

Your best prices are going to be on mail-order. For pretty much anything computer-related, I usually buy from either NewEgg (http://newegg.com) or Amazon. If you have to buy at a brick and mortar store, Best Buy, et. al. sometimes have pretty competitive prices for things that are on sale, but it varies from week to week. Personally, I hate hunting for sales so I just buy things from newegg and don't worry about it. :)

[soapbox]

Most RAM out there has pretty good quality control now-a-days. For something mission critical, I might go with Crucial instead, but Kingston is perfectly fine for most things. I probably have it in 85% of the machines I've built for myself and for work.


Just a quick clarification....

I'd avoid completely off-brand no-name memory like Fung's Finest or somesuch. As long as you stick with name-brand stuff like Crucial, Corsair, PNY, Kingston, etc, you should be fine.

+1, except that I've had problems with PNY RAM in the past -- but never with Crucial, Corsair, or Kingston.

[Swampfox]

Your best prices are going to be on mail-order. For pretty much anything computer-related, I usually buy from either NewEgg (http://newegg.com) or Amazon. If you have to buy at a brick and mortar store, Best Buy, et. al. sometimes have pretty competitive prices for things that are on sale, but it varies from week to week. Personally, I hate hunting for sales so I just buy things from newegg and don't worry about it. :)

I figured as much on the mail order, which I have no problem with, as long as I am getting a quality product for a good price.


+1, except that I've had problems with PNY RAM in the past -- but never with Crucial, Corsair, or Kingston.

I have had problems with other PNY products (mainly memory cards for cameras), so I am irritated with them.

[weshofmann]

I figured as much on the mail order, which I have no problem with, as long as I am getting a quality product for a good price.


You'll do fine with newegg then. They're definitely a class-act. Good customer service, fast order processing, etc. I've used them a lot both personally and for orders at work. I've never been disappointed.

[Swampfox]

You'll do fine with newegg then. They're definitely a class-act. Good customer service, fast order processing, etc. I've used them a lot both personally and for orders at work. I've never been disappointed.

Thanks for the help. I see they also sell parts for building a machine, as well. Looks like that could be what I was hunting for. I have been disappointed in Best Buy as of late. It seems the only thing they do now is gaming systems and entertainment systems.

[gollum83]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I use win7 on a daily basis and am actually quite happy with it. By far the best windows that MS has made, and a great desktop OS.

Wait a minute! He admits to using and liking Windows and we're still letting him post here? Where's the torches and pitchforks? :tongue_sm


It won't work very well if you do. :tongue:

True, true... :lol::lol::lol:

[soapbox]

Wait a minute! He admits to using and liking Windows and we're still letting him post here? Where's the torches and pitchforks? :tongue_sm

You'd rather convert people to Linux at knifepoint?

[RichGem]

You'd rather convert people to Linux at knifepoint?

Hmm.... there's an interesting idea. Blake, ready the penginators!

:wink:

[skklog]

:badger: marker :badger:

[blackfoot]

Hmm.... there's an interesting idea. Blake, ready the penginators!

:wink:

Aye, aye Cap'n!

[RichGem]

Aye, aye Cap'n!

UH, EXCUSE ME? That sounds a lot like pirate talk. :spockflam

[blackfoot]

Aye, aye Cap'n!

Fixed that. :blush:

[RichGem]

Fixed that. :blush:

Much better. :glare:

[gollum83]

You'd rather convert people to Linux at knifepoint?

Um, yeah. Don't you?

[SRock]

Well Jesse already took care of this, but I just wanted to add that you should just go for it. A live CD is an excellent way to test drive Linux.



Hey! Don't bash the floppy drive! :mad3:

That wasn't bashing, just an observation. I really haven't seen one in quite some time. Our PC's at work get updated about every 24 months and I've only had laptops (CD no floppy drive) for about the last 7 years.

[SRock]

Aye, aye Cap'n!

Sniff sniff, smells like pirate speak.


UH, EXCUSE ME? That sounds a lot like pirate talk. :spockflam

:yesnod:


Fixed that. :blush:

Fixed what? :whistling:


Much better. :glare:

:yesnod:

[blackfoot]

Much better. :glare:


Sniff sniff, smells like pirate speak.



:yesnod:



Fixed what? :whistling:



:yesnod:

:innocent:

[soapbox]

Sniff sniff, smells like pirate speak.

:yesnod:

Fixed what? :whistling:

:yesnod:

Hey! We're trying to talk about Linux, here, Rob -- do you mind not derailing the thread??


:lol::lol::lol::lol:

[weshofmann]

Wait a minute! He admits to using and liking Windows and we're still letting him post here? Where's the torches and pitchforks? :tongue_sm


Ah, but you see, unlike most people who claim they like Windows 7, my opinion is actually based on a real, true comparison of it vs. linux as a desktop.

In fact, I know far more about and have far more experience with UNIX/Linux than I do with Windows. I can get down and dirty with pretty much anyone on the internals of linux (and unix in general), and most of the software stack up until before you get into full desktop environments. This is where linux/unix shines. All the system-level stuff is excellent, X is a well-designed protocol and Xorg is a relatively decent implementation of it (getting better every day), and most of the tried and true window managers out there are solid, reliable, fast, and get out of your way (e.g. twm, olvwm, enlightenment--dr16 of course, blackbox, windowmaker, afterstep, etc, etc). Where linux REALLY fails is in the full desktop environment stuff. The quality and stability of that software is orders of magnitude worse than any of the underlying code it runs on.

Here's a fun example. Take the monstrosity that is Evolution. I used it for a while at my last company because they had an exchange server and evolution has the best support for the full exchange suite of protocols (not just IMAP). To evolution's credit, they use a multi-process architecture where the gui is completely separate from the backend slave processes that retrieve data, for instance, the exchange slave process. Well, as is typical for the more large-scale linux desktop apps, pretty much no thought was put into any sort of error handling. When the back-end process hangs (and it did once a week or so), the front-end would never notice. You hit "check mail" and it would appear to do so and tell you there was nothing new. You'd get suspicious after a day or two of no new mail and voila, the back-end is a zombie but the front-end devs never bothered to harvest their failed child processes, so the process was still there, just completely unresponsive (i.e. kill -9 time). Even if you're not going to harvest your children when you get a SIGCHLD, you could AT LEAST keep a watchdog thread or SOMETHING running to let you know when your slave procs quit working right. I mean, hell, when you try to IPC with your slaves and you don't get anything back (like trying to talk to a zombie slave), you could AT LEAST throw up an error condition at that point. But no, that's too much to expect from evolution.

Yeah, this was 2 years or so ago, so evolution has probably fixed some of that, but I'll never use it again. Another example, Open Office. Yeah, it kinda works in an incredibly slow, bloated, and quasi-compatible way. Sadly, I found that running Office in an XP VM was far more responsive and had a smaller memory footprint than openoffice by itself. Oh, and sadly, it's more stable.

On the other hand, Gimp is a pretty nice app that's never given me any problems. In fact, I use it from time to time in windows (using the win-gtk bindings).

Anyway, point is, as a development workstation that isn't a laptop and that isn't running a full bells-and-whistles desktop environment (i.e. a light window manager, emacs, firefox, and a lot of terms) UNIX/linux can't be beat. The desktop stuff though is just not, in my personal and professional opinion, ready for the desktop when compared with Win7 or OSX. YMMV of course. :)

And yeah, it's been a couple of weeks since I've ranted about anything, so I guess I just needed to gripe. :tongue_sm

[weshofmann]

Hey! We're trying to talk about Linux, here, Rob -- do you mind not derailing the thread??


:lol::lol::lol::lol:


Don't worry, I got us back on track with my Rant-of-the-Week (TM).

[gollum83]

Hey! We're trying to talk about Linux, here, Rob -- do you mind not derailing the thread??


:lol::lol::lol::lol:

Linux? What's Linux? :tongue_sm

[gollum83]

Ah, but you see, unlike most people who claim they like Windows 7, my opinion is actually based on a real, true comparison of it vs. linux as a desktop.

In fact, I know far more about and have far more experience with UNIX/Linux than I do with Windows. I can get down and dirty with pretty much anyone on the internals of linux (and unix in general), and most of the software stack up until before you get into full desktop environments. This is where linux/unix shines. All the system-level stuff is excellent, X is a well-designed protocol and Xorg is a relatively decent implementation of it (getting better every day), and most of the tried and true window managers out there are solid, reliable, fast, and get out of your way (e.g. twm, olvwm, enlightenment--dr16 of course, blackbox, windowmaker, afterstep, etc, etc). Where linux REALLY fails is in the full desktop environment stuff. The quality and stability of that software is orders of magnitude worse than any of the underlying code it runs on.

Here's a fun example. Take the monstrosity that is Evolution. I used it for a while at my last company because they had an exchange server and evolution has the best support for the full exchange suite of protocols (not just IMAP). To evolution's credit, they use a multi-process architecture where the gui is completely separate from the backend slave processes that retrieve data, for instance, the exchange slave process. Well, as is typical for the more large-scale linux desktop apps, pretty much no thought was put into any sort of error handling. When the back-end process hangs (and it did once a week or so), the front-end would never notice. You hit "check mail" and it would appear to do so and tell you there was nothing new. You'd get suspicious after a day or two of no new mail and voila, the back-end is a zombie but the front-end devs never bothered to harvest their failed child processes, so the process was still there, just completely unresponsive (i.e. kill -9 time). Even if you're not going to harvest your children when you get a SIGCHLD, you could AT LEAST keep a watchdog thread or SOMETHING running to let you know when your slave procs quit working right. I mean, hell, when you try to IPC with your slaves and you don't get anything back (like trying to talk to a zombie slave), you could AT LEAST throw up an error condition at that point. But no, that's too much to expect from evolution.

Yeah, this was 2 years or so ago, so evolution has probably fixed some of that, but I'll never use it again. Another example, Open Office. Yeah, it kinda works in an incredibly slow, bloated, and quasi-compatible way. Sadly, I found that running Office in an XP VM was far more responsive and had a smaller memory footprint than openoffice by itself. Oh, and sadly, it's more stable.

On the other hand, Gimp is a pretty nice app that's never given me any problems. In fact, I use it from time to time in windows (using the win-gtk bindings).

Anyway, point is, as a development workstation that isn't a laptop and that isn't running a full bells-and-whistles desktop environment (i.e. a light window manager, emacs, firefox, and a lot of terms) UNIX/linux can't be beat. The desktop stuff though is just not, in my personal and professional opinion, ready for the desktop when compared with Win7 or OSX. YMMV of course. :)

And yeah, it's been a couple of weeks since I've ranted about anything, so I guess I just needed to gripe. :tongue_sm

But, but I wanna burn someone at the stake... :sad:

[weshofmann]

Speaking of window managers, you guys should check out Sawfish (http://sawfish.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page). It was my favorite window manager for a long time. Fast, stable, and includes a full common lisp runtime, so it's by far the most scriptable and flexible window manager out there.

For instance, you want a keystroke to cycle your windows in a clockwise cycle pattern starting in the middle of the screen and spiraling outwards? No problem, just code it up as a lisp method and bind it to a keystroke.

Yeah, it's emacs-y like that.

[weshofmann]

But, but I wanna burn someone at the stake... :sad:

*sigh* well, fine. But, I'll save you some time here... I do indeed float, yet I'm not a duck.

[weshofmann]

Don't mind me. I'm just a little grumpy because after reviewing my financials for the last few months (since I started wetshaving), I have concluded that I really have no good reason to spend any money on shaving for the next 3 or 4 years.

So, I have to curb my AD.... just as I'm starting to try out straights. In fact, I just got my first one in a couple of days ago. I haven't tried it out yet since I have to go to work and I figure my first straight shave might be a bit messy. I'm just counting down the days until the weekend...

And I find myself drooling over some of the restored razors at bobsrazors and ruprazors... they're SO PRETTY!!!

[gollum83]

Curb ADs while getting into straights? You're nuts! :lol::lol::lol:

[weshofmann]

Curb ADs while getting into straights? You're nuts! :lol::lol::lol:

Yeah, the irony is that I started DE shaving because it seemed obvious that I'd be saving money compared to buying Mach3 cartridges. Further, I still use barbasol and a mach 3 to shave my head, since I can get an irritation-free head-shave (excluding face) in about 2 minutes in the shower.

[Confuzius]

I'f it's any consolation, It's been almost a year and a half without spending a penny on anything shaving related. (except for some C&E balm I got at &#37;70 off...)
I probably won't need to for another year and a half.

(Also as a big fan of Linux, Windows 7 is great stuff, probably the best MS has ever put out.)

[RichGem]

Ah, but you see, unlike most people who claim they like Windows 7, my opinion is actually based on a real, true comparison of it vs. linux as a desktop.

In fact, I know far more about and have far more experience with UNIX/Linux than I do with Windows. I can get down and dirty with pretty much anyone on the internals of linux (and unix in general), and most of the software stack up until before you get into full desktop environments. This is where linux/unix shines. All the system-level stuff is excellent, X is a well-designed protocol and Xorg is a relatively decent implementation of it (getting better every day), and most of the tried and true window managers out there are solid, reliable, fast, and get out of your way (e.g. twm, olvwm, enlightenment--dr16 of course, blackbox, windowmaker, afterstep, etc, etc). Where linux REALLY fails is in the full desktop environment stuff. The quality and stability of that software is orders of magnitude worse than any of the underlying code it runs on.

Here's a fun example. Take the monstrosity that is Evolution. I used it for a while at my last company because they had an exchange server and evolution has the best support for the full exchange suite of protocols (not just IMAP). To evolution's credit, they use a multi-process architecture where the gui is completely separate from the backend slave processes that retrieve data, for instance, the exchange slave process. Well, as is typical for the more large-scale linux desktop apps, pretty much no thought was put into any sort of error handling. When the back-end process hangs (and it did once a week or so), the front-end would never notice. You hit "check mail" and it would appear to do so and tell you there was nothing new. You'd get suspicious after a day or two of no new mail and voila, the back-end is a zombie but the front-end devs never bothered to harvest their failed child processes, so the process was still there, just completely unresponsive (i.e. kill -9 time). Even if you're not going to harvest your children when you get a SIGCHLD, you could AT LEAST keep a watchdog thread or SOMETHING running to let you know when your slave procs quit working right. I mean, hell, when you try to IPC with your slaves and you don't get anything back (like trying to talk to a zombie slave), you could AT LEAST throw up an error condition at that point. But no, that's too much to expect from evolution.

Yeah, this was 2 years or so ago, so evolution has probably fixed some of that, but I'll never use it again. Another example, Open Office. Yeah, it kinda works in an incredibly slow, bloated, and quasi-compatible way. Sadly, I found that running Office in an XP VM was far more responsive and had a smaller memory footprint than openoffice by itself. Oh, and sadly, it's more stable.

On the other hand, Gimp is a pretty nice app that's never given me any problems. In fact, I use it from time to time in windows (using the win-gtk bindings).

Anyway, point is, as a development workstation that isn't a laptop and that isn't running a full bells-and-whistles desktop environment (i.e. a light window manager, emacs, firefox, and a lot of terms) UNIX/linux can't be beat. The desktop stuff though is just not, in my personal and professional opinion, ready for the desktop when compared with Win7 or OSX. YMMV of course. :)

And yeah, it's been a couple of weeks since I've ranted about anything, so I guess I just needed to gripe. :tongue_sm

Harvesting Children???? This is Linux, not Children of the Corn.

[Duckster]

81134

[Swampfox]

You'd rather convert people to Linux at knifepoint?

He's an agent of the Spanish Inquisition.


Hey! We're trying to talk about Linux, here, Rob -- do you mind not derailing the thread??


:lol::lol::lol::lol:

:lol::lol::lol:


Harvesting Children???? This is Linux, not Children of the Corn.

:lol::lol::lol:

[weshofmann]

Harvesting Children???? This is Linux, not Children of the Corn.

You gotta love an OS that encourages killing zombies, controlling daemons, and harvesting children.

It's like a horror movie.

[Swampfox]

You gotta love an OS that encourages killing zombies, controlling daemons, and harvesting children.

It's like a horror movie.

:lol::lol::lol:

OK, getting us back on track before Rob decides to threaten mergers again (who does he work for anyhow? BofA?), lol.

I am planning to rebuild a long disabled computer of mine. Rebuild nothing. I am going to be building from scratch the only thing I have that is still usable is the case. I am not looking to build a big machine. Just a learning machine for the time being, and I'll be using strictly LINUX on it. Should I stick with one brand of parts, or does it matter if I mix or match?

[weshofmann]

:lol::lol::lol:

OK, getting us back on track before Rob decides to threaten mergers again (who does he work for anyhow? BofA?), lol.

I am planning to rebuild a long disabled computer of mine. Rebuild nothing. I am going to be building from scratch the only thing I have that is still usable is the case. I am not looking to build a big machine. Just a learning machine for the time being, and I'll be using strictly LINUX on it. Should I stick with one brand of parts, or does it matter if I mix or match?

You should be fine mixing and matching. Depending on how old your case is, it may not work with newer ATX, mini ATX, ITX, or micro ITX motherboards if the case is a different form factor (like AT or ATX). If your case is ATX, you'll probably want to make sure it has screwholes to accept a mini ATX motherboard since the vast majority of modern desktop boards are mini ATX (ATX is more just server boards now). Also, you'll probably need to move around the case's risers (or maybe even get more of them) to be able to properly mount the new motherboard.

Also, check out the wattage on your power supply. A lot of older machines were in the neighborhood of 300 watt or so power supplies which isn't enough for a lot of newer boards, especially with beefy graphics cards. Also, a lot of newer motherboards will want a powersupply that provides not only the 24-pin ATX power connector but also an additional 4-pin or 8-pin EPS 12v power connector (though the 8-pin connectors are usually implemented as two separate 4-pin connectors).

Also, as power goes, you'll want to make sure your supply provides a PCIe 6-pin 12v power connector for graphics cards and the like. If you think you'll ever be running one of the beefier graphics cards, you'll need at least one of these connectors, though some require two of them (like the nVidia GTX 260).

Otherwise, for the other hardware, probably the best bang for your buck out there are the intel core 2 duos and core 2 quads (as far as intel chips go). The core i7's are really nice (especially the latest 900-series i7's that have quickpath and triple-channel memory controllers) but they're still pretty expensive.

Lastly, for your peripherals (cd/dvd/blueray/optical drives) you should definitely buy SATA ones instead of IDE. IDE is quickly being abandoned by motherboard manufacturers so if you get an IDE drive for the machine now, you most likely won't be able to use it with any future boards. The same goes for harddrives even more so.

I have no idea if that answered any of your questions or not, but I had fun rambling. :)

[weshofmann]

I think I figured out why I have so few posts even though I've been here since Sep... when I post things, I tend to write novels. :blushing:

[Confuzius]

Nvidia graphics cards are generally easier to work with in linux if you have the option.

[weshofmann]

Nvidia graphics cards are generally easier to work with in linux if you have the option.

+1. Definitely use the binary drivers with nvidia and you'll be good to go.

[Swampfox]

I have no idea if that answered any of your questions or not, but I had fun rambling. :)

I'll go back and ask some more questions tomorrow. Thanks, you gave me a lot to chew on. Regarding my case, it is an older one, not sure of the brand or type offhand. The power supply blew up, literally, in it, and took out the old motherboard, modem and graphics card, lol. It was weird. I had it unplugged for months because it needed an overhaul, but somehow it had an overload and blew up.


+1. Definitely use the binary drivers with nvidia and you'll be good to go.

Nvidia is about the only thing I have ever used. Even my wife's HP desktop and laptop have Nvidia cards.

[blackfoot]

Wow, this thread was rather busy today.


Hey! We're trying to talk about Linux, here, Rob -- do you mind not derailing the thread??


:lol::lol::lol::lol:

:lol::lol::lol:


Curb ADs while getting into straights? You're nuts! :lol::lol::lol:

Yeah, that is dangerous, right there. It is like eating Pop Rocks and Coke. :eek:


Yeah, the irony is that I started DE shaving because it seemed obvious that I'd be saving money compared to buying Mach3 cartridges. Further, I still use barbasol and a mach 3 to shave my head, since I can get an irritation-free head-shave (excluding face) in about 2 minutes in the shower.

I think we all used that excuse in the beginning. :001_rolle


81134

:lol::lol::lol:


You gotta love an OS that encourages killing zombies, controlling daemons, and harvesting children.

It's like a horror movie.

:thumbup:


I think I figured out why I have so few posts even though I've been here since Sep... when I post things, I tend to write novels. :blushing:

That is okay! substance over quantity! Look at me. I have high post count but nothing of any use. :thumbup1:

[weshofmann]

That is okay! substance over quantity! Look at me. I have high post count but nothing of any use. :thumbup1:

You know, i wasn't going to say anything but... :tongue_sm

j/k.

[blackfoot]

You know, i wasn't going to say anything but... :tongue_sm

j/k.

:lol::lol::lol:

[Swampfox]

You should be fine mixing and matching. Depending on how old your case is, it may not work with newer ATX, mini ATX, ITX, or micro ITX motherboards if the case is a different form factor (like AT or ATX). If your case is ATX, you'll probably want to make sure it has screwholes to accept a mini ATX motherboard since the vast majority of modern desktop boards are mini ATX (ATX is more just server boards now). Also, you'll probably need to move around the case's risers (or maybe even get more of them) to be able to properly mount the new motherboard.

So it sounds like I may want to consider just getting a new case.


Also, check out the wattage on your power supply.

The power supply is shot. Blew up. Still stinks.


Also, as power goes, you'll want to make sure your supply provides a PCIe 6-pin 12v power connector for graphics cards and the like. If you think you'll ever be running one of the beefier graphics cards, you'll need at least one of these connectors, though some require two of them (like the nVidia GTX 260).

Would any of the newer power supplies be acceptable?


Otherwise, for the other hardware, probably the best bang for your buck out there are the intel core 2 duos and core 2 quads (as far as intel chips go). The core i7's are really nice (especially the latest 900-series i7's that have quickpath and triple-channel memory controllers) but they're still pretty expensive.

What's the difference, if any, between the AMD & Intel?

[skklog]

well I might try that live cd thing, not live cd, but the over one( with flash )

does any one here a link to download it

[weshofmann]

So it sounds like I may want to consider just getting a new case.

I would guess that if your case was made in the last 10 years, it will probably support ATX and mini ATX. You might want to google for your case's specs and see what it says. Also, new cases are pretty cheap if you find them on sale/clearance, assuming you find one you like. Honestly, if this is just a machine to play with linux on, I'd find the cheapest one I could.

For this, NewEgg (http://newegg.com) is your friend. I do the vast majority of my computer shopping there. :)


Would any of the newer power supplies be acceptable?

So, here's the general heuristic for picking a power supply:

Pick a motherboard and CPU. Make note of both the wattage requirements (consult the docs or datasheets for the mobo and cpu) and the powersupply connectors that are required.
Pick a graphics card. Make note of wattage requirements (the datasheets for the cards should give you that info). Also, make note of powersupply connectors (if any) that are required.
Select a hard drive. Make note of wattage requirement, and triple it (to compensate for a second drive down the road, and to power your CD/DVD/BlueRay when you use it)
Now, find a power supply that has the connectors that the motherboard and graphics card require (as well as SATA power connectors for the harddrives), and that also meets or exceeds the total wattage for the motherboard+cpu+graphics+drives.



What's the difference, if any, between the AMD & Intel?

They're compatible with each other. As a general rule, you will probably get slightly more bang for the buck with AMD chips, but if you're looking for performance, the latest i7's are faster than AMD's equivalent chips.

Also, if you think you might ever want to play around with getting OS X working on your PC, having an intel cpu is a real bonus... you have to jump through some hoops to get it working with AMD because the chips, though mostly compatible, have some ISA differences that the OS X kernel takes advantage of to eak out as much performance as possible. Since Apple only sells Intel-based machines, the kernel is tailored for the Intel ISA differences.

Anyway, with OS X aside, you shouldn't ever run into incompatibilities if you go with AMD, and it might be a little cheaper.

[Swampfox]

I would guess that if your case was made in the last 10 years, it will probably support ATX and mini ATX.......

Thanks! All of this info has been very helpful, I appreciate it. I'll continue to ask you questions and pick your brain if you don't mind.

[DougK]

I have no idea how I'm going to catch up on 474 pages of this, so I'll just jump in and hope I'm reasonably close to the thread topic. All of my posts this evening have been brought to you courtesy of my new-to-me refurbished Dell Latitude D620 running Ubuntu 9.10 (4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, Intel Centrino Duo chipset with the Core Duo 1.83GHz proc). I can now geek out to my heart's content with my new toy. I must say it's the simplest and smoothest OS installation I've had in a long time. I'm liking this.

Now to reacquaint myself with the command line after an enforced absence in XP land...

[skklog]

well I might try that live cd thing, not live cd, but the over one( with flash )

does any one here a link to download it


:badger: marker :badger:

[DougK]

well I might try that live cd thing, not live cd, but the over one( with flash )

does any one here a link to download it
Which distribution are you looking for? The Ubuntu live desktop CD is available from http://www.ubuntu.com/; you can get Linux Mint (an Ubuntu derivative) from http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php. There's plenty of other distributions that work well too, such as Fedora and Mandriva.

[gollum83]

Yeah, that is dangerous, right there. It is like eating Pop Rocks and Coke. :eek:

I did that once and blew up, but I got better. :blush:


Which distribution are you looking for? The Ubuntu live desktop CD is available from http://www.ubuntu.com/; you can get Linux Mint (an Ubuntu derivative) from http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php. There's plenty of other distributions that work well too, such as Fedora and Mandriva.

Yeah, there's quite a few out there, but you can look at it this way: it'll give you the chance to find something you'll like. :wink2:

[RichGem]

I did that once and blew up, but I got better. :blush:



Yeah, there's quite a few out there, but you can look at it this way: it'll give you the chance to find something you'll like. :wink2:

www.distrowatch.com is a good place to start.

[gollum83]

www.distrowatch.com is a good place to start.

Gee, that really narrows things down for him. :lol:

[RichGem]

Gee, that really narrows things down for him. :lol:

I'm all about the Linux help. :thumbsup:

:lol:

(but, srsly, that's the only site I know of that has the various distros listed with a short description all in one place.)

[gollum83]

I'm all about the Linux help. :thumbsup:

:lol:

(but, srsly, that's the only site I know of that has the various distros listed with a short description all in one place.)

Oh I understand, and your right, but I can't help seeing skklog sitting there, cursing us for helping him. :lol:

[OldSaw]

Gentlemen:

I see much has happend in my exile-- that there is a new Czar? Words escape me!

But I couldn't let this most blessed of days pass without logging on and sending best wishes for a blessed Festivus. Each time I penetrate the cloak of the Cheddar Curtain, (as I will once again today), I think gravely of what has gone on to drop this veil upon us. Even the imposed moving of Mar's Cheese Castle, the continued drubbing of the Packers by Brett and the Vikings-- this pillaging takes a toll.

All kidding aside, things are fine/have been fine for Mr. Gillette. I just decided to re-prioritze a few things in my life-- and I realized I was spending time on B&B (GOOD time, I might add) that could better be spent in other pursuits. I appreciate your collective indulgence in all of this. Anyone who wishes, might PM me and I'll get you my email address-- I AM a bit long-winded, and spending too much time here takes away from the things that bring me income, hence new blades, new soaps, AS, etc.

So this morning, I loaded my precious Fatboy up with a fresh Feather. I cranked that thing up to 7. I did my typical "Full Kyle" prep, with (of course!) some Williams, with a drop or two of glycerin, whipped it up with the 2008 B&B Essential, and went 4 passes. (okay, ONE tiny little weeper on the corner of my lip, but that went away with a drop of Thayers.).

Then I thought of the special day today is...and decided to break my self-imposed exile and wish each of you a most Happy Festivus.

(Did Cory get that house built?)

:w00t:

I will try to check back to take part in 10,000th post celebration, as well.

Dude! You're alive. That's something to be thankful about, (I think :lol:)

I have pared back my postings as well, but mostly due to reduced internet connect-ability.

[ratcheer]

I'm all about the Linux help. :thumbsup:

:lol:

(but, srsly, that's the only site I know of that has the various distros listed with a short description all in one place.)

Ok, I need some Linux help. I have posted in Ubuntuforums and gotten exactly 0 responses, not even any smart-ass responses.

My 9.10 installation was very stable, but a week or two ago, I started having this problem. When I reboot, it comes up in some strange graphic mode. The resolution is wrong and it only fills about half the screen, in the upper left corner. There is no menu bar at the top nor task bar at the bottom.

To resolve it, I Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get a console terminal, then I "sudo service gdm restart". Then, it almost always comes back into the correct resolution, including the menu and task bars. However, once (last night), it came back up with the correct resolution and the menu bar, but no task bar.

None of this makes any sense, to me. Any help would be much appreciated.

Tim

[RichGem]

Ok, I need some Linux help. I have posted in Ubuntuforums and gotten exactly 0 responses, not even any smart-ass responses.

My 9.10 installation was very stable, but a week or two ago, I started having this problem. When I reboot, it comes up in some strange graphic mode. The resolution is wrong and it only fills about half the screen, in the upper left corner. There is no menu bar at the top nor task bar at the bottom.

To resolve it, I Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get a console terminal, then I "sudo service gdm restart". Then, it almost always comes back into the correct resolution, including the menu and task bars. However, once (last night), it came back up with the correct resolution and the menu bar, but no task bar.

None of this makes any sense, to me. Any help would be much appreciated.

Tim

Since the problems started, did you do any updates or change anything? Ubuntu is not my strong point but it sounds like something either updated badly or got corrupted. I'd try to do a manual update now (sudo apt-get update) just in case you got something borked right from the buntu people.

anyone else?

[ratcheer]

The main things I remember changing, recently, were the nVidia driver (which seems to change every couple of weeks or so) and the display monitor, itself. I changed the monitor from an old Hitachi 17" CRT to a Magnavox LCD TV. I was amazed that, when I changed monitors, Ubuntu correctly detected the model and reset the resolution and refresh rate, accordingly. The TV has specific functionality to serve as a computer monitor.

The nVidia driver is a beta, but I don't see anyone else reporting any problems with it. Unless it is what is causing this problem, it is working well.

Thanks,
Tim

[RichGem]

The main things I remember changing, recently, were the nVidia driver (which seems to change every couple of weeks or so) and the display monitor, itself. I changed the monitor from an old Hitachi 17" CRT to a Magnavox LCD TV. I was amazed that, when I changed monitors, Ubuntu correctly detected the model and reset the resolution and refresh rate.

The nVidia driver is a beta, but I don't see anyone else reporting any problems with it. Unless it is what is causing this problem, it is working well.

Thanks,
Tim


Try a system update and see what happens. Otherwise, my guess is the nvidia driver. You may want to downgrade to the previous version, esp. given that your current one is a beta.

[ratcheer]

Ok, I will try those suggestions one at a time. Thanks.

[OldSaw]

It's not gone it just expanded and picked up a new name, but at the rate cheese is running over Linux in this thread. The Linux thread may be the next to join the merger.

Congrats on 12K BTW!!! :w00t::w00t:


It would be a shame if this thread were merged. The difficulty of weeding out the pertinent technical information would grow exponentially...and that's saying a lot! :scared:


+1. There's a lot of good info here that, if merged, would get totally lost.


I couldn't agree more. I guess you'll have to help me keep it on subject. :biggrin1:



It's already getting buried in cheese. Look a the last few pages. I'm in no hurry to merge it, trust me. But like I said if this becomes Penguin Playground part two, why not?!?

It would be a shame to see this thread adulterated with an off topic thread. Were it not for this thread, I would be posting this from my incredibly slow win-doze machine.

Linux rocks.

[OldSaw]

Ya know, if they would have just left the old Czar in power, none of these problems would have ever emerged.

I'm just sayin'...:whistling:

That's exactly what I was thinking. As far as I am concerned Napoleon Cory, you are still Czar of the Cheddar Curtain. Even if you can barely manage to configure a Linux/Windows dual boot machine without wiping out all of your wife's photos on your back-up hard drive.

[OldSaw]

I actually still have a floppy drive on mine. It is a lot older than the computer and doesn't seem to work any more though. That was my useless interjection. :blush:

3 1/2" or 5 1/4"?

[Confuzius]

The main things I remember changing, recently, were the nVidia driver (which seems to change every couple of weeks or so) and the display monitor, itself. I changed the monitor from an old Hitachi 17" CRT to a Magnavox LCD TV. I was amazed that, when I changed monitors, Ubuntu correctly detected the model and reset the resolution and refresh rate, accordingly. The TV has specific functionality to serve as a computer monitor.

The nVidia driver is a beta, but I don't see anyone else reporting any problems with it. Unless it is what is causing this problem, it is working well.

Thanks,
Tim

In console "sudo nvidia-xconfig" then after that reboot and once logged in run "gksudo nvidia-settings" adjust your settings as nescecary, then click save to xorg.conf and apply.

This has been pretty much a universal rescue for me on any nvidia related problems.

[gollum83]

3 1/2" or 5 1/4"?

8" is way more old school.

[OldSaw]

8" is way more old school.

Well, yeah, but not really PC friendly. Sheesh

[ratcheer]

In console "sudo nvidia-xconfig" then after that reboot and once logged in run "gksudo nvidia-settings" adjust your settings as nescecary, then click save to xorg.conf and apply.

This has been pretty much a universal rescue for me on any nvidia related problems.

Thanks. I will try that if other suggestions don't suffice.

Tim

[Swampfox]

3 1/2" or 5 1/4"?

I had a 5 1/4 on my first machine.


8" is way more old school.

What about a tape drive?

[RichGem]

I had a 5 1/4 on my first machine.



What about a tape drive?

I was quite young, but I remember punch cards and (later) high speed tape (not cassette) drives.

[gollum83]

What about a tape drive?

Tape drives? I've never used them but I've seen plenty of them before. I had an internship at a local community college over in Flint, and I forget exactly what I was doing at the time, but one day I found this storage room in one of the buildings that was absolutely packed full of Commodore 64s and various peripherals including tape drives.