Linux??

Smiley Roberts · Post by **Smiley Roberts** » 28 Oct 2002 10:00 pm

I been seeing a lot abobut "Linux" lately. What is "Linux"? Is that anything like "Lucy & Linux"??

------------------
<pre> ~ ~
©¿© It don't mean a thang,
mm if it ain't got that twang.
www.ntsga.com</pre>

Bill Crook · Post by **Bill Crook** » 29 Oct 2002 2:00 am

Smiley.........

Linux is a operating system for computers.
Without wishing to get into a deep discussion with other computer techies,It has it's pro's and con's.

Oh, and it's free.....

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 29 Oct 2002 6:38 am

While exploring "alternate (computing) lifestyles" check out LINDOWS.

Not a joke. This is a low priced OS that looks like Windows.

I don't have personal experince with it, but know others that like it.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Robert Todd · Post by **Robert Todd** » 30 Oct 2002 7:26 am

Smiley, I earn a living as a computer techie type. Linux is a free operating system that is open source (meanuing anyone who wants to add to its functionality can). It is basically Unix (another operating system) extended to run on almost every type of computer.

While this software is far more stable and powerful than every verion of Windows, it is still not as intuitive to use as Windows is. On the other hand, once you know it, you'd never pick Windows again.

Linux us running worldclass internet sites and is a powerful Server operating system, but until us Geek types make it "housewife friendly" it will stay as industrial strength operating system.

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 30 Oct 2002 9:08 am

The OS is free is you download it from their website, but they do charge a fee if you buy the boxed product in the store. If you buy the product in the store you get the manuals with it. They have to recoop their expense some how. It is pretty cheap in the store. I think the most expensive version is only $60.

Mark

------------------
Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com

Tim Harr · Post by **Tim Harr** » 30 Oct 2002 5:27 pm

Mark Check this out:
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum4/HTML/003473.html

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 31 Oct 2002 2:56 pm

The Forum server runs Linux. It's a low-priced (or free) alternative to Windows. It's really hard to set up and not easy to use, though. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't have 10 years of computing experience.

There are a lot of different flavors of Linux, packaged by different companies. The basic system is free, and companies who sell it add usability features, tech support, etc. The Forum uses Red Hat Linux, which is a very popular package.

------------------
<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6), Roland Handsonic

Robert Todd · Post by **Robert Todd** » 1 Nov 2002 6:40 am

Mandrake Linux is very easy to set up. It emphasizes the user interface part of Linux not the server capabilities like Red Hat does (I use both on different boxes).

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 1 Nov 2002 9:42 pm

At work, I do code development (embedded systems, not PC) in the Unix environment. While I would agree Linux and/or Unix are probably not for the novice, you sure learn to appreciate an OS that doesn't accept periodic lockups and reboots as acceptable behavior. Plus the power of the command line interface, shell scripting etc. is hard to top.

For a while I had a dual boot machine at home running the Mandrake version of Linux. Interestingly enough, my daughter (16 at the time) found the Mandrake desktop just as easy or easier to navigate and work in than Windows. Her comment was "Oh, it's sorta the same anyway, you still just point and click, and I like the games better..."

so she generally booted into Linux.

------------------
Home Page

[This message was edited by Bill Terry on 01 November 2002 at 09:45 PM.]

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 4 Nov 2002 12:43 pm

While I would agree Linux and/or Unix are probably not for the novice, you sure learn to appreciate an OS that doesn't accept periodic lockups and reboots as acceptable behavior.

I can't remember the last time my Windows 2000 system locked up. My Red Hat Linux system reboots itself if I change monitors. I learned "don't do that" the hard way.

Plus the power of the command line interface, shell scripting etc. is hard to top.

Agreed. I have an old version of MKS Toolkit installed for that.

Recently I've been toying with a Mac laptop running OSX. That's Unix with the legendary Mac user interface. It even has a Java compiler built in. The best of both worlds. I love it!

------------------
<img align=left src="http://b0b.com/coolb0b2.gif" border="0"> Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com 
-System Administrator

Don Walters · Post by **Don Walters** » 7 Nov 2002 4:00 pm

FWIW I'm posting this reply using Mozilla 1.0 browser running on Linux Slackware 8.1. Only took me 3 days to get it set up properly

And I had lots of help.

But I love it! I plan to be "M$" free very soon![This message was edited by Don Walters on 08 November 2002 at 12:02 PM.]

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 8 Nov 2002 2:12 pm

I can't remember the last time my Windows 2000 system locked up.

Agreed, much better, but still not as robust as our Unix boxes here at work are. As for the Windows '95, '98 stuff.. pitiful. All IMO of course.

------------------
Home Page

Rob Hamilton · Post by **Rob Hamilton** » 8 Nov 2002 5:33 pm

Choosing an operating system ("OS"), is a relatively big decision because you end up investing a lot of time and effort setting things up and learning a lot of stuff you'd rather not have to know. Once you've set it up and learned a bunch, you'd rather not have to do it again soon (unless you're a Geek).

When choosing operating system software, there are many questions to consider. Usually, the first one is

"will it run my applications?"

Here are some others:

"is it reliable?",
"is it sufficiently powerful?",
"is it capable of multitasking?"
"is it capable of multiple users"?
"is it overly complex?",
"will it scale if I expand it?",
"how can I obtain help if I need it?".
"What will be my options for upgrading?"
"What will be my backup strategy?"

and others that don't immediately come to mind. Linux has evolved to be a modern, robust operating system, especially in the "backroom" server environment. It's still struggling to find the wide array of consumer-type application programs that Windows enjoys.

Rob Hamilton
Former Digital/Compaq/H-P UNIX Engineer and Steel Guitar enthusiast.

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 8 Nov 2002 7:43 pm

Here is my opinion...

Windows 3.1, 95, 98 or Me - Awful

Windows 2000 or XP - Real good, almost NO lockups!

Red Hat Linux 8.0 - Installing this weekend...I will let you know.

If you want to download for free...check out http://www.linuxiso.org/
It has the latest .iso files for the entire Linux suite of products. WARNING...this site is very popular and downloads can take up to 24 hours.

Mark

------------------
Sho~Bud Pro I, Fender D-8 (C6&E13) http://www.darkmagneto.com

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 12 Nov 2002 3:50 pm

Smiley
FUHGEDDABOUDIT,,,you can stick with your AM
radio.

Get a Bigger maibox,the one you have is always full. Who sends you all that mail??.

The I.R.S.? Its time to go into the "Witness
Protection Program" and disguise yourself as
Bobbe Seymour

then they'll never catch you