linux newbie :)

smoke.me.a.kipper

ok, im running Win98:SE on a laptop. ive played around with Corel Linux (shudder) on my desktop pc in the past. Im looking into getting a proper permanent linux installation running alongside Win98:SE on my laptop. Hving looked around the various linux websites, im looking at getting Mandrake. What do you think. Also, I dont want to delete Win98, so im gonna use Partition Magic to set up a linux partition.

Now, heres where im stuck. Ive seen pics of windows(the entire OS, not just apps) running in linux windows on the mandrake site. where can i get these programs?? are they free. I also want access to the linux partition from Win98. Can i access this or do i need to install linux on FAT32. is this possible??

Also, what is KBE or GNOME or what ever their called??

What are rpm's??

Basically i want to get into linux, but i dont want to be using a 'newbie linux' and then have to go and get a more professional distro, later on, when i feel im ready.

any thoughts ideas, suggestions??

thanks.

[This message has been edited by smoke-me-a-kipper (edited 23-08-2001).]

Hecate

heh, I'll start from the top

Mandrake isn't great; you'd be better of getting somthing like SuSE if you're just starting out. I found it really easy to install and use. It comes with a configuration tool called Yast 2 that gives you control over nearly everything on the system, I was even able to get my ADSL working in about 5 minutes with it
The only thing I'd say is that it's quite big, the default install is about 1.2 gigs (I think). Although you can do a custom install if you feel comfortable with it.

The windows apps you saw running on mandrake use a windows emulator called wine, some win programmes work with it, some dont.

Yes It's entirely possible to gain access to your fat32 partition, most distros will set that up automatically if not you may need to do some configuration file editing but it's nothing too difficult.

Linux won't install on fat32, it uses it's own file system called Ext2 which is incompatible.

KDE and GNOME are window managers, they work as a graphical front end to Linux using the X window system. You can install both or just one, it's down to personal preferenence really, I prefer KDE.

RPM's are just packages, kind of like self extracting install files you get with windows; they perform the necessary file copying and configuration operations automatically.

Mandrake would be termed a newbie linux I suppose, it's really just a reworking of Redhat. You would be better off with somthing like SuSE and then mabye move on to one of the more interesting distros like Debian/Progeny once you're comfortable with it.

A bit general but I hope it helps


[This message has been edited by Hecate (edited 23-08-2001).]

dahamsta

The windows apps you saw running on mandrake use a windows emulator called wine, some win programmes work with it, some dont.

Also have a look at VMware, which is very cool.

Linux won't install on fat32, it uses it's own file system called Ext2 which is incompatible.

To be fair, most distros will allow you to install into a fake partition on FAT32 now, i.e. it creates a file that acts like a filesystem (much like VMware in fact). It runs slower and it's slightly hamstrung, but it's a nice way to get a feel for Linux as a newbie, or try out different distros without having to **** around with partitioning.

Mandrake would be termed a newbie linux I suppose, it's really just a reworking of Redhat.

It was, but not any more, they're really quite different now. And I wouldn't really call it a newbie Linux, I'd be more inclinded to say it's a *usable* Linux. It's really quite a capable distro. I had trouble installing it the last time though, which surprised me, because Mandrake has traditionally been one of the best at installation.

Not getting into another distro flame war though. Try 'em all, pick the one(s) you like.

adam

smoke.me.a.kipper

thanks. ill look into what you said.

now how to get the distro's. i got a t1 connection in college. mega fast, but can only bring home downloads on 100mb zip discs. i have a cd burner at home so id prefer to download the iso's. how big gennerally are the distros??

anyone in tipperary (clonmel) area got these on cd's i could borrow??

[This message has been edited by smoke-me-a-kipper (edited 23-08-2001).]

Snaga

Most distros are 2 cd's, one with the OS and some extras and another full of extra usefull apps. Debians latest distro has a third cd of extras tacked on too.

So the isos will be approx 650mb per cd.

chernobyl

yeah but debian/slackware are a no no if your a new user.
if your new and you start into unix on one of those distros your in a "sink or swim" situation and if you sink you will have a very poor view of unix.
start with some nice, mainly GUI based distro like Suse but i wont knock mandrake either,but mandrake is as far from debian (where you want to eventually end up or FreeBSD if you wanna go the whole 9) as black from "light" black.

---

Ashley Lyn

Ashley Lyn Cafagna

Red Moose

If you can only get 100MB Zip disks, and you are running Windows in college, then get something like Power Archiver (free) for Windows to make a spanned set of 100MB files out of the single 650MB ISO you downloaded.

Regarding distros - I think Mandrake is nice. And don't believe the crap about Debian or anything. Both will have gcc, both will have glibc, etc., etc., etc., . All use the same packages, whether in .RPM format (like Mandrake, RedHat, etc., ) or .deb format (like Corel, Debian). It's all the same except for this:

The Debian group spend a lot of time combing for bugs in the packages that other distro makes don't do. Hence, you may find that Debian are behind in terms of version releases compared to Mandrake or something. You won't see Debian releasing the latest KDe 2.2 release (at least I think they haven't yet ).

But the work they put into the core system in terms of fixing it up makes Debian very very very very stable. Although on my bleeding edge .RPM system with recompiled .src.rpms for everything I don't ever have a problem at all, so I gave up with Debian being slightly behind, and simply get the latest stuff always, and compile it on my own machine.

OK, something a linux newbie maybe doesn't see is that the packages that make up a distro are all the same - the kernel is released by a separate group, say, and the distro makers like Mandrake or SuSE do it up like they want and put it in a box.

The C library (glibc) is released by a group of people who make it and fix it and add features. The current version is 2.2.4.

Now, again, RedHat will take it and maybe fix a few bugs, maybe not. Debian will take it as well and make it for their own distro release.

Then, the company has all these hundreds of packages that come from the open community and put them on a CD like they want to. Essentially I don't think distro version matters a rat's ass. All end up the same in the end, and your choice of GUI is personal preference. I like WindowMaker. I couldn't get the latest from Mandrake so I went to rpmfind.net and got a .src package from some distro, don't even know which one.

My point is that for a newbie it doesn't matter what distro you get, the installation will be out of date as soon as you log in as root for the first time. Then go online and download all the new stuff. It isn't like Windows where the "release" as in Windows 98SE or something, is static because it's all from one source.

I.e., the kernel is 2.4.9 but even Mandrake's latest beta is 2.4.6 (I think) so get the latest source and use it to update your system yourself. Just get any distro at all and work from there.

[This message has been edited by Red Moose (edited 24-08-2001).]