Switching to Linux Entirely


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I am not entirely sure if I really want to do this. But, just for now I am considering it.

I've been using Linux since August 2004, when I started with Fedora Core 2 on my old Dell Laptop (P3 750, 256 MB, 30 GB, 8 MB ATI, 8x CD-RW) I liked it, but I was starting to miss my old Windows applications.

Anyway, I would like to install OpenSuSE 10.3 on my laptop and completely abandon Windows. I do have a few questions, though...

  1. Can I use my iPod Nano (2nd Gen, 2006) and get music from iTunes Store?
  2. Can I use my WACOM drawing tablet (Bamboo Series)?
  3. How will Office 2003 work with Wine?

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I thought 2003 was XP? I think it's best to do what i do, dual boot Windows and Linux together. Use Linux as you're default OS but use Windows when you need to use the items in your post?

Edit: XP doesn't seem to work either. Link

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1. You can't get iTunes for Linux... at all. I guess you could run a virtual machine (VMware Server) or possibly run it through Wine. VMware would definitely work, don't know about Wine.

2. No idea.

3. Again, no idea. But do you absolutely need Office? I find OpenOffice to work just fine for everything but the most complicated things.

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I've been thinking of dumping XP completely myself lately. It can be weeks between booting to XP and even though the newer games look nice, and all, I find that I'm bored of them anyways, plus just about all of my most favorite Windows programs work just fine under Linux with WINE as it is. I think that what is holding me back is JOOST. If only I could get the most recent version to run under WINE without having to modify WINE to do it because I would have to stick with that version and not be able to update WINE. I tried MIRA (Democracy Player) and I didn't like it all that much either.

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3. Again, no idea. But do you absolutely need Office? I find OpenOffice to work just fine for everything but the most complicated things.

In terms of Office, I would need Visio

I've been thinking of dumping XP completely myself lately. It can be weeks between booting to XP and even though the newer games look nice, and all, I find that I'm bored of them anyways, plus just about all of my most favorite Windows programs work just fine under Linux with WINE as it is. I think that what is holding me back is JOOST. If only I could get the most recent version to run under WINE without having to modify WINE to do it because I would have to stick with that version and not be able to update WINE. I tried MIRA (Democracy Player) and I didn't like it all that much either.

I'll probably just wait until WINE comes close enough to perfection so I can install Office, iTunes, and SimCity.

1. You can't get iTunes for Linux... at all. I guess you could run a virtual machine (VMware Server) or possibly run it through Wine. VMware would definitely work, don't know about Wine.

When I had Linux running on this machine, I tried making a Windows XP Virtual Machine, but it took 4.5 hours just to install. Here are the specs of my machine...

Intel Pentium M 1.73 GHz, 1 GB Memory (512 MB for VM), 80 GB 5400 RPM HDD, 128 MB Intel GMA900, 8x Pioneer DVD-RW, Ubuntu 7.10.

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You can definitely do 1 and 3 with a VM; check out innotek Virtualbox; just one of many free and easy to use x86 virtualisers you can use to run Windows on Linux (it's fast too). For 2 - I've never used a graphics tablet with Fedora Core but there's always the Linux Wacom Project (http://linuxwacom.sourceforge.net/)

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first of all office for linux is a no-no ..... better use open office shihchiun said 2 posts above ... and as for 1 and 2 you can get them to work with vine (if the case may be) patch it with whatever code you cna find .. *or for the time being try testing them on the dell machine and see how it works ...

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When I get back to my house in Connecticut and I am with my Linux box, I'll try out using my drawing tablet.

But, again, VMWare runs really slowly. But, on my Linux box (P3 550, 384 MB, 40 GB, 8 MB ATI, 16x DVD-RW, Xubuntu 7.10) I dual-boot with Windows 2000 in case I want to use any Windows program.

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When I get back to my house in Connecticut and I am with my Linux box, I'll try out using my drawing tablet.

But, again, VMWare runs really slowly. But, on my Linux box (P3 550, 384 MB, 40 GB, 8 MB ATI, 16x DVD-RW, Xubuntu 7.10) I dual-boot with Windows 2000 in case I want to use any Windows program.

As they said above, use VirtualBox. Its one of the best VM programs out there and its FREE as well. You can find it in ADD/Remove section of Ubuntu or go to their site and update your software sources so that you can get the most recent version through Ubuntu as well.

I'll probably just wait until WINE comes close enough to perfection so I can install Office, iTunes, and SimCity.

Which version of Simcity are you talking about?

Is it this one?

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/4638

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For iTunes song purchase, there used to be PyMusique. Don't know if it is still active (Apple used to keep making iTunes incompatible with it).

And, if you are still requiring apps that only run in Windows, then maybe Linux isn't the best option for you.

I mean, I use Linux 100% (no dual boot) and have since 2003. But if you cannot use OO.o or StarOffice instead of MS Office, then your applications may drive your OS selection.

I hate to discourage someone who is seriously considering Linux, but if you aren't going to be 100% happy with it, I don't see the point in using it but having these nagging issues. Keeping a dual-boot system may be your best choice for a while longer.

If you need help with anything Linux related, there are still lots of people here on Neowin who will do their best to help you. :yes:

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How about StarOffice?

StarOffice is entirely the same thing.

Which version of Simcity are you talking about?

Is it this one?

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/4638

No. It is SimCity 4.

For iTunes song purchase, there used to be PyMusique. Don't know if it is still active (Apple used to keep making iTunes incompatible with it).

And, if you are still requiring apps that only run in Windows, then maybe Linux isn't the best option for you.

I mean, I use Linux 100% (no dual boot) and have since 2003. But if you cannot use OO.o or StarOffice instead of MS Office, then your applications may drive your OS selection.

I hate to discourage someone who is seriously considering Linux, but if you aren't going to be 100% happy with it, I don't see the point in using it but having these nagging issues. Keeping a dual-boot system may be your best choice for a while longer.

If you need help with anything Linux related, there are still lots of people here on Neowin who will do their best to help you. :yes:

Essentially, I am not 100% Microsoft free. But, I have one computer that I run Linux entirely on (with a copy of Windows 2000 just in case something happens to Linux) - I have a Mac, and my Windows Laptop.

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yea, dual boot, dont keep much for windows, 20gb or so, enough to use office, and the other things you really want. set it to boot into linux by default, and get the best of both worlds :)

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Essentially, I am not 100% Microsoft free. But, I have one computer that I run Linux entirely on (with a copy of Windows 2000 just in case something happens to Linux) - I have a Mac, and my Windows Laptop.
Ah, ok. You are looking at possibly setting yourself up with the (un)holy trinity of OSes. A Mac running OSX, a laptop running Windows, and setting up your desktop for Linux only.

I don't see a reason to keep Win2k on as an emergency backup for Linux. You can keep a safe xorg.conf file to emergency recovery of bad X settings, and an old kernel image for backup booting, too. Linux can be its own "backup" boot.

Now, the only thing you have to weigh yourself is if you need a Win2k dual boot for doing Windows things on your desktop, or if using Linux is fine for that. I assume you have these on a home network and use file sharing, which all three OSes can access.

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So essentially, you are saying I can get rid of Windows 2000. That seems easy enough. I am not at my desktop right now, but I think the partition setup will be easy enough to modify. I think it is: 30 GB ext3, 6 GB NTFS, and 600 MB Swap. But I am not entirely sure.

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It is really up to you. If you've experimented enough with Linux that you want to move to it entirely, then that's great. If you still need to do some things that require Windows support (as in some games, MS Office) then try dual booting. Mark Jensen gave you some words of wisdom above....

My reaction here is that if you make the commitment to go Linux, you need to cut the ties and really go with it for at least six months before you make a decision to switch back. At least you can say that you tried it and gave it a fair shot.

BTW, there are plenty of Linux alternatives to MS apps (Dia for Visio, for instance).

http://linuxappfinder.com/all

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I'll give myself some time until I feel like I can break free from Windows. Right now, I can't break free entirely. I can only do it on my desktop, especially because I almost never use it.

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I have 'switched entirely to Linux' in the past (a few times), and games keep me coming back to Windows.

Truth be told I would be using Linux right now if I could get the games I play to run in Linux as well as they do in Windows (with as little hassle).

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