SoulSe

I decided on Ubuntu server (8.04LTS) in the end. Installation was painless. Used RAID 1 with two 250GB SATA drives. One RAID partition for swap and another for / Ubuntu Server has a 'LAMP Server' install option. Makes set up a snap. Installed Apache 2 with all the trimmings. I then set up virtual hosts, pointed my IP at one of the hosts and tested it on the LAN. All working. Imported MySQL tables into the new server, moved over files and all was OK, except permalinks. Enabled rewrites and it worked. So I'm all done. Server goes into rack later this week :) Two thumbs up for Ubuntu Server Edition. Thanks to all for the recommendations.

I've been using Firefox 3 since beta 4. It's really looking good. Lightweight, snappy and the new databasing system is awesome. I'm eagerly awaiting file availability and then I'll join in the download fest!

Configuration files for Apache are usually kept in a subdirectory of etc. The main config file (usually httpd.conf) will tell Apache where to look for files and you can specify other directives there too. If you plan to host more than one site on the same server then you need to use virtual hosts with seperate config files that are kept in another sub-directory. My recommendation would be to check out the official Apache documentation which will fill you in on what to do. The docs are very well written and you shouldn't have trouble understanding them. You may also want to update to the latest version (2.2) although the documentation project keeps separate docs for each major version. You can also use something like Webmin for gui-based configuration, but the CLI method is simple enough. And we're here if you get stuck ;)

Good point! Debian really mucked that one up.

Thanks for the suggestions. Let me give an example, perhaps: it is easy to set up a firewall / router box with any distro, but there are dedicated distros like Smoothwall designed for the purpose. Because they are dedicated to doing one thing they tend to do it well and have handy tools built for the job. That's what I'm looking for - a dedicated LAMP distribution that does the job well - and nothing else, necessarily. But, failing that, I'm thinking Ubuntu server would be a good way to go. It has good community support and security from what I can tell. The reason I usually use Gentoo for servers is because of the over-active forums where I can usually solve something in no time. But I think Ubuntu would be the same, if not better. I appreciate the suggestions! Keep 'em coming :) I'm not inclined to use Mandriva as a server, but that's just my personal preference.

I need to configure one of these next week as a LAMP (Linux + Apache + MySQL + PHP) server. Usually I would just install Gentoo or Arch and set it up with the required packages from there. But I was wondering - are there any good dedicated LAMP distros that install with all of these packages set up out of the box? I need to get this thing set up with minimal effort and time.

I host a podcast called ZA Tech Show along with some other technology journalists from South Africa. This week Mark Shuttleworth was our special guest and we spent an hour discussing desktop Linux, the future of open source, what to expect in the next version of Ubuntu, and more. I thought the discussion would be interesting to all of you and I'd like to hear what you thought of Mark's comments. :) You can hear the episode over here.

The South African Bureau of Standards announced the appeal last week. I spoke to Andrew Rens from the Shuttleworth Foundation on the same day and he seemed to think that the case was strong, based on the process violation at ISO during the fast-tracking conference. Brazil was soon to back it up and now the appeal process is picking up steam. Interesting...

I also use both and I think you're missing something when it comes to GUI; with a user interface you can find functionality that you wouldn't have known about before. With the CLI you can only do things you already know how to do. So many times I'll be using a new program's GUI and see a button that does x - which I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I love using the CLI, but I swing both ways, depending on what I'm trying to do.

I think it's difficult to port from one API to the other, but if you develop for both from day one then you're fine. Of course it's more work and more intensive to do, but if Id plans to leverage both APIs and do it from the start then there's no big deal. I can understand why they want to throw the Xbox platform more love - that is where the real money is. Look at how much GTA IV goes for on the console and how much money MS gave the developers to have custom downloadable content. Also the fact that when the game is released for PC it will retail for half the price. Case in point: The Orange Box. In my country it cost R340 (about $45) on PC at launch, and R600 for the Xbox. Console titles make huge margins... of course the publishing agreements are completely different too.

Id has released native Linux versions of all its games. There is no chance that Doom 4 would be any different, unless Id was acquired by another company who put a stop to the support.

Dude - colour in Ubuntu is not a reason not to use it. Like arctic said - two clicks and it's changed. One thing's for sure - it's gonna be a heck of a lot easier changing the colour of Ubuntu than it is going to be getting your wireless card working in Mandriva! I thought you bought a Mac laptop?

Weird - that is definitely enough bandwidth for video - I have used it on a slowish HSDPA connection and it was fine. In fact, I once used it on a pitiful 384kbps connection and it worked fine. Must be something else wrong...

Haven't tried it yet myself, but I'm glad to see that video chat is finally available in Linux. That was the one missing killer feature for me, since I use it to chat with my sister in the UK all the time so she can keep an eye on her nephews (literally).