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 Post subject: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Fri 09-25-2009 7:33AM 
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Colonel

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I'm a linux noob (just never got into it) and now have a dell mini9 with ubuntu. I've only got a 4gb ssd so updates are a little tricky. I've got a 16gb ssd waiting at home (stl), but if I can get the hang of some of the basic commands, I may hang on to it.
I'm right now trying to change the default folder that synaptic uses to download new packages before install and I've found a few links, but I don't know how to use that with an SD card (to not use up my tiny hhd on temp files).
Link1
Link2
I'm honestly not sure if the SD is mounted as a separate drive or as something less substantial.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Sun 09-27-2009 11:10AM 
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Major
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Just Install XP and be done with it


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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Sun 09-27-2009 12:33PM 
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Goran wrote:
Just Install XP and be done with it


Of course the solution to everything is to revert back to the shittier OS. Been using Ubuntu for a while and love it more than XP. The learning curve is super steep but after the initial few months, it's all set up and you learn stuff. When I used 8.04 it was a few days to set up 2 monitors. With 9.04, automatically set up itself so new versions get easier all the time. Sometimes things do get harder such as ipods since Steve Jobs is a fucker and hates open source.

One program that might be handy to install to see and mess with drives and partitions is gparted. You can add it from applications>add/remove. If you want to do command line

Code:
sudo fdisk -l
will list the partition and drive information such as your hard disk and also USB storage if you have one plugged in at the time. That might be a place to start to figure out where you need to change the path to. Usually drives are automatically mounted in /media. To find out where things are mounted

Code:
sudo mount


Just do this when your SD card is in and that should tell you what path to use.

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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Sun 09-27-2009 2:40PM 
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I see that linux can/is more efficient than windows/osx whatever, but so far I have heard no good reason to have it on a personal computer. Servers fine, netbooks or single use systems fine, but if I need forum support, books, programming background, or any of that to browse the internet, play games, or use photoshop than why would I make the extra work for myself?

not trying to start a OS war, but the only pro to linux is you can tell people you are leet and dont have sex with women

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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Sun 09-27-2009 3:58PM 
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I wouldn't consider myself leet or really that computer inclined. I don't need books and I know nothing about C++, except that the guy that invented it has an office down the hall from me, but that's another story. I can see how some distributions would discourage even the most computer literate people simply because they think it is too much work. When I first tried Mandrake years ago, I gave it up within a few months because it was just too much work. It's not that you have to program but you have to learn terminal commands for even the simplest things. Every time you put in a CD, you had to mount, unmount, change the fstab, etc. It was just annoying.

I went off to an internship and ran into Ubuntu. My boss was using it because the programs they were using were written for unix systems. Some programs did have a Windows version but the unix version always ran faster (20-30%) and some programs just didn't have Windows versions. I installed it and he helped when I had questions. Some things were hard (using 2 monitors required lengthy changes to configuration files that were not intuitive) and some things were easy (CDs and USB drives automatically mounted themselves). As later versions come out more and more things that require unintuitive changes to configuration files are being automated or replaced by a GUI. I have Ubuntu 9.04 and firefox works right out of the box and my dual monitors configured themselves.

There is a complaint about programs not available on Linux. It's that there is usually an open-source free version that is most likely better and most of the time many different programs.

For burning I used to use Nero and then I discovered k3b. So much better.
For photoshop, there is gimp. I don't use photoshop so I don't know how much better or worse one is than the other. It's right out of the box.
For office, there is open office, right out of the box.
I can view, edit, and make pdfs and I didn't buy, crack, or steal Adobe Professional to do it.
I can remote access to my computer and work from Florida if I want.

There are times when developers refuse to or just can't provide an open source option such as companies that write specialized programs for industry. In that case there are a few tricks to run Windows programs on Linux. Yes there are a few times where I have just sucked it up and used the CLC for that one special Windows thing but 90%+ I've been fine and sometimes came out ahead of Windows.

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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Sun 09-27-2009 5:20PM 
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Colonel

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Well, all that aside. I'm eventually just going to dual-boot ubuntu and xp so that I can keep learning, but until I can get my hands on my larger ssd, I'll be using ubuntu.
As for my problem, I found the answer a few days ago with the help of a member of mydellmini.com. I'll post it here for anyone that may care.

Quote:
Yes, you can move the cache folder around in many crazy ways. The simplest way seems to be changing the directory in "/etc/apt/apt.conf", apt's configuration file.

The easiest way for a self-described "noob" to do that is probably:

Find the directory you wish to use for a package cache. Right-click on it and choose copy. Then hit "Alt-F2" to bring up the "Run Application" dialog. Run "gksudo gedit /etc/apt/apt.conf" to run gedit, a simple text editor, with superuser privileges. You need super-user/root privileges to modify a system file. The file will probably be blank, add the line:
Code:
dir::cache::archives "PASTE DIRECTORY HERE INBETWEEN THE QUOTES";
Then save the file. Hopefully, the next time a package is downloaded for installation, it'll end up in the new dir. I don't know what error messages, if any, will appear if the dir. can't be found. Keep an eye on it.


Though I found that the folder that you tell the cache to download to needs to have a folder named "partial" inside it for it to work.
So /media/disk/Update with /media/disk/Update/partial in it.

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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Sun 09-27-2009 9:39PM 
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Someone needs to make a GUI bootloader akin to Boot Camp for mac... GRUB is so asinine I just don't bother with dual booting.

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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Sun 09-27-2009 10:13PM 
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Colonel

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For me it's even simpler. I'm going to mod a second SD reader as an internal and boot ubuntu from that. Just have to select which device to boot from. Since it's not going to be my main, I'm not too worried about lifespan.

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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Mon 09-28-2009 10:26PM 
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Actually Linux tends to drain laptop batteries like nothing. Have fun with your new desktop replacement netbook :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Mon 09-28-2009 10:35PM 
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Colonel

Joined: Sun 09-25-2005 1:55PM
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Really? Odd, I've been getting over 4 hours on a 4-cell battery pretty consistently (fyi, slightly better than average). I can see some of the heavier versions, but not so much this Dell modified one and ubuntu netbook remix.

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 Post subject: Re: linux help for a noob
PostPosted: Tue 09-29-2009 4:07AM 
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http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/powertop/powertop.php


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