xbob

Quick question, does glxgears actually end and give a report or will it just run on until I stop it? I ran it sucessfully for about half a minute, killed it to move on to some Tuxracer, but I suppose I should let it "finish" if it actually does?

Perhaps I am just a dork, but I really enjoy seeing "verbose mode" messages scroll by on those rare start ups and shut downs, my old skool Red Hat roots poking through. Is there a way I can keep the blue background (which I find strangely soothing and makes the verbose mode messages easier to read on my LCD) while always getting "verbose mode" without hitting the escape key? I won't be surprised if it's somewhere right in the management tools, but I haven't stumbled over it yet.

ditto

:D :lol:

I had a similair issue, I thought I was running in AGP mode until I opened the nVidia control panel and saw it was running PCI mode. If you have an unsupported chipset you need to run the native Linux AGP driver, so open your /ect/X11/XF86Config-4 and changed the Option "NVAgp" from a value of 1 to 2, forcing it to use AGP/Gart instead of NVAgp. 0=AGP off 1=Force nVidia AGP driver 2=Use defualt Linux AGP/Gart 3=Use any AGP driver if possible This worked perfectly and boosted glxgears by almost 30%. The readme for the last nVidia drivers explained this pretty clearly, but this version didn't go in to as much detail. If you run an "unsupported" chipset this is the only fix so far, but it does work just fine. (and if anyone cares, my chipset is a VIA KM266DDR). Hope this helps somebody, fixed my issues big time.

That is amazingly great, do you know how many of my hours as a network admin I could have back if WIndows could do that without getting it's boxers all in a bunch, I don't even want to count.

Well that went smoothly, thanks for the tips, I expected it to go that way but I have pretty much always been a "Linux on servers" person so once a server was up we rarely swapped much hardware. Damn I love the penguin!

what happens if I just pop in a new video card, does PnP kick in or should I plan a clean install? I have a Shuttle SK41G using the integrated S3 Pro Saveage DDR for now but I have a spare GeForce4 MX400SE I could pop in, so what's going to happen if I do?

Not trying to hijack your thread, but when I saw that subject I thought "Yes, Windows ME is a virus" sorry, couldn't help myself.

Well bvc, not that it means anything yet as I 've only been around here for a few days, but I think the attitude on this board is pretty amazing and it's the only Linux board I am aware of where there isn't a strong "anti-noob" attitude. I actively used Red Hat 7.x and 8, but between my job and a lot of the hostility that some of the Linux community can carry, I gave up for a while. I'm back because I believe Linux and OSS are a better way of doing things and I actively want to help promote these ideas. I think Open Source is slowly gaining more converts and momentum but we know there are several large corporations who would like to see that end. It's places like this that will stave off MS FUD and baseless attacks. So while Mdk isn't perfect we should keep having disucssions like this, try to find a way to ensure someone from the company is hearing us, and keep actively supporting the ideas and the distros.

" Well simply try finding a contact or whatever to email. In the past certain problems occured with say distribution from Mandrake boxsets etc. and well... http://www.mandrakesoft.com/company/contact/feedback" Gowator, you are correct, I looked at this page and it is awful. There is little possibility that anyone can get through that morass to get their problem to the right person. Let's hope they read this board, that needs to be addressed. One thing I have read more than once (stated by more than one Mandrake employee, the last MandrakeMag for example) is that 90% of thier cusotmers download the free ISOs instead of making a purchase, so that might explain why they put so little emphasis on the sales portion of the web site, still not excusable but maybe a little more understandable. So what is the answer, obvsioulsy most of us have some level of affection for Mdk, what do we do, just jumping ship is not a solution. Mandrake has a reputation for ease of use so it's unlikely a few hardcore Linux users defecting will make them sweat, so what action do we take?

"Mandrake seem to have isolated themselves from constructive criticism and I get the feeling the marketers are running the show right now." Obviously I am new around here, someone care to elaborate on this statement, might clear up some of these feeling some of you have toward Mdk for us noobs?

So correct, do not underestimate this, I was in an open environment until mid-2001, then new management walked in and pretty much banned all discussion of non-MS alternatives. It took a while to find a new job in this economy, but even now I find lots of managers afraid of Open Source and Standards because they don't know what it means. While I am annoyed with some of the stuff Mandrake did (like not putting all the KDE files in their proper dirs) I won't give up on them yet. But I do agree we need to find a good medium to contact them on this and really be insistent. Let's face it, Mdk 10 is doing well overall so they aren't going to be very open to someone calling it garbage (which it isn't, but does have issues). The whole I.T. landscape is changing, it's slowly become IBM/HP/Linux/Everybody else vs. Microsoft/Dell. This is a good thing, but corporate acceptance of Linux will be the tipping point, and Mandrake is getting a reputation as being the most "friendly" LInux distro, so now is the time to work with them, not walk away. I don't think we should bemoan the commercial distributions, in all reality we really need them. Suse, Mandrake and RH all have some stuff to answer for, but if we just throw our hands up and switch to Debian I doubt they'll change their ways, probably only get worse. Linux became something different the day someone decided to make money off of it, and I'm all for keeping it pure/standardized/Free/free but I also seriously want to see it suceed becuase it is such a great thing.

Agreed, and this is the kind of thing I think we should remain vocal about, if I can't edit the config by hand the tool sucks. Also agreed, I think MS has been working hard to kill off the whole "generalist" idea and Linux distros shoud not assist with this. Agreed, but I don't see it as being avoidable on some level, perhaps if United Linux and IBM all came out behind LSB, but I don't see any of the major "corporate targeted" distros getting behind this if they think their tool will give them a leg up. I think Linux usage now surpasses OS X usage, but not by much, but still. As for your Palm example, unless something has changed recently, Palm decided to not include OS X support on new products, also passing the buck on that support to the community, unless this has changed. Lowering develpement cost by targeting the majority is the rule MS has always wanted, so increasing marketshare for Linux is the only solution. As for the KDE/Gnome integration, if you want mass Linux acceptance, there is going to have to be some level standardization of desktop/window managers on distributions if you hope to achieve critical mass. You can pro and con them to death, but both are good transition points for Windows users. There is no reason you can't have a 1,000 options for other window managers, but both support and users need some place to start, and KDE and Gnome are good choices. Agreed again. Again, totally agree. I stand behind what I said, we need to remain vocal and vigilent, but distros are going to keep looking for that leg up, so much like KDE vs Gnome, the debate will never end. Does anyone have information on which distros try to adhere to and actively support LSB? What actions have been taken to let Mandrake, Suse and Red Hat know how much this means to the community and to the future of Linux?

Good topic with lots of different views, but I think one point no one has really mentioned is why Mdk/RH/Suse keep adding more tools and doing things "their own way" versus staying purely within standards/guidelines. I think it's a simplification to say they are just looking for "vendor lock-in" and to some point what they are doing can be viewed as altruistic. Linux is prepared to turn a corner over the next couple years, and it's finally getting the respect it deserves in corporate computing. I consult and have seen a steady increase in Linux solutions over the last few years, and things haven't really slowed down due to SCO's overtures, so I think this shows Linux building toward some level or critical mass. The support and driver issues has less to do with the number of distros and their specific tweaks than it does with pure market share numbers. The vast majority of hardware lacks Mac support as well, the less software a hardare mfg has to test, the better in their minds. As for stuff like ISPs, they can barely support Windows and a really simple wizard/GUI tool is the only hope in that space. The only way to achieve critical mass in that space is for AOL to release a client for Linspire and market it as an Web,eMail/word processor that doesn't have worms/viruses, then every ISP would get on board. Until then, it's up to simple to use wizards and community support. When Mdk tweaks a setting with a wizard, or Yast does something differently than Linuxconf or Red Hat changes a directory location I don't think it's because all of these Open Source supporters have suddenly turned greedy and have machinations of building a Redmond-style empire, I think they believe they have a truly better way of handling a task. The one thing all 3 of these distros have in common is that they are at the forefront of the battle to get on to the corporate desktop. Even a few more small victories in this space are crucial for Linux to reach that tipping point. While you and I can sit all day and debate and extoll the merits of "Free as in speech" and staying pure to the GNU/Linux ideas, the pointy headed bosses of the world are actually interested in things like wizards and simple configuration tools, they feel better signing some kind of maintenance agreement for thousands of $$$ than relying on the community that you and I know is out there working to solve an issue faster than any corporate entity. Those same pointy headed bosses have lunch with Microsoft sales people, and I can tell you after years of exposure to these guys, they are extremely good, they are heavily trained to get the sale at any cost with high profile clients and are authorized to give away the farm to fight Linux, and they know all the classic FUD and have back up plans for every counter measure we have. Now the first thing we all have to acknowledge is that many of the people who hold the authority to turn Linux loose in the corporate space are clearly not qualified to make that decision. They are mostly non-technical, administrative types who are very comfortable in the world of point and click. This won't get better any time soon, so what to do? I think Mdk/RH/Suse are working on that, and while they don't always stay true to the letter of what Linux is on every level, they are tyring to find that balance between adherence to standards and a level of ease of use that will work for the PHBs of the world. Linux will enter most peoples homes the same way Windows did, after they have been exposed to it via work experience. I'd like to see how many people who work for AutoZone, Burlington Coat Factory or Ernie Ball have now tried and love Linux due to that exposure (anyone ever ask this question?). So while I also get frustrated that Mdk/RH/Suse don't always "act like they should" I also see why they are pushing those boudaries (sometimes to the breaking point), but at their core, they are all still Linux. We all sit here and talk about how Mandrake, Red Hat and Suse aren't playing fair but those 3 ditros have the best chance of breaking into the corporate space and have done more to put the work Linux on the lips of PHBs than any other ditros you can name. And while yes, I do believe that they are looking for thier tools to become the "preferred" way to do thing, thereby gaining more corporate support, therefore selling more lucrative and expensive support contracts, I don't think you could call this "lock in". This isn't MS software, you still have the source code, the same base line Linux kernel and the same community support. If you decide to base your business on Suse, convert your apps and sign a three year service agreement with Novell/Suse you are in no worse position if during that 3 years you decide that you aren't happy and switch distros next time around. You may have to tweak things, re-write some programs and your admins may have to brush up on the new version, but it's not nearly as traumatic or expensive as upgrading to a new version of Windows/Office/SQL/Great Plains and should be a smoother transition since your data is just as portable. I'm not recommending that Mdk/Suse/RH be given charter to wreak havock on the file system, standard apps, etc... In fact, I think we should continue to vocally encourage them to adhere to standards. But I don't think it's realistic to assume we won't see more "vendor specific" tweaking in the near future. That doesn't necessarily mean these companies are evil or that everything they do has ill intentions . I think we will have to remain flexible and and supportive (as well as vocally critical when necessary) as Linux moves further into the mainstream, but I also think we inch closer to that critical mass every day.