A couple comments in different threads have ref'd computers a bit and one of Goodclue's about upgrading a laptop got me thinking a topic might possibly be in order. (I didn't notice one already out there.) In way of disclaimer, I worked corporate IT as programmer and systems analyst for 10 years but departed that field in 1985. The old saw about the difference between a car salesman and a computer salesman was the car salesman knew when he was lying... cut waaayyyy to close to the truth!
What I wanted to mention was the $$$/space trade-off between laptops and desktops: I think that in many cases, the choice favors a desktop. Of course the real extreme $$ saving applies only to the PC world cuz the Macs are closed systems (mostly for most people); but I suspect even in the Mac world a desktop machine is much cheaper and easier to modify. And there are some quite slim "boxes" available.
I live on a boat and although I started out with a laptop in '98, I converted to a desktop in about 2003. The box takes a lot more space but it's about 1/4 the price for equivalent features; when I want to change something it's relatively easy and I can almost certainly use the same box and often many of the same boards (if $$$ are especially tight). Things like video, sound and MIDI cards and displays can be individually upgraded to suit if desired, but the mother boards available today incorporate enough features so most people don't need any additional cards.
The (new) hardware pieces for a new PC with last year's tech (which is usually far beyond whatever any reasonable person could need or use) with a beefy allotment of RAM normally comes in at about $500-$700 including a new box but maybe not the LCD display. Equivalently featured laptops normally start about $1500-$2000 and that's for the low-end models. We're talking (for today) quad cores, 3Ghz, 4GB ram, usb3, gigabit network with wifi N, firewire, 6channel surround sound, 500-1000 GB storage; power usage throttled on board depending on processing load. Stuff like that, stuff most of us don't even need in our dreams.
Laptops shine in two ways:
1) when you need to work on somebody _else's_ desk (eg. Starbucks) and this is important. But almost always that kind of work is web surfing which can be done handily by a 10 year old economy model laptop with (if needed) a fast network card (usb or pcmcia); any files saved can be transferred en-mass to the base machine via your network when you get home.
2) when you're running off a battery. I used an inverter to run my laptop on the boat because at that time the laptop batteries weren't up to extended usage. In the last few years desktop mobos have begun to incorporate the same energy saving features that laptops have; this includes slowing the processor (or turning off cores), slowing or stopping fans, turning off harddisks. While using more power than a laptop, desktops can, if it's needed, be tuned to use only _somewhat_ more power. And you need to plug in the laptop charger pretty often anyway so there goes that advantage.
IOW. Despite their larger foot print, desktops look like a very real option unless you're living in a VW camper - and maybe even then.
I'd also like to plug Linux and open source software. I've used Linux for the last 8 years and have found it an excellent desktop system. Certainly it provides all the web surfing and basic office stuff and at least one professional photographer regards digiKam (linux app) as hands down the best photo administration package on any system anywhere; and the installations and update procedures have now matured into something mere mortals an handle. The tiny bit of audio editing I've done was easy using Audacity and one of my acquaintances has put together a documentary film producing it using only free linux (audio and video) software - and he's just a lawyer by trade! So although I can't speak to the professional multimedia production capabilities of Linux, at the very least it provides support for the basics. I have also noted many musicians on forums who use Linux apps to produce their music; but not being a musician I don't know if they're slogging or slaloming.
Free software is some of the best in the world. The Mac system is a unix variant (unix is the "mother" system, originally developed in Bell Labs in the late '60's) based on FreeBSD (unix developement carried on in Berkeley, late '70s). FreeBSD is implemented world wide today and is arguably the most rock solid and best high security system in the world, used by many businesses and governments for their most critical platforms. That is what is running under a Mac's pretty face; when I drill down into OsX to a command window I can control a Mac just the same way I can control a Linux machine, using the same unix commands and control words. "Free" does not equal cheap in this area, at least not in the eyes of major corporations.
Hmm. Prolly way more wordy than needed. But do take a look at the $$$ vs. footprint equation when you think about computer equipment. You might decide you have room for a cheap powerful PC box which then might make room in the budget for something else important.
Rufus
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stuartcnz
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Good stuff Rufus.
I run Macbooks, but am currently spending most of my time on Ubuntu Linux 9.10, which is running in a partition on my Macbook. It is growing on me rapidly.
What variety of Linux are you using?
As for video production, Linux still has a way to go. It's okay for doing home stuff, but the professional side is still laking. I understand that Cinerella is making good progress in that area though.
I'm still trying to get Ardour to work on my system, but am having trouble with Jack, though that is more of an issue with my interface (Omega Lexicon) I believe that the audio kit on Linux is there if you can configure it on your system. What I have managed to get working in that area so far is impressive.
I still haven't managed to get my printer working on Linux either. My understanding is that it depends on the individual printer as to whether or not there will be issues, but for most there are work arounds to get them working. It's just not been a priority for me, since I can just switch back to Mac for printing.
The price is incredible. More software than you could imagine for free. Most things configure themselves. Just download away and you can try what ever you like.
Open office does everything that MS Office does for me, the GIMP does what Photoshop did for me, etc, etc. And remeber that Firefox started out as a Linux web browser and then was ported over to Windows and Mac, as was Blender, another amazing piece of software which is free and actually works best on Linux. The likes of Opera, Google Earth etc also have native Linux versions too.
The only software that I really find lacking on Linux is CAD stuff, but that is also true on Mac's.
Ubuntu is probably the most user friendly operating system I have come across. I would like to try Gentoo when I have more experience, I understand that it takes more skill to use but can operate more effiecently for those who spend the time learning it.
I run Macbooks, but am currently spending most of my time on Ubuntu Linux 9.10, which is running in a partition on my Macbook. It is growing on me rapidly.
What variety of Linux are you using?
As for video production, Linux still has a way to go. It's okay for doing home stuff, but the professional side is still laking. I understand that Cinerella is making good progress in that area though.
I'm still trying to get Ardour to work on my system, but am having trouble with Jack, though that is more of an issue with my interface (Omega Lexicon) I believe that the audio kit on Linux is there if you can configure it on your system. What I have managed to get working in that area so far is impressive.
I still haven't managed to get my printer working on Linux either. My understanding is that it depends on the individual printer as to whether or not there will be issues, but for most there are work arounds to get them working. It's just not been a priority for me, since I can just switch back to Mac for printing.
The price is incredible. More software than you could imagine for free. Most things configure themselves. Just download away and you can try what ever you like.
Open office does everything that MS Office does for me, the GIMP does what Photoshop did for me, etc, etc. And remeber that Firefox started out as a Linux web browser and then was ported over to Windows and Mac, as was Blender, another amazing piece of software which is free and actually works best on Linux. The likes of Opera, Google Earth etc also have native Linux versions too.
The only software that I really find lacking on Linux is CAD stuff, but that is also true on Mac's.
Ubuntu is probably the most user friendly operating system I have come across. I would like to try Gentoo when I have more experience, I understand that it takes more skill to use but can operate more effiecently for those who spend the time learning it.
https://stuartcrawfordmedia.com/
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
I use Suse 11.2. It's Big but it's the cleanest install (though some releases are better than others - this has been a good one). What printer do you have? I fixed one on a friends PC a while back, might have some links for you.
I also drew up a diagram of the Linux sound system. I'll see if I can dig it out; not sure how I'd attach it here but there's probably a way. My take on it as follows: Basically there's lots of overlap between programs in the sound stack and you want to try to eliminate that (at least in you head).
- hardware is at the bottom
- Alsa forms the hardware driver base - don't use it for anything else, in particular try hard not to connect any app to it directly, not even the system chimes and don't use its basic mixer functions - you want to avoid conflicts here.
- Jack (if you use it) sits on top of Alsa because if you're using Jack you are trying to eliminate every last millisecond of delay; it's specialized for real time low latency signal patching and it does NOTHING in and of itself. It just connects other stuff together in a way you can visualize and see easily with the absolute minimum signal delay and provides syncronizing features. I have doubts that most people actually need Jack - use it simply as a pass through or not at all unless you NEED 1) its real time speed (I think this only applies if you're running separate multiple real time streams that require synchronization to be maintained or tweaked and this means you _may_ also want a special kernel built solely for stand alone audio work- these are available for download but I doubt most people need them) or 2) its patch cord capabilities. If you use Jack you'll want to connect everything directly to Jack and eliminate the use Pulse or Alsa(directly) or Phonon or any other server/aggregator; also don't connect app directly together but only through Jack. Else you lose the benefits of Jack's real time sync capability and have to deal with various different stray "connections" which quickly makes life impossible. I think that in use you should only activate EITHER Jack or Pulse, not both; if Jack is in your stack, then simply use it as a pass through from Pulse to Alsa when you're not actually recording; have a second configuration using Jack for your studio sound work if you need it.
-Pulse is the general purpose server/aggregator layer on top of alsa OR Jack (don't connect it to both at the same time). It keeps the hoi-poloi of the world of sound apps away from the hardware and each other and forces them to play nice. It's had recent improvements which make it pretty effective and it replaces various other former and partial solutions like OSS and ESD. Most sound apps now have a Pulse option and for general and/or single stream processing it looks like the best way to control your sound system - ie. skip Jack. Part of Pulse's job is to see that compressed sources are rendered into real-time streams using (IIRC) either 1) Xine or 2) Gstreamer; your choice there.
- Phonon is a cover-it-up hide-it layer over everything below; it was brought out by the KDE people to make their life easier. When you have an app that uses it, force Phonon to connect only to Pulse.
I'm sure there are a few other pieces I'm forgetting now. My Suse 11.2 install generally seems to work out of the box with the above layout (I set up the stack manually from the config dialogs in each app). However, I don't use sophisticated sound hardware or software. Audacity worked straight away and I think I ran Ardour with no problem but I didn't use it for "work" so I don't recall for sure.
IMHO, most distros are very similar in their kernel setup and performance. The differences lie in the desktop appearance, the install procedures and to some extent in the pre-packaged apps available. I think the install capability with desktop ease of use (eg. don't have to search high and low to find the floppy you just inserted) top the list. None of them come close to my personal "best" desktop configuration and the biggest problem one has is eliminating all the options and applications that obscure your own basic tools. Ie. don't install everything, less is more, and when something isn't right, uninstall it. Linux has some of the best eye candy for the desktop but I personally despise the stuff... Oh well. <g>
I'll see if I can find the archives from when I was messing with sound if anybody wants links.
Cheers, Rufus
I also drew up a diagram of the Linux sound system. I'll see if I can dig it out; not sure how I'd attach it here but there's probably a way. My take on it as follows: Basically there's lots of overlap between programs in the sound stack and you want to try to eliminate that (at least in you head).
- hardware is at the bottom
- Alsa forms the hardware driver base - don't use it for anything else, in particular try hard not to connect any app to it directly, not even the system chimes and don't use its basic mixer functions - you want to avoid conflicts here.
- Jack (if you use it) sits on top of Alsa because if you're using Jack you are trying to eliminate every last millisecond of delay; it's specialized for real time low latency signal patching and it does NOTHING in and of itself. It just connects other stuff together in a way you can visualize and see easily with the absolute minimum signal delay and provides syncronizing features. I have doubts that most people actually need Jack - use it simply as a pass through or not at all unless you NEED 1) its real time speed (I think this only applies if you're running separate multiple real time streams that require synchronization to be maintained or tweaked and this means you _may_ also want a special kernel built solely for stand alone audio work- these are available for download but I doubt most people need them) or 2) its patch cord capabilities. If you use Jack you'll want to connect everything directly to Jack and eliminate the use Pulse or Alsa(directly) or Phonon or any other server/aggregator; also don't connect app directly together but only through Jack. Else you lose the benefits of Jack's real time sync capability and have to deal with various different stray "connections" which quickly makes life impossible. I think that in use you should only activate EITHER Jack or Pulse, not both; if Jack is in your stack, then simply use it as a pass through from Pulse to Alsa when you're not actually recording; have a second configuration using Jack for your studio sound work if you need it.
-Pulse is the general purpose server/aggregator layer on top of alsa OR Jack (don't connect it to both at the same time). It keeps the hoi-poloi of the world of sound apps away from the hardware and each other and forces them to play nice. It's had recent improvements which make it pretty effective and it replaces various other former and partial solutions like OSS and ESD. Most sound apps now have a Pulse option and for general and/or single stream processing it looks like the best way to control your sound system - ie. skip Jack. Part of Pulse's job is to see that compressed sources are rendered into real-time streams using (IIRC) either 1) Xine or 2) Gstreamer; your choice there.
- Phonon is a cover-it-up hide-it layer over everything below; it was brought out by the KDE people to make their life easier. When you have an app that uses it, force Phonon to connect only to Pulse.
I'm sure there are a few other pieces I'm forgetting now. My Suse 11.2 install generally seems to work out of the box with the above layout (I set up the stack manually from the config dialogs in each app). However, I don't use sophisticated sound hardware or software. Audacity worked straight away and I think I ran Ardour with no problem but I didn't use it for "work" so I don't recall for sure.
IMHO, most distros are very similar in their kernel setup and performance. The differences lie in the desktop appearance, the install procedures and to some extent in the pre-packaged apps available. I think the install capability with desktop ease of use (eg. don't have to search high and low to find the floppy you just inserted) top the list. None of them come close to my personal "best" desktop configuration and the biggest problem one has is eliminating all the options and applications that obscure your own basic tools. Ie. don't install everything, less is more, and when something isn't right, uninstall it. Linux has some of the best eye candy for the desktop but I personally despise the stuff... Oh well. <g>
I'll see if I can find the archives from when I was messing with sound if anybody wants links.
Cheers, Rufus
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stuartcnz
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My preference is to use Ardour for audio work, and that requires Jack for patching. The issue I am having is the hardware, which connects via USB. It has both input and output and Jack seems to be a bit confused about that. I have seen a work around on the forums, but haven't put the time into working it out though. I've also installed linux rt, but haven't figured out how it is configured into the system for real time yet.
My printer is a brother HL-4040cn. From memory I have the recommended drivers installed for it, but can't be certain at this point. It say's that there is not enough memory when I try printing with it, but as I mentioned earlier I'm not that concerned because I can just switch back to OSX when I need to print. Sometime I will figure out how to get it going.
Does Suse have a live CD version? I have downloaded a few live varieties to see what they look like. So far my preference for the desktop Gnome over KDE. I haven't tried any other desktops yet.
As an aside, could you tell us more about living aboard in San Francisco Rufus?
My printer is a brother HL-4040cn. From memory I have the recommended drivers installed for it, but can't be certain at this point. It say's that there is not enough memory when I try printing with it, but as I mentioned earlier I'm not that concerned because I can just switch back to OSX when I need to print. Sometime I will figure out how to get it going.
Does Suse have a live CD version? I have downloaded a few live varieties to see what they look like. So far my preference for the desktop Gnome over KDE. I haven't tried any other desktops yet.
As an aside, could you tell us more about living aboard in San Francisco Rufus?
https://stuartcrawfordmedia.com/
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
> Suse...
It does have "live" dvd. It uses KDE by default but includes Gnome and you can select it at install - swings both ways. <g> Actually I'm not totally sure the "live" version provides Gnome, but I think it does. I'll check with a friend who does installs all the time and see what he thinks. My only beef with the "live" version (which can optionally be installed fully) and also the "net install" is that the desktop defaults end up being slightly different in each case which is a pain when you're responsible for multiple systems. As I said, I'm old fashioned and the eye candy (read "Plasma" desktop) is over the top for me; I immediately set everything back to "Classic" so I can at least recognize the icons and find the menu items.
I just ran through my menus and didn't find Ardour. Since I doubt I uninstalled it I must have been thinking of some other app - sorry. Here's a link to some Ardour/Suse info.
http://ardour.org/node/3375
It sounds like it works good and I may try installing it to see. The note about getting related stuff from the same "repository" is a good one. Library versions can sometimes get crossed.
Rufus
It does have "live" dvd. It uses KDE by default but includes Gnome and you can select it at install - swings both ways. <g> Actually I'm not totally sure the "live" version provides Gnome, but I think it does. I'll check with a friend who does installs all the time and see what he thinks. My only beef with the "live" version (which can optionally be installed fully) and also the "net install" is that the desktop defaults end up being slightly different in each case which is a pain when you're responsible for multiple systems. As I said, I'm old fashioned and the eye candy (read "Plasma" desktop) is over the top for me; I immediately set everything back to "Classic" so I can at least recognize the icons and find the menu items.
I just ran through my menus and didn't find Ardour. Since I doubt I uninstalled it I must have been thinking of some other app - sorry. Here's a link to some Ardour/Suse info.
http://ardour.org/node/3375
It sounds like it works good and I may try installing it to see. The note about getting related stuff from the same "repository" is a good one. Library versions can sometimes get crossed.
Rufus
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stuartcnz
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Well I've been using Linux for awhile now, so thought I would give my impressions thus far.
A few months ago I built a system from the ground up, with all the bells and whistles (3.2Ghz quad core, multi threaded CPU, 24GB ram, 4X 1TB hard drives, dual HD monitors, etc)
I use one of the hard drives for all of my media files (audio, video, photo, etc), and another one to back up said media files.
The other two hard drives are partitioned three ways each. On the first partition I run Ubuntu 10.04 LTS 64 bit, with the studio collection and a low latency real time kernel. This is my main set up, which allows me to do all the audio, video, and photography production that I want. It took quite a long time to get everything set up and working, but it is now, including Jack.
Another partition of the same disk is formatted ext3 (the others are ext4) which is used to store virtual disks for VirtualBox, which I run from Ubuntu. The third partition has KXStudio, which is a multi-media production oriented Ubuntu derivitive running on KDE. I rarely boot into it, and may replace it with something else.
The last disk has Debian 6 Squeeze 64 bit on the first partition. I wouldn't have been able to use it when I first started on Linux, but having used Ubuntu (based on Debian) for awhile, I have learnt enough to be able to use it fairly comfortably now, and find it much more stable than Ubuntu.
Last night I installed Fedora 15 64 bit with Gnome 3 desktop onto the second partition. Part of the reason for choosing it was to see what Gnome 3 was like. So far I prefer working with Gnome 2, hopefully that will change with time, because Gnome 2 is no longer in development that I am aware of, so Gnome 3 will be used more and more now. I also find Debian's aptitude and apt much easier than Fedora's yum for software management.
I'm not sure what I'll put on the third partition yet. It is likely to be a toss up between CentOS, Gentoo, LinuxMint or a variety of BSD.
At this point I have a strong preference for Debian based Linux operating systems, using Gnome 2 for the desktop.
A few months ago I built a system from the ground up, with all the bells and whistles (3.2Ghz quad core, multi threaded CPU, 24GB ram, 4X 1TB hard drives, dual HD monitors, etc)
I use one of the hard drives for all of my media files (audio, video, photo, etc), and another one to back up said media files.
The other two hard drives are partitioned three ways each. On the first partition I run Ubuntu 10.04 LTS 64 bit, with the studio collection and a low latency real time kernel. This is my main set up, which allows me to do all the audio, video, and photography production that I want. It took quite a long time to get everything set up and working, but it is now, including Jack.
Another partition of the same disk is formatted ext3 (the others are ext4) which is used to store virtual disks for VirtualBox, which I run from Ubuntu. The third partition has KXStudio, which is a multi-media production oriented Ubuntu derivitive running on KDE. I rarely boot into it, and may replace it with something else.
The last disk has Debian 6 Squeeze 64 bit on the first partition. I wouldn't have been able to use it when I first started on Linux, but having used Ubuntu (based on Debian) for awhile, I have learnt enough to be able to use it fairly comfortably now, and find it much more stable than Ubuntu.
Last night I installed Fedora 15 64 bit with Gnome 3 desktop onto the second partition. Part of the reason for choosing it was to see what Gnome 3 was like. So far I prefer working with Gnome 2, hopefully that will change with time, because Gnome 2 is no longer in development that I am aware of, so Gnome 3 will be used more and more now. I also find Debian's aptitude and apt much easier than Fedora's yum for software management.
I'm not sure what I'll put on the third partition yet. It is likely to be a toss up between CentOS, Gentoo, LinuxMint or a variety of BSD.
At this point I have a strong preference for Debian based Linux operating systems, using Gnome 2 for the desktop.
https://stuartcrawfordmedia.com/
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https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
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stuartcnz
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I guess some Linux desktop photo's are in order:
The above photo is a shot of video editing in Linux, using the very powerful Cinelerra editing software. That particular project was shot in full HD 1920X1080 and edited into broadcast compliant MPEG4. Did I mention that the software and operating systems are all free!
The next shot, below is my standard Ubuntu desktop using Gnome 2
The next shot is of Debian, also using Gnome 2
The last photo is of Fedora 15 with Gnome 3
The above photo is a shot of video editing in Linux, using the very powerful Cinelerra editing software. That particular project was shot in full HD 1920X1080 and edited into broadcast compliant MPEG4. Did I mention that the software and operating systems are all free!
The next shot, below is my standard Ubuntu desktop using Gnome 2
The next shot is of Debian, also using Gnome 2
The last photo is of Fedora 15 with Gnome 3
https://stuartcrawfordmedia.com/
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
Stuart
Sounds like you have waded in and had a fine time in the (Linux) water. <g> Glad to hear it's floating your boat.
Since my mother passed away last July, I've been scrambling and slogging to reclaim her two 100 yr-old houses from my father's previous 50 years of benign neglect. Haven't had any time for much else except building PC to do the photo archiving stuff. We're not a sentimental family but my gawd - there's literally HUNDREDS of pics turning up, some from 60 years ago.
So I guess you are now the Linux multimedia guru here. Congrats! <g>
Rufus
Sounds like you have waded in and had a fine time in the (Linux) water. <g> Glad to hear it's floating your boat.
Since my mother passed away last July, I've been scrambling and slogging to reclaim her two 100 yr-old houses from my father's previous 50 years of benign neglect. Haven't had any time for much else except building PC to do the photo archiving stuff. We're not a sentimental family but my gawd - there's literally HUNDREDS of pics turning up, some from 60 years ago.
So I guess you are now the Linux multimedia guru here. Congrats! <g>
Rufus
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stuartcnz
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Rufus
Coming from Macs, it was a bit frustrating trying to use Linux, when I started. Fortunately I started with Ubuntu, which is probably the most user friendly variant, which is also getting easier to use with every release.
This computer was built specifically with multi media production in mind, hence the big horse power
. And yes, I believe I can point people towards a powerful Linux production setup, for most any angle of creativity now, be it sound, video, photograpy, or art. It is also excellent for programming and web development, if that is your thing.
Now I am just having fun playing with different Linux flavours. Today I am on the Debian partition. I'am able to access all of my media files, from any of the presently installed operating systems.
I believe that the basic Linux/GNU philosophies are a perfect fit to the nomadic/motorhome approach to life that the members here enjoy.
Coming from Macs, it was a bit frustrating trying to use Linux, when I started. Fortunately I started with Ubuntu, which is probably the most user friendly variant, which is also getting easier to use with every release.
This computer was built specifically with multi media production in mind, hence the big horse power
. And yes, I believe I can point people towards a powerful Linux production setup, for most any angle of creativity now, be it sound, video, photograpy, or art. It is also excellent for programming and web development, if that is your thing.Now I am just having fun playing with different Linux flavours. Today I am on the Debian partition. I'am able to access all of my media files, from any of the presently installed operating systems.
I believe that the basic Linux/GNU philosophies are a perfect fit to the nomadic/motorhome approach to life that the members here enjoy.
https://stuartcrawfordmedia.com/
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
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stuartcnz
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Today I installed CentOS 5.6 onto my computer. CentOS (community enterprise operating system) is basically Red Hat Enterprise Linux, without the branding from what I gather.
I consider a new system to be satisfactorily installed only when I can listen to my music collection on it, and have both monitors running at full resolution, and finally I have to be able to log on to Sharkey's.
I would have to say that this has been the most complicated OS to install on this computer, so far. That said, it feels like it has military armour plating for it's security systems. Actually, most of my OS's run SE Linux, which is a set of computer security tools, that were originally developed by the American military. This one just feels very very disciplined in maintaining it's security capabilities, which maybe why so many web hosting companies choose to use it.
Getting the nVidia drivers for my graphics card installed and configured was the hardest part, and took me well away from a graphical user interface to do it. As the X server had to be shut down to install them, I was stuck in a full screen terminal until I got it working.
Getting the audio codecs installed, so I could listen to music was a walk in the park in comparison. And just as I was finishing that, Rudy called. That last bit kind of ties in too, as my phone is an Ooma (www.ooma.com) which works on VOIP (voice over internet protocol) and happens to be powered by linux.
I consider a new system to be satisfactorily installed only when I can listen to my music collection on it, and have both monitors running at full resolution, and finally I have to be able to log on to Sharkey's.
I would have to say that this has been the most complicated OS to install on this computer, so far. That said, it feels like it has military armour plating for it's security systems. Actually, most of my OS's run SE Linux, which is a set of computer security tools, that were originally developed by the American military. This one just feels very very disciplined in maintaining it's security capabilities, which maybe why so many web hosting companies choose to use it.
Getting the nVidia drivers for my graphics card installed and configured was the hardest part, and took me well away from a graphical user interface to do it. As the X server had to be shut down to install them, I was stuck in a full screen terminal until I got it working.
Getting the audio codecs installed, so I could listen to music was a walk in the park in comparison. And just as I was finishing that, Rudy called. That last bit kind of ties in too, as my phone is an Ooma (www.ooma.com) which works on VOIP (voice over internet protocol) and happens to be powered by linux.
https://stuartcrawfordmedia.com/
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
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stuartcnz
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Here's a screenshot of CentOS 5.6. It uses an earlier version of Gnome 2, than Ubuntu and Debian.
https://stuartcrawfordmedia.com/
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
https://nomadichome.org/
https://ethicallogistics.com/ Challenging the way you think.
JID:stuart@nomadicista.nz
Security vs. convenience and usability.
A trade off you can't avoid. I favor security and stability myself - costs less in the mid-long run. But there are many levels.
Another consideration is how upgrades and patches are distributed - in particular, how long a base installation will be viable. A friend found that her Suse 11.0 "ran out" (security patches no longer available) after 3 years and I heard that the new policy is 18 months support for any major release. This is way inadequet to my mind - I never upgrade or change unless there is some compelling reason but I do want to maintain current security patches. Not sure what distro comes out best this way.
Rufus
A trade off you can't avoid. I favor security and stability myself - costs less in the mid-long run. But there are many levels.
Another consideration is how upgrades and patches are distributed - in particular, how long a base installation will be viable. A friend found that her Suse 11.0 "ran out" (security patches no longer available) after 3 years and I heard that the new policy is 18 months support for any major release. This is way inadequet to my mind - I never upgrade or change unless there is some compelling reason but I do want to maintain current security patches. Not sure what distro comes out best this way.
Rufus
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