OK *nix heads, what should I do?

[TheCruelOne]

you can boot from an external drive only if the BIOS supports it.  Most newer BIOS do.

[insomnia]

quote:Originally posted by Darth Jimmy James:
and I heartily stand by my suggestion: Be OS

http://www.beosmax.org

BeOS is not supported enough, powerless, and has no future.
Stick with Linux(or freeBSD).

http://www.linuxiso.org

[Laukev7]

quote: BeOS is not supported enough, powerless, and has no future.

How much hardware support will you ever need on an old crap-box Wintel?

Powerless? Have you even used BeOS? It has unix-style command line (sh), like Linux and FreeBSD. It's very stable, like other unices. It was Apple's first choice to be used for their OS X, before they decided to use OpenStep instead. It boots in a few seconds, unlike Linux. It has an easy, way better windowing interface than that old, clunky X11 piece of shit. And yes, you can even install X11 on BeOS, and with only a few mouse clicks.

No future? Ever heard of YellowTab, OpenBeOS, Blue Eyed OS?

Still, if you want to make a server, then FreeBSD is an excellent choice.

[slave]

I have several questions about Be OS.

1. Is there a completely free (as in GPL/BSD license) version of it that works as well as the proprietary version?

2. How many devices does it support?  More or less than Linux?  Would it work on my laptop? (Toshiba Satellite, DVD/CDRW combo drive, Nvidia geforce 4 go, ACPI power management)

3. What is it based on?  Unix?  Some type of BSD?  Something else?

4. The only screenshots I've seen of Be OS look downright ugly to me.  Around the same quality that KDE version 1.0 looked.  Has this improved, and where can I see some better screenshots?

5. How many people are developing it?  More or less than Linux or FreeBSD?

6. What kind of software management system does it use?  Can I install and use apt for it?

7. What exactly makes it easier to use than, say, Fedora/Red Hat Linux or SuSE?

[Laukev7]

quote: 1. Is there a completely free (as in GPL/BSD license) version of it that works as well as the proprietary version?

There's OpenBeOS and BlueEyedOS, but they're not ready yet.

   

quote: 2. How many devices does it support?  More or less than Linux?  Would it work on my laptop? (Toshiba Satellite, DVD/CDRW combo drive, Nvidia geforce 4 go, ACPI power management)

Yup.

http://www.bedrivers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5

B&W with the default driver. But usable nvidia 4 drivers are in development, and available.

http://web.inter.nl.net/users/be-hold/BeOS/NVdriver/index.html

   

quote: 3. What is it based on?  Unix?  Some type of BSD?  Something else?

It resembles UNIX, and shares many of its features, but BeOS is an OS of its own.

   

quote: 4. The only screenshots I've seen of Be OS look downright ugly to me.  Around the same quality that KDE version 1.0 looked.  Has this improved, and where can I see some better screenshots?

YellowTab from Zeta has the most updated BeOS interface you'll find.

Older versions are rather plain, though, so you may want to theme it if you want a non-commercial version.

   

quote: 5. How many people are developing it?  More or less than Linux or FreeBSD?

I can't tell how many, but they are quite a few.

   

quote: 6. What kind of software management system does it use?

Drag. Or .pkg files.

   

quote:  Can I install and use apt for it?

Trust me, you won't need it. You can compile it from source, but there would be little point in doing so, as the native BeOS packages do not support apt.

 

quote: 7. What exactly makes it easier to use than, say, Fedora/Red Hat Linux or SuSE?

See above. Also, it is, like the Mac OS, a spatial environment, rather than a centralised one. It's hard to explain, so you may want to refer to my posts in this thread.

[ October 20, 2003: Message edited by: Laukev7: Has half Macman's posts ]

[ October 20, 2003: Message edited by: Laukev7: Has half Macman's posts ]

[ October 20, 2003: Message edited by: Laukev7: Has half Macman's posts ]

[hm_murdock]

1) BeOS Max is the original BeOS codebase. There are several OSS Be derivatives. Last time I checked, our intrepid gundam pilot here wasn't concerned with Open Sourcedness

2) All of those mentioned. Be OS Max runs equally well on VPC5 and 6 as it does on a PMMX 233 with an S3 ViRGE, and a Celeron 633 with GeForce4. All my hardware is supported.

3) It's based on Be OS. I don't understand the assumption that everything has to be "based on" something else. Maybe every now and then someone creates their own fucking OS.

4) That's your opinion, stop stating it as fact. he's used to Macs, and Be will be more akin to the classic Mac OS, and therefore more like Mac OS X. I don't know how much experience Duo has with other platforms. All I know is that he knows Macs, and I'm suggesting to him an OS with a similar UI... as Be is based heavily on the classic Mac OS.

5) Less, but software is more like Mac OS, and therefore is simpler in nature, and higher quality.

6) Most Be software is contained in a single icon. You don't need management. Again, some people actually strive to be better and come up with something that's not just another UNIX. Be's idea for packages comes from NeXT. Fuck aptget. I'd rather drag an icon.

7) Because it's not UNIX. It's got a POSIX layer and can run some UNIXish command-line junk, but Be, like Mac OS or NT, is graphical from its core. That makes it inherently easier.

As for the statement that Be is dead... you *could* say that. The Be OS codebase continues though. YellowTab Zeta, BlueEyed OS, and several others are continuing development.

Duo, if you've got AIM or iChat, or any AIM client, IM me at murdock160

[Laukev7]

quote:4) That's your opinion, stop stating it as fact. he's used to Macs, and Be will be more akin to the classic Mac OS, and therefore more like Mac OS X. I don't know how much experience Duo has with other platforms. All I know is that he knows Macs, and I'm suggesting to him an OS with a similar UI... as Be is based heavily on the classic Mac OS.]

I think Linux User was asking those questions for himself.

[insomnia]

quote:How much hardware support will you ever need on an old crap-box Wintel?

More than on a new one.

 

quote:Powerless? Have you even used BeOS? It has unix-style command line (sh), like Linux and FreeBSD. It's very stable, like other unices.

I still use it.
It's nice. But their's not enough support for it.

 

quote: It was Apple's first choice to be used for their OS X, before they decided to use OpenStep instead.

I'm not a big fan of OS X.

 

quote:It boots in a few seconds, unlike Linux.

You can boot any unix just as fast. In default, Linux boots slower, this is cause it loads a bigger kernel into your memory. Since you don't have to reboot a server based system, this does make your system run faster.

 

quote:It has an easy, way better windowing interface than that old, clunky X11 piece of shit. And yes, you can even install X11 on BeOS, and with only a few mouse clicks.

You don't understand X11.

 

quote:No future? Ever heard of YellowTab, OpenBeOS, Blue Eyed OS?

...that's all?
(Hopefully for BeOS that's enough, but I doubt it...)

 

quote:Still, if you want to make a server, then FreeBSD is an excellent choice.

Most UNIX based systems are excellent servers.

[Laukev7]

quote: But their's not enough support for it.

The issue here is not support. Duo already has a  well-supported computer that runs OS X.

 

quote: I'm not a big fan of OS X.

I am. And Duo Maxwell appears to be one as well.

 

quote: You can boot any unix just as fast. In default, Linux boots slower, this is cause it loads a bigger kernel into your memory. Since you don't have to reboot a server based system, this does make your system run faster.

I know about the services and the bigger kernel. I customise my FreeBSD kernel to make it load faster.

 

quote: You don't understand X11.

Many people more knowledgeable than I am hate X11. It's tedious to configure and dated. It's not for nothing that Apple, BeOS and AtheOS, don't use it by default. There are even community projects like Fresco are aiming to offer a better alternative to X11.

 

quote: ...that's all?

http://www.cosmoe.com/
http://www.beosmax.org/main.php
http://www.beunited.org/
http://befree.berlios.de/

[hm_murdock]

quote: I'm not a big fan of OS X.

Who fucking asked you?

You're not looking for an OS to run, HE IS. If you can't offer useful suggestions, then fuck off.

 

quote: You don't understand X11.

You're right. i don't. I don't understand how a tired ass, outmoded, low-tech, last-generation, dead-end turd like X11 still hangs around. And what the fuck does your statement mean anyway? Because he states that Be's framework is better (look at the tech specs... IT IS), and that you can install an X11 layer on Be... he "doesn't understand"...

One question...

DID YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT HE SAID?

I don't believe you did. Every other graphics framework is better than X11, even GDI. Yes, WINDOWS XP HAS A BETTER GRAPHIC FRAMEWORK.

Duo, if these guys haven't scared you off, IM me man... murdock160 on AIM. I'll talk to you straight, and we'll get something picked out.

And if you'll let me borrow Deathscythe, I'll end this petty squabbling!  

[billy_gates]

I highly suggest BeOS.  Its a wonderful OS.  Its fast and easy.  Its very much like OS 9 and X.  It is far easier than Linux.  And the GUI won't crash on you like X11 does every 5 minutes.  I use OSX, and on my PC I use BeOS and windows.  I trashed my slackware installation cus I hated it.  Linux with its archaic file structures and building code and using apt-get and ancient X11 which crashes like no other.  Combined with its lack of response and visual cues as to when something is happening.  All work together to make every distro of Linux THE least appealing OS that I have ever used.

Go with BeOS if you want to use the computer
Linux is good, combined with webmin, for a server.  Webmin makes it so you never have to touch that archaic OS.  Instead you can manage everything from any browser on any system.

I highly suggest BeOS.  Try it first.  Its small, and quick and easy to install.  So then if you don't like it you don't lose much time.  Then if you don't like BeOS you can spend hours playing around with the installation of some bloated 3 disc linux distro.  I KNOW you won't like that.  So at that point its time to use MS or just salvage the PC for RAM, optical drives, and Hard Drives.


Good Luck, I wish you good PC'in.... although it can't be that good if your a mac user.  I hate using my PC no matter what OS is on it.

[Laukev7]

quote: Then if you don't like BeOS you can spend hours playing around with the installation of some bloated 3 disc linux distro. I KNOW you won't like that.

I second that. For nearly three years I've been toying aimlessly and switching between various Linux distros, trying to escape the Microsoft monopoly. I tried to like Linux, but none of the distros ever satisfied me completely; all that time I lost tinkering my Linux distro(s) to my taste, all that time lost installing package after package to get the features I need, without ever knowing what to install, and ending up with a huge maze of similar applications, few of which I actually used. Even with apt I had problems. All that for distros that look too much like the OS I wanted to escape in the first place.

Eventually I got SICK of Linux, and decided to revert to Windows and BeOS until I get the money to buy a Mac, which I should have done in the first place, as it was what I really wanted for a long time. Fortunalely, as I entered college, I have the chance to use Mac OS X at school, and I use it as much as possible.

[hm_murdock]

Linux is not a desktop system.

'nuff said.

it's great for servers, but forget it on the desktop

[Laukev7]

quote:Originally posted by Darth Jimmy James:
Linux is not a desktop system.

'nuff said.

it's great for servers, but forget it on the desktop

Exactly my op

[hm_murdock]

IM me sometime, Laukev, if ya got an AIM client