So, apart from this KDE thing-a-ma-bob, then Mandriva is OK?
KDE is just one of a number of desktops that you can use. The newest (and strangest) is KDE4. Long established are KDE3 (loosely Windows-esq), Gnome (Mac-like), and others for minimalism/speed/'clarity'. You can choose!
Quote:
I ask as : I am putting together a new 'old' box at present ( Intel Core2 Duo ~ 2Ghz, a few gig of RAM, on a Gigabyte board ) and I thought I'd have a crack at another Linux distro variety ( only one box with SUSE 10 at present in the farm ).
If you're very new to this, then I usually recommend Kubuntu (KDE) or Ubuntu (Gnome). Mandriva certainly works well and I like it for the system layout and the Mandriva configuration tools. It's also usually nicely cutting edge without getting too painfully bloody.
Quote:
[ Serious question, not wanting to spark a distro-war ..... :-) ]
I'm quite sanguine about 'which distro'. They all have their various niches. The main thing is not to be bewildered by having a choice!
Meanwhile, what's happened to Gentoo?...
Quote:
( edit ) Oh, and I really like a simple 'brain dead' type installs. :-)
The Mandriva install can be as simple or as detailed as you wish. It's your choice ;-)
I've just downloaded the 2009.0 x86_64 PWP version. To be tried very soon.
Thank you all, for your kind advice. I might give Mandriva with a Gnome a go. It is quite curious this thing about selecting an OS and an interface separately. A new joy!
I like the 'brain dead' bit, because I wasted nearly a whole weekend once on a CD bootable distro ( Knoppix ). To be of ongoing use it had to have a partition on the drive - doh, of course - to have any persistence. My misunderstanding .....
Quote:
Is a sense of humour a 'punishment', 'enhancement' or just plain 'curious' ?
Just helpful I reckon. Helps me put up with you lot.... [ ducks & runs ] :-) :-)
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
Thank you for your very informed and entertaining comments on most things physics!
Quote:
... It is quite curious this thing about selecting an OS and an interface separately. A new joy!
Curiously, that is perhaps the hardest thing to try to explain to people.
[mild rant]
I guess the Microsoft machine has been too successful in 'educating' people that all and everything computers is "Microsoft". Not sure the Windows people have discovered multiple or virtual desktops yet, let alone that you can have completely different desktops running on the same system... It's still the same OS and CPU underneath, just a different GUI...
[/mild rant]
Quote:
I like the 'brain dead' bit, because I wasted nearly a whole weekend once on a CD bootable distro ( Knoppix ). To be of ongoing use it had to have a partition on the drive - doh, of course...
A good learning exercise. Many people never get to appreciate what is inside a computer let alone where their data is physically. A bit like medieval days where your soul was thought to reside in your heart...
To keep it all simple, best is to have an entire disk to play with. Dual or multiple booting is easy enough but you need to understand where the partitions, data, and bootloader goes. To multiboot including Windows, you must install Windows first otherwise you'll rediscover that there is nothing other than Windows in this world... (According to Microsoft...) A Microsoft install will install its own bootloader and trash anything else that might be on your system, hence do the Microsoft stuff first.
Good luck,
Martin
ps: I would guess that the 64-bit Mandriva will be freely available in a month or so. If you want the "Power-Pack" or 64-bit versions now, then best is to join up to the "Mandriva Club". Very well worth it to my mind and no silly multi-megabyte EULAs!
[mild rant]
I guess the Microsoft machine has been too successful in 'educating' people that all and everything computers is "Microsoft". Not sure the Windows people have discovered multiple or virtual desktops yet, let alone that you can have completely different desktops running on the same system... It's still the same OS and CPU underneath, just a different GUI...
[/mild rant]
... Not sure the Windows people have discovered multiple or virtual desktops yet, let alone that you can have completely different desktops running on the same system...
So... Microsoft dreams up its own version of "Open Source"...
Theres many open source projects for windows software, Microsoft has nothing to do with it.
You have Virtual Desktops in both Gnome and KDE, what was talked about further up here was the option to use different desktop engines, not just virtual desktops. You can install/use whichever you like most and even use them all at the same time, switch between with alt/ctrl+alt F7/F8/F9 and so on.
Edit: I would for sure install some virtual desktop for Windows if i was still using it, but i would worry about its efficiency since the Windows desktop is closed source and doesnt have the integration possibilities you find in true OSS environments. In Windows you can only bolt it on, it can never be an integrated part as it is in Linux desktop engines.
Curiously, that is perhaps the hardest thing to try to explain to people.
I think it is one of those "you won't know until you try it" things. Then one can say "oh, that is what you meant". With M$'s numerical dominance in the market then it can be hard to budge people out of their current monetary, intellectual or, for that matter, emotional investments. Well, it was with me. However with the pace of hardware change, ever upwards in performance and ever downwards in cost, then the pains of change-over aren't prohibitive.
I was quite impressed that SUSE Linux can, when given the relevant Windows username and password, display a Windoze machine's public/shared directories and contents. I don't see M$ doing the converse. In some ways it is more simpler UI-wise than the Network Neighbourhood jiggery-pokery of M$! Seems a too mundane finding for me to report on, but then that's the way computers ought to be .....
I'm also toying with the idea of a Mac after Christmas, maybe cashing in on the after season discounts. [ Or the pre-season ones perhaps, given the trend of matters financial recently... ] While that's more closed/proprietary I feel curious enough to see what they've been going on about for the last 20+ years. :-)
So I'm sort of in a mixed farm mood, and have purchased the requisite 4-way KVM switch-a-roo. I can KVM switch between OS's and do Remote Desktop for the remaining Windoze machines. :-)
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
... I was quite impressed that SUSE Linux can, when given the relevant Windows username and password, display a Windoze machine's public/shared directories and contents. I don't see M$ doing the converse. In some ways it is more simpler UI-wise than the Network Neighbourhood jiggery-pokery of M$! Seems a too mundane finding for me to report on, but then that's the way computers ought to be .....
Good comment. There are many nice touches that you soon just take for granted. You're then spoilt when they're not there on other systems!
It is very much the case that the rest of the world must work around to the "Windows way" regardless of good or bad.
There's various examples where I'm now forced to 'pause for thought' on a Windows box for whatever trick that is easy to tweak on a Linux system that is just not 'visible' on a Windows box. I consider the huge Windows Registry as invidious.
Quote:
... So I'm sort of in a mixed farm mood, and have purchased the requisite 4-way KVM switch-a-roo. I can KVM switch between OS's and do Remote Desktop for the remaining Windoze machines. :-)
Sounds interesting. Let us know what you find!
So far, I've resisted the temptation to load up multiple Virtual Machines even though I've specced out my latest hardware for VM work...
I consider the huge Windows Registry as invidious.
I support you in this, even though all mine are Windose.
Back in the days (mid-1980s) when the 16 bit machines were the rule, I bought an Atari ST (it had access to all the business, and other, software I wanted).
The beauty of this OS (TOS 2.6) was the ROM based OS (booting was quick after memory and RAM tests). Moreover, when a new application was installed, on whatever drive chosen, all the bits (memory residents, .dlls, etc) were enclosed in the folder for that application.
No writing to the Registry, no shared .dlls, etc, and when the application was removed it was gone completely. No Registry pointers left, no unused .dlls, no problems with shared .dlls, nothing left to slow the system.
Oh for the day when the Registry is the hardware and driver database, and only written to when hardware changes occurred (upgrades, new drivers, etc).
Much cleaner, and MS could learn much this way.
Are the other OSes (Linux in various flavours and the Mac OS X) burdened with such a database (effectively)?
Shih-Tzu are clever, cuddly, playful and rule!! Jack Russell are feisty!
RE: I didn't know 'brain
)
@ Mike and Kathryn:
I'm glad to see that 'brain dead' doesn't mean 'no sense of humour' !
Oh dear, is the opposite true, ie, does 'a sense of humour' mean 'brain dead'? In that case I'm definitely 'brain dead' :D
To try pretend this is not off-topic:
Is a sense of humour a 'punishment', 'enhancement' or just plain 'curious' ?
Regards
Rod
RE: So, apart from this KDE
)
KDE is just one of a number of desktops that you can use. The newest (and strangest) is KDE4. Long established are KDE3 (loosely Windows-esq), Gnome (Mac-like), and others for minimalism/speed/'clarity'. You can choose!
If you're very new to this, then I usually recommend Kubuntu (KDE) or Ubuntu (Gnome). Mandriva certainly works well and I like it for the system layout and the Mandriva configuration tools. It's also usually nicely cutting edge without getting too painfully bloody.
I'm quite sanguine about 'which distro'. They all have their various niches. The main thing is not to be bewildered by having a choice!
Meanwhile, what's happened to Gentoo?...
The Mandriva install can be as simple or as detailed as you wish. It's your choice ;-)
I've just downloaded the 2009.0 x86_64 PWP version. To be tried very soon.
Good luck,
Martin
See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)
Thank you all, for your kind
)
Thank you all, for your kind advice. I might give Mandriva with a Gnome a go. It is quite curious this thing about selecting an OS and an interface separately. A new joy!
I like the 'brain dead' bit, because I wasted nearly a whole weekend once on a CD bootable distro ( Knoppix ). To be of ongoing use it had to have a partition on the drive - doh, of course - to have any persistence. My misunderstanding .....
Just helpful I reckon. Helps me put up with you lot.... [ ducks & runs ] :-) :-)
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
RE: Thank you all, for your
)
You're very welcome.
Thank you for your very informed and entertaining comments on most things physics!
Curiously, that is perhaps the hardest thing to try to explain to people.
[mild rant]
I guess the Microsoft machine has been too successful in 'educating' people that all and everything computers is "Microsoft". Not sure the Windows people have discovered multiple or virtual desktops yet, let alone that you can have completely different desktops running on the same system... It's still the same OS and CPU underneath, just a different GUI...
[/mild rant]
A good learning exercise. Many people never get to appreciate what is inside a computer let alone where their data is physically. A bit like medieval days where your soul was thought to reside in your heart...
To keep it all simple, best is to have an entire disk to play with. Dual or multiple booting is easy enough but you need to understand where the partitions, data, and bootloader goes. To multiboot including Windows, you must install Windows first otherwise you'll rediscover that there is nothing other than Windows in this world... (According to Microsoft...) A Microsoft install will install its own bootloader and trash anything else that might be on your system, hence do the Microsoft stuff first.
Good luck,
Martin
ps: I would guess that the 64-bit Mandriva will be freely available in a month or so. If you want the "Power-Pack" or 64-bit versions now, then best is to join up to the "Mandriva Club". Very well worth it to my mind and no silly multi-megabyte EULAs!
See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)
RE: [mild rant] I guess
)
Codeplex: Vista/XP Virtual Desktop Manager
Developer (Z-Systems) web site with some info
RE: RE: ... Not sure the
)
OK for one example of virtual desktops.
So... Microsoft dreams up its own version of "Open Source"...
Rather curious... So why is that not included as part of their standard offering or as a "PowerTools" add-on or whatever?...
Good find. Just rather 'curious'...
Cheers,
Martin
See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)
RE: OK for one example of
)
Theres many open source projects for windows software, Microsoft has nothing to do with it.
You have Virtual Desktops in both Gnome and KDE, what was talked about further up here was the option to use different desktop engines, not just virtual desktops. You can install/use whichever you like most and even use them all at the same time, switch between with alt/ctrl+alt F7/F8/F9 and so on.
Edit: I would for sure install some virtual desktop for Windows if i was still using it, but i would worry about its efficiency since the Windows desktop is closed source and doesnt have the integration possibilities you find in true OSS environments. In Windows you can only bolt it on, it can never be an integrated part as it is in Linux desktop engines.
Team Philippines
RE: Curiously, that is
)
I think it is one of those "you won't know until you try it" things. Then one can say "oh, that is what you meant". With M$'s numerical dominance in the market then it can be hard to budge people out of their current monetary, intellectual or, for that matter, emotional investments. Well, it was with me. However with the pace of hardware change, ever upwards in performance and ever downwards in cost, then the pains of change-over aren't prohibitive.
I was quite impressed that SUSE Linux can, when given the relevant Windows username and password, display a Windoze machine's public/shared directories and contents. I don't see M$ doing the converse. In some ways it is more simpler UI-wise than the Network Neighbourhood jiggery-pokery of M$! Seems a too mundane finding for me to report on, but then that's the way computers ought to be .....
I'm also toying with the idea of a Mac after Christmas, maybe cashing in on the after season discounts. [ Or the pre-season ones perhaps, given the trend of matters financial recently... ] While that's more closed/proprietary I feel curious enough to see what they've been going on about for the last 20+ years. :-)
So I'm sort of in a mixed farm mood, and have purchased the requisite 4-way KVM switch-a-roo. I can KVM switch between OS's and do Remote Desktop for the remaining Windoze machines. :-)
Cheers, Mike.
I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter ...
... and my other CPU is a Ryzen 5950X :-) Blaise Pascal
RE: ... I was quite
)
Good comment. There are many nice touches that you soon just take for granted. You're then spoilt when they're not there on other systems!
It is very much the case that the rest of the world must work around to the "Windows way" regardless of good or bad.
There's various examples where I'm now forced to 'pause for thought' on a Windows box for whatever trick that is easy to tweak on a Linux system that is just not 'visible' on a Windows box. I consider the huge Windows Registry as invidious.
Sounds interesting. Let us know what you find!
So far, I've resisted the temptation to load up multiple Virtual Machines even though I've specced out my latest hardware for VM work...
Good luck,
Martin
See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)
RE: I consider the huge
)
I support you in this, even though all mine are Windose.
Back in the days (mid-1980s) when the 16 bit machines were the rule, I bought an Atari ST (it had access to all the business, and other, software I wanted).
The beauty of this OS (TOS 2.6) was the ROM based OS (booting was quick after memory and RAM tests). Moreover, when a new application was installed, on whatever drive chosen, all the bits (memory residents, .dlls, etc) were enclosed in the folder for that application.
No writing to the Registry, no shared .dlls, etc, and when the application was removed it was gone completely. No Registry pointers left, no unused .dlls, no problems with shared .dlls, nothing left to slow the system.
Oh for the day when the Registry is the hardware and driver database, and only written to when hardware changes occurred (upgrades, new drivers, etc).
Much cleaner, and MS could learn much this way.
Are the other OSes (Linux in various flavours and the Mac OS X) burdened with such a database (effectively)?
Shih-Tzu are clever, cuddly, playful and rule!! Jack Russell are feisty!