Unix = Linux ?????

[Matata]

Is LINUX the same thing as UNIX a they are two diffrent things???

[Hacktarux]

Linux is a Unix clone, but Unix isn't Linux.
If you want to learn more i suggest you to search for the history of linux in google.

[Remote]

For all you lazy people, including me...;)

The+history+of+linux

[Matata]

Thanks, I´m lazy too. :)

[Matata]

So UNIX it´s like the base of LINUX right????
So if I want to install Linux in my computer...

1)Which distribution/s are the best?
2)What are the pros and cons of Linux against Windows?
3)Is it stable?
4)What are the diffrences of the diffrents distributions?
5)Is it hard to use?
6)Does the diffrents distributions look diffrent?
7)Can you show me a few Linux screenshots?

Thanks.

[Matata]

Just one more thing: Is it available in spanish????

[mesman00]

So UNIX it´s like the base of LINUX right????
So if I want to install Linux in my computer...

1)Which distribution/s are the best?
2)What are the pros and cons of Linux against Windows?
3)Is it stable?
4)What are the diffrences of the diffrents distributions?
5)Is it hard to use?
6)Does the diffrents distributions look diffrent?
7)Can you show me a few Linux screenshots?

Thanks.

1. mandrake is great for beginners. also might want to try RedHat. Gentoo is a great distro if you want to be bothered compiling it yourself. But since you've never used before, you might want to try a distro with a nice install program (like windows has) and then just get used to the OS in general. Then you can try something different. It's up to you. If it were me i would probably start right with Gentoo and know absolutely nothing about what I am doing. That's what I did. Sure have learned alot about linux, but not nearly enough. If you read around techtalk you will see many a post by me concerning (simple) linux problems.

2. open source. everything is free, and there is a linux counterpart for just about every windows application. look for open-office as a counterpart to ms office, xmms for a counterpart to winamp, etc. nuff said

3. stable. yes, extremely.

4. each distro varies on user friendliness and other things. Like i said, mandrake is very user friendly. However, other distros like gentoo can be optimized and compiled specifically for your system, giving you the greatest performance on your system. Also, gentoo uses ebuilds which eliminates those nasty rpm's. to download/compile/install most applications all you have to do is have a fast internet connection (broadband, etc) and type "emerge <insert application name here>".

5. it's not that it's hard, it's just different from windows. most things are done from the bash (command prompt), such as copying files and folders and compiling applications. in windows you have step-by-step installation's for your applications. linux doesn't have this. you need to compile most apps by yourself. these are a few examples of the differences.

6. linux itself doesn't have a window manager, ie it is just a command prompt. thus, all linux distro's look the same. However, most users use window managers (giving you the feel of "windows"). there a few different window managers which are commonly used. I think the two most popular are KDE and GNOME. They have there difference, and you can use either until you figure out which you like more. Personally i use KDE.

7. for some kde-shots visit http://www.kde-look.org. you can also visit gentoo's site for some shots of users running gentoo linux with both KDE and GNOME. http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/shots.xml

hope that helps. i'm sure other people have insight as well.

[Matata]

Thanks for all the info, but I´ll try to learn more about linux before jumping into it...

[Matata]

Well, I´ve seen some screenshots and it looks pretty neat but something I don´t understand is the command prompt thing and compiling, what´s compiling?
How do you know wich commands you should use in the command prompt do do a certain thing??

[Matata]

Just one more thing: In wich way do you mean gentoo can be optimized specifically for my system?
Why do I need an internet connection to install something? Is a 256 kb/s enough?
Is it always a good idea to leave XP installed isn´t it?

IS IT AVAILABLE IN SPANISH????????

[3x3cUt0r]

you can compile the distros by yourself, and make them more system specific... because sometimes you doesnt need a kernel with all the features... like compatibility with specific hardware, and you can make linux run w/o a GUI, just the console

you asked what compiling means... is when you take the source code (you know what is this?), and you use a compiler to make a build of the program (like the .exe you use in windows)

if you need more help just pm me (igual soy de colombia y hablo español asi te podria ayudar mas)

[Matata]

Thanks a lot all of you guy, I get it now.
Just one more think: Is it available in spanish?

[linemu]

It is available in spanish... and in every other langauge I know of. :)
Also... if you just want to try it out, there are many live-cd distributions, these distro's run completely off of the CD-ROM drive, and are great if you are "testing the water". In my opinion SuSE linux is awesome! I use a older version of it (8.1), and the new 9.0 release looks great! Go to www.suse.com for more info. You can download a live-cd of SuSE from here: ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/live-eval-9.0/. And as for screenshots... you can look the "show me your desktop" thread here in the waaaay off topic section.... I just posted a screenshot of my desktop here. Other good screenshot places are:

here: http://www.kde-look.org/index.php?xcontentmode=screenshot

and here: http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=38967

there also a number of good emulators for linux including: XMAME, ZSNES, Mupen64, INES, DGEN, SNES9X, and VisualBoy Advance.
If you decide to install linux: HAVE FUN!
:D
BTW: www.justlinux.com is an awesome linux support forum, it has over 57,000 users! ;)
:D

[Matata]

Si ti is available in spanish....great!
Thanks for the info (specially for the live-cd thing)

[Matata]

Well, I think SuSe is the one to start with since it does all of the important things for you (maybe when I gain more experience Icould switch to Gentoo).

I´ve seen a lot of talk about Slackware in some forums, What about it? Is it a good distro?

[Matata]

I´ve read around there that Linux does not suport any hardware, now: I want to try SuSE Live-CD but the question is: Will it work with my hardware? How can I know that it will? Is the Live-CD distro going to mess up with WinXP or anything in my PC?

[Eagle]

The Live distro will not touch your hard drive unless you do it yourself manually.

The live distro does have limited hardware capability because you cant install any new drivers (its on a CD, how would you do that?). But the normal distro's have full hardware support for your hardware. Usually the limited hardware support on the live distro is stuff like 3d acceleration, but the video will work.

[Matata]

Ok, I tryed SuSe and I must say it´s REALLY COOL!!! It´s pretty fast (much more than XP to me) and it looks really great. Now here are my questions:

1)Since I have to make a partition in the HD to install SuSE, is there any way to create a partition without having to format the HD (because my father doesn´t like changes in the PC) because I want to leave XP installed.

2)Is the boot menu created automatically by SuSE when you install it?

3)Can you recommend me a good anti-virus for Linux?

4)What´s WineHQ?

5)Is openoffice already installed when you install SuSE?

6)What´s an FTP install?

7)How can I learn how to compile things (because I read that you have to compile by yourself most of the things you want to install in Linux).

Thanks.

[linemu]

Ok, I tryed SuSe and I must say it´s REALLY COOL!!! It´s pretty fast (much more than XP to me) and it looks really great. Now here are my questions:

1)Since I have to make a partition in the HD to install SuSE, is there any way to create a partition without having to format the HD (because my father doesn´t like changes in the PC) because I want to leave XP installed.

2)Is the boot menu created automatically by SuSE when you install it?

3)Can you recommend me a good anti-virus for Linux?

4)What´s WineHQ?

5)Is openoffice already installed when you install SuSE?

6)What´s an FTP install?

7)How can I learn how to compile things (because I read that you have to compile by yourself most of the things you want to install in Linux).

Thanks.

Here are some answers:

1. The latest version 9.0 should automatically partition windows and linux so they can run side by side.

2. I believe so

3. Can't really answer you on this... but there are no viruses for linux, they are all programmed to run on windows computers, and do not harm linux.

4. WineHQ is an organization that makes the WINE software. WINE stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. It's a program that can run some windows software.

5. With my version (8.1) an icon for openoffice.org was up, but when I clicked on it, it went through the installation. So it installs the installation program.

6. This install is a install that loads directly from the internet. You download a installer program which then downloads all the software and installs it. Personally I would recommend buying the profesional edition from amazon.com for $60... it comes with TONS and TONS of software... and if you want to compile programs, then it's sort of a must, because although you can search around through the internet looking for the libraries needed to compile programs, it's much easier to have them all on a disk.

7. Well.. I suppose I could help you here. (I complile ALL of my programs now, since the precompiled programs don't run on my version any more). The first thing is to have all the development libraries installed. If you look at the requirements of the programs and for example, it says it needs GTK, then you'll need the GTK_devel package installed, or if it says SDL then you need SDL_devel package installed, etc. The compiling itself is VERY simple. This is the way I do it. I run Konqueror, the default file manager, extract the source package, then go into the source directory that was extracted. In the directory there will be two files that must be noted, a file called CONFIGURE (this one is not ALWAYS in here though) and one called MAKEFILE. On konqueror I there is a setting in the tool-bar to turn on the TERMINAL EMULATOR. This opens a little command prompt in which you can type in commands for the directory you are in. First you type ./configure (if the file CONFIGURE is in the directory, if not just do the second command), then type MAKE. this will build the executables. You can then install the executables in the program directory or run them from where they are. If you wish to install them in the program directory (usr/local/) then you must have super-user file permisions (a user account cannot affect system directories). Type in SU in the terminal emulator, and then type in the ROOT password you set during the installation. Then type MAKE INSTALL. NOW YOU'RE done. That may seem difficult.. but it's not. Here's a shortened version.

1. extract source package, go into extracted directory

2. on the menu-bar click on WINDOW--->OPEN TERMINAL EMULATOR.

3. In terminal type in ./configure

4. Then type in MAKE.

5. then, su , and then enter your password.

6. then type MAKE INSTALL.
--------------------------------------------
If it didn't then go to www.justlinux.com, I HIGHLY recommend that you become a member at this forum. It has over 57,000 members , many of which are linux experts. THEY CAN ANSWER ALL OF YOUR LINUX QUESTIONS. It's an excellent support forum... and of course there are many SuSE 9.0 users there that can help you with more SuSE specific stuff. :)
You're welcome if this helped you at all! ;)

[Matata]

8)When I chose to use Spanish as my lenguage in SuSE everything stays in engish, Is it because it´s just a CD Evaluation?

[linemu]

8)When I chose to use Spanish as my lenguage in SuSE everything stays in engish, Is it because it´s just a CD Evaluation?

Hmmm..... I wouldn't know the answer to this one. I suppose you should ask it in a linux specific forum.

[Matata]

Thanks linemu! You´re a great help.

So I don´t have to format my harddrive to install linux with XP? You sure? There is no way the files in my HD will be lost because my dad would kill me!

[Matata]

I can´t find a hardware compatibility list for suse! There´s not one in the official site... Where can I get one? because I don´t know if my hardware is fully compatible with suse yet...

KDE is already inclueded and installed with SuSE isn´t it?

[Matata]

Could you make me a list of the most important linux counterparts (i.e:open-office instead of ms oficce)

Does Norton Systemworks work in SuSE?

[Matata]

I have 30 GB of total disk space and 12 GB free. How many GBs would Linux need to work properly?

[AlphaWolf]

RE: anti-virus. The way that linux is designed is so that user level applications can't control the entire system. If you don't always run as root, then for the most part you should be just fine as the virus can't do any system wide damage.

[Matata]

So I´m safe if I´m using Linux even if I don´t have an anti-virus? How Cool!!!

[Matata]

Ok, I´m downloading SuSE 9.0, the file is 5 cd´s large, so that should cover pretty much everything I need to use Linux as my main OS, isn´t it?

[Hacktarux]

RE: anti-virus. The way that linux is designed is so that user level applications can't control the entire system. If you don't always run as root, then for the most part you should be just fine as the virus can't do any system wide damage.

While i agree that there's no known serious virus on linux, i have a slightly different opinion. I mean, you're using your computer to manipulate your data, not to run an OS, if a viris can attack your own files, it's as bad as if it's attacking the OS. If you lose all your data, what will you do with you perfectly working OS ? I know you're familiar with linux and you know how to protect your data, i'm just answering to your comment because i've seen many people in the past few months believing that linux is a magic thing that always protect your data against everybody, that's false, beginner linux users can be abused like the average windows user.

On linux like on windows, when you have to run a new binary, be a paranoïd and double check the origine of the file. If you don't know exactly what the file is, it's not worth taking the risk. That's the best known antivirus IMO.

Edit: in this post i'm referring to a classical personnal computer use (ie: not a server with thousand users)

[Eagle]

While were on the subject, what is a good MD5 check summer program? I used to have a good one but cant find it now.

[Matata]

But where can I get a Linux Anti-Virus then? Also:

Which MSN chat program should I use?
Which Download Manager (like DAP) should I use?
Can I use Kazaa Lite in Linux? And eMule?
Will my HD be formmated when Linux creates the partition to install Linux with XP?

[Hacktarux]

But where can I get a Linux Anti-Virus then? Also:

Which MSN chat program should I use?
Which Download Manager (like DAP) should I use?
Can I use Kazaa Lite in Linux? And eMule?
Will my HD be formmated when Linux creates the partition to install Linux with XP?

Erm, Windows antivirus protects you against well known virus that are spreading widely accross the networks. But it doesn't protect you against a lazy teenager who's sending you a malicious binary that's erasing some of your data... It's the same thing on linux except there's no known big virus like on windows hence you don't need an antivirus, but if you don't take care of what you're doing, you can still have your data corupted by some program like on windows.

[Matata]

ho, ok, thanks.

And another thing I forgot: Can I use WinRAR in Linux?

[Eagle]

Found it, if anyone needs it

http://winmd5sum.solidblue.biz/

[linemu]

counterpart list:
openoffice = MS office
XMMS = Winamp
Kdevelop = Microsoft visual C++
Gimp = Adobe Photoshop
Evolution = Microsoft Outlook
GAIM = any IM program
I might think of more later. :)

[linemu]

ho, ok, thanks.

And another thing I forgot: Can I use WinRAR in Linux?

never tried... but there is probably a program that can extract .rar files for linux.
look here.
http://www.icewalkers.com/Linux/Software/System/Files/Compression/1880/

[linemu]

Thanks linemu! You´re a great help.

So I don´t have to format my harddrive to install linux with XP? You sure? There is no way the files in my HD will be lost because my dad would kill me!

Look at this.
http://www.suse.com/us/private/products/suse_linux/i386/linwin.html
It should automatically partition it correctly.
I know how you feel... I accidentally reformatted my dads hard-drive installing SuSE 8.1... 8.1 didn't support XP partitioning :(. Good thing we had just got the computer a couple weeks ago, and not much was on it.
But the new version says it supports XP.

[linemu]

But where can I get a Linux Anti-Virus then? Also:

Which MSN chat program should I use?
Which Download Manager (like DAP) should I use?
Can I use Kazaa Lite in Linux? And eMule?
Will my HD be formmated when Linux creates the partition to install Linux with XP?

look here for emule
http://sourceforge.net/projects/lmule

and here's a howto on installing kazaa lite.
http://www.justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=109746&highlight=kazaa+lite

[Matata]

Whoa, you´´re great, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

[linemu]

Here's some handy links.

HUGE support forum
-www.justlinux.com

eye-candy!
-www.kdelook.org

Lots-o-software
-www.freshmeat.net

GAMES!
-www.happypenguin.org

Linux news!
-www.madpenguin.org

enjoy! ;)

[linemu]

And don't forget... if you have a Nvidia or ATI card you can get 3D open-gl acceleration, but you MUST download the linux drivers from Nvidia's and ATI's sites. The bundled video drivers do no feature 3D acceleration. Although Voodoo cards DO have 3D acceleration out of the box. Another thing.. don't forget about the exellent N64 emulator, Mupen64, here on this site.

[Matata]

Ialready downloaded the lastest nVidia drivers for my card, Are those or I need Linux specific drivers?

Do you know of a good Linux Download Manager?

With all the programs inclued in the 5 CD´s I´m downloading I have everything I need?, I mean: I can remove Win XP and have only SuSE?

[linemu]

Ialready downloaded the lastest nVidia drivers for my card, Are those or I need Linux specific drivers?

Do you know of a good Linux Download Manager?

With all the programs inclued in the 5 CD´s I´m downloading I have everything I need?, I mean: I can remove Win XP and have only SuSE?

Yes you'll need the linux specific drivers installed. And whether or not you can remove Win XP will depend on what you want to do. Of course I think that before doing anything like removing Windows you should be very comfortable working with linux.

the linux nvidia drivers can be obtained here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_display_ia32_1.0-4496 :)

[Matata]

Yeah but I mean: I will be able to do the same things and manage the same filetypes with linux as I did with windows? Because my HD is only 30 GB and having the windows programs installed as well as their linux counterpart is going to fill up all my entire HD ( I have only 13 GB left) and with all those programs installed my PC will be slow as hell,tht´s why it would be good to have only one OS installed, that´s why I want to know...
You only have SuSE installed, don´t you?

[Matata]

Oh and about the N64 emus: You can have PJ64 or 1946 in Linux using WineX (that´s what I heard).

[linemu]

Yeah but I mean: I will be able to do the same things and manage the same filetypes with linux as I did with windows? Because my HD is only 30 GB and having the windows programs installed as well as their linux counterpart is going to fill up all my entire HD ( I have only 13 GB left) and with all those programs installed my PC will be slow as hell,tht´s why it would be good to have only one OS installed, that´s why I want to know...
You only have SuSE installed, don´t you?

One of the things I like about linux is that it's compatible with (and uses) almost every windoze file type. On my linux computer I can listen to MP3's (although I have a giant music collection ripped in OGG format), view/edit/create/ jpeg,png,BMP, and other image formats, watch .mpeg and .avi videos, unzip .zip files. Using openoffice I can create/edit/view/ ms word files, ms powerpoint files, and excel files. Plain text files are still .txt files, etc. Unfortunately there is no quicktime player for linux, but this can be remedied using this: http://www.codeweavers.com/site/products/cxplugin/?cw=df5eefa03c4d48b9364e586f43393061
the above is "crossover plugin" a piece of software that allows you to install quicktime player,windows media player, and flash browser plugins. The demo version is exactly like the full version, except it displays a little screen reminding you to buy it every once in a while (the messages are pretty funny though :D).
And also... MY computer (I built it early this year) only has SuSE on it, but it has no internet connection. My parents have a windows only computer with an awesome broadband connection. So I use my parents computer to download stuff for my linux computer, and to browse the internet, but I use my computer for everything else. As a note, my Linux computer, and the windows computer, are compatible with all their file types (except programs), and I have never encountered a problem taking files from one computer and using them on the other. :D

[Matata]

Ok thanks. One more question: I have Outlook 2000 and I need to keep all my contacs and eMails from Outlook. Is there a way to trasspass them to KMail or Evolution???

[Matata]

I just tryed to post my email problem in JustLinux but everytime I try to post says I´m not logged in so I can´t post anything. Could you post this problem for me in JustLinux? that´s if you don´t know how to fix this yourself of course).

[linemu]

I just tryed to post my email problem in JustLinux but everytime I try to post says I´m not logged in so I can´t post anything. Could you post this problem for me in JustLinux? that´s if you don´t know how to fix this yourself of course).

Just posted it, you can check it out for yourself... my screen name there is vader89. The name of the post is "Outlook contacts in Evolution?". :)

[Matata]

Thanks a lot! Just one more thing before I change to SuSE (if this problem fixes of course): Can I use AutoCAD in Linux? That would be the final requisite for me.

Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!

[linemu]

Thanks a lot! Just one more thing before I change to SuSE (if this problem fixes of course): Can I use AutoCAD in Linux? That would be the final requisite for me.

Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!

Not AutoCAD... but there are several equivelent programs.

1. Varicad - Commercial. price: $400
www.varicad.com
this one looks nice... but the price tag is pretty heavy. It also says it specifically supports SuSE 9.0

2. CYCAS - Commercial. price: free for non-commercial use, $68 for the "basic" version for commercial use. $118 for the "campus" version . "pro" version costs $228.
www.cycas.de
This one looks pretty good as well... the price is O.K.

3. LinuxCad - Commercial. price: $180/$99 depending on version
www.linuxcad.com
The site Boasts: "Implements ALL core features of AutoCad in a VERY compatible way. NO learning curve for AutoCad users!"
this one has been around since 1998, but says it has been enhanced, and upgraded since then.

heres some links to some FREE programs. :D
http://thancad.sourceforge.net/
http://www.soffernet.com/jaime/fandango/
http://lignumcad.sourceforge.net/doc/en/HTML/index.html
http://www.giram.org/
http://qs.co.nz/Tcl/QSCad/
http://freeengineer.org/
http://www.nocrew.org/software/ocadis/
http://www.pythoncad.org/
http://www.opencascade.org/
:)

I posted your Evolution/Outlook question on another forum as well. ;)
You MIGHT be able to get AutoCad working in WINE but.. I wouldn't count on it.
Check THIS out: http://www.suse.com/us/private/products/suse_linux/winerack/index.html

[Matata]

Thanks man, you´re really helping me out here!

Well that´s it, if my email problem is fixed I´ll do the change but if there´s no way to fix it, well, it´s not gonna be posibe because of my dad´s work... Let´s see what happens...

[Matata]

I have another question: If I use Wine to use Outlook 2000 in SuSE, will Outlook be as stable and fast as it was in Win XP? What about Word and Exel?

[Matata]

Okay I just checked at Wine´s HopePage and it barely works but What abut CrossOver? Does it work well?

[linemu]

just got a tip from someone on a forum. He says:

install Mozilla in Windows, import into Mozilla, then copy the mail folder from mozilla into a linux dir, import from there.

[linemu]

Okay I just checked at Wine´s HopePage and it barely works but What abut CrossOver? Does it work well?

this lists some of the bugs with running outlook in crossover office.
http://www.codeweavers.com/site/products/cxoffice/supported_apps/?id=5
But since you have SuSE 9.0, I would recommend SuSE wine rack... it includes: Crossover plugin, Winex, Crossover office, and the game "marble blast". I sort of want to buy it.. but it says that only SuSE 9.0 is supported :(.

[Matata]

Well I´ll have to try that Mozilla thing because using Outlook doesn´t seems to be a good option...

[linemu]

Well I´ll have to try that Mozilla thing because using Outlook doesn´t seems to be a good option...

yeah... I think it's the best option

[Matata]

But how come I can export all my emails and contacts to mozilla if it´s a web browser?

[linemu]

But how come I can export all my emails and contacts to mozilla if it´s a web browser?

Mozilla isn't just a web browser... It also comes with a pretty good email program "mozilla mail".

[linemu]

when you install mozilla on windows, there will be a icon in the start menu, in the mozilla folder called "mail". There is a item in the menu called "import". From here you should be able to import contacts. Then you should be able to bring the imported stuff into mozilla mail in linux.

[Matata]

I already did but, which are the files I should copy to the linux mozilla to keep all my contacts and emails?