Operating Systems > Linux and UNIX
Anybody know about WinLinux?
kjg:
Well, all this sounds rather discouraging for WinLinux. Oh, well, I thought it sounded too good to be true, and I guess I was right (as usual :D )
Have briefly visited slackware - they have both a "ZipSlack" and a "BigSlack" which will run without repartitioning... of course, BigSlack needs about 850 MEGs, but I have that much available, and it is apparently a fairly full-featured installation. One thing that worries me is that the documentation and/or "hand holding" on their site seems pretty thin.
From everything I've been reading, it looks like for a "real" Linux distro, Mandrake is probably the way to go for a newbie. And at least one review of the WinLinux mentioned that the FAT 32 system sacrifices the stability that whatever system Linux usually uses (can't remember) - basically, that at least part of the reason Windows is less stable is because it uses FAT instead of "X" (insert real name here).
Anyway, it's not like I have to decide today. I'll keep looking around. And who knows, maybe I'll just swap out my 4 gig "baby" hard drive with a 20 gig model. Gotta be cheaper than buying a new machine, and I have a nephew who can do the re-install of WIN98 (a clean re-install is not such a bad idea, actually).
Decisions, decisions. Good thing I'm sometimes mostly known for being more-or-less the decisive sort except for when I get bogged down in too many options or when I don't really think decisivness is a good idea which it sometimes really isn't because you have to look at all the variables, you know? <G>
Karen
creedon:
quote:Originally posted by Karen:
Well, all this sounds rather discouraging for WinLinux. Oh, well, I thought it sounded too good to be true, and I guess I was right (as usual :D )
Have briefly visited slackware - they have both a "ZipSlack" and a "BigSlack" which will run without repartitioning... of course, BigSlack needs about 850 MEGs, but I have that much available, and it is apparently a fairly full-featured installation. One thing that worries me is that the documentation and/or "hand holding" on their site seems pretty thin.
From everything I've been reading, it looks like for a "real" Linux distro, Mandrake is probably the way to go for a newbie. And at least one review of the WinLinux mentioned that the FAT 32 system sacrifices the stability that whatever system Linux usually uses (can't remember) - basically, that at least part of the reason Windows is less stable is because it uses FAT instead of "X" (insert real name here).
Anyway, it's not like I have to decide today. I'll keep looking around. And who knows, maybe I'll just swap out my 4 gig "baby" hard drive with a 20 gig model. Gotta be cheaper than buying a new machine, and I have a nephew who can do the re-install of WIN98 (a clean re-install is not such a bad idea, actually).
Decisions, decisions. Good thing I'm sometimes mostly known for being more-or-less the decisive sort except for when I get bogged down in too many options or when I don't really think decisivness is a good idea which it sometimes really isn't because you have to look at all the variables, you know? <G>
Karen
--- End quote ---
It's going to continue to be dissapointing. For the forseeable future, no one is going to be able to come up with a "fitzall" Linux distro. My reccomendation would be to try a real Linux distro- it's not as hard as it sounds, and almost all distros have limited ability to access Win files.
I'm using LibraNet 1.9.0- personally, I think it's much easier to install than any version of Windows, it looks great and it's Debian-based, and uses apt-get for updates. (If you're not familiar with apt-get, it's an automatic updating system that will download, configure and install the latest software from Debian- FREE.) I'm triple-booting LibraNet, Corel 1.2 and Win98, but I'm only keeping Win98 on my box br=ecause my scanner isn't supported under Linux yet- as soon as it is, Adios Windows. :D
kjg:
quote:Originally posted by creedon:
It's going to continue to be dissapointing. For the forseeable future, no one is going to be able to come up with a "fitzall" Linux distro. My reccomendation would be to try a real Linux distro- it's not as hard as it sounds, and almost all distros have limited ability to access Win files.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, I've pretty much come to that conclusion myself. I've looked at several of the distros on VoidMain's site, and have "kinda" narrowed it down to SuSE or Mandrake. At the moment, I'm leaning toward SuSE, because it seems to come with more "work" oriented programs - I'm not a gamer, so most of the games included in Mandrake are just so much deadweight. I'm still looking though - can't do a thing till I get a new CD drive and either replace my hard drive or add a second one. Plus, I've gotta get some work done too, ya know? So I'll check out the LibraNet you suggested and some of the other ones I've seen suggested here and elsewhere.
Karen
creedon:
quote:Originally posted by Karen:
Yeah, I've pretty much come to that conclusion myself. I've looked at several of the distros on VoidMain's site, and have "kinda" narrowed it down to SuSE or Mandrake. At the moment, I'm leaning toward SuSE, because it seems to come with more "work" oriented programs - I'm not a gamer, so most of the games included in Mandrake are just so much deadweight. I'm still looking though - can't do a thing till I get a new CD drive and either replace my hard drive or add a second one. Plus, I've gotta get some work done too, ya know? So I'll check out the LibraNet you suggested and some of the other ones I've seen suggested here and elsewhere.
Karen
--- End quote ---
You're going about it the right way. I've been through Redhat, Corel, Storm, Mandrake and a couple others. I really like LibraNet because of the reasons in my earlier post, but the great thing about Linux is that you have choice- you don't have to take what's available. Linux is getting easier to use too- when I installed Redhat 5.2, it was an unending chore. Most dstros out now are easier than Windows to install. I've really gotten hooked- I'm even thinking about Linux From Scratch, where you start with an empty, formatted partition, and build your own operating system from source code, adding exactly what you want, and leaving everything else out. Someday, I'll take an extra tuck in my truss and go at it.
:D
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