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Start the new year right....


wa4chq

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Happy New Year everyone.  To start the year off right, how about doing this?  Slackware 1.0 in Virtualbox 

Well maybe not...🤨   It looks harder than doing it for real.  I installed 3.5 on an old Toshiba laptop I had back when I didn't have a clue about Linux period!  But it worked.  The site that really got me started is still up and running - BasicLinux.  I ended up switching to 4.0 following the info on the BasicLinux site and then to something that used Slackware 7.0....I wished I could remember the name, I keep thinking it was Coyote Linux but that was a personal firewall distro.  I sent a text to my old boss asking him if he remembers.  He always joked about it.  Anyway, stay safe, healthy and enjoy 2021.

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V.T. Eric Layton
6 hours ago, securitybreach said:

Nah, try LFS if you want torture.

 

Gentoo.... the masochist's favorite GNU/Linux. ;)

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Linux from Scratchie I have seen....the LFS threw me.   I looked at it some years ago but never did anything with it.  I could probably learn somethin' from it....

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6 minutes ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

 

Gentoo.... the masochist's favorite GNU/Linux. ;)

I've heard that about Gentoo....another one I've never messed with.  Some of the newer distros out there are based on Gentoo I think....

 

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V.T. Eric Layton
3 hours ago, Hedon James said:

ChromeOS

 

Hey... learn sumthin' new every day. I didn't know that was based on Gentoo.

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V.T. Eric Layton

I was never thrilled with the possibilities of Linux becoming popular. It just paints a bigger target on the OS for the riff-raff out there.

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14 hours ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

I was never thrilled with the possibilities of Linux becoming popular. It just paints a bigger target on the OS for the riff-raff out there.

 

Agreed!  I wish Linux was popular enough for Linux ports of some of the most common proprietary software with no viable Linux alternative (I'm looking at you, Quickbooks), but not so popular as to be a worthwhile target.  Admittedly, those criteria may be mutually exclusive.

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I've played around plenty with virtual machines, but I've come to the conclusion that I'll try only the most stable and polished distros in them. I have had too much trouble with updates breaking the rather primitive video and other virtual "hardware."

Lately I stick to Debian and its most mature derivatives like Linux Mint or Ubuntu. I like Arch a lot but I have gotten the best experience with it on the rails. Mageia has always been one of my favorite RPM distros but sooner or later it gets borked in VBox.

Slack is pretty simple and stable but how well it would work with guest additions and other VBox quirks I don't know.

Right now the only Linux VM I have is as a guest on Windows 10. It's Debian with the LXQt desktop and Xfwm4 window manager.

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V.T. Eric Layton
32 minutes ago, raymac46 said:

Slack is pretty simple and stable but how well it would work with guest additions and other VBox quirks I don't know.

 

I couldn't tell you, either. I've NEVER in my computer career ever used VM in any fashion. I know Slackware is rock-solid on rails and since that's the only way I use it, it works fine for me.

 

Also, as to @Hedon James comment above about proprietary software in Linux... that doesn't really affect me at all, either. I don't use any software like that (TurboTax, PhotoShop, etc.) on my systems. If I needed to, though, I have a Win 10 installation on my main (and these days ONLY) machine. I would just install it on that OS.

 

The reason I only have one machine up and running these days is because all my lappies took big poops long ago and my shop system also carped out on me recently. That was odd, too, because it had been working fine and dandy last year at this time, but when I went out there a couple months back to boot it up and do some updates on Slackware, it would not power up... no lights, no fans, no beeps... nuttin'. My PSU in that machine decided to go to power supply heaven, I guess. I don't have a spare PSU, so the system just sits out there waiting on me to fix it sometime down the road. It's not a priority. I don't use that machine out there for much, anyway. It was nice to have the backup, though.

 

Anywho... it's a cloudy, wet, and yucky morning here. A cold front blew in overnight. I've got chores to do... scoop cat litter, change her water, laundry, etc. I'm off and runnin'...

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1 hour ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

 

I couldn't tell you, either. I've NEVER in my computer career ever used VM in any fashion. I know Slackware is rock-solid on rails and since that's the only way I use it, it works fine for me.

 

Also, as to @Hedon James comment above about proprietary software in Linux... that doesn't really affect me at all, either. I don't use any software like that (TurboTax, PhotoShop, etc.) on my systems. If I needed to, though, I have a Win 10 installation on my main (and these days ONLY) machine. I would just install it on that OS.

 

The reason I only have one machine up and running these days is because all my lappies took big poops long ago and my shop system also carped out on me recently. That was odd, too, because it had been working fine and dandy last year at this time, but when I went out there a couple months back to boot it up and do some updates on Slackware, it would not power up... no lights, no fans, no beeps... nuttin'. My PSU in that machine decided to go to power supply heaven, I guess. I don't have a spare PSU, so the system just sits out there waiting on me to fix it sometime down the road. It's not a priority. I don't use that machine out there for much, anyway. It was nice to have the backup, though.

 

Anywho... it's a cloudy, wet, and yucky morning here. A cold front blew in overnight. I've got chores to do... scoop cat litter, change her water, laundry, etc. I'm off and runnin'...

 

I'm a little jealous.  I can pull that off on my PERSONAL machines, but the decision(s) are out of my hands for my BUSINESS machine.  I've spent a LOT of time putting together my Linux OS as a viable "proof of concept" for my real estate/appraisal business.  Suits me perfectly, and I can do everything that needs to be done with Linux software offerings, or online services with a Linux-compatible web browser.  It CAN be done.

 

Unfortunately, everyone else in the world uses Windows, and the decision makers almost always resort to proprietary Windows-only offerings, which leads me to search for "compatible" linux software to interact with them.  For instance, my whole company uses Microsoft Office for Word and Excel docs.  While LibreOffice is billed as "compatible" (and suits me perfectly), my docs and spreadsheets almost always lose formatting with Office users.  The content is fine, and they've learned to overlook the formatting issues before sending back to me, fact is that IF these docs were collaborative in nature (rather than review), I'd be forced to use Office. 

 

Our office machines, and server, are all Windows (of course) and there is ALWAYS something not working right...something to be fixed...something crashing....something that requires a reboot at least 1x a week.  The guy who owns the company is pretty open-minded and a "go with the flow" kind of person, but he acknowledges that the Windows issues are a productivity problem, and he feels beholden to the status quo.  He is aware of my Linux predilections and has inquired about my Linux OS setup....why would I do that?  What are the benefits?

 

I have discussed my frustrations with Windows crashes/reboots, which Linux resolves and I tell him about my "uptime" with Linux, which is often MONTHS at a time without reboot.  I have discussed my frustrations with software crashing, often taking the entire Windows OS down with it.  While I acknowledge that Linux software also crashes sometimes, the Linux OS continues to run just fine, and I'm able to "kill" that crashed process, without interrupting my OS session.  I discuss my frustration with purchased software, which often ceases to work (or work as it used to) when I'm forced to upgrade from XP to 7; or from 7 to 8; or from 8 to 10; and I have to re-purchase the same software all over again.  Linux solves that problem too, and even if I have to re-install something, who cares if you have to replace free (as in beer) software with a newer free (as in beer) version.  He's definitely interested in my setup and sees that it's a good thing for the 2 of us (we're the only commercial appraisers in the company) and would absolutely fulfill our needs.

 

But we've got several residential appraisers in the company, and ALL appraisal software is proprietary in nature, and nearly all of it is Windows only; although some vendors sometimes have OSX offerings.  As if that isn't bad enough, you can't "buy" the software and own it anymore.  You "license it" for the year, annually renewable, and it ain't cheap.  The lowest tiers of support start around $350 per year, per person.  If you're still in business, you don't have a choice...you HAVE TO buy.  And then there's accounting software.  While Linux has some good alternatives to Quicken, such as GnuCash, KMyMoney, HomeBank, etc..., there is literally NOTHING as an alternative to Quickbooks for business accounting.  And even if it existed, good luck finding an accountant who supports ANYTHING but Quickbooks.  I resolve these issues with a WindowsVM on my Linux machine; I don't run the residential appraisal software, and once a week I fire up my WinVM for accounting and once a quarter send to my accountant.  But when 80%-90% of your computer time is spent within the appraisal software it doesn't make sense to spend THAT much time in a VM....might as well run it on metal and get the speed/efficiency of that.  So while it kinda sucks that the industry makes the choice for you, it makes sense to run a Windows machine for such use cases.  One of my friends is a supervisor in a factory/fabrication facility....they're running a specialized version of WinXP from the early 2000s.  Not connected to the internet so they don't care, and it's been very reliable for them, so why not continue?  Makes perfect sense to me.

 

But here's my big idea....the "billion dollar idea"....I want to see a "VirtualOS" on computers.  We're all familiar with VirtualBox (VB) and/or Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)....why not ship the VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT as the "base OS", and allow the user to install the OS of their choice, and the programs that run on it?  I think it would be very cool to have a VirtualOS maachine, install a LinuxOS of my choosing, a WindowsOS of my choosing, and OSX...all on the same machine.  And I could use whichever software I wanted for a particular task, running in the VirtualVM it is installed on, by simply clicking an icon like we do now, without need to reboot or switch systems.  Users could run Adobe Suites and/or GarageBand in an OSX environment; Total and/or Quickbooks in a Windows environment; and web browsers in a Linux environment (or any other configuration the user sees fit); but ALL on a SINGLE machine.  This seems very do-able to me and I think the technology exists right NOW to do just that, but I'm not sure why it hasn't been done it.  I suppose maybe I'm the first to think of it, but that seems highly unlikely IMO.  Or maybe there's a technological obstacle that I'm not aware of.  But my point still stands.....seems very do-able.  So why hasn't that happened yet?  Just wondering...

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I suppose I must be one of the few around here who runs Windows 10 somewhat contentedly - not happily mind you. I have a couple of machines where that happens. I don't use Office or Edge or (gasp) IE of course. But I have a few apps that I "need" it for - my Train Sims and my preferred photo management software. Also for Turbo Tax although I think there's a workaround for that now.

Any old machine I fix up goes straight to Linux. I'm not buying a Windows 10 upgrade.

I have found Windows 10 dressed up like Windows 7 to be easy to use and stable enough. I have to invest in security software but that is the price you pay.

Maybe it's because I'm not forced to use Windows that I can tolerate it.

I like HJ's suggestion about a universal VM O/S but I wonder how that would work for gamers that need the latest hardware and low latency. I guess thay could stick with Win 10 on the rails.

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securitybreach
1 minute ago, raymac46 said:

I guess thay could stick with Win 10 on the rails.

 

No need with Steam's Proton API. I can play 99% of window's games just fine on Linux.

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2 hours ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

Slackware, it would not power up..

 

Could it be a dead coms battery, this happened to me recently. Or a faulty switch which caused me headaches in the past. 😎

 

1 hour ago, Hedon James said:

.I want to see a "VirtualOS" on computers.

 

Not quite what you want but close. Main os linux with VM windows. Worth a read about the os.

 

Quote

Indeed the Robolinux White Hat series 12 versions run many times faster than any Windows OS. Every Robolinux version can run regular Windows programs flawlessly and natively inside its desktop which increases the speed with which you can operate your PC or laptop in our rock solid Linux partition that is not affected by Microsoft Windows viruses & malware. Please note: You cannot run high end games or HD Studio software inside our Virtual Machine. Please review our "System Requirements".

 

https://robolinux.org/about.html

 

Last time I looked you had to make a contribution to get the Stealth add-on which will not suit some folk. They do support poor Cambodian children though and the cost is way way less than a Windows purchase. 😍

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V.T. Eric Layton
8 hours ago, abarbarian said:

Could it be a dead coms battery, this happened to me recently. Or a faulty switch which caused me headaches in the past. 😎

 

Nah... it's definitely a shot PSU. I probed the outputs....dead. :(

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securitybreach
12 minutes ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

 

Nah... it's definitely a shot PSU. I probed the outputs....dead. :(

 

I am sure that you could replace the PSU for very cheap. 

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18 hours ago, abarbarian said:

Not quite what you want but close. Main os linux with VM windows. Worth a read about the os.

 

 

Not sure what you're suggesting here?  Is there a distro called Main OS?  If so, I can't find any info with a google search.  Or are you just suggesting any Linux distro of my choice, with VMs?  Cuz that's what I'm doing now.  And it's working fine....no problems here.

 

I'm simply suggesting that, rather than installing an OS in a virtual software program, that the virtual software is the ACTUAL OS of a laptop or desktop, and the user can install the OS of their choice.  Instead of running VirtualBox (or VMM) within an OS, I'm suggesting that VB or VMM actually IS the OS, running on metal.  One less layer of resource usage; one less layer to increase speed/efficiency.  Nothing more....

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