I disagree on hardware. My computer, A Presario, has a bios that does kernel panic over apic when you try to install. Koppix aborts altogether, and it gives several other distros fits. Compaq says that it updated the bios when they did a warranty servicing a couple of months ago. Be sure that what you buy doesn't count on using a win modem either, it might not even work for faxes, so using broadband won' completely solve your problem. Ubuntu tells you why it is having kernel panic, but doesn't tell you how to fix it.
Mandriva installs well, but I feel sorry for a newbie. I once saw an old pro spend a week trying to get a win modem to work with Red Hat 7.3!!! Don't go to Tiger Direct, either. They once sold me a barebone kit with the memory sticks incompatible with the rest of the kit. Mark Wallace 60 Delaware Road Newburgh, New York 12550-3802 Telephone: (845) 566-0586 Jay Gagnon wrote: > On Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 10:26 AM, Mark Wallace <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > >> Unless you have a heavy need, you could probably buy a system off the >> shelf for less money, and the manufacturer has already figured out what >> hardware is compatible with what. >> Be sure that it is Linux compliant. Most off the shelf systems are >> built with Windows in mind, and might create problems putting Linux in >> them. >> Mark Wallace >> > > It's been a while since I've built my own machine, since I tend to use > laptops now and those aren't really build-your-own, so things might have > changed, but I'd have to disagree that off the shelf machines are better > bang for your buck. If you get the parts through a good outlet (i.e. don't > try to buy the components at Best Buy) you can get excellent prices, you > don't have to pay for software licenses you don't want, and you can get the > exact balance (speed/storage/graphics/sound) that you want. > > And hardware compatibility just isn't that big a deal with tower-style > machines. You need to do a basic check on the RAM, you buy an Nvidia > graphics card, and you're done. All mainstream AMD/Intel chipsets have > pretty good Linux support nowadays, and since he's looking to spend a > thousand it's safe to say he won't be buying some brand new, bleeding edge, > seven hundred dollar motherboard. > > I can go on, but I'm in danger of really taking a hard turn toward rant, so > I'll leave it off here. Bottom line, I still think build your own is the > best value. Also, it's way more fun. > > > -Jay > _______________________________________________ > Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org > > http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug > Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium > > Mar 5 - Wearable Linux Computing > Apr 2 - Building a Kernel the Debian / Ubuntu way > May 7 - Setting up a platform-independent home/small office network using > Linux > Jun 4 - TBD > Jul 2 - KVM (Tenative) _______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Mar 5 - Wearable Linux Computing Apr 2 - Building a Kernel the Debian / Ubuntu way May 7 - Setting up a platform-independent home/small office network using Linux Jun 4 - TBD Jul 2 - KVM (Tenative)
