[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Help me choose an Operating System! (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 11/28/2008 2:48:34 PM EDT
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I'm in the middle of making a computer and I'm not Interested in paying $200+ dollars for vista.
I've been looking at Linux OSs. I need to be able to put things like Mozilla and Word. This computer is not going to be used for anything special, Simply Surfing the Net and Doing homework. Thanks |
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windows server 2008 standard 32/64 (forget vista) server is faster..
or get Centos, install VMServer, and run a bunch of different OSs. Centos is free. and has a nice update alert feature. Basically Redhat rebranded. I hear Ubuntu is easier but I've never tried it. |
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I don't know what level of computer knowledge OP has, but honestly unless you're experienced and have a TechNet subscription, I can't imagine any home user wanting to pay for Server 2008 and convert it to "desktop mode" - even if it is faster.
Vista is fine. It works fantastically. If you want Windows, it's the way to go (with modern hardware, of course). For Linux, if you are a beginner, Ubuntu is pretty much the de-facto OS for "easy to deploy". Install software, restart computer. That's it. You can install Open Office, and Firefox is already installed. Even for laptops, it should find all of your hardware and you will be ready to go in 20 minutes. Updating is incredibly simple (it tells you when new stuff is available), and for the most part everything works. I installed it on my laptop a couple months back because I wanted something easy. I _can_ install the other distributions, but with this I didn't have to worry about configuring... anything! ETA: I use my laptop for pretty much exactly what you use it for. That, and the roaming on airport wireless connections. Ubuntu is perfect for this application. |
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I'm in the middle of making a computer and I'm not Interested in paying $200+ dollars for vista. I've been looking at Linux OSs. I need to be able to put things like Mozilla and Word. This computer is not going to be used for anything special, Simply Surfing the Net and Doing homework. Thanks MVS |
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Quoted: I'm in the middle of making a computer and I'm not Interested in paying $200+ dollars for vista.  x64 Vista for $79, free shipping |
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I'm in the middle of making a computer and I'm not Interested in paying $200+ dollars for vista.
x64 Vista for $79, free shipping WTF is OEM? I just looked it up, It's the same install process? Anything Different? |
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OEM is single-machine licensing, the kind that comes with a new Dell or HP machine. You install it on that machine, and cannot (per the agreement) transfer the license to the next machine when you upgrade. It costs considerably less than the retail-boxed versions.
ETA: It behaves the same as retail copies (installation and use). |
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I'm in the middle of making a computer and I'm not Interested in paying $200+ dollars for vista.
x64 Vista for $79, free shipping WTF is OEM? I just looked it up, It's the same install process? Anything Different? Installed just fine for me. OEM will probably be a pain in the ass if you have problems though, Microsoft expects the computer manufactures that use it (you, if you built the computer and bought OEM version) to deal with issues. |
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Do you NEED Word, or do you need a Word-compatible word processor?
Most people just need a Word-compatible word processor. OpenOffice will do the job nicely. For OS, Ubuntu is a good drop-in OS. Someone mentioned Fedora and the RPM system, but I don't see how that is better than the GUI repository management in Ubuntu. |
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Whats most similar to Windows? and How is Kubuntu? Ubuntu is in many people's opinion, the most user friendly type of Linux. It's based off of Debian, which is a very stable, secure version of Linux, which was then altered to make it a lot more user friendly. It's free, you can download it here: Ubuntu. If you're considering switching to a Linux based O.S. this would be a good one to start with. A lot of them have a very steep learning curve and little support. Ubuntu is much easier, has tons of documentation, tutorials and has many forums dedicated to helping people with it: One of the Many Ubuntu Forums |
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What are the differences in the Graphical Environments of Ubuntu and Kubuntu? Ubuntu is Gnome desk top And Kubuntu is KDE desktop Gnome is more popular than KDE I have heard the opposite, KDE is more mainstream than Gnome, but that was a few years ago when I was interested in this. |
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What are the differences in the Graphical Environments of Ubuntu and Kubuntu? Ubuntu is Gnome desk top And Kubuntu is KDE desktop Gnome is more popular than KDE I've heard of those but I have no idea what that means for the End-User. And that is what Open Source is all about: Choice. You might not have the time or the inclination to figure out which option is best, but dammit you're picking somethin'!. 
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Kubuntu/Screenshots/Dapper = KDE DESK Top
https://wiki.kubuntu.org/Kubuntu/Screenshots/Dapper Ubuntu 8.10 Screen shots = Gnome Desk top http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-8-10-Alpha-1-Screenshot-Tour-89049.shtml |
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Linux seems like it would be a great choice for you. I've never had a problem with surfing the internet, doing homework, watching movies, playing music, editing photos, etc. If all you plan to do is internet and word processing, then you'd be wasting your money to buy a copy of Vista. Just pick one of the popular distros (I like Fedora) like Fedora, Ubuntu, etc, and it should come with Firefox already installed, and if it doesn't have OpenOffice.org already installed, it will be very easy to get it installed. |
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Honestly (and I say this as a guy who uses Linux as his primary OS when he's not at work) - just get a Mac, unless you don't have the money for one. It's infinitely easier than using Linux day to day, if you're not a computer enthusiast or an IT professional. I love Linux to death (would rather not use anything else, if I could help it), but honestly - Linux evangelists routinely gloss over a LOT of details when doing the rah-rah chant for people like you. |
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Honestly (and I say this as a guy who uses Linux as his primary OS when he's not at work) - just get a Mac, unless you don't have the money for one. It's infinitely easier than using Linux day to day, if you're not a computer enthusiast or an IT professional. I love Linux to death (would rather not use anything else, if I could help it), but honestly - Linux evangelists routinely gloss over a LOT of details when doing the rah-rah chant for people like you. FUCK MAC 
Yea, I don't have money, but even if I did, I wouldn't buy a Mac. |
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Honestly (and I say this as a guy who uses Linux as his primary OS when he's not at work) - just get a Mac, unless you don't have the money for one. It's infinitely easier than using Linux day to day, if you're not a computer enthusiast or an IT professional. I love Linux to death (would rather not use anything else, if I could help it), but honestly - Linux evangelists routinely gloss over a LOT of details when doing the rah-rah chant for people like you. Which version of Linux do you use? I'm guessing openBSD |
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Quoted: It's UNIX-like on the backend (kinda), so it's not *all* bad. Quoted: Honestly (and I say this as a guy who uses Linux as his primary OS when he's not at work) - just get a Mac, unless you don't have the money for one. It's infinitely easier than using Linux day to day, if you're not a computer enthusiast or an IT professional. I love Linux to death (would rather not use anything else, if I could help it), but honestly - Linux evangelists routinely gloss over a LOT of details when doing the rah-rah chant for people like you. FUCK MAC Yea, I don't have money, but even if I did, I wouldn't buy a Mac. If you don't want to use XP (which would be my other suggestion), then pick up a copy of either Ubuntu or Fedora Linux. I'm partial to Ubuntu, because I like Debian package management a hell of a lot more than Red Hat. Religion? Maybe. But anyway... If you do decide to run Linux, there are lots of people here (myself included) who will be more than happy to help you with the various problems you (will) have. The fact that you're even asking this question is proof you're not a serious hobbyist, or IT professional (you're sane, in other words ). The only reason I bring this up, is because you are far more likely to "get" Linux and love it, if you are not a casual user. |
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Quoted: FreeBSD on a server in the basement. FreeBSD and openBSD are not Linux....Quoted: Honestly (and I say this as a guy who uses Linux as his primary OS when he's not at work) - just get a Mac, unless you don't have the money for one. It's infinitely easier than using Linux day to day, if you're not a computer enthusiast or an IT professional. I love Linux to death (would rather not use anything else, if I could help it), but honestly - Linux evangelists routinely gloss over a LOT of details when doing the rah-rah chant for people like you. Which version of Linux do you use? I'm guessing openBSD  My primary desktop is Ubuntu. It doesn't *look* like Ubuntu, and it's been hacked by yours truly all to hell, but it did start off that way. The Ubuntu package maintainers (core, MOTU and guys who throw stuff on PPA) do a fantastic job when packaging (they more or less do it much like I would), and that's all I really care about. The rest is incidental. I just change what I don't like. For example, the PulseAudio implementation is fucking retarded (Fedora did a MUCH better job), but there's nothing saying I can't change it. So I did. |
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You're building the computer, right? What are the specs? Video card, sound card, NIC, etc, etc. Also, what kind of printer do you have? Do you have a webcam? Are there any other USB devices you need to attach? I'm asking, because now would be a good time to double check how well they are supported under Linux, at the moment. |
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I'm in the middle of making a computer and I'm not Interested in paying $200+ dollars for vista. I've been looking at Linux OSs. I need to be able to put things like Mozilla and Word. This computer is not going to be used for anything special, Simply Surfing the Net and Doing homework. Thanks When you need "Word", does that mean Microsoft Word specifically or would something like Openoffice be fine? If you must have MS Word then a OEM copy of XP or Vista is your best choice. Otherwise, try Ubuntu or Kubuntu first. Download and burn a live CD of both, boot them and see which one you like best before installing. I dont care for KDE personally, but YMMV. Both install Openoffice by default. |
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Does Ubuntu photo program allow cropping and image size adjustment? Does the video program allow you to watch DVD's or do you need to buy a codec? If you are asking these questions, I would say windows or mac is a better choice for you. I use photoshop alot. As a minimal use I would like to at least make my pics smaller etc. for web applications, avatars, etc. As far as the movie program goes, It wont play a DVD? I have used XP and pretty much am happy with thta. Im just tryiung to see what the linux craze is all about. |
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Quoted: Does Ubuntu photo program allow cropping and image size adjustment? Does the video program allow you to watch DVD's or do you need to buy a codec? 1. GIMP will (among hundreds of other things) allow you to crop and resize images. 2. Restricted format codecs are available in the multiverse repository, free of charge. 3. If your first instinct after reading #2 was not opening a tab and hitting Google, I'm 99% certain you will be happier with an OEM copy of XP, installed from scratch. |
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Go to http://www.ubuntu.com/ download and burn to a CD.
reboot and try it. you can run it from the CD, like test drive. if you like it, click the "install" shortcut. It will partition your HD and when you boot, you can select XP or ubuntu. |