This just in: kotzbrocken joins Useless Forums...

ubuntu is good, it's debian with things packaged a little easier, a few custom gnome things and extra packages.

i tried kubuntu (mainly for teh xorg), but as i ended up doing a minimal server install there wasn't much difference to debian vanilla so i switched back.

i've heard lindows is a bag of shit, but i've never tried it. i seem to remember something about the default install not bothering with a root password :dont:
 
Yeah, I think you're right about that. It also doesn't set you up with a secondary user account outside of root right off the bat.

How tough is it to set up ubuntu or debian compared to Fedora? Fedora was obviously a breeze since all it took was going through the wizard. I know Debian is all command line, but do they "hold your hand" so to speak as you do it, or do you need to know a lot of command line stuff to get it up and going?

BTW, modz, have I contributed enought to get out of this thread yet? :)
 
yeah that's pretty :tard: of lindows, especially as it's aimed at n3wbs

ubuntu is one of the easiest distros to install, you should have no troubles if you can handle fedora.

debian is very similar but doesn't hold you hand quite as much. it has a bad rep due to the installer but it's pretty good now. i found debian really easy the first time i installed it... until i realised X was borked, my sound card didn't work and my old crappy wintel modem wasn't supported either. i learnt more though as i was forced straight into recompiling kernels and playing with xf86config

if your hardware is sweet though it's much easier
 
My hardware is nothing fantastic. P4 1.5 ghz, 640mb of RAM, 32mb video card, and a Soundblaster Live! Value soundcard. It runs Gnome well, though. For some reason I absolutely cannot get audio under KDE, and I can't figure out why, so I sort of gave up on working under the KDE environment.
 
if gnome sound works (esound) then just pipe your kde sound through that

in kcontrol -> sound prefs select esound and make sure you have esd running
 
So Skype. Have any of you used this Voice Over IP program to "call" other people? I've heard it's pretty slick and works great if you've got a broadband connection. Furthermore, it's free right now (though I wonder if it will stay free forever since eBay acquired it), and you just need a microphone and speakers. They have these USB "Skype phones" on eBay that look like they could be a worthwhile investment if people use Skype a lot.

Yeah, a lot of this is "old" news for Internet nerds such as ourselves, but I figure some of you may not have heard of it. If I have a laptop with me in Germany next semester, I'm going to try to Skype a lot.
 
kotzbrocken said:
So Skype. Have any of you used this Voice Over IP program to "call" other people? I've heard it's pretty slick and works great if you've got a broadband connection. Furthermore, it's free right now (though I wonder if it will stay free forever since eBay acquired it), and you just need a microphone and speakers. They have these USB "Skype phones" on eBay that look like they could be a worthwhile investment if people use Skype a lot.

Yeah, a lot of this is "old" news for Internet nerds such as ourselves, but I figure some of you may not have heard of it. If I have a laptop with me in Germany next semester, I'm going to try to Skype a lot.
Hello 2003.
 
kotzbrocken said:
So Skype. Have any of you used this Voice Over IP program to "call" other people? I've heard it's pretty slick and works great if you've got a broadband connection. Furthermore, it's free right now (though I wonder if it will stay free forever since eBay acquired it), and you just need a microphone and speakers. They have these USB "Skype phones" on eBay that look like they could be a worthwhile investment if people use Skype a lot.

Yeah, a lot of this is "old" news for Internet nerds such as ourselves, but I figure some of you may not have heard of it. If I have a laptop with me in Germany next semester, I'm going to try to Skype a lot.
Its only free if its to another Skype customer (PC to PC calls). PC to traditional phone or cell phone costs money.

It really kinda blows trying to use it over a public wireless point.

There are also about a dozen other services that allow you to voice chat.
 
i have never used skype, though i have used yahoos phone thingy service. it worked fine.

i did have to use headphones, but that was the only drawback
 
FlamingGlory said:
Hello 2003.

See my last couple of sentences.

Yeah, a lot of this is "old" news for Internet nerds such as ourselves, but I figure some of you may not have heard of it. If I have a laptop with me in Germany next semester, I'm going to try to Skype a lot.