The discussion revolves around user experiences and compatibility issues with Lindows Version 4, particularly in relation to its functionality with MS Office and other software applications. Participants explore the security, usability, and installation challenges associated with Lindows and other Linux distributions.
Participants do not reach a consensus on the merits of Lindows or the best approach to transitioning from Windows to Linux. Multiple competing views remain regarding the usability and security of different Linux distributions.
Limitations include unresolved technical steps for configuring display settings and varying levels of user experience with Linux. The discussion reflects differing opinions on the necessity of emulation and the suitability of various Linux distributions for beginners.
This discussion may be useful for users considering a transition to Linux, particularly those interested in Lindows or similar distributions, as well as those seeking advice on compatibility with MS Office and display configuration issues.
Familiarity is my reason. I’d like to experiment but don’t want to jump into deep water if I can avoid it. What I am primarily hoping to find out in this thread is whether anyone else has used these operating systems and had a chance to see how they worked. I’m curious if these ‘hybrids’, for lack of a better word, are likely to catch on with the general public. With that said, if I can get some help finding out how to alter my display setting it would be a big help.
The winlinux creates a shortcut on the Win98 desktop, and double-clicking the shortcut will cause the computer to reboot and load Winlinux. It doesn't look or feel like a mixing going on, but it's not something I can tolerate looking at long enough to get a feel for it because of the flickering brought about by a low refresh rate. I had loaded Red Hat 7.2 once upon a time and had the same problem (on a different computer). The book that came with the disks covered plenty of ground but never seemed to explain such a simple function as what I need to do.
Not knowing what a 10 would entail I'd be disinclined to rate myself. I'm comfortable in a DOS environment and can navigate (create directories and files, moving things around) with only a keyboard, though it is a burden to do so. Partitioning, minor editing of system files, etc. are things I have plenty of experience doing.
The computer with Winlinux on it is a 400MHz (overdrive processor in a PI socket 7 motherboard) Dell Optiplex Gn+ with 256MB of PC66 EDO memory, onboard S3 Trio64 video (2MB RAM). Come to think of it I should check the Dell Support website for a possible driver to run, though I’m still going to come up way short of understanding the procedure to install it. The monitor is a 17-inch HP71.
Exactly those things you mentioned plus CD burning software, music and video format converters, etc. But I’d be happy for the time being just getting the display the way I want it.
Jump! Jump! It's not really that deep. And as dduardo says, the newer distros are easy to operate by themselves; forget falling back on Windows or Windows-like software. IME, it's much easier to get a good grasp of Linux if you dive into the deep end and commit yourself to it, or else you'll find it a tedious process to getting used to and will probably stick to Windows most of the time.
That should be more than enough. It's not hard at all, particularly if you start with one of the "easier" distros like RedHat 9, SuSe 8.2, etc. Anything else you'll need to know, you'll learn as you use it.
Almost all types of software available on Win is available (in one form or another) on Linux. Except for a few biggies: Adobe/Photoshop, Macromedia/Flash products and some more. There is The Gimp, which is a powerful program in its own right, but it's nothing like PS. You might, though, be able to run PS on Linux under CrossOver Office.
