Ubuntu

[AntiHeroUK]

So I had a brief encounter with Ubuntu a couple of years ago when I decided to try it out. Whilst it worked as it should, it didn't offer the functionality and driver compatibility I required. I was quick to switch back to Vista and write it of as a bad job.

Recently I decided to give it another shot, so I downloaded the latest build and got it installed on a partition. Whilst it is a great and extremely speedy Operating System there is a number of issues that need to be resolved (down to my hardware more than anything else) such as dual screens only working in mirrored mode, and not being able to set the resolution for each.

Thinking that the ATI drivers it was going to install for me would resolve the issue was being a little optimistic. The drivers installed and prompted a reboot, which I did without complaint. Upon booting up again the machine was ground to a halt with an extremely laggy desktop as a result of the installation.

The main reason for this problem is more than likely down to incompatibility with the 4770, so it looks like I'll have to wait for a new set of drivers to correct the problem. No doubt there are plenty of you running Ubuntu without any problems, but it's still a while off becoming my primary operating system on any machine.

[system7]

Well, m8, using a graphic card that's been out for like 3 weeks is asking for trouble on driver support. Clearly you lost all 3D acceleration.

I thought Ubuntu was pretty good last time I used it. But I did have to wait a while for all the distros to catch up with my 9600GT last year.

It's incredibly easy to install proprietory drivers like flash these days. And video drivers was easy too. But for gaming, Linux would be my choice. I had a very good time with Mandriva 2008. :thumbs:

[AntiHeroUK]

Aye I know it's a big ask, but support for new hardware is necessary if the OS is to take off and become more mainstream.

I love it and it would be great if I could use it as my primary OS, but as things stand the problems outweigh the benefits on my system. I'll take a look at Mandriva next week as I've never gone near it before.

[system7]

Mandriva might be worse, actually. It comes with drivers preinstalled and if they are out of date it is a pain to uninstall them.

Suse and Fedora on DVD are the ones people try when all else fails.

The free download Windows 7 RC1 has sucked up a lot of my time lately. But very interesting to see what it can do.

[johnckeen]

I've been playing with ubuntu but find it very hard for gaming as all my games are windows only and wine is a bit...slow? but then again that was back when i was running an athlon 64 3200.
It doesnt run all the programmes i need either like googletalk and x-fire etc. Any suggestions?

[candtalan]

I am not a gamer, but why not stay with Windows for those games that were designed for it? You could run in something like virtualbox, using a Windows install, but you could do the same thing with dual boot of course, with perhaps a little less convenience.

[johnckeen]

i like linux and would like to use it souley so im hoping there is an option.
System7 said he likes linux for gaming, what did you use for installing windows games under linux? Does mandriva have an engine designed for windows games?

[system7]

i like linux and would like to use it souley so im hoping there is an option.
System7 said he likes linux for gaming, what did you use for installing windows games under linux? Does mandriva have an engine designed for windows games?

LOL. my bad. What I should have said, is that BUT for gaming, I would use Linux. But Mass Effect don't run in Linux without the sort of effort and hacks that that make me wonder if it's really worth it. But for sure, XP users will find any Linux distro streets ahead of Windows. :thumbs:

Bit of Suse coolness here from last years distro. Bit like Windows 7, isn't it.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6710/opensusere4.jpg

[johnckeen]

Is there a good version of linux for gaming System7?

[chipbricks]

I am likes linux, but on good branded hardware.

[pinfoldp]

I have used a computer with linux on but not for long. Might get a MAC instead but I hear they have a similar layout.

[system7]

Is there a good version of linux for gaming System7?
I haven't done any gaming on Linux, John, but Chris Salter at MicroMart did a big article on it recently in issue 1050. He used Ubuntu 8.10 and Nvidia drivers. FreeCiv, a Civilisation clone is available in the Ubuntu repository. COD4 runs fine under a subscription emulator called Cedega. Unreal Tournament 2004 has a native linux version on the DVD. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a free Linux download.

So, yes, it can be done. Lot of forum support, I'm sure. :thumbs:

[johnckeen]

i know about cedega, there must be someone out there that has a free emulator like wine but better thats free. wine is ok but a bit slow and temperamental and i am not payin monthly for cedega lol

[Ammok]

I've started playing linux games on jaunty jackalope, bit cheeesy, but I dual boot xp for the windoze games I got. It will be a while yet before any lux can play the same as games designed for windows. Now if WOW did a linux version, that day would come sooner. I'm sure they could if they wanted, I'd maybe play it meself.

But i do like ubuntu, persevering with it, it gets better the more you use it i find.

[koolpc]

If moving over to Linux for all day to day PC work, which distro is the best / easiets to use if one has had no experience with Linux? Ta

[jonbanjo]

Ubuntu is probably the most popular but best/easiest is somewhat subjective. I think it's worth trying a few Desktop versions (and trying KDE and Gnome desktops) to find what works best for you.

A few mentioned here: http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

[Terrum]

Ubuntu is pretty awesome. I use it alot for testing and servers. Also W7 :D

[glennji]

I'm a long-time GNU/Linux "otaku" and I like Ubuntu (especially the latest 9.04 "Jaunty") -- they strike a good balance between idealism ("open source rules!") and practicality ("I don't care about closed-source drivers, I just want 3D acceleration!").

Almost everything about Ubuntu is easier than the Windows (XP, Vista) counterpart -- except hardware that doesn't "just work", and games/apps for Windows. That said, lots of hardware does "just work" (and some hardware companies like Nvidia release "unified drivers" on Linux which goes a long way towards providing decent hardware support).

Just imagine trying to use your new webcam without drivers or playing a compiled-for-OS/X game in Windows. This is exactly what Linux/Ubuntu is doing!

I'd love for hardware vendors AND games publishers to release Linux-compatible stuff, and think Ubuntu is probably the best bet to introduce people to the wonderful alternatives.

[so mental]

Whilst Linux may not have all the latest drivers their is a lot of backup available if you look on the linux forums. That said the more people that use it the better it will get why pay for micro***p when Linux is free

[jonbanjo]

why pay for micro***p when Linux is free

Well it's not going to suit everyone and it's not (at least yet) a viable option for some, eg. gamers, perhaps real needs for certain high end software, and as you say, support for some of the "latest and greatest" hardware...

Still, as well as its server strengths, I think these days it can provide a really good desktop system for many

[waba]

iv got a summer free, so what to mess around on linux, will prob use ubuntu and dual boot. never used it before, so...could someone let me know why it is good to use? n00b :S whats the best points about it, and compared to windows?

[sharpapotheosis]

best bits: it's free. it's well supported (compared to some other linuxs and free OS's). It needs a lot less processing power than vista to run better. it's reliable. it's versatile.
compared to windows: all of the above, and it's easier to use (once ur used to it. took me about a day.)

[Ammok]

For me,
free of cost
free of restriction
free upgrades
no activation
no punitive license agreements (no if you change your mobo pay for another licence stuff)
a real genuine advantage
full blown product no castrated home editions
64 bit processing which is quite impressive(no i can't afford to fork out on fifteen licenses to see which one suits)
It breaks a monopoly, good for me
easy to learn
easy to customise
gives full control, the bash commands are like old dos, also good for me
free applications, full office suit for example
just generally way better, just neeed to wean myself off windows games and i'm sorted
ps playing runescape at the moment on firefox so that is helping.

[waba]

haha all sounds good, im on XP at the moment so not sure if i would see such a drop in resources compared to vista, but the free-ness of it all interests me! (as a student). never been to good with dos, but am happy enough to learn...

[sharpapotheosis]

you don't need to learn the bash script (linux's DOS equiv.) to use ubuntu at all. it's only when you start playing around with things like **** Small Linux on pentium I and II's that you need it...

[waba]

you don't need to learn the bash script (linux's DOS equiv.) to use ubuntu at all. it's only when you start playing around with things like **** Small Linux on pentium I and II's that you need it...

even better!! im looking forward to using it...worried about my 4770 though as i read in this thread that they had problem supporting it. and the brown colour looks minging.