Thanks for all the info Richard. I'm already feeling SO superior to all those morons who don't run Ubuntu!
I will probably try out VirtualBox since it's free and probably also a dual boot on my Windows 7 box since the only thing I ever do on Windows is test out LC apps developed on my Mac, although it is a pretty new computer so I may run into the driver issues you mentioned. Pete On Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 4:39 PM, Richard Gaskin <ambassa...@fourthworld.com>wrote: > Pete wrote: > > > Hi Richard, > > This thread has been very interesting to me as I'm considering > > getting a computer to run Linux. > ... > > > But where do I buy a computer that runs Linux and what version of > > Linux (if that's the right term) I need? > > Every distro has its fans, some quite passionate. There's a running gag > in the Ubuntu forums that whenever someone encounters an issue that's hard > to solve, the answer is "use Arch". :) > > Personally I like Ubuntu, and as a developer it's important to me that I'm > working with the most popular distro (an estimated one-third of Linus > desktops are running Ubuntu). With its mandate of "Linux for Human > Beings", it's provided a good experience for me. > > Mark Weider uses Fedora, and I've enjoyed that one as well. Linux Mint > is another good choice. > > Whichever you choose, be sure to post all over the Internet that users of > other distros or OSes are stupid fanbois who just don't get what Linux is > all about! That'll help keep the myth of the Linux community alive for > those who have no familiarity with it. :) > > > If you were in the market for a computer with Ubuntu pre-installed, these > companies are good options: > > <http://www.system76.com/> > <http://zareason.com> > <http://linucity.com> > > While all three are very reputable vendors, the last there, LinuCity, is > owned by my friend Aviv and I can personally vouch for the quality of > service he provides. > > For more options, Canonical maintains a list of computers from major > vendors they've worked with that have undergone their certification process: > <http://www.ubuntu.com/**certification<http://www.ubuntu.com/certification> > > > > Note that that's only a subset of computers Ubuntu is compatible with. > There are only so many hours in the day, and even a billionaire like Mark > Shuttleworth can't afford to certify everything it runs on. > > > One upside to Linux being mostly installed on computers designed for some > other OS is that it expects that challenge and usually meets it pretty > well. In my own experience, every machine I've installed it on has worked > great out of the box. The only time I needed a special driver was for the > NVideo card on my Dell Vostro, and Ubuntu identified that and prompted me > to install it with one click on first boot. > > > > > I already have a Windows laptop that I only use for testing out the > > LC apps I develop on my Mac. I don't really want another computer. > > It seems like Apple has just about shut the door on running anything > > but OS X on their computers. Can I install Linux on my Windows > > computer a dual boot it somehow? > > And even on your Mac. Apple's OS X EULA only prevents you from legally > installing it on anything other than "an Apple branded computer", but their > computers are frequently used by members of the Ubuntu forum for running > Linux. Boot camp is a natural fit for that sort of thing. > > Because Apple tends to get specialized components, it can sometimes be > trickier to get a solid install on a Mac than on popular PCs where the > components are in such wide use that there are plenty of good drivers for > them. > > Dual-booting with Windows is a popular option, esp. among gamers because > Windows still rules the roost with the games market. I've set up dual-boot > systems before and it's not hard (the Ubuntu installer includes options for > that), but personally I found I was booting into Windows so rarely that I > ditched that partition and put Windows into a VM within Ubuntu. > > In general, the sweet spot for Linux is computers between two and six > years old. It can often run on newer systems, and even most older ones > (Puppy Linux can run on darn near anything), but if a computer's too old it > won't have the horsepower to deliver a great experience with the latest > Linux distros, and if it's too new there's a chance of needing a driver > that hasn't been made available yet. Even then there's almost always a way > to get things to work, but for a simple first-time experience the > two-to-six years guideline may be helpful for systems that haven't been > certified. > > Most of the popular distros allow an option to run the OS from CD or USB > drive, so you can try it out on a machine without having to install > anything. > > If you grab the Ubuntu ISO disk image here and burn it do CD, you can boot > from that CD and see what works and what doesn't on your machine: > <http://www.ubuntu.com/**download/ubuntu/download<http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download> > > > > If you decide to install, the lovely Nixie Pixel teaches you how in her > five-minute video: > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?**v=GhnLk3gviWY<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhnLk3gviWY> > > > > :) > > Nixie's fun, but really the Ubuntu installer is so simple you probably > won't need any help with that. I find it very similar to the OS X > installer, and much simpler than installing Windows. > > Another way to explore Linux is in a VM. I use VirtualBox on all my > systems (thanks to Mark Weider for the recommendaton), and here it > outperforms Parallels in restoring sessions, taking less than half the > time. Doesn't hurt that it's also free (in both senses of the word): > <https://www.virtualbox.org/> > > > If you run into any snags feel free to drop me an email, or you can find > me in the Ubuntu forums under the screen name rg4w. > > Have fun! Let us know how it goes. > > The LiveCode engine for Linux isn't quite on par with their engines for > Mac and Win, but it's been much improved in recent years and in most areas > runs like a champ. > > > -- > Richard Gaskin > Fourth World > LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com > Webzine for LiveCode developers: http://www.LiveCodeJournal.com > LiveCode Journal blog: > http://LiveCodejournal.com/**blog.irv<http://LiveCodejournal.com/blog.irv> > > > ______________________________**_________________ > use-livecode mailing list > use-livecode@lists.runrev.com > Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your > subscription preferences: > http://lists.runrev.com/**mailman/listinfo/use-livecode<http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode> > > -- Pete Molly's Revenge <http://www.mollysrevenge.com> _______________________________________________ use-livecode mailing list use-livecode@lists.runrev.com Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
