Anyone here ever used Puppy Linux? I'm just so sick of Windows. I'm ready to switch, and it sounds like a good one to start with.

Sub-60-second boot times are definitely droolworthy

Never heard of Puppy Linux. I've heard of Red-Hat, Ubuntu, SuSE, and Slackware Linux, but NOT Puppy Linux.

http://www.puppylinux.org/

get kubuntu, tis friendly and runs many micro$oft programs such as photoshop, &c.

The last time I checked, Photoshop was an Adobe program. Yes it runs on Microsoft Windows but it's not theirs.
You also need to install and configure Wine if you want to run Photoshop. Wine also has a lot of problems with Photoshop CS3.

Aspiegirl, I would make sure your Windows installation is well backed up before you try any flavor of Linux. If you try dual booting it can play havoc with the master boot record and make it difficult to boot into Windows if you get it wrong. I have also had nightmarish experiences with finding working drivers for all of my hardware. If you have any hardware that is not run of the mill stuff like I do make sure it is compatible first.

I've heard good things about puppy linux but have not tried it myself. It's small and fast; the entire OS is loaded into memory at bootup so it does not have to access the OS from the hard drive. The trade off is that you may be missing something you cannot live without.

very true all of the previous post is agreed. Photoshop does run under wine now, for awhile actually.

Moreover, vmware provides and windows based machine which runs on top without the partition factor. good to test something like this before doing it for real

it is difficult to uninstall the Linux partition.

it is hard to set it up if you have no experience with them.

Linux forums are notorious for giving you an answer within minutes, so the answers are available readily.

there is a platform that installs in windows add/remove rather than the hard partition, try it, it is fantastic tool:

http://wubi-installer.org/

You really want a full version of Linux distributions, otherwise, as stated in the above post, you'll be missing drivers that you cannot find or install easily.


BTW, I don't mind helping others when I have the time, so if anyone needs some help they can visit my mailbox no problems ~ I'm a fairly serious geek (but not geeky)

Agreed, http://wubi-installer.org/ is by far the easiest way to try out a Linux distro. It will install in a folder on your Windows partition and is very easy to remove if you decide against it. I would definitely recommend going with this method of installing Ubuntu if you have never tried Linux before. Ubuntu is the most popular and as sail2awe says the forums along with the wiki provide answers to your questions fast:
http://ubuntuforums.org/
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/

I tried Puppy yesterday, but ran into a problem because my laptom screen doesn't work, I have an external monitor. It wasn't picking up the external monitor at all.

I think I will try Ubuntu, though - yes, Puppy loads fast, but I don't think it's quite what I'm looking for.

And I did do a backup right before I tried Puppy ;)

Just so you know...multiple screens presents an addition issue in Linux.

try the tool mentioned in the above 2 posts, it is easily uninstalled (via add/remove programs) as it creates no hard partitions.

I recommend Kubuntu over Ubuntu because of a more windows based menu type style, providing the nubee a modest degree of ability right away.

Linux is fast, not always on the load, but it is faster, never fragments, &c &c

I have to ask the question, why are you sick of Windows and ready to switch? I can see the benefits of both Linux and Windows. The reason I stick with Windows is that my wireless card works, my Toneport GX works and I can play all of the computer games I want to. Linux doesn't do everything I need it to. I know I can use ndiswrapper to get my wireless working but that doesn't solve the other problems I have with it. I also find myself having to use the terminal a whole lot which really bugs me when I can point and click to do almost anything I want in Windows. Call me a lazy geek but Windows just works and Linux takes a lot of work. In case you're wondering I'm posting this from my Mac which is also a good alternative to Windows if somewhat expensive.

I'm just looking for something new - why stick to one OS when you've never tried something else that may be better? Also the problems associated with XP SP3 were just enough to put me over the edge to "no more Windows."


I've just taken a look at another version of Linux, called Elive, that looks somewhat interesting.


I'm probably going to end up getting a desktop fairly soon, so if I can't get Linux working on my laptop because of the external monitor, I can always try it out on the desktop. I just don't see the point in getting my laptop screen replaced for $300 when I can get a new computer for just a little bit more (or for the same price, even, if I wasn't so picky about screen size. I can't possibly use anything less than 14", and I prefer at least 15.4").

And I just found one more reason to get a new computer...my laptop has resumed zapping me at random times -_-

Trying new things is always a good thing in my book
Elive should be a good distribution to try. Enlightenment is my favourite window manager.

Well, I already use Firefox, GIMP, OpenOffice, Audacity, etc so it only follows that I should give Linux a shot;) Gotta love free stuff :D

http://ubuntustudio.org/
Ubuntu customized for multimedia creation. I would use it if my Toneport GX would work with it. Not many people with a USB guitar interface use Linux.

We have been using Fedora for the last few years in my School district. One thing I love about my MacBook is that I can tri-boot it with a program called refit. Mac, Linux, or Windoze :)