What Packages Do I look For?

[Scotty]

Ive installed PCLinuxOS and was under the impression it used rpm packages, so downloaded an rpm of GIMPShop. Looking at the distros forum, Im wondering if I should have got a deb package.

[Tortanick]

Nope, on PCLinuxOS you want RPMs. More spesifically you want PCLinuxOS RPMs, not Redhat RPMs or SUSE RPMs. (an RPM is an RPM. Just like a .zip is a .zip. But some RPMs will only work on Red Hat for example, others may work on multiple distros. Most will say what they are for)

I don't know what you're referring to on the forums but if its the great RPM vs Deb debate, then ignore it. It used to be that debs were way better than RPMs, but the gap is all but gone now. And people are argueing that developers, not users should switch over. all but advanced users pretty much have to follow their distros developers on this one.

As a general rule, stick to packages from the PCLinuxOS repositories (that's what you find with synaptic, or its command line equivalent apt.) When you know you're way around Linux a bit more you can experiment with other places to get software, although that's only if you can't find what you want from the repository's.

[Scotty]

I had got use to Ubuntu, then wanted to try something different. So, it's a case of learning afresh.
I do like the look of PCLinuxOS.:)

[qldit]

Good Morning Mac70, I must agree that PC linux is "topshelf" stuff and some of the daughters are even more interesting.

Another group of nice distros is Knoppix and some of it's daughters, some of them certainly are nice systems.

I personally found that some of these systems were exceptional in comparison to others, but the movement is very fluid and competitive and remarkable innovations are appearing constantly so it pays to have a look at many different distros if you have time and resources.

I do feel that the Live CD distro idea is going to be the future of computing, it certainly circumvents malware invasion of operating systems and is especially useful for online banking and secure kinds of activities.

If you haven't given Puppy Linux a try I highly reccommend trying it also. The entire repertoir of programs runs in memory and it allows very quick operation.
Definitely worth a look.

It is amazing to be able to operate online and have your machine do what you want without having to carry the weight of loads of commercial malware protection.

When I first became interested I was so impressed that I very rarely ever run any Windows machines these days. It is almost like comparison to steam engine technology.

Resources in Linux are used for the task involved, not for a load of unneccessary programs.

It is an enjoyable and exciting experience.

Cheers, qldit.

[Guest117]

"I'll believe Linux is ready for the desktop as soon as you can give me a Linux
distribution that even my grandmother can run."
Ubuntu has been trying their best to make Granny -- and most everyone else -- happy.
Linux will not replace Vista tomorrow or the next day but is making progress.:)

[qldit]

Good Afternoon Nick, for what it is worth I have introduced a load of seniors to Linux and installed it on many machines for them, they have taken to it with no major problems. One elderly lady actually was a great grand mother.

Cheers, qldit.

[PeteF]

"I'll believe Linux is ready for the desktop as soon as you can give me a Linux
distribution that even my grandmother can run."


Nick, that would be Puppy Linux.
But only if someone initially sets it up for grandma.

I have one customer with an old P3 300mhz Win98 PC who is still
quite a novice and only uses th ePC to view a few websites and
listen to a few streaming audio broadcasts.

Well, he keeps complaining that Windows acts different from day
to day and it's confusing him, so I set him up with a live CD version
of Puppy Linux. Just 2 icons on the deskktop; Browse & Media Player.
Now he can simply keep the PC powered on and no more blue screens
or exception errors to deal with. No rebooting the PC each day either.
For this limited use, it seems to be working out better than Windows
and this older PC is handlng it just fine.

Old PCs & Puppy Linux go good together with old people.
Tell grandma. :)

Note to Moderators:
Feel free to move this topic to Linux Forum.

---pete---

[Scotty]

I switched to Kubuntu. It's the distro I prefer and KDE looks much better than Gnome.
I use Linux as I self-built and didnt fancy splashing out on Windows when I could have a free OS.:D