NigeEss
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 posted on 4/3/10 at 11:22 AM |
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Vista Sucks......
Actually, it's not even that good.
I've finally had it with the BOS platform and am reverting to XP.
Has anyone got a copy they no longer use or know where I can buy one very, very cheap !
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speedyxjs
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:24 AM |
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Iv been trying to install XP onto my Vista laptop for ages and have yet to succeed
How long can i resist the temptation to drop a V8 in?
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m8kwr
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:29 AM |
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if you can get Windows 7 then install that, i never went to vista as i agree with you it sucks
But I must add do a fresh install whatever... 
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cd.thomson
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:30 AM |
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get windows 7, well worth the money I paid. 
only thing is, it doesnt seem to want to run my megajolt software if anyone knows why?
[Edited on 4/3/10 by cd.thomson]
Craig
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britishtrident
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:31 AM |
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Windows 7 or Mint Linux
Try Mint Linux it is free and comes with all the software most people ever need just down load and burn to cd and you can try it out by just
running from the CD although running off CD it will only run at about 1/5 normal speed.
[Edited on 4/3/10 by britishtrident]
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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stevec
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:34 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Windows 7 or Mint Linux
Try Mint Linux it is free and comes with all the software most people ever need just down load and burn to cd and you can try it out by just
running from the CD although running off CD it will only run at about 1/5 normal speed.
[Edited on 4/3/10 by britishtrident]
A guy at work swears by Linux as well.
Showed me how simple and Free it is.
I think we all tend to think we have to run Bill Gates crap but you don't.
Steve.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:43 AM |
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Mint Linux is the pick of the bunch I tried dozens of different version of Linux until I found Mint about 4 or 5 years ago and have been using it
ever since. All the office and multimedia application are included on the CD and more can be download and it is all free.
Mint installs in about 1/10 the time it takes to instal Xp + drivers + MS Office.
http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
[Edited on 4/3/10 by britishtrident]
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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mcerd1
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:44 AM |
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I'm also stating to like Win7 now I'm getting used to it, but it took me a long time to get used to XP so thats nothing new 
(I'm still really a win2K / 98SE fan)
NigeEss - sorry don't have a spare copy of XP, but untill very recently you could get a new OEM copy quite cheap - maybe some places will have
some old stock if you search around a bit.
speedyxjs - what problems are you having ? and what make/model of laptop is it ?
Craig - have you tried a compatabity mode ? and are you running 64 or 32 bit ?
[Edited on 4/3/10 by mcerd1]
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cd.thomson
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:47 AM |
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32bit dual core architecture.
I have heard that 7 can emulate an XP-type environment, I'll google it and have a go later.
Craig
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NigeEss
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 11:59 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Mint Linux is the pick of the bunch
http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php
[Edited on 4/3/10 by britishtrident]
Been contemplating Linux.
What's the difference between Mint, Ubuntu or Linux RPM ?
The particular software I want to run supports the latter but no mention of Mint.
Thanks BT
Nige
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iscmatt
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 12:15 PM |
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Go Mac!! 
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mcerd1
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 12:16 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by cd.thomson
32bit dual core architecture.
I have heard that 7 can emulate an XP-type environment, I'll google it and have a go later.
the pro version can get a free download of
'virtual machine' and the 'XP mode' to go with it from the MS website.....
but before you get into all that, find that actuall *.exe file that runs the program, right click on it, go to properties, then the compatibility tab
and pick 'XP SP2', ok/apply that then try running it again
I'll try it later on mine, but I'm running 64bit on a new'ish i7 - but I keep my old xp laptop for this stuff (its got a serial
port)
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 12:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by stevec
I think we all tend to think we have to run Bill Gates crap but you don't.
Sometimes you do have to unfortunately.
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mcerd1
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 12:28 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by stevec
I think we all tend to think we have to run Bill Gates crap but you don't.
Sometimes you do have to unfortunately.
what he said ^^
if your just using it as an office machine then you can pick whatever OS you like
(forgetting games and things of now)
it used to be the case that all the pro CAD stuff was on Linux, but these days its almost all on windows 
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britishtrident
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 12:45 PM |
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To explain a bit about Virtual Machines and running Windows program on Linux and other operating systems.
You can run just about any operating system inside any other operating system using what is called a virtual machine, such as VM Ware or Sun
VirtualBox* I run Windows Xp within Virtualbox on Mint Linux so I can run the software interface for the LPG on the tintop and other windows car
diagnostic software.
NB it has to be Sun VirtualBox not open source version of VirtualBox to allow access to USB ports.
One big advantage of doing this is that you can easily keep a cloned copy of the complete Windows installation so if a virus or other bady behaved
program destroy the windows installation you can have a fresh undamaged installation up and running within 30 seconds.
http://www.virtualbox.org/
Alternative other less demanding Windows programs that don't need to acess USB ports and other hardware directly can be run using the Linux
Windows emulator Wine.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 12:52 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by NigeEss
Been contemplating Linux.
What's the difference between Mint, Ubuntu or Linux RPM ?
The particular software I want to run supports the latter but no mention of Mint.
Most linux systems are based on somebody else's distribution. For Mint the tree is
debian - ubuntu - mint
In other words, ubuntu is debian with bits added. Mint is ubuntu with more bits added (and also configured to work better straight from
installation).
RPM isn't an operating system - it's the method of shipping code around for installation (think of Window's MSI files). I think
they're associated with Red Hat and/or Mandriva versions of Linux.
Most worthwhile applications come in forms acceptable to all of the major Linux types. Even if the app you want isn't available for your Linux,
they'll often supply the code for you to compile it yourself (not as tough as you think - and the compiler's supplied with the Linux
distribution, and also free).
The really big thing about mainstream Linux is the software that comes with it at zero cost. Open Office replaces MS Office, GIMP replaces Photoshop
(mostly), and so on. With Windows you get an operating system and little else. With Linux you get just about everything you would need for a
home/office installation.
It also runs quickly and, if an application crashes (as they all do), Linux is far more 'polite' about the way it handles it - the app
crashes, but the system carries on. I think I've only ever had the equivalent of the Windows 'Blue Screen of Death' once - and that
was partly due to me mucking about.
There are also versions of Linux that will run on very old machines with slow processors and little memory (e.g. Puppy Linux) although on the whole
they're not as user-friendly as the mainstream distributions (closer to 'real unix' ).
HTH
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iank
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 12:56 PM |
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As David says RPM's are a distribution file.
What software is it? I've had success using alien to convert rpm's to deb's (used by debian, ubuntu and presumably mint).
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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Hugh_
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 01:04 PM |
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Vista is fine if your computer is man enough to run it. The only issues I had were getting 64bit drivers for it.
As it happens I've upgraded to Windows 7 as after a reformat it said I'd used all my Vista licenses, which was a bit of an arse.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 01:10 PM |
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Linux Versions
Mint is really a version of Ubuntu customised for easy desktop use. In turn Ubuntu is based on a cutting edge testing version of Debian Linux.
Most version of Linux are free, The versions of Linux around split roughly into two main groups those based on Debian or those based on Red Hat.
In the early days Linux it used to be difficult to install programs and keep them up todate but two systems were invented to make it all much easier
and programs were packaged in either .deb files or .rpm so they could be easily installed with just a couple of mouse clicks.
Debian, Ubuntu, Mint and many others use .deb packages.
Red Hat Linux (non free) and Fedora (free testing version of Red Hat) and a good few others use use .rpm packages.
These are the main software package management systems used but aren't the only systems used and they can be made to install on each others
systems.
Up to date info on all the various Linux distributions can be found at
http://distrowatch.com/
To install most Linux version just go to the download site down load the .iso file which is an image of a Linux install CD or sometimes DVD and
use Nero or similar software to burn the iso file to CD or DVD as appropriate.
This then gives you a bootable CD which can be use to install Linux or run it from Cd to test it out.
[Edited on 4/3/10 by britishtrident]
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 01:54 PM |
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and if you aren't sure about burning an ISO image onto a CD-ROM - keep an eye on the Linux magazines on the newsagents' shelves. One of
last month's mags had the latest Linux Mint on the cover disk.
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NigeEss
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 02:16 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
and if you aren't sure about burning an ISO image onto a CD-ROM
Ok with that thanks. Infact have done it and This is me using Linux
quote:
Originally posted by iank
What software is it?
Itunes and SqueezeCentre.
I'll have a go at running them.
One thing I have noticed already is that web pages seem squashed to the left but the header/address bars fill the screen. Guess it's a page
setup thing ?
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iank
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 02:28 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by NigeEss
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
and if you aren't sure about burning an ISO image onto a CD-ROM
Ok with that thanks. Infact have done it and This is me using Linux
quote:
Originally posted by iank
What software is it?
Itunes and SqueezeCentre.
I'll have a go at running them.
One thing I have noticed already is that web pages seem squashed to the left but the header/address bars fill the screen. Guess it's a page
setup thing ?
See http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=130664
or use google chrome.
For itunes you can try this
http://www.ehow.com/how_5197743_download-itunes-linux-ubuntu.html
or read here
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/itunes
Squeezecentre redirects here
http://linux.softpedia.com/progDownload/SqueezeCenter-Download-42758.html
which has a debian/ubuntu version which should work on mint (run synaptic to see whether it's already available prepacked).
[Edited on 4/3/10 by iank]
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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scootz
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 02:33 PM |
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I'm up at my folks for the week, so having to use their laptop which runs Vista... PITA!
Mind you, I'm a Mac-Man, so anything involving PC operating systems does my nut in!
It's Evolution Baby!
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Humbug
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 06:52 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by scootz
I'm up at my folks for the week, so having to use their laptop which runs Vista... PITA!
Mind you, I'm a Mac-Man, so anything involving PC operating systems does my nut in!
So, is Linux a "PC operating system"? Both Linux and Mac OS originally developed from a Unix base. To my mind, Macs are nice, but
expensive for what you get and proprietary, so you tend to have to go to Apple for things... I think if I was starting from scratch I would go for a
generic "PC" with Linux: a bit like going for a Locost because lots of things are free/cheap to do to get almost the same as what you pay
for in a Caterham but can't afford
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britishtrident
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| posted on 4/3/10 at 07:26 PM |
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UNIX, BSD, Mac, Linux, Solaris even the Windows NT family are all related to greatly varying extents.
For Joe Q Public the choice boils down to MS, Mac or Linux just a few years ago installing Linux wasn't exactly to be taken lightly now it is
easier than loading an MS operating system and the required software.
Where MS operating systems tend to take massive leaps every Windows generation Linux tends to evolve with each distribution taking smaller steps every
6 or 12 months.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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