They're both a pain to use without knowing shell commands.

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In case the above doesn't make any sense, note that I don't know anything about computers.

"Horsepower sells motor cars, but torque wins motor races"
- Carroll Shelby

That isnt true! Why do you say that?

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Ubuntu 8.04.1

Gnome 2.22.3

Because it is true...

The GUI interface is easy to use - as are all GUI interfaces, though I couldn't get the vid drivers loaded worth of damn, and my friend was trying to figure it out for awhile, and he was doing it all through the shell, but no luck. Looks like I gotta learn it anyways, it's part of CS1 (course I just signed up for today). It has intro to Java and Unix.

Linux became a pain in my ball-sack. It wouldn't let me boot windows (I had a dual boot), and then I finally got into windows, I formatted the Kubuntu partition, and then when it started up again, it tried (and would only try) loading the GRUB - which it couldn't load. So loading GRUB failed, then everything else failed, then I got pissed, and finally I got it to boot off the CD-Rom and I just formatted everything.

It really killed me. Not sure if I'd attempt it again unless it was on a totally different hard drive. Though I got other shit to worry about - like why my hard drive is only read on start up ~10% of the time. Restarting makes me wanna cry as I know it'll be a 10 minute procedure.

__________________
In case the above doesn't make any sense, note that I don't know anything about computers.

"Horsepower sells motor cars, but torque wins motor races"
- Carroll Shelby

That has nothing to do with the GUI it has to do with Ubuntu or whatever Linux you were using not recognizing you video card.

__________________
Ubuntu 8.04.1

Gnome 2.22.3

Oh I know it has nothing to do with the gooey, I'm just saying, I would have had no idea how to do it through the GUI (I'm sure if I messed around with it I could get an idea) but a friend was helping me remotely through the shell and was telling me to type some stuff in from time to time - that (shell knowledge) really comes in handy when working with any linux distro. Without it you can get lost, easily, even though the GUI has progressed A LOT since redhat and such.

It's sad, we're going over basic unix commands in CS1 (class just started Monday) and now I'm all like "ahh I want linux back" - but the last time I did that shit went crazy, not sure if I'm willing to do that again. Or maybe it was the way I went about it.

Last time I formatted then installed windows. Then installed Partition magic 8 (yeayea, I know, it sucks), then put in the kubuntu live disk and installed kukubuntu on the partition I made with partition magic (50gb + 3gb swap). Fast forward 9 months later - I couldn't remember my kubuntu password (I remember naming it something outta my "typical password array"), so I went back, finally got it to boot windows, so I thought I'd just get rid of it - bam, I deleted the partition with kubuntu on it and formatted it as NTFS - formatted, then it started looking for the GRUB, couldn't find it - shit hit the fan, then I said screw it and reformatted.

The downside to linux is the same thing that hits me about macs. Compatability. You need to reboot to play a game (unless you can get that game program working (forgot the name)), or you have to use VMWare, and if you're not using a dual core processor and are using a 3.0ghz P4 like me, it would have a shit-fit trying to run linux, then VMWare, then windows, to emulate a game - and the same goes for everything else - you have to use firefox because no systems understand konquerer, so on and so forth.

So it becomes a big "usage vs. stability" battle.

__________________
In case the above doesn't make any sense, note that I don't know anything about computers.

"Horsepower sells motor cars, but torque wins motor races"
- Carroll Shelby

Yea I agree that you need knowledge of CLI commands if you have problems with Linux and compatibility is the biggest reason I am using Vista right now instead of Linux.

__________________
Ubuntu 8.04.1

Gnome 2.22.3

Be sure to give the next version of Ubuntu a try when it's out. I'm surprised by the amount of extra hardware support they seem to add with each version. Linux is very close to, and in some cases better than, Windows when it comes to hardware support.

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Ash
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yes, but when it comes to dx10 sickness pwng windows = the best ever. instead of downloading "beer" or whatever for linux and playing older games. hey btw can you play oblivion on linux? cause i'm gonna get linux because of the appealing price tag. since vista is 102984 dollars, and xp is 091823098124 dollars.

__________________

What most people don't realise is that Linux is NOT Windows. The fact that most game companies only code for the most popular OS [being popular doesn't seem to make it good] isn't a reason to dismiss Linux as an inferior choice.

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Thanks,
Ash
CF Founder
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however, if gaming is going to be a big part of your pc, an operating system like wonderful XP is the way to go. what features make linux way better than windows anywho?

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Well for gamers Linux isn't really ideal as a main OS unless they are dual-booting. However most gamers tend to run systems that can handle any OS, even bloated Vista. As you said - XP is great for gamers - it's compatible and it is quite fast and stable.

But for people like me who don't play games but like to use an operating system that's faster and more efficient, very customizable, and with a huge selection of free software, and STABLE - even on slow / old hardware, Linux is the way to go.

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Ash
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hey but do you know if i would be able to play oblivion and maybe dark age of camelot on ubuntu/kubuntu?

__________________

Looks like you can under wine, but I suggest that if you try Ubuntu you dual boot, and only use Windows for gaming. Take some time to learn Ubuntu before following a tutorial like this one [although it's largely cutting and pasting commands]:
Oblivion under Ubuntu with Wine - Ubuntu Forums

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Ash
CF Founder
Great Webhosting. Shared starting at $2 per month. VPSes starting at $6 per month.
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oh and also whats the deal with linux not being compatible with a lot of hardware? i was going to buy a cd/dvd drive, but my first os is going to be linux. so i'm hoping i can get some hardware/games working with it.

lol btw i didnt say the drive isnt compatible.

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Yea Ubuntu is the best distro IMHO and I cant wait for the next version. I had 7.10 installed before I switched to wireless.

__________________
Ubuntu 8.04.1

Gnome 2.22.3