MajesticTreeFrog

But for most people it is still cheap. And you don't necessarily pay for the OS with every computer. If I buy 3 computers in a row, each time an upgrade, I might still be running the same copy of win2k(true) on the third one. So how much is win2k spread over the 3 computers? considering you pay a lot less for it OEM, about 40 bucks a computer. Still money, but at say....10 dollars an hour(dirt cheap wage), If I spend 12 hours messing with say, Linux+Wine trying to get it to run or work or what have you, I break even. You may be used to linux, but for people who aren't, it will probably take them at least that long to get things running correctly and smoothly unless they are one of the lucky people who happen to have perfectly auto-detected hardware. Then, for running games, they still have to mess with Wine, which is another pain in the *bottom*. In any case, I don't know why you make such a big deal about the cost of windows, its sorta irrelevant. Just take that out of my rundown if you don't agree with it. The fact is windows is still the best for games by a WIDE margin, cost or no.

One problem with Xandros is that it is not debian compatible, even thought it is based on debian. Xandros wants you to get your software from THEM. Not to mention the default GUI is crap. Not terribly ugly mind you(though I thought it was sorta ugly), and even somewhat decently laid out in some ways. But otherwise its just badly laid out in some ways. I think Linspire, at least the newer versions, is similarly broken, in that they want you to get your software from THEM and it isn't totally compatible with the assorted packages out there.My best experiences messing with Linux were with Knoppix and Mandrake.

UT 2k4 is out for Mac, as is Halo, The Sims, Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR, and a bunch of others. Doom 3 is getting released in February. Some games probably come out faster for linux because you don't have to rewrite assembly optimization. Not like I cared much because I don't game on my Mac, I use it for getting work done. Even so, Doom3 just wasn't that good a game. It looked good, it was fun for a bit, and then when I beat it I never thought of it again.Still, at least in the states, Mac users have easier access to boxed games. It may be different over there.Plus, Macs have VirtualPC.

Someone said I should check the hardware compatability list before switching. The point that I was making is that my hardware WAS compatible. If you bothered to read my post, I was sitting there, looking at some files that claimed to be a driver, and installing the driver was an exercise in frustration. If linux simply didn't support my hardware, then thats fine. I don't think OS's necesarily have to support everything, or even should. But the fact that I can have a driver, and have it be harder than double clicking a file to install, is just silly. And sad.

If you have already done kickboxing, go take Aikido and Jujitsu, any sub-style will probably do, and you will learn most of the stuff you would learn in BJJ or a MMA school. Muay Thai might be harder to do, but It is mainly a form of very brutal kickboxing.

For watching, BoxingFor practicing, Karate or Fencing(you can tell I am into combat sports)

I was aware of camino, but I was used to Firefox from my time on the PC, and I liked it. I found a theme to make it match aqua, and was full steam ahead. Does Camino have the same plugins as firefox, or does it need different ones?

Well thats not helpfull, we already know that!

Computer 1: TinyBuddhaAsus nforce2 ultra 400 board, the delux version(hell if I remember the series of letters that its called)AMD Athlon XP 2500+512 MB Corsair XMS DDR-27001 WD 7200RPM 120GB HD1 WD 5400RPM 30GB HDLG 8120B CD-RWPlextor 708-A DVD-RW/+RW burnerRadeon 9600XTSound Blaster Audigy 2Paradigm Atom v.3 speakers(booya!)Computer 2: TheSexyBeast (My Laptop)PowerPC G4 1.33ghzMac OSX 10.3.7768MB RAM, DDR 2100 I think60GB HDRadeon 9200 Mobile

ok, Fine.My open letter to the linux community.I recently decided I was fed up, exhausted, and pissed off. Windows had to go. I cleared off a massive section of my hard disk, partitioned it, and began looking for a linux distro.Ah choices choices. There was red hat, SuSe, the Lindows people, Xandros, Lycoris, Debian, etc etc etc. After some looking, I decided to try Xandros. I had read good things in my search about the abilities of apt-get with debian distros, and Xandros seemed a desktop and user friendly version of debian to go with. I got a copy of Xandros 3 and began the install.The install was a synch, just about as easy as windows. I told it a partition, agreed to its terms, and let it go. A little while later, It told me it was readyI log in easily. Oh look! everything looks like windows. Like always, I like to listen to music, so I rev up XMMS and point it at some mp3s on another partition of my disk. Hmm...no sound.After a bit of hunting, I find a couple of possible places that might allow me to begin troubleshooting the problem. I know all the hardware is plugged in right inside the box, since it was working just an hour ago in windows. I try looking at my options, but none of them give me a clear button or set of controlls to let me make certain that linux is playing music out of my Audigy 2. Hmmm. I try and find help, but sadly...thats no help. Its jumbled, filled with technical data, and generally makes sure to let me know that the help file is freely distributable under the GPL. Why it was distributed in this shape to begin with, I will never know. Oh well, I will mess with it later. Time to go read slashdot. So, I fire up Mozilla, nicely installed by default and....can't connect to the internet. Interesting, but not unexpected since I have a wireless card connected by USB as my internet connection. I hunt down the driver CD for my card, and lo and behold it has a linux driver on it. YES! I open up the linux directory and double click on the file labeled INSTALL, nice and clear and in all caps. A dialogue box comes up on my screen and says simply, 'use make config first'. OK....I don't see anything labeled make config on my screen, but I remember hearing about linux liking the command lineSo, I copy the files to a directory where I have write access(because something deep inside tells me this is probably necessary), open up a terminal window, cd to the directory filled with the driver files and proudly type 'make config'Error, not enough specified, or some such.WTF. I try it again, same message that is completely unhelpful. hmmm. 'help make'Nothing usefull, try man -k make or info make instead.God damn it.I then see a readme.txt file and I open this with the GUI(die command line, DIE!). I scroll down to where it says 'installation instructions'. I probably should have done this first, but with a big file labeled install(which is what I would click on in windows), and the general GUI looking like windows, it didn't seem like such a bad idea at the time. So lets see, what have we here. Ah, I need the base PCMCIA drivers available online from sourceforge. Well, as soon as I have already installed the driver and gotten online, I will make sure to go online and get the driver. Thanks for nothing you POS.At this point, I have decided its not worth it. I haven't been able to play Mp3s or even get on the internet, and here I thought linux was made for networking. I don't want to go back to windows, but Linux stalled right out of the box. I sigh and walk over to my ibook and write this letter. And this is the point: DEAR LINUX COMMUNITY, PLEASE HELP US TO LEAVE WINDOWS, because right now, you are making it a *****.

or, you had a copy of windows left over from a while ago, or you have a copy from your friend that installed linux, or, or, or....The point is windows generally doesn't cost people money. That might be because they already have it.As for you not having a mac games section in England, no idea. It might be because there isn't a large enough mac user base in England to make it worth the space. Over here, in NC, there are mac sections in the CompUSA stores, but no linux sections.

Stop spamming Manga. If it will make you happy, some of my favorites are Bliss, The Cure, Blind Melon, Astral Projection, Rage Against the Machine, and AC/DC

Except none of the gamers I know ever actually PAY for windows. It comes with their computer, or they get a copy from someone, etc. Also, as far as OS's go, its cheaper than the Mac, which is the only other OS to regularly get large games. Thats why I called it cheap.

Frankly, the GIMP isn't a replacement for photoshop. Its a replacement for paint shop pro.On another note, the benefit and drawback of linux is all the customization. Because everything is supposed to be 'customizeable' things don't get the synergy that they do on even windows, much less a mac. For instance, the names and addresses I put into address book on my mac are available to my email program. Words that I add to the spellchecker are global, i don't have to add them in every program, etc. The other problem I see linux having is the issue of new people finding what software they want. Sure they have a choice, but that doesn't mean they have a comprehensive solution, or even a good solution, without a lot of work(if it even exists).The biggest boon to the free software movement would be some real effort not on features, but on ergonomics and useability.On that note, thats what I have training in, so if anyone knows an open source project that would be willing to talk to me, I would love to help.

Well, for gaming neither Mac nor Linux holds a candle to windows right now. However, at least mac has a reasonable number of large games come out as native ports. Linux not so much. Either way it doesn't matter that much unless you do a lot of gaming. Even then, there are consoles. So, while PC gaming is big, if you also do a lot of work, either run linux or get a mac. Then go get a console or two. I don't like console games as much as PC games, but thats just because of the genres I like (mainly fps). For anyone else it doesn't matter so much.

Mandrake is an easy to use disto, As is Lycoris LX. Lycoris is probably THE easiest, at least from what I remember. Another one to look at is Xandros.

Yeah, I think it all depends, but right now it looks like Cable is the best bet for most people. At least until widespread fiber optic wiring becomes widespread outside of asia.

Blackbird: are there any other really good German heavy metal bands we should know about?

for gameplay, either the Tekken series, or Guilty gear X and XX. Smash brothers is fun at parties, which is what I think it was really meant for anyway. Dead or Alive is mainly just bouncy, as a game its only so-so. I haven't played the new mortal combats, but I didn't like the old ones(though the fatalities were, indeed, pretty nifty. But thats just a gimmick, it doesn't really make the rest of the game good).

Basically, don't play Doom3 for multiplayer. Thats really not what it was designed for. It was meant to be a single player or Co-op romp. The gameplay does get a bit repetitive, but then again, the idea is that you are a marine blasting demons from hell. So, its no surprise that what you do is run around with guns and *gasp* blast demons from hell. Its a fun game the first time through, just make sure that this is what you are expecting. Anyway, I enjoyed it.

Frankly, I don't think anyone knows.

Yeah, SFTP is actually rather different from normal FTP. As in, its not just a secure layer version of the old protocol. Instead its a different one entirely. how similar that is to the differences between HTTPS and HTTP I don't know. But the different underlying protocol is why a lot of ftp programs don't do sftp and vice versa.

I don't know if linux is a good middle ground, at least for everyone. For instance, it seriously lacks for gaming(unless you want to run it as a games server, for which it is just dandy). Graphics, Office work, and general useability/intuitiveness are still a good ways behind windows(which is saying something, because windows isn't very good).

I noticed an above comment about 'what windows is for'. So, I decided to do a quick rundown of what the different OS's are 'for'First, Windows:Windows is an excellent OS for gamers because it is 1. Cheap, 2. Fast for games, 3. Has lots of games. It is a reasonable OS for people who do tasks that require MS Office, but not the best because of the multiple security vulnerabilities inherent in the Windows/office framework. Windows is an ok OS for programmers. It has a decent number of programming environments, but all of them cost money or are ports from unix/linux. Game programming and such can be done on windows because often as not the games are being compiled for windows, and this makes things easier. Other programmers will find it at best nothing special, and sometimes the compilers for windows are outright buggy.Windows is a TERRIBLE OS for anyone/anything involved in security. Windows of all flavors has multiple gaping security holes, including remote exploits(Exploits that can be executed remotely without use of a worm or virus to gain control of a target system). Windows is an acceptable system for graphic artists. It has a multitude of graphics software including photoshop and painter, as well as a wide assortment of 3d graphics programs. However, windows's stability problems as well as sometimes shaky support of certain standards means that these products may occasionally crash for no good reason. This is rare but it happens. Also, the weaknesses of windows networking code and networking model mean that it is hard to string multiple workstations together to use cluster computing for large rendering tasks. Most people don't need this, but its true.Ok, Mac OS XNot the greatest platform for gamers because it does not get all the games that windows does. It usually gets the latest games after windows and then still at the original release price. That being said, Macs do get most of the 'big' games and they generally run just fine.An Excellent platform for generic office work. Some specific needs however may not be met. For those needing microsoft office, it exists on the Mac, in a well executed version. In addition, the mac version does not suffer from the same security problems posed by the PC version. Mac OSX runs on top of FreeBSD which is very stable and crash resistent, helping to avoid crashing and data loss. Finally, OSX has system wide services such as spellchecking that enable spellchecking in all office programs including things like email.Programming. Apple released the Xcode tools which give the OSX platform access to the same tools as *nix users. Not all IDE's may have been ported however, and since I don't do much programming I cannot personally vouch for the exact level of quality. that being said, a programmer friend of mine recently bought an ibook and loves it. Therefore, It seems reasonable for me to think that programming tools on OSX are at least 'very good'. I suggest looking around to make sure whatever you need is available, just as a precaution(cause I can't tell you here and now unfortunately)Security. Mac OSX runs on FreeBSD, which is rather secure. Not to the degree of something like say..openBSD but still very solid. Like any *nix system tools exist to further lock down the system and avoid attack. Graphics. Mac OSX has the most robust set of tools available. The major 3d Graphics program providers have mac versions. Photoshop and Painter and such are also all available on OSX. OSX also has built in color matching and monitor adjustment controls that are vital to high end graphics work. Furthermore, the *nix backend allows macs to work together on rendering projects, which is helpfull for large pieces of work. Final Cut Pro HD is the best consumer video editing software on the market(some say best period), and is available only on the Mac. In addition, I understand that a number of pre-press software packages are mac only.And one more oddball category:UsabilityOSX does not have the disk fragmentation problems of the assorted windows versions. OSX also handles multi-tasking much more gracefully. OSX's memory handling prevents a crash of one program(which almost never happens anyway), from hurting the stability of the rest of the system. For the sake of completeness: LinuxProgramming: Like all the flavors of *nix, Linux was made by programmers for programmers, and therefore has a full set of every possible tool a programmer might need. It is fantastic by all reports from my programmer friendsGaming: Not a lot of it, sadly. Nuff saidGraphics: Linux has access to the GIMP, and a number of other imaging tools. A version of the GIMP, called Film-GIMP(and I think it is now called by yet another name) exists for video. None of these programs are as robust as Photoshop or Final Cut Pro, but they are free, which is nice. Some 3d programs like Blender exist for Linux, but far from all. Crossover office will allow linux users to run photoshop as well as many other windows programs, which helps. Wine is a free program that does things similar to crossover, but is not quite as robust. So, not a terrible choice outright, but still significantly weaker than either windows or mac. Security and Networking: Once again, fantastic marks. These tasks are what *nix was really made for, and what it is trully good at.Office Tasks: Once again, linux has problems. Openoffice is quite nice, but isn't at the level of MS office(sadly, because I really want to get rid of MS office). Like with graphics, Wine or Crossover office, etc, can help deal with this problem. Still, Linux has limited support for assorted hardware like scanners or digital cameras which you might wish to use in the assorted office tasks people do. That being said, none of these things might apply to you and it would therefore be just fine.General Useability: The last time I used linux it still had a long way to go. Different flavors have different methods for installing software, and there are multiple different GUI setups, which is both good and bad. Good for reasons of choice, but bad for useability and consistency, which is very important(Warning:this opinion may be a result of bias due to my training in ergonomics, just fyi). Kernel 2.6 apparently has made the user interface much snappier, which is good. Still, setup and configuration as well as software installation, really the entire genre of 'intuitiveness' still has a ways to go. Once again, this may not matter to you, and if so, good for you.

I have not used the GIMP, but I hear it is good. It may or may not have similar vector tools. I know it has pixel tools like photoshop, but who knows. Its free so worth trying, let us know.