Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dbee]

Last night I downloaded a movie and burnt it to watch it on my W2k laptop machine. It turns out that the divx player installed for windows doesn't have the Dolby AC3 codecs installed. So I had to hunt around to find the codecs. When I eventually do find them, guess what ? They come in a .zip file. W2K has no native capability to extract zip files . So I have to go back and hunt for non-trial version, non-malware zip file extractor. I couldn't believe it. I remember when the codec issues used to be all in the linux arena. The dvd played perfectly on my Linux desktop...

This is on top of the fact that the computer is full of malware and all types of crap. It has a firewall and anti-V and it still runs at a snail pace. I run a malware program every now and again, but to be honest - it's a losing battle since many of the vulnerabilites in IE are as yet unpatched by redmond. Meaning that there really isn't anything anyone can do to secure the computer. And yes, I use FF but others use IE on it for the Korean websites.

This isn't even talking about M$ dirty, dirty tatics in the marketplace. It turns out that M$ had a hand in funding the recent SCO anti-linux suit that had everyone in a panic over FOSS software, despite repeatedly denying it.

The reality of it is, that W2k is enough to run 96% of peoples operating system needs. There won't be another M$ operating system. Vista will be the last. It's too big and too unwieldly to build on top of. The Office suite is going to be replaced by free online services like google calendar and google spreadsheet. This leaves M$ - a company that isn't exactly famous for innovation - in a position where it'll have to come up with new ideas quickly, or else face extinction. Although I guess there'll always be a place in the market for a specialized paid-for OS.

There are Linux versions out there already Demophobe that you have to pay for ... RH Enterprise, Linspire etc ...

[Demophobe]

dbee, as I pointed out to Lemon, I did indeed run Ubuntu after our last conversation. I liked it for what it was, but truth be told, I am a software junkie. I like to have a variety of similar programs on hand, as one has strengths that another doesn't.

Video editors, sound editors, digital photo editors, composition programs...I have a few of each and use all of them quite regularly. There are softwares for Linux (Ubuntu) for all of this, but after doing some reading, I thought they sounded a bit narrow for my needs. Gaming is another area where I find support for Linux lacking, but maybe this has changed.

I used Ubuntu briefly; perhaps too briefly to give it a fair review. I trust both you and Lemon, and have decided to do a dual boot on the weekend. I will explore the world of Ubuntu thoroughly and see what it can offer. It would be cool if it filled some of my needs as an alternative OS to play around on. I realize we are past command lines with these things; we have been for a while in many areas. I have coded for Unix and Linux, both in simple graphics and in program, so I am not a complete noob. I still frequent other forums where we discuss coding and Unix/Linux programming, but the discussion rarely gets to a specific distros' pros or cons.

I have 3 systems at home, and if I like Ubuntu, I will introduce it to my kids and run a dedicated machine. I think my kids could use some exposure to something other than Windows.

Anyways, thanks for all the info and making many of my major beefs moot. I will post back after the weekend with some thoughts and we can compare notes. I'm hoping both of you will continue to post about Linux in general, as I haven't gotten into the habit of keeping up with the latest developments. I find it very helpful when people share info here, not just post about problems and troubles.

Thunndarr re-opened my eyes with his projector posts, and you have done me some good service in this thread. Cheers, men.

[dbee]

Ahh ... OK, sorry my fault then. I missed your post to Lemon. I have a tendency to just 'scan' rather than read ...

Yes, alot of the cutting edge software for video editing and sound editing will be for Windows only as indeed are most of the games. I have a bit of flash/video/sound editing to do myself in the next few weeks, and if Kino et al. don't give me the options that I need, I'll be going back to Windows myself. I'm very far from a pro at that kinda thing though, so I'd imagine the OS stuff will suffice for me at least.

Just for surfing the net and doing regular things though, you can't really beat linux IMO. At the end of the day, maybe two OS are better than one. Linux can be a bit like a doc martin boot ... when you put it on first, it can hurt like hell. But once you break it in, you'll wonder what you ever did without it. A beginner can get it going with ease. But somewhere down the line you'll have to come to terms with file permissions and user account access. That can take a bit of getting used to for a beginner-intermediate, but that forms that basis for computer security in every OS, so it's worth sticking with it. Anyone can get the hang of it after a while. The sudo tool can also come useful ...

[rocklee]

I remembered the days of MS/PC DOS 3.0 and how things have changed since then. I've also dabbed on a couple of Linuxes just to see the differences, once upon a time Redhat was suppose to be the OS to make waves and sweep us enthusiasts off our feet. I've installed everything from trying to run DIVX and WMV to playing quake. I went back to Windows because I was used to "doing more different things at once" and didn't want to play around with compiling codes and patches all the time.

I'm still using Windows because nothing can match the extensivity of a platform that has lasted for 5 years.

Ubuntu is yesterday's Redhat today, and while it is exciting and more user-friendlier than ever, Windows is still unmatched for running various devices at optimised performance. I am still playing around with Ubuntu and intend to dual boot it with Vista when that comes out, but am I wasting space with Ubuntu? Probably. I just like some of the animated features that you can get on Ubuntu (XGL).

I also have none of the viruses, malware problems that some of you have and I don't even have a virus software on my XP. Call it being net-wise, there is a way to use Windows without plaguing yourselves with viruses.

[dbee]

Not too sure I agree with you on the perfomance scale rocklee. But whatever works for you I guess ...

I just came back to update the thread with another great feature that comes standard on linux. I love the 4 terminals that come on the desktop for ubuntu.

I can have emacs and firefox open on screen 1, have gimp on screen 2, an e-book coding reference on screen 3, and have gnomebaker and my torrents downloading and seeding 24hrs on screen 4.

I'm running an AMD64 with 1GB of memory. Nothing too special, but it rarely gets taxed. Considering the vista recommendations of 2GB mem + SATA drives, I really doubt that I'll ever need that much power on my computer (possibly famous last words)....

[rocklee]

[dbee]

[Demophobe]

Looks like my Windows install...

[The Lemon]

[rocklee]

[The Lemon]

What you're not seeing in the still photo is the animation going on with Compiz. Windows jiggle like Jello when you move them. Icons bubble up when you select or hover over them. The whole desktop rotates like a cube when you switch from one to another. It's a bit like OSX's eye-candy, but more-so.

It's all very flashy. I installed it on my main machine, and while technically impressive and showy, I quickly found all the jiggling and bubbling and sliding and rotating annoying. It got in the way of usability, which is normally Linux's strong point. was like trying to use a computer on a waterbed. Because it was/is still experimental, controls over it aren't ready for prime-time. When they are, I'll use it. It's not for me.

[rocklee]

I know about some of these effects, but they are merely animation and like you said, can get annoyingly useless.

There is one useful feature that I've found which requires the use of a camera. If you motion your hand to tap either side of your monitor, the screen will "flip" to the next screen. Kind of cool, but I like how that involves an external device.

[dbee]

I dunno, I think the transparent command prompt is

[rocklee]

I am absolutely livid.

Was writing up my student reports using OpenOffice Writer when I needed to open an XLS document. Instead of opening another window the application CHANGED to Calc and deleted my document!!!!

Have resorted to using notepad.

[SuperFly]

That dual boot install was easy, I think my mom could have done it.