Okay d00ds, I am seriously contemplating going over to Redhat as my Workstation.

At present i am running windows 2000 pro...
The things that are holding me back include the following:
a)I program in Visual Basic - sometimes
b)I use ASP - but can code it on my workstation and run it off my server
c)Like lanning, playing games with my mates - mostly Quake 3

I'd like your feedback on this...I am considering partitioning (as i have a 40gb hard drive), but using partition magic, it will only allow me to add a partition at the start of my current one?

Anything back from youguys would be radical

Thanks

well as far as a and b go, i can only hope you get over it completely and start feeling better soon There is a version of vb for linux around, but i wouldn't think it's really up to all the much, seeing as how most people dislike it.

as for c, well quake3 runs perfectly on my system using the point release binaries

you'd do better to drop the silly expensive PM stuff, and just use fips, what is free. alternaticvely there's a neat prog called Presizer which is billed as Partition Magic but Free and Tiny.

Here U go d00d:

The best way 2B convinced is 2 try it. As long as UR sensible, there's not much harm U can do 2 UR system.

You guys rule

I've heard of KBasic or somin, but i dunoo

I'll probably just try it



Thanks again

There's KBasic, XBasic, something from Janus Software (this is the closest to VB that I've found - and has a cross compiler for Windows called Phoenix).

Lanning, playing networked games, Q3? Well, from what I've heard Q3 runs like an absolute gem under Linux, when installed properly. As for Lanning, Linux is a Unix-like OS, so its history and background are in Lanning.

Just give it a go. Trust me, it might feel like a leap at first, but you soon get used to the look, fell and general ethos that goes with it. You may even prefer it (like most of us do).

I use Linux as my only OS on my laptop at work. I had Win2k on here. 2yrs ago I made a dual boot Linux/Win2k..but now i just use Linux....
As far as programming in VB, have you tried Delphi? it's pretty much the same thing as VB, but works on all platforms....and for the other uses you need it for, the other guys have already posted good suggestions....At home I only use Linux, except for a small win98 partition for gaming...I play Tribes 1 and have been playing for 3yrs and still play about 4hrs a night (i know, i have no life) and haven't been able to get it to run in Linux for crap....can install it through wine, but once you touch the keyboard, it dies.....i haven't found anyone who has figured out how to run it well in Linux yet....<---slight tangent......to paraphrase Thymox: just try it....just my .02

There's a great little program asp2php which converts from asp to php (surprisingly). Usually an ASP server will run Perl 5.x too by default (I believe), so no holding you back there. VB though. Hmmm.

As Pink Floyd might say:

"Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?"

(God I feel old ... ;-{ )

Bert

The only advice I can add is not to get discouraged. If you've never used Linux before, don't expect it to be a smooth transition from Windoze. The learning curve will be pretty steep at first. Of course, that's what we're here for

One thing to keep in mind is this... Windoze is really built around the GUI interface (the desktop), where as in Linux, the GUI is usually just a fancy front-end. It's very difficult (if not impossible) to attempt to get anything done in Windoze without the GUI, but in Linux often times it's much easier and you have more control if you pop up a terminal and drive from the command line.

BTW, you might find Mandrake slightly more user friendly than Redhat for someone just starting out. It's built on Redhat, so they are very similar.

Why do you want to drop Windows? If it works for you why not stay with it and dual boot? Use Linux all the time if you want but dont limit your self on what OS to use thats just silly.

GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, why limit your ablity to do things by limiting your options.

I use both proudly!! I dont care what anyone says either. I like Linux i try to use it as much as i can but it is just a fact of life that you need to use Microsoft ans windows. I use windows at work because the apps i use are just not available for linux. To use some thing not as good just would not be productive.

Plus when i go for job interviews i say YES i know how to use linux and windows not just one or the other. wait ya know what i think more people should use just 1 OS , that means more opertunity for better jobs for me

I decided to make the transition from win to linux because windows drove me absolutly batty Just install linux and check it out. Keep in mind that there is a pretty steep learning curve - there's lots to learn and lots you can do with it, that makes it great IMHO, but after a month I reckon that any hard core windows man (err, person) would be converted. I've used MS OS' since my first computer, and since using linux I've not looked back, well, I keep a winme partition for games that wont run on linux, but quake3 and UT both run really well on linux and I've not used winme for ages.

Perhaps in your world, but not in mine. In fact Windoze WON'T work for me or the company I work for... it just doesn't have the functionality or horsepower to get the job done.

... but man is it great for playing video games

wow, thanks guys

That's why i wanted to partition, but when i go to partition, it wants to add a partition right at the start, before cylinder 1024...hmmm, i remember i did used to dual boot, and i had the partition right at the end. But thanks anyway man

I've used redhat before, but haven't just sat down and hacked around in it that much. I got some things working, the cheat way (using swat to get samba working etc)

Anyways, thanks guys

Sir Del,

you will need to dual boot for a while - I still have win on my machine, but rarely, use it. At the moment, I have a list of things that I do in Windows that I would like to do in Linux - and slowly, one by one, that list is being reduced. I imagine that it's the same for most newbies.

However, the thing that I find most enjoyable about using Linux, is that I have a chance of understanding what's going on under the covers of my machine.

Oh, and the other thing I love is that it doesn't crash - no matter how many apps I have running.

Well guys, i've done the conversion...I've been using Red Hat for nearly 2 days straight....I've almost set everything up...I must say that it is a struggle upgrading things like drivers and drivers, but eventually i will get the hang of it


Thanks guys

glad to hear it - welcome aboard!