Slashdot Mirror

Gah, it added spaces. Lemme try that again.

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=1062799 &postcount=100
http://nsaunders.wordpress.com/2006/11/06/a-usb-st ick-grub-and-ubuntu/
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LiveUsbPendrivePersistent

Eh, software raid it. But I have definitely had problems with one Intel board.

Intel have a Game Compatibility List on their website. Not sure what your situation is, but my lappie use i945. DOOM III is fine, but Quake IV isn't. If Intel want to really penetrate the graphics market, obviously their next list will have to be all green spots. "Intel: The way it's meant to be played!" ;-)

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intel945gm/s b/CS-021400.htm

Serious gamers bitch that the 9XX series is low end. Maybe it is. But it whips my nVidia 5700 and that's good enough for me!

Here's a list of supported Linuxes. Bizarrely Ubuntu isn't mentioned, but some folks seem to have it running. Mandriva works out of the box. Google is your friend. You may be able to find more up to date information than these: Good Luck!

http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/e ng/products/linux/feature/279817.htm
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=20287 83
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread .php?t=435050

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=266678

I don't know if anyone will find that interesting. The votes are basically deadlocked between CD and DVD... Turning point in the format wars?

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/coffee-lounge/643 3-sex-call-wow-sounds-wrong.html?highlight=call+po ll http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/coffee-lounge/524 63-gender-poll-2006-a.html http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/coffee-lounge/805 53-gender-poll-2007-a.html http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/poll.php?d o=showresults&pollid=1099 http://www.gridter.com/cgi-bin/survey/survey.cgi?s urvey_name=survey http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=287852&hi ghlight=gender+poll http://forums.suselinuxsupport.de/index.php?showto pic=8935&hl=gender+poll By the way, some females might be tetrachromats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrachromacy [wikipedia.org] I demand a program so I can be one too !!!

Ah... Having read the other posts I now realise you are a troll. Let's keep you talking until the sun rises, so you turn into stone.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=122473

You'll find people give better advice to you when you don't act like a total asshole. I give you the best advice since this is probably the root of an unfortunate number of problems you experience in day to day life. Reread your forum posts from the point of view of others and see how they react to you, then compare how that "matches" up to your message here. Besides this, you might seek employment as one of the spazzes showing how hard it is to use a competing product (you know the ones that accidentally end up painting their whole head with a paint roller or doing face plants off of step stools)?

The username "UbuntuDupe" says it all.

God damn, stop trolling Ubuntu threads you tool!

Your claims are demonstratively false.

You were rude to everyone in the thread, and most likely had a pirated version of windows to begin with (no install CDs)

In your above steps you say that you downloaded a CD image and burnt it then a few steps later it turns out you don't have a burner. How the hell did you burn it in the first place

Here's a tip, it is very useful to know what version of windows you were running. The steps to fix the install are different if you had Windows 98 or Windows XP.

I swear every time Slashdot posts anything about Ubuntu you rock up and tell the same story. I'm sorry but the reason you didn't get any help was because you are a dick and you didn't provide anyone with any helpful information.

Why didn't you post a link to the thread on the ubuntu forums where this whole discussion took place, as you did last time you ranted about this? Is it because you've finally realised that you acted like a complete wanker there? Here's a link.

I've been a big linux/bsd user for about 7 years now. I took a year-long break because I got a job developing on windows systems. Last night I installed ubuntu for the first time. I was very impressed. Things I liked:

-Quick install process with the option to install or just run from the liveCD
-All my hardware worked without any configuration
-Firefox came pre-configured with the mime-type associations to open pdf documents, word files, ppt files, etc.
-Simple but powerful interface. Two icons on top: one for web, one for mail. There's 99% of stuff most people do.

The only problem was this: when I tried to change the screen res on my 17" monitor, I could only go up to 1024x768. Using Eclipse at this resolution is difficult. So, I did some googling, and found this cool, thorough HOWTO:
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-83973. html

Of course I needed to manually adjust my xorg.conf to have 1280x1024 & 1152xwhatever, but honestly how many newbie's / windows converts are gonna figure that out easily? Now, I've configured XFree & XOrg before, and I'm familiar with the process. However, I think this process should be GUI-fied to make it easier on new users and old users alike. Besides this issue, I think ubuntu is totally a contender for your mother's operating system.

I used to be a Gentoo user but when I had less time for tweaking I decided to try an easier distro and was very, very happy when I got started with Ubuntu breezy - then I tried to upgrade to dapper and ended up with a completely hosed system and eventually had to reinstall breezy. The bug affected many, many users (probably everyone with nforce3 motherboards and sata hd:s - just one of the threads can be found here) and one of the forum staff called it "the worst bug in dapper" in his blog and hoped that we'd see an update to dapper some day. That day did not come - the developers decided "not to fix it since that might break something else" (I couldn't find the bug report quickly but that was precisely what it stated). I had to wait for edgy and the bug was still present to some extent but this time one of the workarounds worked - to install it I did have to use the alternative installation CD, though, and boot with the workaround then too (so an average user that might be able to install it with the graphical installer wouldn't have any idea what to do). So dapper support has already failed.

I guess you don't care about encryption if you have an old enough laptop, but it makes Ubuntu a pain with a new one. I'm using SUSE 10.2 because wireless isn't as horribly broken as it is in every other distro I've tried. And before anyone says anything about the package manager bug - that was fixed. WPA has been a thorn in the side of Ubuntu and other distros for years.

I am fairly new to linux myself, (I switched just last April), and I have just a few words to say.

1) Use Ubuntu - It is by far the easiest distribution to get started in, supports most hardware automatically, and has a HUGE range of software available. Plus, the forums are superb and have helped me countless times.

2) Break things - Seriously. This is the best way to learn about how your new system works. I've learned many things from the times I've broken my system, most importantly how not to break my system.

Good luck, and welcome to Linux!

Having tried a handful of Linux distributions, I personally recommend Ubuntu. The biggest reason why is the Ubuntu Forums.

Read it before you install to check if other people have had compatibility problems with your intended hardware. Read it during install for work-arounds and useful hacks. Read it after you install for any questions you may have. The user base for Ubuntu is very large and knowledgeable. I imagine there are similiar knowledge forums for Gentoo, etc, but I haven't worked with them.

Basically, the Internet is your best friend when using Linux. Read as much as you can about your intended distribution BEFORE you install it. You can save HOURS of headaches!

Ubuntu Linux for sure. It is: - user friendly - popular - supported - supportive of many hardware configurations - fast - configurable It also has one of the best resources for a new Linux user available. I have a five year old laptop, and Ubuntu is the only distribution which properly supports all my hardware. All of the others had some sort of problem with either the graphics card or the wireless card. The choice is clear-cut, in my opinion. If you want a nice LaTeX-based quick and functional editor as well, Wyneken is something I use for typing up notes.

"As in big deal? That's all a desktop is. "

Oh please...

Linux forums all over the Net have Linux users desperately trying to get their system to look and function as well as OS X - just one example:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=24186 8

Almost every distro has huge threads of people trying to fix their Linux desktop to have at least some imitation of the polish and functionality that OS X does.

So, yeah, I guess it is 'a big deal.'

You have flash without a chroot? How?

I set it up quite a while back, so I don't remember exactly. It was something like this. Hope that helps.

"X applications do not use the..."

Few write for "X" (x.org) they actually write for gtk+, kde-libs, or opengl? and such. Many (expecially kde-libs) of these desktop libraries provide very standardized widgets and shortcuts. Most of these shortcuts are exactly like those on Windows.

I don't really understand what you mean by navigation shortcuts to widgets so if you can explain further...

Anyway, things like native look and feel, and unique position of the menubar (which I still dislike after years of use) fall into the realm of the theme engine and the window manager. Here is a example to show that it _could_ be done...
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=241868

"Drag and drop..."

I think this is also a desktop library thing and for me it works great. I use kmail which is a KDE application; I run Xfce as my desktop and D&D files from my file browser to new emails all the time. These are applications using TWO completely different desktop libraries but they do D&D amazingly well. But I agree that this area needs to be worked on. There are certain times the action taken is predictable but different from the expected.

"X11 applications don't have access to text services..."

I will give you this one. I like this feature in OSX, and haven't found a true equivalent in either Windows or Linux. I think this level of cooperation between applications is something you will easily get in one vendor environments and is extremely slow to develop in scattered systems like open source.

"All the shortcut keys are wrong in X11..."

This is matter of opinion, and personally, I have found the Mac shortcuts to be a PAIN. I like the Windows and KDE shortcuts far better. Especially for Windows, there is much more standardization in third party apps. For the core Mac applications, it is amazing, but it totally falls apart when you leave these applications. I hate developing with Dreamweaver and such for Mac. For me it boils down to shortcut-to-expected action without thought, and it is far better in the Windows realm than Mac. In Mac, I always need to think "ok, what application am I using..." It only takes a microsecond longer, but when I am using 4-5 applications each with 2-5 windows, it ends up being equivalent to using the mouse.

Ok, to summarize, what Apple really needs to do is develop their own theme engine and window manager for kde/gtk. Also, they can provide a translation layer for D&D to and from kde/gtk applications. This will solve 80% of your issues. Apple is closed source, therefore, they are in a much better position to make such software; they owe it to their customer base. There are open source projects that do much of this, but they can never get to the level that Apple can, and you can't expect too much from them as they are developing for a very small market.

Personally, I use Mac, Windows, and Gentoo Linux. I use OSX the least, but have used it for the last 2 years. I find it very... pleasant to use for things like browsing, essays, and image development. I like Linux for programming and cross platform application development. Windows, kind of falls somewhere in between leaning toward Linux. Overall, basic things are great on the Mac, but more complicated things are irritating to do, and the "obviousness" type stuff actually gets in the way of multitasking and feature access.

RE:(1) — Did you happen to try adept? ...or explore the Ubuntu wiki? ...how about the forums? Anyone can tell you that apt-get is a fair package-installer, but not the best at package management. Had you tried adept, you may have been able to find a solution in time.

Personally, I use original-flavor Ubuntu. (Gnome) I understand KDE is regarded as a more powerful environment, but it certainly has its flaws.

The kUbuntu documentation is very informative regarding some of the basic functions. (even after it is installed) It has a good description of how to use adept there.

For a FreeBSD advocate, I'm surprised that you didn't try the enhanced UI first.

Best of luck for next time!

You can retrieve a substantial amount of information from your display by using EDID/DDC data. Perhaps some distributions do magic with that information.

Here is are some examples of how to do it on Linux, primarily with Ubuntu:

http://jmason.org/howto/subpixel.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=235526
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=20976
http://diego.aureal.com.pe/archives/2006/05/25/bet ter-font-rendering-on-my-lcd-yes-in-linux/

You can retrieve a substantial amount of information from your display by using EDID/DDC data. Perhaps some distributions do magic with that information.

Here is are some examples of how to do it on Linux, primarily with Ubuntu:

http://jmason.org/howto/subpixel.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=235526
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=20976
http://diego.aureal.com.pe/archives/2006/05/25/bet ter-font-rendering-on-my-lcd-yes-in-linux/

This is exactly the argument I was making on the Ubuntu boards a while back. We need some "complete" sets of packages, ready to go, that have the hard work of integration done. Stuff like a Groupware server based on existing programs (Sendmail, Postfix, iCal Server, some AntiVirus, Spamassassin), yes, I know there are eGroupware, et al - this is an example.

Ubuntu has gone some of the way with their Ubuntu Server - just select LAMP, and there you go. What about others for OpenLdap, some sort of SharePoint replacement, etc, etc. I'm sure the individual programs exist, they just need to be packaged together in a single apt-get install (sorry for the Apt bias) integrated package...

See the below thread for some more info.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=191858

Some claim the decision was made with little or no community input.

Regardless, the community seems to be in favour, or at least in favour of giving users the choice at bootup.

And while the Novell/Microsoft deal is little more than corporate FUD, the binary driver issue and the world's most popular desktop disto's handling of the matter, is crucial. We need to pressure the hardware companies to release drivers, and Ubuntu may soon brutally undermine those efforts.

The problem is twofold. Firstly, the Linux desktop is rather a niche product, and lacks the pressure that a more popular product would have. Secondly, it's probable that the NVidia drivers contain information which NVidia considers give it a competitive edge, and open source drivers may not be beneficial enough for NVidia to give up that edge.

Frankly, I see nothing wrong with Ubuntu giving users a choice at bootup (which is my guess is what will happen), and Ubuntu has never been a 100% FOSS distro anyway.

Yeah, most would suggest Ubuntu (myself included). Do yourself a favor though and familiarize yourself with the ubuntu forums. They are a great help for new and old Linux users alike, and should really help you get familiarized with the environment. Make sure you make prominent use of the search feature, chances are your questions have been asked before. Have fun.

Some references:
Kiba-dock:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=268645
http://forum.beryl-project.org/forum-17-kiba-dock

kxdocker:
http://www.xiaprojects.com/www/prodotti/kxdocker/m ain.php

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=80295

If you're not an absolute open software zealot, you're going to want to put on restricted stuff, and the best way to do this with Ubuntu is a little shell script (and user maintained repository list) called Automatix. It is especially important because this will get rid of totem-gstreamer and install totem-xine, which will allow them to play all their media.

Beyond that, generating restricted deb packages for ATi cards (fglrx) can be a trial, but here's a link with idiot-proof step by steps:

http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Dapper_Ins tallation_Guide

You're looking to use method 2, but tell your users they can type "m-a" instead of module-ass[TAB]. ;^)

Best of luck.

--
Toro

...but have some non-negotiable user needs. I need to to connect to the Internet with wireless adpaters. I need it to work with my existing printers and scanners. I'd like it drive the dual monitors on my primary machin (and would settle for just one at it's native resolution....but the display looks nasty). I need it to drive my old sound card that powers my relatively new 5.1 speakers. I get bits and pieces depending on which of set of hardware I use. I haven't even got to the point where I've wanted to do any digitial image processing yet.

I'm geekier than most home users. I've worked in a supported Unix environment for years, and have built my own (Wintel) machines. I've tried Mandrake, Suse and Ubuntu and one other distro that I can't remember now...but simply can't get to the same level of out-of-the box system functionality that I get in a Windows hardware environment. I've got a full time job, a part-time job and go to school part-time too. My Windows OS environment is stable enough to allow me to to the things above.

I love open source. I love freeware. I love stability. But crawling through this for every hardware device just isn't worth the time:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=84338

Mayne I'll just go the Mac OS X route for my next hardware purchase...

Off-topic, but it is possible to use FF2/flash(7&9!)/java on a AMD64 system w/ *Ubuntu: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=202537&hi ghlight=flash+java+firefox I have been doing it since 6.06, because the 64-bit version of Firefox had broken javascript. I hate when the package maintainers think they are smarter than the people who developed the application. Also, Edgy is much easier to install TV-Tuner cards in: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MythTV_Edgy_hard ware Although I haven't done it on a 64-bit system, it was way easier setting up my mythbox than on 5.10.

This fixed the crashing for me in Ubuntu Edgy.

The gaming scenario in Linux has never been better.

No, Linux still isn't at the point where any and all games that run in Windows will run in it...but installing WoW with Wine is trivial if you install Wine via something like apt-get. Neverwinter Nights Warcraft 3, Diablo 2, Starcraft, the original Half Life, Unreal Tournament, UT2k3, the Quakes, SimCity 4 and Steam are also possible. Some of these even have native Linux ports/installers.

For most people these days, WoW is also pretty much all they need anywayz...it also runs in FreeBSD with the Linux XF86-libs package.

Granted, with the exception of WoW, none of the above games are very contemporary...but as the trolls Zonk regularly links to point out, there aren't really any games worth playing being released at the moment anywayz.

So don't pay trolls such as this one any mind...go to , and look up your favourite PC game. 98% of the time, you'll find that with a minimal amount of mental elbow grease, you'll be able to play it under Linux just fine...and that usually translates by extension to FreeBSD as well.

Sorry, that should have been http://forums.suselinuxsupport.de/index.php?act=Se arch&nav=au&CODE=show&searchid=a375587bad0c2de6c76 f2847a0ddc9e9&search_in=posts&result_type=posts and http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=28278 4&highlight=game+producer

Here's a repost of my 2 or 3 whinges about a serious issue with Ubuntu that no-one on /. seems to care about.
Seriously out of all the millions of /. readers I can't believe not even a single person has posted regarding the whole Core 2 Duo/JMicron thing (and yes I did a discussion search).
For more information:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Core_2_Duo_Support
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bug/68612
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/linux -source-2.6.17/+bug/57502
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=28568 3&page=2

It's the font rendering!

Take a look at these before and after screenshots in the Ubuntu forum on How to quickly improve X11 font rendering. You can see what a difference there is in readability. I apologize if you need a membership to view these. I have seen patches and complicated instructions on how to configure fonts to not look fuzzy, but I have never found a distro that makes it look fantastic by default. The byte code interpreter for font rendering is always off by default because of copyright issues. There are ways to make fonts look as good or better then Windows and Mac OS X but distros never just do it.

Until a Linux distro ships with fonts that don't look like I have a layer of grease on my monitor, you can count me out.

It's the font rendering!

Take a look at these before and after screenshots in the Ubuntu forum on How to quickly improve X11 font rendering. You can see what a difference there is in readability. I apologize if you need a membership to view these. I have seen patches and complicated instructions on how to configure fonts to not look fuzzy, but I have never found a distro that makes it look fantastic by default. The byte code interpreter for font rendering is always off by default because of copyright issues. There are ways to make fonts look as good or better then Windows and Mac OS X but distros never just do it.

Until a Linux distro ships with fonts that don't look like I have a layer of grease on my monitor, you can count me out.

It's the font rendering!

Take a look at these before and after screenshots in the Ubuntu forum on How to quickly improve X11 font rendering. You can see what a difference there is in readability. I apologize if you need a membership to view these. I have seen patches and complicated instructions on how to configure fonts to not look fuzzy, but I have never found a distro that makes it look fantastic by default. The byte code interpreter for font rendering is always off by default because of copyright issues. There are ways to make fonts look as good or better then Windows and Mac OS X but distros never just do it.

Until a Linux distro ships with fonts that don't look like I have a layer of grease on my monitor, you can count me out.

Yeah, I did an 'in-place' upgrade from 6.06 Dapper using the recommended method ( gksu "update-manager -c" ), and it was really, really smooth on a Core 2 Duo (but only running 32-bit mode) Sony VAIO laptop.

The only thing that was problematic was the fact that all Flash sites would crash Firefox...! This was something which appears to have had to do with a setting in the xorg.conf file, I followed some tips as shown here, but doing the opposite and changing the value from 16 up to 24. Smooth sailing ever since!

There probably are some more exotic combinations of motherboards, graphic cards and disk arrays that will not be working great, but so far, so good here!!

One thing that is really working in case of disaster is to keep /home directories on a separate partition, so if things really "Go South", a relatively quick clean and full re-install can be performed with the user data and preferences left intact!...

Z.

Seriously out of all the millions of /. readers I can't believe not even a single person has posted regarding the whole Core 2 Duo/JMicron thing (and yes I did a discussion search).
For more information:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Core_2_Duo_Support
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+bug/68612
https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/linux -source-2.6.17/+bug/57502
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=28568 3&page=2

As noted here:

  http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=28659 9

The following command works fine:

  gksu "update-manager -c"

I've tried it. Works perfectly fine! Whats the problem? /tomas

Looks like if you have software RAID, you should think twice before upgrading. Look here: http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=28606 6

Using Beryl on a fresh Edgy install is as easy as adding repos and installing beryl package:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=26385 1&highlight=beryl (en)
http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/applications/beryl (fr)

With an Ati Radeon 9200, I didn't even have to modify xorg.conf or install any driver, while Mandriva 2007 just told me : "Your graphic card is unsupported, you'll never be able to use 3D desktop"

I will second this. I built a MythTV combo backend/frontend machine from scratch, and chose MythTV 0.20 and Kubuntu Dapper. As I recall, I ran into a couple of minor problems, but no showstoppers. Depending on your hardware, you might want to start here:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=186747

My kit has been up an running for a couple of months now, and let me say, it is awesome! Well worth the effort to get it working. (Well, for me, that was most of the fun anyway. I don't really watch much TV. Go figure...)

I had problems installing Ubuntu on my laptop when I first got it. I've written a little FAQ for it so if you're having problems you might want to check this out:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?s=712fb 622370482ce768ff5f50b0e5892&t=230565

The people at the Ubuntu forums recommend you use "aptitude" instead of "apt-get". The thread should be found here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=37736, but it appears the Ubuntu forums are being pounded. Here is the google cache: http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:425l937tFkYJ:u buntuforums.org/showthread.php%3Ft%3D37736+ubuntu+ use+aptitude+not+apt-get&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4.

Ack, that horrible thing seems to sometimes cause weird problems with some websites that don't like all the simultaneous connections, and it can also cause memory leaks. Just be hardcore and modify your about:config yourself.

Microsoft is now creating open standards, open formats, even open source applications

not one hundred percent of the time, but hey, they're doing it! They're starting to look more and more like us.

Where's our readily accessible documentation localised in dozens of languages?

Where's our toll-free licensing hotline?

Where's our reliable and knowledgeable tech support team?

Our software assurance subscription that actually sends a disc in the mail when there's an update?

Honestly, people. Why is Microsoft getting so much better, while *we're* really starting to SUCK?

You know what really bugs me? That last one. I used to pay $4.95 a month for a quarterly package of three major Linux distributions. I liked that.

So how come now I only get that from Microsoft?

Xnview is cross-platform and is virtually equivalent to Irfanview, at least on Windows. (There have been some comments around the net to the effect that the Linux version lacks a few features present on the Windows version.) It is free as in beer, but not free as in speech.

Binary .rpm's are available (presumably for Fedora) here. I found a useful thread on installing Xnview on Ubuntu here.

cbeard's post suggests that Ubuntu has made a similar agreement with Mozilla as the agreements that Red Hat and Novell have (which is why you'll see a full branded Firefox in SuSE and Fedora). But Ubuntu folks are working on an IceWeasel icon.

Anyone know what's up with Ubuntu? Are they going to pull official Firefox releases, or are they going to pull IceWeasel straight from Debian?

I have ubuntu installed on a couple of machines and have been using it for some time. It still is a total pain in the ass, though, I'm afraid to say.
On the plus side, it sets itself up *ok* if you let it do it's thing, and run the http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=138405 Automatix install script. However, it's still got all the same issues as any other linux distro.

I spent hours trying to set up an application that used the wireless card (I was trying to find out how hard it would be to break into my own wireless network). It seemed that for every step I wanted to take forward, I needed to take 10 steps backwards. For example, I needed to installa a driver, so I research which I need (find the chipset of the card, hunt around in forums, etc), download the driver and boom! No go. Why? Oh right, I need to compile the driver, but there is no compiler installed (I find this after much hunting on the net). OK... so I need the compiler.... more hunting, more hunting, bingo! I find how to install the compiler. Easy enough, I just have to run a command or five in the terminal (didn't windows 95 remove the need for a terminal? That was 11 years ago...) and it's installed (oh, that's once I set up ubuntu to allow root logon, which it doesn't do as default (more researching!)). Ok, so I have the compiler installed, I compile the driver. Hunt around for the obscure location to which it's been installed and run it. Goody goody! I'm going to use my wireless card soon and it's only been three hours! Uh oh.... something's balked... oh right... hmm.. now I need to recompile my fucking kernal to install a bloody driver!! Some more research uncovers that it can take several hours for a kernal to compile, at which stage I switched off my linux box, turned on my mac and was doing what I had originally intended within 10 minutes, including research and application download time.

My previous mission was to get quake 3 running on linux. After much research and time spent, I got the game running with accelerated graphics, but I never got sound to work. I dunno... I guess I've been spoilt by windows and osx where I just double click on something and it works. Yeah, I may have to reboot the machine for a driver update, but that time spent is *nothing* compared to the time spent trying to get linux to run.

I see linux as the kit car of operating systems: you can get it to do anything, but you really need to learn a huge amount before you get anywhere worthwhile. I guess OSX would be more like a Mercedes in that you turn the key and it works, and if you lift the bonnet (hood) you have a big piece of plastic hiding everything with a shiny logo on it. Windows would be something like a ford or renault: cheap, cheerful, fairly reliable.