yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Hero CDMA General] centran:
Works fine

If you want to use MS Office you will need to use Wine. Office under wine has had problems with some advanced features in the products. Publisher won't work at all.

I would recommend looking into OpenOffice. It can open Office docs and save to them as well. It has a layout similar to the old style Office so not a big learning curve.

Are you a hardcore Adobe user? If you only using Photoshop here and there then you should check out The Gimp which offers much of what Photoshop does(all though things are a bit different and it takes some getting used too).

Otherwise people have had success with wine except for the newest adobe suite.

I personally run Windows 7 on VirtualBox if I am doing any heavy graphics editing(I do use Gimp too). I have Adobe stuff on it and Office since I need to use Publisher and Publisher will not work under wine.

both work fine

HP is very generous with their drivers. I would guess it would work.

If you run into a problem then you can usually find the fix online. I had a friend with a weird problem with the wireless drivers but it was well known and there was a fix.
[Hero CDMA General] fixxxer2008:
virtualbox is pretty kick ass too.
[Hero CDMA General] fixxxer2008:
if you use linux get ready to use alot of commands in the terminal. if your comfy with that, then great!
[Hero CDMA General] danaff37:
yeah I was just looking at that one. I do always love open source. lol

by the way, maybe you wise people out here would be able to help me with my linux problem... can't get sound to come out of only the headphones. Comes out both speakers and headphones. Any ideas to automate a fix? It sucks going in to turn down internal speaker volume everytime, then go back... I've all but abandoned my ubuntu because of this. I do love windows 7... lol
[Hero CDMA General] fixxxer2008:
me loves free stuff! ;)
[Hero CDMA General] Vrekk:
Totally TRY linux. I love it and haven't used windows for over a year now :D HP is very good about linux support, so everthing should work fine. And like they said microsoft office works VERY well under wine, both 03 and 07, but I would go with Open Office, its free and very powerfull. If you go try it out and need some help, feel free to pm me, im very good when it comes to linux, (Gentoo on my desktop, arch on my netbook)
[Hero CDMA General] usq:
yes, yes and yes

i switched over to linux over a year ago too. i have win7 on a small partition just in case for those few times that i might need it. i have booted into 7 only 3-4 times in the last year. my gf's family has switched over too. zero complaints (two adults and kids ranging between 4 and 14). zero problems with malware (main reason i made the switch).

for what its worth: crunchbang 9.04! we have installed it on 7 or 8 machines, most of them are crusty oldies that most people would trash (p3's with 256 ram). they run #! (crunchbang) like a champ.

openoffice and gimp are both very competent programs to replace office and photoshop. if you really need a windows program running it in a vm does work fairly well.

high end photo/video/music editing= mac

high end gaming= windows

for everything else... linux

best way to figure it out is to burn a bunch of distros (distrowatch for descriptions) and try them out live. there are a bunch that run great off of usb sticks that are very light weight and work great too.

cheers!

ryan

btw- #! 9.04 is ubuntu based. the next version will be debian based.
[Hero CDMA General] diordnahero:
ADB works fine

Open Office

Gimp

Opera and Chrome both work fine

wireless is great

If it is a newer model laptop it will run fine

Just load a live disk, it won't touch your hard drive (it will be a little slower because it is running off the CD-rom). You can compare the distributions that way too.
[Hero CDMA General] Avalaunchmods:
no

10chars
[Hero CDMA General] unCoRrUpTeD:
Windows has there own VM

Windows Virtual PC

I have Ubuntu installed now. Haven't dived into it yet. Anyone know how to swap files between Windows and Linux (ie. access the files stored under windows while in linux).

Last time I messed with Linux was Redhat 6 or something.
[Hero CDMA General] tkirton:
ADB works fine, absolutely no issues.

Microsoft Office is okay if you have Wine or Crossover installed. Better alternative is OpenOffice.org. Learning curve on OpenOffice.org is minimum to Microsoft Office.

Adobe works, depending on what you are viewing, it sometimes isn't as smooth as the Windows version.

HP Wireless printers...not sure, but as long as the wireless is a print server that supports lpd, you shouldn't have an issue (this is how my Epson is connected).

Linux has come a long way since its early days. I have a Gateway Netbook and it found drivers for all the devices without any intervention on my part. It used to require a lot of setup to get Linux working, but nowdays, it's a minimum effort. I suggest Ubuntu...they seem to be the easiest to operate.

The cool thing about Linux is that, if you are recovery mode and enable the USB access, you will see both your FAT32 partition and your EXT3 partition (if you have Apps2SD installed). This is cool in order to back up your app and app-private directory without using Nandroid.
[Hero CDMA General] rufflez2010:
1. Yes

2. No, but it comes with free office software that is actually pretty good, check it out on the live cd first before installing ubuntu

3. Yes (some, like flash)

4. Yes

5. Yes

6. What drivers and what type of laptop? Netbooks by dell are generally the ones with troubles (wifi driver isn't open source... those bastards). But generally, Yes.
[Hero CDMA General] smoother2010:
i just tried the kunbuntu beta on my pc using wubi and while it looks nice it has a ton of bugs yet. i just can't get into linux. windows 7 is the best ive used so far.
[Hero CDMA General] Shadow591:
I'm not sure about ADB

Try Open Office

Use wine with Adobe if they are not native

Chrome does work, If not there is chromium

HP wireless printer should work just for printing as the drivers may not work for scanning and things, If not just email it to another computer with windows

There should be some kind of drivers, I went the GOS version of Ubuntu and it had auto updates, Everything worked but my Wireless adapter, On a laptop that must work.

You could just get a 16 GB Drive and have a live version and Bring it to school or work, and have your Desktop and everything on a Flash drive:D
[Hero CDMA General] venumx:
My suggestion would be to run a dual boot of windows 7 and ubuntu linux.

Linux is great for:

ADB

OpenOffice

Opera/Chrome

Wireless Printing

and usually has your drivers already built into the kernel, especially for brands as popular as HP.

The reason i like linux is it runs a lot smoother, you have more control over everything that is going on in your system and it is just more reliable all around. Eclipse works amazing under linux and I prefer to use linux for the majority of my android stuff. Also SVN is much easier to use on linux and less clunky than on windows.

The reason i have Windows 7 on dual boot is because i need to run a lot of Adobe products as well for school, I need to use Flash, Photoshop, Imageready and Dreamweaver along with a lot of other Windows-based applications. It's always good to have it on a small partition just so that you have it as a fall back in case you ever run into something that ONLY runs on Windows.
[Hero CDMA General] keyofhappy:
i have a mac, and i can run mac osx, of course, and windows. because of bootcamp, but could i make another partition on my hd and use linux too?

i just like dabbling.
[Hero CDMA General] venumx:
if you like dabbling i dont see any harm in installing linux on a partition, there is a lot you can learn from it.
[Hero CDMA General] flexgrip:
Although the first thing everyone says in regards to the office switch is "open office" I would personally recommend abiword + gnumeric. They aren't built with crappy slow java interfaces and will do everything you need.

But I am a web developer and at first I struggled with replacing the Adobe creative suite. I got a few version old copy of photoshop to work. But wine usually was more trouble than it was worth.

I got used to gimp after about a day of using it. See, a designer will send me a PSD of a website and I cut it up using gimp. There are occasional times when I needed photoshop because gimp doesn't do overlays very well, but once i got with the designers and showed them how to save the layers, gimp does absolutely everything.

Beyond that, inkscape is really good for an illustrator replacement. If you are a designer, then all of this is out of the question. You pretty much have been brainwashed into CS3-4. But then again I wouldn't be half the developer I am today if it wasn't for linux.

Anyway, I made the switch about 5 1/2 years ago to ubuntu. And to be honest, getting on windows (even windows 7) frustrates me. After years of windows it got to the point where I was like "You know what, I shouldn't have to deal with this **** anymore."

The hardest part was missing out on the few pc games I actually played, but that was around the time I got my 360, and I pretty much phased out into the console stuff.

Not to mention I think windows 7 is horribly ugly. The default theme is just too much for me.

But in the last two and a half years running linux has given me perks that I wouldn't have if I was running closed source garbage. For instance, Ubuntu + XBMC + vdpau. I bought a $200 computer link that is really tiny and is able to play 1080p video smooth as silk. So I have a dedicated media center now.

Compiz is another added plus. After you get over the cube stuff and actually make it work for your productivity you will wonder how you ever lived without it.

Anyway, long post. But this is one of those things that you have to give it try and stick with it to get over the initial change. But if you enjoy learning new things on your computer, you will see the perks very quickly. After a few months you will honestly feel like windows is archaic and wonder how you used to get by with all of the problems and lack of performance.

Just don't let the terminal scare you :) and keep asking questions. The ubuntu forums are pretty friendly. Just try to use the search button.
[Hero CDMA General] thatjerk:
You can always set up Linux a partition to run it and see if you like it.

Edit- Someone already posted the dual boot option. I totally agree with them! +1
[Hero CDMA General] dynamicpda:
I have a hefty windows machine hosting VMWare running ubuntu. I get the best of everything this way. Don't have to choose between the two.
[Hero CDMA General] 31337_haxer:
I would run a 64bit OS unless you have like < 2GB of RAM because a 64 bit OS can be more efficient with programs that use 64 bit registers. I would also, like most everyone else, recommend Ubuntu for your first Linux experience. Personally all my Daily use machines run Win 7 and I only use Linux/UNIX/FreeBSD on my servers depending on role. If your happy with Windows 7 I would just stay there and experiment with Ubuntu installed on like an 16GB flash drive which is enough space to play around... If you get serious just buy a USB HDD for Linux and if you decide to make Linux your full time OS then you have an extra drive for storage. Hope this helps.
[Hero CDMA General] subliminalurge:
Everyone seems to be skipping over this question. The answer is a huge, resounding YES! I'm a huge Linux fan, but if you're skittish about learning new things, then you're quite likely better off sticking with Windows.

Also, definitely stick with 32 bit unless you have a very specific reason for needing over 4 gb of ram. You'll have a MUCH easier time finding drivers which, IMHO, outweighs any small advantages 64 bit might have if you're not using large amounts of ram.

I'd also suggest ignoring those who say to try out various distributions, at least until you're more familiar with Linux. As a Linux noob the most important factor is that Ubuntu is the most popular distro out there right now, so when you have problems or questions you'll have a much, much easier time finding answers for them on Google if you're running it.
[Hero CDMA General] Zexter:
I just finished moving over to ubuntu last night.

Google chrome and opera both work.

It has every major printer driver. I connect to a printer on the other side of my apartment. Works fine.

I have WoW and CSS running through wine. Only minor tweaking for css.

You will have openoffice. Yes its compatible with MS office. (personally i like openoffice better)

At first. firefox IS DAAAAMN SLOW. after downloading another browser though. it stops being slow. (i dont understand that one)

So. My answer to your question is YES. Nix has come along way.

[edit] you will be partitioning. not for dual booting. but you will need at least a root, /home partition, and swap partition. my swap is only 100mb as i have 6g ddr3 ram.

[edit2] Wrong forum?
[Hero CDMA General] smoothone:
Windows has always sucked! Windows 7 is their best release yet and that is still pathetic! I've been using different flavors of Linux for 3 years but find myself going back to Ubuntu all the time. Try Linux in a VM to see if it is for you and then make the switch if you like. You will never go back to Windows the resource hog! Just know that the windows fanboys will tell you windows is the greatest! Windows has never managed ram correctly! Their NTFS filesystem totally sucks as it just spits out data on your hard drive in any given random order. Thats why you have to defrag in windows. You will never defrag in Linux as it just gets faster the more you use it! You can force close a non-responsive app in Linux versus the app crashing and making your older windows operating system crash or just make Windows 7 stall forever! You don't have to restart your operating system in Linux versus every time you install a new app in Windows (wtf)! Some apps installed in Windows 7 do not not need a system restart, its about time, Window OS is always years behind Linux as far as upgrades and cutting edge technology! The most important reason not to use Windows is that it is not open-source! I can go on and on but don't take my word or any Windows fanboys word for it just try it and make the decision yourself! P.S. I'm not calling fixxxer2008 a windows fanboy, just saying there are a lot of them out there that will tell you windows is the OS savior for all the wrong reasons and yes I have used Windows 7 and it is yet by far their best release yet but look at how patheticly long it took them to get here!
[Hero CDMA General] smoothone:
That is the absolute truth, and it is going to go further in a short amount of time. For every Windows application there are a few free and most times much better Linux app that you can replace it with! Every device I own works with Linux, my Nexus One, printers, scanner, external hard drives, etc! Hey just partition and dual boot like he says so you won't have to get rid of Windows and then see how many times you boot to your Windows partition versus Linux! Seriously get rid of Microsoft Office and use OpenOffice already!
[Hero CDMA General] flexgrip:
I think a lot of the problems initial "switchers" run in to are caused by their own actions. Let me explain: They get ubuntu installed and immediately start treating and doing things like windows. Rather than rely on, say, synaptic to do all of their package management, they go in the /usr/bin folder and manually remove an application.

One of the big pointers I always throw out there is its just not windows. Package management alone is a reason to switch, yet initial users try to bypass it because thats what they are used to.

But as I said in my post, if you are willing to learn, and realize that it is linux and it is different, you will be good to go.

I would say if you want to play with the interface a little, run a VM. But at the same time you are losing a whole lot there. No hardware accel, no compiz (without those crazy work-arounds), and your hardware setup is not the same as if you were using a native install. Just stick the ubuntu cd in there, tell it to resize your ntfs partition and dual boot for a while. Eventually you will need space for your ubuntu install and will just delete windows... thats what I did.
[Hero CDMA General] usq:
much lighter weight. a few less features but it runs very quickly.

for under powered netbooks and crusty old systems try #! or other light weight distros.

i disagree to a point; a number of distros work great ootb and require very little tweaking. i like a number of distro but they are all as much as you put in. my gf doesnt tweak hardly at all and i always spend an hour or two setting things up just how i like. the system is very flexible. do a few web searches and it will help you out a lot.

like others have stated, i have a hell of a time when working of xp-7. in a year of working with linux it feels way more like an extension of myself than having to conform to windows.

head to pendrivelinux. it has great tutorials of how to set up a number of popular distro on a usb stick.

cheers and best of luck,

ryan
[Hero CDMA General] slackwaresupport:
yes. move to linux.
[Hero CDMA General] pimix2009:
Just curious but Whats the best Linus OS out there thats wont be a problem having and learning new stuff if you are a PC user.
[Hero CDMA General] obelisk79:
Thats a difficult question to answer.

I normally recommend any of the following distros to linux newbies in order of preference:

1. Linuxmint <---excellent distro

2. Ubuntu

3. PCLinuxOS

For more advanced or the brave who like to dive right in:

1. Arch Linux <---personal favorite

2. Sabayon

For those who are gluttons for punishment:

1. Gentoo

2. LinuxFromScratch <---serious hardmode
[Hero CDMA General] jeff b:
Download LiLi (linux live usb creator)

It will let you choose a distro, and create a bootable USB with it. You can even run it in "persistent" mode so you can install new stuff to the USB. Boot to that and try it out for a while. It also leaves you with the option to install once you boot from the USB. You can also carry it to different machines and try it our on them, and your new stuff stays (in persistent mode)

Running the newest Ubuntu (on old hardware)

It found my networked HP printer and installed drivers for it automagically

Open Office is great (I use it on windows as well since I couldnt afford MS office at home, and I use MS office at work)

The Gimp is a very powerful editing program. Once again I use it on windows as well.

I had to download Plop bootmanager to boot to USB (yes this machine is old) but it was worth it.

This is on a machine which needs a windows reinstall. Too bad I have to reinstall windows, Need it for the DAW stuff I run.
[Hero CDMA General] toastcfh:
I dual boot winblows and linux. Im 99.9% Linux user though and only need winblows for rare dev work with one utility that I have that works best in winblows. I personaly use ubuntu because I got tired of starting from scratch everytime a hdd failed( I have old unreliable systems). Plus I've never had an issue with ubuntu. Again my choice is one from a man who came from a massive setup of gentoo and hdd failure due to crap hardware. But yeah Linux for life here ask anyone who I've worked with here. The only issues one might have with moving to Linux is in some rare cases hardware support can be an issue. But all of that can be fixed and is part of learning Linux. As said by others " with Linux u get what u put into it". That there is a really true statement
[Hero CDMA Android Development] nebenezer:
I'm sorry to say I have no idea but I'm now determined to learn how and I think I'll start with a linux partition.

Anyone care to join me?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] danaff37:
I think the Avabox that avaluanchemods posted up included the files to pull out the files from the .img, after that wouldn't it be just like modifying another ROM (with a lot more to mod, of course, to gain root, etc.)?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] regaw_leinad:
nope, this ruu is different

doesn't work like that.

well, once you have the images you can use yaffs, for the system image, but getting the images from the ruu...
[Hero CDMA Android Development] Leukay:
Hahaha yeah, getting the images from the ruu is a blast!
[Hero CDMA Android Development] zenulator:
u guys want the new sprint ruu turned into a flashable update.zip? isn't that what damages 2.06 basically is? if not i'll do it for you.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tylerlannan:
I think it's really more that they wanna learn how. Anyone down to throw out some pointers?? I'd be interested to learn too :)
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smstutler:
I was actually just looking into pulling the files from the ruu myself.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] darchstar:
extract the exe file. unyaffs the system.img. make an update-script in META-INF/com/google/android/. zip the boot.img META-INF/ folder, and system/ folder and sign it. nothing more to it. lol
[Hero CDMA Android Development] fixxxer2008:
well, well howdy stranger! zen you were a great dev on the vogue/android...we need you here my man! :D
[Hero CDMA Android Development] zenulator:
this communtiy is a little crazy for my taste. but darchstar answered the question.

http://code.google.com/p/zen-droid/downloads/list

this is a link to the files i use. you must have linux installed to use them as well as pearl which should be installed on most distros. you'll prob have to chmod them executable if you download them.

any questions post them and i'll try to help. i'm glad to see people trying to learn.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] Avalaunchmods:
thats all you need for a rom. is the /system. just place that in a folder along with the boot.img. andddd archive and sign. you have a rom now.

and if you want to know a secret. lol

if you are in windows, all .exe's are archived as zips. change .exe to .rar/zip and then you can unzip and have everything. very simple.

o and you need an update script which you can create, or take someones from a rom and edit it to fit the RUU. and as always give credit where needed
[Hero CDMA Android Development] mountaindont:
interesting. so in theory this could be done as easily on windows, no linux partitions?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] Avalaunchmods:
i hate linux. lol so yes
[Hero CDMA Android Development] danaff37:
Not all exe's work like that. Like this one for example....

not even 7zip can get into it.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] Avalaunchmods:
uniextract, google it. you are correct some are a certain type that cant be extracted but 99% of RUU's can.