IRCing, #LinuxHelp, and ApIRC

A 23rd Century User's Guide and FAQ

1. Why OpenProjects?
2. Where can I download Linux from?
3. Will Windows programs (like MS Office) work under Linux?
4. Can Win95/98 coexist with Linux?
5. Is my video card supported under X?

Why OPN?

We believed that OpenProjects had the most to offer Linux.com's users. Being based on the ideals of Open Source, we felt this was more congruent to our users' needs than the generality of EFNet or UnderNet. Besides, it's where all the Debian guys hang out =)

Where can I download Linux from?

First up, let me just explain, there are many different flavours of Linux. The difference is similar having a vanilla milkshake as opposed to a strawberry one. They're both the same thing, just slightly different in taste. The easiest way to download Linux, is to visit the Linux.com Linux@Work distribution pages, read about each distribution, then follow the link to a download site of the distribution you've chosen.

Will Windows programs (like MS Office) work under Linux?

Natively? No. However, there are a range of emulators available as well as several Linux-native alternatives. In the emulator sphere, there is the WINE project, which is an attempt to allow MS Windows apps to run under X. Another popular emulator, is the commercial application VMWare, which allows you to install a whole virtual system, (95, NT etc), on which you can then install Office, or any other application.

In terms of alternatives, for the major applications, there are several. For an Office replacement, you should look into StarOffice, or KOffice, which is an Office suite in development by the KDE group. Corel has also ported their popular word processor, Word Perfect to Linux, and has made it free for personal use. If you're looking for an Adobe Photoshop replacement, take a look at the GIMP, a fully featured graphics package that is free for anyone to use.

Can Win95/98 coexist with Linux?

Sure. Linux will need two partitions to itself, one for swap memory, and one for the system itself (Linux swap, and EXT2 respectively). At boot time, you will receive a prompt "LILO:", where you choose to either boot the Linux system, or the 98 system. Please note, it is good to have a Linux boot disk kept handy. Should you ever reinstall Win95/98, Windows will wipe the Master Boot Record (MBR), scrubbing LiLo. You will then need to go and reinstall LiLo by booting from a floppy, and running /sbin/lilo from the command line as root.

Is my video card supported under X?

The easiest way to check this out, is by reading over the supported cards list on the XFree86 home page. You might also like to check out Xi Graphics, the makers of the commercial X server, AcceleratedX. AccelX sometimes supports cards that XFree86 doesn't.

I can't get sound to work!

Sound generally requires a kernel recompile, or at least the sound modules being built. These topics are covered in the Sound HowTo by Jeff Tranter. If your card isn't supported natively, it would probably pay to look up the ALSA project (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture), which is an attempt to replace the Kernel sound drivers with a far more flexible system. If you're open to the idea of commercial sound drivers, you should read up on 4Front Technologies development of the commerical Open Sound System drivers.

If there are any other questions you see being asked often, please feel free to mail ircstaff@linux.com with suggestions for additions to this FAQ.