Thread: Just another reason to use Linux on CarPC's

Just another reason no to upgrade to VISTA and stick with XP hehehe

Thanatos.

<rant>

Vista has HUGE system requirements. recommended 2G RAM, a 256M Video card w/fast GPU, 2G processor, SATA 2.

Reason for the huge video requirements: rendering in vector graphics vs. bitmap. So the Recycle Bin will look pretty.

I hope it is true that this system will push Microsoft out of it's own market as this OS will run like crap on today's median hardware.

I am unhappy with these requirements as a Network Administrator. I dont want a system with a 5" fan on the graphics card that I have to maintain. I dont want 75% of my system resources going towards rendering the desktop or file indexing. Hell, I wouldn't even run my windows servers with a GUI if it were possible.

Think of how much more Linux will be able to do on the same hardware that vista requires.

</rant>

About Vista requirements...


I have actually tried the vista beta 2, I have even used the thing with 512Mb in VMWare and that works fine so I do not know where the 2GB RAM comes from??
The beta has still a lot of debug code which will be taken out when it is time for RTM so I would not worry to much about the huge processor/RAM needs...
/L-O

I was getting a little exagerated there. Vista will run on an average system, after disabling the vector rendering and other fancy stuff (but then you just have windows XP..).

http://www.apcstart.com/teched/pivot/entry.php?id=6

Here is an article explaining the "recommended" requirements for Vista. This is coming from a MS top strategist. He is really stressing duel-core chips, 2G RAM for 64bit, SATA-2 w/NCQ, PCI-express. These are the recommendations for Battlefield 2... This will be one hell of a game of Solitare .

Okay I'll chime in:

1) Linux is more fun and gives us an excuse to feel better than everyone else which of course we are

2) I don't want to have to install a Mr. Fusion in my trunk area to run my rediculously overpowered carputer.

3) I don't compose documentation, code software, or play MS Flight Simulator (except while driving ) on my carputer. Point: if you spend that much time in your car you either have some idolotry issues you may want to consult someone about, or you are a geek. I'm a geek but I have a life

4) I want to play MP3s mainly and watch the occasional movie (except at night when the fuzz can see the screen on my dash). I don't need a dual ATI x800 PCIx in a dual P4 rackmount server with 4 GB of RAM to watch a movie (unless of course you're using Windows Media Player). My setup actually does alot more than that and I still don't need the aforementioned cray substitute.

5) Open source apps and SDKs got me from absolutely nothing to an absolute killer carputer in about 4 months, even with coding my own software. How many nerds can say they have vsftpd running in their car? Bragging rights like that are priceless. Of course if you have to ask what vsftpd is then you obviously wouldn't be impressed and should go back to your game of Solitaire.

6) I rather enjoy being an elitist prick when it comes to bashing Windows, even if it has no foundation in reality whatsoever. It's just fun being a jerk to people when they don't even realize you're making fun of them.

7) Well the project I'm working on has finished compiling and I should get back to work so I can enjoy my ride home watching one of the movies on my reiserfs-formatted hard drive.

Important note: If you immediately took offense to this e-mail you need to re-examine your priorities, sit back, relax, and enjoy life. Afterall it's only a carputer! Oh and leave the cool stuff to us Linux people

Hooyeah!

Originally Posted by intuitionsys

2) I don't want to have to install a Mr. Fusion in my trunk area to run my rediculously overpowered carputer.

Hear hear! I want to install a Mr. Fusion in my trunk because I can, not because I have to

(Whee, working on the latest build of my Debian-based car PC, and feeling a bit goofy...forgive my insane ramblings!)

Two comments:

I support loscooby's assertion that the Vista beta runs with less resources. I also have run it in VMware with 512MB.

Originally Posted by intuitionsys

or you are a geek. I'm a geek but I have a life

It's interesting that I DIDN'T chose Linux for this very reason. Sure, I'll probably go back to Linux on my car PC after I've installed it an have been running for a while, but I want an installation/fabrication project right now, not (another) software project. I tried several Linux frontends and I found nothing that suited my needs. Several projects are almost there, and could easily be if I invested some time coding. I would rather have my carPC installed and working now.

Originally Posted by kbyrd

It's interesting that I DIDN'T chose Linux for this very reason. Sure, I'll probably go back to Linux on my car PC after I've installed it an have been running for a while, but I want an installation/fabrication project right now, not (another) software project. I tried several Linux frontends and I found nothing that suited my needs. Several projects are almost there, and could easily be if I invested some time coding. I would rather have my carPC installed and working now.

Good point. I kinda got off on the software aspect of mine because that's what I do for a living. I'll probably open source my project eventually since as you say (and I agree) so many are unfinished (or difficult to get working). I'll still be coding small upgrades and changes, probably ad infinitum, but now I'm in your boat getting ready to fabricate a piece for my dash to integrate a gamepad. I'm using an X10 Lola remote that works great but it's kinda awkward to use while driving.

Originally Posted by intuitionsys

Good point. I kinda got off on the software aspect of mine because that's what I do for a living.

I'm a code monkey in real life too.

The problem for me was that I seem to have a certain number of "coding hours" in me per week, if I don't use them all up (at work or on personal projects) I get ansy. If I do more coding then that I get burnt. I just couldn't get excited about yet another software project on my plate. I also rationalized the decision to stick with known-good frontends on Windows by saying I would better be able to craft a Linux solution (or extend an existing project) after living with a carPC for a while.