Yeah, so, my mind has changed a good bit. I've had my Linux Networking class for a couple weeks now (which helped a lot) so i've been using Linux a lot more. After messing around with stuff for like 4 hours a week straight, its made a big difference. Linux doesn't seem so alien to me, and everything seems a lot more logical. (also been messing with my box as well) Yeah, we use Fedora core 8, so its not a debian based system, but still, all about the same. So, i've found i like KDE and its apps a lot more, also, installing files is a lot easier than i thought. (as long as they are the right package types) Fedora uses rpm's, so download, click, install, (somtimes restart) and your all good. I haven't done as much with Ubuntu, so i'm not sure if it works the same way, BUT, and a pretty big but, there seem to be a lot more rpm packages out there than there are deb files packages, which is a little discouraging. But yeah, just thought i'd share that, oh yeah, also, i changed my Ubuntu system over to KDE. (which was a lot of messing around, and changing of a crap ton of files, but a good experience)
you can also use Alien to convert a .deb to a .rpm or convert an rpm to a deb effectively turning Ubuntu into Kubuntu all you needed to do was install kubuntu-desktop with your package manager & choose KDE at login, you can just leave Gnome installed, you never know, you might want or need it one day
I would always recommend using your package manager to fetch and install packages wherever you can. Downloading packages isn't always reliable, but the ones in repos using the yum tool are usually specifically built for your system (software). Debian and derivatives use the apt set of tools. Glad you're finding it's not as hard as once thought. There's a still a lot to learn, even for the most experienced users, so don't be put off by any problems. It's perfectly fine to dual boot and use Windows when you have to.
Yeah, to donkey, i didn't get an option to choose ether KDE or Gnome, it just automatically chose Gnome, so i just uninstalled all the various Gnome files relating to the UI, and everything worked out alright. Well, i actually just have two separate machines on the same monitor, so switching just means using a different keyboard and mouse. Yeah, i generally prefer to use the package manager, but sometimes they don't have the program you want in the repository, (which is generally the case with Fedora, seems to not have very large repositories) so i go and find what i'm looking for. On that, with yum, and Fedora, after the download and install, the program shows up in the repository. Like i was saying, i don't really know how all that works on Debian based systems, i guess i just have to find out. Like download, click, install, does it work that way for Ubuntu/Kubuntu also??
Debian/Ubuntu have massive repositories so you very rarely have to isntall/compile anything out of the system. Things like Opera though, unless you have the commercial repo added can be installed using the single package file. You can use dpkg -i kor use the GUI installer.
I work with Red Hat servers quite often, and my primary desktop has been Red Hat-based in the past. The largest disadvantage of Red Hat's package format, RPM, is that it can really only set straight dependencies. E.g., either it requires a dependency or it doesn't. That means sometimes you get a lot of extra packages you don't really need, since the system isn't sure if you'll need them or not. Or worse, you miss out on extra functionality since you're missing certain dependencies. With DEB, the Debian package format, this is overcome with an eloquent and powerful system. A Deb package can require a package, or merely suggest it for extra but optional functionality you may, or may not, need. Make sense?
yes, it does, but that extra stuff is generally very small, so it doesn't really harm anything, IMO, but what i was saying, there just seems to be A LOT of stuff for the RPM based distros vs DEB based distros, that and i'm starting to see that Ubuntu's repositories exclude really weird stuff, like adobe flash, and beryl?? for just a few. I know, i get pretty much all of my software through a package manager, but some things are just not there, so you have to find them, and when you do, they are most likely in an RPM format. Granted, there is generally a tar.gz as well, but yeah.
Beryl no longer exists, the project merged with Compiz which is why you can't find it anymore. As for flash player, it should be in one of the repositories. Check the ubuntu wikis for it, usually there's a way to install it automatically with the right repo added. As I said before, using rpms that you find lying around on the net is a bad idea.
Yep yep! An RPM is just a package format, it's not universal. Imagine running a zip'd Mac application on Windows because .zip is normally associated with Windows... not good, right? Likewise RPM is used by many distros, and not all are compatible with one-another. Of course, tracking down random packages on the internet is what you would do if you were running Windows. In Unixland, one installs 99% of their software through their distro's package manager.
Hey, thanks, had no idea Beryl isn't around anymore. Also, guys, i know, i said i get almost all of my software though a package manager, on that note, i haven't downloaded any random files. For example, on adobe's flash website, they only offer, tar, YUM, and RPM, downloads. They are one a good few, who don't have any offerings for the Deb packaged world.
personally, if the software i want is not in my package manager & if i can't find a deb with google or app finder i corvert an existing rpm with alien, but, i shouldn't really tell you that because your only suppose to convert an rpm to a deb as a last resort[ot]so, keep it quiet[/ot]BTW: not really
[OT] A woman had been married three times and was still a virgin. Somebody asked her how that could be possible. "Well," she said. "The first time I married an octogenarian and he died before we could consummate the marriage." "The second time I married a naval officer and war broke out on our wedding day." "The third time I married a Microsoft programmer and he just sat on the edge of the bed and kept telling me how good it was going to be." [/OT]
