switching to Linux
 

getting bored of XP and want something to play around with.

I do web development, working in HTML, CSS, some PHP and MySQL and limited Java.

I use dreamweaver right now to keep track of my files and FTP access. However, I'd just as happily switch over to firefox and eclipse for my programming needs.

I like computer games too, such as Oblivion. What would I need in order to play games on a linux box, XP emulator?

Is Ubuntu any good? I know dell is using it, which doesn't say much...

I also have a partitioned hard drive, I assume my best best would be to convert the HD to a dynamic HD and then reformat the computer?

ubunutu is a great distro. however if you're new to linux i'd recommend fedora core 5 or 6.

as far as playing the games you can get Wine which can play a lot of games, if you feel like spending like 10 bucks get Transgaming Cedega.

If you're into pirating download VMware which you can emulate any OS within a window on the desktop. i.e. Windows XP window for a game while you're still on linux.

Basically just kill disk the hd and install linux. you could dual boot if you want to as well...if you need any help let me know and I'll see what I can do

I had a dual boot with red hat..hence the partition...lol

kill disk?

active kill disk will make a clean wipe of the drive so there won't be any errors. o ok i didnt know about the partition.

were you any good with redhat?

I didn't use red hat because of the dual boot... I went with the OS I knew... lol. I want to wipe XP and just have Linux so I'm forced to use it. Red Hat was easy enough to use though. I didn't really get into it though due to the above reason for not using it too often.

i just switched over to linux. right now im running dual boot with Ubuntu and xp, I'm just having trouble right now shutting off my mouse pointer (the little stick thing in the middle of the keyboard) because mine, like most other dells is malfunctioning and its pissing me off. But other than that i like it so far

I think I'm going to use a partition software to reduce the windows partition in size and allocate more space to another partition to run ubuntu and dual boot the computer so taht I can use XP to play games and Linux for everything else...

This way I'm not soooo terrified about just removing XP, lol

Ubuntu is a very good distribution and is fairly easy to use. Fedora Core 6 is also a good choice.

Carefull with partition resizing programs. Deffinitly back everything up!

ya i use ubuntu also

You all are nerds!

I am actually not a fan of linux workstations but Ubuntu and Fedora are good choices. If your real hardcore use Gentoo and take the 3 weeks to install it. If we were talking about servers then its a whole different story.

yeah, unfortunatly my CD/DVD burner does not complete a job, burns to the disk then throws an error... so everything I want to save gets tossed up on my website, lol. It'll be removed from windows partition anyway just in case I get the sudden urge to wipe the HD and start fresh...

the HD is already partitioned... is there anyway to remove the partition? I know I couldn't with "partition magic"

I want to build some pc's on the side, if I'm familier with Linux I can install it and set it up and charge a cheaper price than if I were to charge for the OX purchase as well as set-up :cyberguy:

Ohh I never said there wasn't advantages to it... I am a unix administrator by trade but for the everyday person, its just not there yet. X sucks in my book.

I haven't had much experience with it so I want to give it a dedicated try. And I'm getting bored with XP...

I'm a personal SuSe addict.

Been using it for years and couldn't be happier.

I'd say:

- SuSE
- Fedora
- Ubuntu

That order.

Using SuSE at work here :) with Fluxbox. It runs extremely fast.

I'm not sure I understand what you are asking. What partition do you want to get rid of? If you have partitions you want to remove and install Linux in the freed space, just use the built-in partitioner with whatever distro you use. Gparted is also another option. It is a live CD that will help you manage your partitions (and you don't have to pay for or install anything).

You will get varying opinions from the Linux crowd as to the "Best" dirstro. IMO, Ubuntu/Kubuntu are among the best for beginners. For the most part they will automatically detect and properly install a wide variety of hardware.

I started with Fedora with X on an old computer as a web server. Shortly after that I went to Debian which is headless (no GUI, but you can install one). I have been using Ubuntu/Kubuntu on my laptop for 1.5 years. I am in the process of installing Debian on it now (which is what the previous two are based off of).

my HD is set up like this:
Partition 1: Windows XP, 80gb or so
Partition 2: Recovery (d:)
Partition 3: Programming files
Partition 4: invoices
Partition 5: music

I want to combined 3, 4 and 5 and cut the space on 1 to around 50 gb till I have everything backed up, have linux set up, running well, and familier with before removing software from XP and reducing the gb's some more.

Also... what are the differences between Gnome and KDE Desktop?

I'm also considering starting off with Xubuntu for the faster GUI. And it supports apps from both Gnome and KDE.