I wanna get rid of Windows and get Linux RIGHT NOW!!

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by noduser, Mar 23, 2007.

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  1. noduser

    noduser Registered Member

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    Replacing Windows applications with simple, definitive, open-source programs (foobar2000, Media Player Classic, Opera) has made me wanna go all out and replace my whole entire operating system!

    I pretty much use my computer for browsing the net and downloading music and I like to be able to customize menus and cursors (I like "retro"...no anti-aliasing; no super glossed over balooning menus and stuff like that; no crazy gradient effects...) I'm hoping for something even more cutomizable than Windows (so I can make it look even MORE older :thumb:)

    And I'll obviously need to make it as Windows-compatible as possible (WINE...o_O)

    Is there like, some 1337 Linux that'll just hijack my computer, throw Windows in the Recycle Bin, and take it's place?

    I guess what I'm really going for is a more customizable, more efficient, less glitchy Windows (I don't want something with a totally different interface...I just looked at a screenshot of Ubuntu and it looked just like a Mac!)

    :ninja::ninja::ninja::ninja::ninja::ninja::ninja::ninja::ninja:
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2007
  2. malformed

    malformed Former Poster

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    http://instlux.sourceforge.net/

    http://marc.herbert.free.fr/linux/win2linstall.html
     
  3. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    i'm not sure foobar2000, Media Player Classic and Opera are all open source, opera isn't anyway. i wouldn't just make a snap decision to just start using linux. some people don't like it at all after trying it out.

    you could try out a livecd though, maybe kubuntu if you don't like the way ubuntu looks. kubuntu will run from your cd player without making any changes to your hard drive unless you decide to install it, there's an install icon on the livecd's desktop.
     
  4. Cerxes

    Cerxes Registered Member

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    One distribution I can recommend is PCLinuxOS. It uses the KDE enviroment and is one of the easiest for non-geeks to manage regarding downloads/installations of new software, thanks to the synaptic package manager. Of course if you want to download/install some "odd" software, you have to install the "hard way". iceni mentioned kubuntu (KDE) which also is a good, non-geek distribution with great support. /Cerxes.
     
  5. noduser

    noduser Registered Member

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    You know what I mean :D

    I used a Linux once that was like, an exact replication of the Windows interface (the "retro" or "classic" one):

    http://i9.tinypic.com/478iyax.png\

    That's what I want...at least to start

    I'm sure many of them can be configured that way...

    Oh and it's obviously not just about looks...I want my Linux to be as compatible as possible (and I can settle for less than 100%)
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2007
  6. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    i think mint linux might be the best distro to start with. it needs less configuring then other distros. then once you have that installed you can configure linux to look however you like, the best way to do that is by using different window managers. so, even if you don't like the look of mint it's a good place to start.
    http://linuxmint.com/
     
  7. Durad

    Durad Registered Member

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    Wait few days and get Freespire 2, its currently under beta testing.
     
  8. DCM

    DCM Registered Member

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    You could have both with a dual boot system and then remove the one you don't like after you have had the best of both worlds. Dual boot is pretty easy to set up and you can have the default boot up set to either program.
     
  9. DCM

    DCM Registered Member

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  10. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hello,
    Then go with SUSE 10.2 with KDE. Dead sexy. I even got a tutorial...
    Mrk
     
  11. noduser

    noduser Registered Member

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    I've thought about it and what I'm really going for can probably be best described this way:

    something that looks exactly like Windows 95 (and I wanna be able to mess with the colors)

    and

    something as compatible as Windows as possible.

    Wikipedia lists a whole bunch of things about the compatibility factor...

     
  12. EASTER.2010

    EASTER.2010 Guest

    Yeah i can't wait myself to find an alternative. It's been a learning experience all the way but is getting tiresome continually having to build on it with tons of software programs just to keep it safe on the internet.

    Vista & Vienna don't impress in the least either and remind me how M$ ran away like a scalded cat from 98/Me instead of re-writing them after XP release. Their about done IMO for doing that.

    Freespire huh? Might give it a try. What is a distro? Some Pub? A sandwich? Seriously.
     
  13. bigc73542

    bigc73542 Retired Moderator

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    a single version of a linux OS is refered to as a Distro (bution) or distributed version
     
  14. Reposed

    Reposed Registered Member

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    I'm new to Linux and have tried and liked pclinuxos but have ended up with Mepis 6.5. With xorg 7.1 and beryl already set up on install, I have a 3d desktop running flawlessly on a 5 year old laptop. It also has outstanding hardware detection and a support forum that is very "supportive" of newbies like me. Anyway, worth taking a look.
     
  15. Cerxes

    Cerxes Registered Member

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    iceni, I see in your sig that you prefer the Xfce desktop. I´m going to test both Xubuntu and Zenwalk. Which one do you recommend regarding speed, hardware detection etc? /Cerxes.
     
  16. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    zenwalk might be abit quicker, it's based on slackware, i think, that means it is abit more difficult to install too and setup, and there aren't as many packages in the package manager. xubuntu might have better hardware detection though, but it depeands what hardware you have.

    really, i'd say zenwalk is more for people who have used linux for awhile, it needs alot more stuff done manually.
     
  17. FastGame

    FastGame Registered Member

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    DreamLinux, SAM Linux, Zenwalk, Vector Linux are the best examples of Xfce.
     
  18. MakoFusion

    MakoFusion Registered Member

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    Forget SuSE 10.2 - In fact forget SuSE at all. They have been bought and paid for by Microsoft. Before getting into the rest of it I will tell you one thing SuSE does that is good.

    *It allows you to access your NTFS drive 'out of box'!

    I recommend Fedora Core 6 for you to start out on...

    Package management for SuSE is a freakin' nightmare! There is an evolutionary difference between YaST and YUM! (SuSE uses YaST / FC6 uses YUM).

    Most people will encourage you to do a live CD or a dual boot system. I cannot recommend ethier option. If you truely wish to make the jump to open source software all the way then make a backup of your Windows partition and install Linux on a spare hard disk drive. You will want to emerge yourself into Linux from the very get go. At first you will feel restricted for simple things like .mp3 playback are not supported 'out of box'. If you know you can go into Windows at anytime with a dual boot system then you will always fall back to it when things get tough. Get with your good friends google and the Fedora Core forums to figure it all out first. There is even a tutorial/how-to section on the main Fedore Core forums.

    http://forums.fedoraforum.org/forumdisplay.php?f=12

    If you use it day by day it will all become second nature to you as Windows feels now. You'll want to learn how to install and update packages through the 'terminal' using YUM. Think of the terminal as an MS-DOS prompt box in which you type commands into. As far as open source software...

    foobar2000 -> dunno
    Media Player Classic -> mplayer and xine
    Opera -> Firefox

    As far as the look goes first install it with KDE or Gnome (your choice) and learn how to use it. Then after you get better at it you can install it with no graphical interface and then go with a lesser known one what won't take as many resources. You can get back to me if you have any more questions. I recommend this distro to beginner since you don't want to spend all your time compiling the programs that you would like to just use in the first place.

    Here is a hint:

    Open up the terminal then type the following...

    su
    (type in root password)
    yum install wine
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2007
  19. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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  20. MakoFusion

    MakoFusion Registered Member

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    SuSE is a damn joke. Didn't really get into Ubuntu good enough though. How is apt treating you?
     
  21. ashishtx

    ashishtx Registered Member

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    I would say any distro is good as long as you try to use it in everyday use and learn about it. It cannot be learned in two or three days so i would advise to persist with any one distro and try to learn it. I am not an expert on linux but here's just my few cents.
    linux is comparatively cheaper than other os so i would try to find best for my needs.
     
  22. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    i don't use apt because i use suse :rolleyes:
     
  23. NGRhodes

    NGRhodes Registered Member

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    Hi,
    As I understand we are not going to see this:

    http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3538/2578/1600/msLinux.gif

    Mircosoft Linux XP... :D

    AFAIK the deal for interoperatbility of certain patents for things like Document formats and Virtualisation - or do you think there is more to it ?

    I admit I dont understand the indepth details of the deal(s) made with Novell and Microsoft but one thing did stick out in my mind and that is why Red Hat (and others) have not made such deals ?
     
  24. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    other companies have made exactly the same deal, i think Sun is one.

    if MS does sue anyone involved with linux (not just novell - suse) novell will let those people, or comapny, use their patents to sue MS back. that's why Novell helped setup the the open invention network. MS can not sue any linux company it's just a fact because linux will sue back and linux is far more agile and will be able to rewrite code faster and with fewer set-backs then MS can.

    the deal just means more companies will use linux, i'm not interested in it and haven't followed it, but probably more people/companies are using linux now because of the deal. it just happens there are lots of hippy types who get very excited when they see the word microsoft, or, in some cases a corporation, mentioned. http://www.smileyhut.com/excited/dribble.gif these people can be quite entertaining, but not to be taken seriously
     
  25. Meltdown

    Meltdown Registered Member

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    I tried Xubuntu briefly before installing Zenwalk. Both were fine with hardware detection (and both have livecds to check that), but Zenwalk boots and runs faster. As iceni said there isn't too much in the package manager, but there are more packages available on the forums, Slackware packages work fine, and installing from source has also been straightforward.

    Zenwalk isn't as easy as the first distro I used, PCLinuxOS, but anything I've needed to do has mostly been a case of searching the Zenwalk forums and wiki and following the instructions. It's been a good way to learn a bit more about Linux.
     
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