britishtrident
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| posted on 13/11/10 at 06:37 PM |
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Mint Linux 10
Mint 10 is out --- I have been using the release candidate for a while with no issues although I recommend changing the Firefox theme.
http://linuxmint.com/
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scudderfish
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| posted on 13/11/10 at 07:23 PM |
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Downloading now...
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RazMan
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| posted on 14/11/10 at 12:42 PM |
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Forgive my naiveity but what is the advantage of running Linux? I use Windoze and therefore all of my work & play progs are Windoze based. If I
was to run Linux, would I have to then run an emulation prog to keep everything going?
I mainly use Office 2010, Corel Draw X5, Photoshop etc so would I have to bin them?
I last had a look at Ubuntu and it seemed very agricultural and not half as slick as even early Win versions. I can appreciate that it is a free prog
but is that as far as it goes? Also, my desktop is a real monster with loads of RAM and 2 x quad processors - does Linux use this kind of hardware?
[Edited on 14-11-10 by RazMan]
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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britishtrident
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| posted on 14/11/10 at 04:36 PM |
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When Ubuntu was launched to a massive fanfare it was not really a desktop user ready operating system, it was raw looked truly awful and lagged
someway behind other Linux distributions that were setup for the desktop user to use straight after install. If at the time of the Ubuntu release you
had tried say Fedora or PCLinuxOS you may have formed a very different opinnion.
The Ubuntu project has matured and grown and has been used as a base for other Linux distributions, of these this most popular is Mint which is
based on Ubuntu but made to appeal to. the desktop user. It is fast and has cutting edge looks. The appearance and desktop effects are also highly
customizeable.
To install Mint from CD takes about 20 minutes --- that includes installing the Open Office Suite and all the software the average user will
ever need. If other more specialist software is required it can be download and installed with a couple of clicks of the mouse ---- and it is *****
FREE*****. The big advantage is because Mint is based on Ubuntu and they both use the Debian system for installing and un-installing software
this is import ant because any software the user installs is highly unlikely to introduce problems in the system. Likewise installing new hardware
is plug and play as drivers for almost any hardware you will encounter will install automatically.
The really important thing is Linux is stable and for most intents and purposes immune from malware and is difficult for the user to break.
[Edited on 14/11/10 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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Jubal
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| posted on 15/11/10 at 04:51 PM |
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This release appears to be a welcome return to form. It's quickish, font rendering is very nice and out of the box everything you'd want
works. Flash doesn't work too well on lower spec machines but that's not the OS fault. On one of my Dells it picked up the multi touch pad
automatically and was the first version of linux to do so.
Chrome works well where firefox doesn't (like LCB). Easily installed. However, unless you are the type that gets infected with malware regularly
then there's not much to recommend it over W7. As an upgrade from XP I think it's useful if the user can make the migration. The more the
user's world revolves around the browser the better for that.
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scudderfish
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| posted on 15/11/10 at 04:59 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by RazMan
Also, my desktop is a real monster with loads of RAM and 2 x quad processors - does Linux use this kind of hardware?
[Edited on 14-11-10 by RazMan]
Apart from number 9, the 10 fastest (publicly known) supercomputers run Linux. The top one has 186368 cores. You're PC is not even a disk
controller to them 
http://www.top500.org/lists/2010/11
[Edited on 15/11/10 by scudderfish]
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RazMan
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| posted on 16/11/10 at 12:06 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by scudderfish
The top one has 186368 cores. You're PC is not even a disk controller to them
Cor! I bet that plays a very fast game of Solitaire! 
TBH I find Win7 brilliant - I've been running it since the early beta days and without any antivirus software either 
I would probably find the lack of software for Linux very inhibiting. I know that most office functions can be done with readily available (and free)
applications but graphic design stuff is a bit thin on the ground, especially when you need to export files to customers' systems.
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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