Which Linux Distro do you run and why ?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by NGRhodes, Feb 7, 2007.

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  1. NGRhodes

    NGRhodes Registered Member

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    Good news, Ive finally found some Linux drivers for my printer which appear to not have halftoning issues (something to do with ghostscript generating halftone information and not leaving it for the printer to sort out).
    So tomorrow I am going to be blasting Caos on my server and after a trial period if things seem good (especially printing), move my laptop over to Linux.

    Cheers for all the input guys, been very informative info.
     
  2. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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    :thumb: Hope to hear from you:)

    #Questions regarding file format: GNU/Linux works on FAT32 and others right?
    main()
    {
    1-what other formats;
    2- advantages/disadvantages comparing to NTFS, mainly i'm concerned about max. file size (.iso can be big), but do elaborate...
    printf("answers please:D ")
    }

    TIA
     
  3. Alphalutra1

    Alphalutra1 Registered Member

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    Yes, but why would you o_O I like using JFS, XFS, and ext3 for linux. JFS for laptops since it is so low cpu usage, xfs for large files (like my external harddrive), and ext3 is just the norm (stable, fairly fast, etc) All of these have better performance, speed, journalling, etc. that FAT32 lacks, so don't use it. If you want to share files between windows, just install ntfs-3g for full read-write capabilities with ntfs.

    no real file-size handicaps you have to be worried about on these file systems.

    Cheers,

    Alphalutra1
     
  4. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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    That's the answer i was looking for, believe me or not:) . I had this idea that "Linux" was FAT32... I read about other formats, but i'm clueless... (or ignorant lol).
    a)In every distro i get to choose the format?
    b)exterior would be NTFS, so i can use it on others pcs... internal maybe xfso_O what formats can handle big files, what sizes, and between those, what's the best overall? Give me links if you prefer, i'll read them! I don't need to handle HUGE files, but i don't want to be constrained, that's all.

    Thanks
     
  5. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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    Seeing a comparison here, it looks like ext3 and xfs are very good. Others too, but it's very hard to analyse this table. I'd like to sort by OS's (or filter), sort by file size...:D

    Not to mention i only get the first table. The others... Hard links, Block journaling, WTF?
    Boy, do i want an article, to accept whatever the guy says... mommy plz make them stop!:ouch:
     
  6. clansman77

    clansman77 Registered Member

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    i run ubuntu edgy 6.10 with a vmware server running xp on it.:D mainly coz i find support is excellent for ubuntu and any doubt/problems will have an answer in the forums 99% of the times.:thumb: it is useful both for the novice and the advanced user.i also had a brief encounter with dreamlinux and i find it also very good looking and user friendly(like pclinux os)it uses the xfce DE and looks very similar to the mac osx.i find it lacks some documentation.the release cycleand development is also fast..so guys check this out too
    DREAMLINUX
    :thumb:
     
  7. NGRhodes

    NGRhodes Registered Member

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    Up and running !
    Printer needed packaging (courtesy of my friend ;), print quality is actually better than the windows driver, picking up colour mismatches that do exist but publisher was hiding, print speed is as quick as windows. Got SMB up and running, just installing open office and other desktop stuff for testing purposes and then in a week or 2, it will be time to move the laptop over to Linux :)
     
  8. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hello,
    Great to hear! BTW, I have a Lexmark E232 family printer, which has no drivers for Linux whatsoever. Guess what? Installing HP LaserJet 6L drivers for it, works like magic. I also setup sharing with Windows machines, as this printer is connected to a Linux machine. Shared CUPS on port 631, even installed HP drivers for it in Windows (as it thinks it is an HP machine....), works fabulously!
    Mrk
     
  9. Alphalutra1

    Alphalutra1 Registered Member

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    Just use ext3, it is pretty much the standard, and has a large amount of tools for repair and recovery compared to other filesystems.

    Cheers,

    Alphalutra1
     
  10. pcalvert

    pcalvert Registered Member

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    I like Debian. It is very stable and it comes with lots of software. Many distros keep things simple by making decisions for you. Debian leaves more of the decision-making up to you, and that gives you the flexibility to make your system the way you want it. Right now I am using Xfce as my desktop, and I have just a small part of KDE installed so I can use some KDE software like kppp, kghostview, and ksnapshot. I also have IceWM and fluxbox installed, and could use either of those window managers instead of Xfce if I wanted to.

    Phil
     
  11. Reposed

    Reposed Registered Member

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    Well, I was put off by different distros of linux because it was just so counter-intuitive for a Windows user. Just trying to install a wireless pcmcia card that is not supported by any distro, was a task that seem to require a good deal of requisite knowledge.

    Anyway, I've been playing round with pclinuxos and I think I've been converted!!. Still counter-intuitive on many levels but not nearly as bad as others I've tried. Once I found the driver for my wg511v2 (no mean feat in itself) it was just a case of pointing the wireless setup gui to the appropriate .inf file - and presto - done!

    Synaptic is genius! However, still trying to get all the components together to compile non-Synaptic packages(compiler keeps coming up with new components I have to install to complete compile - now I need a boost library?). Its a pain, but I'm slowly getting there.
     
  12. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hello,

    You say it's problematic to install non-supported driver in Linux. True. But if you know what you're doing, you'll succeed.

    In Windows, try installing non-supported driver. No chance.

    Mrk
     
  13. herbalist

    herbalist Guest

    Decided to give the Live CD of PCLinuxOS a try. I expected it to be slow, being a live CD and running on my old hardware, but this was unbearable. Was using FF to connect here, then tried to open the hardware configuration interface. After several minutes of CD activity, everything just locked up. Getting the internet set up was easy enough. It had no problems with my internal hard drives. Mounted the primary partition of the external drive fine, but couldn't unmount it. It still came back to a problem I've had with most versions of Linux, Knoppix 3.6 being the lone exception. Can't get sound. I'm using an old Creative Sound Blaster 16. I'd love to know why this sound card is such a problem. At least with this one, it was just sound that didn't work. Other distros had problems working with my external drive, floppy drive, CD, etc. It takes a lot of the incentive out of trying Linux when it starts with making hardware work, then still doesn't come close to matching the performance of what I've already got.
    Hardware issues aside, I still haven't found a version that gives me anything near the speed I'm getting with Win98, or the stability. Can anyone name a specific version that's suitable for a Linux newbie to start with, not just command line, that will perform decently with 160MB of RAM and a 366mhz processor? Am I wasting my time with this old hardware?
    Rick
     
  14. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hello,

    Puppy Linux:

    http://www.puppylinux.org/user/viewpage.php?page_id=1

    >> 100 Mhz processor or better + 32 MB RAM and an IDE (hard disk or CD drive). 420 MB hard disk will do, or 4X CD drive.

    >> 128 MB RAM will be optimal if used with hard disk, and 256 MB or more RAM if used without hard disk.

    Mrk
     
  15. FastGame

    FastGame Registered Member

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    herbalist

    160MB of RAM and a 366mhz processor is going to be dam slow with PCLOS Live CD, your CD drive needs to decompress alot of data that quickly fills your ram and you'll be forever in the swap file. I imagine you couldn't unmount the primary partition because it was using the temp swap file it created (my guess).

    With your hardware it would be best to use one of the lighter distro's for Live CD, and better yet if the install was to the HD.

    As Mrkvonic suggest Puppy Linux and you can try Dam Small Linux
     
  16. Genady Prishnikov

    Genady Prishnikov Registered Member

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    Maybe. The 366mhz processor is an original Pentium 1 is it not? With only 160MB of ram, running anything as a LiveCd may be damn near impossible. I run PCLinuxOS on a Pentium 4 2.4 and it is very, very fast. But, your hardware may just frustrate you, unless you choose to actually install one of the lighter distros like Puppy as mentioned above. I can only imagine the frustration of a LiveCD with those hardware specs, I would be very frustrated as well. try not to let that turn you off from PCLinuxOS or any other Linux distro. Good luck!
     
  17. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    i use suse 10.2 because it supports my hardware - sata fakeraid. i always uninstall the software updater and install another package manager (smart) because they are very, very slow and use lots, and lots of resources. i think most people at least uninstall the updater (zmd), then suse is good. suse has made some great changes to both gnome and KDE.

    here's the KDE desktop (the start menu is different to other KDE desktops)
    http://en.opensuse.org/Image:Screeny102_kickoff_menu.jpg

    and here's the gnome start menu (it's different too compared to other distros)
    http://en.opensuse.org/Image:Start_menu.jpg

    i like distros that use one of these desktops/WMs - gnome, xfce or fluxbox. when i started using suse i wasn't a huge fan, but after using it i quite like it mainly because of the repos it uses - it has lots of up-to-date software. :cool:

    i took a picture of my desktop :cool:

    http://xs512.xs.to/xs512/07071/fg45GFdfghtdz.png.xs.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2007
  18. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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  19. Pedro

    Pedro Registered Member

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    Something wrong with KDE? By the way, nice desktop;)
     
  20. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    thanks. no there's nothing wrong with KDE, i just don't like it, if it was the only linux desktop i'd stay with windows i think.

    KDE uses the qt gui toolkit. gnome uses gtk, i just prefer the look of gtk apps
     
  21. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    thats the point thou linux has alot of different desktop so you can try different ones and use the one you like the best.
    windows just has the windows theme and even with window blinds you still know its windows:D
    lodore
     
  22. FastGame

    FastGame Registered Member

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    Why do you say ubuntu has better support ? actually PCLOS has better support and the need for support is less ;) :D

    Software install for PCLOS is a mouse click away and it has all the major-minor-usefull software that one would need, if something is missing a simple request and its added. :)

    KDE is tops.
     
  23. iceni60

    iceni60 ( ^o^)

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    it's just a fact, i bet there are 20 times more members at ubuntu's forum and 40 times more on the irc channel and the wiki is many times bigger too, plus there are more ubuntu blogs and podcasts and probably 3 times as many programs available in the average persons repos.

    ok, i just had a look at the forums -

    pslinuxos - Users Online 49 Guests, 37 Users (2 Hidden)

    ubuntuforums - Currently Active Users: 3512 (589 members and 2923 guests)

    :p
     
  24. cthorpe

    cthorpe Registered Member

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    I use ubuntu 6.06 server edition.

    The machine is a 400mhz celeron with 192mb of ram and acts as a print server and nothing else. It has been up for 39 days now with no problems at all. Of course, I don't tinker with it, so why would there be a problem?

    I chose ubuntu because it was simple to install, and HP had specific instructions for installing their drivers on it.

    C
     
  25. FastGame

    FastGame Registered Member

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    @iceni60

    Numbers have absolutely nothing to do with the quality of support when comparing the two Distro's :rolleyes:

    Are you one of those with 20,000 programs installed ?

    There's also plenty of junk in them there repo's...all in the name of choice I guess :blink:

    Like I said, if something is missing in PCLOS, ask and you shall recieve.
     
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