Linux

[C-Chan]

*Slowly backs away then runs*

*evil laughter*

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!  Xeon-san, don't be shy....!  ^___________________________^
Vampires may bite, but pigs don't.....  ^________^

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We just gore people with our tusks.  ^v^;

*more evil laughter*

Nah, just kidding.  ^___^
In any event, thank you for stopping by the Linux thread and for considering the use of a Linux distro.  Please stand by while I gather the necessary starter package.  ^.^

*starts typing and researching*

Added after 1 hours 5 minutes:

Anyways my cousins computer broke because of his little brother *who tried to format it but destroyed the os and the cd* and he said he was gonna try linux.but Before he does something stupid *which happens a lot* i said i should ask a talking piggy and a vampire for help  since i know squat about linux .

So i was hoping you guys can recommend a good Linux thats possibly Idiot Proof and has some good free games he could play and able to run on his crappy computer and good for a person with no knowledge of linux what so ever :3.

Actually, I thought you knew a little about Linux since your cousins and/or neighbors were using it to try to leach your internet access (or am I thinking of someone else...?  '__')

Now setting aside the fact that destroying the OS AND the recovery CD strikes me as... sabotage... this is still an excellent opportunity for your cousin to try out something new and refreshing, since I'm guessing the compuer is past warranty AND it's still very expensive to buy a legal copy of even 2K, let alone XP.  

So far, our prerequisites are as follows:

a) Idiot Proof,... although since I have a thing about insulting other people's relatives, I'll just change that to Computer Knowledge-Impaired Proof.  -.-;

b) Good free games (although just about everything that goes with Linux is free).

c) Runs well on crappy computer (can you give me his specs?)

d) Good for Linux initiates (so we can discount Debian, OpenSUSE, CRUX and Arch Linux).

I'm assuming your cousin is very used to Windows (XP?), so ideally we'd want to offer something that runs on KDE (which has just about everything you need in a Windows environment and then some...).

I can't really give a definitive answer until I know his specs (don't want to install a KDE OS on a computer built in 1998 and with only 64megs of RAM), but so far I'm really feeling confident that PCLinuxOS may be the distros you're looking for.

PCLOS is a very simple, polished and professional-looking OS running the KDE desktop environment and based on the iconic Mandriva Linux (making it essentially a Texan operating system based on a French one... ^^;).  

It strives to be as beginner-friendly as possible, and has succeeded in many areas (including the graphical installer and Control Center).  Except in extreme cases, it will autodetect all your hardware and set it up for you (or in the case of your internet connection, run a simple wizard).  It also runs as a LiveCD as well, allowing you to run the system entirely on RAMdisk without installing even a KB onto your hard drive (at the cost of a slight performance decrease, but still a good way to test out the distros).  Speaking of speed, PCLOS is also faster than other equivalent distros, and makes slightly-older hardware work smooth and snappy.  ^.^


PCLOS has a ton of software preinstalled, so you can begin surfing the web, drawing a picture, composing a letter, or burning a CD/DVD immediately after popping in the LiveCD.  ^^
The only thing it doesn't come with preinstalled are games (not its target audience), but you can still download some off the online software repository.  ^__^

Incidentally, it's younger sister SAM Linux does have lots of neat games preinstalled, plus Wine and Beryl (so assuming your cousin's computer isn't too old or the video driver too problematic, he can potentially use all the cool 3D desktop effects without having to install a thing on his machine!)  ^v^
While the two are effectively the same, SAM runs on the Xfce desktop environment, making it lighter and hence ideal for REALLY old computers (<= 2001), but slightly more of a culture-shock for Windows migrants (e.g., setting up icons on the Xfce desktop is not a right-click affair).  ^^'

The only real disadvantage to PCLOS and SAM is that both are community efforts and have no corporate backing (unlike Ubuntu, OpenSUSE or Red Hat/Fedora).  This also translates to slightly smaller software repositories, although efforts to fill them up to meet user demand have increased significantly recently.  

If you need other reviews, you can find them here:

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=pclinuxos

although right off the bat here is a good one:

http://www.tuxmachines.org/node/15844

Bear in mind, however, that nearly all Linux distros come as LiveCDs (or in some cases LiveDVDs), so your cousin could potentially try as many as he wants before picking one to install permanently on his machine.  ^^

Perhaps in doing so, he might consider Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu as being a better choice for him, or perhaps Linux Mint or MEPIS.  Or perhaps he's more into the retro-look and will feel right at home with Puppy or Damn Small.  ^__^

If he's more of an artist or musician or video editor or scientist, there are distros designed specifically for those fields.  Even for hardcore [free] gamers, there is now a distros call linuX-gamers tailored specifcally for them.  ^.^

BTW, if PCLOS/SAM doesn't work out for him, try Linux Mint after that.  It's essentially a kinder, gentler, prettier Ubuntu, with proprietary software installed (so he doesn't have to worry about not being able to play DVDs or MP3s, even if this is legally questionable if you live in the US).... -v-'

And maybe you guys can also recommend me a Linux. a linux purely for work *since i run my games on windows* able to run photoshop, 3d cinema, C++, flash and possibly others.

In that case I reiterate my recommendation of PCLOS, but again all this depends on your machine.  I seem to recall you using Vista, so I think spec-wise you're all set although I'm assuming the machine is also 64-bit.  Currently there is no 64-bit flashplayer for Linux (Adobe isn't very nice to us), but this is only a concern if you're running 64-bit firefox (and by consequence, a 64-bit Linux distros).  I think PCLOS is purely a 32-bit one, so I don't believe you'll have this problem.

Linux is very development-friendly, so you'll find tons of apps that will help you in all your programming needs (nearly each one has gcc or g++ -- essentially GNU [free] version of C and C++ libraries -- preinstalled).  In fact, the default notepad for KDE (kwrite) has support for all manner of programming languages (perfect if you're coding for AmigaDOS... ^___^;).

If on the other hand you mean Macromedia/Adobe Flash and Visual Basic Studio, then it's different.  Of the ones you mentioned, only Cinema4D has a version that can run natively on Linux.  Neither Adobe nor Microsoft have thought it prudent to help promote free software, so naturally they've not built programs compatible with it.  Fortunately, you and half-a-million other Linux distros got tired of begging and decided to make them work on Linux come hell and high water!  ^v^

If you want to run Windows apps on Linux, you have the following choices:

- You can run them on Wine, which is a Windows compatibility layer (=Windows emulator).  This is the most robust and dynamic option (if something doesn't work, you can MAKE it work), although naturally also the hardest.

- You can run them on Crossover, which is essentially Wine with a nice GUI.  This isn't free, but it takes away the hassle of setting up Wine apps yourself, and runs the most common apps near-perfectly (especially Photoshop, Flash and M$ office products)

- You can run them on Cedega, which is the same as Crossover but mainly designed for games.  Something like Worlds of Warcraft runs flawlessly on Cedega.

- You can bypass all of this and just run Windows on a virtual Box such as VMWare, Parallels for Linux or QEMU.  For me this is the safest and less hassle-free option, since you're essentially install Windows in a fake computer and running it right on your desktop.  Especially if you're running a barebones version of XP, you could get the Windows box fired up in mere seconds, and use Photoshop and/or ImageReady to do any post-production tasks that you don't know how to do in Linux (which is the reason I keep them around... ^^).  QEMU is free, but you need a fast computer to get near-native speeds.  VMWare offers free virtual box services, but they lack the ability to easily share files with your OS (which forces you to do a lot of weird workarounds with Samba).  The VMWare and Parallels non-free programs, however, offer perfect emualtion (and in the case of Parallels, some 3D acceleration too, although I've only tested this out on Mac OSX).  

For a screenshot of what I mean, here's an old desktop picture of mine:

http://ostan-collections.net/post-28423.html#28423

That's running Windows XP vanilla on my 64-bit Xubuntu, and the speed is perfect (sometimes a little TOO fast...).  ^.^'

[Xeon]

Actually, I thought you knew a little about Linux since your cousins and/or neighbors were using it to try to leach your internet access (or am I thinking of someone else...? '__')

At my parents home *i stay there every weekend* i am surrounded by 3 cousins *one being a jerk but hey were family -W-* and my grandparents.this cousin lives a little farther *the irony is this cousin is stealing the internet from his neighbor @_@*i only have a little bit linux knowledge from my work but thats it.

Now setting aside the fact that destroying the OS AND the recovery CD strikes me as... sabotage... this is still an excellent opportunity for your cousin to try out something new and refreshing, since I'm guessing the compuer is past warranty AND it's still very expensive to buy a legal copy of even 2K, let alone XP.

I also have no idea how the heck they can destroy the os and cd @_@.And XP cost RM600 here *enough for a Geforce8500GT card * and 2k cost about RM200-RM300 here FTW.

a) Idiot Proof,... although since I have a thing about insulting other people's relatives, I'll just change that to Computer Knowledge-Impaired Proof. -.-;

Actually im serious about this they crash there computer on a daily basic.

c) Runs well on crappy computer (can you give me his specs?)

although i dont really remember all the specs but my vague memory tell me it has 512mb of ram,Pentium 3 and a geforce5500.

Perhaps in doing so, he might consider Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu as being a better choice for him, or perhaps Linux Mint or MEPIS. Or perhaps he's more into the retro-look and will feel right at home with Puppy or Damn Small. ^__^

Let me consult with him then.

If he's more of an artist or musician or video editor or scientist, there are distros designed specifically for those fields. Even for hardcore [free] gamers, there is now a distros call linuX-gamers tailored specifcally for them. ^.^

hes no scientist XD,he only plays games on his com so mayb that linuX-gamers would be good for him.

BTW, if PCLOS/SAM doesn't work out for him, try Linux Mint after that. It's essentially a kinder, gentler, prettier Ubuntu, with proprietary software installed (so he doesn't have to worry about not being able to play DVDs or MP3s, even if this is legally questionable if you live in the US).... -v-'

HAH!!11! i dont live in the US ^__^.

In that case I reiterate my recommendation of PCLOS, but again all this depends on your machine. I seem to recall you using Vista, so I think spec-wise you're all set although I'm assuming the machine is also 64-bit. Currently there is no 64-bit flashplayer for Linux (Adobe isn't very nice to us), but this is only a concern if you're running 64-bit firefox (and by consequence, a 64-bit Linux distros). I think PCLOS is purely a 32-bit one, so I don't believe you'll have this problem.

then i give PCLOS a shot then.

[C-Chan]

Yo Xeon.  Thanks for the uber quick response.  ^___^

HAH!!11! i dont live in the US ^__^.

Fufu!  I saw that when you started denominating your cash in Renminbi.  ^.^

I managed to pick up quite a lot of Yuan myself, right before they kicked me out of the foreign exchange store.  -v-'
(I didn't like their rates anyway....)

So congratulations, you can officially use Linux Mint without fear of being sued for not paying the media industry TWICE for using their products.  ^v^'

And XP cost RM600 here *enough for a Geforce8500GT card * and 2k cost about RM200-RM300 here FTW.

I also know of M$ plans to sell a watered down version of XP for RM23, but that's just an attempt to try to kill off Free Software.  ^.^'

If given the choice, I'd opt for that sweet sweet Geforce card.... ^v^
(cause I least I OWN that,... Windows, if you read the EULA, says you don't technically "own" it, you just sorta lease it from them).  ^___^'

Actually im serious about this they crash there computer on a daily basic.

Well if they can crash Linux, then we know they're a hopeless cause.  ^_____^;
No computer, except maybe for RISC OS, could survive them.  ^.^

Seriously, though, if that is a concern, make ABSOLUTELY SURE they never log into PCLOS as a "Root" user.  ^^
Or just give them SAM Linux instead (that one has no Root user option).

although i dont really remember all the specs but my vague memory tell me it has 512mb of ram,Pentium 3 and a geforce5500.

HOLY HELL!!!  THAT'S what you consider CRAPPY?!!  @0@
Ya make me feel so old..... -v-

Not only will that run SAM/PCLOS beautifully, but with a GF5xxx card they'll undoubtedly be able to run Beryl too.  ^.^

When it comes to Linux, RAM is more important than CPU.
Case in point, I inherited an old year 2000 Gateway from a friend, a 680mhz Celeron processor with 64megs of RAM, 10GB HD space, built-in Intel Graphics accelerator and no ethernet card (AND running Windows ME, which was SLOW).  Most linux LiveCDs require 128MB of RAM, so while I could still run some, most were very sluggish and useable, and I eventually installed Puppy on it for a while (and also added a cheap low-profile ethernet card).  

Then yesterday my 128MB SDRAM chip arrived and I added it for a total of 192MB of RAM.

AND WOW!!!  Not only could all the lightweight LiveCDs run smoothly, but so did the heavy KDE ones too!  (even Knoppix and Ubuntu!).  Despite the fact that it was such an old and slow Celeron, the performance (I eventually settled on Linux Mint Xfce edition) was so incredibly useable you'd think you were using a modern system.  ^__^

hes no scientist XD,he only plays games on his com so mayb that linuX-gamers would be good for him.

Well that one I just mentioned in passing, but let me clarify that I think linuX-Gamers is ONLY for games, meaning it doesn't have any other OS tools.  And even if it did, it runs on Arch Linux so that's hardly user-friendly.  ^^;

However, I would still burn a copy for him since it sounds like something he might like.  ^__^

http://www.linux-gamers.net/

For permanent installation, though, SAM is still probably a better choice since it's a "fun" OS (and will probably have that 3D stuff too).  ^.^

http://ostan-collections.net/post-31832.html#31832

then i give PCLOS a shot then.

Good choice, good choice.  ^.^
Don't forget to try it thorougly while you're in LiveCD, and let me know what you think.  ^___^

And if for any reason you need extra language support (it's English-only by default, unlike SAM), let me know and I'll  hook you up.  ^.^

[Tsubashi]

Goodness, senpai always beats me to these type of things! Why do people always ask about linux when I'm away from my home directory?

Anyways, I would echo everything C-Chan-senpai has said. PCLOS is the LiveCD I use when I need to do work at school (Since I can't stand their goofed up version of XP)

Quote:
although i dont really remember all the specs but my vague memory tell me it has 512mb of ram,Pentium 3 and a geforce5500.

HOLY HELL!!! THAT'S what you consider CRAPPY?!! @0@
Ya make me feel so old..... -v-

I'm with senpai, if that is "crappy" most of mine would be junk! I work on old PowerPC 5260/100 or related models alot. It can be a battle sometimes, trying to get linux onto one of those ^__^'

Or just give them SAM Linux instead (that one has no Root user option).

...Anno...
Not sure which version you are running, maybe they took it out in the new test version. ^^'

For permanent installation, though, SAM is still probably a better choice since it's a "fun" OS (and will probably have that 3D stuff too). ^.^

SAM is a very catchy, fun distro. I couldn't seem to keep a LiveCD for myself, so I put it on Sazaki-chan (my Mactel). I have also made it a point to keep four LiveCD on hand, since they seem to disappear quite quickly! (Twelve in one and a half weeks!)

Good luck! Be sure to let us know how it goes!

[Xeon]

Fufu! I saw that when you started denominating your cash in Renminbi. ^.^

I managed to pick up quite a lot of Yuan myself, right before they kicked me out of the foreign exchange store. -v-'
(I didn't like their rates anyway....)

To clear any possible confusion i am not chinese if thats what your thinking XD.I use RM because i frequently shop at this chinese place they always have the latest stuff ^__^.Considering im malay :3 which is funny MYR is also called RM XD.

If given the choice, I'd opt for that sweet sweet Geforce card.... ^v^
(cause I least I OWN that,... Windows, if you read the EULA, says you don't technically "own" it, you just sorta lease it from them). ^___^'

@_@ ooo did not know that.

HOLY HELL!!! THAT'S what you consider CRAPPY?!! @0@
Ya make me feel so old..... -v-

XD my standards are pretty high because i do a lot of rendering for sigs and wallpaper *as seen in my sig XD*

Well right now i can't burn or buy PCLOS *yes some shops here sell linux for RM5 ^__^ no fancy box though XD*since i ran out of CDRs and a  tree is currently blocking the road due to a storm happening right now ZzzZZZz.So i be stuck here for a while -W-.

[Tsubashi]

XD my standards are pretty high because i do a lot of rendering for sigs and wallpaper

I suppose since you are using Vista, you would need a lot of RAM to do those types of things. Being a poor student myself, it's nice to have opensource alternatives that fit in my old hardware quite nicely. For most things, the end result is the same. Still, there are always some things that need more RAM; there is no way to get around it.

[Bella]

I was just wondering how I get a picture to appear in Skydome instead of the gradient? I tried a couple from this site (these):

http://www.beryl-themes.org/content/show.php/Melbourne+Docklands?content=55329

http://www.beryl-themes.org/content/show.php/Milky+Way+Skydome?content=55640

First they saved as .php (not image) files. In SAM Linux, they did not work as a skydome image, rather, they opened in some sort of code editor.
Soooo, I saved them as .jpg files. Still, nada.

Any ideas?

[Xeon]

I am happy to report that i succesfully immigrated to linux *at least all my work*,and liking it ^__^.Although Photoshop is being a jerk and wont let me use my cd key *im not buying another copy of photoshop*.I would post a screenshot but it doesnt seem to be working.And i am loving this Live cd thing,now if my OS crashes i can save it with this.And to celebrate this momentous occasion i made two new sigs and posting them here XD.

Is it just me or this one doesnt seem to blend in well T_T.

Dawn of War ^__^

Makes me want to start a GFX thread XD.And feel free to use any of my sigs .

[C-Chan]

CONGRATULATIONS XEON-SAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  ^V^

Welcome to the wonderful world of Linux Distros.... ^___^

Sorry i can't write more this minute, but currently in the midst of experimenting with Elive, a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l Linux distros that runs lik e a dream on old hardware.....  ^.^

Bella-san....

I know you drew her and all, so this would be the perfect opportunity to see her in action on your old Compaq.... In other words....

OMYFREAKINGAWDHOLYMOTHERFUDGER!!!!!!!!
GETIT!!!!  GETIT!!!!  GETIT!!!!  GETIT!!!!  GETIT!!!!  GETIT!!!!  ^V^

IT'S INCREDIBLE,... I MEAN IT'S NO PRODUCTIVITY DISTRO, BUT BY GAWD IS IT GORGEOUS AND IT CAN GIVE YOU ALL THAT EYECANDY ON A MINIMUM OF 100MHZ CPU AND 64MB OF RAM!!!!

IT'S RUNNING GREAT ON MY NO-LONGER CRAPPY GATEWAY!!!!

THIS IS AWESOME!!!   BWAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!  ^V^

*C-chan blows up in exstacy*

Added after 24 seconds:

*reassembles blown up chunks*

Oh, btw, I'll be back...  ^^

[Bella]

Elive, eh? That does look quite nice, but isn't it supposed to be somewhat difficult...?

Added after 30 minutes:

OMG I'm Sonata!
*runs to change avi*

[C-Chan]

*swoons*

Now we're cookin' with FIYA!  ^V^

*blows hugs and kisses at Sonata-ized Bella*

And you picked my favorite picture of her to boot!  ^.^
It's not fair that you have to leave us now... Why couldn't the expedition have waited until at least you got to Vista.... -_____-

*pouts*  ^x^

Elive, eh? That does look quite nice, but isn't it supposed to be somewhat difficult...?

Naah,... you might be getting it mixed up with Dreamlinux or Zenwalk, since they all have similar mission statements.  On the other hand, the main site does state that Elive is not for beginners but also not for experts,... yada yada yada,... it's all about "Art".  Now that I've sobered up a bit, I guess I have to agree.  ^^

(BTW, I'm currently writing from Elive-tan as we speak....)

First off, the desktop is pretty and more importantly it... is.... FAST!!!!
Puppy-chan might be faster, but certainly for the amount of eyecandy and "namebrand" programs it offers for comparable performance, it's quite a bargain.  This thing definitely blows the old Windows ME installation out of the water and certainly tempts me to try this out as my primary system for a while (despite the computer being almost 8 years old).

But I would never trust any good thing that didn't have its fair share of "issues", and there are a few.  For one, the installer sucks,... appearance-wise (it's not always as nice as the desktop) and duration-wise.  Having gotten used to the fast, hassle-free installations of PCLOS and X/K/Ubuntu, I got into the habit of making fun of Windows installations (where it almost seems like it installs 3 times, plus an extra clean-up session once you're in the actual desktop).  Unfortunately, Elive, while it doesn't install thrice, has a VERY lengthy clean-up session that (at least on this machine) lasted longer than the install itself.... @o@'

Second, it's a Linux distros with distinction, and definitely enjoys being different than the rest,... kinda like a Volkswagon Beetle is to all the other cars.  Problem is that while the appearance is somewhat Mac-like, it really shares no similarity with any OS and makes for a slight "culture shock".  ^___^
That's why i said earlier that it's not really an OS built for productivity, since almost everything is GUI-based, key desktop features are unlabeled, and it goes to greater lengths than Xfce to obscure desktop and menu customization.... ^___^'
Also, while some recognizable programs are installed, others (while beautiful) are completely unknown to me and require some time to read-up-on (also, the Debian repository is similar to that of MEPIS, hence not very cutting-edge).  

Other than that, it's very easy to work with, and the looks alone are sure to keep newbies interested in figuring stuff out.

Bottom line, however, if you want an interactive piece of Linux art, this is your thing.  If you want something to work on during your photo expedition,... stick with something more productive.... ^___^'

Still doesn't mean I won't donate to this project, however.... ^.^

*opens up wallet*

Added after 46 seconds:

Oh, and hold on Xeon-san....
I'll be right with you.  ^.^

*switches over to Xubuntu-tan*

Added after 1 hours 38 minutes:

Goodness, senpai always beats me to these type of things! Why do people always ask about linux when I'm away from my home directory?

Fufu... I understand living in a home or even a coffin.... but a directory...? ^____^;

Anyways, I would echo everything C-Chan-senpai has said. PCLOS is the LiveCD I use when I need to do work at school (Since I can't stand their goofed up version of XP)

*bawls tears of joy*

Tsubashi-dono.... you - make - me - so - proud!  ;^v^;

Course, now I'm curious to see what your fellows think when they spot you using that "blue thing".  ^___^

...Anno...
Not sure which version you are running, maybe they took it out in the new test version. ^^'

Oh right right,... you can still run Root if you know what you're doin', but I'm saying on the regular login screen only Guest (or the active user) is enabled.  The Root user in the screen is intentionally disabled, and this has been brought up at their forum.  -.-

SAM is a very catchy, fun distro. I couldn't seem to keep a LiveCD for myself, so I put it on Sazaki-chan (my Mactel). I have also made it a point to keep four LiveCD on hand, since they seem to disappear quite quickly! (Twelve in one and a half weeks!)

*bawls tears of joy*

Tsubashi-dono.... you - make - me - so - proud!  ;^v^;

*bawls again*

And I'm feeling Deja Vu!  ;^0^;

To clear any possible confusion i am not chinese if thats what your thinking XD.I use RM because i frequently shop at this chinese place they always have the latest stuff ^__^.Considering im malay :3 which is funny MYR is also called RM XD.

Well yeah, clearing that up helps when there's no location label.... ^^;
But now you caught me at a disadvantage, cause even though I got tons of Yuan, I only have 15 Ringgit.... -.-;




..and only a few coins.  I feel like burying my head in shame.  -_____-

*buries head in ground*

ooo did not know that.

Here's a neat comparison of the XP EULA (a LOT less draconian than the Vista one) and GPL v2:

http://www.cyber.com.au/about/comparing_the_gpl_to_eula.pdf

Read section 19 of the Microsoft EULA to see what I mean...  ^.^

XD my standards are pretty high because i do a lot of rendering for sigs and wallpaper *as seen in my sig XD*

And to celebrate this momentous occasion i made two new sigs and posting them here XD.

I see, I see... ^___^
Sorry to say I already have a sig, but if I didn't I would definitely use this one...



I'll call it... "Suiseiseki-sama Eating Pocky Within a Tiberium Field"  ^v^
(good thing she's a doll... ^.^)

I am happy to report that i succesfully immigrated to linux *at least all my work*,and liking it ^__^.Although Photoshop is being a jerk and wont let me use my cd key *im not buying another copy of photoshop*.I would post a screenshot but it doesnt seem to be working.And i am loving this Live cd thing,now if my OS crashes i can save it with this.

WOOHOOO!!!  Now we're cookin' with FIYA!!  ^V^

BTW, what method did you end up using to port over Photoshop?  ^__^
If it's Wine, let me know (I actually haven't used it yet, to be honest...  ^.^').

I don't recall if PCLOS has the PrintScreen button synced with Ksnapshot (Kubuntu does), but in the meantime you can open up Ksnapshot manually by going into the Graphics application menu (and you might as well stick it into the quicklaunch bar for future use...).  You'll even be able to set a timer for your screen capture.  ^__^

As for Photoshop not wanting to accept your license, is it CS3 by any chance?  Personally I've always stuck with Photoshop 6.0, since none of the later releases impressed me (and at times, actually deterred me.... T__T).  But don't give up,.. when there's a will there's a way.... ^___^
Still,.. with Adobe's recent M$-like behavior, it's no wonder a lot of people succumb to the "black arts".... -__-
I guess that's the reason I'm trying to ween myself off of Photoshop and onto free alternatives like GIMP and Krita.  Better free than less-than-legal....  ^^;

Oh, and definitely that's the number one reason why everyone should be at least partially acquainted with a good LiveCD.  Once you know that you can shuttle your work safely out of your hard drive in case of system failure, there's is less and less to fear from Windows.  ^__^
In addition, some distros (such as Knoppix) even include diagnostic and repair tools for Windows, so you could theoretically fix a registry or remove a virus in the event that happens.  ^v^

[Bella]

And you picked my favorite picture of her to boot! ^.^
It's not fair that you have to leave us now... Why couldn't the expedition have waited until at least you got to Vista.... -_____-

No, that's *my* favorite pic

Second, it's a Linux distros with distinction, and definitely enjoys being different than the rest,... kinda like a Volkswagon Beetle is to all the other cars. Problem is that while the appearance is somewhat Mac-like, it really shares no similarity with any OS and makes for a slight "culture shock". ^___^
That's why i said earlier that it's not really an OS built for productivity, since almost everything is GUI-based, key desktop features are unlabeled, and it goes to greater lengths than Xfce to obscure desktop and menu customization.... ^___^'
Also, while some recognizable programs are installed, others (while beautiful) are completely unknown to me and require some time to read-up-on (also, the Debian repository is similar to that of MEPIS, hence not very cutting-edge).

Other than that, it's very easy to work with, and the looks alone are sure to keep newbies interested in figuring stuff out.

Bottom line, however, if you want an interactive piece of Linux art, this is your thing. If you want something to work on during your photo expedition,... stick with something more productive.... ^___^'

Oooh...an art OS...

Here's a neat comparison of the XP EULA (a LOT less draconian than the Vista one) and GPL v2:

http://www.cyber.com.au/about/comparing_the_gpl_to_eula.pdf

Read section 19 of the Microsoft EULA to see what I mean... ^.^

I'd read that if I had the time/attention span XD

But the EULA more or less says that we don't own our copy of Windows...we're leasing it from M$? O_o

[C-Chan]

But the EULA more or less says that we don't own our copy of Windows...we're leasing it from M$? O_o

In a nutshell.... ^___^;

That's the reason why, despite the fact that Windows has been assaulted by viruses, hackers and fatal system crashes for decades now, you've never heard of anyone successfully suing M$ for loss of data or business.  Even though you spend a lot of money on it, it's still YOUR fault for not spending extra cash to plug all the defects on THEIR product..... ^^;

Another reason why Vista has been loathed by EULA readers is because its License Agreement essentially continues the same charade but with 300% more GAWL.  

In fairness,  lots of companies do everything in their power to shirk off responsibility, although naturally this becomes less tolerable once a company turns into an effective monopoly.... ^^;

I'd read that if I had the time/attention span XD

It sounds like you'll have plenty of free time on your Photo Expedition, so you should give it a read.  I know the licenses themselves are boring, but the commentary is actually kinda funny.....  ^^

[Tsubashi]

Fufu... I understand living in a home or even a coffin.... but a directory...? ^____^;

a Home directory, senpai! ^__^

Course, now I'm curious to see what your fellows think when they spot you using that "blue thing". ^___^

Well, I have already given SAM LiveCDs to most of them, so usually they just ask "Does this one spin too?" '
I guess that is not entirely fair to them, there are plenty of them who have asked to use my terminal because theirs crashed (again ^__^). Plus, my little web development team is now entirely linux based! ^o^

Oh right right,... you can still run Root if you know what you're doin', but I'm saying on the regular login screen only Guest (or the active user) is enabled. The Root user in the screen is intentionally disabled, and this has been brought up at their forum. -.-

Ah, I see. That makes sense, especially considering the target audience. I guess new converts ought not to be given super-user access thateasily ^^'

Here's a neat comparison of the XP EULA (a LOT less draconian than the Vista one) and GPL v2:

Goodness, I think I did something like this once.

But I especially liked their comments on the whole: "IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT INSTALL OR USE THE PRODUCT; YOU MAY RETURN IT TO YOUR PLACE OF PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND."

For instance, it appears to be almost impossible to return an unused Windows XP product one has purchased with hardware, and receive a refund, as many users of alternative operating systems have found.

Heehee, I've done that one. That is probably one of the fastest ways to tick off a tech support person! ^__^

Another reason why Vista has been loathed by EULA readers is because its License Agreement essentially continues the same charade but with 300% more GAWL.

You know, a lot of people call me weird, but I make a point of reading EULAs and other informative documents as such (I actually find it fun ^^')
Vista, however, is where I draw the line. I can't even get through the first page, and aren't there like 14 or such? Gah! I don't think I'll ever read that one.

[C-Chan]

a Home directory, senpai! ^__^

That's still no comfort!  ^0^

*cries*

Waaaaaah!  My friend is just some bytes of data I could stick and forget about in that Home directory I hardly ever use....  ;^___^;

Well, I have already given SAM LiveCDs to most of them, so usually they just ask "Does this one spin too?" '
I guess that is not entirely fair to them, there are plenty of them who have asked to use my terminal because theirs crashed (again ^__^). Plus, my little web development team is now entirely linux based! ^o^

Eep,... well guess that is one drawback to having an alpha-version desktop decorator preloaded into a LiveCD... it sets a bad impression in case something goes wrong..... ^^;

BTW, funny story about Beryl,...
Before I installed Elive into my Gateway, I tried out SAM Linux and got it to boot beautifully (not surprisingly, given the machine was only built in 2000).  What DID surprise me however was that Beryl actually wanted to run on this simple integrated Intel i810 video driver!  @o@

The fact that all my newer machines make a fuss, while this 8-year old one is ready and willing to try out this eyecandy without protestation, speaks volumes for the crappiness of proprietary ATI (and some Nvidia) drivers..... ^___^

Naturally, it doesn't work,... or rather it gives me the cube, but the screen is all whited out and runs slowly (a common symptom of video driver incompatibility).  But it's still awesome to know that something as old as that could still potentially run Beryl.... @.@

Heehee, I've done that one. That is probably one of the fastest ways to tick off a tech support person! ^__^

I hear that... ^v^
Never was learned-enough before to try that before (and certainly won't now that I'll never buy a system with preinstalled Windows going forward), but trying to sell Dell back their OEM installation sounds kinda cute.... ^.^

I get enough weird stares at electronic stores when I mention I used Linux.... -v-;

You know, a lot of people call me weird, but I make a point of reading EULAs and other informative documents as such (I actually find it fun ^^')
Vista, however, is where I draw the line. I can't even get through the first page, and aren't there like 14 or such? Gah! I don't think I'll ever read that one.

Nothing weird about that.  In fact, that's really what EVERYONE should do.

Sometimes, however, they force you into positions where you have no choice but to bypass the License Agreements completely, be it if the product is preinstalled and can't really be returned even though it says it can, or if the game you purchased already has you addicted before you even install it, to the point where you'll click 'yes' to anything just to get your fix... ^^;

Admittedly, I learned that the hard way with Half Life 2 (during my old dial-up days,... CURSE YOU STEAM!!! >_< )

I swear never again!  ^0^
*lifts hoof in promise*