Is Fedora or XP Pro better for me?
 

hi

i recently wanted to install red hat 9 on my computer, just to get familiar with its enviroment and take advantage of some of the software thats out there for it. however, i just heard about this Fedora, and was wondering what im getting myself into.

i've read all the FAQs and release notes, but i think they are a little too detailed for me. basically, i use my computer for email, lots of web surfing, messaging, mp3 storage, mIRC, wav editing/recording, graphics editing.

i only have dial-up, so i dont do that much networking other than between two computers, which i transfer lots of data quite frequently.

i was just wondering from your guys point of view if Red Hat 9 or Fedora, or neither would benefit me.

thanks

sorry for the newbie post.

-paul

well its really what you feel is better for you ...
out of all the things you mentioned that you do on your box, there isn't one thing that you can't do on either OS ... the only thing that may be a problem for you, is if you don't have the urge to learn, or if you don't have the urge to get windows apps up and running in linux ...
what i mean by that comment is related to the fact that you do audio editing and graphic editing ... and it all depends on how you want to tackle this stuff in linux ...
for instance, i will assume you use photoshop for editing graphics, but we linux users don't have photoshop ... so you would have to learn a program such as gimp ...
or if you reallly reallly need photoshop then you have to get it running through wine ...
same goes for your audio editing ... i am sure the app your used to in the windows world doesn't exist in linux, and it will be more so the same case ...
as of everything else,they are all universall ..
email -> don't matter ... an email client is an email client (no matter what its name is)
web surfing -> again dont' matter, but anything is better than IE
messaging -> i assume msn and/or gaim which there are numourous clients you can use for both, or you can get some that support both
mp3 storage -> don't know what you mean by that ... i store mine on my harddrive :p
if you mean to play them, then again many programs, most popular xmms
irc -> same as windows, there are many different clients, another popular one is xchat .

so the long and short of this is, i dont' see why you wouldn't be able to get along just fine with fedora (wouldn't recommend redhat cause support ends in april) because everything is available to you in relation to what you use your box for on an everyday basis ...
as for benefits, everything is a benefit using linux ;-))

hey

thanks for the help, i didnt even think anyone would respond.

by storing mp3s i meant make a library on my harddisk. i rarely download them, i usually buy CDs and rip them to mp3. i used Audiostation for playing them.

graphics editing isnt that major, i use PaintShop Pro.
audio editing, i use Goldwave, SoundForge, and Cakewalk. these programs i like, ill probably keep a workstation with XP so i can use those.

yeah, one thing i like is to play them on my computer, and i have read that it is difficult to play mp3s in linux

so why is support for red hat ending in April? (like a short answer.. or say 'dont ask')

also, am i gonna be able to network my computers together (using a patch cable) to like map drives and transer data from my XP machine to my Fedora machine?

what webpage editing software does Fedora have? will it be compatible with Frontpage?

does Open office work on Fedora?

thanks again


-paul

Yes, Open Office works with Fedora. Since you will basicly be using your computer for web, chat, im, mp3, etc... I say go with linux. Fedora is based off of redhat (Redhat discontinued Linux home user support), so I think you will enjoy it. Its farily simple to use, and has a nice interface.

Here are some site to check out:

www.openoffice.org (offce suite like ms office)
www.mplayerhq.hu (media player, plays videos)
xine.sourceforge.net (linux based DVD player)
www.xmms.org (mp3 / music player)
www.limewire.com (file sharing like Napster)
www.aim.com (aol instant messenger)
www.winehq.org (wine, windows API implimentation. Run windows apps under linux)
www.f-prot.com (anti-virus for linux)

Just FYI, MIRC runs perfectly under Wine. You will enjoy linux, because you will be imune to virus's, and with the built in firewall, your computer should be fairly safe from hackers. :)

Enjoy

A good html editor htmledit. You can find a HUGE list of apps online. There is KDevelope if you want to have a nice GUI for programming (QT, C, C++, Java, etc..)

Oh, if you want to use MS Office, or Frontpage, it can work using Crossover Office (special version of Wine) at www.codeweavers.com

its no more difficult to play a mp3 on linux as it is on windows ...
just fire up xmms, or the now winamp (although its only alpha 1 as far as i remember, so i suggest just stay with xmms, as its the same as winamp anyways) and play the mp3 .. easy as 1, 2, 3 :p

hey

fcukin sweet... thanks for the links too.

that wine sounds pretty cool. damn, what are some quick disadvantages of using wine to run winapps in linux? it sounds like its a great solution.


also, this is off subject. i got this RF remote that controls this Audiostation mp3 player. its nice. playlists, random, whatever, touch of a button.

if i use Fedora, can i run Audiostation in wine and be able to use my RF remote that connects through the serial port?

kinda strange, but maybe... unless there is already like a RF remote for linux that controls mp3s?

-paul

There is no official list of apps that work under Wine. As far as wine goes, I use regular wine for my day to day apps (MIRC, music converter, etc...), I run MS OFFICE under crossover office, and my video games under WineX. (winex is wine with DirectX built in). If somthing doesn't work under wine, it will probably work under either WineX or crossover office.

But, you will have to find out for yourself if your apps work. It will take pateince and you will have to tweak and play around with it some.

also regarding wine, its basically a trial and error process....
yes your right the concept of wine does sound good, but it kinda isn't like that when it comes
to running some things ...
you'll have to rememeber wine is still in its alpha stages of development, so like previously said its
basically trial and error trying to get something to work ...
even though some app may be listed as tested and working, you yourself may not get it working cause of such and such an error ...
so all i can say is try it and see if you get what you need working ...

as of your audio player and remote, i have no idea if it will work ... i took a quick look in the wine application database but didn't see anything, but again i only briefed the audio section ...
but again like already mentioned there is also winex, and crossover which are other alternatives in your try and succeed process :p
good luck !

I like to think of Fedora as RedHat Linux 9.5 or something. They basically took everything from RHL, updated a few packages, and changed all the graphics and logos. That's it. The support has changed also, but not drastically different than what I used before -- which was RHN to update my packages. Now I use up2date commandline, apt-get, or yum. Actually, more choices. The commercial support has changed, so you can't call RH and expect them to help you if you are running Fedora -- but I never called them -- I only use newsgroups, web forums (like this one), and various websites, etc for support.

As far as app support. It is getting increasingly more to the point I can completely operate independent of MS stuff. I still have Windows for Video editing/DVD creation, gaming, and a few other special apps -- and for my wife. Everything else I use I can do fine in ether OS. I'm not willing to fight with Wine or WineX just to be completely free of M$ -- but that's a personal issue. I do most of my programming/software engineering work in Java, or other languages that I can use on either platform (PERL, PHP, etc). Currently, my Linux systems are out numbering the Windows systems in my house.

Right now, I can't see giving my grandmother or my wife a system with Linux as their primary system. Linux is not unified enough or have decent degree of common or standards for GUI design. Also, major consumer software providers currently do not make Linux versions. When Quicken becomes available on Linux -- without emulation -- then we can harold the desktop revolution for Linux. I do see *some* game makers providing Linux versions or at least Linux game server setups for some games, but mass adoption is greatly dependent on app support. I really like Linux and hopes it will become more widely adopted and supported, for it's not ready for the average joe.

I would also like to add that if you are worrying about Audiostation to rip your CD's to mp3s, don't. Grip is the program I use, and it is included with RH9, and Fedora so either choices will allow you to rip. I use Grip to rip into ogg, but my officemate rips into mp3 so you should be able to do anything.

i was getting openoffice

but it doesnt have Fedora for the OS. it has Linux(x86) or Linux(PPC)

what are they and which one do i choose?

thanks again
-paul

Fedor is linux. Just chose Linux(x86).