In an attempt to install DOSbox 0.73—the lastest version—onto my Asus Eee 701 netbook (which was running Ubuntu 8.04), I somehow managed to make the OS so weird and glitchy that I had to reinstall it. (This is what “killed” MX Boarder HAL, by the way.)

I figured that the problem might have been caused by trying to compile a program for 9.04, rather than the version I had. In an attempt to fix this, I installed Ubuntu 9.04, which ran VERY slowly. It also didn’t recognize the internal SD card reader, which is a problem, as I use that as the primary storage space. (The Asus has a 4 gig SSD, so a 16 gig SD makes things much less of a pain.)

So, I then decided to install Puppy Linux, hoping it would work. Sadly, no networking and it wouldn’t boot without something in the USB slot because of some GRUB issue I’m not tech-savvy enough to figure out. It also didn’t have good support for the Asus’ keyboard and the wifi didn’t work (fixable, but a pain), so I then tried a variant called Puppeee which is designed for the exact machine I was using. Again, even after a harddisk install, I couldn’t get it to work without something in the USB port, and the desktop was TERRIBLE. Fixing it would require tons of work, and at least installing a new file manager. So much for that.

I then tried Xubuntu 9.04, hoping that the SD card issue wouldn’t carry over. It didn’t! But the Xfce desktop was a total pain, and it was WAY more glitchy than I would have thought given that it’s a Canonical product. At one point, the whole desktop disappeared forever, even after reboot. All I had was a mouse pointer on a blue screen. Why? I minimized Firefox.

So that didn’t work. I tried Easy Peasy, which—in addition to having a terrible name—was bloated and slow, two things not to look for in a distro designed for netbooks. I tried Damn Small Linux, which had similar install problem to Puppy (I realized last night that this might be because I wasn’t using a true USB Flash drive, but rather a USB SD adapter, possibly messing up some of the path information if Linux saw the card reader but not the card itself).

FINALLY, I found a distro called Eeebuntu, which seems to be everything I’m looking for. It installed properly, booted up correctly and recognizes the SD reader, although I haven’t had time to check the wifi yet.

All of this drama because I wanted to play Daggerfall on DOSbox (it doesn’t work on 0.72 for its own glitchy reasons).

So, let’s talk about the trials, tribulations and triumphs of getting Linux—and any open source software—to work properly. This is the place, my nerdish brethren.

Dude, really?

My friends call me a nerd and I could barely follow your entire post.

The only person round these parts that’s gonna be able to hang in this thread is Willc.

So, basically, what I’m saying is, the only chance this thread has is to be derailed by bugg or piffy or you can pray that it catches brebro’s eyes and he leaves one or two rib-crackers as condolence prizes.

It’s really a subjective area. I mean, to Mary Jo Buttafuoco Amy Fisher is more of a cruel mistress than Linux could ever be.

Update: Eeebuntu is pretty rad, at least once you tweak a few things. It has this Mac-like dock thing that I hate (don’t like Macs, don’t like the dock), but once you disable that and tweak a few other things, it’s pretty sweet.

Next: Installing a Damn Small Linux live CD image to a 64 MB SD card, just to see if it’ll work. I mean, what else am I EVER going to do with that card?

I’m thinking of converting my hosed 1.8 HDD in my ancient 2001 15GB ipod into a heartier flash-based drive iPod by using one of these converters and a high capacity Compact Flash card. Maybe they have a similar contraption for an SD card of that… oh wait is that MB? I thought it was 64GB, never mind, you can’t even use that for postage on a letter.

I understand that it’s not that hard to do, actually. I’m considering doing the exact opposite, and using the functioning HDD from an old iPod run through a CF card reader as an 8GB external hard drive. Of course, I could probably buy an 8GB USB drive for less than the price of a CF card reader, but it’d still be kind of cool.

Yeah, I’m kind of in that spot as well, even though the converter is dirt cheap, I would want to get at least a 32GB CF card and by that time and expense, I could be just get a newer, slimmer, refurb iPod with color screen and all the other bells and whistles the kids these days have.

There’s nothing wrong with tinkering around with old technology. That said, if you don’t have a semi-current iPod, it might be worth getting one. It’s neither open-source or Linux, but my iPod Nano is brilliant. How cool is it to be able to watch TV shows on a tiny little screen? And that’s coming from someone who pretty much hates most Apple products. My only gripe is with iTunes, which I don’t like at all, but ephPod fixes a lot of that.

Anyone here used gtkpod? It came bundled with Eeebuntu, but I’m reluctant to use it because iPods are notoriously unfriendly with Linux programs.

If you aren’t running slackware, you aren’t running Linux.

I’m a wee bit intimidated by Slackware. Thus far, I’ve only used forks of Debian (not counting Puppy Linux, I guess), so the idea of trying out a new flavor has been a low priority. But I’m open-minded. What’s your favorite thing about Slackware, other than the obvious SubGenius connection?

While its not Linux, you could try FreeBSD.

http://wiki.freebsd.org/AsusEee#head-9fab6b24c3f9bf84456b83c89580d194fa80ac93

I just upgraded the HDD on my PS3 to 320gb. Yay me! But I have no idea what the #### your talking about.

Will - 28 August 2009 04:06 PM

While its not Linux, you could try FreeBSD.

http://wiki.freebsd.org/AsusEee#head-9fab6b24c3f9bf84456b83c89580d194fa80ac93

I’m sketched out by the idea of a new flavor of Linux, and you taunt me with a Unix system? You are a beastie.

Maybe I’ll try it if I get ambitious. I have a copy of “Unix for Dummies,” and it could be kind of neat to look into it. But I’m a casual computer nerd at best, so it may be some time before I have the proper amount of ambition.

Steve Shanafelt - 28 August 2009 02:04 PM

I’m a wee bit intimidated by Slackware. Thus far, I’ve only used forks of Debian (not counting Puppy Linux, I guess), so the idea of trying out a new flavor has been a low priority. But I’m open-minded. What’s your favorite thing about Slackware, other than the obvious SubGenius connection?

That’s about it. I tried to install it in 2002 and it was a nightmare. Of course, I was using a machine that saw its best days in 1997 or so.

I did like how you had to sit through the install and pretty much install every package by hand. That was nice.

Anyway, it sounds to me like you just need to learn rule number 2: Make Back Ups.

Or buy a Mac.

mat catastrophe - 28 August 2009 09:34 PM

Anyway, it sounds to me like you just need to learn rule number 2: Make Back Ups.

Apart from Megahal, which had a database of some kind I never bothered to figure out, I didn’t have anything on the computer itself, and lost nothing other than the OS and the open-source installed programs when it crashed. It only has a 4 gig SSD, so I’ve used SD cards (backed up by an external hard drive) from the start. It’s basically a web-browsing and video-watching machine, with occasional use as an emulator.

Or buy a Mac.

Why on Earth would I ever do that? I’ve worked with Macs for a decade, and I’ve never, ever liked them. And, in my experience at least, that rumor about them being more reliable than Windows is bunk. I’ll take XP over OSX any day. Brebro will probably never talk to me again, but I’ve got to stand up for something in this world.

SERIOUS BIDNIZ