Anyone use Linux OS?

[wideangle]

I have tried a few Linux based OS over time and wondered if anyone else has used them before, they seem more popular now than in the past as even some major firms are replacing Windows based computers with open source OS

[hoffy]

I used to use Redhat (when you could still get it for nix), but that was about 8 years ago. My wife refused to use it, so it never got put on the next PC when I upgraded.

I believe it is much more user friendly now (it wasn't too bad back then, but you still had to do silly little tasks such as mounting drives, etc).

[arthurking83]

My brother bought the youngest of his two sons an EEEPC kind of lil laptop thing, for next to nothing and it cost next to nothing because it has Linux(of some kind) on it.

he recently had an issue with a virus like problem on one of his memory cards, or USB drive, that he couldn't fix using Windows(XP) and luckily the lil Linux EEEPC thingy didn't understand the locked file/virus still in use on the external memory device, and simply formatted it :th3:

I haven't used any Linux OS for years either, I used to dual boot with Mandrake(I preferred it to RH back then).. and then I remember Ubuntu making an appearance.... Nikon don't make a version if CNX that will run on Linux!(and I won't run virtual software).

Once you get used to the concepts of the OS, it becomes second nature.

[colind]

I use Fedora (http://fedoraproject.org/) on my laptop, which I quite like. :)
And also use Fedora in a virtual machine when I want to do some programming on my desktop.

[heartyfisher]

I am using Ubuntu 9.04 on my laptop.. works for me .. Does many things better than windows but I have window xp installed on a partition.. just in case .. but have not needed it so far.

[jev]

I tried a couple: SusE, RedHat, Ubuntu, Fedora. My parents own a SimPC, basically a simple PC (hence the name ;)) for seniors. It runs Linux (generated from source for this purpose only) with a myriad of open source software. Further more, I use an embedded Linux in several applications that we build. Our own distribution, BTW. For office use, I'm still on wintendo though. And for the photo's, I'm using OSX.

So, what do you want to know?

[DAdeGroot]

My home server runs SuSE.

At various times over the years I've used yggdrasil, Slackware, Redhat (gave up after v5), gentoo (just to see what the fuss was about), Linux from Scratch & SuSE (v6 -> v11), and even Ubuntu. Probably a couple of other distributions in there at some stage too.

On the desktop now though I run OSX, all the benefits of a Unix like OS, but with a useable and intuitive GUI. (Linux developers really need to hire some decent HCI people!).

[Kym]

I have tried a few Linux based OS over time and wondered if anyone else has used them before, they seem more popular now than in the past as even some major firms are replacing Windows based computers with open source OS

All AP members use Linux - the site runs on Linux :D

Ubuntu is the current flavour of the month for desktops.
Redhat is the main server platform (we use Centos - a free version of Redhat).
Suse is also popular.

http://distrowatch.com/ helps you compare editions.

Companies that use Linux tend to do so in the server space; desktops less so.

[ving]

so wideangle, have you had linux before?

I have alway run windows myself but lately have had a bit on interest in linux... if you want to see if its for you with out fully commiting you could try one of the USB linuxs like puppy linux. I use this one as it is portable via the USB flashdrive i have (1gb). it boots straight fromthe USB and load onto your ram. As long as you can configure your bios to boot from USB then kyou can run it...

from a linux newbies perspective i find puppy easy to use and extremely fast. it takes just a few seconds to do just about anything and it boot a hell of alot quicker than XP.

[ziph]

Thought the Linux users might like this article about using open source camera firmware.
i.e. Change/improve a camera's firmware to add features not included by the manufacturers.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/august31/levoy-opensource-camera-090109.html

[wideangle]

so wideangle, have you had linux before?

I have alway run windows myself but lately have had a bit on interest in linux... if you want to see if its for you with out fully commiting you could try one of the USB linuxs like puppy linux. I use this one as it is portable via the USB flashdrive i have (1gb). it boots straight fromthe USB and load onto your ram. As long as you can configure your bios to boot from USB then kyou can run it...

from a linux newbies perspective i find puppy easy to use and extremely fast. it takes just a few seconds to do just about anything and it boot a hell of alot quicker than XP.

Hey Ving, yeah I have used Linux in the past, I remember I used one of the OS to retrieve lost data when XP went belly up, and I had a dabble in Ubuntu a few years ago. Puppy Linux sounds very interesting, I don't reallyh want to go to the hassle of partitioning hard drives and the like, running from straight from the USB key sounds great. Does this mean the OS is running from the usb and is limited by it's speed, or is the computer hardware used?

[GlennSan]

Been using Mandrake/Mandriva for several years on and off and now Ubuntu. Many good things about Linux, and a few painful things. Stiil running both (Vista premium and Ubuntu).

[joffa]

I run Ubuntu and Vista. Been using Ubuntu on and off for about 2 years, I like it because it's quick to boot up and load applications compared to windows. One thing I'm not sure of is how can I calibrate my monitor using linux?

[ziph]

.... One thing I'm not sure of is how can I calibrate my monitor using linux?

Here is a few links that might help.

http://www.linux.com/archive/articles/113936
http://www.normankoren.com/color_management.html

If you have a nvidia card the 'NVIDIA Settings' program is easy to use.
Otherwise there is usually a section in the 'control center' where you can adjust the gamma add the individual colours using the images from Norman Koren.