[Jodie Bardgett]

Recently I started playing around with virtual machines and the first one I made was an Ubuntu 10.10 one. So far things have been going smoothly but who knows what issues I may run into later. I figure I can use this to work with various distros and those I need to know for my Linux+ exam eventually would save hassle of having to reinstall if something goes overly bad since I can use snapshots.

I figure we could have a thread to discuss the various distros and problems or software and for people to get accustomed to using Linux if they are not already.

I had a question about some software:
I am used to using Comodo Firewall on Windows and was curious what firewall application I should look into for my Linux VMs. I also was curious as to what would be the best PDF reader that is not Adobe for Linux as well.

[Dylan Markese]

I think XPDF is the name of the program (it's been a while since I last booted Ubuntu).

[FirDaus LOVe farhana]

I think XPDF is the name of the program (it's been a while since I last booted Ubuntu).

Well I was looking for any Linux compatible program doesn't need to be Ubuntu itself.

[Anthony Rand]

Well I was looking for any Linux compatible program doesn't need to be Ubuntu itself.

Virtually all Linux programs can be run on any Linux distro (Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, etc), aside from some special cases. If precompiled binaries aren't available for a certain program... you just compile the program's source-code for your system and off you go.

[Jack]

Virtually all Linux programs can be run on any Linux distro (Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo, etc), aside from some special cases. If precompiled binaries aren't available for a certain program... you just compile the program's source-code for your system and off you go.

I had a feeling that was the case I was replying to the fact he referenced Ubuntu specifically. But that is a handy tip.

[Jack Moves]

I am used to using Comodo Firewall on Windows and was curious what firewall application I should look into for my Linux VMs

IPTables. It's not really needed for a home computer. Imho firewalls are even useless in Windows.

I also was curious as to what would be the best PDF reader that is not Adobe for Linux as well.

Depends on the desktop environment and toolkit. Use Okular or Evince, if you use KDE or GNOME.

[Guinevere Wood]

I've never found a PDF reader on Linux that wasn't awful. Evince is probably the least horrible of the bunch and Okular about the same. It's a real shame Foxit doesn't make a Linux version, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

edit: Well I'll be, Foxit did release a version for Linux! I just found out about it so I haven't used it yet, but if it's anything like the Windows version it's the best by far.

[Grace Francis]

Switched to Gentoo a few weeks ago, haven't looked back. Also finally moved away from Gnome to KDE. The 4.6 release is nice!

I'm also thinking about getting a netbook, throwing Arch Linux and Awesome on it. Anyone has any suggestions about Linux on netbooks? (NOT Ubuntu or anything similar, though. I prefer some degree of control )

[Nana Samboy]

Switched to Gentoo a few weeks ago, haven't looked back. Also finally moved away from Gnome to KDE. The 4.6 release is nice!

I'm also thinking about getting a netbook, throwing Arch Linux and Awesome on it. Anyone has any suggestions about Linux on netbooks? (NOT Ubuntu or anything similar, though. I prefer some degree of control )

Ubuntu offers you just as much control as any other Linux distro - just not all of the wires are laid bare like in Gentoo if you don't want them to be.

[Clea Jamerson]

Ubuntu offers you just as much control as any other Linux distro - just not all of the wires are laid bare like in Gentoo if you don't want them to be.

Alright, I'll qualify that: I want control over how my system is built, from (close to) the ground up. Not have it built for me with lots of useless stuff in it, that I then have to spend ages on in order to remove/reconfigure it.

[le GraiN]

IPTables. It's not really needed for a home computer. Imho firewalls are even useless in Windows.



Depends on the desktop environment and toolkit. Use Okular or Evince, if you use KDE or GNOME.

Evince is better than Okular IMO, and this is coming from a pretty big KDE fan.

I've never found a PDF reader on Linux that wasn't awful. Evince is probably the least horrible of the bunch and Okular about the same. It's a real shame Foxit doesn't make a Linux version, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

edit: Well I'll be, Foxit did release a version for Linux! I just found out about it so I haven't used it yet, but if it's anything like the Windows version it's the best by far.

I've yet to find a PDF reader PERIOD that isn't awful. Though Evince is probably the closest to not awful in my book. I even install it on some Windows computers.

Also finally moved away from Gnome to KDE. The 4.6 release is nice!

Yay! New blood! I was actually a bit disappointed in KDE 4.6. Don't get me wrong, they did a lot right, but I'm still experiencing some regressions in plasmoids since after 4.4. They just lost some of their stability. Of course I don't really use that many plasmoids so it isn't that big of a deal for me. KDE and LXDE remain the only full DEs that don't svck in my book.

[lucile]

I am having issues installing Java and Eclipse under Ubuntu 10.10. I have the tar.gz for Eclipse and I think I installed the .bin for the Java runtime but for some reason I think I am still having issues. I noticed in the Software Center the version of Eclipse is out of date so I don't exactly want to install that, and I can only find OpenJava or something like that rather than the actual Sun version. Any tips for me?

[Philip Lyon]

You need to enable the Canonical partners repo to get the official version of java

In the command prompt:

gksu /usr/bin/software-properties-gtk

Go to the other software tab and enable the partner repos

Close and reload your apt database, then run this:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin

(Yes, I could have explained the steps on how to do this with the UI, but it's so much simpler with commands)

After that, if still having issues with the latest version of Eclipse, here is a PPA: https://launchpad.net/~eclipse-team/+archive/debian-package

[Beast Attire]

OpenJDK is practically identical to the Sun release of Java. It's the same code, just built with a different harness.

Out-of-date packages are just the way things are with binary distributions.

[nath]

Out-of-date packages are just the way things are with binary distributions.

For the most part, true. If you want a binary distro but still live on the bleeding edge, give Arch Linux a try. It's pretty quick to update packages. For instance, the 2.6.37 kernel was in Arch only a day or two after Gentoo, if I recall correctly.

[edit] Actually, it might have been a little over a week, even. Still quite fast.

[Lucie H]

Do you guys have any suggestions for a Subversion client for Ubuntu? I use TortoiseSVN for Windows but it isn't cross platform. I also finally got java and Eclipse installed but Eclipse has the same issue that it had for my Windows install where the code suggestions would either be very delayed or not work altogether, so I am installing NetBeans (from their website). So far I am glad this is a virtual machine rather than real installation.

[Laura Richards]

Do you guys have any suggestions for a Subversion client for Ubuntu?

How about...Subversion?

[phillip crookes]

Do you guys have any suggestions for a Subversion client for Ubuntu? [...] so I am installing NetBeans (from their website).

Netbeans has great integration with subversion :shrug:

[Luna Lovegood]

For some reason my VM for Ubuntu keeps showing the floppy. I followed http://www.n00bsonubuntu.net/content/remove-the-floppy-drive-from-places-menu-ubuntu-10-10-maverick-meerkat/ guide and it comes back randomly after a reboot. Also for some reason my panel items ont he bottom keep getting all mixed up every so often even though they are locked.anyone experience either of these issues?

[xx_Jess_xx]

Do you guys know where I can get the IDLE Python editor for Fedora 14?I tried using its package manager but I don't see it. I know it showed up int he Ubuntu Software Center but for some reason I am failing with Fedora.

[Rachel Briere]

I'm thinking about switching from Ubuntu. Maybe to Fedora. Not sure though. Suggestions?

[Romy Welsch]

Why do you want to switch?

Aside from the way packages are distributed, Linux distributions are close enough to be identical for most users.

[Victoria Bartel]

No idea. I'm just one of those people who don't like things to be the same for long periods of time. Plus I don't like GNOME. Want something with KDE, I know there's Kubuntu. But yeah. I like variety over time.

[brenden casey]

No idea. I'm just one of those people who don't like things to be the same for long periods of time. Plus I don't like GNOME. Want something with KDE, I know there's Kubuntu. But yeah. I like variety over time.

Give Fedora a shot, I think Mandriva (Mandrake) also uses KDE by default but that has been awhile. Fedora has versions for each interface as well. Some of the stuff is a bit weirder to get to than Ubuntu and there is no fancy glass trash (if you care about that) but otherwise as said before they are close enough. It does seem that Fedora raises security though since your root password is different then you primary user account password, but this is ex[ected since they follow Red Hat (or are a branch?) and they are used for businesses.

If you have access to VirtualBox or VMWare why not try them out in a virtual machine first to see i fyou like them to save the time later and hassle if you change your mind after setting up a dual boot?

[A Lo RIkIton'ton]

When partitioning a drive how much would people tend to leave for / and the swap? I only have a 160GB drive and was planning to leave 35GB of that for Windows so I would prefer to get it right.