Trying to switch to ubuntu: HALP

Solouko · 8 Apr 2007 at 01:27

He, I'm the worlds biggest Microsoft fan boy, i love windows XP, i love windows media player series 10 and i love msn messenger... I'm so gay i even have an xbox!! =D

but... recently my xbox blew up (surprise, surprise), internet explorer has been unable to do things i want it to (is using Firefox to type this) and a whole load of other crap has now jaded me against Microsoft and i wish to renounce them completely!

but i need help... having used XP for so long I'm so gay i have no spine and I'm scared of command prompts! also i don't think i could live without some things so i will need to set them up on Ubuntu!

for a start... is there any messenger package available that will run on a Linux system that will let me talk to people on MSN messenger? i know it sounds stupid but it's what 99% of my friends have and i would be lost without them.

I also need to know if i can still run my beloved games on it, I'm a big fan of half life and counterstrike so i need to know if i can run steam on it. I've checked the steam site and thy don't seem to have a version for Linux systems.

now, a big worry for me is RAID, if i am going to have to set up 2 OS on this computer, how will that effect my RAID 0 4 disk array o_O? will i be able to run my RAID array on Ubuntu okay? it is hardware based so i would have thought yes...

do other programs such as Nero express have Linux based variants that will run on my system if i switch it over?

these are the things worrying me please relieve my panic and give me some positive feedback please! also, if you can recommend anything else to me as a new user feel free.

Solouko

Edit:
I think i will also need a new TV card as my compro DTV-300T doesn't support Linux... *sigh* can someone please recommend one that does?

Solouko · 8 Apr 2007 at 13:51

I've just tried XUbuntu on my laptop... I'm now installing XP on it.... I'm not counting this as a fail... i just don't think that it's suitable for that lappy because of what i use it for.. which is pretty much just music. I do feel a little inept having failed miserably to even get the OS to play a single MP3 but i might feel a little more confident installing it on a much faster system. I've literally got 4 working systems around me right now so i think I'll dual boot it with XP Pro on my old Athlon XP 1900+ system, but i think I'll use the full version of Ubuntu for that.

It's very VERY hard to get used to, simply copying files from my USB drive to the hard disk took me almost an hour! and then for some reason when i tried to move more then 40 files at any one time it seemed to crash and close all the open windows! yet again I'm blaming the laptop for this as it is VERY VERY Old... a Pentium II system i think running at around about 400MHz.

does anyone know any other forums that might be able to help me with my Linux n00bness? once into the program I'm stumbling blindly round for things I'm now pretty sure aren't there and don't exist, things that I take for granted in windows and think that have to be done through the command prompt on Linux systems. and i don't know these commands!

Thanks for your advice though guys, you've already been an inspiration to keep me going!

Solouko · 8 Apr 2007 at 15:15

=walls= said:
What was the problem with mp3? Couldn't find a codec or a player?

I know that most linux distros won't play mp3 out of the box (because it has to be licensed and is not free) - but this can usually be sorted out with a quick install of whatever package from the Distribution's repository - for Ubuntu, it would be something along the lines of:

# apt-get libxine1

(the # symbolises that you're working as root, otherwise it would be > which means user)

Or whatever package you choose to play your mp3 (libxine is just a player engine - you'll need a front end for it as well (I use Amarok)

after reading what you just said and realizing i didn't understand anything after the word 'distros' makes me fully understand just how 'comfortable' I've got with windows, I'm going to spend the next hour Google wacking what you just said!

I'm only just starting to get my head around the way in which Linux does everything, ie nothing like windows, but it's a learning curve. you listed there a command line that would install something (i honestly don't have a clue what yet) that would allow my mp3s to play.. but how do you know that command? I'm stumbling around in the dark for a light switch and occasionally stumbling across a match, as that very enlightening article I've just read 'Linux is not windows' says... I've got a box of LEGO but I'm missing the instructions.

thanks though, every little match it slowly helping me.

Solouko · 9 Apr 2007 at 00:04

This has given me a lot to think about and a lot more to try! i now have Ubuntu firmly and nicely installed on my old Athlon xp1900+ system and tomorrow i'll start experimenting with it some more, too tired right now. but at least i know that the partitioner is nice and easy to use and it's helped me to start getting my head around the structure of the Linux system. i think plan of action for tomorrow is find out what libraries of programs and part programs (I'll work on the correct terminology later) Ubuntu has and then see what they can do.

I'm really enjoying this... it's nice to try and get my head round it.

Thanks once again guys, your explanations although jargon filled are surprisingly reassuring and quite enlightening.