Now a Linux user :)

Hello,

I am officially now a Linux user ... I am currently using the 'Ubuntu' distribution and I do like it, however, I do not like not having WINE and DosBox, so I am now downloading Slax KillBill Edition with WINE and DosBox... I am not using my Linux PC right now though, because it does not like my wifi adapter.

Try "VECTOR LINUX SOHO" it ROCKS! IT'S HUGE! IT'S FREE!! SOHO, stands for small office- home office. It is a Slackware based distro. It has all, and I mean all the bells and whistles. They have a good website and group. It comes with more terminals, browsers, GUI's , built in drivers etc. than you will believe.

Thanks, I will look into it ..
I tried Slax and have been very disapointed it froze a few times when I tried WINE... I liked Ubuntu, though...

You should be able to install WINE and such on Ubuntu using apt-get, as it is Debian based. You may need to set up the sources though. I suggest downloading Automatix (Easy Breezy?) for Ubuntu and running that to get started. It is an automatic installer for basic things like fonts and other little nuances that Linux needs to really be usable.

Slax is rather poor. If you are talented at Linux already, check out Slackware. But I would really recommend SuSe. Ignore any past recommendations for Fedora, its console and configuration is pitiful and unreliable.

WINE is also unreliable, and takes some skill to set up properly. It is best to get the latest version, rather than use the one that comes with a distribution. It changes often.

Again, with Fedora be sure to set up your YUM source list.

Actually, I prefer DSL (DAMN SMALL LINUX) on a 1 gig USB thumbdrive.

Thanks for the advice, abyssnight, ProgramSynthesiser, and stftclmshell... I am now downloading SuSE 10.0 OSS and Sun Microsystems' Linux... I will also look into DSL...

SuSE is very good for things like laptops, I've noticed. My toshiba laptop uses ACPI instead of APM for power management, and none of the linux distributions would pick up on it except SuSE. Very good distro, and you get YaST which is slick as well.

DSL is good for thumbdrives, as is Puppy linux. Sun's Solaris is a bit different though. It's great that you are able to try them all out! I need to load Ubuntu on my other drive after I back everything up. 80gb SATA just waiting for a kernel. Hehe.

Sun Microsystem's? Don't you mean Solaris? It is a completely different beast, I am yet to try it.

Once you get the apps you want loaded to your thumb drive, DSL is just fun to play with. The ability to walk up to any Windows box and run Linux and not leave any tracks of being there is handy. I pulled an old desktop out of storage, bumped up the ram with some old sticks I had lying around. Bingo! a 'puter in the production shop.

Not as in SOHO Birmingham!?
Anyway tenjeangosi, you won't be the only one using a Unix OS soon(tm), My sig displays all. Well, I got an email from Auran today, a developer for a product which I am involved in, and errr.... Time for an iBook!

If you want to learn linux, have a look at Gentoo Linux. www.gentoo.org (free)

it's source-based, which means that the installation will be made specifically for your system. you can optimize/tweak it to the max. It always uses the very latest availiable versions of software, and installation of new programs is a breeze (just needs patience depending on the processor speed).

I played with RedHat from v6.0 through to 9.0 and thought I knew linux, but with 1 installation of Gentoo, I learned more then in 5 years of RedHat.

Why I like Gentoo so much?
1. Information Galore, they have manuals and guides for everything you can think of.
2. Community, the forums.gentoo.org community is the most helpfull linux community I have ever seen. People do go out of their way to figure out a solution for your problem, but most likely an issue or a question you have is already solved on the forum anyways. (even if you dont use Gentoo, the information there is still worth looking into if your stuck.)
3. Experience. the installation of Gentoo will teach you all what linux is about. You will learn how things work (to a certain extend) and what parts do what, and how to make changes easely. One of the first things you do is (scary, but made easy) compiling your kernel.

However, it takes a while for it to be installed though, so make sure you use a space system.

Wessex: iBooks rock. Let me know if you need a hand with it.

Gentoo is great for people who want to learn, but from experience I can say it was a royal pain to follow the instructions. If you're starting out, definitely do the Stage 3 install. We had a guy at work who loved Gentoo so much, but the boss got a little upset because he kept recompiling our VoIP phone system...

All the distros are good, its just finding one you like (or can tolerate) most.

I'd recommend KUbuntu - comes with KDE. You can install (this may apply to the nomral Ubuntu dist) all the usual products by editing /etc/apt/sources.list and unhashing all the commented sources. Then you can install MP3/Wine and all the usual. I'm using it now and couldn't be happier with it...