I am a Windows XP user who is wanting to try Linux. I installed Linspire but then found out I have to subscribe to their service to get even free software. I am now downloading the newest release of Mandrake and will install that but I was wondering where can I download free shareware at? I am basically looking for a free DVD player, MP3 player, word processor (will probably download Open Office) and little games like Bejeweled and stuff. I might want to get a budget program and a nice address book.

Where can I download this stuff?

welcome to LQ

a good place to start is http://freshmeat.net/ -- tens of thousands (literally) projects to choose from. or just search for a project's homepage.

also note that a lot of the basic apps will already be included in a big distro like Mandrake.

I am downloading "Mandrake 10.1 Official DVD" which is 2.03GB. Does this include a DVD player, MP3 player and Open Office already?

Hi!

Well, it will be difficult to find shareware for Linux, because everything (or almost everything) is free, thus freeware is the word around here ^_^. And you did great by switching to Mandrake.

If you are familiar with Windows packages, you might want to check this list out. It's a big list with equivalents Windows - Linux:

http://linuxshop.ru/linuxbegin/win-l...en/table.shtml

You will also want to learn how to configure urpmi (Mandrake's package manager) to download packages and dependencies directly from the Internet, ratter then switching disks and stuff.

http://easyurpmi.zarb.org/

You can learn more about urpmi here:

http://www.urpmi.org/

You can find lots of packages for Mandrake here:

http://rpm.pbone.net/

to save you sometime, I could recommend:

DVD Player: mplayer. It's very fast, can run in command line mode or graphically. Can play everything that you can think of, from mp3's to DVD's and DivX. Drawback is, it does not work well with DVD menus, but it's not big deal, really. If all you want is a DVD player, Ogle will do.

http://www.mplayerhq.hu/

http://www.dtek.chalmers.se/groups/dvd/

MP3: as I said, mplayer can play mp3's, but if you are looking for something more Winamp-like, XMMS is the one you want. I been using it for years, but lately I kinda prefer rhythmbox

http://www.xmms.org/

http://www.rhythmbox.org/

For Word Processor, Open Office kicks some serious one. However, there are many other alternatives if you don't need a full Office suit. Abiword is very light weight and very nice:

http://www.abisource.com/

Good luck!

Wow thanks!

Possibly. Lately, however, a lot of programs have been shipped quite crippled. XMMS without mp3 playback or Totem that can't play anything. I totally understand the license issues when shipping Free software that can play non free formats (as mp3 or DivX or even DVD's), but shipping crippled applications just takes space and don't help anyone. I hope the big Linux distributions will soon realize that. It's just annoying.

Rants apart, if the applications shipped with mandrake are non functional, remove and get the packages from somewhere else or google to know how to make those applications operational again.

Oh, and you've mentioned games as well and your nickname is of a true gamer =). It's possible to run a hell lot of Windows games (DirectX based games) through some "sort" of emulator. Check out Cedega:

www.transgaming.com

There're many installers for Linux as well, so you can run games as Neverwinter Nights, Unreal Tournament, Quake and many other natively in Linux. Here are some:

http://icculus.org/~ravage/

if you are into shooters, get Enemy Territory. It's totally free Online game and has a Linux port. It uses the same engine as Return to the Castle Wolfenstein. I'm so addicted to that one, LOL

Side note: About Mandrake and crippled applications, it just was a guess. Maybe Mandy has everything working right out the box ^_^

GameGuru -

Welcome!


MD

In order to play encrypted dvd's you may need to install libdvdcss , at least with Xine the default DVD player in most distros.

As someone else already stated most distros can play mp3, dvd's and have a dissent Word Processor out of the box.

P.S. The only shareware installed on my system is acrobat reader and it's not necessary. You can find a lot of free pdf readers.

I use Snowmint's Budget for my finances but they don't have a Linux port. How does Windows emulation work? Will it work with this program? It has a free trial if anyone with Windows emulation might be able to download and install it and let me know how it works that would be great. It is under 3MB.

http://www.snowmintcs.com/products/budgetwin/index.php

I personally think you would have been better off downloading the latest Mandriva release (2005LE). Its a lot more stable and polished than 10.1. Anyway Mandriva ships with OpenOffice.org, xine, kaffeine, xmms etc. None of the multimedia apps are crippled, but you may need to install libdvdcss and win32 codecs from the PLF rpm repository.

Ok I am down to about 3 hours left (from about 11 hours) on my Mandrake Official 10.1 DVD, was this time wasted? Is this full of bugs and crippled software?

If so can anyone link me to a Mandrake/Mandriva DVD ISO that I should get so I can download over the night?

I actually ordered the disks directly from Mandrake, but they should be the same as the iso's.

Most of my programs "just worked" right out of the box.

One of the nice things about Mandrake/Mandriva is that it will, if you so desire, set your computer up to dual-boot between Windows and Linux. It's been a lifesaver when I couldn't get a Windows program I absolutely NEEDED to run to work with WINE right away. I've also been able to pick up my documents (like, f'instance, my wallpaper and MP3's) without having to pray that they backed up correctly.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't back up, of course.

Note about OpenOffice.org: as long as you're not using any silly complex macros, it should be able to open your Word/Excel files and resave them without too much trouble - estimated compatibility without the macros, about 98 to 99%.

There are three current Windows "emulations" available:
- WINE ("WINE Is Not an Emulator"), which is a method of using Windows DLL's to run Windows software. It's in very rapid development, but it is open source (thereby $free)
- Crossover, which is related to WINE but is a commercial, proprietary-code product, although the price tag is fairly low IIRC
- Win4Lin, which comes in home and professional versions. It requires you to install Windows within it. The home version (about $30) handles up to Win98, the pro version ($90, I think) can handle up to WinXP.

Not every Windows program works perfectly, but (because it uses Windows) Win4Lin has probably got the most success at running the most Windows programs.

for high performance games, Cedga is probally the easiest way to go, but its gonna cost you 15 bux if you want the super easy point and click installer. For a bit more work, it can be had free (installing via cvs and using command line a bit)