SuSE Linux 9 is coming out on Oct 24!!! So two questions:

[Deja Q]

1. Where can I get a new ISP as AOL isn't working with Linux unless I use the winbloat emulator.

2. Will U B buying? :D

#2 isn't fair yet, partly because I haven't found any details apart from the fact it will be using kernel 2.4.21 (not 2.6) and has a newly re-deisgned UI (latest KDE with enhancements)

[LoneStarLiberal]

1. I'm a Debian fan...

But I'll be giving it a look. I also run Gentoo on a cluster of older PIII 500s and have found it to be great...it's kind of a pain to install, though (at least if you are short on time as I am!).

[Gato Moteado]

4. yeah, the install is my problem with debian.....

i like suse, but mandrake is my favorite. mandrake is also my favorite for the sun sparc platform, but for some reason they haven't maintained any new versions for sparc for quite some time and probably won't any more. bummer.

anyways....yes, dump aol ASAP.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

2. What the f@ck

are you guys talking about


I thought a DUer was coming out of the closet.


Bill

[dobak]

3. LOL!

[Liberal Veteran]

5. Answers.....

I have Mandrake 9.1 (My last attempt with SUSE was less than adequate because I could never get Java to work properly under it.

Buy Linux? What a concept!

[Deja Q]

6. It's a good concept

I prefer distributions. All neatly written with tested components in a fairly simple to install procedure. Oh, basic configuration commands still need to be known - but that's inevitable for any platform.

Given that, in order to download all of it I'd want, would take a while, I also find a $40 or $80 distro to be far less costly than $50/mo for DSL or cable access. (I'd consider Red Hat but only because of its clever uses for GNOME, which I now somewhat prefer over KDE, but Red Hat Professional costs $150. No smeggin' way and SuSE Pro costs half as much and comes with a ton more stuff. No downloading is ever likely!)

Distros also open up Linux to end users and companies who want to escape Windows via an easy route. This makes distros very valuable to those of us who want Microsoft's degenerate leechlike ass to fry.

Telephone support from somebody is nice too even though support from around the net is very good.

Yeah. It's a good concept, selling Linux as such. Especially in our society. When the world grows up and ditches childish capitalism, then distros will also become a thing of the past.

[Don_G]

7. For Us Win Dummies

What do we need to know and where can we go to get support and info?

Is there an emulator program where we can use the programs we have and have gotten used to?

Will you guys ever quit running your mouth on how "superior" Linux is and help us convert?

No offense, but KDE with a Kernal enhancement dosen't tell me a whole of a lot and dosen't encourage me to switch. Would you care to explain a little bit further?

[Deja Q]

9. For starters,

Linux Format UK magazine released "The Linux handbook" - a big red number with over 250 pages, this can still be found in magazine sections at bookstores (barnes & noble, borders, etc) It is of exceptional value.

For running those cozy apps you love (as I do): WINE is an emulator of sorts, though for better compatibility try win4lin (version 5 kicks and runs many apps at native 9x speeds or even faster, though you can only use Win9x/Me on it), or vmware (which I don't find to be very reliable and is far more expensive than all the others as well.)

I mustn't forget WINEX, www.transgaming.com, which can allow you to play many Windows games in Linux. It's not perfect, but they are improving.

I don't always run my mouth saying it's superior and I've helped as much as I can, given the circumstances, and am happy to help as much as I can now and into the future. I was basically covering only the new version's features, what I know of them at this time.

SuSE and Mandrake are the best distros in terms of price and included features/bundled apps. Red Hat has corporate appeal and costs a bit more (go figure), but that's about all. I should try the Publisher's edition of Red Hat 9 that I bought, just to see how stable it is. Red Hat is supposed to be very tight and stable.

CompUSA, Best Buy, Borders all carry SuSE 9 and Red Hat 9 Linux. Borders also carried Mandrake 9.1 though it is up to 9.2.

Red Hat lacks integrated MP3 player support so you might want to avoid it, though there are millions of downloadable players.

For playing movie DVDs, it's a bit trickier. Though having a big TV yields a more fulfilling picture, even if the TV's resolution isn't as good as a computer monitor's. Look up DeCSS for more info as to why Linux doesn't have official DVD movie playback and the excuses are petty.

If you play Quake 3 Arena, Doom, Unreal Tournament and ut2003, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, you're in for a treat. Linux will play supported, native games MUCH faster than Win2k. On my home box, I can easily play on Linux at 1600x1200x32-bit resolution what can barely be done at 1024x768x32-bit on Windows. Now THAT is power.

Linux is not for all. While it's easier to use now than it was 6 years ago, you still need to learn some command line functions, do some things differently, and keep in mind that not all hardware is supported (though if your video card is nvidia, then you're in luck). Linux also has tighter security than Windows, so keep that in mind if you install a program as the administrator (root) user and find it's not acting right under your primary login user account. :-)

But unlike Mac and Windows, you can boot a fully functional Linux OS from a CD or DVD disc, and a trim Linux install can fit (though it's best used for troubleshooting and repair than actual use...). Who needs to reparition in order to test a OS anymore? MS and Apple users, naturally. :D

I'm a dateless geek, so naturally I'm drawn to this stuff like a fly to amber (or a flame).

[mike_c]

8. I'll likely upgrade....

I run SuSE 8.2 on my office computer, but of course upgrading is easy for me because I can perform the upgrade from the University server, i.e. I don't have to buy anything. Frankly, I haven't bought a Linux distro in years. I have Mandrake and RedHat systems as well, and I've never seen any reason (since way back, when I first began running Linux systems ) to buy distros that I could simply download and burn myself.