The Xorg from Kubuntu have captured Mandrake!

**sharrukin** · 10-29-2006, 07:49

Mandrake 8.1
Linux or perhaps Linux XP
Vine Linux 4.0
Redhat or maybe Fedora/Redhat
Xubuntu 6.10
Parsix GNU/Linux 0.85
KDE or Gnome, Xorg
openSUSE
ubuntu
Kubuntu

I mean what the hell? It sounds like a B movie from the 50's. Could someone help me understand what all that means?

My priorities are;

1. Stability and ease of use! XP is good this way if nothing goes wrong, but if it does, it can become a nightmare. SP2 is what has induced me to consider going to the dark side. I would like something that actually works without constant maintenance, and headaches. A basic GUI that can be tailored somewhat, would be nice but not needed.

2. I want to be able to watch AVI, and other regular video's without a lot of trouble.

3 I want the OS to identify what hardware is on the system and have documentation or give some adviceon how to set it up.

4. Play MP3 files (use currently use Itunes for this)

5. Run Firefox, Thunderbird, as well as when needed Internet Explorer (rarely)

6. Able to be a part of a dual boot system as I will need to keep Windows 2000 Pro or Win XP for gaming. I would like to be able to have a tiny DOS partition if possible, as well.

7. MS Works, MS Office, Excel files, Nero, Itunes, Acrobat reader, Microsoft reader. If good alternatives are available that is fine too.

I have;
Processor : AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ @ 2000 MHz
Video Card : ATI Technologies Inc Radeon X1800 Series
Monitor Type : Acer AL1916W - 19 inch
Physical Memory : 2048 MB (2 x 1024 DDR-SDRAM )
ADSL internet connection

**sharrukin** · 10-29-2006, 07:59

p.s. Able to NOT USE passwords. I hate passwords! Just boot up and run.

**doc_bean** · 10-29-2006, 10:10

They're different distributions, they use the same 'kernel' but have different implementations. I don't htink which distro you use matters that much for what you'd do with it. Ubuntu seems rather popular these days.

I doubt any Microsoft product will work under Linux. A decent alternative for Office is Open Office, though I have little personal experience with it. Star Office is another alternative but I believe it's rather costly (students here can ge tit for free).

EDIT Oh yeah, dual boot is pretty much standard for Linux AFAIK. At least when I used Mandrake back in the day I could just make the partitions during the setup/installation.

**Mikeus Caesar** · 10-29-2006, 11:49

You have the same monitor as me...very nice.

Anyway, yeah, i'd also like someone to answer these questions, as i've also been considering Linux.

Or, if that doesn't work, i could get a *gulp* Mac....

**R'as al Ghul** · 10-29-2006, 12:48

Originally Posted by sharrukin

Mandrake 8.1
Linux or perhaps Linux XP
Vine Linux 4.0
Redhat or maybe Fedora/Redhat
Xubuntu 6.10
Parsix GNU/Linux 0.85
KDE or Gnome, Xorg
openSUSE
ubuntu
Kubuntu

I mean what the hell? It sounds like a B movie from the 50's. Could someone help me understand what all that means?

Hello,

all of the above except the underlined are linux distributions.
KDE and Gnome are desktops and Xorg is a display driver used to run desktops.

Linux is a child of Unix. Unix uses mainly the text console to communicate with the machine. Home users that need to run Office programs etc. need to have a desktop application like Gnome or KDE. It's the grahic user interface in contrast to the text user interface. Xorg is the plaform that these desktops use.
Mandrake, Redhat, Ubuntu and Suse are the biggest and best supported disributions out there, afaik. Kubuntu means it's Ubuntu + KDE Desktop but most distributions will contain one desktop or both of the two to choose from.
I had Suse installed for a long time and it's quite good in that it provides a quite easy to use install interface that many other disributions lack. It's close to XP from the look and will detect most of your hardware automatically.
It can also be set up as dual boot and it does bring a tool to cut off space of a windows partition without harming windows. A very good tool!
If you get OpenSuse you need to get an extra package for the non-open source stuff like mp3 etc. Avi support is included iirc and thunderbird and firefox are included and can even be set up to use the same directory as the windows versions. The included OpenOffice lets you handle all Microsoft files.
Password login can be disabled for user accounts.

R'as

**caravel** · 10-29-2006, 22:01

Well I was replying, at great length, but the .org decided to lag horribly and I lost my post...

Basically I think you should go with Kubuntu or Ubuntu. Though if the windows applications are very important you should stick with Windows XP.

**Xiahou** · 10-30-2006, 01:50

I've been using Mandrake for years now since I switched from RedHat. And I run KDE because it pwns Gnome.

Sharrukin, I'm thinking that any major distro will do most of what you want- although you won't be able to run Internet Explorer under Linux. For an MS Office alternative, OpenOffice is the clear choice. If you have a the time to play, I'd suggest trying a few distros and both enivronments (KDE/Gnome) and just pick whichever "feels" best to you.

**sharrukin** · 10-30-2006, 03:50

Originally Posted by Xiahou

I've been using Mandrake for years now since I switched from RedHat. And I run KDE because it pwns Gnome.

Sharrukin, I'm thinking that any major distro will do most of what you want- although you won't be able to run Internet Explorer under Linux. For an MS Office alternative, OpenOffice is the clear choice. If you have a the time to play, I'd suggest trying a few distros and both enivronments (KDE/Gnome) and just pick whichever "feels" best to you.

Will MS Works and MS Office not work under Linux? I don't mind switching but if they do work, might as well keep them.

What exactly is the difference between KDE and Gnome. Are they like themes in Win XP or somewhat different?

I can do without IE6 as I rarely use it any more. I keep it in case I run across a site that requires IE, and for Windows Updates.

**Xiahou** · 10-30-2006, 05:42

Originally Posted by sharrukin

Will MS Works and MS Office not work under Linux? I don't mind switching but if they do work, might as well keep them.

There's no versions available for Linux. However, OpenOffice should be familiar in terms of look/feel and functionality- the large majority of saved documents/formats are portable from one to the other. Also, OpenOffice is 100% free.

What exactly is the difference between KDE and Gnome. Are they like themes in Win XP or somewhat different?

Umm sort of. I'd describe it more like how "Explorer" is the windows manager under WinXP- Gnome/KDE are the windows managers under X11. Both flavors have various themes that can be installed. I think KDE would be more familiar to someone who uses Windows and is used to working in a GUI environment. Regardless, you'll want to install both so you'll have application support for both environments- the choice is in deciding which you will boot into and actually use.