Ubuntu (Linux distro OS) Discussion

[Rusty Shackleford]

I just got Ubuntu 12.10 on my old rig that had some catastrophic software issues. Installed Ubuntu over the old OS and its running fine-ish. The problem is, how does one use it? I virtually grew up with Windows (pun semi-intended) and now i have to learn to navigate new tabs and a windows system that operates like a web browser. this is so strange.

some priorities of mine are

1: figuring out drivers for hardware and finding a device manager
2: making Wine operable so i can play my feckin steam games
3: finding or figuring out a windows-like layout.

anyone have experience with Ubuntu?

[Comrade #138672]

I have some experience with Ubuntu. I am using it for some time now.

1. Ubuntu will install most of the drivers for you. What kind of device are you talking about? Sometimes you need to install them manually (which isn't so hard as it sounds).
2. Have you already installed Wine? If not, open your terminal and type: sudo apt-get install wine
3. What do you mean with layout? A desktop like Gnome?

[Willin']

I just got Ubuntu 12.10 on my old rig that had some catastrophic software issues. Installed Ubuntu over the old OS and its running fine-ish. The problem is, how does one use it? I virtually grew up with Windows (pun semi-intended) and now i have to learn to navigate new tabs and a windows system that operates like a web browser. this is so strange.

some priorities of mine are

1: figuring out drivers for hardware and finding a device manager
2: making Wine operable so i can play my feckin steam games
3: finding or figuring out a windows-like layout.

anyone have experience with Ubuntu?

Steam will be ported to linux very soon
well ubuntu can be confusing at beggining but you will get a hang of it,or you can try linux mint its more polished ubuntu blog.linuxmint.com/?p=2216
You also have a quide on ubuntu:
ubuntuguide.org/wiki/ubuntu quantal
ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1052065

Enjoy linux microsoft is for capitalist

[svenne]

You could say bye-bye to Ubuntu and instead install one of its sub-projects, like Lubuntu or Xubuntu. That way, you'll propably get a better "layout" that looks more like Windows. I'm using Lubuntu myself, and it works suprisingly good on my laptop (1,5 ghz, 1 gb ram, a crappy graphic card).

[Quail]

I just got Ubuntu 12.10 on my old rig that had some catastrophic software issues. Installed Ubuntu over the old OS and its running fine-ish. The problem is, how does one use it? I virtually grew up with Windows (pun semi-intended) and now i have to learn to navigate new tabs and a windows system that operates like a web browser. this is so strange.

some priorities of mine are

1: figuring out drivers for hardware and finding a device manager

Have you looked on the internet?

2: making Wine operable so i can play my feckin steam games
Have you tried winetricks? There are a few games that don't work on WINE, but most stuff I've tried works fine.

3: finding or figuring out a windows-like layout.

Why would you want a Windows-like layout? The way Ubuntu is laid out is so user-friendly that it's better that windows, and I'd rather Windows was laid out in a Ubuntu-like way (I have a dual boot). Maybe it's just what I'm used to.

[Revoltorb]

1) For pretty much everything but graphics all of the drivers are in the linux kernel so you shouldn't need any. For nVidia cards this looks like a good walkthrough for installation: http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/ubuntu-quetzal-nvidia.html For ATI/AMD drivers, http://askubuntu.com/questions/206288/how-can-i-get-the-amd-driver-running-on-ubuntu-12-10-amd-radeon-hd-7310-amd-vi looks to do the same job.

2) I suggest using PlayOnLinux. It's a wine{,tricks} frontend that has a large repository of needed tweaks that enable you to run games, including one for Steam (works fine for me in an up to date Arch Linux system).

3) For a Windows like UX I recommend looking into either cinnamon, KDE, xfce, lxde, or MATE DEs. Although I echo Quail's sentiments in asking why you would want one? Try out different configurations including standalone or tiling window managers. I personally settled on standalone Openbox with a small system tray and conky setup and rely on keybindings to open and navigate through my programs.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Ive been looking at the internet and for me this is a completely new way of doing things. Im just so lazy when it comes to managing things so the terminal is something that puts me off. Im sure ill get used to it soon though.

as for the layout/gui ill stick with it for now. out with the old in with the new i guess. and to be clear, i only have about 3 hours of experience with the system right now. :lol:

thank you all for the input. ill keep browsing the internet. and please, feel free to use this thread as a general linux ask space. this is Mutual Aid and DIY of course:thumbup1:

[ckaihatsu]

After trying out several different kinds of Linux distros I've settled on a favorite, with some select modifications to make for a very smooth and clean user experience, even on older machines with limited resources.

One recommendation that can go a long way is to use a *second*, spare machine as a "headless server" on your local area network. ('Headless' meaning that once it's set up it doesn't need a display since you access all of its functions remotely from your main PC or handheld device -- any laptop will do nicely for this, even if it has a broken screen.) You can run utility tasks like a music jukebox, file serving, and anything processor-intensive on the server whenever you like without interfering with your work on your main machine in the least.

My custom installation notes are below, and are compiled from posts at the following thread:


computer technical support thread

http://www.revleft.com/vb/computer-technical-support-t160520/index.html


Also:

Make your spare computer work for you as a music jukebox

http://www.revleft.com/vb/make-your-spare-t169222/index.html


---


(Linux Mint 11 GNOME and/or TurnKey Linux)


INSTALL DOCKY [FOR GNOME]

docky [xcompmgr gconf-editor gnome-control-center][LXDE only]

[run] xcompmgr [LXDE only]

[run] gconf-editor -- can hide docky icon and all desktop icons [Nautilus]


ADDITIONALLY

opera gmpc gmpc-plugins


CONFIGURE SWAPPINESS

cat /proc/sys/vm/swappiness

[open text file] /etc/sysctl.conf as root

[add] vm.swappiness = 10

[reboot]


KEYBOARD [FOR GNOME DESKTOP]

Control Center -> Keyboard

Layouts > Options > Alt/Win Key Behavior -- check 5th box (CTRL -> ALT, ALT -> WIN)


DISABLE TOOLTIPS [FOR GNOME DESKTOP]

[new text file] /home/username/.gtkrc-2.0

[add] gtk-enable-tooltips = 0

[save]

Control Center -> Appearances -- reset the theme


JUKEBOX

[install] mpd alsa-base alsa-utils alsa-tools


WINDOWS EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

[open] /etc/fstab

[add] /dev/sdb1 vfat iocharset=utf8,umask=000 0 0

[save]

[Q]

Ubuntu has gone in a certain direction these last few years to "reinvent the desktop". So I can understand the alienated experience you have right now.

If you want a more traditional desktop experience, I'd recomment Linux Mint, Cinnamon edition (http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php).

Link to screenshot of a default Cinnamon desktop (http://helpsite.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/4-Linux-Mint-Cinnamon-Desktop.jpg).

As for your questions:

1: figuring out drivers for hardware and finding a device manager
2: making Wine operable so i can play my feckin steam games
3: finding or figuring out a windows-like layout.

1. Most hardware will work out of the box, or you're asked if you want to install relevant drivers. All you typically have to do is press "ok" or enter a password.
2. Valve is working on a native linux Steam client :) I have the beta installed and my experience with them is mixed so far.
3. Cinnamon :)

[ckaihatsu]

Ive been looking at the internet and for me this is a completely new way of doing things. Im just so lazy when it comes to managing things so the terminal is something that puts me off. Im sure ill get used to it soon though.


Actually you *shouldn't* have to 'get used to' using the command line -- it's obvious by now that the familiar point-and-click, windows-and-menus graphical user interface (GUI) ['gooey'] is the preferred user environment for controlling any machine.

The command line is good for quickly dispatching certain particular commands, if you know them up-front already, like those being provided here. But for day-to-day needs, especially for newer users, one probably *won't* know exactly what software package to install, or even quite what one is precisely looking for in the way of a tool for the task at hand.

Fortunately the GUI version of the 'sudo apt-get install xxxxxxx' command is more like an *encyclopedia*, with searchable descriptions that accompany each software package listing. If you can think of a keyword or keywords for what you're looking for, you can use it in the Synaptic Package Manager right on your Linux PC, or, of course, do the same in a search engine on the net along with 'Linux'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synaptic_package_manager

[PC LOAD LETTER]

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/10/privacy-ubuntu-1210-amazon-ads-and-data-leaks

http://www.muktware.com/5234/mark-shuttleworth-addresses-ubuntu-privacy-issues-it-enough


If you want a new-user-friendly linux distro, go with Q's suggestion.
[/URL][URL="http://www.muktware.com/5234/mark-shuttleworth-addresses-ubuntu-privacy-issues-it-enough"] (http://www.muktware.com/5234/mark-shuttleworth-addresses-ubuntu-privacy-issues-it-enough)

[Rusty Shackleford]

So, im going to go with Mint Cinnamon right now.

as for the games issue, Play on linux seems much better than just using wine and wine guides alone.

ill let yall know how it is :D

[PC LOAD LETTER]

I forgot to mention in my last post, check for whatever piece of software you're looking to run through wine in Wine's AppDB (http://appdb.winehq.org/)

[Rusty Shackleford]

ive gotten very comfortable with using the terminal now (well, for wine and wine tricks) and the Mint with cinnamon OS is great so far. im still having trouble with a few things here and there, and i havent been able to get a game to run yet but i feel ill be 'savvy' enough soon.


hell, even figuring out how to find my virtual c: drive was mind boggling before

[LeonJWilliams]

I use Ubuntu 12.10 on my netbook, I also play Championship Manager via Wine with installed first time, some Windows games I haven't managed to get working and can be very frustrating.

I didn't install any drivers, everything came automatically when installing the OS.

Some games prefer different versions of Wine so you should check the specifics (normally a google search will find a related thread).

Wine also has libraries with may need to be added which is fairly straight forward to do with winetricks or configure wine.

[Quail]

ive gotten very comfortable with using the terminal now (well, for wine and wine tricks) and the Mint with cinnamon OS is great so far. im still having trouble with a few things here and there, and i havent been able to get a game to run yet but i feel ill be 'savvy' enough soon.


hell, even figuring out how to find my virtual c: drive was mind boggling before
At first I found it difficult using the terminal and figuring stuff out, but I think I understand more about my OS for having that initial difficulty and am better equipped to deal with it if it fucks up. Although for the record, Ubuntu has never crashed on me.

[ckaihatsu]

As much as I've liked Linux Mint (Ubuntu) for years now, it can still become complex and quirky, in a bad way, over time.

There's now an approach to Linux that displaces Ubuntu altogether, while still keeping the conveniences of the GNOME 2 interface (and I add Docky) -- it's by going "down" to the bedrock, *Debian* version of Linux. There's a distribution that gives you the best of both worlds -- the info is at this thread:


computer technical support thread

http://www.revleft.com/vb/computer-technical-support-t160520/index.html

[X5N]

I prefer Xubuntu, because Unity is lame.

What I love about both is how nice text and other things look, versus Windows, in which text looks sort of jagged (even with ClearType).

[Q]

As much as I've liked Linux Mint (Ubuntu) for years now, it can still become complex and quirky, in a bad way, over time.

There's now an approach to Linux that displaces Ubuntu altogether, while still keeping the conveniences of the GNOME 2 interface (and I add Docky) -- it's by going "down" to the bedrock, *Debian* version of Linux. There's a distribution that gives you the best of both worlds -- the info is at this thread:


computer technical support thread

http://www.revleft.com/vb/computer-technical-support-t160520/index.html

Instead you could also just mention that you're talking about Linux Mint.

But yeah, I'm using this one right now after my Gentoo install borked. I quite like it's Cinnamon desktop.

I found this useful review that gives an overview of the latest version of Mint and Cinnamon:

Kg4eQMJJ_2A

[ckaihatsu]

Instead you could also just mention that you're talking about Linux Mint.


Yes, I did:





As much as I've liked Linux Mint (Ubuntu) for years now, it can still become complex and quirky, in a bad way, over time.


---


I'll also mention that there's a very good type of Linux available for use on a secondary machine (laptop, screen optional) as a dedicated server:


File Server - Simple Network Attached Storage

http://www.turnkeylinux.org/fileserver


One use could be for a 24/7 jukebox 'appliance' that's available regardless of what you do with your primary computer:


Make your spare computer work for you as a music jukebox

http://www.revleft.com/vb/make-your-spare-t169222/index.html?t=169222


And here's a tip to turn off the screen on that server, which is not used anyway:





vbetool dpms off

vbetool dpms on


The vbetool command could be put in a startup script like rc.local to boot with the display off.

http://www.installationexperiences.com/2009/01/turn-off-lcd-display-backlight-with.html

[Popular Front of Judea]

ive gotten very comfortable with using the terminal now (well, for wine and wine tricks) and the Mint with cinnamon OS is great so far. im still having trouble with a few things here and there, and i havent been able to get a game to run yet but i feel ill be 'savvy' enough soon.

So can you give us an update? I loaded Mint w/Cinnamon on a donated Windows 7 era tower last week. (Using at the moment in fact.) Not a power user, I use a computer primarily for internet and composing the odd document. (I also stream radio and listen to podcasts.) I am trying Linux primarily to see if I can stop paying the Microsoft tax