The Merg wrote:
> Hey Frank,
> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have average
> computer skills, FWIW
>
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> I'm running Firefox and Thunderbird on MEPIS 6.04 beta 3 (linux). The
>> beta 3 MEPIS puts out is better than most other distributions final
>> versions. And 6.04 final is due out by the end of the month. No
>> spyware, no virius, and never having to defrag thanks to the ext3 file
>> system :-) It's free for downloading or if you're on dial-up you can
>> get a CD shipped to you for hundreds less than XP or Vista.
>>
>> user wrote:
>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>> snip>
>>>
>>> Has anybody else here got fed up enough with Microsoft products and
>>> switched to Linux, or Mac?
>>
>

Depends on which distro of Linux you use. Some are very tedious to set
up and some are very simple. Right now the 2 flavors I like best for
ease of setup are Vidalinux and Ubuntu. Both of these are basically Plug
in the disk and let it set up. Regarding Ubuntu, if you like the KDE
desktop better, then get the distro called Kubuntu. Many versions also
have a distro that will run off a CD without installing anything to your
hard drive. This is nice to use as a check to see if you will have any
issues with hardware incompatibilities. Knoppix is the most popular
version. I am still using Windoze, but I am close to switching over to
Linux. I have a few special programs that I haven't found Linux
substitutes for yet. Once I do, it's bye bye to Bill Gates, especially
after seeing the expected pricing on Vista when it comes out. Yikes.

One other note, Vidalinux uses the Gentoo update system, which is the
best linux update system out there. A simple command will not only
update all of the operating system updates, but will also install all of
the new program versions as well. Gentoo is probably the ultimate Linux
distro, considering that it will customize itself based on your PC
config, but it is also one of the most time consuming distros to set up.
It is not for the Linux newbie.

Anyway, here are some links for you:

http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://www.kubuntu.com/
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html
http://www.vidalinux.com/

Chris

 

The Merg wrote:
> Thanks!
> This'll give me something to play with tonight when it's too dark/cold
> to work on the Jeep.
> I don't know the terminology 'iso'. It refers to isolating?
>
>
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> There's a learning curve because you will be thinking in "Windows".
>> Once you get past that you will ask yourself "why the heck didn't I do
>> this sooner". Download MEPIS 6.04 beta 3, burn the iso ( you do know
>> how to burn an iso?) and boot from the CD to run it "live". This will
>> tell you if your hardware is compatible. Then you click on the install
>> icon and follow the instructions. Don't get fancy, accept the
>> defaults. You can always change them later when you know what you're
>> doing. :-) Got questions? MEPIS Lovers forum has a newbies section.
>>
>> http://www.mepislovers.com/forums/
>>
>>
>> http://www.mepis.org/node/1462
>>
>> This is 6.0 stable, but feel free to try 6.04 beta 3. It's actually
>> better. :-)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The Merg wrote:
>>> Hey Frank,
>>> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have
>>> average computer skills, FWIW
>>>
>>> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>>>> I'm running Firefox and Thunderbird on MEPIS 6.04 beta 3 (linux).
>>>> The beta 3 MEPIS puts out is better than most other distributions
>>>> final versions. And 6.04 final is due out by the end of the month.
>>>> No spyware, no virius, and never having to defrag thanks to the ext3
>>>> file system :-) It's free for downloading or if you're on dial-up
>>>> you can get a CD shipped to you for hundreds less than XP or Vista.
>>>>
>>>> user wrote:
>>>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>>>> snip>
>>>>>
>>>>> Has anybody else here got fed up enough with Microsoft products and
>>>>> switched to Linux, or Mac?
>>>>
>>>
>>
>


..iso is the file extension for a disk image. Not knowing what program
you use for burning disks, I can't tell you the procedure, but I use
nero to burn in Windoze. To burn an iso file in Nero, you open Nero and
then open the iso file. Don't just drag the disk iso file into the burn
window like you would normally do, or you will end up with a copy of the
image file on the disk. If you burn it properly, it will have all the
files inside the image on the disk. Hopefully that makes sense. :-)

Chris

 

The Merg wrote:
> Thanks!
> This'll give me something to play with tonight when it's too dark/cold
> to work on the Jeep.
> I don't know the terminology 'iso'. It refers to isolating?
>
>
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> There's a learning curve because you will be thinking in "Windows".
>> Once you get past that you will ask yourself "why the heck didn't I do
>> this sooner". Download MEPIS 6.04 beta 3, burn the iso ( you do know
>> how to burn an iso?) and boot from the CD to run it "live". This will
>> tell you if your hardware is compatible. Then you click on the install
>> icon and follow the instructions. Don't get fancy, accept the
>> defaults. You can always change them later when you know what you're
>> doing. :-) Got questions? MEPIS Lovers forum has a newbies section.
>>
>> http://www.mepislovers.com/forums/
>>
>>
>> http://www.mepis.org/node/1462
>>
>> This is 6.0 stable, but feel free to try 6.04 beta 3. It's actually
>> better. :-)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The Merg wrote:
>>> Hey Frank,
>>> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have
>>> average computer skills, FWIW
>>>
>>> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>>>> I'm running Firefox and Thunderbird on MEPIS 6.04 beta 3 (linux).
>>>> The beta 3 MEPIS puts out is better than most other distributions
>>>> final versions. And 6.04 final is due out by the end of the month.
>>>> No spyware, no virius, and never having to defrag thanks to the ext3
>>>> file system :-) It's free for downloading or if you're on dial-up
>>>> you can get a CD shipped to you for hundreds less than XP or Vista.
>>>>
>>>> user wrote:
>>>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>>>> snip>
>>>>>
>>>>> Has anybody else here got fed up enough with Microsoft products and
>>>>> switched to Linux, or Mac?
>>>>
>>>
>>
>


..iso is the file extension for a disk image. Not knowing what program
you use for burning disks, I can't tell you the procedure, but I use
nero to burn in Windoze. To burn an iso file in Nero, you open Nero and
then open the iso file. Don't just drag the disk iso file into the burn
window like you would normally do, or you will end up with a copy of the
image file on the disk. If you burn it properly, it will have all the
files inside the image on the disk. Hopefully that makes sense. :-)

Chris

 

The Merg wrote:
> Thanks!
> This'll give me something to play with tonight when it's too dark/cold
> to work on the Jeep.
> I don't know the terminology 'iso'. It refers to isolating?
>
>
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> There's a learning curve because you will be thinking in "Windows".
>> Once you get past that you will ask yourself "why the heck didn't I do
>> this sooner". Download MEPIS 6.04 beta 3, burn the iso ( you do know
>> how to burn an iso?) and boot from the CD to run it "live". This will
>> tell you if your hardware is compatible. Then you click on the install
>> icon and follow the instructions. Don't get fancy, accept the
>> defaults. You can always change them later when you know what you're
>> doing. :-) Got questions? MEPIS Lovers forum has a newbies section.
>>
>> http://www.mepislovers.com/forums/
>>
>>
>> http://www.mepis.org/node/1462
>>
>> This is 6.0 stable, but feel free to try 6.04 beta 3. It's actually
>> better. :-)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The Merg wrote:
>>> Hey Frank,
>>> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have
>>> average computer skills, FWIW
>>>
>>> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>>>> I'm running Firefox and Thunderbird on MEPIS 6.04 beta 3 (linux).
>>>> The beta 3 MEPIS puts out is better than most other distributions
>>>> final versions. And 6.04 final is due out by the end of the month.
>>>> No spyware, no virius, and never having to defrag thanks to the ext3
>>>> file system :-) It's free for downloading or if you're on dial-up
>>>> you can get a CD shipped to you for hundreds less than XP or Vista.
>>>>
>>>> user wrote:
>>>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>>>> snip>
>>>>>
>>>>> Has anybody else here got fed up enough with Microsoft products and
>>>>> switched to Linux, or Mac?
>>>>
>>>
>>
>


..iso is the file extension for a disk image. Not knowing what program
you use for burning disks, I can't tell you the procedure, but I use
nero to burn in Windoze. To burn an iso file in Nero, you open Nero and
then open the iso file. Don't just drag the disk iso file into the burn
window like you would normally do, or you will end up with a copy of the
image file on the disk. If you burn it properly, it will have all the
files inside the image on the disk. Hopefully that makes sense. :-)

Chris

 

The Merg wrote:
> Thanks!
> This'll give me something to play with tonight when it's too dark/cold
> to work on the Jeep.
> I don't know the terminology 'iso'. It refers to isolating?
>
>
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> There's a learning curve because you will be thinking in "Windows".
>> Once you get past that you will ask yourself "why the heck didn't I do
>> this sooner". Download MEPIS 6.04 beta 3, burn the iso ( you do know
>> how to burn an iso?) and boot from the CD to run it "live". This will
>> tell you if your hardware is compatible. Then you click on the install
>> icon and follow the instructions. Don't get fancy, accept the
>> defaults. You can always change them later when you know what you're
>> doing. :-) Got questions? MEPIS Lovers forum has a newbies section.
>>
>> http://www.mepislovers.com/forums/
>>
>>
>> http://www.mepis.org/node/1462
>>
>> This is 6.0 stable, but feel free to try 6.04 beta 3. It's actually
>> better. :-)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The Merg wrote:
>>> Hey Frank,
>>> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have
>>> average computer skills, FWIW
>>>
>>> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>>>> I'm running Firefox and Thunderbird on MEPIS 6.04 beta 3 (linux).
>>>> The beta 3 MEPIS puts out is better than most other distributions
>>>> final versions. And 6.04 final is due out by the end of the month.
>>>> No spyware, no virius, and never having to defrag thanks to the ext3
>>>> file system :-) It's free for downloading or if you're on dial-up
>>>> you can get a CD shipped to you for hundreds less than XP or Vista.
>>>>
>>>> user wrote:
>>>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>>>> snip>
>>>>>
>>>>> Has anybody else here got fed up enough with Microsoft products and
>>>>> switched to Linux, or Mac?
>>>>
>>>
>>
>


..iso is the file extension for a disk image. Not knowing what program
you use for burning disks, I can't tell you the procedure, but I use
nero to burn in Windoze. To burn an iso file in Nero, you open Nero and
then open the iso file. Don't just drag the disk iso file into the burn
window like you would normally do, or you will end up with a copy of the
image file on the disk. If you burn it properly, it will have all the
files inside the image on the disk. Hopefully that makes sense. :-)

Chris

 

The Merg wrote:
> Hey Frank,
> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have average
> computer skills, FWIW
>
Not Frank, but I will try and answer.
If you have ever tried and installed Windows successfully, you will
most likely have no troubles at all.
The first time I installed Linux was intimidating. All sorts of
thoughts went thru my mind if it was going to work, what if I messed up
my Windows installation, etc. Piece of cake! :)
I dual booted Win98 and Mandrake (now Mandriva) for the first few
months. Then I read somewhere that if you really want to learn Linux to
boot into Linux all the time and spend as much time in it as possible. 6
months later I wiped Windows from my hard drive and never looked back.
You can go to distrowatch.com and look at all the different Linux
distributions. If you have a fast internet connection you can choose one
and download a Live CD of your choice. Some Live CD's will let you see
what that distribution is like without installing to the hard drive and
others will do both. But you have a choice to install, or not install.
Or you can go to an online site like cheapbytes.com and very cheaply
get a Linux distribution sent to you by mail.
And most Linux distros come with office suites, games, applications,
configuration tools, multimedia, documentation, a whole slew of programs
available on the download CD's.
Like Frank said earlier, there is no need to worry about viruses,
defragging, spyware, etc.
VISTA:
Viruses
Intruders
Spyware
Trojans
Adware

HTH

 

The Merg wrote:
> Hey Frank,
> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have average
> computer skills, FWIW
>
Not Frank, but I will try and answer.
If you have ever tried and installed Windows successfully, you will
most likely have no troubles at all.
The first time I installed Linux was intimidating. All sorts of
thoughts went thru my mind if it was going to work, what if I messed up
my Windows installation, etc. Piece of cake! :)
I dual booted Win98 and Mandrake (now Mandriva) for the first few
months. Then I read somewhere that if you really want to learn Linux to
boot into Linux all the time and spend as much time in it as possible. 6
months later I wiped Windows from my hard drive and never looked back.
You can go to distrowatch.com and look at all the different Linux
distributions. If you have a fast internet connection you can choose one
and download a Live CD of your choice. Some Live CD's will let you see
what that distribution is like without installing to the hard drive and
others will do both. But you have a choice to install, or not install.
Or you can go to an online site like cheapbytes.com and very cheaply
get a Linux distribution sent to you by mail.
And most Linux distros come with office suites, games, applications,
configuration tools, multimedia, documentation, a whole slew of programs
available on the download CD's.
Like Frank said earlier, there is no need to worry about viruses,
defragging, spyware, etc.
VISTA:
Viruses
Intruders
Spyware
Trojans
Adware

HTH

 

The Merg wrote:
> Hey Frank,
> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have average
> computer skills, FWIW
>
Not Frank, but I will try and answer.
If you have ever tried and installed Windows successfully, you will
most likely have no troubles at all.
The first time I installed Linux was intimidating. All sorts of
thoughts went thru my mind if it was going to work, what if I messed up
my Windows installation, etc. Piece of cake! :)
I dual booted Win98 and Mandrake (now Mandriva) for the first few
months. Then I read somewhere that if you really want to learn Linux to
boot into Linux all the time and spend as much time in it as possible. 6
months later I wiped Windows from my hard drive and never looked back.
You can go to distrowatch.com and look at all the different Linux
distributions. If you have a fast internet connection you can choose one
and download a Live CD of your choice. Some Live CD's will let you see
what that distribution is like without installing to the hard drive and
others will do both. But you have a choice to install, or not install.
Or you can go to an online site like cheapbytes.com and very cheaply
get a Linux distribution sent to you by mail.
And most Linux distros come with office suites, games, applications,
configuration tools, multimedia, documentation, a whole slew of programs
available on the download CD's.
Like Frank said earlier, there is no need to worry about viruses,
defragging, spyware, etc.
VISTA:
Viruses
Intruders
Spyware
Trojans
Adware

HTH

 

The Merg wrote:
> Hey Frank,
> how much trouble is linux to install/maintain? I'd say I have average
> computer skills, FWIW
>
Not Frank, but I will try and answer.
If you have ever tried and installed Windows successfully, you will
most likely have no troubles at all.
The first time I installed Linux was intimidating. All sorts of
thoughts went thru my mind if it was going to work, what if I messed up
my Windows installation, etc. Piece of cake! :)
I dual booted Win98 and Mandrake (now Mandriva) for the first few
months. Then I read somewhere that if you really want to learn Linux to
boot into Linux all the time and spend as much time in it as possible. 6
months later I wiped Windows from my hard drive and never looked back.
You can go to distrowatch.com and look at all the different Linux
distributions. If you have a fast internet connection you can choose one
and download a Live CD of your choice. Some Live CD's will let you see
what that distribution is like without installing to the hard drive and
others will do both. But you have a choice to install, or not install.
Or you can go to an online site like cheapbytes.com and very cheaply
get a Linux distribution sent to you by mail.
And most Linux distros come with office suites, games, applications,
configuration tools, multimedia, documentation, a whole slew of programs
available on the download CD's.
Like Frank said earlier, there is no need to worry about viruses,
defragging, spyware, etc.
VISTA:
Viruses
Intruders
Spyware
Trojans
Adware

HTH

 

That'll work! The iso is a file containing the "image" of the linux
distribution.

> Burning a CD Image in Easy CD Creator
>
> 1. Open the Easy CD Creator program.
> 2. From the File menu, select Record CD from CD Image.
> 3. You will be prompted to select the disc image to record. In the Files of type: drop-down box, choose ISO Image files (*.ISO).
> 4. Browse and select the ISO image you would like to burn. Click on the Open button.
> 5. The Record CD Setup window will display the options for CD creation. Under the Record Method section of options, choose Track-at-once and Finalize CD.
> 6. Click OK. Your CD will be created.

Thanks to my friend Google :-)

If you don't have a decent high speed internet connection just order the
CD from http://www.mepis.org/store



The Merg wrote:
> I have whatever is on the ibook and Easy CD Creator on the Dell
>
> Frank_v7.0 wrote:
>> Do you have Nero or something that can burn a CD?
>>

--
FRH