Kitz Forum
Computer Software => Linux => Topic started by: Broadband1 on August 16, 2008, 09:34:05 PM
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Hey all (Linux users in particular) ;D
I am considering installing Linux on my system and dual-booting it with XP and I was wandering apart from being an OS-OS (Open Sauce - Operating System) What is Linux ??? and how does it work ??? and is it any good for gaming ???
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I've not used linux for several years so I may be wrong, but if youre really into gaming, then perhaps linux as the main o/s isnt for you.
There's a list of available games here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Linux_games).
Linux however is a very good o/s if you want to learn more and dont want to be tied to the M$ world of bulky operating systems and un-needed applications. It takes a bit of patience to learn, but those that do feel it is well worth it. I'm afraid I failed and got frustrated when some drivers I needed weren't available.... but things have moved on since then and are a lot better.
Theres a lot more alternative software these days for linux, and theres also wine (http://www.winehq.org/) which is a windows emulator for linux. I keep saying I want to have another bash at linux, but its something I havent got around to :/
I dabbled with RedHat, but theres plenty more distros to choose from
Eric's our resident expert on linux, so he can probably add a lot more info than I could and say which would be the best distro for a new-comer.
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Perhaps these would be a good start: http://www.linux.org/info/index.html and http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
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I've dabbled a bit with Linux, namely with PCLinuxOS which is a nice distro to start with if you're used to the windows environment... Eric has written several (pinned) tutorials about getting started.
http://www.pclinuxos.com/
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Roseway that 2nd link you posted lead me to this
http://www.reactos.org/en/index.html
ReactOS looks good although it says its in Alpha mode so its not recommeneded for everyday usage so I think I'll donwload Linux for now and then whenever ReactOS is released i'll giv e that a go :)
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There are many user friendly/ier Linux distributions for the new comer in Linux. Ubuntu, Mandriva, OpenSUSE, CentOS, etc. are very much point and click OSs and have a good friendly support in their forums and Mailing Lists to ask for help, in case you get stuck with some pesky device drivers. Avoid beta and even more alpha versions as these are for rather more experienced testers and developers.
As Kitz says there is a learning curve that you'll have to go through and these days such a learning curve is not particularly difficult. It is strongly recommended to try different Linux distributions from a LiveCD (all/most distros come with LiveCDs that you can boot and try out, or install from). When you find one that you prefer in terms of applications, look, feel and most importantly drivers - i.e. it boots without errors and recognises all your devices - then take the next step and install it as the second OS on your machine.
The best OS for gaming is MSWindows XP/Vista. This is because the majority of games are only developed for MSWindows - that's what the majority of the population use and therefore that's the biggest market to generate sales from. Besides games developers, video hardware and drivers manufacturers are also in bed with MSWindows for maximising sales. These guys don't always share the code for their drivers with Linux developers. Linux is slowly catching up, but right now it's not really a gamer's system.
Finally, plan ahead as you don't know if you will stick with Linux or remove it from your computer in the future. Depending on what the particular distro does with your MBR (most install Grub in the MBR of the first disk) you could run into problems when you uninstall Linux from your machine. WinXP won't boot. Two key commands that you will need to get you out of trouble and avoid a WinXP reinstall are fixmbr and perhaps fixboot. You can run these from a WinXP installation CD, or from BartsPE LiveCD to reinstall the MSWindows bootloader in the MBR of the disk and if needed (because you messed up when you installed Linux) to the restore the partition record of the WinXP partition.
Good luck! :)
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I now use PCLinux2007, it's installed as a 'dual' boot, I do have XP installed but do not use it much.
You could download (free) and install 'VirtualBox' (see my post below) or windows virtual machine on your existing windozs >:D computer and install any other operating system inside them and it will not affect your main computer , ideal for testing.
So you could have another computer operating inside your main computer. great fun.
On my Linux set up I do not use any anti-virus, anti-malware / spyware, no updating then either.
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Just converted to Linux myself, and can recommend Mint..... very easy to get on with.
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Hello and welcome.
Nice to hear of another linuxer. ;D
Mint is one of the distro's on my list for trying, Let us all know how you get on with it.
Michael.