Media Player Suggestions

[mwd]

Could also have a play with Knoppix versions of Linux. Runs straight off the CD so you can have a little play around with it without having to delete anything off your machine.

Can be used as a Windows rescue disc if you know your way around it too. Not sure if NTFS formatted harddrives are fully supported now they weren't a few years ago.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Latest Linux distro's fully support NTFS and FAT32...both read and write

And you can get a driver for XP that will look at Linux EXT2 & 3 file systems and read/write

Which is good for dual booted machines. I use this feature a lot on my laptop, as I primary use Linux and save everything in the Linux partition, and when I need XP its easy to retrieve files.



Dual booting is definatly the go...

 

[Jase71]

Linux is very lean on system resources compared to Win

You might get a bit of a suprise..

haha, I thought about this as soon as i hit the post button on the last one. If Linux OS isnt as taxing as Windows overall, this may negate the weaker chip. Anyway, it's irrelevant because of the software that I use in my life, unless the ghost platform (wine, I think someone said?) was reliable and I ran it on the P4.

Could also have a play with Knoppix versions of Linux. Runs straight off the CD so you can have a little play around with it without having to delete anything off your machine.

Not right now, my PC is truly f&cked, and it's not handling anything well lately. What I *am* going to do is take stuff off the recently introduced USB hub (its linking the TB HD, MIDI Controller, printer & USB-Powered instrument interface/sound card to an the onboard USB in the tower), then delete a lot of software I don't need (eg: WMP, which is one culprit now) and see how I go.

A call out to any Sydney PC genius types: Anyone in Sydney care to come round late April and help me completely re-install XP so I can start from scratch ? I figure that any unwanted shit that's built up over the past two years can be wiped out and I'll start from the top, that way I can safely evaluate whether its a hardware issue or not - personally, my uneducated guess is that it's OS related, not hardware related. Quantocks was very kindly offering to do so, but regrettably he was (perhaps unjustifiably) shamed from there here parts. But that's another story.

I can pay a few dollars (not much though, to be up front) for someone to assist with not only starting the PC off fresh, but helping to install a few tricky things like the sound module requirements, which is beyond just a sound card, because it needs to not only playback audio, but actually record instrument inputs as well.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Try the live ubuntu CD...it will give you an indication if the PC hardware is Ok..

How big is your Hard drive..Can you spare 5-10GB to dual boot linux...

The advantage of this is that if win craps itself, you can use Linux to pull out your data and files



wine is not a ghost platfrom, it is an application that allows you to run ( some ) windpws programs...


You may even be able to find Linux equiv programs like Gimp etc for photo's

 

[Pollux]

My laptop dual boots in both Vista (evil) and Fedora....

Only problem is I keep bookmarking stuff in one and then wondering where it vanished to when I use the other OS.....

 

[Jase71]

My laptop dual boots in both Vista (evil) and Fedora....

Only problem is I keep bookmarking stuff in one and then wondering where it vanished to when I use the other OS.....

I dont know what Fedora is - but anyway, out of genuine interest - WHY do you do this... Im interested in knowing what the benefits are in running a dual system. No malware threats when surfing the net perhaps ?

The internet is an evil place these days, dont you all think ? Seems you can pick up some nasties simply by visiting a site (and Im not one to look at dodgy russian porn or chinese hacker sites either). It used to be the case that you would need to launch an .exe by accident to be vunerable, but now it seems that danger lurks everywhere.

AN example of this is that I picked something up a while ago that kept giving me a baloon warning in the taskbar imploring me to download the latest MS updates. If not for the very small grammatical (or it might have been spelling) error, it looked, by all accounts, to be leitimate. Ive seen screen dumps of the site it leads users to, and it's very convincing.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Only problem is I keep bookmarking stuff in one and then wondering where it vanished to when I use the other OS.....

yeah....I hate that B)

 

[Pollux]

Fedora is a distro of linux. Works brilliantly, runs faster and is alot less "laggy" and prone to sudden random crashes then Vista.

I only keep Vista so I can run beersmith/nero that's about it.

 

[Jase71]

OK, so I could run a dual OS like you do, and use Fedora/Linux/whatever for all apps except those that are Windows Specific (like my audio gear, and photoshop). That would mean no 'cross-contamination' if Im surfing the net with Linux ?

I'm really being sold on this idea.

So, this is getting quite off topic (but what the hell, I was the topic starter) - what about a Linux-Based 'Office' suite, namely excel & word docs... I often bounce spreadsheets between work and home, and they are often filed with complex formulae that I have written at work.

Easy answer is not to take shit home from work

 

[Pollux]

Inbuilt, and if it isn't for whatever reason, click on the add programs in the menu and select what you want....

Key bonus of linux, pretty much EVERYTHING is open source, which equates to FREE!!!

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Jase..

Fedora is another "flavour" of Linux. There several providers of linux, each with there own theme or flavour

Some of the the common ones are

Ubuntu
Fedora
Debian
Red Hat

The dual booting allows you to run a program specific to each OS.

Linux is a far more ( much, much more ) secure platform to surf the net as it is difficult to get viruses/worm/trojans etc...

In Linux, any program, be it a virus, worm, application requires the use of the users password to be able to install. Since the program doesnt know your password it cant work. Can be a PITA because you are always being asked for your user password when program changes are made. But it is good because at least you know what is trying to use your system.

Linux also uses very specific places for software updates, and YOU have to add them yourself. Again you know who and where your updates come from..

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

linux has 'Open Office" which is the same as MS office..ie Word, Excell, PP etc..and PDF..they are just called different names due to copywrite...and its free and built in

 

[Jase71]

Inbuilt, and if it isn't for whatever reason, click on the add programs in the menu and select what you want....

Dont understand any of what you're saying there

Fedora is another "flavour" of Linux. There several providers of linux, each with there own theme or flavour

Is this because the coding is 'open source' (forgive my terminolgy if its incorrect) and anyone, absolutely anyone can 'pop the hood' and redesign elements of the OS? ... and if so, those you mentioned happen to be the better known versions/******* children ? That opens the question that if you installed a Linux-based OS from a questionable source, there may be in-built evils..... sure I know the 'spirit' of Linux is pure, but one would need to be wary of the bad eggs.

linux has 'Open Office" which is the same as MS office..ie Word, Excell, PP etc..and PDF..they are just called different names due to copywrite...and its free and built in

I was leaning more towards 'cross compatibility'. I'm not going to be intalling a dual OS at work, so my Office and Excel isn't going to be read, with all formulae & formatting intact, with another suite....... or if it is, then let's throw the cncept on its head, if I create something with a non-MS spreadsheet program, then send it to work, will it be seamless ?

****, All I seem to be doing tonight is asking questions. Guys, dont feel obliged to anser unless you're enjoying the discussion

 

[Jase71]

Just for a moment, back to OT.

Is Winamp 'lite' worth installing, all I need it for is the management of a shitload of music files, and the ability to 'rip' from CD & convert to MP3 (I have no need to burn CD's to blanks, and if I do, Ive got Nero).

Or do I go for a full-version + keygen torrent, evaluate it, then buy it legit if Im happy with it? Sure, Im suggesting piracy, but I genuinly think that good software should be rewarded with an honest, legitimate payment if one is happy with the product. And FFS it's only $35 AUD or so.... but I'm not going to buy something without having experienced it first, to see if it fits my requirements.

Again, the issue is - WTF if it carries a virus ? My AV is questionable.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

when you go Linux, their are no keygens..so to speak..

Formulas & macro's created in Ms or openOffice can be read in each other. I often get Excell docs sent to me full of macro's and formula and have yet had an issue reading them, editing them and sending them back in linux


Linux has a different system to add programs, basically you can just look at a big data base of programs on secure sites and pick what you want and install them

Their are no "questionable" OS sources.....if they was, they would last about 5 minutes

Yes you can "pop the hood", but life isnt as simple as that, due to linux's structer

 

[Goofinder]

How about foobar2000? Very quick, minimal interface but gets the job done. Can rip, encode and even speak iPod if needed. I use it when I'm on XP (only at work really).

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

yeah Foobar is great for win....I only got it for FLAC files..

But CDEX will do FLAC with the right plug in

 

[Jase71]

Nice screenshot on that site. Looks a lot like a Rammstein artwork.

 

[mwd]

I always thought Winamp was Free ??

Use Winamp as a Audio Player and check out Ducati Stu's list of free programs for CD/DVD Ripping they are all excellent and free. Nero is also bloatware lots of free CD/DVD burning software available which are much more efficient.

Just need to get onto Google it will come up with thousands the first few will do.

Doom.org or Scourceforge.com are the most common for detailed help.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Fopbar is nice..

But I do prefer the Linux players