Hey guys, im thinking of ditching windows, and going for a 64bit linux distro.
Im a newbie when it comes to the linux stuff, so am thinking of using an simple distro like unbuntu. Nothing command based.

The main problem i have had in the past with linux, is the installation of reliable software, and finding software that will be usefull to me as to replace windows.

The main things i do are encoding, burning, playing emulators, and listerning to music, watching films etc.

Can anyone reccomend reliable software mainly encoding wise, that i could use if migrating to a linux os.

Im currently using vso convert xtodvd, for my avi encoding, mainly for its speed, and ease. So a reliable alternative would be sufficient. The software does all the encoding and burning for you, with just a few clicks and supports virtually any format i chuck at it.

thanks

Why not set up a dual boot machine so you can use both windoze and linux?

Mainly because, i want to scrap windows totally if possible, but if not, then thats what i will have to do.

cheers

Ubuntu -
The main things i do are encoding, burning, playing emulators, and listening to music, watching films etc.

all this is usually available in a standard Linux installation, Other things such as office applications (MS compatible) are available, such as OpenOffice

I have 4 OS on multiboot, but then I'm nuts
W2K, XP(without all the kak) Debian and Suse10.1.
Knoppix (http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html) or Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/) you can always try the live CD meaning no installation to hard drive to see which ones you like.:thumbsup:

I have treid the live distros, but am after some programs to use once i install the full os on my system.

I dont want to have to mess around using loads of programs, just to make my avis dvd compliant

I would suggest you go dual boot to start with. There may be something which you are forced to use windows for.

I dont particularly like the idea of a dual boot though, as it defeats the object of the security of linux.

ps.

where in sharrow are you from mate?

Running linux whilst having Windows on the harddisk will not cause any security problems with linux. If you are that concerned you could unplug internet access any time you booted into windows. And since Windows can't read the filesystems on linux then any virus would need to do a lot of work to infect the linux side of things, on the assumption that it's found it's way on to a dual boot box.

Listen hard.

Get the latest stable version of Slackware. If there's anything you need that isn't part of the normal full install, go to http://www.linuxpackages.net and pick up any .tgz you need. Simply installpkg <package>.tgz to install perfectly.

Choose between any of the included XWindows options - KDE/GNOME recommended for a new user.

If you wish to use Windows for anything, install it on linux under VMWare.

Using XWindows you can get as used to linux as you like without needing to use the command line.

Once you get more experience, the experience you get will be perfect for developing your knowledge with any unix or linux system as Slackware is pretty much the most secure and most unix-like environment you can get in a standard linux distribution.

Is linux a free OS? :huh:

Thinking of having a dual boot, with another OS, but dont know how to go about it.

Anyone got any tips?

I remember a week or so ago, there was an installable linux app for windows, not the virtual machine, it worked like any regular program that could be launched from the start menu.
does anyone know the name of this??

Do you really need the 64bit version of your chosen OS?

The disadvantages will probably outweigh the advantages, unless you have a specific need for a 64bit OS, such as the amount of RAM a 64bit system can use.

If you are wanting a desktop OS I suggest sticking with 32bit versions for the time being.

Grinder

Is linux a free OS? :huh:

Thinking of having a dual boot, with another OS, but dont know how to go about it.

Anyone got any tips?


Try downloading the ubuntu desktop disk image, burn it to a cd and then boot your winows machine from this CD. If you have plenty of space on our HDD, or better still 2 HDDs you can install ubuntu as a dual boot (you may need to repartition your disks) Ubuntu will install a boot menu that lets you choose which OS to use.

I have retained dual boot because GIMP isn't Photoshop - not by a long long way - and my Scanner and Graphics Tablet won't work using Ubuntu.

It's a bit of a bind, but when the time comes for a new scanner and a new tablet (although it still works perfectly, just want a bigger (A4) one.

I'd say that ubuntu is a pretty good replacement for windows - its not as polished as far as the UI is concerned, but the other applications available are pretty good.

I think adobe will end up porting Pshop to linux at some stage. I hope so....

(edit - how difficult would it be to use an OSX version of photoshop on Ubuntu? Surely they can't be that different?

The need for a 64bit operating system stems from the fact im not getting the maximum potential out of my hardware. That sucks.
The 64bit version of unbuntu is said to be very stable, and reliable.
The main question is, is there any software like i describe in the OP available for a linux system.

Hey guys, im thinking of ditching windows, and going for a 64bit linux distro.
Im a newbie when it comes to the linux stuff, so am thinking of using an simple distro like unbuntu. Nothing command based.

The main problem i have had in the past with linux, is the installation of reliable software, and finding software that will be usefull to me as to replace windows.

The main things i do are encoding, burning, playing emulators, and listerning to music, watching films etc.

Can anyone reccomend reliable software mainly encoding wise, that i could use if migrating to a linux os.

Im currently using vso convert xtodvd, for my avi encoding, mainly for its speed, and ease. So a reliable alternative would be sufficient. The software does all the encoding and burning for you, with just a few clicks and supports virtually any format i chuck at it.

thanks

The only software that'll benefit from 64-bit is the encoding software, the downside to 64-bit (i've used Ubuntu) is that you cannot use 32-bit plugins for firefox (no flash, java, embedded video) or codecs (no windows media support, quicktime etc.). There is a way around this that involves creating a chroot environment that allows you to run 32-bit versions of applications, that definitely needs some command line experience, once set up you can run the 32-bit firefox and have all the extensions - this isn't set up automatically though and requires some work. As I don't do much encoding (most of it I do involves using DVDShrink through WINE - which isn't 64-bit compatible), I just use the 32-bit version of Ubuntu as it's a lot easier to set up.

In terms of applications:

encoding - mencoder, transcode (command line apps that allow any sort of encoding), acidrip (frontend for mencoder) and DVD:Rip for converting to DivX or DVDShrink through WINE

burning - K3B is like Nero

playing emulators - there are loads such as MAME for arcade machines and xsnes98 for SNES

listerning to music - loads of choice again, I'd recommend amarok or rhythmbox

watching films - you need to set up the necessary codecs (use a program like Easy Ubuntu or Automatix and this is done for you) then you can use applications like xine, VLC or mplayer and if you've got the 32-bit codecs and DVD encoding library you can play DVDs, VCDs, WMV, Quicktime, DivX/Xvid and loads more.

I remember a week or so ago, there was an installable linux app for windows, not the virtual machine, it worked like any regular program that could be launched from the start menu.
does anyone know the name of this??

Cygwin
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dont bother with the 64bit OSs'. there are 64bit kernels and software for most linux distros' but msot of the software is not able to make use of the extra registers available in the 64bit CPU. if there is a 64 bit version of the software you use, mosty likely it is just a recompile of the 32bit version and so wonttake full advantage of your spanking new hardware.
i'd personally say, stick with the *86 OS untill the 64 bit is much more established and make the change when it feels natural to do so rather than fight to the bleeding edge to get what will be virtually no performance boost.
plus a few programs dont have a 64bit .rpm .deb (whatever) compiled package for them, so unless you like compiling yourself, theres another reason to stick with 32 untill its *fully baked and ready to pop out of the oven* :)

I've just reinstalled Linux after not using it for a while - it was still mostly command line based, x-windows was an arse to get working and you had to spend a day recompiling the kernel to add sound support and the like when I last used it.

Downloaded ubuntu - ran the live cd and then installed it on a laptop. Completely painless and has a decent selection of apps already installed with easy access to others through the add/remove applications item that is automatically installed on the menu system. Took me about 2 minutes to set up networking and everything else was automatically configured ok.