Planning To Install Linux

:woot: I'm finally planng to install Linux on my system to see how well I can aquafy it. I guess this change has resulted from the fact that Windows -> Mac transformation has become too err easy and ****-like in the sense that any average Joe can do it.

I studied Red Hat Linux 7 for just 1 sem in school so I'm not like a total beginner to Linux. I know the basic terminal commands and how to install RPMs and stuff like that. But regarding stuff like installing themes or which desktop manager is best to use for emulation, you guys will have to help me out.

For starters I need to know which Linux I should install. I just spent the past 2 hours reading all the threads in this forum and I notice that everyone seems to be using Slackware. Why is this? I've already downloaded Red Hat 9. Should I go ahead with RH9 or download Slackware instead?

From the forum threads I'm getting an inclination towards GNOME since most of the themes I've seen here are for GNOME or Gtk2 (someone plz explain the difference here). There don't seem to be too many good themes for KDE.

Thanks for all your help and I hope to like aquafying Linux as much as I have enjoyed it on Windows.

Sid

BTW Linux fonts are beautiful compared to Windows fonts eh? That's cool :canadian:

P.S. contra, go easy on me. :banging:

#75609

Gentoo Power :who's your daddy:

Personally, i think its the best distro so far. It has the Portage system, which i think is the easiest way of installing apps on Linux. This will of course work best for those with fast internet connection, because it actually downloads the neweset version of an app.

I would strongly recommend you to try it out

#75614

Alright I will give it a shot but you still haven't explained why most people in this forum shy away from RedHat9

Contra...help!

#75615

Hello there..

Moving into linux is a great think its a step closer to mac os x (coz its unix based).

Now To answer your question about which distro to get, Red hat 9 is good but for a ****ie I would suggest Mandrake 9.1 it is more user friendly plus it detects most of the hardware.

Linux is good for modding go to www.kde-looks.org and see plus download a program call super karamba which is the Yz dock (plus) of the linux world

PM me if u need any help

cheerz

#75618

Yeah I have heard of SuperKaramba, I intend to give it a try after I install Linux. I have used Mandrake 9 and I kinda get confused with Mandrake's user interface...I'm kinda used to RedHat I guess. Have you heard of Slackware? Can you tell me why most people here seem to be using Slackware?

BTW kde-looks seems to be down.

EDIT: Oops.....just read the rules and realized this ain't the right place for this topic...*Moved* :staffs here:

#75621

get redhat 9.2 "shrike"(me thinks) also get the latest gnome distro, 2.4 (me thinks).

i just installed mandrake, was hell.

also if you are planning to use wireless, plz make sure that the drivers are available.

#75674

Slackware is one of the popular american distros although I never used it, mainlly the diffrence between distros is not that much, mostly its in the programs which comes with each ones.

#75676

go for mandrake 9.2 http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en

i've only used a couple of systems, but i've found it aquifies quite well (redhat do some weird things with their menu bars) and isn't just easy, it has the best configuration tools around.

(contra, don't lecture me on bash, i don't want to hear it )

If you want to try redhat, its now called Fedora http://fedora.redhat.com

-fissy

#75713

If you want to try a very reliable distro, you should try college linux. IT works very well

#75724

Well, Id go with either mandrake or Fedora. I would recommend Mandrake, but their 9.2 release seems kind of flaky.

I would also recommend GNOME. Even though there's more themes for KDE, GNOME has GOOD LOOKING themes (mostly provided by people on this forum).

One nice thing about Linux is that you dont need any special program to make themes.

Also, everything is customizable, so if you're up for a challenge, Linux is right for you.

Yes,the fonts can be much better, but sometimes it takes a little tweaking. The default fonts in Fedora are CRAP! Its amazing how bad they look. They are OVER Anti Aliased and way too blurry.

But the good news is that its easy to adjust, there's a nice GNOME GUI that lets you choose AA and Font Hinting settings.

You can also grap the MS CORE fonts and the BITSTREAM VERA fonts, they seem to be the best. I use a combination of those.

Suggestion:

Mandrake can use URPMI and Fedora can use YUM and APT. These are both systems for automated package management, so learn to use them, as they will save you LOADS of trouble.

Suggestion 2:

Be sure to turn off lots of services once you install the system. Mandrake and Redhat both start like EVERY service they can, and this will pull your system into a crawl (not to mention being insecure).

So turn off every server and other services you don't need. If you're unsure, just ask here.

Good Luck!

#75734

i love the fonts in Fedora, the first thing i noticed when i installed was how close they were to osX standard.

Maybe the setup was just suited to my screen.

I haven't noticed anything flaky about MDK9,2, not an astounding improvement, but its still good.

9.2 has a really nice graphical boot and shutdown. (Fedora doesn't have the shutdown). I'm sure they are both skinnable too.

#75741

Fedora..hmm. Well I downloaded the 3 ISOs off the Redhat server (www.redhat.com). I suppose they are RedHat9. Should I go ahead with those or re-download from the Fedora link?

#75745

now that depends on your connection and how many cds you've got.

check out whether you can upgrade easily to fedora by just typing a few commands in redhat and waiting for an hour or so. You ought to be able to, there isn't much between them.

I've been using redhat 9 packages in fedora for example.

Because there so similar, just use redhat. Its not the end of the world if you can't do an update anyway.

-fissy

#75751

Originally posted by Sid@Nov 9 2003, 09:13 PM

Fedora..hmm. Well I downloaded the 3 ISOs off the Redhat server (www.redhat.com). I suppose they are RedHat9. Should I go ahead with those or re-download from the Fedora link?

Yes, do.

Make sure you get Fedora, its much better than RH9.

#75752

Alright....I'm downloading right now. It'll just take a couple of hours. Doesn't really make a big difference to me. 3 Mbps connection.

#75754

lol so who do you trust the most??

check out whether you can upgrade to fedora from redhat using one of the built in tools. The only thing that is updated (that you'll really care about) is a minor review of gnome.

edit: ok,can't argue with 3MB

#75755

Heheh I trust you both (but contra has a cool avatar and he's a g33k) :canadian:

Thanks for all the input though Fissy. I really appreciate all the help I can get right now.

#75756

some first advice: go here: http://www.aqua-soft.org/board/index.php?s...?showtopic=6446

Install his stuff... thats a very good starting place for aquifing.

after that you've got to write us an opengl dock, have fun!!

#75758

Nerds! Nerds! Nerds! Nerds! :cheers:

If linux gets a better emulation im so switching.

#75762

you better watch out Goku, we're taking over

emulation is getting better and better, we just need a dock!

#75763

Agreed.....GrandMasta's themes are incredible and the thing that makes OS X look so much 'cleaner' than Windows are the fonts and Windows fonts will never be as good as Linux or OS X.

#75764

Originally posted by B3nd1k@Nov 9 2003, 04:52 PM

Gentoo Power  :who's your daddy:

Personally, i think its the best distro so far. It has the Portage system, which i think is the easiest way of installing apps on Linux. This will of course work best for those with fast internet connection, because it actually downloads the neweset version of an app.

I would strongly recommend you to try it out

B3nd1k!

w00t!

You're the man! Genius genius genius..

GENTOO ROCKS!

I highly recommend it to anybody willing to learn insane amounts of stuff about Linux, and yet have one of the fastest, most streamlined OSes ever...

#75769

Sid, you must learn one of the most important and prevailant things in linux:

The distro war.

Watch, as I give an example:

GENTOO SUCKS ASS!

Class dismissed.

Fissy: Redhat can update the whole system via YUM. In fact, it was able to loooong before Mandrake. Since Redhat 6.x I believe.

#75771

Originally posted by contrasutra@Nov 9 2003, 10:07 PM

Sid, you must learn one of the most important and prevailant things in linux:

The distro war.

Watch, as I give an example:

GENTOO SUCKS ASS!

Class dismissed.

Fissy: Redhat can update the whole system via YUM. In fact, it was able to loooong before Mandrake. Since Redhat 6.x I believe.

FLAMER!!!

Explain yourself or in other words gimme a reason why Gentoo sucks.

#75776

after you've finished the 2 day install you'll agree with contra

and me

#75778