Wanna switch to linux but some questions...

[GNUrag]

I guess all of your issues have already been addressed by now... as i was offline for a couple of days.... but just some of the points i'd like to make...

* I have heard that linux doesn't support DVD's??!!

Its not like Linux does not support DVDs... if some software is not there does not mean such a thing does not exist.... mplayer should play your DVDs...

There's a complete distro dedicated to multimedia linux... see this page: *movix.sourceforge.net/ ... a quote from that page:

# MoviX: a mini CD Linux distro able to boot directly from CD and load in RAM a console interface to MPlayer. From the interface you can easily play DVDs, VCDs, audio/video files Audio CD, internet radios, TV, you name it!
MoviX is now able to boot also from HD, USB pen, CF card and from the net.

You may not able to play certain games ... but that's just an issue with the game development company... if they dont want to support linux users... then its a problem....

* Is Linux really virus proof??

The UNIX filesystem, by its defination, cannot have viruses ..... and that for sure.... In any unix OS... a file has read/write/execute attributes.... now whenever a new file is created or downloaded from the internet, then by default it has read-only permissions.... Now you have to manually(or by a script) change its permissions to make it executable....

Sure, Worms for Unix are possible, but its just a matter of fixing that bug... But Viruses for Unix/Linux are not possible by defination....

* Can I safeguard a specific folder in linux??[/b]

Sure... you might want to read the man pages of chmod for more info.... in addition, Linux also comes bundled with GPG : GNU Privacy Gaurd ... this is an industry strength grade Encryption/Security software that comes with every distro....

Guys.. why you don't understand that linux is not windows

Exactly Ricky, there's no point in developing the Wine project.... people still want to use windows software on linux .... there's no point in emulating a software meant and designed for another platform....

GNU/Linux is a very friendly operating system.... friendly in terms of being friends with other OS and standards, not humans....

 

[FasTrack]

Wonderful and absolutely educative post.

I too was stuck in a dilema as NikhilVerma, many of my doubts have been cleared.

 

[Saahib]

Hmm..

WHy i have never found a post !!

I want to shift to windows but some doubts to be cleared ? ie from any OS !

do it means windows don't have any doubt or there is no one who have not started with windows !


Just a thought

 

[sreevirus]

Hmm..

WHy i have never found a post !!

I want to shift to windows but some doubts to be cleared ? ie from any OS !

do it means windows don't have any doubt or there is no one who have not started with windows !


Just a thought

coz ppl r bound to use the most popular thing available...linux is just beginning to gain popularity but i dont think many knew too much abt linux abt 3 yrs ago...windows was and still is the most popular OS around and ppl have become much too used to it...so the prospect of ppl switching over from windows to linux wud be rare...and as linux is the OS for the geeks, only a newbie who has started using linux without ever touching windows wud ask such a question which ricky quoted....hardcore linux fans wud never switch
and i can say most of the users r ppl like me...general users who just want to surf the net, listen to music, watch movies, play games, just get things done quick...when most of these r not easy to do on linux (at present) why would ppl go for linux?
a problem on windows can be easily solved coz one guy or the other who lives next to u may know its solution, but unfortunately, its not the same in case of linux.....while some say there is freedom of choice in linux, this can be confusing, my friends ask me who manufactures linux? is there any standards? its quite difficult to make them understand.....they dont give a damn about freedom....i tried to give some of my friends live boot cds like SLAX and Knoppix but they say its crazy and too difficult to understand....
:sigh:
i hope linux will keep evolving to the point that lay users will embrace it.

 

[technomodel]

unfortunately sree, if people keep on thinking that how will i continue with my regular non-geeky(whatever that means) chores in linux as it is too difficult to use, you wont be able to fully exploit what linux has to offer.
when you start using linux and have a readily accessible connection to the internet, you will find that you will easily find applications for whatever you do in windows. the only thing you can complain about is a hardware compatibility problem, as it is sometimes difficult to find appropriate drivers for linux.but you generally find a solution by searching the net or posting at LUG's.
and i think that is where is the real attraction of linux. it will make you feel different.not geeky, different. it's this feeling which has kept many beginners into linux inspite of the apparent difficult nature. as i pointed out at some other place, it is not very adventurous or daring to keep using something that has been tailor made and packaged by someone else, and not allowing you to change anything about it.
you feel you can find everything in it because the thought process has been built up that way. tell me, does anyone complain that windows does not recognise a reiser or ext3 fsystem?no.neither can you change that.easily. but you can recompile linux kernel to read from an ntfs fs.
most use windows as the bench mark to compare other os's, but it's not.

 

[Saahib]

Hmm..

WHy i have never found a post !!

I want to shift to windows but some doubts to be cleared ? ie from any OS !

do it means windows don't have any doubt or there is no one who have not started with windows !


Just a thought

coz ppl r bound to use the most popular thing available...linux is just beginning to gain popularity but i dont think many knew too much abt linux abt 3 yrs ago...windows was and still is the most popular OS around and ppl have become much too used to it...so the prospect of ppl switching over from windows to linux wud be rare...and as linux is the OS for the geeks, only a newbie who has started using linux without ever touching windows wud ask such a question which ricky quoted....hardcore linux fans wud never switch
and i can say most of the users r ppl like me...general users who just want to surf the net, listen to music, watch movies, play games, just get things done quick...when most of these r not easy to do on linux (at present) why would ppl go for linux?
a problem on windows can be easily solved coz one guy or the other who lives next to u may know its solution, but unfortunately, its not the same in case of linux.....while some say there is freedom of choice in linux, this can be confusing, my friends ask me who manufactures linux? is there any standards? its quite difficult to make them understand.....they dont give a damn about freedom....i tried to give some of my friends live boot cds like SLAX and Knoppix but they say its crazy and too difficult to understand....
:sigh:
i hope linux will keep evolving to the point that lay users will embrace it.

Hmm..
Well you are right! but there are millions of poeple.. and i Hve seen none !

yaar.. exception is everywhere..
but y not here !

Ya.. when u say that in trouble of windows the guy next door might be knowing the solution... I remember my days of LINUX when I was new to it. NO ONE TO HELP .. i learned lots from forums.. now I have forum to help others.

 

[sreevirus]

if people keep on thinking that how will i continue with my regular non-geeky(whatever that means) chores in linux as it is too difficult to use, you wont be able to fully exploit what linux has to offer.

well technomodel, i'm talking from the point of view of a home user...and as i said, the first requirement that ppl like me look for in an OS is ease of use and unfortunately, linux has a long long way to go in this matter. way too much of the command line interface is a big let down according to me and its least appealing.

when you start using linux and have a readily accessible connection to the internet, you will find that you will easily find applications for whatever you do in windows. the only thing you can complain about is a hardware compatibility problem, as it is sometimes difficult to find appropriate drivers for linux.but you generally find a solution by searching the net or posting at LUG's.

well...thats what i was talking about...linux has a long way to go and i believe it will reach the reach the destination in near future.

and i think that is where is the real attraction of linux. it will make you feel different.not geeky, different. it's this feeling which has kept many beginners into linux inspite of the apparent difficult nature. as i pointed out at some other place, it is not very adventurous or daring to keep using something that has been tailor made and packaged by someone else, and not allowing you to change anything about it.

hmm...i disagree technomodel...i dont know any programming and i cant make any applications...so i wud have to stick to a tailor made application packaged by someone else. adverturers must have the right tools to go on with the adventure (in this case knowledge of programming, kernel scripting) and i have none of that. and the prospect is least attractive to me. i think i'm already being adventurous just by going ahead and trying to learn linux when i'm better off with windows...(some of the people who i know r less adventurous..lol...they run at the word of linux )

you feel you can find everything in it because the thought process has been built up that way. tell me, does anyone complain that windows does not recognise a reiser or ext3 fsystem?no.neither can you change that.easily. but you can recompile linux kernel to read from an ntfs fs.

well, technomodel, thats exactly what i am pointing at. will a home user without much knowledge in kernel scripting and languages dare recompile the kernel? i dont think so. if i wanted to access the ext3/reiserfs partitions, the first thing i will do is look for an application that wud allow me to do so...and if its the case for linux where i wud like to access the fat32/ntfs partitions, the first thing i will do is look for an application or an rpm for that...recompiling the kernel wud be my really last option and i wud most probably refrain from doing so coz who knows what wud happen if i screwed up?!

most use windows as the bench mark to compare other os's, but it's not.

well, an OS has to be compared with another OS, doesnt it? atleast thats how we can know what an OS has in store for us and what r its pros and cons when compared with the other OS.

 

[GNUrag]

the first requirement that ppl like me look for in an OS is ease of use and unfortunately, linux has a long long way to go in this matter. way too much of the command line interface is a big let down according to me and its least appealing.

You know what, there's a competition between Nature and Software Developers .... Software developers will keep coming with prettier user interfaces.... and mother nature will keep creating dumber human beings .........

 

[sreevirus]

You know what, there's a competition between Nature and Software Developers .... Software developers will keep coming with prettier user interfaces.... and mother nature will keep creating dumber human beings .........

cmon now GNU, i was just pointing out the facts...u r a linux freak and i am not... u r a programmer and i'm just a student.
i didnt quite get u..
and why the bitter attact ? i dont deny i'm nutz but thats how i am i'm an end user and software development is not my job. all that i'm looking for is easily useable softwares. i dont care for prettier interfaces, but the GUI shud be easy to use.
btw arent software developers human beings too or r they some kind of other hitherto unknown alien species somewhere from the andromeda galaxy?

 

[GNUrag]

sree... i was not pointing to you are anyone else on this forum.... this was just a quote that someone made from ilug-bom mailing list.... should i post its source also ?

 

[technomodel]

technomodel wrote:
if people keep on thinking that how will i continue with my regular non-geeky(whatever that means) chores in linux as it is too difficult to use, you wont be able to fully exploit what linux has to offer.

well technomodel, i'm talking from the point of view of a home user...and as i said, the first requirement that ppl like me look for in an OS is ease of use and unfortunately, linux has a long long way to go in this matter. way too much of the command line interface is a big let down according to me and its least appealing.

it's a fact that hardcore linux distros like slackware,gentoo or debian are a lot command line based.but it is this powerful linux shell that has given most of this stability.less the eye-candy,easier runs the machine.dont you agree? but modern packaged distributions like suse,mandrake or fedora have made it easier to manage the system by introducing good gui tools.i even hear that in fc3 the only time you have to resort to command line is when you are writing programs,but as you said, you are not a programmer so linux IS becoming easier for the home user. and if you think, u will surely agree that moving to linux is a lot mental,as u urself said.u just need to move

i think i'm already being adventurous just by going ahead and trying to learn linux when i'm better off with windows...(some of the people who i know r less adventurous..lol...they run at the word of linux )

8)

i dont know any programming and i cant make any applications...so i wud have to stick to a tailor made application packaged by someone else. Smile adverturers must have the right tools to go on with the adventure (in this case knowledge of programming, kernel scripting) and i have none of that

i admit, i might have become a bit too overenthusiastic .but tell me sree, do u think that u need to know programming,kernel scripting etc to use linux?not at all. that part is left to those people who are into kernel or software development.for you, you only need to use that stable kernel and the software/applications they prepared. what i had meant about that 'tailor-made' application is that for linux,you are free to use it the way you like it.for example, suppose you are using windows 98, which has poor networking,worse hardware support and terrible stability. what do you need to do?you dish ou a few thousands of bucks and get urself a copy of xp/2000 or whatever.
but now suppose you are using a linux distro with the 2.4 kernel, and you need support for ur raid volumes and access to ntfs partition.all you need to do is download the latest kernel and recompile.besides ur needed hardware support,u get a stable system with bleedin edge kernel.

recompiling the kernel wud be my really last option and i wud most probably refrain from doing so coz who knows what wud happen if i screwed up?!

you can screw up a hdd partion using a logical volume manager as easily you can screw up a kernel recompilation.in fact, the former is simpler .recompiling the kernel is as simple as typing a few thinga, choosing a few options, and pressing enter. moreover, you can always keep a backup of the existing kernel and test the newly compile dkernel for stability by booting into it.if there is any mistakes,just remove it and compile afresh.but if you screw up with the vm you in most cases u have nothing to do but kiss ur data goodbye.

 

[demoninside]

Hey guys it realy makes me more confident about using linux
u guys rock

 

[pradeep_chauhan]

Come on all you guys who are standing by the side and testing the water....Dive in Linux is the future and will provide a real learning into what a computer is its like getting intimate with a lady (windows is like having phone Se*).

 

[cnukutti]

Why dont you try the live CD option. after a few days or weeks of usage you can decide to install linux
try Knoppix 3.6 which is really cool and friendly.