Linux?

[Hyperluminal]

I'm having a problem with my copy of Windows XP Home. Basically, it gives me a blue screen when my computer comes out of suspend or hibernation, and then forcefully restarts. I wanted to call Microsoft, but they don't have a toll-free number, which is annoying, and it seems to be just for "feature support," or something. Regardless, I was thinking of trying Linux. I'm just worried about the following things, in order of importance (descending).

-Can most Windows programs run on Linux? I especially want IE 6 (sorry, I don't like Netscape), and most importantly, Photoshop 7. I'd also like programs like Outlook XP, Word 2000, and also SimCity. ActiveSync is also very important to have. Could some/any of those work on Linux? Also, will these programs work at full speed?

-Hardware compatibility. Will it work with most printers, my iPaq, and a USB digital camera, and without a lot of annoying workarounds (by that, I don't mean one time workarounds at installation, but something I'd have to do every time I used the program/hardware).

-Seamlessness. I'd like to think I'm a computer expert. Thus, I don't mind, in fact, I often enjoy, playing with obscure settings and things to make something work/work better. But I don't want to make a habit of it. In XP, things generally work as they should. Is Linux like this too?

-Power managment. I have a notebook, and I would like Linux to do power management- for example, hibernation, suspend, turning off screen and hard drive during idle time when on battery. Will Linux do this? Also, will my Pentium III's SpeedStep controller work?

-Last, but not least- are there any other pitfalls that I should know about? Anything that's important, but not (immediately) obvious?

One last thing. I don't mind taking time to set things up and customize, more so than with Windows, but after that, I want it to run smoothly. I shouldn't (at least, don't want to) have to encounter many more "roadblocks" and problems than with Windows.

So, if this all turns out well, I may just switch. 8O We'll see...

And thanks for reading this long post, even more thanks if you actually reply. :)

[Jason Dunn]

I hate to break it to you, but you've been suckered in by some of "Linux Lies". I'm not a Linux guy by any means, but when I was using it I wasn't exactly thrilled. It may rock as a server environment (Thoughts runs on Linux, much to the chagrin of some people at Microsoft), but a general purpose, consumer friendly desktop OS? No way. I'll probably get smacked around by some Pro-Linux folks, but here goes...

First off, NO Windows apps will run unless you use special emulators (I think WINE is the current favourite). There are limitations around running things in an emulator, usually more than you want. There is no Linux version of Internet Explorer, Outlook, or most of the other apps you want. You can forget using anything you current have and will be stuck scouring for freeware apps created by people who can and will abandon the software at any given moment (which is their right - it's free after all).

Hardware support is limited - you'll be tracking down drivers for days, and even if you're lucky enough to find drivers, you'll always be the "poor cousin" for updates. The desktop Linux market is too small for most companies to care about releasing drivers. A year or two ago there was a lot of hoopla about it, but most companies have stopped releasing Linux drivers when they realized that the people who refuse to pay $99 for an OS aren't going to pay $400 for a video card.

I installed Linux (Redhat 7.2 I think?) on my laptop, and it was pretty nasty. It took 800% longer to boot (I kid you not) than XP, when I inserted a PCMCIA card it crashed, and I wasn't able to get any power management features to work. Why? Because I couldn't FIND them! I was using a GUI (can't recall the name) and it was damn near impossible to find anything. Dozens of menus with dozens of apps with incomprehensible names.

Now it may be that a Linux expert will come along and refute all of my arguments, and you may like the challenge of struggling with a new OS, but it just wasn't for me. I saw no advantages to it for what I do.

I think fixing your problem with XP would be much easier. :-) First, update your BIOS. Then look into your power management features - you may need to disable them if they're not compatible with your motherboard (if it's old).

[Hyperluminal]

Heh. That actually sounds like how my computer ran with Linux, about two years ago. I had what's now an old version of SuSE Linux. There was virtually no software, hardware support was limited, and it just seemed really rough around the edges. The main reason I had it was because I was using Windows 98, and wanted a stabler, if more limited OS. It was too limited though for me to keep it for more than two weeks. :D I would have gotten Windows 2000, except I knew XP was around the corner (it wasn't, but there were enough rumors about it to make me think it wasn't too far away), and didn't want to spend $200 for an upgrade just to have to pay $100 more later on.

It seems like Linux is more popular now, so I was thinking (hoping) it's improved, but it apparently isn't.

Hmmm, how about the Mac? Na, not really. :D

By the way, it doesn't seem like my problem is power management, because it just started doing this a few weeks ago (very rarely at first, which is why I didn't do anything about it), and I haven't changed my configuration or added new hardware. Is there something I'm not thinking of?

[Jason Dunn]

By the way, it doesn't seem like my problem is power management, because it just started doing this a few weeks ago (very rarely at first, which is why I didn't do anything about it), and I haven't changed my configuration or added new hardware. Is there something I'm not thinking of?

If it's a recent problem, it must be software related - try a system restore to back before you had the problem and see what happens...

[Hyperluminal]

I just checked, and I don't have a restore point that far back. Oh well, thanks for the suggestion though. I guess I'll just call Microsoft.

[Jason Dunn]

I just checked, and I don't have a restore point that far back. Oh well, thanks for the suggestion though. I guess I'll just call Microsoft.

Really? It should keep 30 days by default I think...just out of curiosity, is your install of XP "fresh" or was it an upgrade over Win98 or another OS? That route is ALWAYS problematic...

[Hyperluminal]

Yeah, I installed it over Win98 (well, really over my XP Pro beta, which I installed over Win98). I was thinking of formating my hard drive since besides this problem, Windows has some other problems, although they're pretty minor. XP worked pretty well until recently, but I bet if I did do a fresh install it would be even better...

[Jason Dunn]

Do it! Trust me, you'll be amazed at how FAST your computer is. And here's a strategy I use to keep things running fast and clean: make a restore point before you install a freeware/shareware app. Play with it for a bit, then roll back your system if you don't want to keep it. Works like a charm!

Remember to back up your data, but a fresh install will do wonders for your system. format c: and call me in the morning.... ;-)

[MaestroXTreme]

I'm not a Linux expert, but I do have to disagree with Jason and the other guy on a few subject matters.

I installed a dist. called PhatLinux, which installs onto the Windows FAT partition and runs a dual-boot. I found it great. It was sort of limited since it was on the FAT, but I found it a nice little OS.

I then installed Red Hat 7.0, and man.....things were confusing. The key factor of linux however, is ONCE YOU GET USED TO IT, IT GETS BETTER!

Once you learn how to modify the kernel to optimize your system, your good to go. For example, my sound card at the time had only 4.1 surround sound capabilities. Linux only saw stereo. So, I went into the kernel and fed it lines. I fed it the lines that I read about to feed it. I then fiddled with some settings, and later found I enabled 4.1 surround.

Another example...my printer, being a Hp DJ 812C, would only print 16 colors. Of course, it is capable of more. So I went into the kernel, fed it some lines about the printer, and *voila*.

The thing that makes Linux as stable as it is is because its user-definable. It can be what you want. It can do what you tell it to, without limitations. You could tell it to run a GUI Windows-like OS, or to run a server you could tell it default to command line UNIX-like OS to save resources.

The point is that once you know how to hack your own kernel to run all of your hardware, your good. Linux is not easy to setup and learn. It will never go mainstream. It's just the fact that it can do so much more that Windows can't do. It is kind of a double-edged sword. You have all of this ability to do exactly what you want. Yet, if you screw up while trying to define a neccesary componet (Hard Drive controllers, partitions). Then it can be fatal to your system. With every new version of the good districutions though, it becomes harder and harder to screw up.

As for the format thing, Jason is right. I format once every 3 months and it keeps my system fresh.

[Hyperluminal]

MaestroXTreme, Linux does kind of seem like overkill now though, since XP is reliable itself, and a lot more seamless (and it works easily and natively with all of my programs). So I think I'll format it. It probably will get better.

By the way, I'm not going to be able to respond here until late next week, as I'm going on a trip, and will have no Internet access. I'll talk to all when I get back, though. Thanks for the help!

[Jason Dunn]

So I think I'll format it. It probably will get better.

Go out and pick up the newest copy of Maximum PC - there's a great step by step article on "starting fresh" - you'll find it very useful. :-)

[Tom Eichers]

Oh yea, Upgrading over exhisting Windows versions is always a mess. I always do a 'clean' install, if you only have the 'upgrade' version of XP, leave the os installed, boot from the XP cd and tell it to replace the exhisting version (it will see the exhisting and not ask for any cd's to verify) and do the LONG format. Takes a little longer but its worth it in the end.

[sub_tex]

The point is that once you know how to hack your own kernel to run all of your hardware, your good. Linux is not easy to setup and learn. It will never go mainstream.

This is the worst statement i've heard in a while.

Mainstream means making the manual editing into a simple checkbox, or in most cases, handled automatically. To say it will never reach that status is amazingly shortsighted.

[sub_tex]

I've had a complete opposite experience with Linux than Jason.

I dual boot on my desktop and laptop. Everything on my desktop is supported on a fresh install of Mandrake 8.2.

My laptop was a different story. I had to delete one line in the video config to get the display to show correctly. other than that? It woked without a hitch.

I can see Jason's aversion to the menus with a ton of apps, but it only feels that way since you don't know the apps themselves!

I have seen some attrocious Start Menus in my lifetime ( a HUGE pet peeve of mine is a big start menu). All of the free apps that you can install with, say, SuSe or Mandrake don't pass the amount i have on my windows box now. But the names are of apps that a Windows user wouldn't know.

If you changed the names of the items to say, Winamp, Microsoft Word, Photoshop, etc., the menu wouldn't be so daunting. It would be familiar.

I don't use Linux as my main OS (all of my work is 3d and video high end - no Discreet or Adobe products on Linux yet) but i use it to have a breath of fresh air once in a while, and to keep up with it's current state.

I think if you use popular hardware, driver support is no problem. Jason is correct on the fact that nix drivers come out AFTER the mac and windows ones, though.

[ejdmoo]

Wow...I didn't even know I was registered here...

Well, I'm a Gentoo Linux user (www.gento.org), and I love it! I wouldn't recomend you using it unless you know what you're doing, but if it weren't for a Windows app called Trillian (www.trillian.cc), I would use Linux full time (barring games, of course). For a newbie to Linux, go for Mandrake. If you have a relativly recent computer (read: within 4 years old), then you should be able to get all your hardware going fine. Hardware really isn't a Linux problem anymore. Almost everything is supported.

"Can most Windows programs run on Linux?"
Well, sorta. You don't want to run Netscape? Run Konqeror! Or Mozilla, or Galeon...your choice. They're all quite good. :) A company called Codeweavers writes things called "crossover" this or that. They're comming out with Crossover Photoshop, which means it's a preconfigured thingy for PS to work under Linux. They already have ones for MS Office (why??...use openoffice.org!) and Quicken. As for outlook, you can try evolution of Kmail, if you just want mail. Word? Try the openoffice.org version. As for SimCity, you'll hafta dual boot.

"-Hardware compatibility. Will it work with most printers, my iPaq, and a USB digital camera?"

Well, printers, yes. Anything close to modern works just great, given a little reading into how CUPS works, which isn't hard. Your iPaq? Well, it *can*, given a serial cable and a lot of patience, but not really. Your camera? It depends on the camera.

"Seamlessness."

Ah, KDE...I love you. :) Research it @ www.kde.org and check out the screenshots!

"-Power managment."

Again, this is easy. The Linux community is way ahead of ya'.

"-Last, but not least- are there any other pitfalls that I should know about?"

Hrmm...make sure not to get discouraged. I guaruntee you will run into some losers along the way.

[MaestroXTreme]

The point is that once you know how to hack your own kernel to run all of your hardware, your good. Linux is not easy to setup and learn. It will never go mainstream.

This is the worst statement i've heard in a while.

Mainstream means making the manual editing into a simple checkbox, or in most cases, handled automatically. To say it will never reach that status is amazingly shortsighted.

Not mainstream like that.

I meant mainstream as in one particular company, or a few rival companies, making Linux and selling them, and companies bundling Linux with their OEM's. Mainstream as in people choosing it over Windows.

[mobileMike]

I see this is an old thread but I just ran across Knoppix (http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html). This is based on Debian distribution and runs a little weird (no users, passwords, run system commands using "sudo", etc..). Anyway it runs off a CD and does not touch your hard drive unless you want it to (by default mounts hard drives read-only). It's great for seeing what Linux can do and for demoing Linux to others. It is a little slow since it runs of the CD and you can not use the CD for same reason.

The best part is it autodetects your hardware (most of it, except not the sound card on my old laptop since it is not PnP.) and has all the latest software.

Normally, I run the Woody version of Debian on this same laptop and I have to say that Linux has greatly advanced over the last 4 years that I have used it.

- mike