Official NBR Linux Team Thread

I'm quite new to Linux myself, but I believe I can answer your questions...

1) Linux will allow you to game, but their are few games available for Linux.
2) If you dual boot (that is, install both Windows and Linux simultaneously), you will be able to use both operating systems. When you start your computer, you will be given a choice of which OS you would like to use.)
3) You will not have to uninstall Windows to use Linux if you dual boot.

I suggest using Ubuntu, it's fairly simply, and by far my favorite.

Good luck!

 

Would like to join, I began using Linux back in 2001 and helping out users since then.

About the gaming question, you still have some options to do some gaming.

* Use Wine

Wine is a "compatibility layer" for running Windows applications on other operating systems. Of course, not every application is supported, but the list is pretty nice.

It can flawlessly run games like:
Warcraft III, Star Wars: Jedi Knight & Jedi Academy, Max Payne 2, GTA: Vice City, Hitman 2, Mafia, Prey, etc.

After tweaking them a little, you can run:
World of Warcraft, Silkroad, Counter Strike Source, Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat Source, Call of Duty 2, etc.

More Information:
http://appdb.winehq.org/
http://www.liflg.org/

"How To: Run Team Fortress 2, Portal, Half-Life 2, HL2 EP 1&2 In Ubuntu Using Wine"
http://www.fsckin.com/2007/10/15/ho...2-half-life-2-hl2-ep-12-in-ubuntu-using-wine/

-
There is an "alternative version" of Wine called Cedega aimed especially at gaming. It is better at running games than Wine with a long list of supported games.
-

* Get Cedega

For $5 per month you get a fork of Wine specifically developed for running games under Linux. Of course, not all games are supported but the list is quite long.

More information: http://www.cedega.com/

The $5 per month fee is for receiving updates, and of course you can always use the older version if you decide to not pay anymore.

* Compile Cedega from SVN

Parts of the source code of Cedega is available freely, enough to run games. It is not an easy task to compile it and lacks a few features, namely support for copy protection and graphical GUI for managing games.

More information: http://www.linux-gamers.net/modules/wiwimod/index.php?page=HOWTO+Cedega+CVS&back=HOWTO+INDEX+Wine
(Seems outdated to me)

 

Y'all also might be interested in knowing that there are games like Alien Arena, Torcs, FreeCiv, Frozen-Bubble, Lbreakout2, Nexuiz, Neverball/Neverputt, Open Arena, Sauerbraten and Tremulous all available from the Ubuntu software repositories. And those are just the games I personally have installed. I also know that Quake 3, Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2003 and 2004 all have native versions that run under Linux quite well, and there's always wine, which runs StarCraft and American McGee's Alice perfectly for me.

 

This is a great thing; happy to join!

 

Hi! I wouldn't mind being a worthless addition

 

You've never been worthless my friend, I'm learning plenty from your Linux expeditions!

 

Hey team, I found a fantastic Linux web site I think you'll all really like, here it is, http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=home, enjoy!

 

Thank you scooberdoober

 

NP, glad to be able to contribute in some way.

 

Phoronix - I've heard that name before. A lot. Can't seem to place it =/

Oh yeah, reviews on GPUs and such

[Man I can't hit Alt+S to submit anymore; History pops up. Ugh]

 

Wow, this thread was revived, and revived again without me!

 

EDITED: Resolved my own problem.

 

I'm gonna sing the doom song now... dooooom dooooom doom-doom-doom.

 

this may be a dumb question but the team is aimed at sharing info to help promote linux as an os to the masses, am i correct?

if thats basically what your aiming at, I am in...

I have been promoting linux since I downloaded the first kernel off the local BBS and everytime a friend has too many headaches with there current os, i install them a linux distro and guess what, more converts...

OH a bit of advice, know someone who has kids that kill pc's, then install linux...you would be amazed how many thankyou's and gifts i get for curing those problems...
and if your in a small town, like i am, then convert the local pc sales/techs, and then linux will get more coverage...

 

Hello, everyone. I've just joined this forum and I, too, have been messing around with Linux and laptops.

I've installed two IBM Thinkpads with linux without having any major problems. My first R50 handled Mandriva and Ubuntu Feisty well and my current X30 has had Ubuntu and Xubuntu operating systems. I had to use the Xubuntu alternate install CD instead of the usual one, but that might have been because of a badly downloaded / burnt CD ISO.

I like trying to make my old laptops run as fast as new laptops with windows. I have a couple of linux partitions on my harddrive, which I find useful for playing around with new updates. I'm typing this on a Xubuntu Feisty OS with the E17 window manager / shell and it's much faster than my girlfriend's much newer Toshiba laptop with XP. My current boot time is 1 minute 40 seconds but this is still too slow for me.

Ubuntu is not a good option for older laptops. I have a Pentium III 1.1ghz processor with 256mb RAM and a rather slow HDD and the Gnome shell takes up far too much resources. Xubuntu runs well but I'm hoping to try Arch Linux later this week. I was wondering if anyone has any experience installing Arch Linux on older laptops.

Thank you.

Clarence

 

Can I join the team?

 

Of course!

Just add the graphic link to your avy, and contribute as much and as often as you can.

And last but not least, don't forget to make your generous tax deductible contribution to the scooberdoober fund.

 

K, thanks!

 

yay for linux!
.....
if you have windows.... use CFP.

 

I'm now doing a dual-boot of Linux and XP Media Center, so I would love to join the Team. I had some experience with Ubuntu earlier when my desktop crashed and I needed a temporary operating system, I use it for about 4 months, then was forced to get a new windows CD.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

yaysss

The best thing so far about Linux is the lack of system resources used. I love it. Rather than Vista... taking 700 MB of RAM

 

I love it as a second OS; that way I can work with it but not panic if I screw something up.

 

Man I wish developers would just develop an easier solution for Broadcom chips... mine simply refuses to work.

 

I'm glad mine worked, for how hard it seems for others.

 

Hey guys i just started running linux about a week ago
so i figured id join
i got so fed up with windows terrible wireless connection problems along with the random blue screens i always got for no particular reason
im currently running mandriva 2008 and i gotta say i love it
switching completly from windows has been a struggle but my windows install cd doesnt seem to correctly install anymore so i dont have a choice =D.

 

Congrats to you, and THREAD REVIVED!!!

 

Good move!

The more you learn, the more you'll love it!

 

yeah
its really a different concept
im not sure if ill stick with mandriva as there isnt much online help aside from their website
and i also had a question is gnome better than kde for style and looks? and does it perform as well as kde?

 

KDE is more Windows like, and more often than not KDE has been more stable than GNOME. You can make either one look pretty much anyway you want to. The best thing to do is to try both for awhile and see which you prefer.

 

I'm pretty happy with Ubuntu, but some day if I'm really 1337, I'll try straight Unix.

 

LOL pixel.

Welcome! make sure you try out as many distros as possible!
You can take this test to find out which one is best for you.

There basically the same in stability, either way you can make both look however you want anyway.
I recommend Ubuntu for beginners, great OS & tons of online help.
Other options are: Linux Mint, Simply Mepis, & Kubuntu.

 

Try Nexenta, I've heard good things.

 

Or at least BSD!

 

The FreeBSD install program is confusing(I've installed it in VMs).

 

Alright I think I'll dl a live version of ubuntu
The only problem with completely switching is I just got all my files and settings all figured out
but hey might as well test out something else
and yeah when I took the linux test Mandriva came back as my 1st choice so of course I just went with that

 

The 5 aren't really ''top''.
You can dual boot with ubuntu.

 

Is there a thread that shows how to setup a dual boot?
I dont have a partition program or any knowledge on this sort of stuff
I know how to run the computer not modify it =]

 

I came up with Mandriva #1 too.

 

OK, you can do this from the Ubuntu Live CD.
1. Go to System<Admin.<Partion Editor. Resize your Mandriva partition to clear up, lets say 15GBs of space(15000 KB).
2. Select the unallcolated space & create a partition of 256MB.
3. Format this partition to linux-swap
4. Create a new partition with the rest of the space & format to ext3.
5. Apply the changes.
6. Proceed with installing, make sure you choose to manually choose the partition & choose the ext3 one we just made. If it ask you about mount point / then asign it to the ext3 partition we've created.
7. Viola! You know have a dual boot system. If you have a 2-3 minute black screen before Ubuntu loads make sure to say so! I have a fix!
I'll make an official guide for this later.

 

Mine was:

1.) Ubuntu

2.) OpenSuSE

3.) Kubuntu

4.) Mandriva

I'm not really that impressed with the test. They should at least ask what DT you prefer. btw, I'm using Mepis right now and I love it.

 

They do if you choose to install on a desktop I think..
Well, its made to be newbie proof.
Anyways, I'm gonna make an official dual boot guide.....

 

Thanks so much for the guide ill save that post as a document right now
and yeah i had mandriva, opensuse, kubuntu, and ubuntu

 

Your Welcome
openSUSE is a good OS, as is Kubuntu. Try them all, whats there to loose?

 

nothing at all but the time sitting and waiting for them to dl and burn to a disk lol
but i got SB next week and my plans got screwed over so im home all week
so freetime will be at a max

 

Yep, you can download them via torrent, you may get faster speeds.

 

alright well i tried to do the manual install but it told me no root folder exists
or something about a root something when i would hit next
even after making the linux swap and the ext3

 

You have to set the ext3 patition to a mount point of ''/''.

 

ah ok thanksf or the help

 

Hardy Heron's here!