You may want to look at Kodi (formerly XBMC). Installing Kodi and a plug-in for my tuner is very simple and provides a great front end for Multi-Media. If you need DVR functionality, add a MythTV backend to the mix. It is a bit more involved but there are some great tutorials available online. OpenElec and MythBuntu are pre-packaged solutions that aim to simplify the process.
Computers, hardware and software certainly have come a long way. Twenty years, the only thing anyone could argue about was AOL vs. Prodigy. Guess I'll check on eBay and see if my "50 hours of free AOL" CD is worth anything.
Also, I guess everybody cares about privacy (don't tell me you have nothing to hide) and computer safety. Being a senior, I could hardly realize how many scammers and malware can easily access my computer world. My compuer system was constantly slowing down, annoying PUPs always changed my default search engine provider, which I hated... I had to learn on my trial and error until I found a perfect anti-virus after discovering Emsisoft blog - Emsisoft Internet Security. Their clear and understandable articles give answers to so many questions that may arise about Microsoft, Windows 10, Linux etc.
Has anyone actually checked to see if linux is sending any type of telemetry data incoming/outgoing ?
Agree,,, that guy's a joke - seems that trojan is a Warcraft hack (dunno what that's got to do with Linux.) As for the rest, basic PC maintenance. TBH, shut it off half way through in disgust.
Hi everybody, I have sniffed around the forums here and there over the years and decided to register having read a page or two of this post. I am sorry to hear of your Linux woes but you now appear to be settled in. I did not want to read 54 pages so apologise if this has already been mentioned, but if it has not, hopefully it will help out somebody (If they get to page 54!) I would like to let people here who may also be struggling know that openvpn is available in the Debian software center. So Debian, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Ubuntu Mate (for those who dislike Unity and have not installed gnome-session-fallback or whatever it is being called this month) and any other distribution that uses these repositories have openvpn available to install using just a few mouse clicks. Some vpn providers do provide a linux client as well as Windows software, for example PIA customers can download an installer that will install openvpn if missing along with any other dependancies and configure itself including set up so all you have to do is enter your user name and password. Zeitgeist can be disabled in Ubuntu's privacy settings. I took the plunge into Linux using Knoppix but switched to Ubuntu 9.04 and have never looked back, I have installed and used Debian Wheezy & Jessie, Cinnamon, Mint and mate but I always end up back in Ubuntu. I am currently running 15.04. Debian can present installation issues (hardware drivers) due to some of its policies on software but there are versions available containing 'contrib' and 'non-free' firmware that will pick up your hardware if you have your heart set on Debian. I have installed Ubuntu variants on desktop pc's, and laptops for friends and family and have had no issues, all hardware found out of the box so no need to hunt down drivers and all users are happy with their systems. They all say their machines are faster and more responsive, and they love knowing that they are safe from Windows malware and virii, they love that there is no phoning home going on without their knowledge as the OS and all its software is open source with nowhere to hide any nasties. You can breathe new life into older hardware, Ubuntu Mate works well on lower spec machines with minimal amounts of ram, as do other light desktops like lubuntu or xfce, machines that win7 onwards could not run on will run these distro's happily. Software like gimp is awesomely powerful, and libre office have everything, including exporting documents as pdf. I started off installing it alongside Windows so I had a safety net, but found I needed it less and less until I got to the point where I only ever need to use Windows now to flash the odd xbox here and there. All the family and friends also find everything they need without going back to Windows, and I hope that you do too. This post is here to give a little encouragement to those thinking about installing Linux but have not yet done so, don't forget you can boot and try from a cd or usb stick without installing, but this will have its limitations on use, both in what you can do on it, and how quickly it will do it. there is a plethora of help available online as well as software, don't be shy, give Linux a try. Hugz
I had only got to page 6 and was replying to post #51 but it ended up here, oh well! The majority of problems that people have faced so far (starting from page 1) involve Debian and Mint. I know Mint is recommended, but I would not. Firmware issues are more common in Debian, but I have seen wifi issues regularly in Mint that were not present in Ubuntu. In my experience, Mint was pushed on people who did not like Unity, but it is easy to have the old gnome desktop back in Ubuntu. It changes but is gnome-classic, or gnome-session-fallback. If you are new then I would not recommend Mint or Debian unless you want to start troubleshooting almost immediately. I put Mint on the communal laptop and nobody liked it. Several comments included, 'this is the (censored beep) they have on some of the school machines' but the same people use Ubuntu without complaint. I removed it and installed Debian Wheezy. There were no complaints from the users, but I had to play about for a bit with the firmware to get all the hardware working, including the wifi. It was not a problem for me, but would put people off. I have never had any installation problems, or user complaints from Ubuntu, so I would suggest people start there. Hugz
I know that you were not asking me, but as a linux user I would recommend Ubuntu 14.04 LTS or the newest release (currently 15.04) Ubuntu is upgraded every six months, in April, and in October. 14.04LTS was released in April 2014 hence 14.04. The latest was released in April 2015 hence 15.04. the next upgrade will be out next month 15.10. LTS stands for Long Term Support. It is the version aimed at schools and businesses as it is designed to be rock solid stable and will receive updates for 5 years. In order to maintain stability, they sacrifice having the most up to date software as only fully tested stable software makes into the release. The standard releases contain up to date software and are still very stable but may not be as reliable as the LTS in some circumstances, so the LTS is provided along with full support for business users (paying customers) but LTS is still free for us home users so don't panic! Hugz
I try Linux but never again. If I must use some OS I would use Windows 2000 but I will never use Linux. Bad hardware support, bad software, 100 gadget no one useful .........no control over OS, bad dual monitor support. Sick of it With good firewall you could block every windows services except browser.
Hi, If you were willing to try again using ubuntu, and actually explain why you said what you did, then with minimal effort, and a little searching you would retract your statement. I experienced dual monitor support problems in the past, but that was, well, in the past. Out of the box installs are far more successful now. Over the years I have encountered problems, but a quick search has always led me to the fix, and most of the fixes are so easy to do. You pick it up quickly, there is so much support for ubuntu online, and you can guarantee that any problem you may experience, you are not the first, and then solution is easy, and just a quick search away. If you are capable of feeding yourself, or wiping your own bottom, then you can use ubuntu.
I'm having the opposite experience. Dual monitors work great from day one. The only problem I had (because I had never used Linux before) was setting them up. But I did it without even asking for help, all it took was a Google search. Followed the instructions and have had dual monitors from day one. I was very worried about hardware support too. More than dual monitors (which I could live without if I had too) was support for my Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 desktop speakers. Cost me a small fortune and a real deal breaker as far as I was concerned. Plugged them in, when into Sound Settings, they were listed and selected MM-1 digital output. It was that easy. The only thing I can't get working is my Logitech G400s mouse. Everything works, like forward/back webpage scrolling with the thumb buttons, thankfully. Except there is a button on top of the mouse I would usually have set up to Close Applications, which I would use to close webpage windows and programs with a single click anywhere on the desktop. This hasn't worked from day one, and its something I really miss using. I haven't found anything online that deals with getting the Close Applications setting to work with Linux. That is the only issue I am having with Linux Mint. Everything else works as it should. If the mouse would fully work I wouldn't be able to fault Linux. Oh yes, gaming support - the only reason I still have Windows installed at all. For everything else, I'm using Linux as my main OS and love it. I will NEVER EVER be using Windows as my main OS again. And I have nothing but thanks for Linux for making that possible. Imagine being stuck with Microsoft and no other choice?