NukeCoder

Code Authors · Joined: Dec 09, 2006 Posts: 333

gotcha - being aware of which OS you are using (though not sure which version) I wondered if you had any experience with EnvyNG?
I have just done an install on my wifes laptop but every time I allow the 'restricted' third party 3d nvidia driver I get a blank screen on reboot. I can log in to the system (even though I cannot actually see the log in dialogue) so I don't think it is actually crashing some a failure to either 'use' the driver or the driver itself is incompatible.
I know this is really waaaay, off topic for this site but thought I wouls ask as I would presume you are using 3D drivers on your machine.

Site Admin Joined: Oct 25, 2004 Posts: 920

I'm still using the Feisty Fawn (7.04) which is now a year old. If I remember correctly, I was able to install a decent nvidia driver in synaptic by finding nvidia-somethingsomething-new. It works good for me because it runs Unreal Tournament 2004 very well along with any other 3d apps.

I've been reading in the ubuntuforums and my impression is that it isn't quite that easy in the newest version. The new releases usually still have little bugs like this that will get fixed fairly shortly. From what I've read, EnvyNG is the way to go for 8.04 and I'll probably go that route myself.

I've spent the last 2 weeks getting ready to wipe my system and upgrade to 8.04. I've just customized so many things on here it is hard to remember everything I've done. Anyhow, I'll be spending the next few days upgrading and getting everything set up. Let me know what you think of ubuntu. I've been using it since 5.10(Starting in Jan. of 2006) and I've been completely happy with it and way more productive. The only thing I fire up windows for is to use photoshop, and I actually run windows in a virtual machine so no restart needed. On a side note, I don't find myself using photoshop much anymore as I can do most of the same stuff with GIMP.

Code Authors · Joined: Dec 09, 2006 Posts: 333

Thanks for taking the time to reply, as I know my post was way off scope, so to speak.
I think I need to downsize my screen res on the laptop as at 1600x1200 I can hardly read the text without a magnifying glass lol but as soon as I have done that I can play some more with it.
So far I'm quite impressed and there is a definite speed improvement over it's previous OS which was XP Pro SP2. I need to get a handle on this 'multiverse' and 'universe' thing but suspect that will come quickly after taking some time to read through the Ubuntu forums and documentation.
I did the typical bloke-ish thing and just installed it without reading anything.
One thing I did notice, was a utility to save off preferences like email address book, emails, and personal settings so you can re-instate those on a new install etc.
I think once I have played with it some more and sorted out the graphics driver I might be tempted to see if it would support my Intel Q6600 quad core processor on this machine, though I don't think I have a chance of getting a driver for my Geforce SLi (PCI-Express) graphics card.
Nice to converse with a fellow UT player though Wink

Onslaught rules Smile

Site Admin Joined: Oct 25, 2004 Posts: 920

I would say that this isn't really off topic and its something I enjoy talking about.

The universe/multiverse thing is actually pretty easy. You can either use a text editor or synaptic. Open up synaptic(its a package manager for those who don't know) and click Settings->Repositories.
Under the "Ubuntu Software" tab, check all boxes and uncheck the CD-ROM boxes. Then, under the "Updates" tab, check all boxes under the "Ubuntu Updates" section. Now you will have a whole load of new programs, etc.

As for the resolution, I'm not sure why it would look so small but I know lcd's should be ran at the "recommended resolution"so it doesn't shorten the life. Perhaps if you install a good driver and tweak the settings you can get it looking better. HINT: look for nvidia-settings in synaptic and install it if it is there(You may have to run it in the terminal by typing nvidia-settings if it doesn't show up in the menu right away).

Also, ubuntu will easily handle your quad core, and your geforce sli setup. Granted it might take a little extra work on your part, but I've got dual core and a geforce running 2 monitors with no problem at all.

I play Low Grav Instagib CTF on UT2k4 Smile

Code Authors · Joined: Dec 09, 2006 Posts: 333

Yeah I was looking for a way to get into comand-line type mode. I should be able to install synaptic from the existing 'default' software I guess.

Haven't tried CTF very much but I may go give it a whirl for a few minutes now, it's good for 'relaxing' lol.

Site Admin Joined: Oct 25, 2004 Posts: 920

You should already have synaptic. From the menu..
System->Admin->Synaptic Package Manager

To get the terminal(command line) from the menu...
Accessories->Terminal

Hope it helps and feel free to ask if you run into any other issues Wink

Code Authors · Joined: Dec 09, 2006 Posts: 333

I have decided to semi-commit to Ubuntu.
It is a public holiday here and the shops are not open again until Monday but when they do, I have decided to buy another 500Gb SATA for 'Johny5' my PC and I'm going to install Ubuntu on that for my own use.
I can dual boot from the BIOS on this machine (just select which drive I want to use) as it is an option on the motherboard at start-up so if I do screw up, or mess up an Ubuntu update I can still 'work' Smile

I'm sure there will be things I'm not able to do with *nix based software as I use Photoshop and just about every piece of software ever made by Macromedia and Adobe but I think, with time and patience, I can probably find something equivelant - though it makes me cringe a little knowing I have several thousand dollars worth of software which may well become redundant Wink

Site Admin Joined: Oct 25, 2004 Posts: 920

Guardian wrote:

I'm sure there will be things I'm not able to do with *nix based software as I use Photoshop and just about every piece of software ever made by Macromedia and Adobe but I think, with time and patience, I can probably find something equivelant - though it makes me cringe a little knowing I have several thousand dollars worth of software which may well become redundant Wink

Install vm-ware and install windows in that. Then you can just open up a window that is running Windows and all your Adobe products.

But you are right about finding equivalents for most programs, in fact, there are tons of posts on http://ubuntuforums.org about just that.

My most used program is Jedit - http://jedit.org - which is a cross platform text editor. It is the best thing ever Very Happy

Plugins and Macros make it possible to do about anything you can dream(or code). If you set it up right, it is as good as or better then some of those super-expensive programs.
(If you want to try it, don't install the one from within ubutu. Get the latest "beta" version of the 4.3 branch. Very stable beta software)

GIMP - A pretty nice image editor that is great for many common tasks with images. You can do alot with it but photoshop is still needed for certain things. Somewhat steep learning curve when you're used to photoshop.

Meld - A very sweet file/directory diff program.

gFTP -Obvious Smile

cssed - Decent css editor but I rarely use it because Jedit rocks Wink

Still, it comes in handy at times.

Komposer, Bluefish, Screem, Amaya, Quanta Plus - Are all decent HTML like editors that are sort of similar to dreamweaver, etc. I've tried them all, but always end up back in jedit doing it by hand(sort of)

SubCommander - Was using this for subversion. After trying a few others, I found this one to be the best. But then I found a plugin for Jedit and can do it all from there. (No I don't work for Jedit, lol)
(sudo apt-get install subcommander)

Ok, I'll shut up now...
Have fun with all that

Code Authors · Joined: Dec 09, 2006 Posts: 333

I'll come back to this and give them a go as soon as I get my wireless connection working with Ubuntu lol Smile