Mickymouse said:
I have investigated Ubunto and Mandriva either look like they would do for a beginner like me.
Any Linux users out there who can give a newby some tips on getting started TIA
I can't help much, but a few months ago I installed Mandriva and then Ubuntu. The change to Ubuntu was because most of the Linux programs I wanted to run were precompliled for Ubuntu and less were available pre-compiled for Mandriva.
The support forum for Ubuntu is excellent.
Both installed easily and connecting into my small network and to the internet was a lot easier than adding a Windows box. Printing thorugh my HP inkjet was easy and adding my epson scanner was easy, but I failed totally to get my "Linux ready" Samsung CLP500 to work. Searching around the forums conformed that the CLP500 just doesn't work with Linux even though Samsung provide Linux drivers, and it seems there are still a few compatability problems with some printers. So check out your printer options on the web.
I bought a copy of Codeweavers Cross over office, and happily ran MSoffice 2000 in Linux. However, trying to install MSoffice 2003, gave me a corrupt file warning that prevented installing. Installng from the same CD onto a new Windows box some months later worked perfectly. Having said that OpenOffice is much better than MSOffice so unless you have a specific need for MSoffice this shoudln't be an issue.
Although many aspects of installing and running Ubuntu went really well, there were several things that were really difficult or tedious. The printer issue drove me nuts, as I tried out lots of suggestions to try and get it to work. getting some movies to run, that use proprietry code that need additional downloads and fiddling about I never got to work even though I followed the advice to the letter.
So a bit mixed, and for reasons of space and needing to make room for a new Windows box, I am no longer using Linux.
However, I will certainly go back to it and there are now a couple of books out on using Ubuntu which weren't available when I started. But the printer issue is still a problem. The recently released A3 inkjet that I was hoping to buy isn't Linux compatable and it does seem your choice of laser printers are restricted. Plus as I said there is still a mix of some things being incredibily easy to get working and others extremely difficult.
So, be prepared to spend time learning, and expect some frustration along the way.
Graham
