Renzatic on 7/9/2009 at 15:45
It did seem to find the proper proprietary drivers for the wireless card, though. It gave me the choice between using it or going with a Canonical supported set of open source Atheros drivers when I hit up the hardware drivers tab.
I've tried both. Same deal either way. It could be the laptop itself as far as I know. I haven't fired the thing up since I bought it's replacement for mom and dad well over a year ago. I might need to reinstall XP on it and run a few hardware tests to see if everything is firing off like it's supposed to.
Edit: On the plus side, I am learning how to use the thing. Figuring out how to get Gnome Go Docky running in software with Xcompmgr taught me a ton. Still don't know if I love it or not, though.
Renzatic on 7/9/2009 at 23:25
I know we all hate double posts here, but I'm gonna do it anyway. If I get banned, I'll take it stoically.
So after like, damn, HOURS of screwing around with Ubuntu, I finally got the little laptop working decently. It's been a learning experience, that's for sure. I can sprout off a few bash commands off the top of my head now, and I can zip around in Synaptic like it ain't no thing. Got Ubuntu all prettied up with a nice background, a new bootsplash screen, and a bunch of new folder icons. Even got the hybrid launchy/dock thing that is Gnome Do installed.
The only downside is I had to replace Firefox with Opera. But eh...who cares. It browses webs, that's all I need.
Now that I've got an install working well, no longer held back by the limitations of the virtual machine, I'll play around with it for a couple of days and come back with my final opinion. Right now it's looking like my old opinion still stands. As neat as it is, the biggest advantages it has over Macdows is that it's free and you can compile it on your own hardware for an extra bit of performance oomph. We'll see how it goes after I get deep into some Compiz crap.
heywood on 8/9/2009 at 17:24
Quote Posted by Renzatic
Pentium IV 2.6Ghz
Radeon Mobility 7500
512 Meg of Ram
40 Gb HDD
Quote:
Granted, if I installed Ubuntu on my high end machine here I'd probably have a much better time of things. I understand that. But I've always been under the impression that Linux was an efficient operating system that ran well on a variety of hardware. Right now, a fresh install of Ubuntu eats up more ram than the old XP install I had on there previously, and doesn't run nearly as well out of the box.
Linux can be an efficient operating system, but Ubuntu is a "kitchen sink" distribution. Running a standard Ubuntu desktop install with 512 MB RAM is going to be kinda tight. I prefer a lean install with a custom kernel and only start the daemons, services, applets, etc. that I need. Otherwise, the boot & shutdown times can be a bit too long for reasonable laptop use.
I think you would be better off starting with Xubuntu.
Renzatic on 10/9/2009 at 15:05
Actually, now that I'm finally learning my way around, I got Ubuntu tweaked up and trimmed down so that it hauls with no hiccups on the old laptop. Beyond a little HDD thrashing when I first fire up Opera or Chromium on a fresh boot, it doesn't give me any complaints.
Hell, I'm actually getting to the point where I like the damn thing.
Edit: Thought as much as its growing on me, (
http://users.chartertn.net/greymatt/ubuntushot.jpg) this is the reason why it still has a ways to go before it catches on with the average folk crowd. Conf file editing, cryptic terminal commands...that's alot of guff to go through just to set up a file sharing network.
mudi on 10/9/2009 at 19:26
Hmm, I haven't had trouble with sharing by right clicking on a folder and choosing "Sharing Options", but if you like editing conf files more power to you!
(actually, I've done it with conf files for a personal file server too, both ways work)
Renzatic on 12/9/2009 at 18:22
I couldn't find any handy tutorials to do it via rightclicking. The Linux community at large always seems to prefer the text route for everything.
Anyway, I gotta thank you, Jay, and the rest for making me a bigger dork than I already am. I'm now in the process of slapping Ubuntu on a second drive so I can screw around with it on the big rig. Helluva way to spend a Saturday, let me tell you. I could be out playing and getting some sun. But oh no. I've got distros to install. :mad:
oh god
mudi on 12/9/2009 at 18:48
Inline Image:
http://i32.tinypic.com/2d1wak4.pngOh yes.
(Also, Ubuntu has "Sharing Options" on right-click menu on default install... maybe not in xubuntu though...)
Renzatic on 13/9/2009 at 06:06
Damn, I'm an XKCD comic now? Man, I'm sad.
So here I am, all enjoying myself in Ubuntu x64. I've got Compiz Fusion set up so it's actually useful and attractive without being too overly garish (wiggly windows what). Got Gnome Do rolling with Docky again (seriously one of the best desktop tools I've ever played with), a nice clean theme (somewhat Macish, though a bit cleaner)...everything is set up the way I want it, and it was easy to do.
I've come to realize that Linux, once you get to lear the ebb and flow of things and set it all up properly, is actually a more than decent OS on the UI front. I've got my almost perfect mix of Mac and Windows rolling right in front of me, and it's been a joy to use so far. Like take Synaptic for instance, I actually wish Windows had something like it. Instead of installing a bunch of separate .exe files, I just do a few quick searches, click what I need, and have it all install in one go. A very nice timesaver if there ever was one. Even the occasional trips to the terminal aren't so bad anymore. If I have to complain, I'd say the Compiz answer to Expose feels a little bouncy in comparison. But...eh...no big deal really.
The only issue I have now is that some of my very cherished programs I can't live without don't work in Ubuntu. Modo? Somewhat...in Wine. Photoshop? Nope. Zbrush? Not at all. I could replace Modo with Silo, but they're only teasing Linux support. Wine is a somewhat haphazard answer, since it's not native and only rarely works 100% as well as it does in Windows. At least GIMP is a decent Photoshop replacement. Shame I can't say the same about Blender and Modo.
As much as I like Windows 7, I'd actually consider a full time switch to Ubuntu if it had better 3rd party support. I've made that much of an about face. The flexibility and speed of the thing is practically unparalleled. It never bogs down on the big machine, and I can cold boot to the desktop in 22 seconds. That's nice, and it's a free performance boost on top of that. Unfortunately it's all for naught if I can't do all the stuff I want to with it. For now, it's great for browsing about, listening to music, burning CDs (though I do miss IMGBurn), and general goofing around. If I want to make something or play something, I gotta go to Windows.
Oh well. It's earned it's place as a permanent fixture on my computer. Just not a primary fixture, unfortunately.
Also, anyone got anything neat I can try out?
Edit: Is there any advantage in going from ext3 to ext4? Rewriting a live partition in a new format is usually an iffy thing from my experiences. Is it pretty flaky or worth the risk?
Renzatic on 14/9/2009 at 06:54
Blender is very capable when it comes right down to it. For free software, you really can't beat it's feature set. It's just that I think it does alot of things akwardly in comparison to the other 3D packages. Like what would take you two clicks in Max would take 3 clicks with your right hand while you stick your feet behind your head and jiggle your balls with your left in Blender. That, on top of the sloppy everything crammed together UI, makes it a really unfriendly bastard for people just starting out with modeling.
All slight sarcasm aside, there are worse choices out there if you're poor and starving. It'll teach you everything you need to know, will do just about everything that needs to be done, and do it decently once you spend a few months coming to terms with its weirdness. But if you're not quite poor and starving, or aren't too opposed to selling plasma a couple times, I'd suggest you give (
http://www.nevercenter.com/) Silo a whirl before you even give Blender a passing glance. Not only will it not scare the shit out of you the first time you fire it up, but it's also one of the most flexible modelers out there.
jay pettitt on 19/9/2009 at 10:31
Tried the XFCE version of Mint on my little eeepc - it's okay, but it's coming straight off again - I guess I'm too comfy with Ubuntu and gnome these days. Among other things the splash screen reads 'from freedom came elegance' which is as good an indication as any that it's neither and it isn't. It's like someone who has ambitions to work in
media advertising and who keeps a blog with a black background got hold of Ubuntu and decided to fix it by adding all their favourite apps and themes.That said, it looks quite pretty.
Quote:
Edit: Is there any advantage in going from ext3 to ext4? Rewriting a live partition in a new format is usually an iffy thing from my experiences. Is it pretty flaky or worth the risk?
Once upon-a-time I used to insist on using ReiserFS, not because I knew anything about file systems or what me needs were, but because it had an exotic name. ext3 is still actively developed and will be for some time - if it were me, I'd not want to spend anytime at all worrying about whether my file system had a 3 or a 4 appended on the end of it.
