Which distro?

[sk565]

Ok people, I use dell cpx latitude which did have xp on it but I recently switched to linux freespire. I am a newbie in the world of command lines and shells. I just am posting this to get your opinon on which distro is best. And also is it possible to set up directx on linux. I have epsxe for ps1 games but opengl sucks on my systems, worked good with xp but now that im am on linux its alot slower. Id like someone to teach me also about linux but anyway, can anyone help

[reed9]

FYI, etiquette-wise (and to get more response), you should start a new thread for your questions, not tack onto an old (and in this case completely unrelated) thread.

Freespire is a dead project, I would not recommend it at all. There is no best distro, it really depends on what you like and what works for you. Check out Linux Mint for a good, friendly place to start.

[techieMoe]

Ok people, I use dell cpx latitude which did have xp on it but I recently switched to linux freespire. I am a newbie in the world of command lines and shells. I just am posting this to get your opinon on which distro is best. And also is it possible to set up directx on linux. I have epsxe for ps1 games but opengl sucks on my systems, worked good with xp but now that im am on linux its alot slower. Id like someone to teach me also about linux but anyway, can anyone help

I've moved your post into its own thread.

DirectX is a Microsoft proprietary technology designed to run on Windows and nowhere else. You will not be able to run DirectX in Linux. You *might* be able to run games designed for Windows (which I assume is your reason for wanting DirectX) using WINE, but it's not guaranteed.

Your OpenGL performance could be due to a bad driver for your video card. What kind of video hardware do you have?

There is no "best" distro. It's all a matter of opinion. What works "best" for me won't necessarily do squat for you. I recommend trying several of the most popular and seeing what grabs you.

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/lin...ead-first.html

I agree with reed9, you should really run something other than Freespire. It's a dead project. The top 5 distributions in popularity on DistroWatch right now are:

Ubuntu
Fedora
openSuSE
Linux Mint (based on Ubuntu)
Mandriva

Any of those is an excellent starting point.

[sk565]

Before reading your post i went ahead and downloaded unetbootin, then put slax linux on it. Now im running it on a dell inspiron 1525. Everything is alot better, the graphics on my other dell was ati rage mobilty which is pretty old. It worked on windows with epsxe but now on this pc it works good. Only thing is that the pete softx video plugin wont let me go into the config menu. Its ticking me off cause i want it to run in fullsceen. Slax is good, but i cant switch my monitor to run on another one too by using fn+f8. As a watch alot of movies and that is ticking me off too lol. But all around its okay, you see the pc im running now had a bad hdd so its just running on usb stick. I wish i could get it to save my stuff when i restart it, If anyone can help me on these issues id really like to hear some opinions. thanks,

p.s Thanks for telling me about the threads, other forums flame you for starting new ones so i didnt know.

New to linux but i think its awsome, MS can kiss off.

[jmadero]

I recommend if you are a new user something specifically designed for the "new user" such as Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu (etc...lol)

Fedora and Open Suse are also very appealing for new users, I've heard fantastic things about Fedora 12 which was just released.

[rokytnji]

What he said ggg_3226.jpg

[jmadero]

lol "no password run as root" so basically, eliminate one of the most essential "safety" tools that Linux offers? I don't understand how that's a plus

[xwulfgar]

Fedora 12 is nice to start with. Ubuntu is a little too predefined for my liking.

I’m on Arch now - minimalistic, unique and supports me as a software developer... but Arch is a base... very un-user-friendly for new comers.

I found Virtual Box a life saver during the transition from Windows to *nix.

xwulfgar.

[techieMoe]

Just like in Windows if I break the OS then it’s a given that I’m responsible for fixing it.

...And you will. Break it, I mean. It's just a matter of time. Provided you're fine with the possibility of losing all your data and having to reinstall from scratch, that's your prerogative.

I find it much easier and far less frustrating to learn about Linux by not having to be bothered prepending every command I give at the CLI with an additional command.

...But you're not really learning about Linux by side-stepping one of the fundamental security systems built into it. If you really want to learn Linux, you'll learn how to use it the way it was originally intended.

Also as I am the only person who will ever use my computer user names and passwords are superfluous.

In a perfect world that would be true, but what if someone stole your computer?

If you’re talking about “safety” as it applies to security I can only say two things. Anyone who considers running as root a paramount consideration in regard to security does not understand the subject...

I don't think you can really make that kind of broad generalization. A great many security experts attend conferences to discuss the myriad reasons why Linux and UNIX-based operating systems are inherently more secure than their siblings in the OS market, and the permissions system in place in these systems is paramount to this.

Sure, on your home system you're free to do with it as you wish, but it's dangerous and unwise to espouse this view to the world at large, IMO.

plus Puppy Linux has been thoroughly tested and found to be safe by many thousands of users. Further the subject of running as root in Puppy has been discussed countless times and as yet no legitimate risk has ever been demonstrated.

Go ahead believing that, and by the way I have a bridge to sell you. Just because no one found Puppy interesting enough to exploit for nefarious purposes doesn't mean it's immune.

PS: I’m far too busy working on puppylinuxfaq.org to debate about Puppy Linux users running as root so I will make no further post concerning the subject in this thread. Thank you for your question and for reading my reply.

Best of luck to you with that. You'll need it.