linux convert rants!!!

[mithrang]

I just installed redhat 7.3 and 3 days later in my spare time at home i've gotten the following working...

apache
iptables
bind (cashing - not a full domain )
dhcpd (post install )
ssh ( for the remote consol using putty )
samba (configured and working )
half-life counter-strike server with admin mod (made change to iptable to open ports)

ran up2date
Installed a second hard drive after the initial install

All from the console – No xwindows for me!!!

I would have to say I’m really pleased. You hear a lot of rants about MS this and MS that and how hard it is to setup a linux box but I would have to say it wasn’t that tough. You have to get your head around how things are done in Linux but it wasn’t a big leap. Am I linux guru? Nope, a lot of it was taken care of for me by the OS :D so i can't take all that much credit....

I still have to figure out the full scope of samba, apache, PHP and the whole host of other services but that’s just the natural learning curve. You would expect the same level of difficulty if you went from linux to windows. yes windows has a better gui vs the console but how many reg hacks have you done to get everything working right because the option wasn't available to you in the gui window? :rolleyes:

I’m glad I made the change. I was sick and tired of MS only and of pirating software (yes I'll admit to it…). Now I have everything I want (and then some) at an affordable price for me and I’m not losing any quality!

I should also qualify the fact that I’m a Windows programmer (Delphi, C,C++) working with embedded systems who also assists in the administration of the servers and server software.

[dungscooperdave]

I wish I knew as much as you. Knowledge is power.

[aaronk42]

Well, I suppose I can't boast to quite the same level as you can...I've been running Linux for about a week now, and I've just been thrilled with getting things like shared Internet over my LAN (with Linux machines, Windows machines, and a Mac :)) and getting the printer working (which didn't even happen in Windows - huy).

But I entirely agree...Linux hasn't been nearly as difficult as I was anticipating. I've had far more troubles installing Windows than I did Linux.

Now, if only I could get that mouse wheel working...

[IceBlade]

...I expected 2 instal Linux, MLdonkey, a network, samba and configurating it all properly in less then 2 hours

no game...

:D it was a little bit harder then I expected, but I'm almost there

my linux-box is now almost 35 hours old and I'm damn proud of it

now I only need 2 install a plugin for my modem, MLdonkey, typ startmodem in the console and smack Enter...

[IceBlade]

45 minutes... :D

last night, Windows XP, 50 minutes, everything configured and tuned...

I'm gonna move over 2 Slackware in the next 2 weeks, 'cuase I
already installed Mandrake about 6 times, and I'm getting sick of
the install screen :p

[IceBlade]

Originally posted by thayne


Everything in 50 min??? all your software? all your security updates, service packs, hotfixes, driver updates, reboots, yadda yadda yadda? I find that really hard to believe

Slackware is cool, but the installer is nothing like Mandrake. It's not pretty but it's fast and efficient

I installed WinXP and ALL my software (VMware, Serious Sam, BlackIce, Kazaa Lite and one or 2 other small progs + drivers)
in 50 min, whithout the M$ updates...
(mind that I don't wanna risk installing updates, 'cuase my version ain't a "legal" one :rolleyes: )

You get fast at it after the frist 5 installs :D

[AK_Dude]

That's nothin, I can install a FreeBSD server in about 15 min from start to finish

Ouch! It took me like three or four days to install FreeBSD...of course, I had to install via FTP over the internet because I couldn't get my $^@#@!!! CD-ROM to work (note for future reference--do NOT water your plants while they are sitting on top of your PC...water and electrons don't mix! :rolleyes: )

But as I recall, it didn't take much work to get KDE running with FreeBSD (I still don't have it running under Slack 8.0 on that machine, since Slack doesn't like that particular video card).

[JSimmons]

I got you all beat. I installed a dual-boot Redhat 7.3/Win2k onto a 16mb compactflash card and can boot from it on my (admittedly old) Timex Sinclair, and I did it in just a hair under 17 seconds.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna try to stuff OpenVMS onto the same compactflash...

:)

[AK_Dude]

I got you all beat. I installed a dual-boot Redhat 7.3/Win2k onto a 16mb compactflash card and can boot from it on my (admittedly old) Timex Sinclair, and I did it in just a hair under 17 seconds.

Dude, you've just gotta start a "How I did it" thread with that one! Enquiring minds want to know! :D

[rsl]

well i am a complete virgin too...

i started with virtually no knowledge, even about partitions. i messed it up the first time and had to format my machine, but i got RH 7.3 in and working as a dual-boot with windoze...

but...i'm struggling to get my ADSL modem going and the system can't find my sound card, but will play sounds from the control panel...

i'm slowly working through it during my spare time...but my girlfriend cracked the ****s because i didn't speak to her for 2 days went it all went weird at the start and i had to format. very inconsiderate of her i thought.

power to the penguin:)

[AK_Dude]

but...i'm struggling to get my ADSL modem going and the system can't find my sound card, but will play sounds from the control panel...

The easiest way to get Linux to talk through your ADSL modem (technically, it's not a modem, but anyway...) is to put a router between your pc and the ADSL box. Then all you have to do is talk to your router (simple TCP/IP connection for that!), and let your router figure out how go to the network. You REALLY should use a router anyway, just to protect your system--an always-on internet connection like ADSL gives wannabe crackers a good opportunity to break into your system.

Of course, if you are using Linux as your router and firewall, then forget what I've just said...;)

[teeitup]

Tomorrow, I'm gonna try to stuff OpenVMS onto the same compactflash...

Please,

Some of us actually use it.

[mnsharif]

Well, offcoruse, i m also one of the migrators from Windows to Linux. Though i dont share the enthusiasm and the speed of my fellow, but i must say that the mis-conceptions spread about Linux and its being hard by Microsoft & Co. is all together false.
And not to mention, i used a pirated copy too:eek: :confused: :rolleyes:

[cleidh_mor]

I've been using Linux for a couple of years at uni as a development platform and it has to be said that it just blows Windoze out of the water (and yes, my copy's "illegal" too). I've also been using LaTeX for my documents and stuff and it's brilliant. Installing Red Hat on my home machine was a breeze as well and it seems to sit on the drive quite happily with Windoze (even XP).

Now I'm doing my MSc at Caledonian and I have to use Windoze again:rolleyes: Boo hiss!

[fancypiper]

Originally posted by mnsharif
Well, offcoruse, i m also one of the migrators from Windows to Linux. Though i dont share the enthusiasm and the speed of my fellow, but i must say that the mis-conceptions spread about Linux and its being hard by Microsoft & Co. is all together false.
And not to mention, i used a pirated copy too:eek: :confused: :rolleyes: :confused: How do you pirate open source software?

[swangods]

So this weekend I thought I'd have a fun project.

I was running a file server under W2k Server for a while, then decided to give .NET server RC-1 a try. Both were remarkably easy to get started, with install times of about an hour. I used a program called RAdmin (Remote Administrator) to control it. It's basically a desktop remote program like pcAnywhere or VNC for Windows.

So I figured this weekend I'd try switching it to Red Hat, after having worked out some Samba issues on a "dev" box.

The installation of Red Hat took 20 minutes. 20 minutes! Compared to an hour, that's fantastic, and I didn't have to do any hardware/driver installations. There wasn't any software I needed extra... vncserver, ssh, samba, xmms (it's tied into my stereo system) were all there. Transferring the actual files over took the most time of the whole process (I had copied them across the network to an interim machine).

Once Red Hat was installed, it took about 20 minutes longer to get everything configured the way I wanted (services and samba, mostly).

I loved RAdmin. It's not great over Wine, and I was reluctant to step down to VNC because VNC just isn't as refined as RAdmin. You also have to be careful with the compression on VNC because it gets awfully smeary (TightVNC seems a little better, though it could be my imagination; and its encryption is always a plus). I was nervous to give up my gui remote... but then I realised how easy it was to do everything through an ssh terminal! Most of the commandline stuff is no sweat, now that I have a better understanding of what exactly to do. Even Samba is preferable to the file sharing in Windows servers. None of that click-click-clicking, and you can see all of the information all at once through smb.conf, rather than flipping through multiple tabs. Once I remembered to smbpasswd -a thisuser it was a piece of cake. My only gripe is having to smb restart to get the shares to update.

In a large-scale production environment, would that interrupt current users if it took more than a second or two?

Also, webmin is a fantastic all-in-one tool for remote administration. All the information you need is right at your fingertips, once you figure out what each of the categories include.

All in all, a highly successful project for the weekend! I had anticipated needing at least a full day to get it all in order (anytime I have to rebuild an "everyday" desktop it takes a good solid chunk of hours just to get everything reinstalled, then who knows how long to get it all configured and tweaked just the way I like it).

[swangods]

Originally posted by fancypiper
:confused: How do you pirate open source software?

Truly open source software is probably quite difficult (definitely oxymoronic) to pirate... though some distributions prohibit re-distribution of purchased (ie. boxed) sets due to commercial third-party content.