Pic Your Tux

[BeerSlinger]

I'm in a corner so I really could use some feedback....

Earlier I submitted a post expressing a problem with Redhat Fedora Core 4 in regard to install of codeblocks.  It was suggested that I try Fedora Core 5 so I did; ten hours later I can now honestly say that it was an unmitigated disaster. So at this point I have given up and I’m willing to try other things.

Basically, the first distribution that I used of Linux was Mandrake but I dropped that over time because there were too many issues with hardware from one version to the next.  Since that time I have played with Redhat, outside of that, I have tried no other distribution.  Basically what I would like is simple. Most of what I want is to write C++ and PHP code. On the outside, I would like to compile and play some of the older Quake’s and few other games but the most important programs to me are:

Codeblocks
Wine (or some other windows emulator)
Quanta Plus

If someone can run all three of these programs, could someone post the distribution and version that they are currently running?

[takeshimiya]

Running the 3 in Ubuntu 64 5.10.

No distro that I know comes with everything out-of-the-box for the 3 running.

You'll need to download the corresponding packages for each program (in the case of Ubuntu, you'll need to download the development tools packages).

If you want easy and simple, it's a matter of taste, but I preffer debian based systems for it's biggest collection of compiled packages and it's packaging system.

I can recommend Ubuntu, Elive (amazing), and Mepis (I have the 3, all debian based).

If, otherwise, you want to learn every piece of your linux, I can recommend Gentoo, Slackware or Debian itself.

[BeerSlinger]

Running the 3 in Ubuntu 64 5.10.

No distro that I know comes with everything out-of-the-box for the 3 running.

You'll need to download the corresponding packages for each program (in the case of Ubuntu, you'll need to download the development tools packages).

If you want easy and simple, it's a matter of taste, but I preffer debian based systems for it's biggest collection of compiled packages and it's packaging system.

I can recommend Ubuntu, Elive (amazing), and Mepis (I have the 3, all debian based).

If, otherwise, you want to learn every piece of your linux, I can recommend Gentoo, Slackware or Debian itself.

Oh, point taken and don't get me wrong, I don't expect everything to work error free and I definately know that not everything is gonna work straight out the box.  My point was that with mandrake, I had a heck of a time getting it to accept certain drives that I had.  This wouldn't have been a big deal but it was my storage drive so I couldn't access any information.

Redhat has been its own ball of wax. At first I was real impressed but I tried installing RPM's and I couldn't get one to install. When i tried installing RUN files, I kept getting errors about incompatability with some part of my oporating system (I forget what it was).  Finally, when I tried to run a website, I found out that http server wasen't running....but that was cool, I turned the HTTPD on and it started functioning.  But when I tried some of the most basic PHP, the service wasen't running from the best that I could see because the code was ignored all together. What frustrated me was that I could find no way to verify if apache was running the service or not.

Fedora C5 just crashs and burns every time I try to install so I really don't undestand what is going on with that.  It has frozen in so many places that I don't know even how to approch problemsolving.

I know that no linux is gonna be error free, but at this point, I just want one that works...

I've never tried Debian seriously, and honestly, those other versions I've never even heard of....so I will have to do some research...

[takeshimiya]

As with any distro: YMMV.

However, I can recommend enough Ubuntu for starters:
It gained a lot of momentum, and the community is very friendly towards newbies, so it's very likely you'll find all the answers that you might come across either in the forums or the wiki.

You will find packages for all the things you've mentioned present in Ubuntu.

[BeerSlinger]

As with any distro: YMMV.

However, I can recommend enough Ubuntu for starters:
It gained a lot of momentum, and the community is very friendly towards newbies, so it's very likely you'll find all the answers that you might come across either in the forums or the wiki.

You will find packages for all the things you've mentioned present in Ubuntu.

 :shock:

My word!!!! Debian is HUGE.........I love it......But I am looking into the others that your talking about....

But I say, its hard telling the difference from one to the other without install, because just screeshots don't say much because Gnome is Gnome.....

[takeshimiya]

Then you might want reviews that can be found in http://distrowatch.com
There are plenty of them for every distro.

Something else, it seems that Ubuntu is the popular choice here in the forums. :wink:

[RJP Computing]

All I can say is Ubuntu!

It is simple to get up and running, plus the apt-get / Synaptic package manager is great. It will help you get all the functionallity out of your Ubuntu system once the install is done. That is how the Ubuntu team keeps the install to a single CD-ROM.

I am fairly new to Linux because I could never find a compelling Linux distro to actually use. Ubuntu is the most usable that I have found. It is actually fun for me to work with. I currently have Code::Blocks running on Ubuntu in XFCE windows manager. It is working great. I just have to get debugging working. ( I just haven't asked here how to do that  :wink: )

I would like to make a wiki entry for the exact steps I took to get Code::Blocks up and running on a virgin Ubuntu install. If someone has already a quick guide I would love to see it.

Thanks. Good question.

[BeerSlinger]

Then you might want reviews that can be found in http://distrowatch.com
There are plenty of them for every distro.

Something else, it seems that Ubuntu is the popular choice here in the forums. :wink:

Oh, a non-propaganda review is always worth its salt….or its wait in gold…..or at least rocks…..

 

[BeerSlinger]

All I can say is Ubuntu!

It is simple to get up and running, plus the apt-get / Synaptic package manager is great. It will help you get all the functionallity out of your Ubuntu system once the install is done. That is how the Ubuntu team keeps the install to a single CD-ROM.

I am fairly new to Linux because I could never find a compelling Linux distro to actually use. Ubuntu is the most usable that I have found. It is actually fun for me to work with. I currently have Code::Blocks running on Ubuntu in XFCE windows manager. It is working great. I just have to get debugging working. ( I just haven't asked here how to do that  :wink: )

I would like to make a wiki entry for the exact steps I took to get Code::Blocks up and running on a virgin Ubuntu install. If someone has already a quick guide I would love to see it.

Thanks. Good question.

Really?!........a second vote of confidence......Interesting.....

I was automatically drawn to Debian because I love the fact that it has such a catalog of software.......and they are very upfront about what is stable and what isn't.....

I may have to try both.......Maybe Ubuntu first because its only one disk vs 15......

All I have to say is that I just want something functional, it doesn't have to be easy or forgiving because i'm willing to learn.  But in this case, after all day, I couldn't see from all the blood in my eyes from banging my head up ageinst the wall.....

[sethjackson]

For Linux Gentoo.  It has a graphical install now for the less venturesome. :lol: It runs all three.

OpenBSD is by far my favorite OS. It is a BSD derivitive, and it is very secure. The only thing with OpenBSD is that some of the ports lag behind. (Lack of manpower) WINE is far behind, (not really OpenBSD's fault). Umm C::B haven't tried it. Only reason it wouldn't work is because wx is at 2.4.2 on it.  BTW with OpenBSD intaller is text based. I find that cool. 

EDIT:

I will hasten to add that OpenBSD is not Linux. :wink:

[BeerSlinger]

For Linux Gentoo.  It has a graphical install now for the less venturesome. :lol: It runs all three.

OpenBSD is by far my favorite OS. It is a BSD derivitive, and it is very secure. The only thing with OpenBSD is that some of the ports lag behind. (Lack of manpower) WINE is far behind, (not really OpenBSD's fault). Umm C::B haven't tried it. Only reason it wouldn't work is because wx is at 2.4.2 on it.  BTW with OpenBSD intaller is text based. I find that cool. 

EDIT:

I will hasten to add that OpenBSD is not Linux. :wink:

OpenBSD is one that I've heard of.....yeah, I did know that it was Unix....

My thing also is (and I haven't stated this) that i'm not walking away from windows.......I'm running........I am so feed to the teeth with that company that I would rather do a deal with the devil VS by another product from redmond....

That's why WINE is so important.....for me it will help, but if I can get a game to work, I can wein my wife off of it.....

[RJP Computing]

Really?!........a second vote of confidence......Interesting.....

I was automatically drawn to Debian because I love the fact that it has such a catalog of software.......and they are very upfront about what is stable and what isn't.....

I may have to try both.......Maybe Ubuntu first because its only one disk vs 15......

All I have to say is that I just want something functional, it doesn't have to be easy or forgiving because i'm willing to learn.  But in this case, after all day, I couldn't see from all the blood in my eyes from banging my head up against the wall.....

If you didn't know this already, Ubuntu comes with all the debian software available. Just thru a tool called apt-get (commandline tool) or Synaptic (GUI tool).

There are also flavors of Ubuntu. What I mean is there is Kubuntu which is using KDE instead of Gnome. There is also a new comer called Xubuntu (I run this because my Linux box is a piece of old crap. ) and it uses XFCE. The really cool part is these are the officially supported versions so you get the 6 month release cycle and 3 year support for the desktop and 5 year support for the server. You can also do a "server" based install that is completely stripped down and comes with no windows manager at all. Then install, using 'apt-get' the windows manager of your choice. i.e. FluxBox.

[BeerSlinger]

If you didn't know this already, Ubuntu comes with all the debian software available. Just thru a tool called apt-get (commandline tool) or Synaptic (GUI tool).

There are also flavors of Ubuntu. What I mean is there is Kubuntu which is using KDE instead of Gnome. There is also a new comer called Xubuntu (I run this because my Linux box is a piece of old crap. ) and it uses XFCE. The really cool part is these are the officially supported versions so you get the 6 month release cycle and 3 year support for the desktop and 5 year support for the server. You can also do a "server" based install that is completely stripped down and comes with no windows manager at all. Then install, using 'apt-get' the windows manager of your choice. i.e. FluxBox.

Really?!........a second vote of confidence......Interesting.....

I was automatically drawn to Debian because I love the fact that it has such a catalog of software.......and they are very upfront about what is stable and what isn't.....

I may have to try both.......Maybe Ubuntu first because its only one disk vs 15......

All I have to say is that I just want something functional, it doesn't have to be easy or forgiving because i'm willing to learn.  But in this case, after all day, I couldn't see from all the blood in my eyes from banging my head up against the wall.....

No I didn't realize that, I know that it was said that it was debian baised.....but compatablilty and reality tend to be two sparate things with linux......

Interesting, I will have to try this first.....

Crap.....I got to cut my debian download.....

 :?

[BeerSlinger]

Takeshi,

Normally I don't like to say anything negative and I don’t mean this in a pessimistic way but the install of Ubuntu was the icing on the cake of a lousy day.  I know that this is not the site to be talking about OS issues but it’s very difficult to use C::B if I don’t have the operating system to use it on so I will try to keep this brief.

To be honest, I didn’t read the reviews that you posted because you have been a big help in the past so I trusted your judgment.  But the install that I had was a little more then shaky.  On the other hand, it could be something that I did wrong and I admit that I’m still a newbie; So I want to review what happened to get your feedback or anyone else whom can help.

After I installed and burnt the copy of the OS, I immediately started the install after I had wiped the destination disk from a 3rd party program in windows.  At first, I was real encouraged because the install started very quick with no BS. When the prompt came for the install type I typed “server” because I want a web server on this machine.  After that the install was very quick off the single CD but it didn’t do a couple of things that concerned me a great deal. 

First, it didn’t setup the root account or password.  Second, after the install detected my network, it recognized that I wasn’t running DHCP and that’s cool but it asked for my IP, Sub and provided my gateway, it never asked for DNS servers …

The next thing that perplexed me was that no GUI ever booted.  I was put directly into a text terminal. So when I hit that I was so lost that I didn’t know what to do…

With such glowing reviews, I’m confused why all of this happened…Just to be safe, I’m downloading other distribs to try, but if we can fix this situation; I would love to hear the answer because I’m usually the type to do a full install so I will always go with the full or server option…

[mandrav]

@BeerSlinger:
Why don't you actually read what is being said here???

You can also do a "server" based install that is completely stripped down and comes with no windows manager at all.

When the prompt came for the install type I typed “server” because I want a web server on this machine.

 :?

The server install is just an install stripped of anything graphical. You can still run a web server with the normal install...

First, it didn’t setup the root account or password.

Ubuntu doesn't use the root account for security reasons. You can still enable it later on if you really need it. But why do that? Just work as a user and if you want to do something that requires root privileges, just type sudo in front of the command. It will ask you for your password and execute the command as root...