I love listening to mp3s on xmms and browsing the Internet with Netscape. But when I hit a Flash page, all browsing stops until xmms is shut down. How can I fix this? One person told me it is a limitation of Linux.

This depends on your hardware.

You can mix audio streams in either hardware or software, if you have a good sound card (e.g. sound blaster live player) then you are fine, otherwise you have to resort on using a software mixer like arts, if you have to set up everything to go thought it (XMMS does have an arts output plugin)

On a system where i need all the power i can get for my hlds i use my linux :).

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that there are too many sound "drivers/architechtures" out there. I know ALSA is one way to access sound cards, the others are directly using /dev/dsp (in my case at least) and according to some other people I spoke to, there are too many ways. Presumably all of them works through /dev/dsp in the end, so perhaps the different "drivers" obtain a locked write access to /dev/dsp, meaning any other process trying to access it gets put in a queue and in effect "crashes". Just an idea, would love to know whether this is in fact the reason.

Give me a reason why I should switch from Linux to Windows then.

I can do anything I want in Linux. I have no need for The largest coporation in the world/convicted felon to know everything that I'm doing and charge me for the privlidge.

I use Linux because its flexible and does what I want
 

I can get GNU/Linux systems of different styles and characteristics for a very nominal price. If I can afford it and I want to support a particular vendor, I can purchase a boxed set from some company, but the software is still well under $100, usually in the $25-50 range. I can also download GNU/Linux software at no cost from the Internet and install it on my systems, I can purchase inexpensive CDs, and I can tailor the software quite a bit.

The theme of these comments is CHOICE. A big thing that I get with GNU/Linux software is freedom of choice. That can add to the confusion level for the novice, but for me, it lets me do what I want with my system.

I have a system that has the latest Netscape and Mozilla Web browsers. With these two tools I can access most any Web site and deal with my Email. That ends up covering most of my day to day needs.

When it comes to interoperating with Windows, I have a free program called Abiword that comes up a lot faster than Word and is capable of at least reading (but usually updating, too) any documents that I may receive. I can certainly read, write, and send documents, such as resumes and reports, that have been created or modified with Abiword and exchange them with people who use Microsoft Word - I've tried it.

When the documents get too complex, I use an office suite called Open Office that can handle more than just word processor documents, it can also handle word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawings. A commercial version of Open Office, called Star Office 6.0, adds database software, additional fonts, and additional support.

I pay less for all of this stuff, even when I choose to add on a few things, than I do with any of the usual commercial software, especially the combination of Windows XP and Office XP, not to mention adding SQP Server, Back Office, or other stuff. That kind of capability comes with the software.

The only area I sometimes run into problems with is the level of hardware device support the GNU/Linux software offers. With my current Dell Dimension 4100 desktop system, all my hardware IS supported just fine, so I can do everything I do on any other system at significantly less cost and with more flexibility. To say that I am content would be a great understatement --- THIS is THE way to go, at least for me!

Ironic that *that's* your sig.. I won't argue with you then.. ;) ;)

suppose you wanna make a macromedia media clip, and u r a linux user.

what u gonna do ?

http://freshmeat.net/projects/swftools/ would be a good start. Then I would beat myself over the head until I had convinced myself to use SVG instead.

Why ask this question?? Windows sucks, what dont you get??

1) It's FREE
2) It's got a cool penguin!

I like linux and all just see no point in using it, I ran my halflife server on RH 7.2 and then on Win2k pro it ran as fast or faster than my linux setup.

powerdvd
 

Well I've used powerdvd 3.0 & 4.0 and found them to be really clean but a tad bit slow on my system. Where as winddvd performs realy well.

cool linux is really cool looking ,but it really does not cut it when it comes to some tuff work needed the next day.

using linux for everyday work?
 

I use linux for EVERYTHING. wordprocessing, internet, DVD, MPG, DIVX, mp3, email, EVERYTHING!

There is no windows on my machine, and i have never looked back. There is so much support available for linux, e.g. www.tldp.org and it is so easy to use once you get into it.

Make the change, and you will never go back

I agree. I rarely use anything else except my Libranet system, which is a Debian GNU/Linux distribution. It can do anything I need to do.

I do find Lycoris Desktop/LX to also be a very nice system just for every day desktop needs, and I've used that for several months as my primary desktop system.

I've also used Mandrake GNU/Linux for quite some time. Any of these distros makes a very usable every day computer system.

Each of these three systems has had a turn as my primary desktop computer system and I recommend each of them for different reasons:

Libranet (Debian) makes the most flexible, configurable sustem, bar none.

Lycoris makes for an extremely easy and usable desktop system.

Mandrake makes an excellent, all around, easy to use, yet extrenely powerful system.

I like each of them very much!