Why Not Just *run* Debian?

[ldesnogu]

I am just talking about my personal experience which applies to about a dozen of PCs, both desktops and laptops.

Now just remember the Pandora is not a PC, the basic hardware will always be the same.

My advice is that if people are afraid of Linux or afraid their exotic stuff won't work with Linux, then don't bother buy something else that a Pandora.

 

[nubie]

My understanding is that the situation with Linux is no worse than what people experience with Vista, where, for instance, most Creative Labs sound cards don't work properly.

Frankly, I have had less issues with Linux than with XP SP2 as far as drivers are concerned. Granted I don't use exotic hardware :lol:

A bone stock (intel p4, AKA OLD) workstation using an Intel chipset and video is exotic? I thought it was mundane? Of course you probably meant peripherals

My pc is relatively new (AMD64 Dual 4200, 2GB DDR 800, Nvidia 8600GT OC, nForce mobo, etc) and almost every distro I have tried failed to boot (Incl. Ubuntu 7.10), whereas windows xp ran even before I installed the drivers off a disk.

YOUR PROBLEM IS A LOUSY BIOS. And to a lesser extent you probably weren't using an OS that had the nVidia proprietary linux drivers, the 8 series is pretty new and most distros don't like using code where the source isn't available.

In case you didn't know the bios is the main problem, I boot fine on several overclocked AMD64 systems (All using nForce and nVidia video, I was using Minty on the 8800GT I had for a while), DFI Gigabyte, and MSI motherboards have been good to me. Not to say they all are.

Like I say, there is documentation on how to disable the problematic Bios function, usually available at the Boot splash on the CD, it will have a button to press to see the functions, or you can sometimes choose a "safe boot", or specify your video adapter.

 

[GoatZilla]

Your anecdotal biases are somewhat besides the point. We're not talking about Linux vs. Windows on a particular piece of hardware out of a range of hardware choices... We're not even talking about Windows at all. We're talking about one flavor of Linux organization vs. another flavor of Linux organization, and in that context nothing about Windows is even relevant.

It isn't really a matter of how "exotic" your hardware is; it's usually a matter of whether the hardware is too new for the drivers to trickle up through the distributions, or if the hardware manufacturer refused to release any specs in the first place. Sometimes it's an issue of distro maintainers sticking to certain policy, but that's another matter.

Furthermore, the Pandora is going to be more of a closed system -- you have one basic type of computer to deal with, not a sea of permutations involving video cards, cpu's, motherboard chipsets, etc. The exception is probably USB peripherals... Ah, good old USB. You know, if the Pandora didn't have that USB host and the extra RAM, this argument would probably turn out differently.

I know it's dangerous to refer to polls... but if you guys look at that recent poll, it's clear at least people around here see the Pandora as having more potential than just a locked up little gaming machine. They just need a mature software infrastructure...

 

[nubie]

It isn't really a matter of how "exotic" your hardware is; it's usually a matter of whether the hardware is too new for the drivers to trickle up through the distributions, or if the hardware manufacturer refused to release any specs in the first place. Sometimes it's an issue of distro maintainers sticking to certain policy, but that's another matter.
Um, this was hardware from Intel, and it was a few years older than the distro, it is just a problem with Chipset ID.

QUOTE
Furthermore, the Pandora is going to be more of a closed system -- you have one basic type of computer to deal with, not a sea of permutations involving video cards, cpu's, motherboard chipsets, etc. The exception is probably USB peripherals... Ah, good old USB. You know, if the Pandora didn't have that USB host and the extra RAM, this argument would probably turn out differently.

I know it's dangerous to refer to polls... but if you guys look at that recent poll, it's clear at least people around here see the Pandora as having more potential than just a locked up little gaming machine. They just need a mature software infrastructure...



I agree, these anti-linux guys are just being silly, it is a handheld, what do they want PalmOS 6859058?