Linux Update: One Week On
Just about every post I have made here in the last week has been done from my laptop computer running Ubuntu 7.10, I wrote right after I first tried it out that I thought people would be impressed. One week on, I still think so. Don't get me wrong, there are a few drawbacks from a Microsoft Windows OS - like no DVD movie player. But I really don't use that all that often anyway and it is not missed. What it does do is give you a "work" computer, rather than an "entertainment" computer right out of the box.
At the moment I have four separate workspaces or desktops I can use with a click of a button. (There are two set up right out of the box). I have a full office suite, photo editing, games and media playing. Flash player and Java need to be installed (simple, just click the package manager). The system interfaces with Palm Pilots as-is, no fooling with things to make it work. I set up the email to work with my website in a very short time.
Seriously, if you have an older computer sitting around that you are not using, throw a spare drive in it and install this program (or if you don't do hardware and have disks to restore your old system if you don't like Ubuntu, wipe the drive and install this OS.)
All of this is not to dismiss other Linux systems, BTW. This one happens to work pretty well for me. Other people might find other systems fit their needs better.
Geek Stuff | Gaius Sunday, 10 February , 2008
By Anthony (Los Angeles), Sunday, 10 February , 2008 @ 11:23 pm
Gaius, I have an old (came with Win 98SE) P3-450 laptop with 128mb of ram. I’ve wanted to extend its life, and Ubuntu sounds promising. So you think my machine is too old/feeble for this?
By Jack, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 4:00 am
Anthony, If you want to try linux out, I would suggest Xubuntu (Ubuntu’s lightweight brother) or upgrade your ram a little bit.
Also, while support for some hardware is sketchy out of the box, most things can be done with a little work. Try ubuntuforums.org if you need any help, the members there are very helpful (even for complete newbies, like myself)
I just bought a brand new, quad core machine, and there was no way I was putting anything but Ubuntu on it. It’s not only good for low end
By Thomas Pfau, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 5:42 am
128MB might be a little light for linux. If you can upgrade that to a minimum of 512MB, that machine ought to be a solid performer with linux. One of my machines is a 700MHz P3 with 512MB and it runs great. I even have some older machines.
Try Xine or MPlayer for playing DVDs. If you still have problems, I would suspect the problem to be missing codecs. Ubuntu is based on Debian which tries to include only free software and normally excludes any proprietary components such as codecs.
By Gaius, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 5:45 am
Anthony, Jack’s advice is probably the best for that small an amount of RAM. I have run Ubuntu 6.10 on an old Dell Optiplex with a P-II running at 350MHz, but it also had 384MB in it. Try the Xubuntu first. And the forums are full of people who are very nice about helping out complete beginners.
By bill-tb, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 5:47 am
Ubuntu is great, been running it for years.
I have an old PIII 500 with 348 mb. I think 128 mb would not be enough memory. My old 500 MHz machine has a 512 cache, one of the fastest PIIIs, and a 256 mb AGP graphics card, which overall works fine for a server, but slow with gnome. Xbuntu would also be my choice, you can add it later or install it first.
If you can’t install more memory, try one of the other slimmed down distributions, like damnsmall Linux.
I still have a few wart issues, but just decided to ignore for now. One way to fix the IE compatibility issues with some sites, install ies4linux and run IE 6 in wine. It’s all on the ies4linux site how to.
By Gaius, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 5:50 am
Thomas, yes,I realize that it is the missing codecs which are “ugly”. What surprises me is that there isn’t a licensed, legal DVD product available - at least not one I’ve found. Even if you have to pay for it, it would be worth it.
(I realize that’s heresy for some Linux users.)
By Anthony (Los Angeles), Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 7:29 am
Thanks for the advice, folks.
By Gaius, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 7:35 am
I’m trying it out right now on my son’s old P-II Toshiba. Xubuntu is loading up very slowly from the live disk - not unexpected given the mammoth 96MB of Ram the unit has! (The computer was designed for Windows 98, so it should be fairly similar to what you have, Anthony.)
By Sam, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 3:27 pm
Thanks for the info on Linux. I want to experiment with Linux on an old Compaq desktop that my daughter has outgrown. Are there any programs that will input analog signals into the PC and digitize them? One of the things I want to do is digitally record my extensive LP collection.
By Gaius, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 4:20 pm
Yup, there sure is. It’s called Audacity and there is a version that will run on Windows PC. But the program is GNU Public License and is completely free of charge. (I’m going to do the same thing with my old LPs one of these days.)
By NortonPete, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 6:05 pm
I’m having a bit of a problem because of a Abit VT7 motherboard and display adapter because of PT880 chipset. Amazingly there is a work around which I will get into this weekend.
FYI:
I bought an inexpensive turntable from Radio Shack and play my LP collection through my stereo. Guess what? They sound better to these 56+ year old ears then my DVDs.
By NortonPete, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 6:07 pm
Oh , you need to get some product like “Gruv Glide” to condition the vinyl. It cleans and adds a lubricant. Sounds great!
By Gaius, Monday, 11 February , 2008 @ 8:07 pm
Yeah, Ubuntu did not like the VT-7 board I have. No problems with an IS7-V2 board, though.
By Thomas Pfau, Tuesday, 12 February , 2008 @ 8:10 am
NortonPete, I had the same experience. A while back I was transferring some old vinyl to CD through my computer. I heard some swirling effects while playing an ELO album that I’ve yet to reproduce playing the CD. I was also surprised at how warm the album sounded compared to digital.