A question before migrate to Linux

1) Fedora should install all the necessary packages automatically. The Anaconda installer also allows you to install packages based on what you check off....they give pretty decent descriptions under each item

2) Not sure if it comes pre-installed with Fedora, but I do know that KDE comes with kGet. If you use Gnome, you can download and compile d4x instead:

http://www.krasu.ru/soft/chuchelo

3) I believe Divx support is built right in. If not, then install this:

http://www.divx.com/divx/linux/

4) I believe so...

I've heard bout d4x. Its stand for Downloader for X right?
Anyway, its only for Gnome?
One more thing, its hard to install sofware that comes with tgz file coz always get missing packages (from my observation of other user). Can u explain this?

1) The installer will take care of this.
2) Firefox does and Firefox runs in linux
3) Mplayer, xine, and VLC will play anything ever encoded by man
4) Yes. Depending on your browser you may need extra Japanese font support packages.

>>I've heard bout d4x. Its stand for Downloader for X right?

Yup

>>Anyway, its only for Gnome?

I was able to run it from KDE. The only requirements is for a X server and GTK+....it can also run from a command line if it answers another question.

>>One more thing, its hard to install sofware that comes with tgz file coz always get missing packages (from my observation of other user). Can u explain this?

.tgz is the extension for a Slackware Linux package. .rpm are generic packages for almost any distro. But the reason why you're getting missing packages is because rpm has a terrible, if not any, system for retrieving depencencies. Most of the time you will have to look in the error log for specific keywords, search on google, and hopefully download and install the correct dependencies.

I'm not sure but I think Fedora uses yum now by default which automatically resolves package dependencies with rpm files. It works like apt from debian.

Also rpms are only used on Red Hat derivatives like fedora, red hat, and mandrake. They are not 'generic,' there is no real 'generic' unless you count tarballs, but those usually contain source.

Man it might be very difficult for newbie like me.
edit:
This is important, does fedora linux reads windows partition. Now im using windows xp and all my mp3s are inside.
Any packages need to be installed to make it work?

FC3 should be able to read your ntfs partitions, writing to them is difficult however. MP3 support is trivial due to copywrite issues and stuff, so you will have to install a decoder yourself.

have to install decoder myself?
Does that meant Linux dont support Mp3s. Other than that i olso used aac format because of my ngage use that. Did Linux support it?
In Windows i have to used dbpower amp to play it.

Installing the mp3 decoder and ntfs support on Fedora Core 3 is the easiest thing since office stapplers tutorials. You just have to google for the rpm's and run them. (on the console: rpm -i rpmname.rpm) Voila! NTFS and MP3 support are now added

Also, the dependency problem is not as bad as Kirby puts it thanks to the aforementioned apt and yum applications. This tools automatically looks up for any dependency a program you are downloading might need, and downloads them as well. You might want to download the apt from www.freshrpms.net as one of the first thing you do

since it's topic about linux, than I've got a question which botheres me for a while...

how to start GUI (like gnome) in linux, when I'm in command line shell?

KanedA said:

since it's topic about linux, than I've got a question which botheres me for a while...

how to start GUI (like gnome) in linux, when I'm in command line shell?

Click to expand...

Using the "startx" command.

Kirby said:

.tgz is the extension for a Slackware Linux package.

Click to expand...

Actually, no. The .tgz extention is a shortened version of .tar.gz and is a gzipped tar archive. Software with a .tgz extention almost always contains source code.

scottlc said:

Software with a .tgz extention almost always contains source code.

Click to expand...

excluding Slackware Linux packages. I know, I made some for linuxpackages.net :emb:

These links should help with most of your Fedora questions. And welcome to Linux :thumb:
www.fedorafaq.org
www.fedoranews.org
www.fedoraforum.org
www.linuxquestions.org

Just to add, i've recently started to see some new kind of packages called autopackages (for example, gaim comes in one of those). Very easy to install (just execute it, much like a windows installer), if you don't have the autopackage software, the package will retrieve it and install it itself. Pitty there are very few packages on that format.

For a newbie, i think Fedora Core is a good choice. As it's been said, it's rpm system usually takes care of dependencies if used with yum. You also have the up2date system that keeps having all your system updated. Be warned that anaconda (the installer) sometimes screw some things (like making gnome the default desktop manager when i told him not to install it - and it didn't, though made it default -.-U ).

Debian is another rather easy to maintain installation using aptitude or the likes, but it's a bit more difficult to install.

I-Chan said:

Debian is another rather easy to maintain installation using aptitude or the likes, but it's a bit more difficult to install.

Click to expand...

I'd really recommend Ubuntu Linux. It's Debian based and a breeze to install, even for a newcomer. Also, it's the first distro that's supported my WiFi card (atheros chipset) out of the box.

You know reading this makes me glad I dual boot JAMD with Windows XP.

A Dual Boot system is what I would recommend until you are completely comfortable with linux enough to use it as a solo operating system.

both Fedora and Ubuntu are very good flavors, choose the 1 that best meets your needs

You know reading this makes me glad I dual boot JAMD with Windows XP.

A Dual Boot system is what I would recommend until you are completely comfortable with linux enough to use it as a solo operating system.

Click to expand...

I was tihinking that i will be do dual boot. For me now Windows i just for the games and my dad use it for video editing.

If u want to test out linux why not use a livecd that boots and runs directly off the cd, the best one i have used is pclinuxos comes with everything u need on one bootable disc thats an easier way to find out if u want linux also if u like it, it will install from the livecd