linux

You should probably stay with Windows. Linux is just not as user friendly as Winblows. I know, those constant freezes and crashes and blue screens in Winblows are annoying, but I think for where you are and what you're doing, you should just stick to Windows.

Linux is an open-sourced OS. The source code is available to all, and all are encouraged to alter Linux in whatever way they see fit. In fact, that's one of the real strengths of Linux and open-sourcing in general, that there is an ever-expanding knowledge base and the system itself gets better every week (potentially).

Installing Linux would mean needing a dual boot system for your computer. Again, just stay with Windows98SE for now.

Although nepenthe is probably right, there are some distributions of Linux that are (rapidly) catching up to the user friendliness of Windows. Corel Linux, for example, has an easier install program than Windows does (as long as your hardware is supported).

If you've got a 2nd hard drive that you aren't using, I'd say go ahead and try it out. You'd probably be surprised at how easy to use it is. I know alot of people hear the word Linux and think of the dark days of Unix terminals and their command prompt mysteries. Linux has come a long way from that

I think the bottom line for anyone considering the big leap is what do you want your computer to do?

If you want easy setup, automatic hardware configuration, and complete ease of use for tasks as simple as web surfing over 56k and emailing the grandkids, then 32 bit Windows is your OS. If you want support for every game on the market, Windows again. If you want a stable, powerful, and already configured machine that runs common apps very well and most of the games out there (the top 10 titles anyways), get a MAC!

If you have need for server operations, or are just a tinkerer who loves to optimize his computer and his OS, then Linux/Unix might be fun to try. The learning curve is a bit steep, but once you get your feet wet the stability and configurability of a Linux/Unix OS is addictive. I don't even like web surfing under Windoze anymore. I have a 98FE partition for games only pretty much.

Xayd

Stay with Windows if you're a gamer.
Try UNIX if you're looking to be a network admin, if you're a C developer or if you are running a lot of internet services.

Well, if you don't know what openlinux is then you should definitely stay with windows. That is assuming you mean one or the other exclusively. But since you are interested, and if you have a large enough hard drive, what you should do is set up a dual boot system(or a 2nd hard drive). It is very easy to do, especially if you have partitioning software like partition magic. Like alien8 said already, the easiest to start out with, especially from an installation standpoint, is probably corel linux. Good luck. Say goodby to lockups and BoD.

Say goodbye to me???? BoD nepenthe???

Just kidding. He means Bluescreen of Death, oreca! Everyone makes great points here.

I did Red Hat a while back. I'm pretty ignorant of the Linux community at this point, but wasn't Mandrake 7 well-regarded?

Ah, anyway, oreca, since I know a little bit about ya, I can say that you're better off stickin with the Micro$oft operating system you have now. And so am I, unfortunately.

lol. Yes, I meant blue screen of death. Sheesh I feel kinda bad nepenthe, I already teased you in off topic and now this! Thanks for being a good sport.

When I first started using Linux(in addition to windows) it took me about a week to get my sound card working, and another week to just install a program from a cd. If you have zero programming experience Linux will be really foreign, but it is positively well worth your time to check it out. Just dont abandon windows. I look forward to the day when I can!

Yes, I should have mentioned that I still have a windows 98 installation on my comp, as unfortunately UT 428 refuses to run in OpenGL, and the short time that it takes to reboot to Win more than makes up for the graphical quality of software rendering.

Jeez all this talk to windows gaming has me itching to reboot and play PGA Championship 2000. In fact, I think I will

unfortunately UT 428 refuses to run in OpenGL

Click to expand...

Are you talking about OpenGL problems with LinuxUT 428?

If so, there's word on this from the loki.games.ut newsgroup:

as mentioned in the subject line

http://www.lokigames.com/~vogel/UT/SDLGLDrv.so

has a replacement for the SDLGLDrv.so file in your System directory. This does
not help for TNT/TNT2 users but brings 428 up to speed with 425 on all other
cards.

As soon as we fix the issues with TNT/TNT2 cards (if it is our fault) we'll
issue an official patch.


--
Daniel Vogel
Programmer
Loki Entertainment Software

Click to expand...

I also found:

I located the problem with TNT/ TNT2s and it _really_ looks like a driver issue.
As a quick hack simply replace the SDLGLDrv.so from 428 with the one that comes
with 425 - you won't have the added features but it will at least work...

Click to expand...

... and finally:

ALSO IF YOU ARE GETTING 1 FPS PERFORMANCE IN GAMEPLAY AND EVEN THE MENU IS SLOW READ THIS:

I also figured out (damn I'm humble ;-) ) why the GLX drivers weren't kicking in. You've been installing GLX with the Source correct? Yeah you know you have. What you have to do, is install the GLX RPM for Redhat 6.1 or whatever you need. It will erase certain files and do actions that the Source wouldn't. Then if you NEED the source (say your running XFree86 4.01) to work, just go ahead and run make install! Thats it, it fixed it for me.

Click to expand...

Wow! thanks alot cosmic. I've got the 1fps problem - After about 6 frames, it crashes with a blt error. I'll definitely have to try that.

For LinuxUT TNT users

This was just posted to loki.games.ut:

http://www.lokigames.com/~vogel/UT/SDLGLDrv.so has an updated version of your
SDLGLDrv.so file. Simply replace the one in your System directory with it and
add UseTNT=1 to the SDLGLDrv.SDLGLRenderDevice section of your
UnrealTournament.ini file.

I am fairly certain that it is a driver issue and once it is fixed I will remove
the UseTNT option.

There will be an official patch that also fixes the keyrepeat problems with
keys on the numpad and OpenAL on K6 processors soon.

vogel@dharma:~/games/ut/System > md5sum SDLGLDrv.so
5616fb993b5a87365cb23c0133762f8b SDLGLDrv.so

--
Daniel Vogel vogel@lokigames.com
Programmer 714-505-8915 x17
Loki Software http://www.lokigames.com

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Nope, no luck I'm afraid. I'm positive its a problem with the drivers for my matrox g400. I'm using XFree86 4.0.0, and so I can't use the UtahGLX drivers, and my last attempt to upgrade to 4.0.1 (so I could use Matrox's recently released drivers) ended up a failure. Do you know if it is possible to 'downgrade' to 3.3.6? If I could, the UtahGLX drivers would work for me.

I did alter the .ini to play in software mode. I forgot how pampered I was being able to play in 1024x768 32bit color D3D

Best thing to do is get in touch with Loki. They've not only taken over creating patches, but also full support of LinuxUT.

Taken from their website http://www.lokigames.com/support/ :

Direct Assistance

If you need direct assistance with the game, fill out the bug report form or send an e-mail to support@lokigames.com with the title of the game you are having problems with in the subject line. You can also phone our support center at ++1 (714) 508-2140 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (U.S. Pacific Standard Time) Monday through Friday, except holidays.

So we can better help you, please provide the following information:

Complete product title and version (e.g. sof -v)
Exact error message reported (if any) and a brief description of the problem ­ attach any .sav file if applicable
Linux distribution and version
Computer processor type and speed (e.g. AMD K6-300, Pentium II 233)
RAM and hard disk space available
Video and sound card make and model (e.g. Diamond Stealth 64 video, Sound Blaster 16 sound)

Click to expand...

You can also access their UT newsgroup at under most web browsers and news readers at:

news://news.lokigames.com/loki.games.ut



-- SimplyCosmic (Who needs his Tux with Redeemer pic as his forum avatar)