Linux/Ubuntu/XUbuntu... Help/ideas/tips.

Ok, so I got so hacked off with Windows, I scapped it and with the help of a mate have converted to using Xubuntu.

I'm guessing there's a few other users out there/on here and would welcome any advice etc.

I love Ubuntu and Knoppix.

Have you already installed one of these OS's?

You sometimes have to dig a little to get things working in linux. I still haven't got my Epson scanner to work with linux. There probably is a way, I just haven't dug enough to find it becasue I seldom use it.

I feel like though and this is what I love about linux, you can do anything, I mean "anything" with it. You just gotta have the program and the knowledge to use it which I dont have nearly enough of. It would take a lifetime to learn all there is to learn about linux. In fact that wouldn't be enough. I'm to busy learning new commands in linux to even fire Windows up anymore.


Here is one of my favorite commands for you. I love this one


type in terminal $df -T -h

and it will tell you all the hard drives that are mounted and how much space they have left on them. Good luck with it.

Has anyone found a 'clear type' type (heh) thing to use with ubuntu? Or any way to sharpen the text up. If so, please share to the newbees. -Dziekuje

Has anyone found a 'clear type' type (heh) thing to use with ubuntu? Or any way to sharpen the text up. If so, please share to the newbees. -Dziekuje

I'm using Xubuntu and really enjoying it so far, but a little confused I guess as to what to do with it really... I'm not really a techy type, but I'm sick of Windows - I'd appreciate tips on running some games, I'd like to replay Baldur's Gate and Morrowind.

There are some really noticeable improvements, my battery life is improved and things run a lot faster.

If anyone is interested, there's a couple of links here about/from Linux/Ubuntu...

About a week into it and thoroughly enjoying it, my laptops' performance is better now than when I first bought it or at any other point.

IT'S FREE TOO

www.ubuntulinux.org...

www.debian.org...

reply to post by beezwaxes


Is that in Abiword?

What problems are you having?

reply to post by jokei


I'd have to look, I'm on a different machine now. My brother gave me the Linux machine already loaded up and I really haven't dug around much in it.

The text isn't quite as sharp as I'm used to (which isn't cool when you're older). I glanced over a few threads about it online and it seems it takes some work to fix. To be honest I was hoping someone had an easy fix. -I have hobbies I enjoy far more than slugging it out with my computer

thanks

Very much agreed, I'm not a techy and some stuff is more involved than I've been used to, but I do kinda value this learning curve.

Although having a friend that knows his stuff was a major +

It's not just that I can do anything, I'm more inclined to, the basic features are really good.

Anyone have any "Must Have" packages to download for it?

reply to post by beezwaxes


Did you looked at System/Preferences/Appearance and then in the Fonts tab?

Is that it?

reply to post by jokei


Some people don't like it but I like compiz fusion just because its so amazing. If I take my mouse up quickly to the top right hand corner, every page I have opened at the time will zoom down to 2 or more mini pages where I can see them all. If I click on one it comes up on front. Also if you hold down ctrl +alt you can click and drag the desktop around like a cube rotating it and flipping it.

I like K3b CD Burner.

To see all running processes htop rocks. It is similar to ps aux which doesn't need installing. ps aux only takes a one time shot. htop keeps taking shots every few seconds.

$ sudo apt-get install htop

will install it and then you type htop in the terminal to see its out put.

I haven't played a lot of games other than chess so really can't be much help on those.

Excellent, thanks...

I'm on the learning curve.

I think my all time favorite program is gparted. Its my favorite because you can create partitions on your hard drive, have many operating systems and keep your data separate from your operating systems. If your OS goes kaput you just reinstall it and your data is unaffected. I searched high and lo for a way to do that in Widows and I all I could find was gparted which eventually lead me to Ubuntu.

One of the coolest things about linux is you can put it on a thumb drive and boot from it on any computer in which the BIOS allows USB booting. You can also save your user settings and bookmarks. I'm booted from a USB thumb drive with Ubuntu 8.10 now in fact completely independent of the hard drives and information stored on my computer.


sudo apt-get get install gparted


will install it.

I have been playing with linux for a few years, from Red Hat to Debian, and finally to Xubuntu. Using the current version (9.10) and having a blast.

I don't have to reboot.
I don't have to find the money to purchase it.
I can find help all over the place if I need it.
It makes sense.
It's open source: things get fixed or modified quickly.
There is no shortage of programs to do whatever I want.
It does not randomly reboot every time Linux Torvalds wants it to.
It's rock-solid.
It does whatever I want it to.
I meet great people who also use it (and write for it).

I am by no means an expert but I'll try to answer any questions.

Xubuntu is one flavor of Ubuntu. The difference between them is the desktop. Xubuntu uses the XFCE desktop. It's very light so it works better on older hardware and even faster on newer hardware. Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop. This is the heavy, pretty desktop. If you like Vista, Aero, and eye candy, this is the one for you. Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop, which is in the middle, resourcewise. It's a matter of taste, once you're past the horsepower usage.

The only problem I've discovered with XFCE is that it is sometimes a lot harder to find things, as most people think everybody runs KDE or GNOME.

Ubuntu is my main OS now. I keep a Windows box around because I have to support it at work.

reply to post by leftystrat


Awesome man, thanks for the reply.

To be honest, I've not encountered any problems with it at all so far, I'm not a tech-guy and just use my laptop for web/media.

Recommend any good antivirus?

reply to post by jokei

I like Avira on Windows, I suppose it's also good on Linux.

I think they have a Linux version here, but I haven't tried it myself (I don't have any anti-virus on Linux).

reply to post by beezwaxes


You can sharpen the text in the preferences. Unfortuantely, I can't remember where exactly in Ubuntu to go to do that since I'm running Kubuntu at the moment.

Some of the Linux fonts aren't that good either. Have you installed the msttcorefonts package?

reply to post by Voyager1


In Ubuntu 10.04, there is going to be a program installed by default that is supposed to practically make all scanners work. I can't remember exactly what the program is called, but if it's going to be included in the next release, I'm sure that it's in the repositories right now.

reply to post by jokei

Anyone have any "Must Have" packages to download for it?

If you haven't done it already, you're going to want to install the [url=https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu]medibuntu[/ulr] packages. These allow you to play DVDs, mp3s, and install some "non-free" (as in non-free source code) packages.

Some other thigns that you may be interested in are Docky and Gnome-do. Docky gives you an OSX like dock and Gnome-do allows you to type in a command (Alt+Spacebar I think) and start typing in the name of a program/file that you want. The program will find it and all you have to do is hit enter to start it instead of going through the folders/menus.

Arm& Octo,

I just hooked up the Linux box and and got into sys>pref> appearance and that did help, thank you much. I still have to get all the FF stuff set the way I like it and there are probably some addons in there that will also get me further along with the appearance.

I think I'll leave this comp. hooked up awhile to force me to learn a little. This thing does pop compared to my Windoz machine which is really bogged down with years of junk. -thanks again