I noticed this and assumed this, but thought that it was a bit odd that each connector had a different driver commented out.
I was just trying various combinations. If you look at the very bottom you'll see all the different layouts that I have. Lately I have only been using he "Left" layout which completely ignores the device that uses the "nv" driver.
I suppose I could create an "AGPnv" device section and an "AGPnvidia" device section. And then create more Section Layouts for each device driver... but my xorg.conf is long enough as it is.
Is there any reason why you're not using the twinview setup? I've been using that with my ti4200 and it's worked flawlessly. Perhaps the nvidia driver doesn't work as well with two separate device entries than twinview.
I just finished setting up TwinView again. Now I remember why I didn't like this. Hooking my LCD panel up to the VGA port is increadibly painful to look at. I feel like I need to wear glasses to bring it into focus. I guess I've just gotten real use to the clarity of digital output. I remember when I first started using digital displays, the screens were so clear that they looked a little weird at first. But now that I've gotten use to the sharpness, it hurts to look at analog output again.
That said - TwinView *seems* very, very fast. Almost no trailing at all. I say "almost" becuase after going back and forth between Windows and Linux for the last 14 months while trying to solve this issue, my eyes have become very well trained at how things *should* look. X still isn't as lightning fast as Windows. But I can most definitely live with this performance level. At this level, I probably never even would have noticed that X was "slower".
However, I don't think I can handle this analog screen thing. Time to consider a dual DVI card I guess.
But in all my experimenting, I've learned to hold out a few days before you draw any hard conclusions. Things aren't always as good as they appear at first glance.
Is there any reason why you're not using the twinview setup?
I ran TwinView for a while. I don't remember a lot about it - but the performance must have sucked or I wouldn't have kept looking for solutions. Plus by using TwinView I wasn't able to have both of my monitors on DVI. So I bought a cheap PCI card so both monitors could be DVI.
But I've tried everything else over and over again so I might as well give TwinView another go. In fact, I'll mess with it this evening since I have nothing else going on.
I'm sure you noticed this, but I see that one device entry has nv as the driver, and the other has nvidia.
If you look closely, you'll see right above the "nv" driver is the line for the "nvidia" driver and it's commented out. I just found it easier to comment and uncomment lines rather than re-write them. Since I was switching between "nv" and "nvidia" in an effort to figure out where the problem was.
I don't use Xinerama, plain old hand-hacking the XF86Config file worked for me, and it's just as fast as Windows on this hardware.
Not sure what hand hacking your XF86Config file has to do with using not using Xinerama?
Matrox has always had bloody strong (if rampantly unofficial) linux support, though, with may actually be it.
I've read that. But I can personally attest to the fact that their Parhelia card has the worst Linux support you can imagine. No 3D. And the 2D drivers (at the time I had owned my Parhelia card) only "worked" with RedHat 9. And I use the term "worked" loosely.
the "trails" when minimizing is actually not a trail, but the "zoom" effect that nautilus/gnome uses.
Well, I realize that. Maybe it just didn't come across on camera very well but the zooming effect looks like crap on dual head. When I run one monitor, like I am now, the zooming looks natural/normal. It doesn't have that laggy hesitation to it. Though personally I would just shut off the effect if I could find an option to do so.
I'm assuming that you've posted your XF86Config to these forums, and you (or others) have caught the obvious omissions of options. If not throw it to me and I'll see if I can see anything as I have a similar set up to you.
However, some of it is "normal" as far as linux/X/gnome goes. I'd say give a different window manager like openbox or something like that a shot and see if it's the video or the software running (nautilus is getting better, but sadly still sucks compared to the windows explorer speed).
I have been using OpenBox almost exclusively for 3 months. It doesn't help. In fact, I just installed Gnome 2.8 a few days ago and unless I'm crazy (very possible), it's faster than OpenBox. And on a personal note, I don't think one should have to "cripple" their Desktop experience down to a minimal Window Manager in order to get equal performance with Windows. Just my opinion. Don't get wrong though - I like minimal WM's a LOT.
Running at 1600x1200 on one and 1280x1024 on the other, too.
Have you tried Xinerama? IIRC, dual head isn't quite as bad. But WinXP/2K (even 98) kicks the snot out of X in terms of Dual Headed Desktop graphics speed. And that's "out of the box". I don't do anything on Windows to optimize performance. I certainly have never had to spend 14 months searching for an answer.
have you tried running it with just one card (i suggest the 9800Pro myself, that's what I use at home), with one monitor on DVI and one monitor on VGA (yes, I know it's not ideal, but it'll tell you if there's a driver fault right quickly.)
My ATI Radeon 9800 Pro was my original setup about 8 months ago. 1 card, DVI primary, VGA secondary. The horrendous performance was what led me to the NVidia cards. Everyone that replied to my posts back in January/February of this year (2004) swore ATI Linux drives sucked and that NVidia hardware + NVidia Linux drivers would solve my problem. Apparently none of them had ever heard of Xinerama.
Like I said in the other post, Windows isn't an option. But I'm real close to buying a Mac. I rather doubt OSX has any problems with 2 displays.
Per the post above, a freaking Quadro card shouldn't be necessary for a decent dual-monitor experience on Linux.
Agreed - though if I knew beyond the shadow of any doubt that it would solve the problem, I'd be real tempted to buy it. I've tried everything else I could think of. I even switched away from Gnome and started using OpenBox hoping to speed things up. OB was no help. (But I used it for several months and am now a real advocate of minimal window managers.) But it almost seems to me that Gnome 2.8 runs better/faster/smoother/snappier than OpenBox.
Going back to Windows isn't an option. But I'm real close to just buying a Mac.
While not cheap, I use the NVIDIA Quadro4 NVS dual headed card with 2 LCD's attached.
I have looked at dual DVI cards because I too have two LCD's. That's why I choose to use a second PCI card - so I can have DVI on both monitors as opposed to DVI on the primary, and VGA on the secondary.
But I have played with TwinView before because I was willing to have my second monitor plug into the analog VGA port if it meant that X wouldn't be so freakishly slow. It has been a while, but IIRC, it made no difference.
Does the Quadro card perform some kind of hardware magic?
I often work with both my LCD and notebook displays on using the notebook display as my primary and the LCD for reference guides/schematics/etc. Big boost to productivity and less mousing!
Do you run Linux? I have had no choice but to go back to using a single monitor.
Disclaimer for the zealots: For all the people that have had great luck with two monitors under Linux, I applaud you. I'm not suggesting that my experience is "normal". It's just my experience.
But dual monitors for me under Linux has been positively dreadful. X acts as though all 2D hardware acceleration is disabled when you bring up the second monitor. Window trailing is horrible. It acts as though it completely taxes the system for all but the most basic of tasks.
I actually created a little video to demonstrate the problem I have. I have posted this video to several message boards but no one has offered any solutions that have panned out.
Get the video here (Yes - it's windows media format... I know jack squat about creating videos.)
I have experineced this problem with multiple distributions, multiple video cards, various video card driver versions, and various motherboards.
The relevant specs on my system are: AMD Athlon XP 3200+, 1GB of Dual Channel DDR RAM (2x512MB), AGP NVidia GeForce FX 5700 Ultra w/ 128MB of RAM, and PCI NVidia GeForce FX 5200 w/ 128MB of RAM. Have tried it with an ASUS A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 motherboard and an ASUS A7V880. Have also tried using an AGP ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and a PCI Radeon 7000. (have mixed and matched the 4 video cards in every way possible)
I've tried using the built-in drivers insead of the proprietary ones. I've tried enabling/disabling every feature that the video cards offer. Things like Side Band Addressing and Fast Writes.
The results are always the same. Single head is fine, dual head or Xinerama is unusably sluggish. All hardware runs flawlessly under WindowsXP with the second monitor enabled.
If you have new ideas - I'm all ears (er... eyes).
How often do you think Spyware (or viruses) gets implanted in open source software?
I didn't realize spyware authors stole source code to programs and implanted spyware in it. I thought they wrote their own malicious programs and snuck it into people's computers under the proverbial radar.
Suppose you are driving home from work one night and you happen to drive through an ion storm.
You pull up in your drive way and everything seems normal. But then you walk in the house and see a hot girl sitting on your couch. She walks over and gives you a passionate kiss and tells you dinner is ready. You know something is seriously wrong the universe.
In this parallel world, *your* favorite Linux distribution is King. As is your favorite Window Manager, toolkit, and so on. 90% of the world runs it.
Now my question is - what would prevent spyware authors from writing and sucessfully deploying spyware on your Operating System?
Lets make the assumption that people in this parallel universe are just as careless as they are in the real universe.
Screen on a console surely. Why bother with all that nasty Xlib library overhead?
There is a lot you can do from the console (just about everything actually), but console ONLY is a bit too minimal for my taste. I've toyed around with the idea a few times, but I find using a lightweight window manager to be more efficient than virtual consoles, personally. Plus I've never been a fan of browsing the web with lynx/links/links2.
The only thing I hate is when someone says "I'll prbably get modded to hell for this..."
It sets the tone for what the poster is about to say. If someone says something negative about Linux, all the Linux zealots mod him down, and the moderators that actually moderate fairly just think he's ranting so they'll either ignore the message or mod it down. Zealots are hopeless - that's why they are zealots - and they will mod down everything that doesn't coincide with their extremely narrow minded view of the world. But by setting a tone for the message, it lets the fair moderators know that it's not just a rant.
I can attest to that. There are plenty of times where I would like to chime in with a statement (not a rant) about Linux. But I feel the need to put a disclaimer on my message, sugar coat it, and/or be sure to tie in some "fact" that such and such situation on Windows isn't any better. Sad - but that's how this forum works.
All the professors I've had in college so far all require soft copies of assignments in Office format. Grades are lowered or not counted for other formats. You're going to tell me to get the Student Edition of Office for $100 but that seems like appeasement rather than a solution to the problem.
Actually I would just recommend you just use Abiword or OOo and then select "save as" MS Office Document. I can't imagine that wouldn't work unless you are doing some extremely funky formatting with your documents.
... and you are giving too much credit to home users. Honestly, how many typical Joe Users do you think can get ahold of an illegal copy of XP, let alone actually install it?
Hmmm... perhaps. My neighbor, who is actually named Joe by the way, recently beckoned me for a copy of XP SP2 because his computer was poluted with spyware and other garbage so he wanted to format and re-install. But didn't want to put Windows ME back on it. I'm not naive enough to think that Linux is an acceptable option for him. Whether or not I was able to find a copy of xpsp2 for him to use is between he and I.
But doesn't everyone have a geek in the family, know a geek personally, or know someone who knows a geek?
50%? Are you kidding? It's rare to see a Windows computer with less than 100% pure, unadulterated, stolen shit in it
That certainly rings true among the people I know - at least with regards to their home computers. 100% of them run pirated copies of WinXP, pirated photoshop, pirated Office, etc...
Personally I think the likes of Abiword make a perfectly acceptable replacement for Word, at least for home users - and often times businesses would do just fine with it. I think Abiword is an upgrade from MS Word - others my not agree. But it's definitely faster to load, looks just as good (better in my opinion), uses less memory, and has more than enough features to keep home users, college students, and business people happy.
I'm not a huge fan of Open Office - not because there's anything wrong with it. It's just that I don't really need an Office Suite. (I imagine most home users don't.) But for those who do "need" it, I think it's a great substitute for the $300+ MS Office Suite.
For my own spreadsheet needs, I prefer Gnumeric because it feels very light weight while still having all the features I need. Plus I think it looks great and it's a heck of a lot faster to load up than OOo. The only problem with Gnumeric is that there isn't a Windows port (that I know of).
I also have several friends who pirate the "Pro" version of Trillian. I finally convinced my friend to give the Windows Port of gaim a try and he has been using it ever since. Bonus - download the encryption plugin for gaim and have secure messaging.
I don't know enough about Photoshop and image editing to know if The Gimp is an acceptable replacement. I've read several posts where people say it is *not* (an acceptable replacement.) I'll have to take their word for it. My image editing needs are very basic so gThumb is about all I really need.
I have another friend who pirates FTP software. With the existence of FileZilla, I fail to see the point. What can't FileZilla do?
A lot of people pirate WinZip. I have to admit that WinZip does have a pretty interface (if you use Windows), but if you don't want to pay for it, and you don't want to take the risk of infecting your Windows computer with a virus when you download a WinZip crack of Kazaa, then I recommend 7-zip as a free alternative. Also, the last time I saw WinZip (which admittedly was years ago) there were a few archive types it didn't handle.
There are so many great Free and Open Source alternatives available, even if you use Windows.
Would you mind being a bit more specific about why, as you claim, The X Window System is one of the "those big reasons" people don't use Linux on the desktop?
Not my topic - but I'll jump in here anyway.
I use to be under the impression that the X Window System was superior. But in the last couple of years I have done a 180 on that.
According to this guy, the very aspect that made X so cool 20 years ago (network transparency) is now it's biggest detriment. I'm not saying his word is gospel, because I have no idea who he is. But the article makes a lot of sense.
Well, that's my point. Gentoo rocks. I just wish there were an option for a simpler install. I've just been reading up on the web site about the different "stages", and it appears a "stage 3" install may be what I'm after. So maybe all my griping has been for naught. One can only hope.
I use to feel the same way. I use to post comments taking jabs at Gentoo and how its users had nothing better to do with their lives than sit around and compile source.
Fast forward a few months and here I am running Gentoo.:) The install really isn't *that* bad. However - it's not for everyone. Make no mistake about it, Gentoo is currently aiming at "power" users. By default, Linux users are often times already a step or two ahead of Windows/OSX in that regard. But there's a line in the sand that even many Linux users won't cross. And Gentoo is on the other side of that line.
But if you install it, I don't think you'll ever look back. The whole portage thing makes the marathon installation worth it in my opinion. That said - I do wish there were an easy, scripted installer because I like Gentoo so much that I decided to install it on my second computer as well. I didn't mind going through the install process on my primary machine. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. And it was even fun to do it again on my second machine. But I imagine that subsequent re-installs (for whatever reason) won't be quite as enjoyable.
If you have the time and the motivation, give it a try. The time and hassle you save by using portage will more than make up for the time and hassle spent during the install. But if you absolutely require a 1-2-3 installer, Gentoo isn't for you.
I should also mention that the Gentoo forums (forums.gentoo.org) are the best I have ever seen. You ask a question, and people genuinely try to help you. As opposed to just stating the obvious and acting condescending and/or sarcastic.
I want to rent games online. I also want to rent movies online. Until a service exists wherein I can do both these things with the same subscription, nobody gets my business.
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People who always bitch about it being "too cold" and try to get the temp increased are one of my big pet peeves.
Fat asses that always bitch about being hot is one of my big pet peeves.
I noticed this and assumed this, but thought that it was a bit odd that each connector had a different driver commented out.
... but my xorg.conf is long enough as it is.
I was just trying various combinations. If you look at the very bottom you'll see all the different layouts that I have. Lately I have only been using he "Left" layout which completely ignores the device that uses the "nv" driver.
I suppose I could create an "AGPnv" device section and an "AGPnvidia" device section. And then create more Section Layouts for each device driver
Is there any reason why you're not using the twinview setup? I've been using that with my ti4200 and it's worked flawlessly. Perhaps the nvidia driver doesn't work as well with two separate device entries than twinview.
I just finished setting up TwinView again. Now I remember why I didn't like this. Hooking my LCD panel up to the VGA port is increadibly painful to look at. I feel like I need to wear glasses to bring it into focus. I guess I've just gotten real use to the clarity of digital output. I remember when I first started using digital displays, the screens were so clear that they looked a little weird at first. But now that I've gotten use to the sharpness, it hurts to look at analog output again.
That said - TwinView *seems* very, very fast. Almost no trailing at all. I say "almost" becuase after going back and forth between Windows and Linux for the last 14 months while trying to solve this issue, my eyes have become very well trained at how things *should* look. X still isn't as lightning fast as Windows. But I can most definitely live with this performance level. At this level, I probably never even would have noticed that X was "slower".
However, I don't think I can handle this analog screen thing. Time to consider a dual DVI card I guess.
But in all my experimenting, I've learned to hold out a few days before you draw any hard conclusions. Things aren't always as good as they appear at first glance.
Is there any reason why you're not using the twinview setup?
I ran TwinView for a while. I don't remember a lot about it - but the performance must have sucked or I wouldn't have kept looking for solutions. Plus by using TwinView I wasn't able to have both of my monitors on DVI. So I bought a cheap PCI card so both monitors could be DVI.
But I've tried everything else over and over again so I might as well give TwinView another go. In fact, I'll mess with it this evening since I have nothing else going on.
I'm sure you noticed this, but I see that one device entry has nv as the driver, and the other has nvidia.
If you look closely, you'll see right above the "nv" driver is the line for the "nvidia" driver and it's commented out. I just found it easier to comment and uncomment lines rather than re-write them. Since I was switching between "nv" and "nvidia" in an effort to figure out where the problem was.
I don't use Xinerama, plain old hand-hacking the XF86Config file worked for me, and it's just as fast as Windows on this hardware.
Not sure what hand hacking your XF86Config file has to do with using not using Xinerama?
Matrox has always had bloody strong (if rampantly unofficial) linux support, though, with may actually be it.
I've read that. But I can personally attest to the fact that their Parhelia card has the worst Linux support you can imagine. No 3D. And the 2D drivers (at the time I had owned my Parhelia card) only "worked" with RedHat 9. And I use the term "worked" loosely.
the "trails" when minimizing is actually not a trail, but the "zoom" effect that nautilus/gnome uses.
Well, I realize that. Maybe it just didn't come across on camera very well but the zooming effect looks like crap on dual head. When I run one monitor, like I am now, the zooming looks natural/normal. It doesn't have that laggy hesitation to it. Though personally I would just shut off the effect if I could find an option to do so.
I'm assuming that you've posted your XF86Config to these forums, and you (or others) have caught the obvious omissions of options. If not throw it to me and I'll see if I can see anything as I have a similar set up to you.
xorg.conf
However, some of it is "normal" as far as linux/X/gnome goes. I'd say give a different window manager like openbox or something like that a shot and see if it's the video or the software running (nautilus is getting better, but sadly still sucks compared to the windows explorer speed).
I have been using OpenBox almost exclusively for 3 months. It doesn't help. In fact, I just installed Gnome 2.8 a few days ago and unless I'm crazy (very possible), it's faster than OpenBox. And on a personal note, I don't think one should have to "cripple" their Desktop experience down to a minimal Window Manager in order to get equal performance with Windows. Just my opinion. Don't get wrong though - I like minimal WM's a LOT.
I'd have to see your XF86Config file to know what's going on
my xorg.conf
Running at 1600x1200 on one and 1280x1024 on the other, too.
Have you tried Xinerama? IIRC, dual head isn't quite as bad. But WinXP/2K (even 98) kicks the snot out of X in terms of Dual Headed Desktop graphics speed. And that's "out of the box". I don't do anything on Windows to optimize performance. I certainly have never had to spend 14 months searching for an answer.
have you tried running it with just one card (i suggest the 9800Pro myself, that's what I use at home), with one monitor on DVI and one monitor on VGA (yes, I know it's not ideal, but it'll tell you if there's a driver fault right quickly.)
My ATI Radeon 9800 Pro was my original setup about 8 months ago. 1 card, DVI primary, VGA secondary. The horrendous performance was what led me to the NVidia cards. Everyone that replied to my posts back in January/February of this year (2004) swore ATI Linux drives sucked and that NVidia hardware + NVidia Linux drivers would solve my problem. Apparently none of them had ever heard of Xinerama.
Like I said in the other post, Windows isn't an option. But I'm real close to buying a Mac. I rather doubt OSX has any problems with 2 displays.
Per the post above, a freaking Quadro card shouldn't be necessary for a decent dual-monitor experience on Linux.
Agreed - though if I knew beyond the shadow of any doubt that it would solve the problem, I'd be real tempted to buy it. I've tried everything else I could think of. I even switched away from Gnome and started using OpenBox hoping to speed things up. OB was no help. (But I used it for several months and am now a real advocate of minimal window managers.) But it almost seems to me that Gnome 2.8 runs better/faster/smoother/snappier than OpenBox.
Going back to Windows isn't an option. But I'm real close to just buying a Mac.
While not cheap, I use the NVIDIA Quadro4 NVS dual headed card with 2 LCD's attached.
I have looked at dual DVI cards because I too have two LCD's. That's why I choose to use a second PCI card - so I can have DVI on both monitors as opposed to DVI on the primary, and VGA on the secondary.
But I have played with TwinView before because I was willing to have my second monitor plug into the analog VGA port if it meant that X wouldn't be so freakishly slow. It has been a while, but IIRC, it made no difference.
Does the Quadro card perform some kind of hardware magic?
I often work with both my LCD and notebook displays on using the notebook display as my primary and the LCD for reference guides/schematics/etc. Big boost to productivity and less mousing!
... I know jack squat about creating videos.)
Do you run Linux? I have had no choice but to go back to using a single monitor.
Disclaimer for the zealots: For all the people that have had great luck with two monitors under Linux, I applaud you. I'm not suggesting that my experience is "normal". It's just my experience.
But dual monitors for me under Linux has been positively dreadful. X acts as though all 2D hardware acceleration is disabled when you bring up the second monitor. Window trailing is horrible. It acts as though it completely taxes the system for all but the most basic of tasks.
I actually created a little video to demonstrate the problem I have. I have posted this video to several message boards but no one has offered any solutions that have panned out.
Get the video here (Yes - it's windows media format
I have experineced this problem with multiple distributions, multiple video cards, various video card driver versions, and various motherboards.
The relevant specs on my system are: AMD Athlon XP 3200+, 1GB of Dual Channel DDR RAM (2x512MB), AGP NVidia GeForce FX 5700 Ultra w/ 128MB of RAM, and PCI NVidia GeForce FX 5200 w/ 128MB of RAM. Have tried it with an ASUS A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 motherboard and an ASUS A7V880. Have also tried using an AGP ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and a PCI Radeon 7000. (have mixed and matched the 4 video cards in every way possible)
I've tried using the built-in drivers insead of the proprietary ones. I've tried enabling/disabling every feature that the video cards offer. Things like Side Band Addressing and Fast Writes.
The results are always the same. Single head is fine, dual head or Xinerama is unusably sluggish. All hardware runs flawlessly under WindowsXP with the second monitor enabled.
If you have new ideas - I'm all ears (er... eyes).
How often do you think Spyware (or viruses) gets implanted in open source software?
I didn't realize spyware authors stole source code to programs and implanted spyware in it. I thought they wrote their own malicious programs and snuck it into people's computers under the proverbial radar.
Suppose you are driving home from work one night and you happen to drive through an ion storm.
You pull up in your drive way and everything seems normal. But then you walk in the house and see a hot girl sitting on your couch. She walks over and gives you a passionate kiss and tells you dinner is ready. You know something is seriously wrong the universe.
In this parallel world, *your* favorite Linux distribution is King. As is your favorite Window Manager, toolkit, and so on. 90% of the world runs it.
Now my question is - what would prevent spyware authors from writing and sucessfully deploying spyware on your Operating System?
Lets make the assumption that people in this parallel universe are just as careless as they are in the real universe.
Screen on a console surely. Why bother with all that nasty Xlib library overhead?
There is a lot you can do from the console (just about everything actually), but console ONLY is a bit too minimal for my taste. I've toyed around with the idea a few times, but I find using a lightweight window manager to be more efficient than virtual consoles, personally. Plus I've never been a fan of browsing the web with lynx/links/links2.
The only thing I hate is when someone says "I'll prbably get modded to hell for this..."
It sets the tone for what the poster is about to say. If someone says something negative about Linux, all the Linux zealots mod him down, and the moderators that actually moderate fairly just think he's ranting so they'll either ignore the message or mod it down. Zealots are hopeless - that's why they are zealots - and they will mod down everything that doesn't coincide with their extremely narrow minded view of the world. But by setting a tone for the message, it lets the fair moderators know that it's not just a rant.
I can attest to that. There are plenty of times where I would like to chime in with a statement (not a rant) about Linux. But I feel the need to put a disclaimer on my message, sugar coat it, and/or be sure to tie in some "fact" that such and such situation on Windows isn't any better. Sad - but that's how this forum works.
All the professors I've had in college so far all require soft copies of assignments in Office format. Grades are lowered or not counted for other formats. You're going to tell me to get the Student Edition of Office for $100 but that seems like appeasement rather than a solution to the problem.
Actually I would just recommend you just use Abiword or OOo and then select "save as" MS Office Document. I can't imagine that wouldn't work unless you are doing some extremely funky formatting with your documents.
... and you are giving too much credit to home users. Honestly, how many typical Joe Users do you think can get ahold of an illegal copy of XP, let alone actually install it?
Hmmm... perhaps. My neighbor, who is actually named Joe by the way, recently beckoned me for a copy of XP SP2 because his computer was poluted with spyware and other garbage so he wanted to format and re-install. But didn't want to put Windows ME back on it. I'm not naive enough to think that Linux is an acceptable option for him. Whether or not I was able to find a copy of xpsp2 for him to use is between he and I.
But doesn't everyone have a geek in the family, know a geek personally, or know someone who knows a geek?
I really could go on and on.
You are assuming people never upgrade their software apparently. How many people bought a [whatever brand computer] and then pirated the XP "upgrade"?
50%? Are you kidding? It's rare to see a Windows computer with less than 100% pure, unadulterated, stolen shit in it
That certainly rings true among the people I know - at least with regards to their home computers. 100% of them run pirated copies of WinXP, pirated photoshop, pirated Office, etc...
Personally I think the likes of Abiword make a perfectly acceptable replacement for Word, at least for home users - and often times businesses would do just fine with it. I think Abiword is an upgrade from MS Word - others my not agree. But it's definitely faster to load, looks just as good (better in my opinion), uses less memory, and has more than enough features to keep home users, college students, and business people happy.
I'm not a huge fan of Open Office - not because there's anything wrong with it. It's just that I don't really need an Office Suite. (I imagine most home users don't.) But for those who do "need" it, I think it's a great substitute for the $300+ MS Office Suite.
For my own spreadsheet needs, I prefer Gnumeric because it feels very light weight while still having all the features I need. Plus I think it looks great and it's a heck of a lot faster to load up than OOo. The only problem with Gnumeric is that there isn't a Windows port (that I know of).
I also have several friends who pirate the "Pro" version of Trillian. I finally convinced my friend to give the Windows Port of gaim a try and he has been using it ever since. Bonus - download the encryption plugin for gaim and have secure messaging.
I don't know enough about Photoshop and image editing to know if The Gimp is an acceptable replacement. I've read several posts where people say it is *not* (an acceptable replacement.) I'll have to take their word for it. My image editing needs are very basic so gThumb is about all I really need.
I have another friend who pirates FTP software. With the existence of FileZilla, I fail to see the point. What can't FileZilla do?
A lot of people pirate WinZip. I have to admit that WinZip does have a pretty interface (if you use Windows), but if you don't want to pay for it, and you don't want to take the risk of infecting your Windows computer with a virus when you download a WinZip crack of Kazaa, then I recommend 7-zip as a free alternative. Also, the last time I saw WinZip (which admittedly was years ago) there were a few archive types it didn't handle.
There are so many great Free and Open Source alternatives available, even if you use Windows.
Get FireFox now
Would you mind being a bit more specific about why, as you claim, The X Window System is one of the "those big reasons" people don't use Linux on the desktop?
Not my topic - but I'll jump in here anyway.
I use to be under the impression that the X Window System was superior. But in the last couple of years I have done a 180 on that.
According to this guy, the very aspect that made X so cool 20 years ago (network transparency) is now it's biggest detriment. I'm not saying his word is gospel, because I have no idea who he is. But the article makes a lot of sense.
Also, for the life of me I can't figure out why my X Window System is so freaking slow compared to Windows.
Huh? One of the reasons I got started on Linux was that I could remotely display apps to my box!!! X-windows rules for that reason alone!
It's also the reason that The X Window System is as "slow" as it is.
Well, that's my point. Gentoo rocks. I just wish there were an option for a simpler install. I've just been reading up on the web site about the different "stages", and it appears a "stage 3" install may be what I'm after. So maybe all my griping has been for naught. One can only hope.
:) The install really isn't *that* bad. However - it's not for everyone. Make no mistake about it, Gentoo is currently aiming at "power" users. By default, Linux users are often times already a step or two ahead of Windows/OSX in that regard. But there's a line in the sand that even many Linux users won't cross. And Gentoo is on the other side of that line.
I use to feel the same way. I use to post comments taking jabs at Gentoo and how its users had nothing better to do with their lives than sit around and compile source.
Fast forward a few months and here I am running Gentoo.
But if you install it, I don't think you'll ever look back. The whole portage thing makes the marathon installation worth it in my opinion. That said - I do wish there were an easy, scripted installer because I like Gentoo so much that I decided to install it on my second computer as well. I didn't mind going through the install process on my primary machine. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. And it was even fun to do it again on my second machine. But I imagine that subsequent re-installs (for whatever reason) won't be quite as enjoyable.
If you have the time and the motivation, give it a try. The time and hassle you save by using portage will more than make up for the time and hassle spent during the install. But if you absolutely require a 1-2-3 installer, Gentoo isn't for you.
I should also mention that the Gentoo forums (forums.gentoo.org) are the best I have ever seen. You ask a question, and people genuinely try to help you. As opposed to just stating the obvious and acting condescending and/or sarcastic.
K stands for Kool as in Kool Desktop Env.
Is Kool a German word?
I want to rent games online. I also want to rent movies online. Until a service exists wherein I can do both these things with the same subscription, nobody gets my business.
You go girl.
Memorizing pi is easy, once you've learnt the pattern.
Haha, now that was funny.