Dave Laird
2004-08-29 14:53:37 UTC
Good morning, Conster!
In case you hadn't figured it out from the combined information from both
James and I, the Linux environment is currently the hottest thing going,
when it comes to the sheer volume of software that is available. Last
night, just shortly before my brain pan shorted out completely, I went and
did a search for Linux games, to actually see what was out there and
available for the workstations.
Doom, Vexen and a host of high-end shoot-em-up stuff is readily available
for Linux, although from my brief whirl around the block, I suspect that
most of the stuff I saw will require some pretty decent hardware to run
properly. However, that issue aside, I counted in excess of 4,000 games,
many of them high-end video and 3-D video games, that all run under X11 on
Linux boxes. *Moreover*, there were at least a dozen different game
servers available, which would allow true devotees of gaming to create
their own online gaming rooms, all still beneath the Open Source system.
(free)
Although I do not play games often, and then I stick with the stuff that
ships with Mandrake or Fedora (depending upon which box I am working at
the moment), when I do play games, it is strictly 3-D with stereo sound,
incredible effects and high-resolution video, although I am partial to
playing an occasional game of Commander Keen on my single remaining
Windoze box.
Now as for the scanner and other hardware/software, you asked specifically
for online chat rooms. I looked on Tucows for Linux online chat
applications, and simply threw up my hands in mid-air, as there were too
many different applications to choose from, of which I know very little,
simply because none of my networks will allow IRC Chat access. Why?
Because allowing IRC access is so patently *RISKY*, unless you *really*
know what you are doing when you configure your firewall, and even then, a
wary hacker may be able to climb all over your network or workstation
without your knowledge.
However, just from my brief overview, given what little I know about your
hardware, I would be cautious about making the jump to Linux. Do not
expect that to be painless, nor without considerable confusion in the
beginning. Although the Gnome and KDE desktops slightly resemble the
Windows desktop, the difference ends the minute you drop into a terminal
screen and start looking at the "nuts and bolts" of Linux, something that
you cannot easily do with Windows-anything. However, the list of
applications and supported hardware vastly outnumber Windows by a factor
of perhaps 4 to 1.
Unlike Windows, just when I start feeling complacent about things, and
start thinking I have Linux mastered, I find another application, another
set of configuration statements or another possible exploit that needs to
be thoroughly investigated. Unlike Windows, I spent at least an hour every
day reading documentation, and before I try *anything* that is new or
unexplored, before I try any different network protocols, I always read
the manual, (RTFM) and as my tutor taught me well, now I *know* how most
network protocols function. If nothing else, that, by itself, makes me
somewhat contemptuous of Windows, because it supposedly takes care of such
things for the user---NOT.
From my vantage point, and I'll admit I know very little about your
technical skills or the hardware resources you have, I know that having 1
Gig of memory is delightful, while 256 M is a pain. I know that
*supported* high-end video cards allow you to play games that defy
*anything* that runs beneath Windows, and I know that a
properly-configured Linux workstation will out-perform a Windows box,
hands down. *PLUS* with Linux, you stop the endless cycle of format and
rebuild that takes place about once a year on a Windows box, providing my
bash-Linux script works, for it automatically checks once each day for the
latest security patches, downloads and then installs them, all
automatically. James does the same thing, I am sure. I *know* Jack in the
Cave does, because I taught him how to manually check for updates. 8-)
James works extensively in Debian, which is one "flavor" of Linux, Jack in
the Cave works exclusively in 64-bit Mandrake, while I spend most of my
time in either Fedora, Debian but almost always in Mandrake. Yet, despite
the different names, and often library paths that are somewhat different,
James, Jack in the Cave and I all run slightly different systems, but with
a common set of applications and, of course, the kernel. With limited
cross-training, any of us could work on any Linux system, regardless of
its name, simply because we have become accustomed to the operating
system, itself. Well, with the exception of Lindows. That sucks!
I also know of several others who are running Mandrake Linux workstations
right now for the first time in the corporate world, and none of them had
run Linux before in their lives. They, like so many others, simply got
tired of the expense, lies and bullshit that seems to emminate from
Microsoft these days, and decided to see what I've been saying for nearly
two years. The Linux workstation, while still not entirely ready for
prime-time, is stable enough that with marginal training, one can use it,
and that it is more stable, secure and better-behaved that any version of
Windows I've seen.
Not to mention that a corporate workstation running Windows XP recently
was ordered upgraded by one of my customers. By the time they bought
XP-Pro, Office and the Microsoft Suite of software development tools, they
had spent in excess of $1000 on software, not to mention the new hardware
and the six hours I spent applying the various security patches. I just
upgraded a Mandrake box last Tuesday, and it cost *NOTHING*. Perhaps now
you see why so many people are turning to Linux as a viable solution.
As for the application data, there are more applications being released
each day for Linux, and most of them, like the software, is FREE. I hope
this overview helps you understand things a bit better. Feel free to ask
more questions. That's what this place is for...
Dave
In case you hadn't figured it out from the combined information from both
James and I, the Linux environment is currently the hottest thing going,
when it comes to the sheer volume of software that is available. Last
night, just shortly before my brain pan shorted out completely, I went and
did a search for Linux games, to actually see what was out there and
available for the workstations.
Doom, Vexen and a host of high-end shoot-em-up stuff is readily available
for Linux, although from my brief whirl around the block, I suspect that
most of the stuff I saw will require some pretty decent hardware to run
properly. However, that issue aside, I counted in excess of 4,000 games,
many of them high-end video and 3-D video games, that all run under X11 on
Linux boxes. *Moreover*, there were at least a dozen different game
servers available, which would allow true devotees of gaming to create
their own online gaming rooms, all still beneath the Open Source system.
(free)
Although I do not play games often, and then I stick with the stuff that
ships with Mandrake or Fedora (depending upon which box I am working at
the moment), when I do play games, it is strictly 3-D with stereo sound,
incredible effects and high-resolution video, although I am partial to
playing an occasional game of Commander Keen on my single remaining
Windoze box.
Now as for the scanner and other hardware/software, you asked specifically
for online chat rooms. I looked on Tucows for Linux online chat
applications, and simply threw up my hands in mid-air, as there were too
many different applications to choose from, of which I know very little,
simply because none of my networks will allow IRC Chat access. Why?
Because allowing IRC access is so patently *RISKY*, unless you *really*
know what you are doing when you configure your firewall, and even then, a
wary hacker may be able to climb all over your network or workstation
without your knowledge.
However, just from my brief overview, given what little I know about your
hardware, I would be cautious about making the jump to Linux. Do not
expect that to be painless, nor without considerable confusion in the
beginning. Although the Gnome and KDE desktops slightly resemble the
Windows desktop, the difference ends the minute you drop into a terminal
screen and start looking at the "nuts and bolts" of Linux, something that
you cannot easily do with Windows-anything. However, the list of
applications and supported hardware vastly outnumber Windows by a factor
of perhaps 4 to 1.
Unlike Windows, just when I start feeling complacent about things, and
start thinking I have Linux mastered, I find another application, another
set of configuration statements or another possible exploit that needs to
be thoroughly investigated. Unlike Windows, I spent at least an hour every
day reading documentation, and before I try *anything* that is new or
unexplored, before I try any different network protocols, I always read
the manual, (RTFM) and as my tutor taught me well, now I *know* how most
network protocols function. If nothing else, that, by itself, makes me
somewhat contemptuous of Windows, because it supposedly takes care of such
things for the user---NOT.
From my vantage point, and I'll admit I know very little about your
technical skills or the hardware resources you have, I know that having 1
Gig of memory is delightful, while 256 M is a pain. I know that
*supported* high-end video cards allow you to play games that defy
*anything* that runs beneath Windows, and I know that a
properly-configured Linux workstation will out-perform a Windows box,
hands down. *PLUS* with Linux, you stop the endless cycle of format and
rebuild that takes place about once a year on a Windows box, providing my
bash-Linux script works, for it automatically checks once each day for the
latest security patches, downloads and then installs them, all
automatically. James does the same thing, I am sure. I *know* Jack in the
Cave does, because I taught him how to manually check for updates. 8-)
James works extensively in Debian, which is one "flavor" of Linux, Jack in
the Cave works exclusively in 64-bit Mandrake, while I spend most of my
time in either Fedora, Debian but almost always in Mandrake. Yet, despite
the different names, and often library paths that are somewhat different,
James, Jack in the Cave and I all run slightly different systems, but with
a common set of applications and, of course, the kernel. With limited
cross-training, any of us could work on any Linux system, regardless of
its name, simply because we have become accustomed to the operating
system, itself. Well, with the exception of Lindows. That sucks!
I also know of several others who are running Mandrake Linux workstations
right now for the first time in the corporate world, and none of them had
run Linux before in their lives. They, like so many others, simply got
tired of the expense, lies and bullshit that seems to emminate from
Microsoft these days, and decided to see what I've been saying for nearly
two years. The Linux workstation, while still not entirely ready for
prime-time, is stable enough that with marginal training, one can use it,
and that it is more stable, secure and better-behaved that any version of
Windows I've seen.
Not to mention that a corporate workstation running Windows XP recently
was ordered upgraded by one of my customers. By the time they bought
XP-Pro, Office and the Microsoft Suite of software development tools, they
had spent in excess of $1000 on software, not to mention the new hardware
and the six hours I spent applying the various security patches. I just
upgraded a Mandrake box last Tuesday, and it cost *NOTHING*. Perhaps now
you see why so many people are turning to Linux as a viable solution.
As for the application data, there are more applications being released
each day for Linux, and most of them, like the software, is FREE. I hope
this overview helps you understand things a bit better. Feel free to ask
more questions. That's what this place is for...
Dave
--
Dave Laird (***@kharma.net)
The Used Kharma Lot / The Phoenix Project
Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 04/02/2004
Usenet News server: news.kharma.net
An automatic & random thought For the Minute:
It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a
warning to others.
Dave Laird (***@kharma.net)
The Used Kharma Lot / The Phoenix Project
Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 04/02/2004
Usenet News server: news.kharma.net
An automatic & random thought For the Minute:
It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a
warning to others.