WOOHOO! SWITCHING TO LINUX!

[thecrecarc]

WOOHOO! SWITCHING TO LNIUX! there. now.... what do i do? its linux harder to use? err... where to dl? so... basically, im asking... WHAT DO U DO? btw: it IS free right?



yup, a complete lniux noob. and proud of it!

what.... first of all, do most games suport linux?

 

[keeleysam]

http://fedora.redhat.com/download/

You can use crossover to run alot of games. And yes, LINUX is free.

 

[MNKyDeth1]

You can usually find links from the distro's site on where to DL there distro. You can see many different distro's located here www.distrowatch.com on the right hand side where it starts with Ubuntu.
As for Linux native games here are a few sites to help you out. www.tuxgames.com www.linuxgames.com www.happypenguin.org www.linux-gamers.net
There are many other resources aswell but those imo are the best overall. If you want to play a game that is not native to Linux, ie. a windows type game then you may need wine or cedega. www.winehq.org or www.transgaming.com

Hope some of that helps, oh, yes, Linux is in theory free to download and do what "you" want to do with it.

 

[BlueWeasel]

No, most games don't support Linux. However, it's possible to run Windows-based games using programs like Cedega.

As far as the distro goes, head over to DistroWatch.com and check out the Top 10 in the past month. Be sure and check out the Live CD versions first, as they allow you to boot into a fully operational Linux OS without having to install anything. Once you've found one you like, then install it.

You'll get all different answers around here, but a few distros that I'd recommend for a N00b are Ubuntu, MEPIS, and PCLinuxOS.

 

[cleverhandle]

Why exactly are you switching to Linux? You don't appear to know anything about it. How do you know that this is something worth your time?

There are a zillion Linux sites out there. You might want to read up a bit on what the OS can and can't do before you spend a lot of time beating your head against a wall and come back here telling us how badly Linux sucks.

 

[Enfer Singe]

I would also recommend linux iso. From there you can download pretty much any distro you want. There are literally tons of places to get whichever version you would like. If you are a complete n00b, as you say, and don't know what the main difference between distros is, it is basically since linux is open source, anyone is free to modify it in any way they would like. Because of this there are many distributions, or distros, available. For a new person, I would recommend fedora core 3, mandriva (formerly mandrake) who just realesed their limited edition 2005 edition, or ubuntu.

As for it being harder than windows, it really depends on you. I know that sounds like a crappy answer, but if you are willing to put in the time, you will find a lot of things are easier to do in linux than in windows. I also suggest becoming a member at Linux For Dummies (the founder, Hawkwind can help you with just about anything), and Linux Questions because they end up being extremely helpful.

As for games, as was mentioned, the selection definately does not compare to windows, or even mac, but by using wine (windows emulator) or cedega, you can play most games. I know ID is supportive of linux gamers and has realeased Doom 3 for linux, and there is also a version of Americas Army for linux.

As for the live cd's (running the os totally from a cd and having it not touch your hard drive), I have read mixed reviews. Some people have a lot of success with them, and others can barely get them working. One of the most popular is Knoppix, but most distros make their own live cd versions. I honestly have had no experience with them (I have been meaning to try them out) so I cannot give you my opinion on them. It is a good thing if you are using a computer that other people use, so that in case something goes wrong, all their stuff isn't erased. Saying this, I don't know if you have looked into this, but one of the best options for a new linux user is a dual boot, so you can choose between linux or windows when you start up. This way, if you absoluely need windows for something, ir have a lot of stuff you don't want to get rid of or feel like moving, you can still keep it.

 

[SinNisTeR]

Originally posted by: thecrecarc
WOOHOO! SWITCHING TO LNIUX! there. now.... what do i do? its linux harder to use? err... where to dl? so... basically, im asking... WHAT DO U DO? btw: it IS free right?



yup, a complete lniux noob. and proud of it!

what.... first of all, do most games suport linux?

As far as n00bs are concerned... linux is only free if your time is worth nothing.

 

[doornail]

Originally posted by: SinNisTeR

As far as n00bs are concerned... linux is only free if your time is worth nothing.

Yeah, gaining knowledge is so stupid and non-beneficial.

 

[thecrecarc]

yup. i have tons of free time and im bored. i wanna learn somthing new and as i said, i have TONS of free time. im poor tho







nad know matter how much linux screws up my crappy, useless pecie of computer, i will still like linux more than windows adn thanks to anyone who ACTAULLY helped me. im still confused but hey, il learn (or screw up my computer)

 

[MDE]

I'd suggest finding at least a spare hard drive to install Linux to. It'll let you leave your Windows installation alone and go back if you ever need to.

 

[Cristatus]

marked for myself for later

(i'm also a linux n00b )

 

[daniel49]

far as I know there are only 2 non noobs they were last seen in the basement of an abandoned bell labs building pounding out code

 

[thecrecarc]

no, there was orginally 4. then 1 got attacked by rabid ants. then stop stopped on by lettuce. now there si 3. 2 in in tha bsement, 1 in eating cream puffs

 

[drag]

Linkies:
http://www.linuxgames.com/
http://www.linux-gamers.net/
http://www.happypenguin.org/
http://icculus.org/lgfaq/gamelist.php
http://icculus.org
http://www.tldp.org/guides.html
http://www.tldp.org/docs.html#howto

Debian stuff (usefull for ubuntu users, too):
http://newbiedoc.sourceforge.net/
http://www.togaware.com/linux/survivor/
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/reference/reference.en.html (aviable in other languages)
http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-faq/index.en.html
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/wiki/FrontPage


ibm stuff
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/newto/

other stuff:
http://wiki.arslinux.com/Main_Page
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/index.xml
http://www.google.com/search?q=linux+newbie&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=

And of course there is a handy directory system for finding most of this info and much much more:
http://www.google.com

Just some stuff. You won't need but a fraction of it, but you'd probably want more.

 

[randalee]

How are things going? Did you get a copy of Linux download and ready to install? Let me know if I can help out anyhow.

 

[Aenslead]

Yeah... free time: that's what you need. I tried it for two weeks, then went back to windows. I dont care if the kernel this or the code that and if security yadda yadda. I tried it out of curiosity in a spare Dell P4 computer I have.

It was ok. It was something new. I installed Mandrake 10, and it went without a problem, but had problems installing some software, couldn't find the help I needed (it was with Tcl package, if I can remember), I installed Firefox... it was nifty, too, but I missed my MSN and that "double click on the installer and press next, next, next" of Win; so I went back from my adventure with Linux and still using Win.

What can I say? I'm an MS yunkie.

 

[Aenslead]

Originally posted by: thecrecarc
WOOHOO! SWITCHING TO LNIUX! there. now.... what do i do? its linux harder to use? err... where to dl? so... basically, im asking... WHAT DO U DO? btw: it IS free right?



yup, a complete lniux noob. and proud of it!

what.... first of all, do most games suport linux?

On a side note, the only "alternate" OS I have really ever liked for PC is BeOS. It was really nifty. Too sad it didn't go well.

 

[TGS]

You would throw up if you ever saw someone installing a stage 3 gentoo build. Loading up precompiled KDE from a cd, switching over to another terminal session and surfing the internet on Lynx. It doesn't get any better than Google on text. No ads, no banners of any type. Just you, the keyboard, and a search field.

 

[nweaver]

stage 3 gentoo is for n00bs and old ladies....

stage one on PPro w/64 MB ram.....and I want Gnome AND KDE please. Call me next year when you are finished


I stage one/two almost every build. I have never actually tried a stage 3.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: nweaver
stage 3 gentoo is for n00bs and old ladies....

stage one on PPro w/64 MB ram.....and I want Gnome AND KDE please. Call me next year when you are finished


I stage one/two almost every build. I have never actually tried a stage 3.

How long does a functional stage 1 install take on an OLD machine?

 

[nweaver]

define functional....bash shell? or working gui?


I took a P2 400 w/128 MB ram from stage 1 to webserver w/perl (no gui) in about 2 days (on and off working...almost 18 hours to bootstrap)


Get a second computer/good book/girlfriend for a stage 1 install

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: nweaver
define functional....bash shell? or working gui?


I took a P2 400 w/128 MB ram from stage 1 to webserver w/perl (no gui) in about 2 days (on and off working...almost 18 hours to bootstrap)


Get a second computer/good book/girlfriend for a stage 1 install

That seems like a lot of wasted time. It takes about 45 minutes to install (download and install) OpenBSD on a sparcstation 10.

From 0 to webserver (with perl) in 45 minutes. GUI will cost you another 15. Maybe, I never tried.

Remember this is a 36mhz processor, 32MB of OLD ram, and a SLOW scsi drive.

 

[nweaver]

not saying it isn't, but I have learned alot. Remember, I am the padawan still master....

 

[KoolDrew]

I suggest installing Ubuntu.

 

[1Cheap2Crazy]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
I suggest installing Ubuntu.

That did not work for me today. Computer noob, n00b, whatever. My screen resolution was stuck at 640x480. I tried SUSE, it did the same thing, installed Red Hat 9 and it worked! I picked 800x600 but they also offered 1024x768. May have to see if I can change that.
It's a spare PC, to scared to try a dual boot. Will have to try and connect to the internet next.

Good luck, OP.