New Linux build

[hyg71886]

I am currently trying to learn to become a hacker, not a cracker which society has pinned as 1 and the same. I want to help solve problems for pc's, help in development of open source code, etc. i started reading some articles and read that i should either use linux or unix. I choose to start with linux. My problem is i dont know if i need a really powerful 2k+ machine or sumthing simple that can handle the job. Any help from linux users out there would be much appreciated.

[Dswissmiss]

Linux will pretty much run on your toaster...

Your price point should reflect what you actually plan on using the PC for, whether you want a gaming rig or a video editing rig or just basic office and internet use.
Just check back with the forum since there might be some minor driver issues. Only example that comes to mind is the Creative Sound Blaster.

Btw. Linux is free, so go download any variant you'd like and just install it to your current rig to see if you like it (I recommend Ubuntu).

[hyg71886]

Originally Posted by Dswissmiss Linux will pretty much run on your toaster... Your price point should reflect what you actually plan on using the PC for, whether you want a gaming rig or a video editing rig or just basic office and internet use. Just check back with the forum since there might be some minor driver issues. Only example that comes to mind is the Creative Sound Blaster. Btw. Linux is free, so go download any variant you'd like and just install it to your current rig to see if you like it (I recommend Ubuntu).

I want to use it to just learn hacking, not hacking as in cracking but programming, eventually i want to make my own linux os from scratch, help with open source coding, stuff like that. I'm in school for cis and i figure this will put me ahead of the game. The machine will be used mainly for programming purposes, maybe some gaming

[catacon]

For programming you could use some old PC. That's what I use for my Linux machine. It's a PIII 750Mhz, 256MB RAM, 7.5Gb hard drive. I got it free from my dad's work. If you could find a place to get a semi-decent PC for free or cheap, that might be your best bet.

[hyg71886]

Originally Posted by catacon For programming you could use some old PC. That's what I use for my Linux machine. It's a PIII 750Mhz, 256MB RAM, 7.5Gb hard drive. I got it free from my dad's work. If you could find a place to get a semi-decent PC for free or cheap, that might be your best bet.

I already have one that my friend gave me with a new vid card in it

[catacon]

Well there ya go.

[Dswissmiss]

I get the sense that you haven't really tried linux yet, so make sure you find a good forum to get you started. The problem with the ubuntu forums is that it is mainly populated by beginners and most threads are just unaswered questions.
It is a good place to get started however, just keep in mind that you will be learning about the OS for a while before you get started on coding.

Browse around linuxquestions.org for a while to get a sense of the community and different distributions. distrowatch.org is another good bookmark.

Btw, I don't mean to be condescending in any way since I don't know your level of experience. If you run into problems you can always start a thread on this forum, or PM me. The absolute best resource for me when I started and to this day is still Google (and wikis!)

[hyg71886]

I would download linux right now on ,y laptop but i have no idea what im doin. Can i run all the apps that i run wit windows? Media monkey, picasa2, azurus, etc? what about sucurity?

[Dswissmiss]

Well no. Linux is a different operating system so it can't support windows programs natively. There are some emulation solutions but I would stay away from those for now.
Azureus and picasa do happen to have linux clients btw.

Go here http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu and download ubuntu. Once you burn the iso just put it into the pc and reboot. The cd is an install cd and a live cd as well, so you can try linux without installing. Just remember that it will run very slowly, and that it doesn't have half the programs you will eventually want. (In case you didn't know, you can dual boot windows and linux).
Also search google for linux equivalents of windows programs. Here's a list off the top of my head to get you started.

Photo management: picasa, gqview, f-spot...
Browser: Firefox (what else?!)
Photoshop: Gimp
Music Management: Banshee, Amarok, Songbird
Video: mplayer, xine, vlc
...

ubuntuguide.org is a great resource as well. Bit overwhelming at first though.

[hyg71886]

I need to do i new boot anyway, what would b the downside of of switching to linux?

[Dswissmiss]

Do you mean reformat? Talking from personal experience it took me months to figure out linux. While it has gotten much easier with Ubuntu, switching to a new operating system with no experience can be very frustrating. I can give you hundreds of examples, but to save time just think about how comfortable you are using a computer, then imagine not knowing how to install programs, organize your files and so on, let alone get used to a new GUI. I strongly suggest you create two partitions on your hard drive, install Windows on one of them, then pop in the linux cd and point it to the empty partition where it will install itself and set up the boot loader (the program that comes up before any OS is booted, so that you can select between windows or linux). Oh, and most games do not run on linux, so most gamers that primarily use linux have a small Windows partition.
One thing in your favor is that you presumably already backed up all your files, so go to town with linux without having to worry about making a mistake, you can always start over.

Just did a google search and found this http://www.debianadmin.com/ubuntu-ed...reenshots.html hope it helps a bit.

[hyg71886]

Originally Posted by Dswissmiss Do you mean reformat? Talking from personal experience it took me months to figure out linux. While it has gotten much easier with Ubuntu, switching to a new operating system with no experience can be very frustrating. I can give you hundreds of examples, but to save time just think about how comfortable you are using a computer, then imagine not knowing how to install programs, organize your files and so on, let alone get used to a new GUI. I strongly suggest you create two partitions on your hard drive, install Windows on one of them, then pop in the linux cd and point it to the empty partition where it will install itself and set up the boot loader (the program that comes up before any OS is booted, so that you can select between windows or linux). Oh, and most games do not run on linux, so most gamers that primarily use linux have a small Windows partition. One thing in your favor is that you presumably already backed up all your files, so go to town with linux without having to worry about making a mistake, you can always start over. Just did a google search and found this http://www.debianadmin.com/ubuntu-ed...reenshots.html hope it helps a bit.

i dont have my copy of win xp pro but my laptop b screwin up now