what do you do on linux?

FrostedNipple

FrostedNipple

FrostedNipple

Permabanned
Joined
28 Oct 2006
Posts
6,552
Location
Bournemouth
I've got myself Ubuntu 7.10 working perfectly, however im stumped as to what to do on it! I installed it for the novelty of being able to say i use Linux, however so far it just seems a little more basic compared to ms windows, for starters i can't game on linux and video quality is a bit dodgy too and thats without talking about the lack of support! So what advantages are there from it?
 
What can you do...? Pretty much everything with the exception of gaming unless the games are written for Linux or Cedega can run them.

Use the Internet...? Yep, I use Firefox, Thunderbird, Pidgin (for IM), Klibido (for my newsgroup binaries), bitchx (for irc), etc...

Graphics stuff...? Yep, I use The Gimp, although I'm still naff at using it - as I am with Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, etc... on Windows.

Multimedia stuff...? Yep, I use Xmms, Audacity, etc...

Burning CDs/DVDs...? Yep, I use K3B.

Reading PDFs...? Yep, and I didn't need to install Acrobat either :)

Coding...? Yep, I use Eclipse.

Office-type stuff for work...? Yep, I use Open Office.


Maybe it would be easier if you told us what you use Windows for, and we'll tell you the possible equivalents in Windows. Unless you do use your PC solely for gaming... in which case, Windows may be your only option.
 
Last edited:
ps - if your "video quality" is dodgy under Linux then you've not got it "working perfectly" yet ;)

pps - as for the support, I find Linux support to be better than Windows support for the home user. YMMV, however.
 
I use it as a besktop:
Instant messaging (Pidgin)
Web browsing (Firefox, Opera)
Playing media [mp3, ogg, mkv, avi, etc.] (mPlayer, VLC, AmaroK)
Catching podcasts (gPodder, AmaroK)
Photo/image editing (GIMP, Picasa)
FTP (gFTP, FileZilla)
Casual games
Word processing/document authoring (OpenOffice, Lyx)
Torrents (µTorrent)
CD/DVD authoring (GnomeBaker, Polidori)

What I don't use it for:
CAD/CAM
Proprietary games
 
Everything other than gaming, not that I game much now I have my XBOX.. everything else is fine, I dual-boot between Ubuntu and XP on this laptop purely 'cause it's easier for the missus to use her phone software under Windows..
 
As a desktop machine (ironically, it's under my bed at the minute until I find more space due to reorganisation / being on loan to family for while) - I find the interface is much nicer than XP & Vista, and prefer it to OSX (only just, mind - but Linux is more fiddly than OSX to get how I like it :)).

Games wise I used to play ut2004 and Quake 4 - not sure if ut3 is working on Linux yet but that would probably be the main game I play on it when I get everything sorted again, and old games like Day of the Tentacle & Broken Sword 1 & 2 on scummvm, other than that I'm happy to be a console gamer, though some strategy games would be nice :)

Amarok for listening to music, and I find Linux to be the most comfortable platform for web design for me - Bluefish is fantastic (you have to know html, php etc as it doesn't write it for you - I like to write aswell as design, and keep a lot of control over the language).

The fact that so much in Linux is free allows me to try a lot more stuff than I would normally, and I very much enjoy messing around with config files (generally, anyway - once I understand what I'm doing :)).

Video playback in my experience is excellent, including the option to watch any region dvd almost as standard.
 
I use it for simplicity. My Arch install running Fluxbox boots very quickly and has only the programs I need on there. I do have an install of Gnome on there, just to prove that Compiz would work well, which it does (quicker than Ubuntu).

It runs an FTP server when on, but that's soon to become redundant when I get a NAS box.

Reason I've not got it on my main machine? I can't be bothered with reformatting my drives at the moment, way too much hassle. I would also have to maintain a Windows install for phone purposes and running things that I can't be without like Photoshop... The Gimp just isn't good enough for me yet.

Final thing, I've got a G15. Can't waste a £50 keyboard with a lack of support...
 
I personally love the open source idea, free software that anyone can contribute too, view code for, and help everyone out with.

I love the support from forums, there is always sumone out there who can help.

I love the quality of software as well and the new things linux can do that windows simply *** struggle to even attempt

Gaunt
 
hmm, i didn't realize vlc was on Linux, thats good news! also, is there any software that is similar to speed fan, as i normally lower my CPU fan to 80% in windows to stop the rattling that occurs at any higher. Also when i boot Linux the splash screen changed from Ubuntu to kubuntu when i installed the KDE GUI, how do i change it back?
 
I'd use it for a machine ie a laptop, where gaming isn't important. General GUI use, email, browsing, burning data etc.

However since both PC's (gaming and HTPC) a Linux distro won't cover these two bases, the HTPC side possibly but hardware isn't supported fully, also the HTPC front end appears to behing Media Portal.
 
gumbald said:
Final thing, I've got a G15. Can't waste a £50 keyboard with a lack of support...
Click to expand...

You referring to the LCD or the hotkeys? A friend of mine has a G15 running fine under Linux and he uses the LCD with no issues whatsoever.

If you have a specific problem I will ask him and see how he does it. I have a G11 but I run Windows as my main desktop for a few reasons.
 
I've just looked at the G15 tools and they have improved since I bought the keyboard! I can't be doing with the upheaval of changing my entire system at the moment though, wouldn't want to mislay one of my project files or such :p
 
I use Linux for everything except;

Gaming
Watching movies from my laptop to TV


I moved to Linux about 2 weeks ago and absolutely love it so far. Yes, there were some headaches settings it all up and it did take some time to learn the basics (I still am), but it is well worth it.
I have found it far quicker than Windows XP, it looks much nicer, more stable, secure and the support is excellent on the Ubuntu forums and IRC.
The only thing bothering me right now is getting my TV to work with Ubuntu. I want to be able to watch films on my TV maximized, so my laptop screen and TV screen act like separate screens, but it's turning out to be a major headache, so I am using Windows for that now...
 
I have a kubuntu server AMD64...runs soooo much nicer than a windows equivalent, got fed up of stupid issues with windows and the other security issues. the 64bit edition is extremely fast, enjoying the messing!
 
I just use Linux on Dedicated boxes that I manage, CentOS all the way!

I also dual boot with Ubuntu 7.10 although I use Vista most of the time as I'm a gamer and Linux doesnt really fufill that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom