Rocky's Coffee Club II point 16

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Message 1078612 - Posted: 18 Feb 2011, 2:03:09 UTC

Rocky was a friend of mine. And though we served on different coasts, we were both in the Navy at one time. Now many of you know, that while on shore duty, sailors would get together and form a coffee club, so that there would always be that life-blood available first thing in the morning. So, go ahead and post your messages and chit-chat here, like you were drinking coffee with your mates.

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Message 1078613 - Posted: 18 Feb 2011, 2:05:15 UTC

Time for a new Rocky's Coffee Club. I actually wanted to open a new one yesterday but I couldn't get to the initial post as "point 15" was locked.
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Message 1080522 - Posted: 23 Feb 2011, 3:58:13 UTC

I was bored last night so decided to try a different version (Bistro) of Linux. I downloaded Mandriva Linux, all 3.8 Gigabytes of it. All out of DVD's so a friend gave me one, burned it as an ISO. Then installed it on one of the three hard drives I have in my PC. The install was successful according to the install wizard. Restarted the computer as directed and a screen with a green box came up with nothing in it.. lol!! Well, it wasn't so funny at the time but...

So I'm back to open Suse Linux. Now if I can get SETI installed, get a good driver for my security camera's and encrypt the whole drive, I'll be in business. Nothing is easy with Linux, not compared to windows. That's my main gripe with Linux. If it wasn't for that fact I would stick with it and never use windows again. Still waiting for the day you can download a program on Linux, double click on it and it's installed. Doubt that will ever come to be.

So, here's my question for anyone in the know.. What's the best Bistro of Linux for someone who's a novice? By best I mean can easily install programs and has support for a wide array of hardware.

Is there such a thing as a version of Linux that you can download programs to (Say the desktop) click on it and it simply installs? If not, why not?

Every time I get on Linux it feels like I'm learning a new language.. I just want it to work and with simplicity.
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Message 1080528 - Posted: 23 Feb 2011, 4:21:58 UTC - in response to Message 1080522.  

I was bored last night so decided to try a different version (Bistro) of Linux. I downloaded Mandriva Linux, all 3.8 Gigabytes of it. All out of DVD's so a friend gave me one, burned it as an ISO. Then installed it on one of the three hard drives I have in my PC. The install was successful according to the install wizard. Restarted the computer as directed and a screen with a green box came up with nothing in it.. lol!! Well, it wasn't so funny at the time but...

So I'm back to open Suse Linux. Now if I can get SETI installed, get a good driver for my security camera's and encrypt the whole drive, I'll be in business. Nothing is easy with Linux, not compared to windows. That's my main gripe with Linux. If it wasn't for that fact I would stick with it and never use windows again. Still waiting for the day you can download a program on Linux, double click on it and it's installed. Doubt that will ever come to be.

So, here's my question for anyone in the know.. What's the best Bistro of Linux for someone who's a novice? By best I mean can easily install programs and has support for a wide array of hardware.

Is there such a thing as a version of Linux that you can download programs to (Say the desktop) click on it and it simply installs? If not, why not?
Every time I get on Linux it feels like I'm learning a new language.. I just want it to work and with simplicity.

Giving an answer as to which is better is a good way to start a flame war. I don't know as I don't play the Linux game.

I also doubt that Linux ever will reach the double click level. The groups who use it really don't care about that as they tend to have taken computer science courses. It isn't technically impossible. Unix(R) on the Mac OSX shows what can be done with some $$ and direction. It is so well done there are people who swear Mac OSX isn't Unix(R).

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Message 1080530 - Posted: 23 Feb 2011, 4:28:07 UTC

I've been using SuSE Linux for years. I am now using version 11.1 but plan to upgrade to 11.4 on a new disk when it comes out, conserving the old disk as a backup. I am running 6 BOINC projects on an Opteron 1210 CPU, no GPU, on a 24/7 basis. One of them is a VirtualMachine using Virtual Box. I have also a Solaris guest OS running a BOINC client and a SETI@home app by Dotsch.I am using Sun's Open Office, Firefox and Seamonkey browsers. My GUI is KDE on Linux and Gnome on Solaris,I can stream music via VLC and RealPlayer, and all NASA streaming videos via Mplayer, compiled by me.I can download pictures from my Sony digital camera and print them on my HP 2400 printer. I have also Skype.
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Message 1080531 - Posted: 23 Feb 2011, 4:49:53 UTC - in response to Message 1080528.  
Last modified: 23 Feb 2011, 4:50:18 UTC


Giving an answer as to which is better is a good way to start a flame war. I don't know as I don't play the Linux game.

I also doubt that Linux ever will reach the double click level. The groups who use it really don't care about that as they tend to have taken computer science courses. It isn't technically impossible. Unix(R) on the Mac OSX shows what can be done with some $$ and direction. It is so well done there are people who swear Mac OSX isn't Unix(R).


No, I'm not interested in any flame wars. Had my fill of them here long ago.

That's really ashame. Linux could easily take over the majority of operating systems if they just made it simpler to use. Mac's are good but there just too expensive and the whole idea with Linux is free and open source.
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Message 1080533 - Posted: 23 Feb 2011, 4:56:51 UTC - in response to Message 1080530.  

I've been using SuSE Linux for years. I am now using version 11.1 but plan to upgrade to 11.4 on a new disk when it comes out, conserving the old disk as a backup. I am running 6 BOINC projects on an Opteron 1210 CPU, no GPU, on a 24/7 basis. One of them is a VirtualMachine using Virtual Box. I have also a Solaris guest OS running a BOINC client and a SETI@home app by Dotsch.I am using Sun's Open Office, Firefox and Seamonkey browsers. My GUI is KDE on Linux and Gnome on Solaris,I can stream music via VLC and RealPlayer, and all NASA streaming videos via Mplayer, compiled by me.I can download pictures from my Sony digital camera and print them on my HP 2400 printer. I have also Skype.
Tullio


Thanks Tullio. I've used Suse quite a bit but it's still like pulling teethe to do things that windows does with a simple double click of the mouse. I'm sure it's simple for you, like you said you even compile your own programs.
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Message 1080593 - Posted: 23 Feb 2011, 9:28:55 UTC

I'd give Ubuntu a try.

Easy and linux tends to be something of an oxymoron - unless you go Mac ;)
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Message 1080594 - Posted: 23 Feb 2011, 9:38:51 UTC

Like Scott McNealy, the former SUN boss, said recently if Solaris had been free Linux would not even exist. I have used the Onyx computers designed by McNealy running UNIX version 7 and they were easy to use. Hard disks (then called Winchester) were very fragile and we used to do daily incremental backups on streaming tape with only two commands, dump and restore.This was in the Eighties. Happy days!
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Message 1080891 - Posted: 24 Feb 2011, 7:44:36 UTC - in response to Message 1080593.  

I'd give Ubuntu a try.

Easy and linux tends to be something of an oxymoron - unless you go Mac ;)


Well, I downloaded and burned the iso image for Ubuntu. It will not install and after trying three versions of Linux with the same results I'm looking for some other problem causing it. My disk encryption has it's own bootloader and I'm starting to suspect it's the problem or it's encrypting everything I download on the fly (Which is how I configured it). And of course an encrypted .iso file can't install on another drive because the drive can't read it without the encryption program installed.

I was going to disable it but was given some dire warnings about being permanently locked out of the operating system. I need to do a serious backup before attempting that. And I need to make sure the backed up files can be veiwed on a different unencrypted computer. This is somewhat scary since I have virtually everything important to me encrypted on different drives.
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Message 1080904 - Posted: 24 Feb 2011, 8:54:41 UTC

On old UNIX systems there were to commands "crypt" and "uncrypt" by which you cold crypt a file. Then they were taken off for security reasons. I never used them since I was afraid I could forgive the key and not be able to read my files.
Tullio
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Message 1080978 - Posted: 24 Feb 2011, 17:13:16 UTC - in response to Message 1080904.  

On old UNIX systems there were to commands "crypt" and "uncrypt" by which you cold crypt a file. Then they were taken off for security reasons. I never used them since I was afraid I could forgive the key and not be able to read my files.
Tullio


I encrypted everything because we were having (Still are) a slew of house robberies in my area. I was more concerned about someone getting all my personal information than anything else.. Bank account login, email tax forms, etc.

So it's a trade from one fear to another. If my operating system goes bad for some reason, the operating system disk can't even read to repair it. Crazy stuff.

I'm going to forget about Linux for awhile until I can clone my whole drive as a backup in case I inadvertently frag it.
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Message 1080989 - Posted: 24 Feb 2011, 18:05:59 UTC

Well, I wish thieves would carry away my three old computers. But they are interested only in gold, jewels, money and new flat screen TV sets. So i don't worry, I have none of these objects.
Tullio
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Message 1081018 - Posted: 24 Feb 2011, 21:51:50 UTC - in response to Message 1080989.  
Last modified: 24 Feb 2011, 21:52:45 UTC

Well, I wish thieves would carry away my three old computers. But they are interested only in gold, jewels, money and new flat screen TV sets. So i don't worry, I have none of these objects.
Tullio


We have quite a few game systems, 3 flat screen TV's and more junk than I want to think about. The only gold we have is around my sons neck and never have cash laying around. My computer is the single most valuable thing in the house not counting furniture or my truck. Most robbers don't take your furniture.. It's too much work for them. lol
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Message 1081265 - Posted: 25 Feb 2011, 18:26:49 UTC

16 months ago I bought a Dell with an Intel Core i7 processor and 8 GB of memory. It's a fast gaming machine, even though I don't play games. The warranty period is, of course, 12 months. Last month it appeared that the power supply went out, as pressing the power button had no effect. I had a new power supply put in but now the computer freezes up for no reason and it has to be rebooted a number of times until it warms up. Luckily, the power supply is still under local warranty by the shop that put it in.

I don't know why I buy Dell computers. I've always been dissatisfied with their quality, and their practice of using proprietary parts. I guess I'll bring it back to the shop and installed the power supply and see if they can diagnose the freezing up problem.
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Message 1081270 - Posted: 25 Feb 2011, 19:06:56 UTC
Last modified: 25 Feb 2011, 19:08:25 UTC

I have an IBM PC with WIN98SE, an AT&T UNIX PC with a Motorola 68010 and a SUN M20 Workstation with an Opteron 1210 at 1.8 GHz, all in working order. I have no graphic board and the SUN is running 24/7 since January 2008, so three years. I keep them as long as they work. My SUN WS is running 6 BOINC projects. It has an open front panel which resembles the radiator of a Lancia Aprilia, which means that the airflow is good.
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Message 1081282 - Posted: 25 Feb 2011, 19:33:51 UTC - in response to Message 1081265.  

16 months ago I bought a Dell with an Intel Core i7 processor and 8 GB of memory. It's a fast gaming machine, even though I don't play games. The warranty period is, of course, 12 months. Last month it appeared that the power supply went out, as pressing the power button had no effect. I had a new power supply put in but now the computer freezes up for no reason and it has to be rebooted a number of times until it warms up. Luckily, the power supply is still under local warranty by the shop that put it in.

I don't know why I buy Dell computers. I've always been dissatisfied with their quality, and their practice of using proprietary parts. I guess I'll bring it back to the shop and installed the power supply and see if they can diagnose the freezing up problem.

That sucks. I've got 2 Dells, a desktop and a laptop. Desktop is going on 3 years I believe, and no hardware problems as of yet, and my laptop for 1.5 years, only thing with it is I had to replace the power cord. So I don't know why you would have such luck with yours. Could it be due to the fact the computer has to come by air and gets bounced around a bit?
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Message 1081298 - Posted: 25 Feb 2011, 20:32:53 UTC - in response to Message 1081282.  

That sucks. I've got 2 Dells, a desktop and a laptop. Desktop is going on 3 years I believe, and no hardware problems as of yet, and my laptop for 1.5 years, only thing with it is I had to replace the power cord. So I don't know why you would have such luck with yours. Could it be due to the fact the computer has to come by air and gets bounced around a bit?

It seemed pretty well padded with the usual Styrofoam packing; and it worked the for the first 15 months. I have had Dells in the past and they lasted longer, but if I wanted to replace or upgrade some component, like memory or a hard drive, I often found that the connectors or type or component were only available from Dell.
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Message 1081301 - Posted: 25 Feb 2011, 20:35:14 UTC
Last modified: 25 Feb 2011, 20:35:35 UTC

My 4 PCs are all custom built and running OK.

The oldest is a W2K pro SP4 dual P3@933MHz server, on a SuperMicro server MoBo, and is still crunching projects after 10 years of fault free running on the GPUs. My next oldest is a dual Prestonia Xeon server, on an Intel server MoBo, under XP Pro 32bit SP3 and crunches projects on both the CPUs and GPU for the last 7 years hardware wise fault free.

The other 2 are more recent quads, but up to 3 years old, relatively fault free (except one ate PSUs due to a short). These run projects on both their CPUs and GPUs.

I must say I have never been attracted to PCs built by the big vendors like Dell, and I think the reliability I have (quickly touches wood) shows that.
It's good to be back amongst friends and colleagues



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Message 1081324 - Posted: 25 Feb 2011, 22:13:31 UTC

At the places I've worked they have had a mixture of machines, HP, Dell, Apple. Drives failed a bit, but you can't blame the maker for that. I think I've only had two true MOBO failures one on a HP and one on a Dell. On the HP, running as a file server, about a month before if totally died it started returning w/u's that did not validate. Then one day we came in and it was flashing the keyboard lights and quite dead. Four years later the drive still lives in an eternal case at my house. The Dell was bought used and then put into a dusty environment and never had the dust bunnies blown out.

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