Trying to switch to ubuntu: HALP

[Solouko]

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?

 

[Trifid]

Yes, there is a messenger already installed (GAIM) that works with all text chat protocols that I can think of.

You can run CS in Wine. There is also the premium Cedega.

I think it will be fine. I'll let someone else confirm that.

To get Nero enter this into console: dpkg -i nerolinux-2.0.0.5-x86.deb

MythTV will be a good program to accompany the TV card.

http://pvrhw.goldfish.org/tiki-index.php

 

[.walls]

I use aMSN for IM (looks and feels like MSN - but has more features than MSN).

A lot of games can be played using Wine / Cedega, but they will never look as good as on Windows, unless they run natuvely on linux as well (for example UT and Doom).

Because it's a hardware raid setup, there shouldn't be a problem.

If you want to try out a few distros, download and burn the Live cds / DVDs for a few of the more well known ones - you can try them out before you install. It might be a good idea to dual boot your XP install with a linux distro for a while, until you get the hang of it

The Distros I've tried: OpenSuSE, Mandrake/Mandriva, Xandros, Debian, DSL, Arch and Gentoo.

Of these, for someone new to Linux, the learning curve is highest for Gentoo and Arch (so I would probably avoid them), DSL is not that suitable for your pc (it's really for old hardware), OpenSuSE and Mandriva are *big* (in physical size) distributions - which is a good place to start, really - as pretty much any software you need will be already installed.

I've never used Ubuntu, however, I've heard a lot of good things about it. You will of course have to choose your desktop environment (the big 2 are KDE and Gnome, but there are countless more as well!). Ubuntu comes as standard with Gnome, whereas KUbuntu has KDE.

Nero does indeed have a linux version - which you can download from Neros website - you can also transfer your existing Windows license key over to it (I don't know about the legality of this, but it can be done...) - however, I find that K3B (the KDE burning software) is much better for most things than NeroLinux.

When you try out linux for the first time - it is different to windows, and you have to be aware of that - so check out this link.

I wouldn't worry too much about the TV card - most hardware will be detected and a suitable driver installed by default in the bigger distros - I would just wait and see when you try out the live cds...

Oh yeah, and welcome to linux

 

[Solouko]

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!

 

[.walls]

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.

DSL (Damn Small Linux) or Puppy linux would fly on that thing - incidentally both come as a live cd...

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!

I remember that sooo well (things like where's the c: drive?!?) Google is by far the most useful tool you'll come across when learning to use linux (or any OS for that matter). It will give you a much wider source of information than just one forum and it will help you answer just about any question you want to ask. Don't be afraid to post questions on forums, but make sure that you've searched for the answers first - or you're quite likely to get an RTFM response!

Also, these may be useful:
Bash commands(shell / command prompt)
VI Commands(Very powerful, but not very user friendly text editor - you'll come across it at some point - it's not uncommon for new users to VI or VIM to reboot the pc because they don't know how to exit...)
Linux.org has some good pages and also a good introduction to linux

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

You're welcome!

 

[.walls]

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.

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)

 

[Solouko]

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.

 

[blairw]

I find ubuntu very similar to windows to be honest When i started using it i just tried to use it as a normal desktop system - looking at the wiki page (i will get link in a min) if i needed anything specific

For mp3's the installed software such as the soundbox? jukebox? sorry im not on ubuntu at the min so dont know the right name

 

[.walls]

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?

Actually - reading back, it should be:

#apt-get install libxine1

but that's beside the point (it's been a while since I used a debian based distro!)!! libxine1 is a media player engine for a player called xine. One of the ways linux is different from Windows is that the engines for software (like media players) are often written as a library that other software can use and you can choose the front end that you want. I said in a previous post that I use Amarok... this is what *I* like to use, however, there are hundreds of other choices you can make - like XMMS or Kaffeine which are a couple of the other big front ends for xine - hell you can even have xine-ui, which is the official front end!!

There are different package managers for different "flavours" of linux - for example Debian based systems will use .deb files, whereas there are (for example) .rpm files for systems which use that. They are essentially the same thing - just implemented different ways and therefore not compatible with each other - but you don't need to worry about that, at first, you'll mostly just be picking things from the distro's repositories... which are all pre-compiled for your distribution (compiling from source comes a bit later - and is really not difficult!!). apt-get is the command for most Debian based distros to install from the distribution's repositories (on line stores of software) - just as Gentoo has emerge, Arch has pacman and SuSE has YaST2. There are even 3rd party package managers like Smart if you don't like the default ones!! (this is worth looking into if you choose an rpm base distro like openSuSE)

 

[.walls]

I find ubuntu very similar to windows to be honest When i started using it i just tried to use it as a normal desktop system - looking at the wiki page (i will get link in a min) if i needed anything specific

Haven't used Ubuntu, but the main distros are getting very beginner friendly - which is an excellent thing!! A few years back, there was a very steep learning curve, but it's not nearly as bad now!

Put the disk in, install defaults and pretty much everything works! Use google (or the wiki in Ubuntu's case) for anything else you need (like extra software).

 

[GarethDW]

Yeah, with some of the distros like Ubuntu, Mandriva, SuSE, etc... you don't have to use the shell (the command prompt in Windows terminology) very much at all, as you can install software, configure and administer the system using nice GUIs.

Eventually you'll get to a point where you'll feel comfortable and confident enough to use the shell, at which point you'll learn how convenient it really is. Tools such as grep (a search tool that scans files for text that you specify... but has loads of added features) can really save you loads of time.

As for how you get to know the Linux commands, working instructions, etc... then there's no real secret, you've got to read-up as much as you can. There are loads of books available - online or otherwise - and you should spend some time reading up on stuff for beginner's trying out Linux before you get going.

 

[Solouko]

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.

 

[Richard Beer]

from what ive heard you can install steam on linux and i definatley know teamspeak works on linux they have a client for it. Yeah wine should work they had an artical on it in micromart.

 

[Mana]

well i have been using ubuntu for the last few days now... altho a bit daunting at first, as i realised that installing things, altho simple, wasnt like just double clicking an .exe

anyway i got it all up and running now with beryl... for the instances that i really need to use winxp, like burning certain dvd9.dvd / .iso images i use winxp, and i have that emulated completely in vmware which runs on one side of the cube, all to itself.

i have also found that all the main winxp apps that i use, there are the linux equivilient, e.g for nero there is nerolinux or k3b, for winamp there is amarok and the list goes on. i didnt even have to back up my ntfs drives (media storage and windows) as there is a program called ntfs 3g for linux that allows u to mount these drives into linux and even write to them. u have to use terminal services to set this up, but i just took it slow and followed the tutorial on the official webpage and a reboot later, the drives were on my desktop in ubuntu...

very happy with what it has done and i havent rebooted into winxp since. once i have tested everything completely and verified that i can do everything in this install that i could with winxp, i am gonna format that raptor drive and set it to ext3 partition and use it with this linux....

now i have to learn how to use samba and swat so i can share these drives over a network so my sister can access it from her winxp machine.

gonna be fun eh!

 

[.walls]

now i have to learn how to use samba and swat so i can share these drives over a network so my sister can access it from her winxp machine.

gonna be fun eh!

If your sister has the winxp firewall running, it will be helpfull for you to install winbind and open tcp port 88 on her firewall (it makes browsing her machine *much* faster... took me a while and the help of Wireshark (previously called ethereal) to get that problem sorted!!!

Also, there are plenty of Samba how to guides out there (although, I don't think any of them mention port 88 for kerberos/winbind....)