Not Many Posts Concerning Linux

[Gumballl]

It's too bad that there is not more posts in the Linux sub-section of the ICCTT forum. It seems that after a TV member successfully installs their Linux distro onto their system that not more is heard back from them (with issues, discoveries, etc).

I understand that very few people in the TV forum actually use Linux, and for the ones that do, they probably seek technical advice elsewhere (e.g. linuxquestions.org).

At the same time I find it hard to understand why the average computer user (those who only browse the web, listen to music and videos, etc) rely on Windows variants, when in fact Linux can perform all of these tasks the same (if not better) without the concern of being affected by viruses, malware, spyware... or the bug of tomorrow (bacterium?).

Some argue that Linux can be too challenging for the average PC user? Surprisingly the same people who tend to support this argument will go to all ends of the Earth to solve a Windows problem, yet will not take the same effort with Linux.

Anyhow I guess everybody has a choice. As for your thoughts, what do you think? Is Linux ready for the mainstream? Do you get annoyed seeing so many posts concerning issues with MS Windows?

I for one am surprised that Thailand has not embraced Linux over that of MS Windows. It is free, robust enough to support most systems, and is not that difficult to use. In this new age, with many documents being stored in XML, HTML, or other standard format, the distinction between Windows and Linux is becoming a blur. Yet there are those who will not abandon their costly OS and costly applications.

Edited July 4, 2007 by Gumballl

[nidge]

I tried installing Red Hat or Fedora Linux, (at least i think it was one of them), a couple of years ago. The installation was easy and it looked ok but i could not get my sound card or video to work. I got fed up after a couple of hours of blind trouble shooting, (no internet connection at the time), and so went back to windows. Now i use OS X and it's awesome. I never get annoyed seeing all the posts about windows issues, just that cosy "ready brek kid" feeling.

[canadiangirl]

It's too bad that there is not more posts in the Linux sub-section of the ICCTT forum. It seems that after a TV member successfully installs their Linux distro onto their system that not more is heard back from them (with issues, discoveries, etc).

I run Ubuntu but I think it sucks. However, it sucks less than Windows, which is why I keep using it. Sound is always screwing up, suspend doesn't work properly on my laptop.

My best friend used to work for Ubuntu, so he fixes all my computer problems!

[autonomous_unit]

I've been using Linux as my primary OS since 1992, when I taught myself so I'd have a Unix workstation at home to do my university computer science course work (due to similar frustrations with labs and modem banks that Linus had at his school). I managed to continue using it professionally at my software development jobs since then. Now, I even run a customized version of Linux on my DSL and WiFi routers!

I used to have to boot into Windows to deal with documents that others had sent me (in school or at work), then started doing that within VMware when that first became viable (in the mid 1990s). Now, OpenOffice usually suffices, and I only start Windows in VMware on the rare occasion that I want to mess with some tragically non-Linux software such as a firmware updater for my iPod... I prefer this to Wine because I can revert the Windows VM to its previous state at the end of the session and not fear any virus/corruption.

So, there are at least a few of us here who've used Linux so long that it is like breathing... I don't post in the health forum every time I breathe either.

I don't know nor care whether Linux is ready for the mainstream. I'm not the proselytizing type. I know it is fantastic for technically minded folks who want a tool that works for them and is easily customized with a little scripting and programming. My computing life is natively the Linux way. I find it alien to even read about the sorts of applications and problems that typical Windows users encounter these days, because I've never used a computer that way.

From what little I've seen of Thai IT shops, the low cost of Linux is not an incentive because they're not afraid to run pirate copies of Windows. On the other hand, the lack of commercial support, professional services, and ready-made applications (including system management applications) is a blocking factor. Many Thai IT organizations are even more backwards than their western counterparts in terms of being afraid to do anything themselves, because their staff are too unskilled and they lack the confidence to take any personal responsibility for the operations of their systems. This will remain a problem as long as "due diligence" is seen to equal "buy support and duck responsibility" rather than to equal "make operations cheap and reliable".

[Gumballl]

Nice to read some good posts. I for one have been using Linux since '97, where not knowing any better, I fiddled with Slackware on a Tatung notebook PC. What a pain it was to get X11 working on the thing, but I got it working after a couple of months. From there I went onto another distro for a "regular" PC, but for the life of it I cannot remember what distro it was. Now I am using Fedora Core 5 on a Compaq Presario notebook and just recently I gave Ubuntu a shot on a Dell E1505.

I have found Ubuntu to be easier to manage than FC5, however because old habits die hard, I still reach for my FC5 system when doing development work.

Until just recently, my career never offered the opportunity to work with Linux. However, that is not to say I dealt with Windoze. Aside from 6 months out of the last 17 1/2 years, I have dealt with HP, SGI, Novell (Interactive Unix?), and Sun Solaris. When I brought my work home, Linux was there to fill in the gap till the next working day.

With my Ubuntu system, I installed VMWare Server and found it to be awesome. I can install pretty much any distro. I still have my Win XP distro, and even though I have pondered installing it, I cannot think of why I would need it. Linux meets all of my needs, which at this time are: hosting my personal webpage, SSH server for remote access, development tools for C++ and Java, media playback, Email and of course Web browsing.

Anyhow, anonymous_unit is probably correct... If you rarely use Windows, it's hard to relate to all of the problems that people complain about. For me, I just find it somewhat annoying that's all.

Well I'm off to go see the fireworks. Cheers everyone!

Edited July 5, 2007 by Gumballl

[sbk]

I was going to give Linux (kubuntu) a try on my old computer but the hard disk died while I was attempting it (hence, I think, all the major issues I had getting kubuntu to load correctly). When I get my computer back I will give it another shot. I liked the interface and it connected to the DSL just fine, loaded everything correctly (when it worked, that is). I would like to try it on the computer once the computer no longer has hardware issues

[Tywais]

Guess I can beat some on time frames. First exposure to unix was on mainframes in the late 70's for my computer science courses. When Minix (Tanenbaum) came out in 1991 began playing with it for a while. Then began using Slackware in 1993 (version 1.0) and is still my linux of choice now. In between, managed HPUX (Hewlett Packard worstations) + dedicated X-terminals then Sun SparcStations (Solaris - which I hated with a passion). XP is still my primary work station due to the applications I need for work. Run Linux in either VMWare or use XTerm to connect to my Slackware servers when I want to use unix.

[tigerbeer]

twice i tried ubuntu but with no internet connection cause i connect through usb modem. will give it another shot when i get a new modem and live internet connection. seems like "information overload" when i ask a question about it. just overwhelmed with so much information that i do not know where to start at.

[Tarragona]

I'd like to go into it a bit more. I've had a look at Ubuntu from live cds and feel I would probably be happy with it.

Is dual boot Linux/Windows fairly straightforward? I'd like to feel that I could very easily get back to something I know if I'm having tearing-my-hair-out moments with something new.

[sbk]

It was for me Tarragona, at least until my computer died

[siam2007]

after what another user posted about VISTA (that it sends any personal data u can imagine to MS) its actually time to change the OS.

unfortunately, I am a computer dummie and I am sure I would not be able to get all the programs and utilities running, and I can not call the COMP-AID-SERVICE all the time.

but if there would be a LINUX introduction course somewhere in BKK, I would for sure try to make myself familiar with it.....

[Gary A]

I tried several different Linux versions. Driver problems and program availability irritated me. I finally paid for Linspire and it did work properly. I had no driver problems. The problem with Linspire was that it was VERY slow and made XP Pro look like a speed demon. I'll stick with Windows. I love to hate Microsoft too but at least at this point, I'll continue to use XP Pro. I did spend a lot of time trying to speed up Linspire and received a lot of help from Linus users but it was still MUCH slower than Windows. I DO have a GIG of ram and my computer is only a couple of years old with SATA hard drives so I'm not going to fault my computer.

[Gumballl]

Gary A - Sorry to hear about your awful experience with Linspire. Although I have heard of that distro, I do not hear much about it compared to other distros. If you are still interested in Linux, try out Ubuntu or Fedora. I think that Ubuntu is probably the easier of the two for Linux newbies. In fact, I find Ubuntu easier to deal with than with Windows. Either way, choose a distro that is updated regularly, because these are most likely to contain (updated) drivers for a wide variety of hardware components.

Edited July 7, 2007 by Gumballl

[Gumballl]

after what another user posted about VISTA (that it sends any personal data u can imagine to MS) its actually time to change the OS.

unfortunately, I am a computer dummie and I am sure I would not be able to get all the programs and utilities running, and I can not call the COMP-AID-SERVICE all the time.

but if there would be a LINUX introduction course somewhere in BKK, I would for sure try to make myself familiar with it.....

Thank you for the "idea". Maybe I will be able to teach Linux someday (in LOS) and I can become one of the proletariats so desired by the Thai elite.

[slackula]

Hmmm... Interesting thread.

I have been a dedicated Slackware fan for about 5 years, messed with a few distros like Fedora, Mandrake, Suse, Debian, Gentoo(!) first, they didn't 'fit'.

I don't post my questions here because of the enormous amount of support available elsewhere, if I do need help with Slackware issues I hit up linuxquestions.org first and Google second. Haven't hit a problem yet that I couldn't solve between those two resources. Currently I have Slack 11 zipping along on a Core 2 Duo Lenovo Thinkpad and with some tinkering of scripts it shares my wired connection at eth0 wirelessly via eth1 to my Mrs. computer and the neighbour too so saves us buying a wireless router/modem also.

Anyway, I am convinced that the reason for the lack of uptake of Linux in Thailand so far is entirely due to the ready availability of pirated software. I buy IBM/Lenovo machines because I can get them with no OS installed and avoid the MS tax but I have yet to buy one and not have the offer of installing XP Pro or whatever for free presented to me.

I did mess with Ubuntu recently and the install and configuration was very impressively easy, as was the hardware detection. If a refugee from Windows thinks that Ubuntu is too hard to use then they need to be reminded that it'll cost them XXX amount of dollars to use Windows legally and they won't have any useful office apps (or anything else really) in the base install; they'll probably change their minds.

[RKASA]

Its a big step moving into Linux. It sounds easy, but there is alot to learn. I think time is the most factor for many. Taking time away from surfing and gaming and TV. My first shot was a purchase of mandrake and a dual install with win98. It had some problems but with work and family I did not have time I was online only when I had a mon. just ended up dropping it. Now I have more time and took a look at many dristro's I don't need a full blowen system yet. I still have the old mandrake 7.0 good as new if I wanted to fill a mechine. Plug away a little at a time the way I did back when I started with the old C64 and a tape drive. I found a little puppy linux that boot right up from CD. Have installed a few packages and an update for codecs for the gxine and things are going along. Its almost plug and play for somethings, but I can see where really getting anything big going is not going to work well using the step by step method some know how is required just to know what installs on your platform and that which does not.

[lost_in_space]

About 2 months ago I was trying to do a dual boot setup with with xp and PClinuxOS. The whole thing crashed. Too lazy to go thru the xp installation process again, I installed Linux Mint as my only desktop OS, figuring I would go back to xp when I needed to, well, I haven't had to yet.

My point, and yes I do have one somewhere, is I think the big step is a lot smaller now. Some of the new distros are very newbie friendly. If I can do it, almost anybody can.

[ronw]

after what another user posted about VISTA (that it sends any personal data u can imagine to MS) its actually time to change the OS.

unfortunately, I am a computer dummie and I am sure I would not be able to get all the programs and utilities running, and I can not call the COMP-AID-SERVICE all the time.

but if there would be a LINUX introduction course somewhere in BKK, I would for sure try to make myself familiar with it.....

I am in the same situation as you.....a computer dimwit.....but I bit the bullet, installed Ubuntu....and tried it....

At first it was difficult...not knowing the commands etc....but when Ubuntu 7.04 arrived...together with Automatix....then all was plain sailing.....

The system runs beautifully....everything works....and NO PROBLEMS...

Go, be a daredevil.....try it!

[nonesuch]

I'm a long time Linux user. My first distro came from Canada and is no longer available. Thanks to friends at NECTEC, I was able to obtain distros in the early days. First, when only 5 1/4" floppies were the storage medium of the day for users - 50-odd floppies. Later, when 3 1/2" floppies were the rave, the floppy count dropped to 30-odd floppies. I've tried several distros but nowadays stick with Mandriva and PCLinuxOS. I avoid Debian-based distros except for their live/-cds/dvds. And my Nokia 770 WiFi Interent Tablet which comes with a Debian distro.

For solving Linux problems, google is my friend. Over the years, running a SCSI Zip drive was my biggest problem that I could not solve. Oh, and that 2-gig floppy drive. Linux has come a long way in handling hardware. Hardware drivers still remain a problem for users migrating from M$. BTW, I never advanced further than M$ Win 3.1 on any machine, I owned. Computing is a hobby for me rather than a livelihood.

I will try to visit this forum often.

nonesuch

[Khun Jack]

I posted some months ago about the transfer from a windows XP server to Linux ( Ubuntu server), I did not get much reaction on the Thai Visa forum so I forgot this Linux section a bit. Have one pc running on Ubuntu server with Xampp, very easy to setup, use it for php scripts testing before uploading. I learned to use vi editor( again) but am lost with some of the bizarre commands like chmod -gvdfck -xyz commands uh i mean chmod -gvdfg -xyz ah whatever.