I'll be making the conversion to Linux pretty soon...

I've spent years working on a custom PC, and now that it is nearing completion, I'm thinking about making a complete transition from Windows to Linux. However, I'm having some trouble selecting a particular distribution to use. The only ones I currently have are SuSÉ 9.1 Personal, Berry Linux, (a pretty generic Knoppix distro) "Damn-Small-Linux," (which I use on my USB FlashDrive) and Ubuntu 5.10. I have several personal issues with SuSÉ and Novell in general, so that's out of the question. As for Berry, Knoppix is just a tad too impracticle for everyday use. I'm pretty interested in giving Ubuntu a try, though. I've only played around with the LiveCD version a bit, but I like it so far.

Either way, I'm looking into burning a few others, such as Gentoo. I've heard so many people praise it, though it sounds a bit too advanced for a Linux newbie like me. I guess it wouldn't hurt to play around with it, though.

So, any recommendations are appreciated. I'm going to be doing a lot of heavy graphic-design, sound-editing and gaming. (I'll probably have to dual-boot Win2k for software compatibility with some of my programs, though) As for my system, it will be running an AMD Sempron 1 GHz with 256MB RAM, a 128MB ATI Radeon graphics card, an SB Live! audio card and a K8 Triton board. I know it's not much, but this is my first PC build.

EDIT: Forgot to specify which AMD model.

[a different tim]

Don't know much about Linux but I do know about sound editing software. I don't know that there's any decent sound editing software for linux (I had a look at this a couple of years ago due to general annoyance with windows). Certainly as far as I know linux does not support VST or any other plug in standard. I definitely wouldn't recommend win2k for any modern sound editing 'ware as XP is now standard and way more stable. Most modern apps and plug ins won't run on 2K any more which will lead to massive problems if you upgrade your software. Most or all 2K stuff will run on XP.

Honestly, I like Red Hat Enterprise, for one big reason: it's got support if you need it. I've also used Slackware (no GUI, but great for Apache), and knoppix. They all do the trick, and if they don't, keep screwing with them until they do!

You probably already know about this site, but if you don't:

http://www.linuxiso.org/

And don't worry about being a newbie. The stuff changes so much that I think being a guru just means accepting that every time you look at something it will be different fom the last time you did. Just make sure you can telnet or SSH into that sucker, in case you screw the rc.d files up...

Hope that was helpful.

a different tim wrote

Most modern apps and plug ins won't run on 2K any more which will lead to massive problems if you upgrade your software. Most or all 2K stuff will run on XP.

So far, I haven't had any problems. It's only a matter of having the latest service pack installed. Even so, I have no intention of over touching XP again. It would go against my anti-Microsoft ethos. :P

Los Pepes wrote

Honestly, I like Red Hat Enterprise, for one big reason: it's got support if you need it. I've also used Slackware (no GUI, but great for Apache), and knoppix. They all do the trick, and if they don't, keep screwing with them until they do!

Tried it in the past, but didn't particularly care much for it. I probably wouldn't know anything about it now, though. I'm guessing that the latest version is quite different than the out-dated one included with my old Linux book.

And don't worry about being a newbie. The stuff changes so much that I think being a guru just means accepting that every time you look at something it will be different fom the last time you did. Just make sure you can telnet or SSH into that sucker, in case you screw the rc.d files up...

Oh, the frustrations... You won't believe how many times I've wiped my entire hard drive trying to do a simple dual-boot. I think installation is the biggest issue for me, as I always manage to get one critical detail wrong. As well, partitioning within Linux is just a simple pain in the ass.

I've been using Linux exclusively (at home) for six years. I ran Slackware for most of that but I've been a satisfied Ubuntu user for at least a year now.

I'll second what Tim said: Linux just isn't a good choice for digital sound or video editing and I can't recommend VMWare on your setup, either in XP or running natively in Linux. I have to use it to run Accpac but I have a gig of RAM. VMWare + OS overhead is a real hog so quadruple your memory if you're serious about doing this. And there's the other issue: I've never run anything in VMWare where latency is an issue. Not sure if sound editing will cause you to hit a wall in the virtual environment.

Consider a removable/swappable HD tray.

Edit: just saw this.

grendel wrote

As well, partitioning within Linux is just a simple pain in the ass.

Really? I've never had a problem with it. Which part gives you fits?

schemanista wrote

I've been using Linux exclusively (at home) for six years. I ran Slackware for most of that but I've been a satisfied Ubuntu user for at least a year now.

I'll second what Tim said: Linux just isn't a good choice for digital sound or video editing and I can't recommend VMWare on your setup, either in XP or running natively in Linux. I have to use it to run Accpac but I have a gig of RAM. VMWare + OS overhead is a real hog so quadruple your memory if you're serious about doing this. And there's the other issue: I've never run anything in VMWare where latency is an issue. Not sure if sound editing will cause you to hit a wall in the virtual environment.

Well, I'm generally aware, but like I said -- I'll probably dual-boot Win2k. (Which is my current environment.) I'll use Linux exclusively for all other purposes. Though, I am tempted to emulate some Windows-based programs on Linux. I remember hearing about "wine," which recently changed its name? It's probably not a viable solution, however, as I can't imagine being able to flawlessly emulate any Windows-based program in a Linux environment.

Consider a removable/swappable HD tray.

Done. :)

Really? I've never had a problem with it. Which part gives you fits?

The fact that I'm a newbie? :lol: Actually, I guess it's the particular partition pakage I use. The only name I recall is "QTParted." But, there always seems to be complications with mounting / unmounting devices, and not having sufficient privilages. As well, I hate measuring space by sectors... I try to save myself the trouble by using PartitionMagic, however, as the environment is more comfortable to me.

Grendel wrote

Though, I am tempted to emulate some Windows-based programs on Linux. I remember hearing about "wine," which recently changed its name? It's probably not a viable solution, however, as I can't imagine being able to flawlessly emulate any Windows-based program in a Linux environment.

Wine is hit and miss. It depends entirely on how many and which .dlls your program uses. For instance, DVDShrink and DVD Decrypter both run flawlessly, but you need to use the sourceforge package, not the stock Ubuntu version.

Here's the list of working and partially working apps. They're doing yeoman duty.

As for partitioning, not sure what to recommend. I've never used a graphical tool. cfdisk was good enough for Linus and it's good enough for me :cool:

No 3rd party software (I am talking about high-end for graphics, video and sound editing) is available for Linux, this is my biggest problem.

schemanista wrote

Here's the list of working and partially working apps. They're doing yeoman duty.

Hmm... I didn't notice Paint Shop Pro on that list, as it's what I primarily use for graphics editing. I'll have to check and see if there's an official Linux release, though.

Grendel wrote

The fact that I'm a newbie? Actually, I guess it's the particular partition pakage I use. The only name I recall is "QTParted." But, there always seems to be complications with mounting / unmounting devices, and not having sufficient privilages. As well, I hate measuring space by sectors... I try to save myself the trouble by using PartitionMagic, however, as the environment is more comfortable to me.

Just my two cents, take it for what it's worth: I would always install on a legitimate partition. Sometimes that partitioning software flakes out, and I guess I'm just old-school. I would either f-disk, create a partition and reinstall Windows to one partition and Linux to the other, or I would install Linux on a secondary hard-drive and then configure the loader (LILO, for instance) to load each OS from the correct HD. If you keep the two installations completely apart and essentially ignorant of one another, you shouldn't (famous last words) have any problems.

Also...

Grendel wrote

Tried it in the past, but didn't particularly care much for it. I probably wouldn't know anything about it now, though. I'm guessing that the latest version is quite different than the out-dated one included with my old Linux book.

Most of the distro's run either KDE and/or GNOME as the desktop GUI environment, so unless you're getting into specialized stuff (e.g. setting-up Linux boxes as firewalls and routers), they for the most part have a similar feel (<- I don't want to commit to that, because it prolly changed 2 hours ago!). I've also been surprised at how similar Linux feels to Solaris and AIX, it's really becoming a monster.

Los Pepes wrote

I've also been surprised at how similar Linux feels to Solaris and AIX, it's really becoming a monster.

IBM has thrown a lot of resources at Linux since 2000. That and the fact that Linux has been aiming at the same niche which Solaris and AIX occupy probably accounts for the similarities. I'm pretty sure that "desktop Linux" will never happen. Corporate Linux, on the other hand...

And every Microsoft user should thank the FLOSS movement. Many of the massive improvements in reliability and security (much as I hate to admit it) between the Win9x/NT 4 OS families and the current family of XP OSes is a response to what Microsoft perceived as a genuine threat from the free software world.

peepnklown wrote

No 3rd party software (I am talking about high-end for graphics, video and sound editing) is available for Linux, this is my biggest problem.

Yup. We've already acknowledged that. Not likely to change in the near future.

[a different tim]

Grendel wrote

So far, I haven't had any problems. It's only a matter of having the latest service pack installed. Even so, I have no intention of over touching XP again. It would go against my anti-Microsoft ethos. :P

I hear that.....I was thinking specifically of music apps, but if you can make them work for you, go for it. Sonar 5, Audition 2.0, Cubase SX3, Pro Tools 7 all require XP though, and I think the DXi 2 and VST2 plug in standards do as well although Sound Forge still runs on Win2K. So I've just had to bite the bullet and go XP, and will probably have to go Vista as well....I am so not looking forward to that :(

Re wine, I wouldn't recommend running music apps in any kind of windows emulator, be it linux or mac, as you'll get massive - and I mean massive - latency and audio playback issues due to the extra layer of processing required. Bootcamp on the new macs looks interesting though although I have even more issues with Apple's business practices than I do with evil Bill.

schemanista wrote

IBM has thrown a lot of resources at Linux since 2000. That and the fact that Linux has been aiming at the same niche which Solaris and AIX occupy probably accounts for the similarities. I'm pretty sure that "desktop Linux" will never happen. Corporate Linux, on the other hand...

And every Microsoft user should thank the FLOSS movement. Many of the massive improvements in reliability and security (much as I hate to admit it) between the Win9x/NT 4 OS families and the current family of XP OSes is a response to what Microsoft perceived as a genuine threat from the free software world.

What sucks (or not, depending on how you look at it) is that all of these GUI's keep getting better and better on Linux/UNIX platforms, but we have so freakin' many servers at work that we manage them through SSH, so we never get to see any of the pretty pictures.

I'll tell you what, you can say what you want about Windows XP (I'm pretty platform neutral), but the remote desktop is a really nice feature and works better on Windows networks than Citrix and VNC (IMHO).

schemanista wrote

IBM has thrown a lot of resources at Linux since 2000. That and the fact that Linux has been aiming at the same niche which Solaris and AIX occupy probably accounts for the similarities. I'm pretty sure that "desktop Linux" will never happen. Corporate Linux, on the other hand...

And every Microsoft user should thank the FLOSS movement. Many of the massive improvements in reliability and security (much as I hate to admit it) between the Win9x/NT 4 OS families and the current family of XP OSes is a response to what Microsoft perceived as a genuine threat from the free software world.

I have only run some Linux kernels through Gaim and some on my Ipod for simple picture viewing (way before they got ipod photo) and i found that redhat was one of the easiest conversions available from XP/NT to a Linux system, however it does require alot of system background information, which can be a pain in the ass due to the massive swapping of computer parts i regular in...

Also, sort of off topic, but has anyone here been messing with PearPC? Its a sort of OSX emulator, but as of now it runs, obviously, very slowly...