Nasties on PC!!

[launched]

Ubuntu... sounds like the name of a planet on Star Trek 

That's funny - Only the geeks would know, Greeny. You are way too cool for that stuff!!

[Flash Harry]

Oh the joys of Sendmail!  Recompile every time you want to make a change!

Fab!

Like they say, in a UNIX aeroplane, bring your own seat.

Hup Hup!

[Ferryman]

Nerf guns, anyone?

[64Guitars]

Linux has come a long way in recent years and I think ubuntu is more user-friendly and polished than any flavour of Windows. But don't take my word for it. Give it a try! Download the ISO disk image and burn it to a CD, then simply boot your computer from the CD. You don't have to install anything. It will run entirely from the CD so that you can evaluate it without affecting your Windows installation in any way.

The ubuntu CD contains all of the basic apps most users will need pre-installed:

• Firefox web browser
• e-mail
• OpenOffice suite with word processor, spreadsheet, drawing, and presentation. These are compatible with Microsoft Office so you can load your MS documents without any trouble.
• GIMP Image Editor (comparable to Adobe Photoshop).
• Movie player.
• Music player (plays MP3s, WAVs, etc).
• CD/DVD burning app

.. and more.

If you like what you see, you can install ubuntu to your hard drive by clicking the Install icon on the ubuntu desktop.

If you like ubuntu but you're not yet ready to abandon your Windows apps, you can install most of them in ubuntu under Wine. I use Wine to run the BR Wave Converter and Rhythm Editor, for example. Also, you have the option of installing ubuntu in a dual-boot configuration. This lets you keep your Windows installation. When you boot your computer, a menu will be displayed with options for loading Windows or ubuntu. Just select the OS you want to use and press Enter to load it. I chose such a dual-boot XP/ubuntu configuration when I first tried ubuntu over a year ago. But I found that I hardly ever used Windows. So, when I recently bought a new computer, I installed only ubuntu on it. If ever I need to look at something in Windows, I can always boot up my old computer with XP. But I'm sure I'll seldom, if ever, need to do that because ubuntu has everything I need.

Give it a try! You've nothing to lose by merely booting from the ubuntu CD. And, if nothing else, it makes a great rescue CD for when your Windows installation dies and you can't access any of your files. Just pop the CD in the drive and reboot. You can then copy files, check your mail, and perhaps most importantly, catch up on the messages at BossBr.net. 

[64Guitars]

Maybe it's time to look again - I was thinking about putting together a DAW - Any suggestions?

I don't use a DAW (other than Audacity) because I prefer to do everything on my BR-864. But I've heard good things about Ardour.

There is also an ubuntu distribution called ubuntu studio which is geared toward multimedia and includes many audio apps such as Ardour, Audacity, several synthesizers, midi sequencers and samplers, Hydrogen (great drum machine), effects, soundfonts, and plug-ins. I haven't tried it myself but it looks pretty good. Of course, you can just get the standard ubuntu instead and install all of these apps yourself. Ubuntu Studio just saves you the trouble. And you can try it out by burning the ISO disk image to a DVD and booting from it, with all the apps pre-installed on the DVD.

[launched]

There is also an ubuntu distribution called ubuntu studio which is geared toward multimedia

The .iso and ubuntu studio are definitely worth looking into - Thanks!!

Nerf guns, anyone?

Bring it on!! My cousin's kids pelted me mercilessly with those things the other day and I need some payback!!

[guitarron]

i am intrigued-
i'm considerind a dual boot
would i have to partition my drive or can i just install it on my c drive?
or does it run off of the cd?

[launched]

or does it run off of the cd?

From what 64Guitars says, I think it does - not sure what the limitations are, though. I'm going to try this first and if I'm satisfied will go straight to Ubuntu Studio.

You should be able to dual boot, but you would have to use partitioning software if you only have one partition that spans the hard drive.

I am kind of looking forward to this. I'll probably post a separate thread if things go well.

Later,

Mark

Mark

[64Guitars]

i am intrigued-
i'm considerind a dual boot
would i have to partition my drive or can i just install it on my c drive?
or does it run off of the cd?

All of the above.

First, you can boot off the CD which is great for your initial evaluation of ubuntu since it doesn't affect your Windows installation at all. However, it's not practical for long-term usage of ubuntu. For that, you'd want to install it on your hard drive.

Secondly, you can install ubuntu without partitioning your hard drive by running the Wubi program from the ubuntu CD. See this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5x9iJWXbUY

Finally, the ubuntu installer includes a partitioner. It will detect that Windows is already installed on your hard drive and ask you if you want to resize the partition to make room for ubuntu. You can adjust the amount of space you want to allow for each OS.

Warning: Partitioning a hard drive is pretty serious stuff and could erase your Windows partition if you make a mistake. So backup your Windows partition before you attempt to resize it with the ubuntu installer. I've installed ubuntu on several systems and haven't had a problem yet, but I always backup just in case. Also, I'd recommend cleaning up your Windows partition and defragging it before you let the ubuntu installer resize it.

For more help with installing ubuntu, see the ubuntu screencasts:

http://screencasts.ubuntu.com/

There are also lots of videos on YouTube about installing ubuntu.

[guitarron]

will thw wine program allow me to run sonar?