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z0mbix
10-15-2001, 08:56 AM
Can someone advise me on how debian is regarding multimedia. Is debian suitable for playing mp3's, video's, dvd's, games etc?
I currently use Mandrake 8.0 which suits my needs but is a bit too easy to use and seems very bloated. Stupid I know, but I like to play :p
Is woody more suitable than potato?
Thanks
There would be no real difference, multimedia wise. All the software available for Mandrake is available for Debian.
And woody is much more suitable than potato because potato's packages are _very_ old.
Derango
10-15-2001, 09:11 AM
Yes...debian can be used for all of those things, but it takes a little more work to get it to.
Unfortunetly, at the current time, the X windows in woody and sid is broken. That is, unless they fixed it sunday. I tried installing debian on saturday on my laptop and X windows didn't download when I apt-got ( ;) ) it.
Joeri Sebrechts
10-15-2001, 10:28 AM
Originally posted by Derango:
<STRONG>Unfortunetly, at the current time, the X windows in woody and sid is broken. That is, unless they fixed it sunday. I tried installing debian on saturday on my laptop and X windows didn't download when I apt-got ( ;) ) it.</STRONG>
I run woody, and yesterday I upgraded my X. The upgrade itself went fine, but afterwards my x-session-manager wouldn't launch. I traced it back to a problem with ssh-agent. Removing the use-ssh-agent entry in /etc/X11/Xsession.options fixed it. Strange business though. You'd expect that a broken system like that wouldn't be able to reach woody, with the sid buffer.
slacker_x
10-15-2001, 01:19 PM
THis is how to fix the X problem in Sid and Woody:
edit /etc/X11/Xsession.d/99xfree86-common_start. Change 'exec "$REALSTARTUP"' to 'exec $REALSTARTUP'.
error27
10-15-2001, 01:37 PM
Instead of using woody I would use testing...
It's a little bit more risky but the packages are more up to date.
Don't run unstable. It is too risky for newbies...
Debian is actually not very much harder than mandrake. The big thing is that you need to know what your hardware is. But it's more fun than mandrake because users can contribute easilly.
Strike
10-15-2001, 02:29 PM
Originally posted by error27:
<STRONG>Instead of using woody I would use testing...
It's a little bit more risky but the packages are more up to date.
Don't run unstable. It is too risky for newbies...
Debian is actually not very much harder than mandrake. The big thing is that you need to know what your hardware is. But it's more fun than mandrake because users can contribute easilly.</STRONG>
Woody is testing (for now).
Potato <-> stable
Woody <-> testing
Sid <-> unstable
Strike
10-15-2001, 04:08 PM
By the way, the correct fix to the X problem is to "edit /etc/X11/Xsession.d/99xfree86-common_start. Change 'exec "$REALSTARTUP"' to 'exec $REALSTARTUP'."
(courtesy of apt, the bot in #debian on irc.openprojects.net)
[edit]
oops, slacker_x had it right and I didn't see it
[ 15 October 2001: Message edited by: Strike ]
Derango
10-15-2001, 04:40 PM
Huh...you see..my problem was it wouldent even download the X upgrade, rather then downloading it and it not working when I finshed. I still had 3.3.6 (or whatever version of X potato comes with) instead of the 4.1.0 I wanted.
I threw slackware back on there though, and it works perfectly now ;)
error27
10-15-2001, 06:29 PM
strike: heh...
thanks for the correction.
I guess I sort of assumed that would be the stable version already or something... It's funny to think that potato is still stable.
I haven't used the testing or stable for a while and I guess I lost track.
Sort of embarassing for me...
z0mbix
10-16-2001, 04:39 AM
This all sounds very encouraging. Fortunately, I know my hardware inside out, so that shouldn't be a problem. Does KDE now come with woody? I read that I didn't with previous releases for some reason. If not, is it easy to install and use as I am a big KDE fan? :p
As I have a 56k modem, I would rather buy the CD's instead of download. I have looked at Debian's vendor list for the United Kingdom, but cannot find any Woody CD's, only Potato. Anyone know where I can get Woody on CD for the United Kingdom?
Thanks again
z0mbix
10-16-2001, 04:41 AM
2.2r3 - Is this woody?
Llhorian
10-16-2001, 05:28 AM
Originally posted by cheeky_zombie:
<STRONG>2.2r3 - Is this woody?</STRONG>
No, that's Potato.
Woody would be 2.3 when it becomes stable.
rattus
10-16-2001, 07:27 AM
Originally posted by slacker_x:
<STRONG>THis is how to fix the X problem in Sid and Woody:
edit /etc/X11/Xsession.d/99xfree86-common_start. Change 'exec "$REALSTARTUP"' to 'exec $REALSTARTUP'.</STRONG>
Ta muchly
:)
z0mbix
10-16-2001, 07:33 AM
is it possible to get woody on CD from anywhere for the UK?
Joeri Sebrechts
10-16-2001, 09:28 AM
Originally posted by cheeky_zombie:
<STRONG>is it possible to get woody on CD from anywhere for the UK?</STRONG>
There are several companies who sell custom debian versions, including woody images. On top of that, there are also companies that let you assemble your own collection of files, after which they download them, burn them to cd, and mail them to you.
Some links for custom woody cd's: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~stevem/DebianCD/ http://www.mailordercentral.com/lsl/prodinfo.asp?number=D-10&variation=&aitem=42&mitem=345
I found those on the debian site, in the listing of people who sell debian cd's. I don't know if they're dependable, since I have zero experience with them.
It's not even guaranteed that a woody will even install at the moment. The ideal way to install debian is still to first do a network install, and then apt-get dist-upgrade.