Quote from: Stoic Joker on March 27, 2008, 11:15 AM

Actually my intent was to go with the Baptism-by-Fire concept ... Which makes Slackware an ideal choice. To that end, I've had quite a bit of fun with it (swearing included...). I just need to get the sound working and it will be completely functional.

Stoic Joker:
Remember to add yourself to the "Audio" group (I assume you've already installed OSS and/or Alsa)
In fact, while you're at it, check to see what groups you may or may not or should be part of.

I'm a former Slackware victi... uh, user. I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve...

You assume correctly. I'm running it in Virtual PC so the sound card is a SB16, pkgtool says that OSS is installed, and I've been playing with Alsa for hours... *Sigh*

I'm currently logging in as root *haven't got to the user account setup stage yet) which I assume should have audio privledges.

When I load KDE sound tries to initialize, but some times throws a Sound Service killed/is hogging the CPU error (or something to that effect)... but the host machine (Vista x64) never showes even moderate CPU usage. My current theory (which I haven't had time to test) is that perhaps I needed to install the huge.S kernel as I'm still using the basic kernel that the setup said I could/should continue using because it had worked ok so far... *Shrug* Does that sound like a viable solution? Or am I totally off my nut?

Good Afternoon,
This is a big subject for me.

Back in summer through winter of 2007, I was really getting big into Linux.  I tried out several versions, and liked Kubuntu most.  You can see my posts (under the same name I use here) all over the Kubuntu forum.

Over the first few weeks, I was in love with the whole Linux concept.  I became a big fan of the KDE system  -- its speed, the simplicity of the overall design of the operating system itself, the terrific repository system, and the helpful user community that was always there to help me.  Little by little, I switched over to Linux full time.  I wiped Windows off my desktop and laptop and was in bliss for a while.  I was downloading all those terrific free applications, and had my desktop all set up beautifully.

Then one day I needed to set up a wireless network, and the trouble began.  I simply could not get my laptop and my desktop to see each other.  I logged in hours and hours chasing down every hint and lead and suggestion from all the gurus on the Kubuntu site.  They made an honest effort to help me, but it just didn't work.  It seems like such a simple thing, but no go on this.

But I was so happy with Linux, I thought I would just live without wireless file sharing.  No big deal.

Well, then one day my old Canon scanner broke.  I figured, no big deal, I'll just buy a new one.  Well, I bought and returned three scanners, and not one of them would work with Linux.  Each one had a different problem, but the important thing is they would not scan.  I edited countless lines in the Linux files, downloaded drivers, and did all kinds of under-the-hood tinkering, and once in a while I could almost make the scanner work.  I bought an HP all-in-one (because everyone says HP works well with Linux), and it wouldn't work.  Again, hours and hours logged into the Linux forums for help.

I can live without a wireless network, but I can't live without a printer.

Finally, I realized I was losing way too much time trying to get basic hardware working properly.  With a heavy heart, I had to restore Windows to my laptop, and I purchased a new dsesktop with Windows Vista.  It hurt, but I had to do it.

Bottom line: I really really really would like to ditch Windows.  I love the way Linux works, when I'm running the operating system and software within the repository.  But you really hit a lot of potholes when you venture out just a bit.

So now I am using Windows Vista.  Not because I like it better, but simply because more hardware drivers work with it.

My hope is that one day soon, Linux developers will get over the last couple of hurdles, then I'll switch to Linux and never go back.

Matt

Sorry your experience came out bad, Matt.
I have an HP all-in-one as well (a 1315xi to be precise) and haven't had more than a hiccup or two.

I can't help but wonder, though... were you using the KDE tools to scan, or did you try Xsane straight?
That's what I'm using and it works fine.

Trust me, I've heard many stories like yours, and just as many success stories.
I've also heard similar stories under Windows, so the Redmond gorilla is not immune either.
Give it a try with the next version, and the best of luck to you.

If you are buying equipment for any distro of Linux you do need to make sure beforehand that there are drivers for that equipment. And that may mean asking around for what other people are using. ... But you can load the latest Kubuntu on top of Windows which would allow you to do both.

I found that it's difficult to really predict everything.  However, in my experience, I did not have trouble with most hardware.  My video card, sound card, hard drives (internal and external), and other basics all worked great.  My wireless card worked just fine for Internet access (though not for file sharing).

Yes, I considered running Linux on top of Windows, but I have to admit I never understood the proper way to get a dual-boot working.  It was easier (and more fun) for me to just wipe out Windows!

I can't help but wonder, though... were you using the KDE tools to scan, or did you try Xsane straight?
That's what I'm using and it works fine.

Trust me, I've heard many stories like yours, and just as many success stories.
I've also heard similar stories under Windows, so the Redmond gorilla is not immune either.
Give it a try with the next version, and the best of luck to you.

I was using Xsane, but I also tried so many other things I can't even remember what they were.  I could go back into the Kubuntu forum and take a look at all my posts to refresh my memory.  You know how it is: you get so deep into arcane little changes it's tough to remember it all months later.

No doubt, Windows is not perfect!!  I am using Vista now, and every day I see a new frustration with some stupid design element.  I'm constantly saying, "I like the way Linux does ____ better..."  Just working within the operating system itself, Linux is far superior to Windows (my humble opinion).

I've got one foot firmy in the Linux world.  I'm constantly checking Linux sites and looking at distribution news.  Believe me, I plan to go back to Linux as soon as possible.  Actually, I am planning to buy a cheap laptop just to use as a practice space for Linux distributions.  There is no question in my mind that Linux is moving in the right direction.

... HP is generally moderately good at that; see  http://hp-linux.cern.ch/support/devscanner.php3 and http://hplip.sourceforge.net/ -- Hewlett-Packard's Officejet are usually pretty well supported.

Yes, I like the way HP has that printer application built right into Kubuntu (I think it's also in other distributions).  In many ways, HP seems like a model of what other manufacturers should be doing, in terms of providing support for Linux.

However...I was not happy with those pages listing "compatible devices."  Sometimes, the information is wrong.  They will list devices as compatible that actually are only partly compatible, or they will be listed as compatible with conditions (like having to do a whole bunch of things to get them working).  I learned that the hard way!

Matthew

Dormouse,
I think you're talking about Wubi.  I used this for a little while, before I switched to an all-Linux system.  Wubi works fine, but it does not operate quite like a full Linux system.
Matthew