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Neutron

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Nov 7, 2003
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Who here has dabbled in Linux or runs a Linux machine?

After a hard drive crash this weekend and installing a new hard drive I decided to have a dual boot system with Windows XP so I can learn Linux. I downloaded the Mandrake Linux 10.1 distro and have it installed. Just did my first kernel compilation with a driver to make my wireless NIC work. Got it up and running. Does anyone have any suggestions for a newbie?
 
I just downloaded the Mandrake ISO's the other day, I have yet to install it, but plan to as soon as I get a chance.
 
I really like the look of KDE. The install process was painless (Mandrake is known for this) but I have noticed that bootup takes a lot longer than I think it should.

Mandrake 10.1 has support for wireless NICs already, but I still had to download an experimental driver for my Netgear MA111 USB adapter.

I dabbled in Linux some about 5-6 years ago for a bit but was discouraged from having to learn a new OS all over again. This time I'm really going to learn it. :)

I have Mozilla Firefox 1.0PR installed and Thunderbird installed. Not sure what the differences are between that and Konqueror and KMail.

I would like to learn Apache as well.
 
Cascade said:
Tuxcoder is a lunix guru, he'll sort you out.
:D a regular 'lunix' 'linatuc' ;)
I'm a very 'low-level' linux user. :) I do kernel programming and distribution customizations at work and shell scripting (and assembly language, x86 and PDP-11 :D) in my spare time at home. I live mostly in text mode (virtual consoles) except to run an X server time to time simply for multiple xterms (managed with FVWM2 or Blackbox, no KDE/Gnome/CDE/etc. here).

But that being said, I'm happy to assist with any commands you need help with. Or help with what file to work with to change this or that setting, fine-tune the system, or whatever. And I run Apache on my home server, it's a very nice web server, "some" questions on that I could help with.

SuSE is another great distribution with easy installation.
 
I've gotten so used to Windows way of installing things that I had to think back to the old DOS days on actually running commands. I'm used to the "make config" "make install" "make all" commands so far. I keep telling myself that .tar files are the equivilant of .zip files.

I believe Mandrake 10.1 is running the 2.6.8 kernel. I don't even want to know the process of upgrading the kernel. I've heard it's a pain. :(

I installed Firefox and Thunderbird as I mentioned before. I created links to them on my desktop. I go to try to change the icon and it keeps wanting to change the link from the program to the icon. How do I do this correctly?

Also, where is the Kaffeine executable located so I can tell Firefox where to point to to play movie files?
 
Neutron said:
I believe Mandrake 10.1 is running the 2.6.8 kernel. I don't even want to know the process of upgrading the kernel. I've heard it's a pain. :(
But earlier you said you already succeeded in a kernel compile? That's the same process you do to upgrade the kernel. Unless you just upgrade your "kernel" precompiled binary package, in which case it's even easier.

The trick to upgrading the kernel via a new compile is "make oldconfig". Extract the new kernel sources to a new directory and put in there your .config file from the source directory of your working kernel, and do "make oldconfig". All options common between the old and new versions (99%) will fly by with your previous answers, and it will wait for your response on all new options (1% or so).
I installed Firefox and Thunderbird as I mentioned before. I created links to them on my desktop. I go to try to change the icon and it keeps wanting to change the link from the program to the icon. How do I do this correctly?
As I said, I'm not into KDE or any of those newfangled desktop managers. I keep it simple. :)
But I'll try to remember to ask around tomorrow at work.
Also, where is the Kaffeine executable located so I can tell Firefox where to point to to play movie files?
Ahh, here's a very useful command to do just that:
which kaffeine
The 'which' command looks in your PATH for the first matching binary of the given name. This effectively tells you 'which' one will run (in case you have two different locations in your path with the same name).

If that doesn't work, I think you can go through the K (start-ish) menu to highlight Kaffeine and right-click on it and go to properties (or what KDE calls it, I forget) and in there it should have the executable path.

Or if all else fails do:
find / -name kaffeine
That will show you where any and all files named kaffeine are. Linux is case-sensitive, and 99% of all binaries are all lowercase letters.
 
What I did yesterday was just add the wireless NIC driver to the kernel. I'm talking about when I go to upgrade the kernel itself, say 2.8 comes out and I want to update my 2.6. :) Sorry about not making myself clearer. :)

Please let me know what you find out at work about how I can get KDE to do what I want with the icons. Linux is a big learning curve for me. :)

Thank you so much for your help!!
 
I have been dabbling in Linux myself. I have SuSe 9.1 and Mandrake 10. I want to can XP completely but as a Windows sysadmin that would be impossible. I never did get my wireless working ... and wine seems to kick my butt anytime I try to do windows in Linux.

I have found that crossover office is the best thing since sliced bread but with open office included I may dump the MS office all together. Tuxcoder is a true power-user (far as I can see) he could help us with the though stuff but there is another forum, linuxquestions.org that has a ton of info too.
 
Neutron said:
slacker, try www.linux-wlan.org for your wireless driver. Get the pre20 driver. It worked for me.

Thanks for the assist Jason but I ran a LAN drop though the wall about 2 months ago.

You know what I like about Linux the most ... the unfiltered, cold, colorful clarity of the video on it. It looks 100x better than Windows.
 
I noticed that too. I like the video quality on Linux as well. Makes you wonder why Windows makes it look bad.
 
I am on my Linux side now ... I am getting an 80GB upgrade this weekend, repartitioning out to be fun ... glad I have a backup!!!
 
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