Hey to all the Linux savy players/people/modders/(not sure if i left any1 out).
I need some Question answered bout Linux:
1. Where is the best place to buy/download it & it's cost
2. Is there a chart that list programs that run with it, ie will my programs installed on my XP pc run in Linux
3. What kind of system did I need to run it
4. Of all the different versions out there which 1 is the best & lastly,
5. What are the benifites over Windows
Please HELP
PM, me or post reply here PLEASE

hi, wel... for start... forget all..... just buy a MAC... u turn it on, and, TADA!!!!! it works fine, no drivers, no strange kernel panic, bla bla bla, works better then windowz!

i f u really want to start on linux, just start by the beggining!
Linux is free!! some linux programs ar expensive, but the O.S. is free just go to goole and type linux ...

then, u burn a CD with the iso u just got, u save all the info in the "working just fine" pc and reboot it with the linux cd, it will probably erase all your data, cus you are a noob, but thats ok, all the linux users had the same prob one day, heheheh good old days.

then... just read the manual its all there, and if after u read it all u still have questions, u are welcome to asked, only if u read the manual first!! Always read the manual!!! the manual!!!! u must read it, if u can do it, u can use linux, if u cant..... buy a MAC!!!!

Judas

ok first of all linux is free, or at least all distributions (distros) of linux provides a free version too.
linux is a unix based operative system, it's a nice alterntaive to winblows if you don't want to spend big $$$ for a mac (don't know in other countries but here in italy apple's pc are very expensive) and you prefer to spend those in aspirines for the headaches caused by linux's installation , you can try linux.

one of the best places of where to find the links to the linux's distros is: www.linux.com; click on distributions, then choose the one that you prefer

window's programs will not run in linux and not even vice-versa (and driver's too), generally window's programs does have an equivalent in linux because there is usally someone in the world that had your same need and made an equivalent ; a very nice table to start is at this link:
http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html, alaso usallly the distro provides a very large variety of programs, so you may want to serch inso those istallations before searching in the net.
there are emulation layers like wine www.winehq.com wich will let you run windows programs in linux but they will nevery run as the same as in windows (and they may not even run )

linux also needs a special filesystem format (means that you have to format an hard disk partition with this type), wich means that everything placed in those partitions will not be readble from windows; a bit more happyly linuxd can read and write window's partitions, so you can access your file in FAT and NTFS filesystems (window's FS types) from linux without problems

as ofr the pc requiements they are very low (i've made it to run on a old P I 166Mhz) but please refer to the distro's specific infos

if you plan to install linux for the first time and you are not sure of what you are doing, my suggestion is to get an old hard disk (2 GB are enought for an installation test) and install it there 1 or 2 times, when you will be sure about what you are doing you cna try to install on your usual HDs, or perhaps keep it there and use it from there (but soon you will want more space for it )

if you want just to try linux a good start may be a live cd; those cds are special distros that are tweaked to run entirely from a cd, all that you need is to boot from those cds, and a linux OS will be loaded, those cd are good if you want to try linux (remeber that you have a lot of restrictions but) or simply you want to carry on a linux distro , a good live cd is knoppix: www.knoppix.org.
Otherwise you may just install linux and windows at the same time; then linux usually provides a program called bootloader wich will let you choose what OS to use at system boot.

if you are scared by command line interface then DON'T TRY IT, while few distros provides a nice gui (graficl user interface), most of the things are done trought a command line interface (if you don't get what is, it's something that looks similar to the old Dos, but muuuch more powerful) and if you plan to use linux a bit, you will have to learn few commands

benefites over windows:
first of all: it's free (and may be enoguht )
second it's much more configurable if you have patience
third: 99% percent of the progs are open source wich means that they are free and you can look/edit them without problems
fourth: it's very secure on the networks (means that has less bug that lets nasty ppl to get access to your pc)
fifth: with some configurations may be faster than windows

to be hones i have to say the disadvatages too:
1: there is no real "official support", even if the ppl who releases the distro provides support, it's best to ask other ppl like in the forums to get help
2: there are almost no commercail games for linux ( for programs it's only a bit better but the choice it really restricted); anyway there are a lot of great free progs & games
3: you may have issues with your hardware & linux: very very very few hardware companies provides dirvers for linux, so you have to find for driver that made other ppl and they may not run well (also since there are no dlls in linux you have to put them in the kernel files and recompile it wich may be a pain if you are unexperieced, yes i had that experience personally )
4: usually the grafic in linux is worse than windows (i think it's due to the engine)
5: if you don't learn how to use the command line, your choice get very very much restricted

ok few more basic infos: linux is all based on it's core called kernel, there are few version of the linux kernel around the net, after trying few you may find the right one for your needs

if something asks you for you pc architecture it's the cpu type that you have; 85% of the pc around is X86 type, means i486, i586 (the first pentiums) and i686 (i'm not sure about this but i think it's since the pentium III), something for 486 will work for 586 and 686 but 586 cannot work with 486 and so on, try to find the most recent becasue it usually supports more instructions for the cpu wich will make the programs faster

most of the programs for linux are ailwable for istallation in 2 types: source or compiled binary:

source those are the "instructions" of hte progrma not yet translated to the machine's code, the source code is protable in any architecture (type of cpu) without compatibilty issues, all you have to do if get the sources on your pc then run a program called compiler wich will make the executable file (binary), this file will be specific for your architecture; just a note, usually the sources contain an help file on how to compile them.

binary precompiled files: those files are usually packed into special packages like rpm, deb, and so on; those files contains a generic precompiled binary and the other iles needs, those packages are usally self installing but they may have few troubles, so i suggest you to use them only if you don't have any other choice, or you don't have a clue on how to compile yet

BD..... u just scared him !!!! hehehe
btw there are more important advantages.... many many more
but one that i just remember it as 64bits kernel for AMD's, i got a friend who got a "64 bits linux" and he said... damm it runs fast like anything i had ever seen, almost twice as fast... (he has a amd 3500+ something) of course only cpu is almost twice faster... the rest is hdd, ram, net, dvd, bla bla bla...

by my experience, i can say it rulez, i have 3 linux server running 24/7 for about one year and one going non stop for 5 years... SME version 5, really non stop, i installed it in 30 minutes and is going on non stop for 5 years... u just try to make that with windowz. LOLOLOLOL it only got a 30 minutes down because UPS stoped due to problems.... anyway 5 years is a long time without problems, no reboots no nothing, just running servers like email, samba, php, vpn, and other things...... it really runs well. by the way, my windowz server up time record is 4 mouths....


damm... this text is too looonnnngggg.....

the sme server i just talked is SME, one of the best, btw, linux support sucks, if u got a 5 days support is very good on linux supoort, in windoz u can get a 24 hours support.... imagine u get a problem, and the system gets 5 days down... very bad for reputation, still if things are well configured and the fans don't stop... the system will "never" fail.

if there is more linux users, put your links here, it would be nice to have a post with best linux (and web links) and your personal comments and experiences.

Here goes the linux i use

http://contribs.org/

NOTE: BACKUP YOUR HARD DRIVE BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE!!!! linux is a very nasty system to recover.... a lot of command line use required....

Well Ty both for replying I don't have the time right now to read all that u posted BD, but mark my words i wll. I got an idea that you know a bit bout Linux, so i may post here again (after i have readed your post) with more questions, TY agin

my advice is to check out distrowatch.com and damn small linux. Might be a good place to get started. You can run DSL from within windows and learn the ropes. I did it a bit, and it was fairly easy, but I dont use it, I'm stiking with windows for now.

I'll be brief, and warning, I'm a long-time Unix/Linux guy.

Advantages:

1. Free. You can pay for Linux, and get "official" support, but I would recommend going with one of the more popular "completely free" versions, and get familiar with the forum community.
2. IMO, the "support" for Linux is WAY better than for Windows. Try searching for a resolution to a Windows problem, and you find all sorts of people trying to sell stuff. Search for resolutions to Linux problems, and you much more frequently find clear solutions.
3. Control and configurability (see comments about this on "Disadvantages too ). With Linux you can controll the way virtually everything looks and functions.
4. The community. Check out the forums at http://forums.gentoo.org and http://linuxquestions.org, and you'll find some really good forums with people actually helping people with VERY little flaming etc
5. Reliability. I've been running Linux at home for over ten years now, and exclusively for about 4 or 5 (ie: No Windows)... have I ever had problems? Sure. But not a single one required me wiping the drive and reinstalling.
6. Viruses and spyware/adware? What are those things again??

Disadvantages:

1. Learning curve.
   This is the biggest hurdle for people, really. It's not that Linux is really hard, it's just that it is different than Windows. Imagine trying to switch from your car to one that you sat on the other side and controlled the throttle with your hands and steered with your feet; not necessarily that hard, but not how you've always done it.
2. I'm not going to lie: It's not as easy to install and get going. Although, it has come a LONG way, and most popular distros are VERY likely to "just work" with your machine "out of the box".
3. Yeah some things you may not be able to do in Linux. For me, the only reason I hung on to Windows for the last couple years I did was that I liked to play Crimson Skies, and it only worked in Windows
4. I said I was going to be brief.

As for what it will run on - I have a 386 here that I put linux on a while back... it was about a 20MB install, and I used it as my router for my home network, and it barely used the CPU. It just depends on what you want to do, and it also depends on what you run. With a "lightweight" install, you can surf the net happily on a 486.

Bah, I suck at this "being brief" bit.

The best way to "get your feet wet": If you have an old PC around, download a popular distro and try installing it. If you have trouble, try another.

BTW: One more advantage: Regarding the "Free" bit - I have not run anything on my PC for many years that is not COMPLETELY free, and I don't find that I have any restrictions on what I do. In fact, often, it's *easier* than with Windows. (One example is making PDF files - REALLY easy in Linux, and completely, and legally, free).

I'll stop now.

cbx

If you're just getting started with Linux, I highly recommend downloading a Linux Live distribution. You simply download this ISO image, such as http://slax.linux-live.org/ burn it to a CD and reboot your computer. The advantage is your hard drive remains untouched and if you decide you don't like Linux, just eject the CD and restart your system and you're back in Windows.

And if you've got the money for a new computer, then OSX is a good alternative as OSX runs on Unix.

Yo spec

I dunno crap about the MAC, BUT..........

I thought you might like this little video clip comparing the Mac to the PC

hope you enjoy it

http://www.roosterteeth.com/archive/download.php?id=499

and if you like that here is an RVB PSA on gas prices
http://rvb.roosterteeth.com/archive/download.php?id=999

Wow, that video is about 8 years old. He didn't even mention he could play Scorched 3d on his Mac!

ok fab, ty, but i will most likely NEVER SWITCH TO MAC. No disrespect to those of you out there who love it, but i would be 'up a creek without a paddle' & have to by all new programs that i use. At least with Linux i MIGHT be able to keep my courent programs, hopefully. if not i will just stick with Windows, ty again to all you.

>>but i would be 'up a creek without a paddle' & have to by all new programs that i use. At least with Linux i MIGHT be able to keep my courent programs, hopefully. if not i will just stick with Windows,<<

FYI all Intel based Macs that were introduced this year (Mac mini, Mac Book Pro, iMac) run OSX out of the box and you can install Windows XP and run all Windows programs on them also.

@ Fab, I know that, i keep up with the latest tech news Honestly, that would be the only reason i would ever by a Mac, would be the dual-boot feature

ok now that XP is going to die in 2 years I'm ready to switch to the Penguin on my old laptop and possible another older one of my wife's. I need to know if any or all this info is still valid and what has changed. I know you can buy a complete package of Linux but I also know that you can get it all free too. Please help me update this info thanks

No.
Linux is now just as easy to install as Windows (including 7) now!

DistroWatch is still a good place to pop for what distros are hot and get some info on them before downloading!

My recommendation would be Megeira, it's a community spinoff from Mandriva, which itself used to be Mandrake. It has some nice GUI control windows, making the win - nix transition easier than with Ubuntu, which I have not found to be newb friendly except for all the online support for it.

Good Luck.

P.S Check out WINE for running your XP programs on linux, it's suprisingly good at running a wide range of windows programs with varying success.