Wow! I'm actually posting this with Linux :-P

[Circlotron]

Hi all. Just having a bit of an experiment with Red Hat Linux, and browsing with Mozilla. Guess what? It actually works!! One of the things I am trying to do is to install Wine - a piece of software that allows you to run Windows applications on Linux. Just can't figure it out yet. Ah well, got this far, won't let it beat me.

[dhaen]

If it's your first try, well done

I find that Konquerer (the application that comes as the file explorer) is a lighter and better web browser.

Wine is nice. It can't be too difficult to use, cos even I got it working
It'll only run the most basic Windows apps as it stands. If you want to run Office, you need to look up CrossoverOffice at Codeweavers. They do the commercial side of the Wine coding, and will supply a guaranteed, fully working solution. Unfortunately it costs money.
An alternative is OpenOffice. It's a Java based office suite that's free. It has versions for Linux and Win32.

There are Virtual Machines available too, free and $$$.

Enjoy

[Circlotron]

Originally posted by dhaen
If it's your first try, well done

Actually it's my 6th or 7th.
I would be messing around with something I didn't know much about and break something and have to re-install again. Usually there would be some simple fix - simple if you know how. e.g. the other day the thing seemed to get stuck in some kind of endless loop and I had to reset the thing. Of course it wouldn't boot because the file system was broken somehow. Eventually I discovered and used the fsck command. After trying fsck /dev/hda0 about 30 times I finally tried fsck / and it fixed it. Otherwise I would chuck it in the corner for another 6 months.

I have proper copies of '95, '98se, Me & NT. Also proper paid-for Office 97. So why use Linux? Because it's there.

[whisper]

There are Virtual Machines available too, free and $$$.

One of the best virtual machines i've ever used, and i'd recommend it if you love linux, but are stuck using windows programs, is VMWare http://<a href="http://vmware.com" t...vmware.com</a> Unfortunately this tool doesn't come free, though there is a 30 day demo, I recommend trying the demo and making a decision for yourself.

(fyi, virtual machines use ram to run a fake computer, so make sure you got the ram before you start going and running 3 xp machines in the background, I have 256mb of ram, with redhat 9 and vmware installed and can run a win2k/xp machine with little problems )

Another tip; To get more out of your Wine installation, you should definately try this:
1) Before installing linux, install windows and make it your primary OS. ( Windows wipes out bootloaders if installed after linux, there's ways around this, but for the sake of simplicity I recommend installing windows first. )
2) Update windows with whatever you want, and install the programs you would like to use with Wine.
3) Install Linux now, and use lilo, grub or another capable bootloader.
4) If you really hate windows and don't want to know it's there, you can edit your bootloaders config file (check google or docs) to stop it from asking you what to boot to (but having that option is always good for system recovery when needed)
5) Install and setup the config for wine, using the windows directory you created, rather than making a fake one.

These are just tips that have been passed along to me from other, more seasoned linux peoples, I by default, am a windows user converted to the more powerfull world of linux, but by no means even close to a representative of any linux intelligence

And one last note before I stop rambling; VMWare only has support for installing on Redhat, Slackware, Mandrake, and a couple other popular linux distrobutions, I suggest reading the docs online before determining the linux distro you want (if you want VMWare [VMWare doesn't support Debian though, don't understand why not] )
I do believe the source is also released if you want to try compiling your own, but this can be a very frustrating task for beginners.

[Solid Snake]

Congrats Circlotron! I prefer Mandrake over RedHat but Redhat is my second choice. Last year I read about Microsoft's Palladium and XP. I knew little about Linux at the time, but that same night, I bought Mandrake Linux 8.2 and started playing around. A year later, I'm more or less competent in Linux, I can use the shell effectively, edit config files, download and install software, and even create music with my MIDI keyboard. An average distribution has enough software to keep you busy for a lifetime Before I could figure out how to do everything in Linux, I booted into Win98 often. As time went on, my windows usage dropped significantly. I haven't booted into windows in months now It's good to be "under the radar" of the latest XP/outlook virus. Stick with it, it should serve you well.

[millwood]

the best linux distro for me is knoppix. it can boot right up from a cd, with zero changes to the HD. so for you windows guys, you can easily boot into linux and have fun right away.