interested in switching to linux..need advice

[dcyphure]

i read that suse is kinda like windows, all nice pretty gui's n stuff and with wine or cedega, i can play all of my pc games, emulators and even some applications and that i wont even need to install most device drivers

i guess what i'm asking, what do i need to make it as nice looking as a mac yet still play my entire collection of pc games, can i still use gamejackal, do i need a firewall

then i'd have to figure out what dvd player/decryptor/burner to use, replacements for all my apps....whew, sounds like alot of work

 

[dcyphure]

also what is fedora and all those other different distrobutions of linux..whats the difference, seems complicated

 

[jakec]

O.K...

Are you wanting to MAKE Linux look like like a MAC or something that is just Graphical in general with all the pretty colors etc?. Most Linux distros will allow you to do this with some configuration. Distros like SUSE have a graphical interface/desktop by defult, so you don't need to do much configuration. their are also other Distros out there like this like Sabiyon, PCLinuxOS etc

As for Burning Software and other Apps you use things like K3b or Gnomebaker for burning as for other apps it is really about finding alternative programs you are confortable using. Alot of this has to do with the choice of distro as well..

Gaming in Linux is getting better but still not as good as Windows but here is a list of games that are native to Linux:
http://www.techist.com/showthread.php?threadid=112751&highlight=Linux+gaming

As for a firewall/Antivirus software for Linux there are Linux firewalls/ Antivirus Software available but it is really not necessary


you can use WINE or Cadeda for games, I don't know about this The General will be able to help you more with this

Fedora is just another Version of Linux there are now over 200 Linux Distros available. there is really no difference some distros may be more graphical more advaced than others but really all Linux distros are the same under the hood it is all about which distro you are comfortable using.


To this end I recommend trying a few live Cd's first. Live Cd's are Distros that run entirely from CD ROM and don't touch your HDD. This is a great way to test out Linux distro without the risk

here are a few personal recommendations:

Kubuntu
http://www.kubuntu.org/

PCLinuxOS .92
http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/live-cd/english/preview/
ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/metalab/distributions/texstar/pclinuxos/live-cd/english/preview/

This is the distro I use and recommend, Why because it works right out of the box. No need to configure Everything, everything just works. It also comes as a 1 CD install that is a live CD that you can install later if you wish.

BeatrIX
http://www.watsky.net/download.html

Mephis
http://www.mepis.org/

if you are still unsure of the distro try these Distro choosers:

http://eedok.voidofmind.com/linux/chooser.html
http://www.zegeniestudios.net/ldc/

hope this helps

Jake

 

[Greg]

Using WINE or Cedega to play games is usually a pain. I recommend dual booting so you can still play your games under Windows. Games that are native to Linux run like a charm, though.


And is The General still around?

 

[dcyphure]

thanks jakec, i'll try those run from cd ones first

not sure how comfortable i'd be to be totally rid of windows if games dont always work that great, hope someone can inform me more of wine and cedora

but heres what all i'm wanting from my os

pretty graphical interface, actually something like objectdock, windowblinds and windowfx, dont think they make those for linux but something similar i'm hoping

something like clonedvd 2 and anydvd

and of course pc gaming, i suppose if i cant play oblivion, fear or battlefield 2142 then i suppose i might as well stay stuck with windows but would be nice to have nothing but a good linux setup

any further info would be much appreciated
i'll try out one of jakes links and download wine and see what happens

 

[dcyphure]

Using WINE or Cedega to play games is usually a pain. I recommend dual booting so you can still play your games under Windows. Games that are native to Linux run like a charm, though.


And is The General still around?

i really dont want to dual boot, that defeats my purpose, i prefer to do it all under one os, no since to switch just to do the exact same thing i could do whith the one i was already logged into

i really dont do much at that, play games, surf the net...i reall dont ever have any security problems, mainly its windows slows down or something quits working after using it for so long and i end up reinstalling it so everything is smooth again...wanting to avoid that and avoid vista's overpriced, bloated, error causing warhog

if wine is a pain, you might have saved me some time and looks like i'd probably have to upgrade to vista eventually if i want anything new or somewhat different but at least there will be nlite to help me customize it

 

[jonmon6691]

Wine is not really an acceptable replacement for running windows apps, it is usually unstable with games, the only thing i would recommend wine for is simple programs that run from one exe e.g. no installation because lots of windows dll's that these programs rely on just aren't there.

The only game i have played on Linux is Medal of honor Allied Assault and if ANYTHING interrupted it, like a window or dialog box popped up from Linux the entire machine would crash and require a reboot

 

[Greg]

For the most part, yes, but sometimes games will run just as good under WINE. I had Counter Strike working great for a while on my low-end hardware, but unfortunately WINE didn't like Steam so I couldn't play online.