Seeking Technical assistance

[bronwynrh]

Hello, LJ. I know I said I'd post a recap of my Big Friday adventures, but I think I'll save that for the one weekaversary - tomorrow. In the meantime, I have a question for the more computer-savvy among you.

Now that I no longer have to use my laptop for my labwork, and particularly now that my hard drive appears to want nothing more than to die, I'd like to give the old girl an overhaul. Here's what I'm thinking. . . Get an external HD and dump all my music/movies/pictures onto it for safekeeping. Wipe the laptop HD. Install Linux and be free of Windows forever.

Sound good? Sounds great to me. I'm already a huge fan of Firefox and Thunderbird, so I'm primed and ready to move beyond the Windows prisonfold. I'm especially ready to get away from those dad-blamed Service Packs and Window Updates that plague me several times a week only to eat up my HD space and, apparently, crash the whole shebang. Over and over and over again.

Here's where you come in. I've read a little about Linux installation and know that I have some choices among distributions. Which distributions do you guys love? "You guys" being the Linux-users among you :-)

SuSE looks good as far as software packages go, if it means I can get good word-processing and spreadsheet programs, and if it means I can still use quicken and that my laptop will still play nicely with my DellDJ (ie, will Musicmatch work?). Do you prefer RedHat? Why?

Oh. And will I be able to run Oregon Trail in Linux?
(this last will be very important someday soon)

Comments

[wog.livejournal.com]

If your hard drive is getting bad sectors, making weird noises, etc, installing linux isn't going to help a thing.

My limited experience:

Debian: Was so frustrating to install that I gave up. Didn't support the ethernet card on the laptop anyway, so it was useless to me.

Fedora Core 2(Red Hat): Beautiful installer and interface, doesn't do anything to scare the user, etc. Biggest complaints are that you have to install a seperate package to enable MP3 playback via the included XMMS(winamp clone). Also didn't read NTFS(Windows XP partitions) without more nasty installation. Ran sound on my laptop without effort, which was awesome.

Mandrake: Has to be my favorite so far. Installer is very friendly, though not as polished as Fedora. Sound required a small option change, but wasn't a big deal. MP3 playback worked out of the box, and it autodetected and mounted my Windows XP partition read-only, so I could read my music, documents, etc. If I was going to make a full-time switch, I'd do mandrake. Also wins points for being undeniably cute.

Before you take the plunge at all, download and install Knoppix. It's a linux distribution that runs completely off a CD without touching your hard drive. It'll be a little slower opening programs, but at least you'll have some idea what you're dealing with. I used it recently when my partition table was borked, and it gave me a web browser, etc until I was back on my feet.

One thing I'm gathering you don't know is that Windows programs will *not* run on Linux. I know there's a caveat that involves emulation programs and such... but it's very hit-or-miss. If you use a lot of fancy scientific dohicky programs that are Windows-based, I'd give up on running Linux only. There are probably alternative ways of accessing your MP3 player in Linux, but it's not going to be as easy as Musicmatch.

Let me warn you... Linux is tough. Cryptic, complex, and generally unfriendly if you have to install anything other than what came with the OS. If you're willing to take on the steep learning curve, then do so... But keep in mind, I (Computer Science Major Extrodinare) have given up on Linux until I have more time and inclination. It is possible to run a happy WindowsXP installation, and it mostly involves stable hardware, antivirus, and spyware removers. Firefox and Thunderbird are both programs I use, and they're incredible examples of how open-source software can be such a Good Thing(TM). They are not, however, indicative of what you can expect from every linux project.

To sum up: Reformat and reinstall windows, dual-boot linux and windows, or get another computer and boot one OS on each. If you're looking for something to make the headaches go away, Linux probably won't do it for you right now.

Have you thought about a nice used iBook? Tracie is a Mac fanatic, and she's shown me how it can be a beautiful thing. Borrow someone's OSX computer and play with it for a little while, and you might be surprised like I was. You could probably get a good amount of money for your cruddy notebook on eBay, and can build a tricked-out iBook on apple.com for well under $1500.

Longest. Reply. Ever.

[iltamies.livejournal.com]

I agree with most everything Wog says here. Especially the windows programs doesn't play nice with Linux thing. There is a great program called "Crossover Office" that is based off of another windows-layer emulation and works -sometimes- for programs. However, the single best recommendation I see him give is to download and toss in the Knoppix CD. This is a great example of giving a "live demonstration" of Linux to you without risk of doing most anything harmful to your computer.

If you -do- decide to take the plunge, I'd say go Mandrake. It's prettier and easier than Redhat, can use most Redhat RPM's (install packages for new software) and has very very good hardware compatibility.

[whizkid1357.livejournal.com]

I personally use Mandrake. But for starters I would recommend that they download the Knoppix CD and try running that and see how they like it.

I do have to agree that if you have the moolah, an iBook might be the way to go in this situation.

You might be interested in this website:
http://www.djhacks.com/

If you want to play games I would recommend that you stick with windows. BTW It seems like Oregon Trail would work on a Mac.

Good luck with whatever you choose. And congratulation Dr. Ramey.