On 20/04/2014 11:42, Adrian C wrote:
On 19/04/14 18:46, John Williamson wrote:
On 19/04/2014 17:20, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Sat, 19 Apr 2014 14:06:09 +0100, Adrian C
wrote:
"Windows Crap? - come to Linux"
Yeah, come to Linux and get similar crap but for free.
I am, yet again, in the throes of trying to get Linux (Mint 16) to work
with the best hardware I can afford to record sound and video and use my
bluetooth linked phone as a 3G modem.
You'd probably be better off with an audio focused linux distribution,
not Mint - that's eye candy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ns_and_Add-Ons
I've tried Ubuntu studio and that didn't work either, as the low level
support isn't there for the stuff I use. It worked with the motherboard
sound, but the best available from the outboard sound was two channels
at 16 bits and 44.1 kHz out of the four available at 24 bits and 48 kHz.
All "just work" under Windows with the appropriate drivers. None are
cutting edge items, and all work well with any version of Windows from
XP to 7. The reason I've tried Linux is because I want to avoid Windows
8, in the same way and for similar reasons as I dodged ME and Vista.
I will shortly be removing Linux once more and restoring the boot sector
of the HD, and possibly replacing the XP with Windows 7, pending
Windows 9.
On the other hand, if I were just surfing the 'net and doing normal
office work and e-mails, I'd probably get away with using Linux. I know
this, because all the programs I use for this are open Source ones that
have been ported from Linux.
Some distributions of Linux already have appropriate drivers preloaded,
just need to choose the right one - or understand how to compile them in
(or create as modules) from source. Then you can be happy using any
distribution.
I managed to get the phone working by using a script to invoke pppd and
other network layers after installing a number of packages. Once.
Just takes a bit of googling with the hardware IDs (lspci, lsusb) of the
equipment you have, and delving deeper. I find tinkering with driver
code fun, and have even fixed a few hardware things in the past.
I don't find it fun, and would rather get on with using the computer.
If you are fed up of "restoring boot sectors" investigate virtualization
or purchasing an old ex-corporate true dual core desktop, available for
less than 100 squids.
Shrug I'm not so much fed up of restoring the boot sector, that takes
a few seconds with a boot CD. What ****es me off is that Linux doesn't
work for me, and never has except for the most basic functions. For
example, I am using the same mail folders and news folders for
Thunderbird on both Mint and XP, and can use either with no problems,
and even keep track of read articles when I switch platforms. Similarly,
with documents, Libre Office works in exactly the same way on both
platforms. Then I connect a video camera and try to edit some video, or
connect the USB soundcard, and it doesn't work. It works with the stills
as long as I save them as jpegs in camera, but last time I fired the
GIMP up, it choked on the RAW format files from the camera as the camera
is too new to be supported.
Incidentally, I've been going through this cycle since Linux came on a
couple of floppies glued to the front of the magazines. In those days,
it was normally the graphics card I couldn't get X to run on, although I
did once manage to get a 486 running X while hosting a couple of text
terminals, both running under Windows terminal on the other end of some
thin ethernet, running adventure on the server.
--
Tciao for Now!
John.