Help with Linux

[Mattica]

Hey guys, I have never used Linux but I would like to learn about it more. Can someone give me a rundown of what it is...how it works, etc?? Like, does it have a GUI? stuff like that....thanksz0r :)

[Sami]

GUI, well of course. Go to linuxiso.org and download the Fedora Core 3, either on 4 CD's or one DVD. Burn the image and boot with the disc in the drive. It will go from there, as easy as Windows installation.

http://linuxiso.org/distro.php?distro=64

[Mattica]

can you play games off of it....and load apps ...like MS office?

[trey85stang]

[QUOTE=Mattica]can you play games off of it....and load apps ...like MS office?[/QUOTE]


yes and no... there are quite a few commercial games that work.. but not as many as windows, linux is a little different from winders, you will get about 4000 application installed by defualt unlinke windows... MS Office works with a commercial app called CrossOver office.. you can buy it from www.codeweavers.com its 40 bucks and you can try it out for a month.

[Sami]

If it wasn't for games, I would go all Linux on my home network. We'll see how things shape up in the future, hopefully more and more developing firms start to port their stuff to Linus as well.

[DarkWolf]

I wouldn't say it's as easy as setting up Windows, but it's not anything difficult, if you're even slightly computer literate.

To someone that buys a computer and doesn't bother to learn anything about it, just uses IE and OE to surf, get email, and maybe installs AIM, they'd probably be lost right at the beginning where it asks if you want to set up a Desktop, Workstation, Server, or Custom install.

I went with Custom to make sure I would have access to choose the packages I wanted installed. Wanted to make sure FireFox/Thunderbird/Gaim got installed. Gaim was automatically selected, but FireFox and Thunderbird I had to put a check next to.

[Sami]

Also install apt-get and then synaptic (GUI for apt-get), updates are easier that way. Not nearly all programs are in apt-get database but there are quite a few.

[DarkWolf]

That reminds me... I installed both GNOME and KDE to check both of them out and decide which one I wanna use. How do I switch between the two? I know I'll have to restart X to switch, but I don't see anywhere that it gives the option to switch so I'm assuming I need to manually change a config file, but got no idea which one to change.

It defaults to GNOME. And I assume X.Org is the new default X system, but need to find out how I check to make sure that's what I've got, instead of XFree86.

[trey85stang]

[QUOTE=DarkWolf]That reminds me... I installed both GNOME and KDE to check both of them out and decide which one I wanna use. How do I switch between the two? I know I'll have to restart X to switch, but I don't see anywhere that it gives the option to switch so I'm assuming I need to manually change a config file, but got no idea which one to change.

It defaults to GNOME. And I assume X.Org is the new default X system, but need to find out how I check to make sure that's what I've got, instead of XFree86.[/QUOTE]


two ways... first is the switchdesk command... second at the login window there should be an option for something like environment.. you can switch between the differnt WM's..

[yonson]

I've been using SuSE 9.2 for a couple weeks now, so far I have been pretty happy with it.