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This thread is displayed with the most recent posts first.
  June 29, 2007 4:40 PM

Thanks for joining.

This group has been a little quiet.  It was originally a way for activists to ditch Micro$oft and work with the public domain alternative: Linux.

I believe that anyone who wanted linux got it, and the rest are not confident enough to use it and hence stay on XP or Win98 knowing that they are a tendril themselves of the monster Micro$oft.

So I hoped to move the converstation to more generalized Information Society discussions, but that has yet to click.

I personally strongly believe that there is a direct link between local cultures and their need to grow in their own ways, and the technology of the Information Society, which needs to support each locality in its own democractially directed ways.

What is happening is a digital version of the destruction of local culture as it happens on the ground.  One of the problems we encounter is that of drain, people leaving their natural homes for more lucrative areas, and especially that of brain drain.  Another problem is that of increasing dominance by already dominant cultures over dominated cultures.

In the present Information Society scheme, the money flowing out of the first world to the third is only benefitting the elite of the dominant cultures and is helping them further repress the dominated cultures.  There is endless information describing this in India, and with it endless lies supporting the continuation and expansion of the process.

If you believe in localism over globalism, as I do, with an Internationalist support matrix built on mutual trust and respect, then I would be too happy to start a discussion and back up opinion with well constructed knowledge.

Needless to say, the disucssion would have to revolve around information technology, or at least some "appropriate technology."

As you can see, most of the groups on this site are focused on one particular enviromental, human rights, or animal problem or another.  None except a few realize that by concentrating on very universally specific issues -- weak links -- the entire global monster can be quickly converted to a mode that benefits everybody as well as animals and the environ ment.

I try to do that on my Empathy group, where empathy is the universal and natural communication channel of emotions, and hence the root of morality.  http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/empathy Click

This group is meant to attempt to address the universal issues as they happen through the Information Society.


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Localism vs Globalism June 28, 2007 2:51 PM

Discussing the benefits of "Localism vs Globalism" is the reason I joined this forum, but I mostly see discussions on computer systems.  Why is that?

Are there also discussions on economics, world trade, NAFTA, WTO, etc.?

Are there articles on these topics?

Onias

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Hello everyone! April 23, 2007 7:15 PM

Since I work with computers everyday including HTML, Java Script, and PDF at the office I work for...thought this would be an excellent place to "further educate" myself.  Look forward to reading and learning.  [ send green star]  [ accepted] 		(Member Is Blocked)
 
 February 17, 2007 4:01 PM

Hi to you too.

If you have not noticed, I started a discussion about the possibility of changing the group name and focus.

I have a group called empathy http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/empathy
that is very successful so far.

Empathy happens to be my focus right now in my studies, and I believe that it is the key to activism-- or struggling against the anti-empathic is.  Bush is anti-empathic, prisons are, and so is Micro$oft

Linux is highly empathic for what it does and who it does it for, but I am expecting something more, though I cannot say exactly what that is.

How can technology such as Linux aid empathy.

I find it odd that an OS could be empathic, when many programmers, including public domain / open source actually have aspergers, meaning they have few empathy abilities.






  
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Hi February 17, 2007 11:12 AM

Just saying hi. I currently use Ubuntu 6.0.6 and started out using Debian sarge. Would still be using Debian, but had some driver problems with it when I upgraded. I am waiting for the next version to be released and will try again.  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
anonymous  January 21, 2007 6:18 PM

I would disagree with that as well. Maybe he's a command line user. Linux is an excellent OS for general use.  [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
There are so many distros January 21, 2007 5:48 PM

I was just talking about Linux w/ an engineer who does embedded products.  He thinks that Linux is not for everybody.

He is a really nice guy, but I disagree with that.

What do you think ??


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anonymous  January 18, 2007 4:20 PM

Hi John..  from another GNU/Linux user in Canada. My first foray into Linux was Mandrake 7.0 about 6 years ago. A lot has changed since then! I've tried most of the major distros but i've settled down with Vector Linux. It's compact, powerful and efficient. The SOHO version is for Small Office/Home Office and comes wirh KDE. The standard version comes with XFCE desktop (nice) and Open Office word processing and several other good editors. These distros are light ( less than 600 mb for the complete SOHO version) and run with less processes than Ubuntu and many others. The installation is well designed and works well.

I use it on an older pc (P3) and it works extremely well. The repositories are not nearly as large as Ubuntu's but they are getting better.

I think anyone considering migrating to Linux will not be disappointed.

 [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
Hello January 15, 2007 7:17 PM

John V and SarahJane_M, nice to see you both again...and active too!

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Ubuntu URL January 06, 2007 2:37 PM

here is Ubuntu:

http://www.ubuntu.com/
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Welcome to Linux and Welcome to Care2 January 06, 2007 2:33 PM

We are so glad you joined.  The group has been slow of late, not because of lack of interest, but because everybody is pretty settled in the Linux, or busy with other things.

Right now I am on the verge of finishing me degree so I can teach, with the emphasis on verge, I am rushing to finish.

Ubuntu is where most people go for Linux these days.  It is a pretty complete system and supports the latest hardware; it is a semi-commercial distribution with a social aim.

Linux works pretty well on older computers, though it is also possible to do a double boot, where both XP and Linux can exist on the same computer, or even the same hard drive.


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Hello Linux January 06, 2007 7:28 AM

Hi;
I was introduced to linux awhile back but not in an extensive capacity. I want to learn it inside and out and start using it in the home environment as well as work. My kids are starting to get the computer bug (besides the games) and I think Linux would be a nice way to get them going.
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 July 27, 2006 9:50 AM

 John,      and welcome to Canada    

 Nova Scotia and its people are beautiful and I hope you have an awesome time!

PS:  You gonna go sailing??

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Woohoo! July 27, 2006 9:48 AM

Hi Charles and Welcome to the group

If I had known you were such a Linux-Trooper I would have invited you ages ago!  http://www.millan.net/ 

I'm glad you joined

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 July 27, 2006 7:34 AM

Wow, welcome aboard.

I am nearly in Canada right now, I am getting ready to cross the border to visit a friend in Nova Scotia.

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New to group July 25, 2006 11:39 AM

Thanks to
Diana has received 68 new, 365 total stars from Care2 membersDiana has been awarded 114 butterflies for taking action at Care2 Diana C.

For the invitation to the group. Canadians rock!!
I'm new to this group, but not exactly new to Linux. In late spring '05 I scrubbed my home PC clean getting rid of WinXP. I installed Fedora Core 2 and now run Core 4. Home is now a Microsoft Free Zone.
My Motto:
I wouldn't put Microsoft Windows on a dog house!

Cheers
Charles


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 July 10, 2006 11:48 AM

Hi again Paul, I am finding out who has Italian blood, suddenly.  I have 1/2 French, I should be upset, but I se la vive

Where do you think we should go with this?  We can't keep using the intro page

For the purposes of building an action (and tech support site) I have narrowed down the building tools:

  •     understanding activism
  •     CSS and HTML
  •     PHP and Python (WikiPedia uses it, for instance)
  •     My SQL, when we get to the point of a portal
  •     a little JavaScript


Seeing how successful the Katrina group was, I have built a into page, using CSS, from the introduction material I wrote for the group.  The purpose is to give ideas for a document style.  The message is pretty strong, I think.

Here is the group, Click here

and

Here is the intro Page I created, Click here

Part of the problem with development of free projects (in my life) has been that they get scattered all over the place.  I want to determine a good location to anchor the effort, whether it be in a discussion thread here, or in the Katrina group or on the development site itself.

There are a huge number of support projects can can be hosted to support action activism.  I can list that out some other time.  I am under the gun to finish research and start creating text about the disaster and action activism in general.

Excellent. Regarding the development of webapps, I am familiar with Php,Javascript as well as CSS. I am also familiar Java.

That is great, I put some cosmetic niceness in the picture, to hold the background still, do you think that is too goofy ?

I roughly base the progress and direction of my projects according to SSADM 4+ methodology,

I wonder what that is.

I am not familiar with Shell, unfortunately.

Shell is essential for Linux, it is the control language of the Operating System.  It is purely byte by byte read by the OS to talk back to the user.

I am looking forward to learning from you as you blogs really do implicitly show your experience and vast knowledge of the IT/IS fields.

Anyway, I'm off to celebrate because...ITALY WON THE WORLD CUP!!

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 July 09, 2006 3:08 PM

Excellent. Regarding the development of webapps, I am familiar with Php, Javascript as well as CSS. I am also familiar Java.

Regarding Python and Perl, I've just recently ( approx. 2 weeks ago) specified projects which I plan on successfully rolling out within the next 2 months. It's my method of learning programming (whether scripting or stand-alone applications). One of these projects will be developed in Perl (as a backend) and another in Python. I roughly base the progress and direction of my projects according to SSADM 4+ methodology, when not time constrained. I am also self-taught in everything mentioned thus far with the exception of Java.

I must admit, however, that Ruby doesn't particularly attract my attention but since you've mentioned it, I will certainly look into it with some detail (Thanks ). I am not familiar with Shell, unfortunately.

Thanks alot for those excellent links you gave and also sharing your ideas (well, projects in the pipeline) and experience I am looking forward to learning from you as you blogs really do implicitly show your experience and vast knowledge of the IT/IS fields. 

Anyway, I'm off to celebrate because...ITALY WON THE WORLD CUP!!  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Wow, fantastic July 09, 2006 1:34 PM



That is really great.  I just going to assume that you have knowledge of PHP and Python, only because it is so popular.

For supporting Linux, shell, specifically bash, is important.

Because I was an admin, I basically only know Perl and shell.  I did a huge amount with perl, but when my career got cut short in 2002 because of the tech crash and the WTC terror attack, my projects got thrown to the wind.

Ruby is said to be the best language available, but it isnt implemented in Application server systems, only Java is.

JavaScript is obviously so widely used, and I dont think it can be avoided in a modern site.

CSS is how sites are built today, and since we are starting fresh, maybe the first effort should be developing CSS structures.


I have been looking for interesting sites, this is my present favorite, it is a tutorial that has great menus.

Tutorial site:
http://www.tanfa.co.uk/css/

Examples from their page:
http://www.seoconsultants.com/css/menus/vertical/
http://www.seoconsultants.com/css/menus/horizontal/

These are just for ideas.

It would be nice to break out of Care2, and the static worlds of yahoo 360 and MySpace, to allow users to create their own worlds that are not just only personal but permanent.  We could be Newton's giants,  when he said "we stand on the shoulders of giants"

I am using two tools, the php file manager, and the php shellto run thinman.com, which is on godaddy.  It is linux and cheap, though there are potential problems there, as with any commerical setup.

I want to add here two documents:

  • a synopsis of the Katrina forum experience (65 pages); it will soon become a discussion about activism and democracy in today's Information Society Click Here
  • a technology document I wrote last summer for my school for work credits, but it is really about everything I know, as far as I can tell nothing is changing on the web, so much as it is just being built on from earlier work Click Here

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 July 09, 2006 12:04 PM

Great. Sounds like something fresh and interesting. I'm am familiar with some programming and scripting languages so if the source is to be open then I will certainly hope to contribute
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 July 09, 2006 9:37 AM

Hi, that has been the goal all along, but it isnt always easy, because the discussion thread model isnt designed for that.

We have tried, and you will see the pushpin topics that way.

However, I am doing a study for an activist site based on the Katrian forum called the New Model for Just in Time Research.  Its like action research, but action research got co-opted by the globalists.

The site will be http://thinman.com though there is nothing there yet.

There will be activist tech support, like here, but architected specifically to the purpose; an extension of what you see here.

Ok ??




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 July 09, 2006 8:48 AM

Hi Dianna

John, don't you perhaps think it would be more constructive in terms of navigation and efficiency to create sub-threads? Perhaps these sub-threads could categorically introduce Linux as an Operating System to potential linux users? It's only a suggestion




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Thanks John and Hi Newbie July 09, 2006 4:08 AM

Yes John, I am getting a different response every time

Plus, it now appears to me that it won't really install at all, not on the hard disk.  Seems it operates of the cd sometimes, or not at all, and 'not at all' is always different.

The guy who loaned me the computer suspects the computer and has offered to take it back and change whatever needs changing (I think I told you I changed the cd drive and the hard disk already).  He said he'll give it back with Ubuntu installed..  I guess that's the good news. 

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Another Newbie! July 09, 2006 1:30 AM

Hi everyone, I'm also new to linux but I may be able to answer simple linux related questions...  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 July 04, 2006 2:54 PM

If you are getting different results every time you boot, I am thinking you are having hardware problems.
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 June 30, 2006 4:33 PM

Not sure !!  [ send green star]
 
Loading hardware drivers failed June 30, 2006 12:57 PM

Whew, I finally got Ubuntu in and operating woohoo.

During installation it read "loading hardware drivers - failed", er..., is this serious?

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 June 28, 2006 9:10 PM

Hi Claire, Linux is espeically suited to older computers.  However, if you are intersested in converting something newer, such as a notebook, to Linux, then you will very likely find success there too.

We are generally using Ubuntu, built from the Debian GNU distribution.

There are a lot of sources to get Linux type satisfaction if you are stuck on an XP system as well, they are on the homepage of this group.

I am so glad you found us through my information society blog, http://linux-society.blogspot.com
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anonymous Windows user migrating to Linux soon June 28, 2006 11:38 AM

Hi! I'm Claire. I'm migrating to Linux soon and I'm looking for sources to educate myself in using Linux. Good that I found this group through the Linux Society blog.  [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
anonymous  June 27, 2006 4:23 AM

thanks john  [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
 June 25, 2006 3:25 PM

Yup, DVD is supported.  That scandle was a while ago, like maybe 8 yrs back  [ send green star]
 
anonymous  June 23, 2006 4:18 AM

Hello im new here, was using windows for a long time, lately mainly because of the dvd player. but i have found using linux gives my computer much more space and is quicker to use. id like to know, if someone can help me find the thread, what i install to be able to watch dvds, i read about the legal matter of it, but then i believed they have now something where you can or?  [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
 June 13, 2006 5:28 AM

Well, first and foremost mega thanks to you John. 

I'll switch to the 'dual boot install video' thread so as not to overload this introductions one ...

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 June 10, 2006 7:01 PM

About Dual Boot Install:

I forgot, if the linux install does not recognize the windows drives, then you can restore the boot sector on the disk (MBR) with the rescue mode of the XP install disk (which I have used myself a few times)  [ send green star]
 
 June 09, 2006 8:15 AM

Live CD solution: (other solution below)

I like to run Linux from a CD if there are Windows installations on the drives.  That way, the only complicated thing is mounting a FAT drive, borrowed from Windows, to store things.

If the FAT drive is second windows drive, then you do this everytime you boot:

mkdir /my_stuff
mount -t msdos /dev/hda2 /my_stuff

Then CD to /my_stuff to store things for the next reboot.

I am personally willing to do this, but most people won't want to.

(as an aside, I feel that live CD linuxes should have a standard location for /my_disk type locations on FAT drives.  With every reboot it would mount each disk looking for /my_stuff. There is also a facilty to load NTFS file systems, but I dont believe it is a "pure" solution, and it is complicated.)

Another simple solution would be to allow the install scripts find windows and then put grub in w/ the windows boot.  You need to know that the install will actually do that.  I believe RedHat 9 does that, and I feel that Ubuntu may as well.

So.. let me check w/ Ubuntu...

A freak'n video !!!

Ok, class, an assignment:  watch this video, and give it a review (for clarity, not geekiness)

Dual Install Video








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 June 09, 2006 7:59 AM

You speak Czech ??  [ send green star]
 
 June 08, 2006 5:28 PM

 ..... I've been reflecting and I reckon it is possible, but not necessarily for an N-type...  but if it were at all possible, we'd probably need some sort of systems info to answer my earlier question, right?  I can find it, but it means, um, very little to me    I may as well have been reading the Czech translation.

Are you sure one doesn't need to be a programmer to intall and use Linux? 

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Mega thanks :) June 08, 2006 5:08 PM

Noobie doesn't want to create too much extra drag...

But she does so want to get onto Linux.

So, I asked around... and got scared by a pirate!... he said I could not run Linux on my computer while I still had windows installed.  Which if I uninstall will leave me adrift, helpless, and completely uesless - at this point.

So I searched around and found this link... does it make sense?  Can I go ahead and install Linux on my existing computer?     http://www.geocities.com/epark/linux/grub-w2k-HOWTO.html

Sorry to be so lame.

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]

 
 June 07, 2006 2:37 PM

Ubuntu Linux is our distro of choice because it works well far more often than not, and they seem to have a Care2 way of looking at things.

In an environmental sense they are not the purest of distros (geek for distribution).  They are a regular corporation and the may some day become part of the Oracle empire. (oralce is considered by many as evil as M$)

Debian is a pure linux, commercial free.  Debian is the basis of Ubuntu.

It will run as a CD only form of linux, or you can install it onto your hard drive.

Linux is designed to run on older systems, it is much more efficient than XP in every respect.  So, if you have an older system, say w/ 10 gigs of disk -- useless for XP -- then you are set.  There is one drawback about using dial-up, Linux has never been ported to the newish winmodems, you have to use an external one or an ancient one.

Members here have bailed me out by sending me disks, so I should probaby pass on the favor-- or you can order a free disk from Ubuntu.

Or, you can download their CD disk image and burn yourself using the CD record front end

I have supplied links to tools that were designed for Linux, but were ported to win32.  This way, I can a linux lifestyle on XP when I have to go over to the dark side.

So, if you get started, I think the crew here will be all too happy keep you out of the foamy waves.  I know I will
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 June 07, 2006 10:52 AM

Perhaps you, or someone else in the group, could suggest where I begin.  I selected the most basic appearing threads, 'Installing Linux', 'Absolute Newbie Question', and another I cannot remember the name of, but discovered I had way too much sail up for the wind and got knocked down.  I need some basic bearings.  Would they be somewhere on the group's mainpage?  Thanks tons.

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]

 
Thanks John. June 07, 2006 10:40 AM

I joined a while back, opened one of the threads, and immediately discovered I'd fallen overboard.. it happened so quickly...  I'm still only barely staying afloat by treading water.  But then I had the good fortune to meet someone else at Care2 who, when I asked him if he knew about Linux (seeing as he's a programmer) replied that he was actually using Linux as he was writing to me.  That helped make it more 'real' to me, but didn't really move me forward.  So here I am, back again, ready to hoist sails, but totally out of my element.   [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 June 06, 2006 9:36 PM

So happy to see you here Diana !!  Noobies, Swabbies and Limeys all together !!

We need to organize a group sail.  Peeps here ain't as geeky as you would think, a very practical crowd.
  [ send green star]
 
Hi y'all ! June 06, 2006 1:20 PM

... I'm still chuckling...

I'm a Newbie, with a very capital N.

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 May 18, 2006 7:23 AM

You seem to be really on track with Linux, we are so glad to have you here.

In fact, you may be the most qualifed member !!

I am personally working on a web site designed to do what we do here at Care2, which is social activism, but in a more focused way.

My professor and I call it "just in time" research.  I have a site here: linux-society.addr.com, but things are not going well there.  I cannot insall Perl, for instance.  (w/o perl I am like I am w/o oxygen)

I will need to become my own host as well, or contribute to somebody else's system.

My greatest hope in computing, and the Information Society, is that all the users of the world can utilized systems that allow across the globe sharing of systems on an individual, highly trusting level.

Systems like Linux would actually be a form of therapy, joining people in a way much different from business globalism.

Welcome !!


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Hello then May 17, 2006 11:50 AM

So, hi. I was invited here by 'sleepysailing' on StumbleUpon via private message, and so I thought I'd show my appreciation for the invitation and come along - it seemed like a nice community idea too. Currently I used Linux as a desktop - I won't say primary nor secondary - I try to use it for most things, but given as the Windows machine I have has a 19" TFT monitor, I tend to just use the good-looking machine for most things. I've hooked the Ubuntu (w00t!) box into VNC, and I've seen just how much better Linux looks through a TFT than 15" CRT which is slowly dying (and I thought Linux looked so much cooler _anyway_!) - so, as soon as Ubuntu Dapper comes out, I'm swapping out the hard drives and putting Linux on the good machine. Along with VNC, currently I'm using Linux for: Webserving, FTP server, Music jukebox (www.musicpd.org MPD ftw!), SSH and a gazillion other things I probably should invent names for rather than try and remember them all. As soon as I've made my backups, and Dapper comes out, I imagine it will be used for an awful lot more. I've also used Mandrake (in it's 9.0 days) in the past as my first Linux and only desktop system, and eventually realised quite recently that you NEED a Windows box on backup just in case (and for mainstream games too) Anyway, I'm rambling, so it is with these links I say both goodbye and hello! http://www.poetofcode.org/ - Look at my hardware and desk setup http://www.last.fm/poetofcode - My last.fm account (mpdscriblle tends to die, so may not be up to date) http://www.lugradio.org - Greatest Linux podcast ever, based in Wolverhampton, UK  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 May 16, 2006 11:50 AM

I can do that, but don't have any unique content to host... I'm considering to host for personal use several webpages mirrored with HTTrack, but caching isn't considered webhosting, i guess
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 May 16, 2006 11:15 AM

Nice to have you here, Karolis.  I sounds like you have a serious set-up going. 

Are you serving web pages from your home installation ??  [ send green star]
 
The First post May 16, 2006 11:05 AM

Well, what can i say about myself? I am a guy that spends most of his spare time playing with computer configuration and exploring capabilities, especially of 386s and 486es... I first tried Linux about 2 or 3 years ago, and started to use it regularly about year ago. It wasn't until about 4 months ago i seriously started to study it, and now i run it as secondary system on most of my boxes, and one dedicated box powered by Slackware 10.2, acting as SMTP/SSH/Serial terminal/NAT/DHCP server... That's all.  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Introduction March 11, 2006 7:12 AM

I have been using computers on line since 1979 and I am a moderately skilled end user of both windows and linux.  I have been working for the Enabling Support Foundation, a non-profit with a mission for education and persons with special needs.  I run a Debian linux server with Apache and Mailman to provide resources at no charge to non-profit groups.  I deal with the day to day activities on the site, but my limited linux knowledge limits what I can do.  I will leave the specifics of my problems for more appropriate theads, but want to say hello to all the members of Care2.  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
anonymous new to linux (and my life story...) February 03, 2006 5:58 PM

To begin with, let me introduce my current machine:

purchased January 2000
PIII, 733Mhz
256 MB SDRAM
120 GB HDD (replaced original 10 GB in 2003)
Win XP (no SP) installed 2003 (originally Win ME - ugh!)
Soundblaster Live! Platinum 5.1
NVidea 32Mb Riva TNT 2
...decent system at the time... (didn't know what I was doing though - now I do!)

*Norton AV & IS (compromised by teenaged hacker (and long since expired)- now useless and actually detrimental, but I can't remove it, adjust it or affect it in ANY way!) >
*AVG Free
*Zone Alarm
*Peer Guardian 2
*occasionally Tor w/ Privoxy (depending on who I'm checking out)
*Spybot S&D is updated & run regularly (~once every 1-2 months)
*AdAware updated & scan run regularly as well

I have been curious about Linux for at least the past 5 years (shortly after I got this machine with win me installed, heh), but not being geeky enough (or ex-geek see next paragraph) and totally inundated with windoze (I have a 120 GB hdd filled (~150 mb free space ) with windoze "stuff" and riddled with viruses, malware, etc galore. Sick of the bullshit, you might say.

Anyway, the saga of my life with computers begins way back in 1981. My dad purchased a TRS-80 CoCo w/ 4k RAM (I was 11 at the time). Big purchase - over $400! What did it do? Not much. To run a (very) primitive spreadsheet on that system, 16k RAM minimum was needed - and programs were only available on ROM cartridges. To save my own programs I used cassette tapes! As Archie & Edith used to sing, those were the days...

That's when I started programing in Basic. Took to it like a fiend (no wonder I never had any friends, living in a backwater redneck small town).

About 1983 we got a Franklin Ace 1200 (remember Apple sued them out of existance?) - actually an Apple ][+ clone. This one had two 5" floppy drives built into the case (part of the keyboard still), and 64k RAM! Using DOS (was it appledos? I still don't know)(and having to boot dos from floppy every time I powered up) I became extremely proficient with Basic. Wrote a text adventure that rivaled Adventure!, but of course came nowhere near Zork... Now I don't think I could write a Basic program longer than 12 lines....

Was still doing that until I discovered cars, and girls. *cough* After that, I didn't even get around to touching a computer til about 1992 (when I was 22). Then I was living in San Francisco, and the internet had just recently *happened*. I managed to get my paws on a 386 w/ windows 3.1 & a 2800 baud (a huge, heavy external) modem. There existed a great local bbs at the time sponsered by SF BayGuardian, and had a free dial in. I had the username "FugginBum"

Sigh, a little bit of this, a little of that, and time just rolls on by...

Now, here I am, sick to death of win xp, and afraid to even consider win vista when it arrives, so what to do, what to do....

Linux is the answer, methinks. I hate being boxed in by windoze. I've tried out a few live cds: Knoppix (I don't know where to begin with command line (I've even forgotten what I know of DOS ), and Gnoppix won't run on my system), Kubuntu (not a fan of KDE - damn, it's ugly), DSL [Damn Small Linux] is way too clunky, and hey, I want to try Mandrake/Mandriva Move, and any other I can get my hands on , but I've got Ubuntu 5.10 (5 (actually 10) cds for free? Very nice....) and I must say I'm impressed greatly with Gnome...! Can't say I'm ready to install it yet, though. Still need to check out my options, especially since I'd need a new hdd if I don't want to give up on 60GB of mp3's, and all my other winblos crap

Oh, btw, I just started school again, majoring in "Information Systems Management" and the only linux distro they use/teach is DSL : methinks even I could have chosen something better for them, but then I'm just a student
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Norton is bad, but Linux isn't virus-free January 14, 2006 4:53 PM

I felt that it isn't entirely fair to state that Linux is a solution for "no viruses".  There are in fact some viruses which infect Linux systems.  One source puts the number of Linux viruses as high as 40.  Of course, this is compared to about 60,000 known viruses for Windows.

Another problem with Linux is when it runs Microsoft-compatibility software, such as the Samba software which makes Linux filesystems pretend to be Windows filesystems over a network.  This doesn't necessarily infect Linux, but it does make it possible for Linux to pass viruses from one Windows system to another.

Some people say that the reason why Linux has less viruses than Windows is because Windows is popular and Linux is not as popular.  The reasoning goes that if Linux became as popular as Windows, the Linux virus list would increase to Windows virus levels.

The problem with this is covered rather well in this article from The Register.  The main points are that virus writers exploit two things when trying to get users to propagate their viruses: social engineering and poorly designed software.  Social engineering is when you succeed in encouraging someone tell you a secret that shouldn't be revealed, or make someone engage in behavior that they shouldn't do.

Windows problem with social engineering is that a program is executable simply by giving it an ".exe" or a ".scr" extension.  If you can convince a Windows user to open an attachment (or, in some cases, simply open an E-mail), the program can be off and running before the user has finished reading the E-mail.  By contrast, a Linux user would have to open the E-mail, download the attachment, give the attachment executable permissions, and then run the attachment.

Linux users also have the advantage of not automagically running as root, and during installation requires that you create a user account.  While Windows XP has the option of creating users who are not the Administrator ("root") account, the first user created is the Administrator account and there is no encouragement to create an additional non-Adminstrator user.  A non-technical user will just use the first account all the time.  Running as root means you can seriously screw up your system, under either Linux or Windows, but it is more likely that you will be using the root account under Windows than under Linux.

The problem with poorly designed software with Windows is the basic design fundamentals of Windows: link everything together.  Outlook is directly linked to Internet Explorer, so an IE exploit will affect Outlook.  Since IE is used by Outlook to render HTML code, this means that a virus writer can simply exploit one of the many IE security holes, and the virus is off and running.  With Linux, there is no monoculture like with Windows.  There are literally dozens of Linux E-mail applications, so a virus writer would have to write a huge virus to cover them all. 

Secondly, the default behavior of Linux E-mail applications is not to display external references, such as pictures and web bugs.  If you enable HTML rendering, executable elements such as Java, Javascript, plugins, etc., still will not load in the E-mail.  Outlook, by contrast, defaults to loading external references and to running executable elements.

While I recommended Linspire above, it is worth pointing out that Linspire makes the same mistake as Windows: the first user in Linspire is the root account and a root password is "optional".  It is possible to create additional users in Linspire, though not actively encouraged during the install.

So while Linux may eventually become as popular as Windows, it is unlikely that Linux will ever have as many viruses as Windows.

 [ send green star]
 
Rain S., a couple thoughts January 14, 2006 4:21 PM

If you have absolutely no experience with Linux, and you don't have a couple weeks worth of time (not all at once, I'm saying 14 individual days), I'd suggest Linspire.  Linspire tries to look a lot like Windows, and has some ability to run Windows applications.  This will allow you to work yourself into Linux a bit slower than with other distributions.  Your system (900Mhz, 128MB RAM) sounds like a nice baseline Linspire system, though I'd upgrade the RAM to 256MB just because I prefer more RAM.

Another easy-to-use distribution is Xandros.  I haven't had a lot of experience with it, but like Linspire, Xandros also promises decent compatibility with Windows applications.  128MB RAM is also the recommended minimum for Xandros, and your 900Mhz system is a little faster than the 800Mhz minimum requirement.

SuSE is a decent distribution as well, but you may need to learn how to use some tools with graphical user interfaces (which will remind you of Windows graphical user interfaces) and installing some applications may require use of the command line interface (thats where you do some typing instead of clicking on graphical buttons).

If money is an issue, Ubuntu is a free distribution and you can have them mail you a CD for free.  Check out their website.

You will need to register with Launchpad to order the Ubuntu CD: when you click on the "Ship It - Free CDs" link, your browser may complain that you are being redirected to "launch.com".  This is what is supposed to happen and not something shady.  Launchpad is just a service for Open Source projects to, among other things, allow discussion on the projects, share source code, and also register to receive project CDs such as from Ubuntu.  The Ubuntu CDs are free, you can order a number of them to hand out to friends, but try not to order more than you need.  They do take 4-6 weeks to arrive.
 [ send green star]
 
Ultimate Boot CD (or Floppy) January 14, 2006 2:46 PM

A must have for anyone.    [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Another word about Norton January 14, 2006 2:19 PM

It's crap.   It invades every part of your system, and when you try to uninstall it, it leaves all kinds of garbage behind that manages to turn your OS into a cripple.  Then, when you try to install another  anti-virus program, you can't because the files left behind by Norton prevents it.  (Gee, do you think that the left behind files were planned?)  From there, you get to reinstall your OS so you can have a functional computer agains (as functional as M$ ever gets, that is).    Anything is better than Norton. 
   The best solution is Linux. Then, start counting, literally, the hundreds, if not thousands of dollars you now have left  in your wallet.   [And be sure to share some of your savings with the developers who gave you a full-blown, fully functional, out of the box OS for a couple of dollars.] 
 [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Magnifier? January 14, 2006 2:06 PM

MEPIS 3.3.1-1 has a very good magnifier. Tried it out yesterday.
    Mozilla, is really easy to get used to.  It has text zoom up to 200%. 
    On another computer I use Firefox and Thunderbird, and like those.  On another computer, I use  Firefox, Konqueror, and K-Mail, and like those too. 
   And MEPIS  is very easy to install. 
   If you put out feelers to developers, they might just come up with a magnifier that is usable across all distros. 
 [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 January 14, 2006 10:21 AM

clickme  [ send green star]
 
 January 14, 2006 10:11 AM

http://www.easylinuxcds.com/catalog/index.php..

 Considering your position, (dialup) I would start here. I bought cd's from these folks before and
They are a reliable company. "Which Linux distro should I start with ?..."
 I like SuSE Linux, warts and all... It's bloated, It's slow, and it's clumsy.. but it WORKS.. And it works well..
SuSE is designed with simplicity in mind, and it's a great vehicle to migrate from winblos... Everythings
iconisized, point-me-click-me, and the "Disk partitioning nightmare" is solved through a utility called
YAST.. Y et A nother S etup T ool. It is a very intuitive installer, very user-friendly, and will keep your
current winblos partition alive. Most distributions will do this for you.

 I mention SuSE because ya don't have to perform any post-installation acrobatics, Like getting the cdwriter
to work. Most hardware gets identified and configured.

 It has been my experience that the ltmodem drivers for linux don't perform so well, and a cheap 25.00 external
56k modem ( Conextant,Hayes, etc.. ) is easy enuff to install, especially for you, since
you're tearing your box apart.. It isnt necessary to go digging around in the box, in order to
install an external modem, but sometimes it's a good idea to remove the current win modem,
And tearing things apart is fun.

Of course there are many other, and arguably better, Linux distros from which the new linux person
can choose. I'm currently using winblos xp, I'm on a box that I just repaired, and the owner of the machine
uses AOL.. No chance to convert this person.. AOL isn't very friendly with linux, so it doesn't work
without a lot of hacking. Maybe aol has become compatible with linux.. I don't know this, because I don't care.

aol sux. Good luck, welcome to the fold, Linux is excellent.. There's a bunch of good people here
to help you out.
     "Onward through the Fog"
   [ send green star]
 
wow January 10, 2006 2:03 PM


Howdy Y'all

I will spare you the convoluted tale of how I happened upon this group ... let's just say I tripped last night and fell through the door. Now I feel much like Alice when she fell throught the looking glass

First, I saw the Cheshire Cat blinking in and out ... hi there John, pleased to make your aquaintence, nice smile my, what big teeth you have! huh? oh sorry, wrong story ... in a past life I was know as "lil' red

Then ... I ran into the Mad Hatter in a cannibus field ... masquerading as a guy named Eddie (afterwards I felt 10 feet tall ... and bullitproof)

Now, if SarahJane starts screaming "Off with her head!" ... I'm outta here

To add to my sense of surreal confusion, everyone was talking about some kid named Linux who "I" thought was a charactor in Peanuts!

Perhaps this gives you some idea of how VERY new I am to all of this. I had a look around before I left ... very late ... and came back this morning (translation: I read everything!) Am I to understand that I can get this operating system and install it myself, FREE of CHARGE??? AND be free of the arm of the mighty Microsoft around my neck? I want to know more!

I am a member of America's working poor. Sad fact that I hope to change one day, but I keep getting distracted. If I have understood things correctly this is something that I would be very interested in.

I have an eMachine 800 MHz 128 RAM with a 20 GB hard drive and dial up modem. Hoping to get a cable connection soon tho' and I think I would want that before attempting to convert ... What language were you all speaking in the modem threads?

No, Microsoft bashing didn't put me off in the least ... but what IS truly daunting to those of us that are um... technically challanged ... is the jargon, which seems to be English, and as such SHOULD be understandable but isn't ... so we feel stupid ... and nobody likes that feeling.

I'm barely computer literate ... my first experience with computers was about 5 years ago when I bought my first one ... used of course. Even so, it took all the money I could spare and when it promptly crashed I had to learn a little bit about fixing it. Yes, had to ... I'd had my first taste of the internet, no way I was giving that up! I can replace a hard drive, add memory, reformat (IF I can beg, borrow, or steal an OS disk), but that's about it. And most of the folks I know think I'm brave for doing those things. They wouldn't DREAM of opening their machine themselves go figure.

So where do I start? I can see there are WAY too many options for me to be able to just look at them and say ... yeah, that one. What's the first step?




  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Visually-impaired PC repair December 01, 2005 11:38 PM

> Leo:  I once knew a totally blind
> individual who could build PCs
> from scratch.  I do not know how
> he did it, but it inspires me. 

Well, so much of a PC is a form of Braille.  With the proper grounding strap and clean hands you can differentiate between, say, different types of RAM, with ease.  I can see how a blind person could do most of a build job on a PC, with minimal help from a sighted helper.  If I was doing it, I'd try to work with the same types of hardware from the same suppliers.  In other words, one kind of network card, not a dozen different ones.

> This next quarter I will be taking
> my college's PC Upgrade/Support/
> Repair I course. I've been quite
> nervous about it for the past year.
> I am worried about how I will do,
> but more so about how the
> professor will react to having a
> visually impaired student.  I do
> not have any experience working
> with computer hardware, but I
> always wanted to build that.

I shouldn't worry too much about it.  As I mentioned earlier, computer parts generally fall into categories which can be differentiated by touch.  About the only problem you might have is with the Windows parts of the A+ test (in fact, I'm not sure how a blind person could pass the Windows part of the A+ test, other than rote memory).

You'll be able to tell most cards apart by their connectors: graphics cards have a 15-pin "female" connector on their sides; modems have two RJ11  connectors; network cards have one RJ45 connector; SCSI cards can be told apart by the various external SCSI connectors; sound cards have the traditional audio jacks.  RAM is much the same: PC100/PC133 RAM has three sets of connectors whereas SDRAM has only two.  And you will be able to figure out installing the RAM by touch as well.  Keep your hands clean to avoid getting those connection-blocking oils on the computer parts, and you'll be fine.

In fact, I'd have to say that someone who lacked an accurate sense of touch would have a lot of trouble with any A+ preparation class.

Linux with its command line interface is rather ideal for the blind and visually impaired.  Its a pity Linux isn't on the A+ test (yet).

  [ send green star]
 
 November 28, 2005 3:52 PM

I've been doing a little reading and the " Linux, Unix, Bsd, Freebsd , Openbsd, Netbsd ,and Darwin " Saga/Flame-war/ Thingy , is  like " Arguing how many angels can Dance on the head of a pin ".. Forks , Forks, and yet more Forks.

Repairing computers can be lucrative , Especially with so many people using aol and winblos , and  Sometimes at the same time.  I don't much care for doing it for money and many people do stupid things when they get the machine home and you're always being bothered.

Companies are posting record profits and the working man is taking it deeper then he ever has .Outsourcing has a lot to do with it , Slick Willie did us no favors by signing the nafta treaty. The magic 8 ball says " outlook not so good. "

Disemboweling bu$h , or at least taking measures to see that he is impeached, and his band of war criminals are given a military-tribunal, in secret, in the back room of some guys butchershop, sounds like an excellent idea. From what I understand, the bu$h reich has  shred...  amended the constitution, so that no one in the coven can be charged as war criminals...  Almost like they wanted to avoid any Nuremburg trials
 [ send green star]
 
anonymous  November 28, 2005 8:01 AM

I agree with you, SarahJane.  I apologize if I had said anything offensive.  It is true that the corporations are the ones who decide this, and it is quite a frustrating thing.

Leo:  I once knew a totally blind individual who could build PCs from scratch.  I do not know how he did it, but it inspires me.  This next quarter I will be taking my college's PC Upgrade/Support/Repair I course.  I've been quite nervous about it for the past year.  I am worried about how I will do, but more so about how the professor will react to having a visually impaired student.  I do not have any experience working with computer hardware, but I always wanted to build that.  I am looking forward to doing so, and I've always had intentions to try for an A+ Certification.  In fact, that certification (I believe) would show people that although I am (dis)abled, I am qualified to work on computers and I have the knowledge.

Well, I'll end this here.  Please take care, everyone.

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Going into business for oneself November 27, 2005 10:37 PM

I've been encouraged to copy a local businessman who operates a computer repair business out of his home in Kansas City.  Apparently there is enough business for this sort of thing that two or more similar businesses could work in the same area.  If it wasn't for almost crippling social phobia (y'all are just Disembodied Spirits to me ) I'd be able to step right into it. 

I'd advise anyone considering that type of job to get their A+ certification.  While it doesn't cover the Linux operating system, just Windows and DOS, it is considered the "high school diploma" of Information Technology and hardware expertise.  A+ is for anyone who wants to repair computers.  Unlike the Cisco certification, the A+ certification is fairly cheap (around $200 or so) and local area technical schools and community colleges frequently offer a course designed to teach you the basics of the A+ certification test.  One local community college to me has a Microcomputer A+ Preparation class for about $240, or $99 for an entirely online version.  Check out the CompTIA website for more information on the A+ certification, its something to fall back on as computer repair jobs (especially for consumer computer users) can't be easily moved overseas.

Also, as per vision problems, if you work with enough hardware you quickly learn how to find things by touch.  Just the other day I had to repair one of my own computers and I managed to replace RAM and swap out a hard drive largely by touch only.  Granted it was because I was too lazy to unplug the cables from the powered-down computer and move it away from the desk...

 [ send green star]
 
anonymous  November 27, 2005 11:44 AM

I hold a high value on education, but in recent years I am beginning to get a little concerned.  Outsourcing and the brining in of foreign workers to the United States

I've thought so much as to eventually open up my own computer store to possibly build a better financial future for myself, after college of course.  I really do not know, though.  The future is truly uncertain, but I just hope that I can come to some means of support other than what I receive from my disability...

Sorry for the rambling...I just thought I'd give my two cents.

You all take care. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. to work with technologies makes me uneasy.  With my vision problem, it will take more education and more training to further myself.  It worries me because it is already difficult to find a job as it is with my disability.  I greatly fear that after these years of education and time well spent that once I have a degree it will not mean anything (to employers anyhow).

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 November 27, 2005 11:00 AM

Thanks for all the info, Leo

That grand going for Cisco testing is highway robbery, especially knowing that it is only a test, no guarentee that you will be hired.

I, myself, rejected learning Cisco management because I wanted to move closer to the Unix-related kernel rather than out into the network environment.  Last I saw, Perl programmers on all platforms have written great software to get to the lower levels.  However, there has been no significant innovation anywhere in technology, which I am aware of, in the past three years.

Unfortunately that was not a smart career move, all money is being thrown at Java with the various OS's being side shows.

It is true what you are saying about the work going to East India, or the Hindus coming here.

I have been studying education from the global perspective; the purpose of education is to create human capital, in other words, human pieces of the capitalist machine. 

Now that we are all globalists, and being stripped clean by the Chinese Communists and Hindu Indians, I am assuming that I will have to teach Maoism and Hindu/Aryanism to the kids.

On another topic, there is interest here on the list to build a home-grown Linux.  I am ALL for that, having built on myself.

As I mentioned, I am moving towards teaching.  My degree will be focused on technology, and my capstone project will probably be some extension of Care2, where I will build a system to glean information from activist groups, where the discovered information can be delivered to prosectutors and those involved in litigation against the president, governor of Lousiana, FEMA, Homeland Sec, etc.  It will probably include things not available here, such as chat tools.

I will be building the system on ADDR.net, a technically friendly web hosting site. 

I would certainly want to make the site useful to this group.  If anyone has any dreams they want to commit to the open net, I am very interested.

 [ send green star]
 
UNIX Derivatives November 27, 2005 10:44 AM

Eddie J. wrote:
> As I understand it BSD, Darwin,
> osx and Linux are Unix derivatives.
> I could be wrong

No you are correct.  BSD was created in the Berkeley computer labs by licensing source code from the folks who created UNIX, AT&T.  BSD was created as a POSIX compliant (POSIX-compliant means "so much like UNIX that you can't tell the difference") UNIX operating system for colleges and universities, so that they could avoid the stringent licensing fees for using the original UNIX operating system.

OS X was derived from NeXT and BSD.  Many things which compile fine on BSD also compile fine in OS X.

Linux was created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, a guy from Finland.  He based it originally on source code from Minix, a mini version of UNIX also created for universities.  Its important to know that Linux is just the kernel, or core of the operating system.  Everything else in a distribution is not Linux, even though nowadays everyone considers Linux to be the distribution rather than the kernel.  Linus created the first Linux kernel and posted it to a newsgroup.   Since 1991 Minix code has been gradually removed from Linux, such that Linux now has no code other than its own.

The Linux Penguin has an interesting story behind Linus' choice of it as the Linux Mascot.  You can find additional "Tux" pictures here, and here.

Slackware was the first Linux distribution, incorporating stuff from the GNU Free Software Foundation, which had created quite a number of free versions of UNIX utilities (cp, mv, more, vi, etc.), and also incorporating other free software from third parties.  Slackware got started in 1993.  RedHat and Debian both owe their origins to Slackware.

Trivia: GNU has created its own kernel, called HURD (GNU HURD, software engineers have weird senses of humor).  Linux's popularity might not make this possible, but you might see a HURD distribution sometime soon.


 [ send green star]
 
CentOS and Jobs November 27, 2005 10:25 AM

CentOS is reasonably close to RedHat Enterprise Linux, enough so that you can train for the RHCE using CentOS (the book I have for that certification recommends using one of the free versions of RHEL, such as CentO. About the only difference is that some of the GUI tools, such as "redhat-config-printer", use non-RedHat specific commands, such as "system-config-printer".  Remembering to make the switch during the exam is all you need to remember (and you can create an alias for, say, system-config-printer to make it easier to remember "redhat-config-printer"), but if you learn how to edit the config files directly you can skip the GUI tools altogether.

If you really want to learn about the inner workings of Linux, Slackware is still a viable Linux distribution and encourages you to learn the inner workings of Linux.  In fact, Slackware now has versions of most package managers used by other distributions, meaning there are more packages available for Slackware than any other distribution.

I haven't found many job prospects here in the MidWestern U.S. for a Linux sysadmin, but this is mostly because I'm not Cisco certified yet (the full Cisco test is around $1000). I've recently read one hopeful article about computer jobs in the Midwest, and one depressing article on IT jobs in general (both on Slashdot).

Hopeful: "Rural Sourcing"
Very interesting reading, may make some people consider moving here.  You can still get a three bedroom house and own the house lot too for about $600 a month house payment.

Depressing: IT Jobs Require Too Much Experience
The original article is about encouraging students to get into IT, but the replies are from people who have IT degrees and experience saying the IT job market is either moving to India or getting filled with H1B visa people (imported foreign workers).
 [ send green star]
 
 November 27, 2005 9:06 AM

Hi Leo, welcome aboard

It is interesting that you are certifed in RedHat.  How is CentOS in your opinion ??  Is it a good facsimilie of RH enterprise ??

Also, what are your employment prospects in Linux?  I have personally given up on techie work and now I am committed to education.  I took a side step into long haul trucking, but decided I felt I need to use all the brain cells.

Not to nit, but if memory proves correct this is how OSX was invented:  Steve Jobs hired a Coke exectutive to run Apple; the exec promptly fired Jobs.  Jobs eventually got Apple back.  During his absence he created the NeXT system, which was based on BSD.  So, it was only natural for him to integrate it as the official Apple platform.


 [ send green star]
 
 November 27, 2005 8:58 AM

NEW HERE.............I DONT KNOW NOTHING ABOUT LINUX .....IS FOR THA TI WANT TO LEARN..MY BROTHER WORK WITH THIS SYSTEM....I FOUND IT INTERESTING  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 November 27, 2005 8:55 AM

SuSE is an excellent choice. I like it because it's easy, and it's pretty stable. As I understand it BSD, Darwin, osx and Linux are Unix derivatives. I could be wrong.  [ send green star]
 
anonymous  November 26, 2005 2:49 PM

Welcome to the group, Leo.  Glad to see you here.  Thanks for the link.  I think I saw it in the past, but I guess I'm a little leery at looking at Magnifiers.  I have heard that they take up great CPU resources, and I am kind of worried.  As soon as I get my Ubuntu CDs, I'll give some of those a test.  Thanks for the link, and welcome to the group!

 [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
 November 26, 2005 2:49 AM

Hey, huge to you Leo! Great to have such an expert on board, especially one who can explain stuff so clearly.

  [ send green star]  [ accepted] 		(Member Is Blocked)
 
printf("Hello, world!"); November 25, 2005 10:42 PM

Hi, I'm a guy with a Linux+ certification from CompTIA and I'm here to try and answer some questions.  I am in training for a RedHat Certified Technician certification, and I'd like to try for the RedHat Certified Engineer one of these days.

I currently run Mandrake Linux 10.0 at home on a dual processor PII-450Mhz machine, and CentOS 4 (which is a free version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux v4) on a 850Mhz Duron machine.

Personally I focus more on the end user than on the server side, so while I know some details about Apache, I'm more focused on things like Samba for interfacing with Windows computers, and on desktops and the installation procedure.

Robert C., try this link for Linux Screen Magnifiers.

Also, one correction: Mac OS X was based on BSD, not Linux.  Linux is licensed mostly on the GPL and LGPL, which is a licensing scheme Apple couldn't really go along with.  The BSD license basically says "do what you like with our code and you don't have to give anything back".

 [ send green star]
 
Hello! November 25, 2005 5:44 PM

After a close look to different compilations I am going to use SuSe.

Novell choose this distribution for here new platform as i found out. BEcause i am a old Novell battle horse and i know how dpendable the Novell server OS is/was i have no daubth about the quality and usability in advance. Hope to have my new Suse/novell server ready soon (if i ever get the hardware togeter tht is.....hehehe)

Ill be thankfull for any input.....

 [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Hey everybody.. November 15, 2005 9:30 AM

I am really happy to see all the activity here, I really am. But.. if its at all convenient, if you are going to get deep into particular topics, then see if there is an existing thread on it or start a new one, Thx in advance john  [ send green star]
 
anonymous  November 14, 2005 11:36 PM

Thanks, Sarah.  I greatly appreciate the input.  I'll take a look at that one.

I need to get to bed myself.  Suffering from really bad insomnia tonight.  Getting close to 3a.m. already...

Take care.
  [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
 November 14, 2005 11:24 PM

Heaps of freebies, Robert! I use DeepBurner for Windows. (It's not Open Source though - maybe someone purer than me can suggest a user-friendly one?)

Gotta go now ... catch you later.
  [ send green star]  [ accepted] 		(Member Is Blocked)
 
anonymous  November 14, 2005 11:12 PM

Thanks, SarahJane.  Chances are that when I get a little extra money on hand (not sure when this will happen...) I'll just buy some blank CDs and go from there.

One question about LiveCDs and isos:  When I download this software, what program should I use to burn these to CDs?  Many people have recommended Nero, but I wouldn't be able to afford it unfortuantely.  Any free/open source version that would be as good?

Thanks again for the help.
  [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
 November 14, 2005 11:03 PM

Cheers m'dear!

Ubuntu's own estimate is about 4-6 weeks, as stated in the Ship-It FAQ. But I have heard of folk waiting for up to three months.

It depends on how recently they've released their latest version, how many folk have ordered it, and unforeseen circumstances (such as, tragically, terrorist attacks).

In short: don't put your life on hold!

Eddie: it's definitely possible to do this, but I can't for the life of me remember how! I'll have a look around when I get more time, but I know it's been mentioned in more than one distro-based forum. Have you tried searching for it?

Also, you could maybe let us know what instructions you've already seen. We might be able to "translate" them for you.

 [ send green star]  [ accepted] 		(Member Is Blocked)
 
anonymous Ubuntu ShipIt? November 14, 2005 10:07 PM

Hello again, everyone.

I was just wondering:  Has anyone else ever ordered CDs from the Ubuntu ShipIt system?  If so, how long does it typically take (I am sure it varies) for the CDs to be shipped?  I noticed that Sarah said something about a few weeks.  I was just curious; I guess that maybe I'm getting too excited. (haha) 

I didn't realize (until I read about it today) that with each PC CD version of Ubuntu will ship an Ubuntu LiveCD as well.  I guess that I could test that out before doing the installation, although I read a really helpful tutorial for installing Ubuntu which clarified a lot of my concerns.

My older brother Ray is very interested in switching to Linux, so I am going to give him one of the CDs which I will receive.  Greatly looking forward to it.  (Do I sound too enthusiastic?)

Here is a link to a tutorial on setting up Ubuntu to dual boot with Windows for anyone who is curious about it.  I found it at the Ubuntu forums while doing some reading.  It is step-by-step and very informative.  Hope this will be of some help to someone.


Thanks for all the great help!

Take care, everyone.

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anonymous Ubuntu ShipIt? November 14, 2005 10:07 PM

Hello again, everyone.

I was just wondering:  Has anyone else ever ordered CDs from the Ubuntu ShipIt system?  If so, how long does it typically take (I am sure it varies) for the CDs to be shipped?  I noticed that Sarah said something about a few weeks.  I was just curious; I guess that maybe I'm getting too excited. (haha) 

I didn't realize (until I read about it today) that with each PC CD version of Ubuntu will ship an Ubuntu LiveCD as well.  I guess that I could test that out before doing the installation, although I read a really helpful tutorial for installing Ubuntu which clarified a lot of my concerns.

My older brother Ray is very interested in switching to Linux, so I am going to give him one of the CDs which I will receive.  Greatly looking forward to it.  (Do I sound too enthusiastic?)

Here is a link to a tutorial on setting up Ubuntu to dual boot with Windows for anyone who is curious about it.  I found it at the Ubuntu forums while doing some reading.  It is step-by-step and very informative.  Hope this will be of some help to someone.


Thanks for all the great help!

Take care, everyone.

 [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
 November 14, 2005 7:38 PM

I stand corrected. That's right, osx emulates bsd. I mess around with bsd from time to time and find freebsd to be a bit more friendly then openbsd. I'm trying to make the system see the iso as a block device and perform an automagic install ,  as if there was actually a cd in the cd drive. VMware does it nicely.  The last time  I messed around with it I was using xp and a fat32 partition with minislack or zipslack   [ send green star]
 
 November 14, 2005 6:48 PM

Hey, great !!

You are just making a file system to look at the ISO.

Point of Accuracy.. Mac OSX is after BSD, the original Linux from Berkeley in the 1970s.  It was NeXT Step which was a project started by Jobs cuz trusted the wrong executive that he got from Coca Cola... and he got kicked out of Apple.

Getting kicked out of library...

 [ send green star]
 
 November 14, 2005 3:48 PM

mkdir -p /somedirectory

 mount -t somefilesystem /dev/hxx /somedirectory

cd /somedirectory

mknod /dev/ loopx b 7 0

mkdir /install

mount -o loop /somedirectory/some.iso /install

Then what happens ? All this does is extract the .iso after it makes a block device out of it. I'm sooooooo confused. Roberts dillema raised old demons. I have been trying to do an install without the cd, and can't quite twist my mind around it. I've R.T.F.M but aint getting anywhere. The syntax might be a bit shaky and if the loopx is already a block device , the system will gripe. Help me help someone else. I haven't seen a coherent tutorial ( coherent to me anyway), maybe someone could point me in the right direction.. I'd also like to do it remotely , but left samba alone for a while
due to brain cramps.  [ send green star]
 
Thanks for the link November 14, 2005 1:35 PM

Thanks for the link, Eddie, I guess that's what I should've done to start with. Since, as you point out, MacOSX was based ON Linux actually, I've finally scheduled myself to learn MacOSX this week while I'm not-working. (Have been working as a temp, which means usually I'm "on unpaid vacation".) I'll just need to throw it onto my iMac again (from CD-ROMs). (Upon which I can toggle back-&-forth between 9.2 & "X"; which is actually why I gave up on learning it years ago, since 9 & 10/X are night-and-day, specifically thanks to the new Linux-based logic of X, and I always had fears that what I did/saved in one system wouldn't be "totally" saved in the other one, thus made it in my mind into "the big project I don't have time for this year", year after year. And once I'm proficient on X, I'll dive into Linux! (Which by then I should half-understand, via OSX, anyway, hopefully?)  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 November 13, 2005 1:08 PM

Firstly, Robert: there's no need to keep apologising! It's a shame you've had a bad experience in other forums, but I assure you that newbies are more than welcome here. Hence the name of the group.

Like many folk here, I'm learning as I go along - so anything I can pass on to other learners makes my own journey more worthwhile. So I'm genuinely delighted when I can help, and am sure others would say the same!

Now, your reference books and Ubuntu: most of what they say will apply, but as every distro works slightly differently you might require Ubuntu-specific info. Their website is excellent, including a lot of tips & how-to's, a wiki and a forum.

By the way, if you've sent off for the free Ubuntu CD you might have a few weeks to wait. The best way to find out how Linux works on your own computer is to try it out, so you might consider downloading one of the others in the meantime (once you can get hold of a few blank disks).

  [ send green star]  [ accepted] 		(Member Is Blocked)
 
anonymous  November 13, 2005 12:32 PM

Hello yet again, everyone.  (Sorry for all the posts...I just want to make sure I know most of the in's and out's for everything so I get it right the first time.)

I realized last night that I had two books dealing with Linux on my shelf that I bought awhile ago (maybe a year) when I wanted to get into Linux.  Back then I was too afraid that I would (personally) wreck my PC if I tried, so that fear held me back.  The first book is "Linux: The Complete Reference, Fifth Edition" by Richard L. Peterson and the second is "The Linux Pocket Reference" by O'Reilly.  Back then I wanted to learn as much as I could, but I became very confused by all of the different distros.  I just began reading the Complete Reference book last night so that I would have some knowledge of using Linux for when the Ubuntu CDs come in.

My question is: Even though these books are not related to Ubuntu Linux, will their content be usable in Ubuntu?  I am pretty sure it will, but I just wanted to ask those with more knowledge.  I guess I am a person who likes to read and know about things before jumping in...So that I don't log onto my new (and highly anticipated) Linux distro and then look at the desktop blankly thinking..."what do I do now?”  I'm like that with just about everything...

Also, when I install the Ubuntu Linux distro I should use GRUB as my boot loader, correct?  I was reading about that in the Linux Complete Reference, and I thought it would probably apply.  It doesn't seem as "scary" as I thought it would.

Thanks for any advice and/or opinions, everyone.  I am sincerely glad I joined this group.  I tried some other forums in the past, but I was met with cold insincerity and hostility from some because of my lacking knowledge of Linux.  You all have been very warm and helpful to me.  I'm quite grateful, and I appreciate you all dealing with my many, many posts.  I just want to wane my way off of Windows and start working with something better.

Thanks, everyone.

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duh!!! November 12, 2005 8:53 PM

should have clicked the link for the ultimate boot disk before running my mouth/fingers.. it is barts thingy..  I thought the ultimate boot cd was the disk with the gazillion tools on it that ya get from driver.com for 15 bux.  [ send green star]
 
 November 12, 2005 8:41 PM

Barts P.E builder is a pretty cool winblos tool as well. You guys are prolly familiar with it. A "live" windos disk. I used barts pe builder ,an xp disk, and nero, to build the disk and it was a lot of fun. Ya can get at and repair any winblos box. I ran xp on a fat32 file system a few times and inevitably did  something stupid like a bad shut down too many times , and poor winblos couldn't recover itself, but It gave a valiant effort I mus t say, when it tried to run scandisk over and over again. A journaling file system is a must for me because I do many stupid things like shut my machine off with a hammer when a program misbehaves  [ send green star]
 
Hello all! November 12, 2005 8:09 PM

Hi, see you woke me up. Yes Sarah,the ultimate boot disk, one of the best tools a windows repair person can have.... For quite some time now I have been installing XP on a fat 32 filesystem instead of ntfs and the machines have been working better longer.. After being with linux for a number of years M$ doesn't even deserve honorable mention anymore.. Take care all, Ed  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 November 12, 2005 7:42 PM

Cool ! Good Teachers are among the most noble creatures on earth.
I pray children learn history a bit differently then I did. Man , they told so many half truths
and down-right lies. Fixing computers on the side is a good way to supplement your income.
You're fortunate to have learned programing languages. I don't know any. I seem to be stuck
at hardware and bashing my skull against the wall to learn unix and its' derivatives.
I'm trying to get a dose of solaris, but I can't make heads or tails out of suns
download site, and have had minimal luck grabbing it from a bittorrent file.
I think I saw a tool in one of the distros that resembles windows access for people
with special needs but can't remember what distro, or if in fact I was hallucinating.
I have special needs too but haven't found a remedy for my disability other then
a pasture of canabis. I dabbled with simple html and know a little bit about properly nested tables
and constructing a somewhat coherent webpage with .gifs, audio, and flashy flashes
but I lost interest in it and neglected to study further so I denied myself the chance
to learn macromedia and all that fun stuff. (intellectual laziness) .
Robert , Ubuntu is pretty fast if I remember correctly. It's debian based, and I don't recall if there was a java/Sun/notaintedstuffy issue as seems common among some debian and especially bsd distros. I do remember it grabbed all the hardware pretty well. Good luck, and we're always here for your "How Do I's" and "What the "***s"..
If not at this forum then "The answer is out there"  [ send green star]
 
anonymous  November 12, 2005 7:17 PM

I am very sorry for all of the posts, everyone.

I know that this thread is for introductions, so I am sorry for posting all of my concerns here...Wasn't sure if this was the right area to do so or not.

I just wanted to write and to let everyone know that I have decided to try out Ubuntu Linux.  I followed the link provided from this group and took a look at their Web site.  I was very impressed by their standards and beliefs.  I was also surprised to find that they are shipping complimentary CDs for those who request them at no charge, including no postage costs (from what the site said).  I ordered 15 CDs (they encouraged ordering a handful), and I intend to show some others I know (and maybe even the Linux courses at my college) this distro once I experiment with it.  It was inspiring to see what that company is doing.

I just wanted to write and to let you all know that I'm on my way...after all of my talking and question asking...sorry about that.

Hopefully one day in the future (I've wanted to do this for quite some time now)...I'll be done with Windows completely.

Thanks for all the help and support everyone.  I'll update you all later with everything.

Hope all of you are doing well.

Take care and have a great night.

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anonymous  November 12, 2005 2:48 PM

I've narrowed it down to two flavors of Linux which hold my interest.  I am debating between Mandrake Linux and SuSE Linux at this time. It took me quite awhile yesterday, but I finally downloaded the Knoppix LiveCD information, just to find that I have no more blank CDs left...Not sure when I'm going to be able to afford more either...It was quite a disappointment, but there's still plenty of time left.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for the help this far, everyone.  It is all greatly appreciated.

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 November 12, 2005 12:25 PM

This is all really interesting, I am thinking I might become a local techie, while I study to teach (doing middle school earth sci right now)

So... I will very likely be needing your input

Also, I think we might want to do a small piece on access to Linux, visual, etc.

If it doesnt exist, we can start a petition and post it on the UseNet.

I am planning to get a web site up pretty soon on ADDR.com, they support Java Servlets under various containors.  I am a Perl person, but Java is hard to avoid if you need to eat and pay rent.

 [ send green star]
 
seems to work November 11, 2005 5:11 PM

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=linux+on+a+mac&btnG=Google+Search

Since apple is based on unix I guess it  does work, but I'm speaking out of school. I did fool around with darwin, apples watered down contribution to the open source movement/community. Darwin is persnickety about hardware and I had to modify a flag or two before it would recognize the hard-drive, and when I realised apples donation didn't include the graphic environment I gave up on the project. Many commercial vendors seem to suck what they can out of the open-source talent pool and give nothing back.. Imagine my surprise
 [ send green star]
 
Linux on an iMac? November 11, 2005 4:57 PM

Hello all, I joined here a few weeks ago. I have only Macintoshes (an old Performa, & a newer iMac) at home, and on the newer one I'm on MacOS 9.2 (but have had all the stuff for converting to MacOSX for years, just haven't gotten around to allocating myself the half-week of concentrated effort I think I need I'll need to "learn" OSX, as 9.x & it are like night & day). My question is, I love the THEORY of Linux &'d love to get into it, but (pragmatically) can Linux be run on a Macintosh? (I have yet to delegate myself the time, same story again, to go through your group's threads to see if the answer's already there somewhere. But until then,) I'd appreciate it if someone could give me just a Yes or No now? And I'm thinking now the answer might depend less on, Windoze or MAC, than on, what kinds of chips & memory & etc. my machine happens to have? Thanks, David  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
Excellent November 11, 2005 2:45 PM

rubbing my hands together like mr. burns on the Simpsons...
 Motorola ... my cable company uses those too.. motorola surfboard.. You're gonna love it !! I think I experience better speeds and smoother connections with linux as opposed to (cough, cough, choke, choke) windoze, but I might be a little biased.. just a little. killbillkillbillkillbillkillbillkillbillkillbillkillbillkillbillkillbillkillbill  [ send green star]
 
anonymous  November 11, 2005 2:34 PM

I knew I was forgetting something...I have an always-on cable connection through my cable company using a Motorola broadband modem.  As for my choice of Red Hat...ti was jus tthe first one that came to mind.  I think it is what my college uses in order to provide Linux courses.

I only have two blank CDs currently, so I was just debating between which LiveCD would be better to experiment with until I decide to go for a hard drive installation.  All that I can say at this time is that I am very excited about beginning to make the transition.

Thanks for the input, everyone.
  [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
 November 11, 2005 12:51 PM

With a linux live cd You can transfer important stuff to another medium whether it's another hard drive,pen or zip drive or cdr-cdrw. A friend of mine is a cpa and she had hundreds of tax returns on her box but couldn't get into the system because it wouldn't boot into the desktop. I burned all the stuff to a cd then hosed the hard disk and re-installed xp for her. As for repairing winblos from linux there's not much you can do.. edit the boot.ini file or delete infected files. Ya can clean out the system restore directory where a lot of windows viruses take root. In order to write to the ntfs partition ya have to have the ntfs driver installed and the kernel configured for ntfs read/write support. There really aint a whole lot I can do to repair windows since it's broken when ya buy it. Flame wars are often started  over which linux distro is best.. I stay clear of that stuff. try em all.. it's fun and ya learn a lot. at the moment I'm using a live linspire cd, because I wanted to see what it's like. for the moment my favorite distro is slackware.. it's rock solid stable and pretty simple. I played with redhat 9 and it's pretty stable, nice gui, and I don't like it. I don't like the anaconda installer and I don't like kudzu.  Redhat has enjoyed a decent reputation and with good reason, but I don't much care for it, and thank God I'm not the final word on linux. you can migrate over to redhat from the micro$oft cartel without skipping a beat. Configuring a dialup connection can be a little confusing on some distros, especially with a "soft" modem, i.e. most modems that ship with store bought computers, but it's do-able. Many distros today ship with the drivers ya need for ltmodems. It's not an issue.. we'll help you. I don't think I've seen a linux that doesn't support your intel architecture.. The intel graphics controller is widely supported.. With an 80 gig hard drive you could boot windows and 14 other linux's if you wanted to. Not that theres any good reason for so doing, other then to play. You'll be fine.. The linux community is very friendly and helpful.   [ send green star]
 
 November 11, 2005 11:40 AM

John: I don't know about repair, but you can definitely read and write from an NTFS partition. Remember the Ultimate Boot CD? (It's a while since I've mentioned it, so thanks for the excuse!)

Robert: ask away, that's what the group's here for!

A few answers - and further questions:

1. Knoppix is a great one to try, and you might like it so much that you stick with it. Much depends on your modem, though ...

2. Your PC spec sounds great - more than enough for almost anything you want to try! - but I was wondering if you use dial-up or ADSL to connect to the internet. Some distros are a bit fiddly to configure with dial-up.

3. Red Hat 9 is fine; it's the first distro I used properly, and I still have it installed on a PC that I loan to friends. However, there are newer distros that might suit you even better. (Out of interest, why did you pick that one?)

  [ send green star]  [ accepted] 		(Member Is Blocked)
 
anonymous  November 11, 2005 10:40 AM

Thanks, everyone.

(I just noticed that I've been posting in 8pt. fonts; I apologize)

I've heard a bit about Knoppix Live CD.  Would this be something worth looking into, or are there better Live CD software out there?  I'm sorry for all of the questions.  I just want to make sure I know the ins and the outs to all of this before starting, but I am really looking forward to doing so.

As far as a hard drive based install of Linux, I was thinking about looking into Red Hat 9 (I believe it is).  Does anyone have any recommendations there?  I'll list my computer specs below; I should have done that a bit ago.

Dell Dimension Desktop 4600i
Standard 3 1/2 Floppy Disk Drive
DVD-ROM Drive
CD-RW Drive
80GB Hard Drive
256MB PC2700 DDR-RAM
Intel Graphics Controller
12 USB Ports (2 front)

I think that should be good enough.

Thanks everyone, for the friendly responses and consideration and advice.  I am really glad that I joined this group; I know that there are a lot of great people here willing to help if I need it.  I greatly appreciate it.


Thanks for the links, also.

Take care, everyone.

 [report anonymous abuse]  [ accepted]
 
 November 11, 2005 9:21 AM

Huh ???

How do you repair windows w/ Linux ??  I was not aware that there is GNU software that can work with NTFS .

Just curious

 [ send green star]
 
yet more yakking November 11, 2005 7:27 AM

Here are several links that might be useful. If You have trouble downloading large files ( slow internet connection ) or You can't burn cd images ( no burner ). Easylinuxcds sells just about all the available linux distros, they're a reputable company, and they're very reasonable. I did business with them several times and always got my order fast, and the stuff worked flawlessly. I think the most I ever spent on one distribution from them was 4 bux american. The "Live cds" are an excellent way to get your feet wet with linux, just fire up winblos, put the cd in the hole, reboot the machine, and you'll soon be dropped into a polished -n- pretty desktop environment, and probably greeted with nice music. If your hard-drive should ever fail, You can use the live cd and still connect to the net, read your email etc... I always take a live cd with me when I do service calls, most of the time a winblos machine is infected beyond repair, and the live cd lets me recover and save data that was on the drive.

http://www.easylinuxcds.com/catalog/index.php

http://www.linuxquestions.org/

http://iso.linuxquestions.org/  [ send green star]
 
 November 10, 2005 11:50 PM

Robert: whichever Linux distribution ("distro") you choose, you should be able to change your screen resolution - either as you install, or later on. Go for something like 800x600 or less, and your icons etc will appear larger.

Re GUIs: most distros come with a choice, and you can easily access the command line from any of them. KDE and Gnome are the most common, and both offer plenty of useful tools. You can read more about them here. This page is pretty well up-to-date, although it does warn:

Linux-accessibility-related efforts are being started every day and are occasionally "retired". It is therefore difficult to list all projects or all links the encompass the entirety of imaginable tasks that fit under the heading "Linux accessibility". If you cannot find something here or are looking for a specific tool for a specific programming task, it is recommended that you search [WWW] Google and [WWW] SourceForge.

I'd add Google Linux and Freshmeat to that list. And if you need any help setting up any of these tools, give us a shout!

Thanks for considering other members of the group with disabilities as well. I'm aware that there are a number of folk on Care2 who have difficulties reading messages, which is why I now post everything in 12pt by default.



Couple of other points:

1. The kernel doesn't always need to be compiled, as you can use modules. Slax is completely module-based and is one of the many live distros, so you can run it from a CD without installing anything.

2. You can try out different live distros to see which suits your needs best. Some run quite slowly, but are much faster once you've installed them. Have a look through these message threads for recommendations.

Sure there's more to say, but I hope that's enough to be getting on with . Good luck!

  [ send green star]  [ accepted] 		(Member Is Blocked)
 
anonymous  November 10, 2005 10:31 PM

Eddie, sorry...I tried to make sure I thanked everyone who posted, but I missed your name on the side.  Thanks for the response.

My 21'' monitor is no longer working (I think it is permanently out of service, and I am unable to afford another one), so I am stuck with a 15'' monitor now...It's been a rough two months...

Once again, I apologize.

Take care.
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anonymous Thanks. November 10, 2005 10:27 PM

Thanks for the replies, John.  I'll see what I can do as far as Linux goes, but I'm not sure which flavor is for me.  You recommend SuSE?  I read a bit about it awhile ago, but I know very little about it.  Does it offer a GUI?  I have also read that you can open the command shell from the GUI...because I would like to get experience with both. I hope to one day use nothing but Linux based systems (I am quite tired of M$ Windows).

I found something here today while researching Linux Accessibility.  I'm not sure how old this site is, but it may be promising for a start.  Seems like there are a few nice looking applications available for no cost at all.  If there are any members of this group with any type of disability, this site is definitely worth a look.


As for Mozilla, I would probably go crazy without Firefox, Thunderbird, and Sunbird.

Thanks for the friendly welcome and responses. I look forward to getting to Linux...as soon as I pick a good flavor.

Thanks again, and take care.

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 November 10, 2005 4:49 PM

There really is only one downside to linux, and that is that the kernel needs to be recompiled for new drivers, unlike the DLLs.

I am not sure why this is, its an area of research I about to get to when I decided to focus on other things in life.

As far as the vision support goes, I am surprised to hear that there is none on Linux.

To me that is very important.

But, then.. text is the ultimate GUI, and with a big screen the ascii letters should be pretty large, don't you think??

Just kidding.. I realized that most folks are used to IDEs.

 [ send green star]

 
folow up November 10, 2005 11:33 AM

After thinking about it for a second , it dawned on me that the 1st time I installed linux, All I did was put the disk in and SuSE linux took care of the rest.. It told winblos how things were gonna be, and all I had to do was answer a few questions. SuSE isn't the only linux on the block, and some folks abhor it. That's one of the beautiful things about linux.. Lots of choice, as far as distributions go.. Mandrake, SuSE, Redhat, Fedora, etc and they're FREE. technically Linux is the kernel.. The interface between the hardware and the operating system.. Winblos has a kernel too, but ya can't do much with it..  [ send green star]
 
Welcome November 10, 2005 11:12 AM

The mozilla browser magnifies text pretty well. Dual booting isn't as difficult as it seems, The linux forums are a great place to start. The good folks here at care2 are eager to assist. Yanking people away from winblos and aol is a favorite pass-time of mine. I am in the process of compiling a tutorial for dual-booting windows and linux, and will post back shortly. In making the transition from winblos to linux I've found SuSE to be an excellent migration vehicle, and Vector linux is very nice too. I've run various linux's on the Dell Dimension 4xxx series and it worked okay, although proprietary hardware isn't my cup of tea, particularly dell cases.. Partitioning and formatting the disk is pretty straight forward, winblos should be installed 1st, as it's a stupid operating system and will overwrite the master boot record. Good Luck, God Bless, and have a lot of fun!!  [ send green star]
 
anonymous Hello, everyone... November 10, 2005 7:45 AM

I've wanted to switch to Linux for quite some time now, but there are a few concerns which I have.  I think that they are mainly trivial, and I am sure that they can be appeased through research.  That is one reason why I joined this group:  It is very apparent that there are many people here who are very willing to help new Linux users.

I ma a partially blind computer user, and unfortunately there are (as far as I know) only Micro$oft oriented magnification programs.  The program which I use currently is called ZoomText, and from what I have read they do not develop for Linux systems.  This is my first concern:  Is there something out there for partially blind users switching to Linux?  I do not need a screen reader, just something that could offer 7x or greater screen magnification, and that is at least somewhat flexible, contrary to Micro$osft's clunky, frustrating Windows Magnifier application (believe me, I have spent too long messing around trying to cooperate with it).  Is there anything available in this area currently? And if so, is it possible to run a GUI version of Linux, but still to have command-line capabilities?

I am in college for computers.  I don't know why, but I love them.  One of my aspirations is to one day, after acquiring a decent amount of programming skill, design a magnification program (cross-platform) that has the flexibility of ZoomText, but without the price.  Currently, a copy of ZoomText costs near, if not above $500...I barely make that in a month on SSI...and I'm trying my best to seek employment in my field.

My second concern is that my wife would die without Windows...I do not know much about dual-boot partitioning, and I am afraid to try.  I have experience in software troubleshooting, but not dual-boot systems and hard drive partitioning. Would anyone be able to advise me on this?  I have an 80GB hard drive at this time...

My third concern is that I am running a Dell computer (Dell Dimension 4600i series).  Would this computer be uncooperative with a Linux installation?

And finally, what would the best flavor of Linux be for me?  I want to gain more experience in programming, but I want something that would be easy to use, so that eventually I could do a full (rather than a dual-boot) install of Linux when/if my wife gets enough time to learn how to use it.

I apologize for the long introduction.  I look forward to being a part of this group and to learning more about Linux.  I use a lot of open-source software (such as the Bloodshed Dev-C++ IDE) which I am very appreciative for, and I hope to one day contribute to the open-source community.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and thanks greatly for any responses and/or advice.

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 September 26, 2005 11:24 AM

Norton "anti-virus" is a virus.

I just spent this afternoon repairing yet another friend's computer wracked with it. Had to back up her data (with our old pal Knoppix) and reformat the drive. Sadly, she insisted on having Windoze 98 reinstalled (better than XP, I suppose). But she was fascinated by the penguins, so there's hope for her yet ...

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 September 26, 2005 8:18 AM

Thats great, my experince is that a stock window$ computer will get a virus within an hour. 

Add to that all the spyware that loads itself into IE, as part of the M$ architecture of letting corporations control the consumer.  [ send green star]
 
Replying To: Please Introduce Yourself !! September 25, 2005 8:28 PM

Hi everybody. I have been with linux since late 1997 and have not had a intrusion attempt of any kind I have check logs often. M other half runs windozes XP Pro and I am always having to do something to keep it going. As far as I am concerned Norton is a piece of blown up crap. I have had Avast free home edition on it for over a year with no virus problems with norton she was always showing up with something all the time and I find the same problems with others when I repair their computers that use norton Viva la LINUX... Ed  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
General security September 22, 2005 7:15 AM

A word about Norton:

From what I keep hearing, it's more trouble than it's worth. And if you try to uninstall it, it creates even more havoc. Don't want to alarm you, but you could save yourself a lot of grief (as well as time!) by switching to Linux.

So: back to the good news - Linux can look and feel almost identical to Windows, but it's totally different behind the scenes. This is a crucial point, as almost all viruses are written to attack Windows systems.

As you're new to all this, we don't need to go into minute details about how and why it works. Let's just say, Linux is as safe as you're going to get. Most Linux distributions come with a firewall included, but if you're just running your computer at home you probably won't even need it.

Let us know if you have any more questions (or don't understand the answers). Looking forward to helping you take the next step towards freedom!
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Site compatibility / hackers September 22, 2005 6:57 AM

Hi Solent! The good news is: you definitely can access all of Care2 with Linux - apart from the Friend Finder (which is designed to raid your address book, so I wouldn't bother with it anyway if I were you).

As for other sites: let us know which they are and we can check for you, but almost all sites should work fine. The only time I've missed Internet Explorer was when I tried to apply for a job online, and found that the form would only work with IE. I've complained about this and suggest that everyone does, because it's discriminating against folk who choose not to use that particular product. And "consumer choice" is quite a buzzword these days!

Slightly less good news about security: it does depend on which browser you use. Firefox is the most popular, but popularity can be a mixed blessing in this game as it's become a target for hackers. As Slashdot reports, 40 vulnerabilities have been found in Firefox since March (as opposed to only 10 for Internet Explorer).

You'll probably be OK, as long as you keep Firefox up to date or use an alternative such as Konqueror (my current browser of choice). Its basic performance is just as good, although it doesn't have the handy extension system that Firefox offers.
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 September 22, 2005 6:17 AM

PS.
I forgot to add that I have a vision/focus problem and I cannot read anything less than size 3 (12pt in Care2) from my screen, even with IE cranked up to "Largest" in Text Size from View menu.
Thankyou...  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 September 22, 2005 6:13 AM

Hello everyone.
I was pointed here by the word "Linux".  I am totally computer illiterate and my Windoze run laptop (Dell Inspiron) running a dial-up connection keeps being attacked. I use Norton, but that now tells me that its is full up with blocked addresses so I have to block each intrusion displayed by Norton by hand, and that blocks my progress until I have delt with each alert.

I was told by a friend that Linux does not need Internet Security, but it may not serve me with the same choice that Windoze does.
My question is, will Linux facilitate the same options that I use within Care2 (and other places of call) as Windoze and Internet & MSN Exp gives me now?

Please do not think I am ignoring you if I do not answer straight away, as I have personal reasons that may have me travelling to be with someone that can no longer travel. 

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Dont get me started September 13, 2005 3:40 PM

Its called the Information Society.. or the Human Technic.

It starts w/ the Egyptian Empire and their need to create an engineering communication system to build their weird edifices.. and it goes thru the parasitic Roman engineering system, the benevolence of King Arthur and the Alchemy of Merlin, to the frustration of the first lab scientists

In todays mix, its not so much money (they have difficulty imagining how much they have accumulated) its about Control, Authority where Adolph Hitler is the best documented bastard in history.

It is pretty obvious where he got his ideas, the Romans and the Aryan system of East India, but the connections back to him and to the Romans from Micro$oft and Bush are less obvious

That is why we need to constantly define needs and refine systems...

like I said  ...


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hahahaha September 13, 2005 2:56 PM

John.. Pleased to meet You my friend. I am  passive as well .. mostly. Corporate giants sicken me when they stop at nothing for a lousy dollar that has been up some strippers butt, and God only knows where else. There are more important things in life then $$$ and power but the media, programs our children otherwise and has left us with a generation of gun toting maniacs. I'm going to have a lot of fun here I think.. thanks again for the hello  [ send green star]
 
I am generally a pacifistic person, but... September 13, 2005 2:00 PM

I LOVE the way you phrase this:

it kicks micro$oft in the teeth.


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Hi September 13, 2005 12:05 PM

Linux is great. it performs admirably, and it kicks micro$oft in the teeth. If linux performed horribly, I'd still prefer it to the monopolistic, can't do this, and let's activate that winblos desktop. Maybe the linux philosophy will permeate the capitalist pig mentality and people will say something like, " let's do this thing because it's the right thing to do, ALL people will benefit from it, and we aint gonna make a dime ".. Nah !  never happen  [ send green star]
 
Please Introduce Yourself !! August 27, 2005 2:53 PM

Hi, the group is slowly but surely growing.

The problems associated with Micro$oft and the genuine goodness of Linux and Free and Truly Open Software cannot be lost on activists.

I think it is hard even for me, a studyier of the Information Society, to totally fathom the problems with Micro$oft.

So.. tell us who you are and what you need to do to get working w/ Linux, we are only too happy to help  [ send green star]
 
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