Vista Beta 2 goes Public

[sneeks]

If you need them for work related then yeah that's a shame but if it's personal use then I find Nvu decent for making websites and The Gimp for graphical stuff.

At home I do not do a great deal other than browse the net, I'll maybe look into creating a dual boot system so that I can use XP programs if required at home.

 

[ollie]

cant you use a window emulator like WINE ?

 

[ViolentJ]

cant you use a window emulator like WINE ?

WINE doesn't support everything. They might work under XP on VM though. But that kinda defeats the object of moving to linux imo.

 

[sneeks]

I've installed the OS onto my PC and created a dual boot system. I'll use Linux for web browsing etc and XP for web design and other XP specific programs.

Installation was simple and it supported all of my devices without any problems or configuration. Very impressed.

 

[ollie]

another reason i dont like linux is i couldnt find a pretty IM client

 

[ViolentJ]

another reason i dont like linux is i couldnt find a pretty IM client

I believe aMSN ( http://amsn.sourceforge.net ) is the "prettiest" IM for linux, but GAIM does the job for me!

 

[ViolentJ]

I've installed the OS onto my PC and created a dual boot system. I'll use Linux for web browsing etc and XP for web design and other XP specific programs.

Installation was simple and it supported all of my devices without any problems or configuration. Very impressed.

If you haven't already it's well worth getting doing this:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=190025&highlight=automatix

Here's what it does:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=138405

 

[sneeks]

That look a little heavy going I'll give it a try.

 

[ViolentJ]

That look a little heavy going I'll give it a try.

Don't be put off by the amount of text - it's actually very simple.

I'll break it down simply for you

I'll assume you are using Gnome as you haven't said otherwise.

STEP 1
Go to Applications -> Accesories -> Terminal

STEP 2
In terminal, enter: sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
It will ask you for your password - this is the same one you login with

STEP 3
A file will open up with text in, scroll to the very bottom and add this:

deb http://www.beerorkid.com/automatix/apt dapper main

Now save and close it.

STEP 4
Still in Terminal, enter each of the following lines one at a time and press return/enter after each line:

wget http://www.beerorkid.com/automatix/apt/key.gpg.asc
gpg --import key.gpg.asc
gpg --export --armor 521A9C7C | sudo apt-key add -

STEP 5
Again, still in Terminal, enter the following lines of text, one after the other pressing return/enter after each one:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install automatix

That's it - installed!

You can find the program in Applications -> System Tools -> Automatix
When you run it, it will ask for a password, again this is your login password.


Simply tick the items you want installing!

 

[sneeks]

How do I assign myself as a Owner? It will not let me replace read only files.

 

[ViolentJ]

sudo is the magic command which stands for "super user do"

so to open a file normally you'd use something like gedit /home/joeblogs/porn_urls

To open it with write permissions you'd do sudo gedit /home/joeblogs/porn_urls

It will prompt you for a password - this is your login password.

Note: this does not apply for files that you create e.g. if you create a document in Openoffice then it will be created with YOU as owner, not root so you can just double click to open it up and edit it.

 

[ViolentJ]

I'm going to have to go soon, if you require any more help then just register free on http://www.ubuntuforums.org loads of people there willing to help out

 

[sneeks]

Thanks I've got it now Looks like I've a steep learning curve if I want to use the Terminal in Linux. Also strange when typing in the password that nothing flashes or registers it onscreen

Should I install all of the listed apps and is the DVD RIP any good?

 

[ViolentJ]

there aren't many commands you need to know really... just write them down as you come accross them.

Not tried the DVD rip... you want to install all the media codecs and then everything else is up to you... you can always install other things later on if you want.

Another great resource that you might not be aware of yet is Synaptic - this is a package manager.

System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager (don't run it at the same time as Automatix)

If you're after a program then chances are it's in Synaptic, you just right click and select install then click apply and it installs all the required files.

Also if you're a google earth fan then the google earth beta 4 works with linux - you need to get that from the google homepage though. http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html

Just download it then in terminal type sh /path/to/GoogleEarthLinux.bin (you can just type sh then drag and drop the file you downloaded and it will fill in the path for you)

It installs to Applications -> Internet -> Google Earth

When you run it the first time you may get a message about a font not installed, just ignore that, it will work fine without that specific font.

 

[sneeks]

Many thanks for all of your help, I'll have a play with all of this tonight. Automatix is still installing lots of apps

 

[ViolentJ]

No worries

Oh and for all your theming needs: http://www.gnome-look.org/

To play with themes: System -> Preferences -> Theme

Installing them is amazingly easy... drag the downloaded theme into the Theme manager and it will prompt you to click install. That includes full themes, window borders and icons.

To get transparency on your panels you right click them and select properties -> background -> solid colour and move the slider accross to transparent. Note some themes may not allow you to do this. Clearlooks is one that DOES though.

Have fun!

 

[sneeks]

It's asking if I want to restore my original sources list or allow Automatix to replace? What should I do? I feel like it's my first day at a new job.

 

[ViolentJ]

you may have already made a selection but I always choose to keep the original sources.

 

[sneeks]

Brilliant I kept the original sources

 

[sneeks]

Does the Vista Beta include full networking options like XP Pro? My brother needs to know before he installs it onto his laptop.

 

[Storm_Force]

TBH I wouldn't risk having it as the only operating system, best to set up dual boot just encase you have problems.