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topic: Linux

Battie

post #1 on July 21, 2007 - 11:50 AM PDT

I wasn't sure if I should start by saying I've escaped Windows Hell or fallen into Linux Purgatory. *sigh*

Mind, I suspect that Linux won't be nearly so frustrating once I get this sound problem fixed. :) Long story short, the sound driver doesn't load when Ubuntu starts up so I have to do it manually. I could fix this by editing etc/modules but it's being a pain and denying me permission. *twitch*

Other than that though, I'm enjoying Linux. After ME, just about anything would be great. Or maybe I've become biased because I can play all my music now (NTFS read ability, read/write with ntfs-3g, which I think I installed - more tinkering).

No more WIndows! XD 'Course, once I get a replacement mobo and/or new system, I'll probably have to dual-boot with XP. Meh.

woozy

post #2 on July 21, 2007 - 1:57 PM PDT

> On July 21, 2007 - 11:50 AM PDT Battie wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> I wasn't sure if I should start by saying I've escaped Windows Hell or fallen into Linux Purgatory. *sigh*
>
Oh, the trinity...

Windows Hell
Linux Purgatory
Mac Las Vegas.

Sigh, I'm scared to even look at Vista. I felt I had finally got to the point that Windows had a decent, adequately flexible OS with a reasonable balance between hardware setup and os requirements ... and then they toss it all out.... Phoo.

Cugat

post #3 on July 21, 2007 - 3:42 PM PDT

Last time I gave computer advice, flame was shooting out of Woozy's puter...

That said, you need root privileges to edit stuff in /etc generally, and at that level you can try whatever modules you need without rebooting, then add the one that works to the modules list.

Note that access denied by default bit is one reason Linux has a better security feel. Makes it harder for a web exploit to toss in a rootkit module. :-)

(I assume you've tried out the Amarok music player?)

Cugat

post #4 on July 21, 2007 - 3:48 PM PDT

On July 21, 2007 - 3:42 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> That said, you need root privileges to edit stuff in /etc generally, and at that level you can try whatever modules you need without rebooting, then add the one that works to the modules list.

Big note: Avoid logging into your graphical session as root, its generally always done through a terminal/console window, or even becoming root on a per command basis with sudo or su.

If you think following my advice may blow things up, don't. :-)

woozy

post #5 on July 21, 2007 - 4:21 PM PDT

> On July 21, 2007 - 3:42 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> Last time I gave computer advice, flame was shooting out of Woozy's puter...
>
Not my puter; my eyes.

I'm still a bit sorry and abashed about that. But I'm still the type of person who want to understand what a programs supposed to do before I install it. After all, there's no point in installing "trumpet" or "winsock" if you aren't running Windows 3.1 anymore. (Don't laugh; my stepfather insisted on using XTREEPRO to find out how my mother lost her document. *roll eyes*) Besides, the fact remains, after fifteen years of being virus free, the moment I installed bit torrent I was hit with the most nasty and hideous pop-up virus that pretty much kill my laptop. Maybe a coincidence but pretty effing annoying.

> That said, you need root privileges to edit stuff in /etc generally, and at that level you can try whatever modules you need without rebooting, then add the one that works to the modules list.
>
Yeah. This is the thing I hate about Windows. All these permissions exist somewhere but they really don't make it consistant where to find them or how to figure them out. My poor mother (she has me as a son and my step-father as a husband) gets perplexed with having to be the administrator of desktop. She gets confused that "My documents", "Administrator's documents", and "woozella's documents" are all the same thing.

artifex

post #6 on July 21, 2007 - 4:22 PM PDT

> On July 21, 2007 - 11:50 AM PDT Battie wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> I wasn't sure if I should start by saying I've escaped Windows Hell or fallen into Linux Purgatory. *sigh*
>
> Mind, I suspect that Linux won't be nearly so frustrating once I get this sound problem fixed. :) Long story short, the sound driver doesn't load when Ubuntu starts up so I have to do it manually. I could fix this by editing etc/modules but it's being a pain and denying me permission. *twitch*

sudo it.

Battie

post #7 on July 21, 2007 - 6:01 PM PDT

*twitches again* Stop spouting Greek at me; I only speak English. :P (sudo = Sucky-sucky five dolla?)

Nah, I went into Ubuntu's irc channel and someone gave me the proper Terminal command. It worked, since I had sound on reboot. They also told me how to use Wine (teehee). Now I'm trying to figure out how to get ntfsfix to to this on both my NTFS drives so that write enabling doesn't lock them:

'If you don't dual boot, get ntfsfix from the ntfsprogs package, run it on the windows device, and add the 'force' option in /etc/fstab for your windows device.'

I've never had a nasty bug from BT. The last time I got infected, it was because I'd left my modem on when I reinstalled Windows from an older disc. No security updates, no firewall = ewwww. Even if your habits and system are snazzy, go for a fw. ;P Especially with that old whore called Windows.

As for Amarok...I think I tried to open it, it froze, so I uninstalled? Figured it just didn't enjoy my 450mhz processor (which won't up to 500mhz, regardless of what the BIOS says in setup). I just opened up XMMS and it's snazzy. We'll see how it operates. If it doesn't kill my computer, I'll probably end up using it. :) I am *so* overjoyed to have access to my music collection again. Windows hell includes NO MUSIC. Unless it's to torture you with N'Sync day and night (I was spared that...which is how I know sudo means Sucky-sucky five dolla).

Graphical session...root priveleges... *stares hard at you* You're a Nazi, aren't you?

I was truly close to throwing out LInux until I went to #Ubuntu. ._. We'll see how it goes.

Misc. questions to follow: Wine uses lots of cpu?? How can I make Linux stop getting rid of my copied text when I close a program?

....I've become a geek. Not uber-geek yet. But definitely geek. ;_; I've been working on this since the minute I woke up (around 7 am). My eyes and brain are screaming for relief. Methinks Gankutsuou is in order. Or Ripley's Game. I soooo love that movie (I found it on VHS for $2.50 at Dollar General...and being poor and still an owner of a VCR...)

Heh heh, funny comic.

And yeah, from what I've heard from Vista users...it may be pretty, but it's buggy. And really hard on system resources. (You need to buy/build a new comp just to use it, pretty much.)

Cugat

post #8 on July 21, 2007 - 7:36 PM PDT

> On July 21, 2007 - 6:01 PM PDT Battie wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> *twitches again* Stop spouting Greek at me; I only speak English. :P (sudo = Sucky-sucky five dolla?)

Hehe, "sudo make me a sandwich", priceless.

> Nah, I went into Ubuntu's irc channel and someone gave me the proper Terminal command. It worked, since I had sound on reboot. They also told me how to use Wine (teehee).

I've been cautious about running stuff from that other world on my system.

> Now I'm trying to figure out how to get ntfsfix to to this on both my NTFS drives so that write enabling doesn't lock them:
>
> 'If you don't dual boot, get ntfsfix from the ntfsprogs package, run it on the windows device, and add the 'force' option in /etc/fstab for your windows device.'

Yeah, NTFS is definitely greek to Linux. if you're thoroughly done with windows you may want to borrow a portable drive, shift stuff over, and reformat to a linux friendly filesystem. Probably not immediately though.

> I've never had a nasty bug from BT. The last time I got infected, it was because I'd left my modem on when I reinstalled Windows from an older disc. No security updates, no firewall = ewwww. Even if your habits and system are snazzy, go for a fw. ;P Especially with that old whore called Windows.

The classic time to patch vs. time to get infected race. :-)
Knoppix saves the day again.

> As for Amarok...I think I tried to open it, it froze, so I uninstalled? Figured it just didn't enjoy my 450mhz processor (which won't up to 500mhz, regardless of what the BIOS says in setup).

Eh, its been waking up on the wrong side of the bed for me for the past few years, until two months ago when I ripped out the old config files from my home directory, then it popped up and acted all nice again. Its Linux's own 20 ton gorilla of music apps, try it again someday, CPU speed shouldn't be a fail to start issue.

> I just opened up XMMS and it's snazzy. We'll see how it operates. If it doesn't kill my computer, I'll probably end up using it. :)

XMMS is from what I hear, an unsupported shambling zombie of grandfathered code. I'd suggest Audacious, for a supported prancing about yute of actively developed code, that looks and acts about the same.

> I am *so* overjoyed to have access to my music collection again. Windows hell includes NO MUSIC. Unless it's to torture you with N'Sync day and night (I was spared that...which is how I know sudo means Sucky-sucky five dolla).
>
> Graphical session...root priveleges... *stares hard at you* You're a Nazi, aren't you?

Prolly sounds it, I'm guessing Ubuntu smooths over alot of the normal speedbumps of using Linux. Like logging in as whatever user.

> I was truly close to throwing out LInux until I went to #Ubuntu. ._. We'll see how it goes.

Hehe, reminds me of the funny unsupportive situation I faced in #debian. :-)

Suddenly the rationale for Ubuntu is made clear to me.

> Misc. questions to follow: Wine uses lots of cpu??

I know it loads up a huge amount of windowsy goodness at first to run the small commandline app I rarely throw at it. Dunno about CPU use though. Depends on what the application is doing I guess.

> How can I make Linux stop getting rid of my copied text when I close a program?

I use a KDE interface which loads Klipper up by default, which remembers the last so many text copies I've made and lets me switch between them.

Also note, highlight/middleclick copy/paste functionality! Insanely awesome stuff!

> ....I've become a geek. Not uber-geek yet. But definitely geek. ;_; I've been working on this since the minute I woke up (around 7 am). My eyes and brain are screaming for relief. Methinks Gankutsuou is in order. Or Ripley's Game. I soooo love that movie (I found it on VHS for $2.50 at Dollar General...and being poor and still an owner of a VCR...)
>
> Heh heh, funny comic.
>
> And yeah, from what I've heard from Vista users...it may be pretty, but it's buggy. And really hard on system resources. (You need to buy/build a new comp just to use it, pretty much.)

Be afraid Vista, the future is coming!

Battie

post #9 on July 21, 2007 - 8:18 PM PDT

> On July 21, 2007 - 7:36 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> ---------------------------------

I managed to figure out the correct command for ntfsfix, but all I'm getting is crappy errors. >:| Back to the forums. O_O

> The classic time to patch vs. time to get infected race. :-)
> Knoppix saves the day again.
>

Yup, always fun.

> XMMS is from what I hear, an unsupported shambling zombie of grandfathered code. I'd suggest Audacious, for a supported prancing about yute of actively developed code, that looks and acts about the same.
>

*sigh*

> Prolly sounds it, I'm guessing Ubuntu smooths over alot of the normal speedbumps of using Linux. Like logging in as whatever user.
>

._. I wish I didn't have to log in at all. I like laziness.

> I know it loads up a huge amount of windowsy goodness at first to run the small commandline app I rarely throw at it. Dunno about CPU use though. Depends on what the application is doing I guess.
>

Well, I may look at other torrent progs for Linux (maybe), and I just installed OpenBerg in Firefox. It's supposed to read .lit and anything Firefox can read. If it's suitable for reading eBooks, I may skip using uBook. I just want an html reader that has page count, remember pages, font/color changes, etc.

Still need a .pdb reader for Linux.

I don't understand compiling. I have a few proggies that need installation but I'm at a loss as to how.

Cugat

post #10 on July 21, 2007 - 8:42 PM PDT

> On July 21, 2007 - 8:18 PM PDT Battie wrote:
> I managed to figure out the correct command for ntfsfix, but all I'm getting is crappy errors. >:| Back to the forums. O_O

Good luck. All I can say on the matter.

> > XMMS is from what I hear, an unsupported shambling zombie of grandfathered code. I'd suggest Audacious, for a supported prancing about yute of actively developed code, that looks and acts about the same.
> >
>
> *sigh*

More in the Amarok vein, Rhythmbox reportedly comes with Ubuntu, though it continues you on the path of Gnome. (firmly in the KDE camp here, give me an option for everything or give me death! *ducks*)

> > Prolly sounds it, I'm guessing Ubuntu smooths over alot of the normal speedbumps of using Linux. Like logging in as whatever user.
>
> ._. I wish I didn't have to log in at all. I like laziness.

The gnome login manager (GDM) does offer an autologin feature. (and is the one part of gnome I chose over KDE, even if I'd never use autologin myself, partly because other family members have their own accounts on here)

> > I know it loads up a huge amount of windowsy goodness at first to run the small commandline app I rarely throw at it. Dunno about CPU use though. Depends on what the application is doing I guess.
>
> Well, I may look at other torrent progs for Linux (maybe), and I just installed OpenBerg in Firefox. It's supposed to read .lit and anything Firefox can read. If it's suitable for reading eBooks, I may skip using uBook. I just want an html reader that has page count, remember pages, font/color changes, etc.

Azureus is still my 20-ton torrent program of choice. Lighter weight I do Bit Tornado, last I saw, the original Bit Torrent program was nagware, and made flames emit from Woozy's eyes.

> Still need a .pdb reader for Linux.

Google says stuff about Protein Data Banks when I ask...

> I don't understand compiling. I have a few proggies that need installation but I'm at a loss as to how.

Compiling is going off the deep end for now I think, stick to the package manager for now I'd suggest.

Battie

post #11 on July 21, 2007 - 9:43 PM PDT

> On July 21, 2007 - 8:42 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> Good luck. All I can say on the matter.
>

<_<

> More in the Amarok vein, Rhythmbox reportedly comes with Ubuntu, though it continues you on the path of Gnome. (firmly in the KDE camp here, give me an option for everything or give me death! *ducks*)
>

I've got that playing Tool right now. Audacious used too much CPU or something, not sure what. May try XMMS later just to see if it's better (grandfather or not, it's prolly younger than my BIOS).

I'm an option chick myself. :)

> The gnome login manager (GDM) does offer an autologin feature. (and is the one part of gnome I chose over KDE, even if I'd never use autologin myself, partly because other family members have their own accounts on here)
>

Hmmm...

>
> Azureus is still my 20-ton torrent program of choice. Lighter weight I do Bit Tornado, last I saw, the original Bit Torrent program was nagware, and made flames emit from Woozy's eyes.
>

ANything Java-based won't run on this system, I can guarantee that. It barely ran on my old 2.67ghz system!

BitTornado I never got into, BitTorrent was awful. Think BItComet was my other choice after uTorrent but it had probs. Think I'll just stick to Wine-utorrent.

> Google says stuff about Protein Data Banks when I ask...
>

Hahahaha, I got that too!

> Compiling is going off the deep end for now I think, stick to the package manager for now I'd suggest.
> ---------------------------------

Well, I downloaded some packages (tar.gz?) but I'm not sure how to use the package manager to install them.

Sloshed Content: 2 shots down the hole. I figure when I hit around 5-6, I'll stay off GC's forum, lmao.

Cugat

post #12 on July 22, 2007 - 12:15 AM PDT

> On July 21, 2007 - 9:43 PM PDT Battie wrote:
> > On July 21, 2007 - 8:42 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> > Good luck. All I can say on the matter.
>
> <_<

I never really got stuck in the situation where I had to cope with NTFS on Linux, I really would avoid it if possible. ReiserFS 3 for fast but occasional massive dataloss (nonetheless I use it pretty much exclusively, without backups of course), or EXT3 for ol reliable are the options that come to mind.

> > More in the Amarok vein, Rhythmbox reportedly comes with Ubuntu, though it continues you on the path of Gnome. (firmly in the KDE camp here, give me an option for everything or give me death! *ducks*)
>
> I've got that playing Tool right now. Audacious used too much CPU or something, not sure what. May try XMMS later just to see if it's better (grandfather or not, it's prolly younger than my BIOS).

XMMS is pretty old. It bugs me that so much software is simply failing on you though.

Ubuntu is supposed te be better than that...

All the happy people smiling in a circle and all, apparently not doing stability testing.

> > The gnome login manager (GDM) does offer an autologin feature. (and is the one part of gnome I chose over KDE, even if I'd never use autologin myself, partly because other family members have their own accounts on here)
>
> Hmmm...

Its an option buried somewhere in the login screen...

> BitTornado I never got into, BitTorrent was awful. Think BItComet was my other choice after uTorrent but it had probs. Think I'll just stick to Wine-utorrent.

Life will be better if you can ditch the crutches. :-)

> > Compiling is going off the deep end for now I think, stick to the package manager for now I'd suggest.
>
> Well, I downloaded some packages (tar.gz?) but I'm not sure how to use the package manager to install them.

Yeah, those are prolly sourcecode "tarballs", if the source isn't too shady, you want to find .deb files which were made for Ubuntu (as opposed to .deb files made for Debian, which will probably be easier to find).

Battie

post #13 on July 22, 2007 - 10:10 AM PDT

> On July 22, 2007 - 12:15 AM PDT Cugat wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> I never really got stuck in the situation where I had to cope with NTFS on Linux, I really would avoid it if possible. ReiserFS 3 for fast but occasional massive dataloss (nonetheless I use it pretty much exclusively, without backups of course), or EXT3 for ol reliable are the options that come to mind.
>

<_< I managed to get the ntfsfix thing to work (heh, suuuudo), but I have a new error. >_
>
> XMMS is pretty old. It bugs me that so much software is simply failing on you though.
>
> Ubuntu is supposed te be better than that...
>
> All the happy people smiling in a circle and all, apparently not doing stability testing.
>

I don't think the software is so much failing as my system is just unable to handle it. 450mhz processor, 196mb ram (cuz the bios can't recognize the entire 256 for some reason - will tinker with it another time), etc.

Heh, those people scare me.

>
> Life will be better if you can ditch the crutches. :-)
>

I like my crutches. But I will try ktorrent.

>
> Yeah, those are prolly sourcecode "tarballs", if the source isn't too shady, you want to find .deb files which were made for Ubuntu (as opposed to .deb files made for Debian, which will probably be easier to find).
> ---------------------------------

I completely don't understand how to install them. :) I'll brose the forums later to look. Right now, working on NTFS. (The fact that I woke up at 10 am after 5-6 hours sleep and quite a bit of liquor and am now working on this...is sad. But then, I don't even remember GOING to sleep.)

Cugat

post #14 on July 22, 2007 - 1:44 PM PDT

> On July 22, 2007 - 10:10 AM PDT Battie wrote:
> > On July 22, 2007 - 12:15 AM PDT Cugat wrote:
> > It bugs me that so much software is simply failing on you though.
> >
> > Ubuntu is supposed te be better than that...
> >
> > All the happy people smiling in a circle and all, apparently not doing stability testing.
>
> I don't think the software is so much failing as my system is just unable to handle it. 450mhz processor, 196mb ram (cuz the bios can't recognize the entire 256 for some reason - will tinker with it another time), etc.

Do you have virtual memory set up? (if you run "top" in a console the total amount should be displayed near the top on the left of the console, hit q to exit top when you're done)

If you have no virtual memory on a low RAM system, that could explain some of the trouble. (Linux will cheerfully murder randomish programs if theres not enough ram/swap to support them).

Also, on a system that old you might want to shop around for a lighter weight window manager (faster, eats less RAM, fewer features than you might be used to).

> Heh, those people scare me.

At least they're not going all brainwashed over a for profit product. Must be a cult thing instead.

> > Life will be better if you can ditch the crutches. :-)
>
> I like my crutches. But I will try ktorrent.

...just looked at some of the options here, lotta options...

With the vaguely low memory situation, you probably want to use program load time as a crude measuring stick to tell how much something is going to hog your system. (running out of RAM and relying on swap is going to slow things down a lot more than a slow CPU alone.

And I should stop suggesting 20-ton solutions. (like KDE)

> > Yeah, those are prolly sourcecode "tarballs", if the source isn't too shady, you want to find .deb files which were made for Ubuntu (as opposed to .deb files made for Debian, which will probably be easier to find).
>
> I completely don't understand how to install them. :) I'll brose the forums later to look. Right now, working on NTFS. (The fact that I woke up at 10 am after 5-6 hours sleep and quite a bit of liquor and am now working on this...is sad. But then, I don't even remember GOING to sleep.)

.tar.gz files will not only be more difficult to install, but may not set up all their dependencies (and therefore not work), and might not uninstall as cleanly either. Definitely try to work within the package manager system for the first few weeks. :-)

Battie

post #15 on July 22, 2007 - 2:09 PM PDT

> On July 22, 2007 - 1:44 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> Do you have virtual memory set up? (if you run "top" in a console the total amount should be displayed near the top on the left of the console, hit q to exit top when you're done)
>
> If you have no virtual memory on a low RAM system, that could explain some of the trouble. (Linux will cheerfully murder randomish programs if theres not enough ram/swap to support them).
>

It is set up. Believe it's automatically done.

> Also, on a system that old you might want to shop around for a lighter weight window manager (faster, eats less RAM, fewer features than you might be used to).
>

._. More stuff.

>
> .tar.gz files will not only be more difficult to install, but may not set up all their dependencies (and therefore not work), and might not uninstall as cleanly either. Definitely try to work within the package manager system for the first few weeks. :-)
> ---------------------------------

Yes, but that only works if the package manager has them available to download, which it doesn't. >_> And everything I've gotten so far has a dependency note on it (if it has dependencies). That's another reason I haven't bothered yet. :)

Battie

post #16 on July 22, 2007 - 2:11 PM PDT
I did get my NTFS write support enabled though. Unfortunately, I have to redo it every time I restart. Well, if I do a song and dance, I won't. Maybe later. :) Need to figure out why two of my avi files are showing black and white in mplayers. >_> Always something else...

Cugat

post #17 on July 22, 2007 - 3:21 PM PDT

> On July 22, 2007 - 2:09 PM PDT Battie wrote:
> > On July 22, 2007 - 1:44 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> > Also, on a system that old you might want to shop around for a lighter weight window manager (faster, eats less RAM, fewer features than you might be used to).
>
> ._. More stuff.

Linux is all about more stuff. :-)

> > .tar.gz files will not only be more difficult to install, but may not set up all their dependencies (and therefore not work), and might not uninstall as cleanly either. Definitely try to work within the package manager system for the first few weeks. :-)
>
> Yes, but that only works if the package manager has them available to download, which it doesn't. >_> And everything I've gotten so far has a dependency note on it (if it has dependencies). That's another reason I haven't bothered yet. :)

You can probably find repositories to add that will fill in a few gaps at least. (one reason Debian/Ubuntu is awesome is largely because of the package manager, that handles a lot of details in both directions. Take advantage of it when possible!)

> I did get my NTFS write support enabled though. Unfortunately, I have to redo it every time I restart. Well, if I do a song and dance, I won't. Maybe later. :)

You can prolly stick the redoing dance in an init script or something. (at least rebooting should be fairly rare for you now, kernel updates are pretty much the main reason you'd want to, or to just test the boot process :-).

> Need to figure out why two of my avi files are showing black and white in mplayers. >_>
>
> Always something else...

Mplayer has been horrible to me, Try Xine. Though it may be a case of Ubuntu not including certain legally contestable codecs. I'm not sure really.

Battie

post #18 on July 22, 2007 - 4:13 PM PDT

> On July 22, 2007 - 3:21 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> You can probably find repositories to add that will fill in a few gaps at least. (one reason Debian/Ubuntu is awesome is largely because of the package manager, that handles a lot of details in both directions. Take advantage of it when possible!)
>

Point me in the right direction. XD

> You can prolly stick the redoing dance in an init script or something. (at least rebooting should be fairly rare for you now, kernel updates are pretty much the main reason you'd want to, or to just test the boot process :-).
>

Well, I have the correct solution, it's just a matter of implementing it. Or rather, understanding it and implementing it.

>
> Mplayer has been horrible to me, Try Xine. Though it may be a case of Ubuntu not including certain legally contestable codecs. I'm not sure really.
> ---------------------------------

I meant 'mplayers' as in media players. I use VLC for vids. And for whatever reason, the black and white problem stopped. It was either cuz I loaded the avis up in Totem or restarted.

As for rebooting...my system was running really slow. :) I think there were frozen processes hanging around or a process or two that didn't release the RAM. One or the other.

I'll probably work on installing the software I want and their dependencies later tonight, unless I decide to watch movies. :)

While I can't say I'm enjoying the process of learning how to use Linux or the fact that much of the software I loved in Windows is now only accessible with Wine, I am overjoyed to be away from Windows ME. Whether or not I'll go back to Windows XP...not sure. I suppose it'll depend on how well Wine works whenever I get an up-to-date system. If I can run the emulator on a dual-core system without it being a pain, I'll probably stick with Linux (and dual-booting XP for the occasional Windows game).

It's just nice not to have a lot of bloat. I had to spend weeks tweaking XP just for the best possible performance after a fresh install. Always had crap on it (and in processes) that just wasn't needed (not for me and probably not for the majority of users). It may be frustrating to have to go through Synaptic to install things I need, but it's less frustrating than trying to remove them (now that I know how I mean).

And sudo is sexeh.

Cugat

post #19 on July 22, 2007 - 7:36 PM PDT

> On July 22, 2007 - 4:13 PM PDT Battie wrote:
> > On July 22, 2007 - 3:21 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> > You can probably find repositories to add that will fill in a few gaps at least. (one reason Debian/Ubuntu is awesome is largely because of the package manager, that handles a lot of details in both directions. Take advantage of it when possible!)
>
> Point me in the right direction. XD

Here and Here

... looks like the right path

> > You can prolly stick the redoing dance in an init script or something. (at least rebooting should be fairly rare for you now, kernel updates are pretty much the main reason you'd want to, or to just test the boot process :-).
>
> Well, I have the correct solution, it's just a matter of implementing it. Or rather, understanding it and implementing it.

I really would look into copying everything out, making it a more Linuxy filesystem and putting it back.

> > Mplayer has been horrible to me, Try Xine. Though it may be a case of Ubuntu not including certain legally contestable codecs. I'm not sure really.
>
> I meant 'mplayers' as in media players. I use VLC for vids. And for whatever reason, the black and white problem stopped. It was either cuz I loaded the avis up in Totem or restarted.

Totem I think uses the Xine engine, yay! :-)

> As for rebooting...my system was running really slow. :) I think there were frozen processes hanging around or a process or two that didn't release the RAM. One or the other.

Through top or maybe some friendlier GUI version of it you can kill just about any process you want, and if it leaves a husk behind (though probably because something worth rebooting about has seized up), it should get swapped out to VM in short enough order.

> I'll probably work on installing the software I want and their dependencies later tonight, unless I decide to watch movies. :)

Hmm, I forgot about that, my discs didn't squeeze their way in before Sunday.

> While I can't say I'm enjoying the process of learning how to use Linux or the fact that much of the software I loved in Windows is now only accessible with Wine, I am overjoyed to be away from Windows ME. Whether or not I'll go back to Windows XP...not sure.

XP eats more more RAM than ME I'd assume. (and wow, you tolerated Windows ME for that long?)

> I suppose it'll depend on how well Wine works whenever I get an up-to-date system. If I can run the emulator on a dual-core system without it being a pain, I'll probably stick with Linux (and dual-booting XP for the occasional Windows game).

I haven't heard much about multicore changing how well Wine works.

> It's just nice not to have a lot of bloat. I had to spend weeks tweaking XP just for the best possible performance after a fresh install. Always had crap on it (and in processes) that just wasn't needed (not for me and probably not for the majority of users). It may be frustrating to have to go through Synaptic to install things I need, but it's less frustrating than trying to remove them (now that I know how I mean).

Synaptic is pretty awesome once a good selection of stuff is available in it (always used the commandline "aptitude" myself, pretty much the same though).

> And sudo is sexeh.

I actually wonder wether allowing anything under sudo is that much different than just leaving the root account open and passwordless to local users. A malicious script only needs five more characters in it to wreak havok, unless I've not been paying attention to sudo's security feature list...

Battie

post #20 on July 23, 2007 - 6:42 AM PDT

> On July 22, 2007 - 7:36 PM PDT Cugat wrote:
> ---------------------------------
> Here and Here
>
> ... looks like the right path
>

Nice. I did actually find the install guide in Ubuntu's community documentation. :)

>
> I really would look into copying everything out, making it a more Linuxy filesystem and putting it back.
>

Well, I'd need space to do that and right now I don't have an extra 70gigs lying around.

>
> Through top or maybe some friendlier GUI version of it you can kill just about any process you want, and if it leaves a husk behind (though probably because something worth rebooting about has seized up), it should get swapped out to VM in short enough order.
>

Oh, I know. But since I'm new to Linux, I'm rarely sure which process is *okay* to kill. ;P

> Hmm, I forgot about that, my discs didn't squeeze their way in before Sunday.
>

I ended up falling asleep before watching anything. >:|

>
> XP eats more more RAM than ME I'd assume. (and wow, you tolerated Windows ME for that long?)
>

Yeah, it does. But with 1-2gigs of RAM and AMD dual-core 4800+, I should be able to run it without issue. I ran it all right with only 256mb ram and VM. Except playing some games could make my system scream.

>
> I haven't heard much about multicore changing how well Wine works.
>

I meant in relation to resource usage.

> Synaptic is pretty awesome once a good selection of stuff is available in it (always used the commandline "aptitude" myself, pretty much the same though).
>

Yeah, I prefer apt-get install myself. :) BUt Synaptic is useful when I need a program but don't know the name of it. Like a good music player...I've settles on Listen.

Yes, I was on ME for...four months?? *gag*

>
> I actually wonder wether allowing anything under sudo is that much different than just leaving the root account open and passwordless to local users. A malicious script only needs five more characters in it to wreak havok, unless I've not been paying attention to sudo's security feature list...
> ---------------------------------

Well, sudo requires your password. It may not be incredibly secure, but a script would either have to know your password or be able to guess it. Or watch you until you entered it?

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