[QUOTE=Exfoliate]
Linux has never looked better, reminds me of the default OS X background:good:, I’m assuming you downloaded that theme but what version of Linux are you using there? Does it usually look that good by default?
[/QUOTE]
The OS is Mandriva 2005 LE. I didn’t download that theme, I simpy tweaked around for about 2 minutes until it looked like I wanted it to. KDE is very flxible. To answer your question more directly, no, it didn’t look that good out of the box. In fact, it looked more like Windows. However, as I mentioned earlier it only took literally around 2 minutes to get it to look that way.
Oh yeah KDE, almost makes me want to convert, okay so it does with the exception of compatabily problems:(, that’s pretty nice tweaking there as it looks great, how much does Mandriva 2005 LE cost USD?
[QUOTE=Exfoliate]
Oh yeah KDE, almost makes me want to convert, okay so it does with the exception of compatabily problems:(, that’s pretty nice tweaking there as it looks great, how much does Mandriva 2005 LE cost USD?
[/QUOTE]
Like any Linux distro, It’s free (assuming you only want the OS and not tech support from Mandriva). Or you can get it already burned on CDs or a DVD from a Linux disc vendor, such as cheap-bytes.com
By the way, I’ve attached my theme if anybody wants it, although it’s nothing special.
i just have the crystal background and firefox/thunderbird/recycle bin/my documents/my computer icons on there, nothing else, also very clean and organized here
[QUOTE=Exfoliate]
How many gigs is it? I might almost want to convert if I knew I could still install all my programs and games and run them fine.
[/QUOTE]
It’s anything from like 250mb to around 5gb, depending on what you choose to install. The OS is relatively small, but there is a lot of supporting software included. Regarding Windows software on Linux, see my recent post.
[QUOTE=zRoCkIsAdDiCtInG]
mandriva…sounds like a gorgon and a mermaid put together…but I bet its still beautiful
[/QUOTE]
Actually, it’s more like Mandrake and Connectiva put together. The name change came when both companies merged.
Typical. I spend all evening setting up my new room and getting my computers properly configured only to find out that I’m missing out on a whole “Let’s try Linux” thread. Anyway, I’ve just gotten twin 17" Dell monitors running on the same Slackware machine under Gnome so I now have a 1280X2048 desktop! It’s pretty bare still but it’s a big improvement over a single 1024X768 desktop. The best thing about it is that to get it set up required me to change maybe ten lines from a text file and run one command from the command-line and, hey presto, a 1280X2048 desktop! I’ll post a few pics once I get something sensible together, and find/make a suitable background.
Thanks for the great post AT, that definately sums up what I need to know then. I guess I’d just miss the out to the box compatability with too many of the games I want to run well to justify Linux, though It’s still very tempting as maybe a laptop OS:good:. If I wasn’t into gaming I’d probably still stick with Macs then I guess, only becuase we already have one.
Linux is fantastic as a laptop OS, since it’s obviously very secure and the battery life is second to none. Just try not to get one with an ATI video card if possible.
[QUOTE=Anti-Trend]
Linux is fantastic as a laptop OS, since it’s obviously very secure and the battery life is second to none. Just try not to get one with an ATI video card if possible.
[/QUOTE]
Also don’t forget Linux cuts way down on hard drive use compared to windows when page filing is used all the time. Since hard drives do use quite a bit of power linux helps dramatically cut down hard drive activity and more battery life.
[QUOTE=ninja fetus]
Also don’t forget Linux cuts way down on hard drive use compared to windows when page filing is used all the time. Since hard drives do use quite a bit of power linux helps dramatically cut down hard drive activity and more battery life.
[/QUOTE]
I’ve looked into the same issue fetus, and I agree. It’s the only way I can justify in my mind the near 600% increase in battery life of Linux over XP when they’re both using the same power-saving features. Window’s aggressive and constant usage of VM is the only thing I can think of that would explain this discrepancy.
To answer your question more directly, no, it didn’t look that good out of the box. In fact, it looked more like Windows. However, as I mentioned earlier it only took literally around 2 minutes to get it to look that way.