Linux as OS

**jjohnson** · 02-06-2001, 12:51 PM

For emulating Windows under Linux, WINE isn't all that great, and lots of apps won't even run with it. There is a great emulator called Win4Lin ( http://www.netraverse.com ). I haven't actually used it, but a friend of mine said he installed Win2000 server on it along with MS Office and a bunch of Windows applications. It's basically a virtual machine that loads in a window under X windows. You can reboot or shutdown windows with a click of the mouse.

Also, you don't need to partition anything as it uses a large swap file on the Linux partition for all the Windows data.

Overall a very cool program.

**Mp3_Truck** · 02-06-2001, 02:49 PM

yes windows xp is whistler. winme boots up very fast now to thou. boot times are almost the same as windows xp.

as for emulation emulation always runs slower than the real thing

**Chris Snyder** · 02-06-2001, 03:40 PM

For emulating Windows under Linux, WINE isn't all that great, and lots of apps won't even run with it. There is a great emulator called Win4Lin ( http://www.netraverse.com ). I haven't actually used it, but a friend of mine said he installed Win2000 server on it along with MS Office and a bunch of Windows applications. It's basically a virtual machine that loads in a window under X windows. You can reboot or shutdown windows with a click of the mouse.

That sounds similar to vmware, another emulator. The differences between those and Wine, however, is that they actually emulate the whole computer, so Windows thinks that it is running alone, whereas Wine actually runs the Windows programs directly, with Windows not even installed (other than a few libraries). With Win4Lin or VMWare, you need quite a fast processor, since you need to run your Windows processes in addition to your Linux ones. I would try Wine first, and get one of those if you don't have any other option.

first off i have nothing against linux but windows is good to and its easier to use

Windows is slightly easier to use, but Linux is not very hard, especially if you install Caldera or another of the consumer distributions. You can also customize Linux a lot more than Windows. For instance, you can not install the graphical interface if you only have a character LCD.

windows doenst lock up or blue screen mabey win98 or 95 but hey windows xp is in beta 2 almost and winme and win2k are pretty stable.

I used Win2k for a while, but it trashed my hard drive twice, so I went back to Win98. Windows Me is Microsoft's continued attempt to dumb-down it's OS. For instance, they removed the command-prompt icon, though it's still easy to reach by just typing "command" in the run dialog box. This doesn't make any sense - beginning users are scared of the command prompt and don't mess with it, while advanced users know how to get around it.

for boot ime ive managed to hibernate windows xp up in like 9 seconds and full boot in less than 20 so i dont see a advantage to linux there

My linux box currently BOOTS in under 9 seconds. I haven't tried hibernation yet, but I imagine it would be faster.

i can play mp3s,gps,dvd plus i get 4 day uptimes and the only reason i reboot is because i install new software.

Linux boxes routinely get uptimes of weeks. Also, you never have to restart to install a new program, unless you're upgrading the kernel (equivalent to installing a service-pack in Windows).

So to anyone making it windows is easyer as for shuting it down u get a shutdown card wow 25 dollars thats wont breatk anyone.

I agree, $25 is nothing (well, almost).

Sorry if I'm starting a flame-war, but I'm annoyed by people who claim that Windows is better, but have never used both. I use Windows on my main computer (C&C doesn't work under Wine yet<g>), but dual-boot Linux, and also have it on all of the servers I manage.

[This message has been edited by Chris Snyder (edited 02-06-2001).]

**Chris Snyder** · 02-06-2001, 03:55 PM

as for emulation emulation always runs slower than the real thing

Actually, WINE stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. See http://wine.codeweavers.com/fom-meta/cache/325.html
for a more detailed explanation. Also, see http://wine.codeweavers.com/fom-meta/cache/69.html
for more information on advantages and disadvantages.

[This message has been edited by Chris Snyder (edited 02-06-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Chris Snyder (edited 02-06-2001).]

**Meatballman** · 02-06-2001, 04:17 PM

To get away from the flame war a bit, here are some resources for you:

Car MP3 software:
http://cajun.sourceforge.net/

DVD under Linux:
http://www.linuxvideo.org

**HunterC4** · 02-06-2001, 08:14 PM

Whoa! More words I dont understahnd? whats a whistler? and where can i get it? price ect.. and is it a lot better or faster shall i say than ME?

**Mp3_Truck** · 02-06-2001, 08:45 PM

whilster or xp as its called now is in beta testing
its windows 2001 and is so cool
www.etplanet.net for shots of it its got a new interface

#WinXP for info on irc

**thumper_svx** · 02-08-2001, 10:50 PM

Honestly, I think that if Linux suits your needs of your project, then go that route! I did simply because it "fit" better for me than Windows.

I'm not a total Linux bigot... I have two Linux boxes at home and three Windows (one 2000 and two 98)... they each do their jobs great, but they all have different demands made of them. One of my Linux boxes is a P166 that runs as my mailserver, router etc. etc. and hosts my own domain.

My carputer runs Linux because I feel more comfortable with that when dealing with electronics. As some of my hardware will be custom (I'll be using an LCD as well as a TFT screen), I know how to program interfaces in Linux... Windows programming is just a PITA to me.

The upshot is, if it suits what you're trying to do... go for it! I prefer to develop my own CUSTOM system... so Linux works better. If I were to want to tell people my car was Windows powered then I'd install that.

Of course, then I'd be deathly afraid of my car suddenly turning blue and crashing

))