Linux: My first impressions.

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Linux: My first impressions.

2003-12-05 16:54:11

Using Windows exclusively for years - but always interested in experimenting other OSes - recently I had a chance to built a machine(using old parts), exclusively to test and learn about Linux.
The box is a Celeron 600/Asus-HP mobo/audio & video on board/Intel 810 chipset/256RAM/6GB HD.
Before putting any Linux on it, I've decided to install win2k, to evaluate its performance. It proved to be a decent machine, being able to load and run common apps at a very good speed.
All my past attempts to install Linux was a complete mess, (too many question during setup, lack of hardware compatibility, broken plug and play, etc).
Recently, some Linux distros added the graphical setup, automated configuration, better hardware support and this made me feel more confident to give another chance to the penguin.

As my first "viticm", I picked "Lindows OS" v3, since I have the CD avaliable.

My impressions after using Lindows 3 after a few days:
PROS:
The graphic setup is a breeze, it does everything for you(only 1 or 2 questions), and less than 15 minutes later, I was navigating all over the Web.
It correctly recognized and configured all my hardware(video, audio, NIC, network settings, etc) and the whole system used less than 600MB of disk space!
Very easy to personalize any setting.
Runs very fast. No crashes. No freezing.
It comes with Netscape and Konqueror.
The KDE is great.
File Manager puts you in complete control over the files. Copying, pasting, deleting... same as Windows.

CONS:
Not free(You must pay to download the ISO or buy the CDS).
The system is infested by the Click&Run thing. Its annoying. (Icons and shortcuts everywhere)
I was not able to install any app.
Very basic apps came along the OS.

Conclusion:
I found it very easy to install and use. Very good for basic tasks(web, email, music listening, etc...).
After using it for about a week, I decided to move ahead and try another distribuition.

Next viticm: Lycoris Linux v3 update. (another newbie-oriented distro).
Its already installed and running(using it ATM)and it feels quite different from Lindows.
If someone has interess, I can post the sequence for this thread, talking about my impressions about Lycoris.
I intend to evaluate some other distros, before deciding which one to keep..
I'm posting this to help and encourage people to give a try on Linux. It worth it! .

LIF

edit> typos and clarify.

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #1 – 2003-12-05 19:52:05

I will be getting Mandrake 9.2 next week... I hope.
BTW, most distros are free... only few ask for money to download ISOz.

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #2 – 2003-12-05 20:58:25

I'm going to try gentoo linux this weekend. This is my first try with linux and I hope everything will go fine...

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #3 – 2003-12-05 22:12:27

I've been using Knoppix (Linux Live CD) for quite a while. It's perfect as an introduction to Linux. Now I want to go further too. I'm going to try Mandrake soon (but I don't plan yet to give up Windows 2000).

I know well this has been already discussed before but there's something I haven't found (not yet?): an audio player for Linux with advanced functions just like foobar2000. XMMS is ok but doesn't match totally all my requirements.

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #4 – 2003-12-06 10:11:55

Quote

I know well this has been already discussed before but there's something I haven't found (not yet?): an audio player for Linux with advanced functions just like foobar2000.

It can be run under WINE and it works.

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #5 – 2003-12-06 13:09:19

Quote

It can be run under WINE and it works.

Thanks for info.
That's good news for me!

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #6 – 2003-12-06 16:44:03

I tried Mandrake several months ago. The installation was hell, and when it was finally installed it felt like a piece of shit. Performance was sluggish and those tz.gar files were a bitch! I couldn't put up with it so I switched back to WinXP Home and have been happy since

EDIT: and i couldn't use my iPod

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #7 – 2003-12-06 20:08:37

Quote

I tried Mandrake several months ago. The installation was hell, and when it was finally installed it felt like a piece of shit. Performance was sluggish and those tz.gar files were a bitch! I couldn't put up with it so I switched back to WinXP Home and have been happy since

EDIT: and i couldn't use my iPod

What made it a complete piece of shit? Why was it so bad? Could you give us some facts behind your opinion (except ipod not working) ?

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #8 – 2003-12-07 04:45:04

as i said it felt slow, gz tar things were annoying, and NO IPOD

EDIT: oh yeah and iirc the color display was limited, and i was running with a geforce 4!

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #9 – 2003-12-09 19:03:00

Quote

as i said it felt slow, gz tar things were annoying, and NO IPOD

EDIT: oh yeah and iirc the color display was limited, and i was running with a geforce 4!

Do you mean that you haven't lived the Dos age when everything needed to be installed manually and best games had 256 colours? I understand that having 256 colours bugs but I also consider that it was sluggish because your Linux didn't had a correct X-server installed and therefore the screen updating in graphical mode is slow and you can't get enough colours. Also the desktop environment can make the system running slower than it could. Kde is faster than Gnome (at least in my P3-500) and Fvwm is the fastest according to my test(I haven't tested the other possibilities.). It is also possible to use iPod under Linux: http://pag.lcs.mit.edu/~adonovan/hacks/ipod.html

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #10 – 2003-12-09 21:36:29

I use Gentoo, but I _cannot_ recommend it for people new to Linux. It's a tweaker's distro (like LFS, Debian or Slackware). Lindows isn't bad for newbies but I do not like the fact that it's a "root" installation - might as well go back to Win95. Lycoris isn't bad, and Mandrake has improved dramatically recently. Redhat has gone downhill over the past year, so I can't recommend it or Fedora at the moment.

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #11 – 2003-12-09 22:27:36

I played today with a Knoppix distro. I didn't want to install and mess anything on my hdd, I wanted just to see how linux looks and works. My first impression is very positive. Everything works smooth, no problem with compatibility, everything is very intuitive. Maybe some day I'll uninstall Windows and will start adventure with open source software

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #12 – 2003-12-10 20:09:41

I looked at Knoppix too, and my first impression is KDE Keramik theme is very nice.

Linux: My first impressions.

Reply #13 – 2003-12-10 23:14:53

Try FreeBSD instead. Much easier to learn with its handbook and very consistent when it comes to kernel building/installing new components, and runs everything linux runs.

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