Linux

[mltsy]

So... how is it looking now that it's released?  Linuxey at all?

[bluemonkmn]

Well i don't think any or many people are using it with Linux.  Also it doesn't seem to work in Linux on 64-bit machines.  Haven't figured out what the problem is there because I don't have a 64 bit machine with Linux on it.  My new laptop is supposedly 64-bit, but it has 32-bit Vista on it for some reason.  And it doesn't have Linux -- I'm hesitant to risk screwing it up by installing another operating system.

[Jam0864]

My new laptop is supposedly 64-bit, but it has 32-bit Vista on it for some reason.  And it doesn't have Linux -- I'm hesitant to risk screwing it up by installing another operating system.

64bit at the moment is unneeded unless you're using more than 4gb of RAM or want to run 64bit-only applications (basically non-existent for now.). It only brings compatibility issues with existing applications really.

As far as installing Linux goes, it's a lot easier than it used to be to set up a dual boot, it's all automatic now. When you're installing just make sure you opt to make a second partition for Linux, (I think it might even be the default option now) it will autodetect your current OS and make a nice boot menu for you.

[bluemonkmn]

Yeah, but there's always some risk.  My aunt had a laptop destroyed last year by running Ubuntu Linux on it.  Apparently Ubuntu had a bug or something that left the hard drive running constantly, which destroys laptops.  I suppose that's fixed now, but still, I want absolute minimum risk on this laptop until I get back from a trip next month.  Then I can fiddle around.

[Jam0864]

I guess that's true, I heard one story about a problem with a specific model of graphics cards fan, linux forced it to spin at over 200% and it killed it pretty quick. Few and far between though.

[dutch_619]

Graphics drivers used to be an issue with linux. That seems to be no longer the case however.

The 64 bit compatibity issue is unfortunately not just a linux problem. I have similar issues with compiled software from my 64 bit XP machine running on any other iteration of windows. Vista64 is plainly obscene in its problems.

The reason you need a 64 bit os is that everything on the motherboard has a physical address. The RTC, the DMA, northbridge and southbride. Add in a video card with a gig of ram and you suddenly have a little more than 2 gig of adress space available for RAM. Unfortunately there is no hardware abstraction available at this level, so you can't spoof or duplex the addresses. Unlike with a hard drive for example.

[bluemonkmn]

Heh... "a little more than 2 gig" he says.  Isn't it like 4 exabytes?

[Jam0864]

Heh... "a little more than 2 gig" he says.  Isn't it like 4 exabytes?

He means for 32bit.

[durnurd]

I know that my graphics card no longer has 'supported' drivers for the latest version of Ubuntu, so I can't upgrade to 9.10.  If I went with the generic drivers, it would work, but with degraded performance.  ATI has stated that they will no longer provide drivers for new OS's for my card, so I'd need to get a new card to update.