Dumping Windows.

[drw]

I started with Slackware and switched to Red Hat (grudgingly) when I went to work for that company in 1997. Red Hat (and now Fedora) has never been the best distribution but it's polished enough for my needs, so I continue to use it out of familiarity and laziness.

Installing the x86_64 version of Fedora 9 on a 64 bit processor will result in the 32 bit libraries automatically being installed. It's a snap that doesn't take any effort at all on your part. I might recommend you run the 32 bit version of Firefox, though, for several reasons:

1) Flash only works on 32 bit versions of Firefox (this may have been fixed, but it was the case a year ago).

2) The 32 bit version apparently is more stable.

GNOME and KDE are great desktops, but if you don't need the bells and whistles, consider using a light-weight window manager like fluxbox. I've been using fluxbox for many years and love it! My wife still uses GNOME and, although she likes the drag and drop and folders, etc, she curses its slowdowns.

[G.A. Heath]

You can use flash in the 64 bit version of firefox with nspluginwrapper.

[Wharf Rat]

I guess when I wake up I will post a thread in general on how to spot Linux users on a Firearms forum.

They frequently sign with something like - "Penguin Power" or "Windows Free"?


I have used Ubuntu on my laptop for over a year. Played with various distros for 3 years.

The freedom from Windows cannot be described in mere words.

[Kalrog]

I am running the 64bit version of Ubuntu (actually KUbuntu - the KDE GUI instead of the Gnome GUI). I am a computer guy, but even beyond that it was easy to install and get working. I would suggest that you stay away from KDE4 until it is more widely supported by applications, but you might be better off using the Gnome GUI at first anyway.

[The Annoyed Man]

The freedom from Windows cannot be described in mere words.

Actually, it can be described in one word: "Mac."

[lrb111]

Inside of two weeks I had 4 new Vista based computers in my world. By the end of the third week, three were converted to Ubuntu. The sole remaining Vista based machine has some M$ based software that will not run under Wine.

My primary software and usage of a computer nearly always involves Firefox or Thunderbird.

[Rugrash]

I've always thought of Vista as the new WindowsME...LOL

ML

[lrb111]

I've always thought of Vista as the new WindowsME...LOL

ML

yep, I have to agree with that.

[boomerang]

from their site... start the download, add a password and grab a cup of coffee... uhhh... from where?

Started the installer and it says 63:34:54 remaining...

It should be well on its way by the time you get back from Starbucks.

[KinnyLee]

Honestly, I thought I would hate Vista when I put my new machine together, but the 64 bit version of Premium isn't bad at all.

I actually enjoy using it more than XP. I have not had a single crash, application incompatibility, or any problem at all.

The installation was as smooth as silk.

I had jumped on the "Vista's bad" bandwagon, but after service pack 1 it's actually... well... quite nice.


My custom new computer that's 2 weeks old:

Intel quad core q6600
4gb ddr2
EVGA GeForce 9600 GT SSC
250gb SATA HD
SATA dvd burner
Vista Premium x64

22" beautiful viewsonic LCD running off of DVI

At first I would constantly get the BSOD while installing Vista 64 Home Premium on my PC. Then I found out the OS has some issue with machines over 4 GB of RAM. I installed Vista with 1gb of RAM I had laying around then popped the rest of the RAM back in. I've installed XP since then and been too lazy to put Vista back on. (the video card would get in the way, lol) My set up is pretty similar to yours.

Intel Q6600
8GB DDR2 800MHz
XFX 780i Motherboard
2 x BFG 8800 GTXes
500GB SATA HD (OS)
750GB SATA HD (Data)
SATA DVD burner
22" Samsung LCD running on DVI

On another note, I've installed Ubuntu on my Wife's Insignia box (P4 2.8 with 768MB of RAM) and it runs beautifully. I love the fact that it has all the programs you need within the OS (Open Office, Pigeon, Gimp, Media player that works with my iPod) The only thing that I couldn't do on it is to play games. It's probably the computer too, but when running Counter Strike Source on Wine, it gave me 5 fps. LOL. That's what the other box is for.

[KinnyLee]

Heard Readyboost works really well on PCs with less than 2GB of RAM. Might be interesting to try.