| Dimitris Area |
|
Switching from Windows to Linux - A diary
24 April
2002INSTALLING MANDRAKE 8.2
For about a year I've been trying to switch to Linux, but the only thing that I managed to do was to install various Linux distributions over and over again. I bought a few books , visited more websites, printed quite a few pages. I ordered CDs from cheapbytes.com, started reading Linux related magazines and even visited the Linux Expo here in London.
In my numerous efforts to install and use Linux I mastered just the first: to install linux. I found that the installation of Linux was very straight forward. The various automated installation processes used by Red Hat, Mandrake and Suse make the instalation process so easy, so you can have a working machine within less than an hour and a cup of coffee! But using a computer is more than that.
Now I have decided that I will be using linux every single day. I have installed Mandrake 8.2 (3 disk download edition). The installation was really piece of cake, with the only glitch that the apache rpm would not load if the /var was on a separate partition... Mystery... Anyway everything else went as planned. Internet connection was setup succesfully (I have a external serial modem - so no problems in this area!).
The only installation problem was the inability of Mandrake 8.2 to find a driver for my on-board sound card. That annoyed me because the 8.1 version of Mandrake had no problem with it. I did spent about an hour trying to configure the sound, but in the end I just disabled the on-board sound and added a PCI card that happened to be on my desk...
The second piece of hardware of my collection that didn't work under linux was my scanner: Cannon 650U. This scanner is a brilliant device because it is a USB powered device (i.e. does not require a separate power cable; it just takes power from the USB cable) and it is very thin so it can be easily stored away when not in use. But there is a catch: Canon will neither release drivers for Linux nor give the device specifications to Linux developers so that free linux drivers can be written. Shame on them.
On the contrary my HP printer (a deskjet 940) worked fine, with HP's linux software - which was included in the Mandrake distribution. Thank you HP! I wish my scanner was an HP as well...
The CD-writer, the good-old Yamaha SCSI 6416S works fine - reads and copies CDs, as long as you are patient!
The video card - a Gigabyte G-Force was automatically detected and Xfree was installed without problems. The nice surprise was my TV-card. When I started the installation I thought that the TV card would not work, period. When the installation was completed though, I found that Mandrake installed the drivers and software for it! Amazing, if you think that TV cards belong to a category of hardware that falls into the "plug-and-pray" division in the Microsoft world...
Linux ... now showing BBC!
Sooner or later an Alcatel usb ADSL modem will be added - from the Alcatel's website and various linux support sites it seems that the installation and setup of this modem will be straight forward - I will keep you informed.
Finally the webcam: I know it will work - I just haven't been bothered to set it up yet.
CONFIGURING LINUX
The feature that I have used most (in a rather experimental way, rather than useful) is Webmin. It's really a great idea to be able to control your computer from your browser. I'm sure that there will be a security issue in the near future, but nevertheless the concept of Webmin is a brilliant one.
A few days ago I managed to set up Samba, so my home network works under Linux. For me, the ability to set up a network is a major landmark in the process of learning a new operating system - so I was very happy to pass that.
The only thing left to set up is DVD player software. It seems that xMovie and Xine that come with Mandrake are missing some libraries to decode encrypted dvds (I think). My efforts so far to add the appropriate plugins have been fruitless. I did add a plugin and it did work with no sound for a while, but then a change in the sound settings messed up xine completely. I will have to uninstall the rpm and install it again...
Adventure & Drama night: Will the DVD work?