Darth Flatus Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 A few months ago I started using firefox and i was amazed at all the customisation options. Recently i've started using winamp over wmp and again am astonished i never used it sooner. I've known of the battle between open source software and the windows monopoly on everything. But until recently i just assumed that anything with the windows or microsoft brand was good enough. I'm no developer and i know zero about coding but i was interested in trying out Linux, does it play games for example does it have a user friendly interface what kind of customisation does it have? I'd just like to know the extent of people letting go of microsoft and what their views are, what open source applications they use and their experience of it etc. Thanx in advance for any replies.
213374U Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 I think that for a game to run under Linux it needs to be ported. Much like MacOS. Other than that, I've only heard good things about it... - When he is best, he is a little worse than a man, and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast.
Drakron Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 I think Linux allows dual boot so you can load up in Windows so you can play games and other windows applications.
Kaftan Barlast Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 If I can get an open source app that does the same as a commercial one, then Ill use the open source program. Its only a select few commercial programs(like adobe ps) that I use, because they're the best in their perticular field. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux -linux has some built-for games, Doom3 f.ex and many others can be made to work with emulators. -there are some user friendly variants like Red Hat and SuSE. everyone hates redhat. -linux is infinitly customizeable. with open source and GNU you can change the programs however you like. DISCLAIMER: Do not take what I write seriously unless it is clearly and in no uncertain terms, declared by me to be meant in a serious and non-humoristic manner. If there is no clear indication, asume the post is written in jest. This notification is meant very seriously and its purpouse is to avoid misunderstandings and the consequences thereof. Furthermore; I can not be held accountable for anything I write on these forums since the idea of taking serious responsability for my unserious actions, is an oxymoron in itself. Important: as the following sentence contains many naughty words I warn you not to read it under any circumstances; botty, knickers, wee, erogenous zone, psychiatrist, clitoris, stockings, bosom, poetry reading, dentist, fellatio and the department of agriculture. "I suppose outright stupidity and complete lack of taste could also be considered points of view. "
Child of Flame Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 A few months ago I started using firefox and i was amazed at all the customisation options. Recently i've started using winamp over wmp and again am astonished i never used it sooner. I've known of the battle between open source software and the windows monopoly on everything. But until recently i just assumed that anything with the windows or microsoft brand was good enough. I'm no developer and i know zero about coding but i was interested in trying out Linux, does it play games for example does it have a user friendly interface what kind of customisation does it have? I'd just like to know the extent of people letting go of microsoft and what their views are, what open source applications they use and their experience of it etc. Thanx in advance for any replies. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Quintessential Player is much better than Winamp. Winamp is now owned by AOL IIRC. Only reason I haven't made the complete switch over to Linux or Mac OSX is because of the lack of compatibility with not only games, but in the case of Mac, some of the hardware. I use my PC as: 1. A workstation/internet browsing device. 2. A game platform. Therefore any hits to compatibility means I'm probably never going to make a complete switch to an OS. If I can get an open source app that does the same as a commercial one, then Ill use the open source program. Its only a select few commercial programs(like adobe ps) that I use, because they're the best in their perticular field. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux -linux has some built-for games, Doom3 f.ex and many others can be made to work with emulators. -there are some user friendly variants like Red Hat and SuSE. everyone hates redhat. -linux is infinitly customizeable. with open source and GNU you can change the programs however you like. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The GIMP can do everything Adobe Photoshop can, and is free to boot.
Darth Flatus Posted May 9, 2005 Author Posted May 9, 2005 i downloaded gimp today but does it have similar functioanlity to photoshop on its own or with plugins. This quintessential player - does it play mp3s well?
Baley Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 Of course it plays MP3's too...I've been using it for a couple of mounts and I've encountered no problems Of course I also use BSPlayer for movies As for open source products what do ya think of the office colections?
Child of Flame Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 i downloaded gimp today but does it have similar functioanlity to photoshop on its own or with plugins. This quintessential player - does it play mp3s well? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I don't think you need plugins, when I tried it, it did what I wanted, but then again, I'm not the best Photoshopper, I've heard people who are (Photoshop dude on The Screen Savers back when TechTV was TechTV) say that it did. Apparently the interfaces is different, so some of the things you're used to being one thing in PS might be named, or under a different category in The GIMP, but once you get used to it it's golden. Quintessential player plays MP3s just fine, and it has many more plugins and schtuff than Winamp for customization and functionality.
Kaftan Barlast Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 The GIMP can do everything Adobe Photoshop can, and is free to boot. Ive known of GIMP for a long time but there's alot more to PS that can be seen on the surface, so to speak. I need the ability to create, customize and use fully realistic(and compatible with the functions of my Wacom artpad) brushes for digital painting and thus far the only programs that could accomplish this is Adobe PS and Corel Painter. DISCLAIMER: Do not take what I write seriously unless it is clearly and in no uncertain terms, declared by me to be meant in a serious and non-humoristic manner. If there is no clear indication, asume the post is written in jest. This notification is meant very seriously and its purpouse is to avoid misunderstandings and the consequences thereof. Furthermore; I can not be held accountable for anything I write on these forums since the idea of taking serious responsability for my unserious actions, is an oxymoron in itself. Important: as the following sentence contains many naughty words I warn you not to read it under any circumstances; botty, knickers, wee, erogenous zone, psychiatrist, clitoris, stockings, bosom, poetry reading, dentist, fellatio and the department of agriculture. "I suppose outright stupidity and complete lack of taste could also be considered points of view. "
Sarjahurmaaja. Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 "Quintessential Player is much better than Winamp." While that may be true, if one is going to change to something from Winamp, one might as well go all the way and get foobar2000*. * It's awesome. 9/30 -- NEVER FORGET!
mkreku Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 Weird. I thought I was the only one using Quintessential Player. It's a good media player. Irfanview is another one of my favourite free programs. I open EVERYTHING in that application. From flash files to text files, to every graphics format known to man. It's awesome (and yes, it plays movies and MP3 too)! Swedes, go to: Spel2, for the latest game reviews in swedish!
Baley Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 Yeah Irfanview is great...I especially use it on my avatars ...I tend to open most files in their specialized programs tho.. I also use Easy Office(It's free)...basicly cos I can't afford almost anything from Microsoft Ad-Aware SE Personal is also great
metadigital Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 I think Linux allows dual boot so you can load up in Windows so you can play games and other windows applications. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Confirmed. (Even though Windows doesn't like the fact that you can have any other OS on your hardware and stringently avoids all references to it, it is relatively easy and very safe to add a mutiple boot partition.) OBSCVRVM PER OBSCVRIVS ET IGNOTVM PER IGNOTIVS OPVS ARTIFICEM PROBAT
Drakron Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 ...Ad-Aware SE Personal is also great <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes but I use in combination with Spybot Search and Destroy and now Microsoft AntiSpyware.
Baley Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 Yeah I also have those 2 installed +Zonealarm And a trial antivirus Also Riva Tuner is a must
Drakron Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 Yes we cannot even connect to the Internet without a firewall unless we want tons of trojans and spyware.
Darth Incredulous Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 A few months ago I started using firefox and i was amazed at all the customisation options. Recently i've started using winamp over wmp and again am astonished i never used it sooner. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Personally I much prefer Opera to Firefox. It's not open-source, and it can hog a lot of memory at times (at least the old version used to, new one out recently), but I like its functionality and layout far better. I've tried a number of applications I would rather use than WMP. I've stuck with Winamp for playing music, more out of habit than anything else. I've also used some of the other software already mentioned, like BSPlayer and Irfanview, and my experiences with such programs have for the most part been very positive. Which is more than can be said for some of my experiences with MS software...
Oerwinde Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 Quintessential Player is much better than Winamp.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> They need to rename it the Quintesson Player, and package it with 5 different skins. The area between the balls and the butt is a hotbed of terrorist activity.
HaPhApAbLaP Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 yea, ad-aware is ok, but you cant rely on it and only it. Those guys lost some credibility when they jumped into bed with WhenU
Darth Flatus Posted May 10, 2005 Author Posted May 10, 2005 what would you recommend? i have ad aware and spybot, is the MS anti-spyware tool worth downloading? i dont like zonealarm - it messes with P2P, i have sygate instead. I also use quicktime and real alternative. Hell even the windows default defrag is crap - i use diskeeper instead. Does anyone know of a good disk error checking tool?
Oerwinde Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 Is there an open source IM program? I used to use ICQ until AOL bought it and turned it into a bloated unusable piece of garbage, AIM is crap, Yahoo and MSN aren't bad, but nowhere near as good as old school ICQ. I figure since it seems like theres an open source alternative to pretty much everything else Microsoft dominates, why not IM? The area between the balls and the butt is a hotbed of terrorist activity.
Child of Flame Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 Is there an open source IM program? I used to use ICQ until AOL bought it and turned it into a bloated unusable piece of garbage, AIM is crap, Yahoo and MSN aren't bad, but nowhere near as good as old school ICQ. I figure since it seems like theres an open source alternative to pretty much everything else Microsoft dominates, why not IM? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Trillian has AOL, YIM, MSN, ICQ, and IRC functionality, there's a pay and a free version. It's not really open source though.
Baley Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 what would you recommend? i have ad aware and spybot, is the MS anti-spyware tool worth downloading? Yes..most definetly..it can easely get some buggers that the others can't...but the same thing goes for the first 2 as well...I sugest having all 3 of them i dont like zonealarm - it messes with P2P, i have sygate instead. I've never had a virus\spyware\traojan\worm\etc. problem since I installed it ^_^
HaPhApAbLaP Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 Yea I think everyone can agree that no one spyware removal program can catch everything. If your looking for a firewall, which is something everyone must have I feel, you can check out sygate personal firewall, which is what I use. Also there are some uh, internet vulnerability profiling sites out there that you can use to find out how secure your system is, like this one - Webpage Trillion isnt open source but I do recommend it. Keep anything related to aol far far far far far far far far
Darth Flatus Posted May 10, 2005 Author Posted May 10, 2005 Will try out ms anti spyware tonight, i dont need trillian as i only have one type of free email account.
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