i just installed mandrake tonight, and it's my first time with a linux OS.

i like it, little things like the virtual desktops are genius.. but i've got some simple questions.

first of all, is there a patch or update somewhere to get logitech opti/wheel mice working? i tried every mouse option there was in hardware config, but none would detect the wheel. they detect it being clicked, but not scrolled.

oh, also, is there any way to get trillian working on linux? or perhaps a program LIKE linux? i need msn messenger. a good portion of my contacts are on it.

i've just got a lot to learn. i was going to ask if there was something like dbpoweramp (cdripper) when i noticed the thread below about the same thing. i looked through it, and most guys were saying "get grip" so i checked it out, and noticed it said "for gnome systems" and i realized... i don't even know wth gnome is. i know i picked kde to use, but it wasn't an informed choice, simply the defaut.

and what is wine? i just heard about it because i need to try and get steam working, needs ma counterstrike. and when i looked into it looks like it's going to take some serious work, config files n what not.

so new... so very new. but man am i liking it. so many little things about the system make me pause and have true "oh neat!" moments. good stuff.

any help would be appreciated

now to try and get steam/cs working -_-..

the new version of winex (version 3.3) supports cs and steam. The problem is, they only release the source through cvs(you probably dont know what that is, its ok). The best option to get it is too use a p2p client or use bit torrent and go to suprnova.org. First of all though, you should make sure you have your graphics card working correctly for 3d acceleration, then sound and all. As far as your scroll, do a search of the forums for "ZAxis Mapping" and youll find a thread on how to enable it. Worry about getting your system working to your liking, you may have some headaches trying to jump into Linux as a gaming system.

That was my main problem with Linux back when I tried it 1-2 years ago, but since then, I've grown terribly BORED of games...

That's why I finally made the switch

I used to use Trillian when I was on WinXP. The older versions of GAIM were horrible (in my opinion) compared to it, but towards the end of my using of Windows, I tried the Windows version of GAIM out. Since the older versions, they have made it so much better, and I now prefer GAIM over Trillian.

You should give GAIM a try. I've tried MDK in the past, but I don't remember if it actually comes with GAIM. Even if it does. I would recommend downloading the latest version of it off of their site.

Good luck, the first 3 times I tried Linux I ended up switching back. I'm here to stay now that I have Slack though

EDIT: Oh, and also, even if there is a MDK RPM, download the source. You are going to have to get used to compiling stuff since that is the way 90% of everything is distributed.

yea i have gaim, but... isn't that just for aim?

maybe it can be configured for additional clients but like.. i can't quite figure out how to get in "config" files, as it were. like, on windows to figure that out i could just do my computer --> c --> program files --> trillian --> config.

but in linux, i can't quite figure out how you get to em.. "program files" i suppose, if you know what i mean.

oh haha, i just looked in gaims options, saw it's multi-client support.. duh. i had figured it was just aim from the name, + i was anxious to start learning about all the other stuff so i didn't even look at the options.

anyways, that still leaves the question though, how do you get into programs file listings, into their directories.

Run it, and click Tools > Accounts. Then click Add.

You can add AIM, ICQ, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Jabber, MSN, Napster (I have no clue why they have this in it ), TOC, Yahoo, and Zephyr accounts, more than Trillian has.

ergh.. for msn and yahoo i'm getting "protocol not supported" :T

What do you mean by that?

Gnome is a stripped down version of KDE to me, I can't even see why people would prefer it.

WINE Is Not an Emulator

Goto http://www.winehq.org/ for more information.

I dont know where config files are as far as Gaim goes, but in general, most bigger programs(servers like X, Apache, Samba) are in the /etc directory, though most of the time you can specify where you want it. The /etc directory is where 90% of the things youll need as far as configuring your own system. If youre really into learning linux, I would try Slackware or Gentoo, if only because they have awesome documentation. I often find it easier to look up something on Linux by checking out the book on Slackware's site, www.slackware.org/book/, then i do searching google or using LQ. Gentoo's installation and configuration resources are very detailed and will teach you alot of Linux.
For msn messenger, check this out:
http://amsn.sourceforge.net/
For yahoo messenger, check this out:
http://messenger.yahoo.com/messenger/download/unix.html