I'm noticing that there are an awful lot of Linux users on our forums.
If you feel so inclined, post in here and let the world know!
Personally I don't have a Linux desktop installed anywhere right now, but I've been using it to run all my domains and websites for 8 years or so. I'm much more at home on a command line.
Who uses Linux?
Moderators: dorpond, trevor, Azhrei
I want to be a linux user...but I keep needing to be able to use my statistics programs and I never really have time to get REALLY good with S-PLUS (R). 
That and I actually like MS Office 2007. *hangs head in shame.
Other than that? I've used the following distros from time to time as I search for the one distro to rule them all: Gentoo (ack!), Redhat, Fedora, Mandrake, Suse, Ubuntu, (myriad others).
Right now, I'd use more linux if I could get my laptop's wireless card to work w/linux.
That and I actually like MS Office 2007. *hangs head in shame.
Other than that? I've used the following distros from time to time as I search for the one distro to rule them all: Gentoo (ack!), Redhat, Fedora, Mandrake, Suse, Ubuntu, (myriad others).
Right now, I'd use more linux if I could get my laptop's wireless card to work w/linux.
0+0=1, for very unstable CPUs.
Dude, I hate Windows, but as far as GUI is concerned, they got it right with Office 2007. Most of our users here -hate- the Ribbon interface, but once I learned where things were, I prefer it. So, don't hang your head in shame. ^.^ (That said, the rest of this crappy OS can bite me.)
I use Linux. Up until about a month or so ago, it was my main desktop at home. In many, many ways, I still prefer it, even over OSX, but my hardware for that machine was old (-barely- a 1GHz CPU) and I figured if I was gonna get a new machine, it would be a laptop, and if I was getting a new laptop, I might as well finally take that Mac plunge. (I've liked MacOS since OS6 days.)
I still use Linux on my web/mail server. I'm a command-line guy, so I am much more comfortable in a terminal window than with a gui. Even on OSX, where my Mac friends are using Colloquy and Adium in all their pwetty glory, I'm still using irssi and centerim from an ssh window. (Well, it is the added benefit that I can ssh into my server, load up screen, and everything is where I left it.
) I started with Red Hat long, long time ago...then Debian, followed by Gentoo (ahh, the all night package building! I do not miss thee!) and finally to Ubuntu on the insistence of a fellow game geek who works for Canonical. Ubuntu, so far, has been my favorite hands down, for both server and desktop.
I use Linux. Up until about a month or so ago, it was my main desktop at home. In many, many ways, I still prefer it, even over OSX, but my hardware for that machine was old (-barely- a 1GHz CPU) and I figured if I was gonna get a new machine, it would be a laptop, and if I was getting a new laptop, I might as well finally take that Mac plunge. (I've liked MacOS since OS6 days.)
I still use Linux on my web/mail server. I'm a command-line guy, so I am much more comfortable in a terminal window than with a gui. Even on OSX, where my Mac friends are using Colloquy and Adium in all their pwetty glory, I'm still using irssi and centerim from an ssh window. (Well, it is the added benefit that I can ssh into my server, load up screen, and everything is where I left it.
) I started with Red Hat long, long time ago...then Debian, followed by Gentoo (ahh, the all night package building! I do not miss thee!) and finally to Ubuntu on the insistence of a fellow game geek who works for Canonical. Ubuntu, so far, has been my favorite hands down, for both server and desktop.syntruth wrote:Dude, I hate Windows, but as far as GUI is concerned, they got it right with Office 2007. Most of our users here -hate- the Ribbon interface, but once I learned where things were, I prefer it. So, don't hang your head in shame. ^.^ (That said, the rest of this crappy OS can bite me.)
I use Linux. Up until about a month or so ago, it was my main desktop at home. In many, many ways, I still prefer it, even over OSX, but my hardware for that machine was old (-barely- a 1GHz CPU) and I figured if I was gonna get a new machine, it would be a laptop, and if I was getting a new laptop, I might as well finally take that Mac plunge. (I've liked MacOS since OS6 days.)
I still use Linux on my web/mail server. I'm a command-line guy, so I am much more comfortable in a terminal window than with a gui. Even on OSX, where my Mac friends are using Colloquy and Adium in all their pwetty glory, I'm still using irssi and centerim from an ssh window. (Well, it is the added benefit that I can ssh into my server, load up screen, and everything is where I left it.
Gentoo--I love the idea, but the long waits for package builds killed it for me. Then when they started providing prebuilt packages for a lot of stuff, I realized that it was just a way to feel elitist about your package manager. Which was, in truth, better than some of the alternatives, and worse than others.
Ubuntu--I love the idea, but I still am annoyed by the fact that I CANNOT get my stinking wireless card to work. I'll get it working, update something else, the *FWOOOOM* it's dead. CRAP!
redhat/fedora--no thx
suse--hokay, whatever
mandrake---it's been a while, but whatver
0+0=1, for very unstable CPUs.
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thecyberwolfe
- Dragon
- Posts: 312
- Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2008 3:57 pm
- Location: The Great Wet North
Currently running Kubuntu Hardy. Orchard, once you get the wireless working, don't update the kernel again and it won't break. I have to do the same thing on my laptop.
Past distros:
SuSE (since 7.0)
RedHat 8
Mandrake (a couple of versions)
Slackware
Gentoo (sorta - never did get the darn thing to run right)
Knoppix (actually installed it once)
I actually bought the SuSE 7.0 box set when I first started out as kind of a whim, and I have been tinkering with Linux ever since. It's always as a dual-boot, but I tend to have one system running it somewhere somehow. (I'm the security guy at my shop, so I need a safe box for research.)
Past distros:
SuSE (since 7.0)
RedHat 8
Mandrake (a couple of versions)
Slackware
Gentoo (sorta - never did get the darn thing to run right)
Knoppix (actually installed it once)
I actually bought the SuSE 7.0 box set when I first started out as kind of a whim, and I have been tinkering with Linux ever since. It's always as a dual-boot, but I tend to have one system running it somewhere somehow. (I'm the security guy at my shop, so I need a safe box for research.)
The Cyberwolfe
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Them: "Name one thing a PC can do that a Mac can't!"
Me: "Right-click."
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Them: "Name one thing a PC can do that a Mac can't!"
Me: "Right-click."
Very interesting stuff here. Wrathgon hasn't posted to this thread yet, but I know he's running an Arch Linux system as a MapTool server...
I've used Linux since the Yggdrasil Linux distribution on 11 floppies was made in late 1992. I had used binaries posted to the comp.os.binaries newsgroup earlier than that, but never got the postings converted to binary and stored on floppy in a manner which worked. It was around the time of Linux kernel 0.99pl14 that I received my first CD-ROM distribution and got Linux working on a 386/40MHz with 2MB of RAM and a 40MB hard drive.
I've used them all. RedHat and Fedora, SUSE and openSUSE, Mandrake / Mandriva, Ubuntu / Kubuntu, Gentoo, Debian, and a bunch of others. My favorite is easily Kubuntu -- it has the excellent hardware detection of Ubuntu with the very professional KDE desktop. But KDE is not for lightweight machines, so I wouldn't run it on a low-end system.
As someone else pointed out, updating your kernel can break wireless cards. In general, if you update your kernel and it breaks, you have to re-execute the configuration script that tweaks your wireless driver to work with that particular kernel.
The problem is that the internal structure of the kernel can change drastically from release to release, so the drivers might have to be updated as well. Therefore, drivers must be matched against the kernel to ensure compatibility. This is typically done by compiling a small piece of source code that loads the driver. If the source code doesn't compile, the user knows that something significant changed inside the kernel and they need to obtain a newer driver or revert back to the previous kernel. This is why most systems do NOT automatically update the kernel, while they might automatically update the other software on the system.
For most systems, it's as simple as removing the configuration of the wireless card, then rebooting and letting the system re-detect it (forcing it to recompile that source code I mentioned and verify compatibility). I'm surprised that your distribution didn't do that automatically, though. Many do.
I'm becoming increasing disappointed with Mac OS X. This laptop will become a Linux machine in the next year or so (the laptop is only a year old currently). And it'll run 64-bit Kubuntu with VMware Workstation installed so that I can run the occasional Windows program.
I've used Linux since the Yggdrasil Linux distribution on 11 floppies was made in late 1992. I had used binaries posted to the comp.os.binaries newsgroup earlier than that, but never got the postings converted to binary and stored on floppy in a manner which worked. It was around the time of Linux kernel 0.99pl14 that I received my first CD-ROM distribution and got Linux working on a 386/40MHz with 2MB of RAM and a 40MB hard drive.
I've used them all. RedHat and Fedora, SUSE and openSUSE, Mandrake / Mandriva, Ubuntu / Kubuntu, Gentoo, Debian, and a bunch of others. My favorite is easily Kubuntu -- it has the excellent hardware detection of Ubuntu with the very professional KDE desktop. But KDE is not for lightweight machines, so I wouldn't run it on a low-end system.
As someone else pointed out, updating your kernel can break wireless cards. In general, if you update your kernel and it breaks, you have to re-execute the configuration script that tweaks your wireless driver to work with that particular kernel.
The problem is that the internal structure of the kernel can change drastically from release to release, so the drivers might have to be updated as well. Therefore, drivers must be matched against the kernel to ensure compatibility. This is typically done by compiling a small piece of source code that loads the driver. If the source code doesn't compile, the user knows that something significant changed inside the kernel and they need to obtain a newer driver or revert back to the previous kernel. This is why most systems do NOT automatically update the kernel, while they might automatically update the other software on the system.
For most systems, it's as simple as removing the configuration of the wireless card, then rebooting and letting the system re-detect it (forcing it to recompile that source code I mentioned and verify compatibility). I'm surprised that your distribution didn't do that automatically, though. Many do.
I'm becoming increasing disappointed with Mac OS X.
This laptop will become a Linux machine in the next year or so (the laptop is only a year old currently). And it'll run 64-bit Kubuntu with VMware Workstation installed so that I can run the occasional Windows program.I'm extremely happy with OS X. I'd never give it up for home use. For me it's all about the right tool for the job. Like I said, I LOVE my Mac laptop and I love running OS X on it but I would never consider OS X for a server. I've tried and it's a world of pain, so I always use Linux for that and just ssh from my mac to the server box. I'd also not consider OS X or Linux in a corporate environment where you have to manage lots of workstations on the same network, operated by computer noobs. I'd use Windows for that.Azhrei wrote:I'm becoming increasing disappointed with Mac OS X.
All three of these OSes CAN be used for any of those tasks, and many people do, but I think there's a good place for all of them and I'm always open to trying something different if another tool comes along.
I appreciate your viewpoint. But I'm a techie (can't you tell?! 
) and I don't like some of the under-the-cover stuff on OSX.
For example, I don't have an strace tool. OSX includes ktrace but it's nowhere near as nice as strace. I'm obviously annoyed by Apple's requirement that I upgrade a perfectly working system to 10.5 in order to get Java 6. Now that Java 7 has been out for awhile, I'll probably have to upgrade to 10.6 to get that! That's not for me 'cuz I'm a cheap b*st*rd.
I have three primary concerns: sleep/hibernate, external display, and wireless card. This machine sometimes crashes while sleeping and it won't wake up. This would need to work before I go 100% Linux. Because I give presentations for a living, I need the external DVI connector/display to work properly as well. And last, I spend a lot of time in hotels and other areas where wireless is my only 'net access, so I need reasonably good support.
Of the above three items, I think the video may be the toughest since I will need to use the proprietary nVidia drivers to get good graphics support. But it'll be uphill for all of them, I expect...
) and I don't like some of the under-the-cover stuff on OSX.For example, I don't have an strace tool. OSX includes ktrace but it's nowhere near as nice as strace. I'm obviously annoyed by Apple's requirement that I upgrade a perfectly working system to 10.5 in order to get Java 6. Now that Java 7 has been out for awhile, I'll probably have to upgrade to 10.6 to get that! That's not for me 'cuz I'm a cheap b*st*rd.
I have three primary concerns: sleep/hibernate, external display, and wireless card. This machine sometimes crashes while sleeping and it won't wake up. This would need to work before I go 100% Linux. Because I give presentations for a living, I need the external DVI connector/display to work properly as well. And last, I spend a lot of time in hotels and other areas where wireless is my only 'net access, so I need reasonably good support.
Of the above three items, I think the video may be the toughest since I will need to use the proprietary nVidia drivers to get good graphics support.
But it'll be uphill for all of them, I expect...All valid points, they just don't bother me personally muchAzhrei wrote:I appreciate your viewpoint. But I'm a techie (can't you tell?!
For example, I don't have an strace tool. OSX includes ktrace but it's nowhere near as nice as strace. I'm obviously annoyed by Apple's requirement that I upgrade a perfectly working system to 10.5 in order to get Java 6. Now that Java 7 has been out for awhile, I'll probably have to upgrade to 10.6 to get that! That's not for me 'cuz I'm a cheap b*st*rd.
I have three primary concerns: sleep/hibernate, external display, and wireless card. This machine sometimes crashes while sleeping and it won't wake up. This would need to work before I go 100% Linux. Because I give presentations for a living, I need the external DVI connector/display to work properly as well. And last, I spend a lot of time in hotels and other areas where wireless is my only 'net access, so I need reasonably good support.
Of the above three items, I think the video may be the toughest since I will need to use the proprietary nVidia drivers to get good graphics support.
As to the sleep/hibernate, that could be an OSX issue and might go away if you're running Linux. Worth a shot, I'd say.
Me and Linux-:P
Back in 02 I went bask to school so I could get a real job. To I went to a tech school to learn the ins and outs of a net tech. Part of my schooling was on Linux, there I got my first crack at Linux. So over the years I have played around with it in some fashion or another. Just over 2 years ago we had laptops that were dyeing and fast. I was good at data recovery on dead drives, so the job feel to me to get the company data back. I was playing around with dual booting and had a system under my desk for playing around. I connected one of the dead drives and was not getting any ware with it. Windows would not see the drive. I re-booted the system and got called away to help some one. When I got back to my desk the machine was in linux and the drive was mounted on my desktop. I pulled the data off the drive and have been using linux full time on that box for over 2 years now.
This simple mistake has saved my company allot of money!
From there Linux in my world has grown to be a major part of my computing. I use Kubuntu full time at home and only switch to windows to play on-line games. So with 2 laptops, and 2 desktops at home only one is windows and that is my media center (have not played with mediabunut yet).
For the cost of a mac book I can get to laptops with Kubuntu on it and a unending amount of free software, as well as use most windows apps under wine.
So why would I need to spend that kind of money on a mac?
I know every one has what they like and I am a Dad of 2 and day care is more then my house payments so I don't have the more to spend on new toys. This was also another driving factor in using linux the cost of owner ship is well nothing. I have not put one cent into it and don't plan on it. When the money come (some day) I will support the effort of the Linux community, but till then Thanks all Linux geeks out there!
Noel
Kubuntu and happy.
Back in 02 I went bask to school so I could get a real job. To I went to a tech school to learn the ins and outs of a net tech. Part of my schooling was on Linux, there I got my first crack at Linux. So over the years I have played around with it in some fashion or another. Just over 2 years ago we had laptops that were dyeing and fast. I was good at data recovery on dead drives, so the job feel to me to get the company data back. I was playing around with dual booting and had a system under my desk for playing around. I connected one of the dead drives and was not getting any ware with it. Windows would not see the drive. I re-booted the system and got called away to help some one. When I got back to my desk the machine was in linux and the drive was mounted on my desktop. I pulled the data off the drive and have been using linux full time on that box for over 2 years now.
This simple mistake has saved my company allot of money!
From there Linux in my world has grown to be a major part of my computing. I use Kubuntu full time at home and only switch to windows to play on-line games. So with 2 laptops, and 2 desktops at home only one is windows and that is my media center (have not played with mediabunut yet).
For the cost of a mac book I can get to laptops with Kubuntu on it and a unending amount of free software, as well as use most windows apps under wine.
So why would I need to spend that kind of money on a mac?
I know every one has what they like and I am a Dad of 2 and day care is more then my house payments so I don't have the more to spend on new toys. This was also another driving factor in using linux the cost of owner ship is well nothing. I have not put one cent into it and don't plan on it. When the money come (some day) I will support the effort of the Linux community, but till then Thanks all Linux geeks out there!
Noel
Kubuntu and happy.
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DrVesuvius
- Giant
- Posts: 199
- Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:07 pm
I use Ubuntu 8.04 desktop on my media PC hooked up to a 40" LCD for display during face-to-face games and as the main MapTool server for remote games. I've also got Ubuntu EEE (a distro based off 8.04) on my EeePC 701, which also runs MapTool quite nicely.
There's also a diskless PC in the bedroom that boots to GeexBox from a USB pen, or Puppy Linux from CD (which I haven't managed to get MapTool running on yet) and a backup desktop machine that dual boots between XP and Ubuntu Studio 8.04 (MapTool running on both!)
So yeah, Linux.
There's also a diskless PC in the bedroom that boots to GeexBox from a USB pen, or Puppy Linux from CD (which I haven't managed to get MapTool running on yet) and a backup desktop machine that dual boots between XP and Ubuntu Studio 8.04 (MapTool running on both!)
So yeah, Linux.
Impressive....from my standpoint anyways..DrVesuvius wrote:I use Ubuntu 8.04 desktop on my media PC hooked up to a 40" LCD for display during face-to-face games and as the main MapTool server for remote games. I've also got Ubuntu EEE (a distro based off 8.04) on my EeePC 701, which also runs MapTool quite nicely.
There's also a diskless PC in the bedroom that boots to GeexBox from a USB pen, or Puppy Linux from CD (which I haven't managed to get MapTool running on yet) and a backup desktop machine that dual boots between XP and Ubuntu Studio 8.04 (MapTool running on both!)
So yeah, Linux.
0+0=1, for very unstable CPUs.