Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Gurney
Date: 08 May 09 - 03:27 AM

Well, I've been playing with Ubuntu 6.06 for a few days, and I will persist, but it isn't all that simple to a child of the windows generation -I started with Amiga computers- but I have found:

Everything has a different name, you have to keep looking things up

Firefox browser is very clunky. the pionter moves jerkily. When you scroll down, it keeps scrolling (slooowly) to the amount that you moved the wheel, which is probably further than you wanted to go, so you have to scroll back up, and you go too far again, so....
Opera works much more smoothly on Ubuntu, and Firefox works much more smoothly on XP. Same computer.

Your printer may not have a driver, and if it has, it may not automatically unpack and install. Command lines.

You have to type in two identifications every time you boot. Irritating.

There are good websites, though. But they are not as easy to navigate as this one.

I downloaded the latest version. 4.75 hours. Now if only I can work out how to load it! Seems I'll have to make a boot-disk, if I manage to understand the language.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: treewind
Date: 08 May 09 - 05:29 AM

"Everything has a different name, you have to keep looking things up"
Yes, there's not a lot you can do about that.
Also some concepts are so different that there aren't exact equivalents, and both systems have things that are easier to do on one than the other, or require a quite different approach to achieve the same goal.

"Firefox browser is very clunky. the pionter moves jerkily."
That's not a generic Linux problem. It's absolutely fine here. You might not have the right graphics driver - I've had funny mouse and graphics effects when the

"You have to type in two identifications every time you boot."
Not usually. You should need to log in only once, and if your system is physically secure you can choose automatic log in and not have to log in at all.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: olddude
Date: 08 May 09 - 08:50 PM

Oh get Unbuntu version 9 ok, 6.6 is pretty outdated
Thanks
Dan

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Gurney
Date: 09 May 09 - 12:32 AM

Yes, Anahata, my motherboard has a driver even on Windoze, and some programs don't work perfectly without it installed. Obviously optimised for Microsoft. I'm not currently using a graphics card, it died, just using the onboard. Still, Opera works better, and it's the browser that I use most, anyway.
The boot invariably demands my UID, and again if I want to install or change anything. Obviously a setting.

Dan, I did download 9.0something, tediously, but as I said, it didn't install, but suggests that I make a bootfloppy. "Old bios' need one." Wouldn't have thought of a 2.6 as old, myself.
I could, of course, BUY the latest disk.
Chris.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: olddude
Date: 09 May 09 - 08:51 PM

Gurney
PM me your address and I will send you a CD that should work for you
ok

thanks
Dan

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Gurney
Date: 10 May 09 - 12:14 AM

That is kind of you, Dan, and typical, from your posts, but I live in New Zealand. I'd prefer that you spend the $6+ postage on your good works. Better spent there. I'm only trying out Linux, just for the reason that you outlined in the thread title, I have XP, and some months to go on my anti-virus. Thank you for the offer.

I'm pretty sure that the trojan I had came with a freeware download. Serves me right, it's not the first time, you'd think I'd learn, and other platitudes.
I'm also pretty sure that I'd need special drivers to get Linux working well with this motherboard and keyboard, not to mention the printers and scanner (I can't even get an XP driver for that!)

The official Ubuntu site offers CD postage as an alternative to downloads. I looked in the local bookshop today, and there were coverdisks with three flavours of Linux. Not Ubuntu.
Regards, Chris.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Gurney
Date: 10 May 09 - 01:48 AM

I just checked on our local equivalent of Ebay, -TradeMe,- and there are several copies of 9.04 and 9.06 for a peppercorn price, obviously from enthusiasts promoting it, as they are encouraged to do. The cheapest was NZ$4.50, about US$2.70.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: robomatic
Date: 10 May 09 - 03:09 PM

just wondering why olddude keeps writin' it with the "un-" when the correct name is "UBUNTU"

is there a message there or simply a carry-along typo?

just curious, olddude

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: terrier
Date: 10 May 09 - 05:31 PM

One thing I've found using Ubuntu, I don't have the control over my monitor that I had in Windoze. I don't have a graphics card in my PC and the brightness and contrast are out of my control, as I'm typing this,it's like staring at a search light :( Is it just a case of me fitting a graphics card or is there something in Ubuntu I've missed. Other than that, so far so good.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: olddude
Date: 10 May 09 - 09:02 PM

I don't know why I do that either, My fingers want to put the un I guess like the United Nations or something like that ... I use the thing every day and still put the UN in it ... go figure maybe I should join the UN .. LOL

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: robomatic
Date: 11 May 09 - 08:59 PM

I'm just afraid that by some mental quirk you'll have me 'un'doin' it,too!

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 12 May 09 - 02:55 AM

Not a particular Ubuntu fan myself, in part as I prefer the KDE desktop to (there is KUbuntu btw but it never feels as well integrated to me as my chosen OpenSuse) Gnome.

My own suggestion is to try a few and find what suits you best. I'm certainly not in the camp that considers someone a twit if they find they do prefer say Ubuntu and Gnome, or perhaps Fedora, etc. to my choices but with so much free,trying different distributions is easy and you might find the one that feels the best fit to you. To me, it's about freedom and choice on this.

--
Other personal reason for me liking OpenSuse is I get on well with the Yast interface. To give one negative, I do have some unease about the Novell/MS business.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 12 May 09 - 03:33 AM

Robomatic. My own preference with graphic cards is nVidia. Some will object because they insist on closed source. They do tend in my experience to just work though and I've failed getting things like 3d going on Via and ATI... For me on this one, a practicality overrules a principle.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: GUEST,Matt yer Hacker
Date: 12 May 09 - 11:13 PM

I've had the good fortune to set Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.04 on a Dell D610 - works brilliantly, with reasonable control over almost everything. The one thing that doesn't work is, of course, Skype - the camera drivers aren't playing nice. But that's a relatively minor annoyance. It also has closed-source wireless card drivers (Broadcom 4318) but fwcutter does a very good job of detecting and auto-installing the card while the machine is on and connected to the wired network.

I'm quite pleased with it.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Gurney
Date: 14 May 09 - 02:33 AM

Just installed Ubuntu 9.04, and Firefox works perfectly, as it didn't with 6.06. It even underlines misspelled words and words it doesn't know, like Ubuntu. And misspelt, which I had put in deliberately.

Must find the spellchecker and add some.

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Jul 09 - 03:01 PM

So, I have a Windows 98 laptop wiht 64 MB of RAM, and I'm experimenting with Damn Small Linux and Puppy Linux.

The first of my problems was creating a bootable CD, since most Windows CD burner software packages won't do it. We finally succeeded by using my stepson's computer, which has Ubuntu.

Puppy Linux was intolerably slow on the CD drive, so I installed it on the hard drive while still booting from a CD. It worked pretty well, but I can't get the Internet browser to stop crashing or freezing.

So, now I'm trying DSL. I get a lot of action at first, but then things stop at this line:

xauth: creating new authority file /home/dsl/.xauthority

Any advice what to do next?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Simon G
Date: 18 Jul 09 - 03:42 PM

Joe

There are plenty of tools to write iso images to CD, here is a command line one

http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/CreateCD.htm

The xauth problem looks like a problem writing to the file system, there is similar problems norted in the DSL forum from 2006 but they are noted as fixed.

I'm sure you don't want yet another Linux distribution. I'd expect Xubuntu to work in 64MB and the distribution is bang up to date.

http://www.xubuntu.org/

Enjoy

Simon

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Jul 09 - 11:26 PM

Oh, I may well try Xubuntu, Simon. Thanks for the suggestion. I got past the boot-up problem with DSL by tweaking the video settings, but then I couldn't get it to recognize my PCMCIA wireless card, which Puppy Linux did recognize.

So, we'll keep working. I have to admit I have an ulterior motive - my stepson is working with me on this, and it keeps him from being a total couch potato this summer vacation.

This certainly isn't working as easily as it was to install Ubuntu on five-year-old equipment with lots of RAM and hard drive space, but it's an interesting puzzle and we're learning a lot.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: GUEST,Matt yer Hacker
Date: 19 Jul 09 - 01:06 AM

The trick to any Unix-like OS (of which Linux is one) is to remember that almost everything is run by config files, which are in text format. If you make copies of original config files and use gedit or vi to edit them, you can experiment to your heart's content and eventually get things to work. Well, configuring stuff and googling for options that aren't documented....

Subject: RE: Tech: A case against Viruses - Linux??
From: Simon G
Date: 19 Jul 09 - 04:44 AM

Linux's single biggest problem has always been recognising and dealing with the myriads of different devices. Ubuntu seems to have manage that better than most distributions. For your wireless card you may need to search for a device driver.