Linux/Computer Talk

[robocop]

Anyone into Linux that browses this hellhole?
An old laptop of mine was basically unusable for a variety of reasons. First thing I did after deciding to fix it was use the bootable usb thumb drive with Ubuntu. (YES, I’m a bit of a n00b.)
Installed a SSD. It runs better than with windows. Got my audio interface working with ardour. Now, one of my friends who is 60 who runs a business needs something to type out his invoices. Believe it or not, he uses a fucking typewriter. He never, ever bought a computer in his entire lifetime. I’m not going to start him out with Linux. Only wondered what is the best OS to put on the laptop to give to him? It is older so it came out of the box with VISTA!!! The horror! He lives in the middle of the woods, no internet will browsed! He won’t pay for it. (satellite)

I don’t want to give Microsoft my money...and don’t want a fucking Trojan by downloading an iso of windows.
There’s not a whole lot of options for someone starting out. Only looking for suggestions. Thanks.

[ZenithMC]

Damn... 60 years old... Never owned a computer in his entire life... robocop, this is the very definition of an impossible task!

I'm pretty familiar with Linux, although I've never actually extensively used one of the distros. I use Windows 8, like a weirdo.

I actually use MSYS2 often, which is a minimal POSIX emulation layer that includes many different utilities and programs that are common on POSIX distributions, but run on Windows. Because of that, I'm pretty well versed at writing shell scripts (bash). I also use gcc to compile my programs, and use vim to write the source code.

Now, I'm not sure if I'd ever recommend a novice computer user to use Linux, as there are many aspects of it that require knowledge of how to use the shell / command line. Out of every possible distro, I'd recommend Mint, because it targets mostly novice users.

A big problem with Linux is it's poor driver and hardware support (because manufacturers neglect Linux, imaginably for nefarious reasons). For instance, sometimes the available Linux drivers for certain WiFi cards are of mediocre quality, and aren't able to take advantage of the card's full power, thus limiting the range of the signal receiver.

Other than Linux, the only other OS I can seriously recommend would be Windows. I'm not a fan of MacOS, even though it is UNIX-like. Actually, I hate Apple's entire strategy. Sell a product that costs an arm and a leg to purchase, with the cheapest possible build quality, and can only be repaired in-house. Complete nonsense, but I digress!

Now, you could just find an ISO somewhere, and compare the checksum of that ISO to what Microsoft reports on their website (somewhere), but I'm not going to go into that topic any further. Actually, I thought you were able to just download a certain version of Windows from Microsoft directly, but it wouldn't contain the registration key, so it'd eventually end up gimped. Of course, the registration keys can be found, but again, I won't say where.

[robocop]

Cool. I am well aware of warez if it’s even called that anymore. Ruined many pcs in my time because all I needed was one more awesome Trojan and virus filled program.
Also, Windows of course is something I was going to do. It just is if I use Linux, will I be able to get the printer to work with drivers that don’t always work right?? He needs to print out his stuff plus I’d get him using open office. (whatever it’s called now) I’m not even sure about a lot of the things you mentioned were. If you are knowledgeable enough, write a VST that cooks your burrito.
Kidding, ok, thanks.

[ZenithMC]

When I used Linux, the printer was surprisingly well supported. In fact, it worked better than with Windows! Now, your mileage may vary because of hardware differences, but I think at least that should work reasonably well. Just be wary of WiFi card compatibility with Linux. The story I mentioned earlier was my own actual experience.

Also, I'd recommend LibreOffice over OpenOffice. I couldn't get OpenOffice to stop crashing at random intervals on Windows. I will add that I never tested the reliability of OpenOffice or LibreOffice on Linux, so maybe it actually works properly there, but LibreOffice works really well for me on Windows.

[NeverendingAbyss]

I had Ubuntu on my old computer as dual boot. I didn't find it too fascinating, but I liked it better than a macOS.

I do a lot of work on excel and word. I just like the familiarity of WinOS on these programs.

[robocop]

Ah, did you try open office?
Funny story:
When I was 17 or 18 when I had my only girlfriend (lol) I stayed at her house in philly, used her step dads work pc to install vlc to watch some videos I had on cdr. (Back in 2002, LOL) Next day the dad wakes up and all hell breaks loose because his pc couldn’t take an install of vlc. It crashed and he lost all his work shit. He was running RAID and if I remember right those fail a lot? Still a funny story from back in the day.

[NeverendingAbyss]

lol did he know it crashed because of you? How did you survive?

[AAAAAAAAAA]

There is so much "nerd cred" you get by using Unix/Linux that I tried it many times over the years.

Invariably I would get bored and frustrated within a few days to a few weeks and ask myself, why the hell am I doing this to myself?

I think I was most familiar with Ubuntu, which at least back then was supposed to be the user-friendly Linux.

But for someone who uses technology as a means to an end, Windows is just much, much better (for me).

[robocop]

lol did he know it crashed because of you? How did you survive?

Yes.....it was bad....VERY, VERY BAD, and he was a trekky. So he shot me with his load, I mean PHAZER!! I don't live near there, it's hours away so I couldn't go run away.

There is so much "nerd cred" you get by using Unix/Linux that I tried it many times over the years.

Invariably I would get bored and frustrated within a few days to a few weeks and ask myself, why the hell am I doing this to myself?

I think I was most familiar with Ubuntu, which at least back then was supposed to be the user-friendly Linux.

But for someone who uses technology as a means to an end, Windows is just much, much better (for me).

It is a fun thing to do.

[robocop]

I gave the laptop with MINT on it to him with open office writer open so he can type out whatever and needless to say, HE IS LOST IN AN INFERNAL MAZE.

[Motha-faka]

Sorry guys, LINUX is for nerds. BY THAT EXIST THE CAREER "LINUX ADMINISTRATOR" AND NO "WINDOWS WORKSTATION ADMINISTRATOR", ONLY WINDOWS SERVER

HAA SORRY I'M STUDIYING RAILTRAIN TECHNOLOGIES IN THE UNIVERSITY AND NOT MORE SYSTEMS, I LOSE MY "NERD" TITTLE

I have bad news for Apple users. actually have more virus that windows 10, LOL!!!

[robocop]

LINUX is for nerds.

If making your computer run fast and smooth as hell is a bad thing, call me a nerd!

[Motha-faka]

LINUX is for nerds.

If making your computer run fast and smooth as hell is a bad thing, call me a nerd!

Robo! I have a pc Model 2010 running windows 10 pro and go nice. actually windows 10 is compared to IOS of Mac, run efficent, have high segurity and the updates are free, only the first licence cost money just like Mac Os

my Pc is (The nerd old time attack me now )

Micro: Intel i7 875k socket 1156
16 GB ram - 1333hz
SSD: Samsung EVO 850 sata 3
Hybrid MotherBoard Gygabyte P55a-UD3P (Fucking old one)
3 HDD segate blue caviar 500GB sata 2
Graphic card Sapphire AMD R9 380 DDr5 2GB Oc
monitor samsung SyncMaster P2370 Full HD (Is model 2011 )
keyboard usb 2.0 and mouse optical PS2

and I have games like fallout 4 (2015 and my pc is model 2010!) in HDMI graphics High, I need test it with new games now

and run fast, i installed the same windows 10 pro in my mother's pc and is a 2008 pentium dual core and run good, not very fast but decent.

ROBO NERD!!!

[robocop]

Nice specs. I’m posting from a Commodore 64!! Bleep boop.
My specs are nothing that fancy. PC from a few years ago that cost a little over $1,000. What I worry about now is my music recording crap. Run 100 tracks with plugins and my PC shits the bed. (Exaggeration.) Not like I’m trying to open a recording studio. Just a hobby.

[ZenithMC]

What I worry about now is my music recording crap. Run 100 tracks with plugins and my PC shits the bed. (Exaggeration.)

Have you considered freezing your tracks? It should cut down the CPU utilization considerably.

[robocop]

What I worry about now is my music recording crap. Run 100 tracks with plugins and my PC shits the bed. (Exaggeration.)

Have you considered freezing your tracks? It should cut down the CPU utilization considerably.

I disable everything when I have have a problem. I always hear it’s all about EQ and compression, although it is hard for me to get a pro sound. I play around with mastering plugins/comp/eq/parallel comp other waves ones. Mainly a lot of messing with presets. My audio engineer friend couldn’t even get a job or apprenticeship and he went to school for it. It’s a niche thing and obviously you have to PAY money and start with decent gear to get good tones, unless you are a tone doctor and know how to fiddle the nobs just right!

The studio that Matias has is amazing. I used to follow their social media a long time ago and see he makes homemade things soldering it all themselves, it blows my mind! My brainpower is more on the side of hurrrrr, let me buy this Indonesian guitar and 100$ interface and expect good sounds to come out.

[ZenithMC]

What I worry about now is my music recording crap. Run 100 tracks with plugins and my PC shits the bed. (Exaggeration.)

Have you considered freezing your tracks? It should cut down the CPU utilization considerably.

I disable everything when I have have a problem. I always hear it’s all about EQ and compression, although it is hard for me to get a pro sound. I play around with mastering plugins/comp/eq/parallel comp other waves ones. Mainly a lot of messing with presets. My audio engineer friend couldn’t even get a job or apprenticeship and he went to school for it. It’s a niche thing and obviously you have to PAY money and start with decent gear to get good tones, unless you are a tone doctor and know how to fiddle the nobs just right!

The studio that Matias has is amazing. I used to follow their social media a long time ago and see he makes homemade things soldering it all themselves, it blows my mind! My brainpower is more on the side of hurrrrr, let me buy this Indonesian guitar and 100$ interface and expect good sounds to come out.

My advice is to keep it simple. Everytime I see a video on Youtube of someone mixing a song, they always go over the top and add seemingly superfluous effects, as if it is a contest to see who can put the most effects on a song possible.

Before you mix, ask yourself: "What is lacking with this particular sound?" You'll know what effect you need based on the answer to this question. Trust your ears and use your instincts. Don't overthink it. Take it one step at a time.

I've found that mixing drums for a power metal song will require a gigaton of effects to be used on them (and samples, if you want consistent power), but the other instruments don't need nearly as much work as them. For snare drums, all of the power really comes from the reverb that you apply to them. I also highly recommend miking both of the heads, the batter side and the resonant side, as that will give you the body of the snare (~200 Hz region) and the brightness of the snare wires, respectively. Oh, and don't forget to reverse the polarity of one of those mics!

Blah blah blah...

The most important parts of a good electric guitar tone are the pickups, amplifier, and cabinet. If those three things are high quality, the guitar itself is less of an issue. Of course, if we are talking about an acoustic guitar, my answer would be very different!

The first step to a good consistent tone is really to make sure your guitar is well tuned, well intonated, and, overall, setup properly (clean, new strings, correct action, proper neck angle, etc.).

I've used cheap interfaces, and I've used very expensive interfaces. I'd say the difference in sound quality between them is somewhat negligible. I will note, though, that they were from the same manufacturer, Focusrite, and the preamps were rather clean and didn't color the sound at all (the way I like it).

[robocop]

How about phase? I know reversing the phase in things can have an impact. YES!! All the years I’ve done nothing for my old guitars for intonation!! Later I’ve got a new guitar and still cannot get it right on the money. Changing strings and adjusting the truss rod. Want to be my guitar tech? Joking. I’ve got straight from the Tolkki meister what they used for the most part for infinite for drums which is what I was curious about forever!!! Let me know if you want to read the email. I used to buy the BEST snare wires, no lie. They did make a difference. Same brand of interface I have that you use. I did use an even crappier one at one time. Let’s not talk about before that even.
The thing is they are made in China which who even knows?? I had to get a warranty replacement on my last one.

[ZenithMC]

I’ve got straight from the Tolkki meister what they used for the most part for infinite for drums which is what I was curious about forever!!! Let me know if you want to read the email.

That sounds pretty interesting! Now I'm curious.

[robocop]

I’ve got straight from the Tolkki meister what they used for the most part for infinite for drums which is what I was curious about forever!!! Let me know if you want to read the email.

That sounds pretty interesting! Now I'm curious.

I sent it to you in a PM.

[Motha-faka]

NOOOO!!!! I FALLL TO THE NERD STUFF TOO!!!

My notebook shits the windows 10 and i dont have the licence!!!

I fall in LINUX TOO, I'm so nerd..... Linux mint or ubuntu......

[robocop]

https://www.kinguin.net/category/22175/ ... me-oem-key

https://www.pcdestination.com/product/w ... -download/

Keys for you. For cheap.

[Motha-faka]

https://www.kinguin.net/category/22175/ ... me-oem-key

https://www.pcdestination.com/product/w ... -download/

Keys for you. For cheap.

PPPFFFFF!!!!! i better put my money in burgers double meat with extra chesse to after do a huge shit in the toilet. your facebook inspire me

[robocop]

Ok....uhh, get some burgers, bud!!

[robocop]

I got a virus that prevented me from reformatting. Luckily I kept trying through multiple boots until a usb stick with windows on it reformatted it finally. I just said, I’m going to use Linux now on a partition until this weekend where I figured it’s time to upgrade the RAM and hard drive with a SSD and with fresh installs of everything. Wish me luck...

I’m going to get a 16 GB stick of DDR4 to upgrade to 32 GB. Possibly only 8 GB upgrade if I cheap out.
My hard drive is going to be way less space than what I had. Only reason is I don’t want to spend 100 bucks. I do have an external 1 TB drive. I had tons of music plugins and games..it sucks. All music projects from recently are gone. No sweat. There’s more where that came from.

[NeverendingAbyss]

I recommend you install the SSD first before you buy more RAM. 16 gigs is usually fine it works when I run AutoCAD, ArcGIS, and office products just fine. The SSD is the true game changer.

[robocop]

I recommend you install the SSD first before you buy more RAM. 16 gigs is usually fine it works when I run AutoCAD, ArcGIS, and office products just fine. The SSD is the true game changer.

I’ve got one on my old laptop. Works good. Super fast boot time.
I just need more ram for all my recording stuff. I’m running Reaper which runs great and is stable either way. I’m not running the top of the line video games, so I should be good there. I don’t do much other stuff on PC.
Amazon shopping....that’ll take 64 gb of ram!!

[ZenithMC]

I got a virus that prevented me from reformatting. [...] I had tons of music plugins and games..it sucks. All music projects from recently are gone. No sweat. There’s more where that came from.

Wow. That really sucks...

I recommend you install the SSD first before you buy more RAM. 16 gigs is usually fine it works when I run AutoCAD, ArcGIS, and office products just fine. The SSD is the true game changer.

SSD's scare me due to the nature of how they can suddenly fail, like during a power outage. One second, all is fine; the next, poof... all is gone. At least with a HDD, you can actually notice the warning signs of failure ahead of time (weird clicking noises, bad sectors, &c...). Now, is it likely for an SSD to fail like that? Not at all. However, it's always in the back of my mind that it might happen, which is the reason I prefer not to use them.

Obviously, backing up your data often is the solution to all of these issues. Luckily, robocop has backups of most of his stuff, so not all is lost.

The other thing I dislike about SSD's is the technology itself. It stores data in a massive array of blocks. Each one of these blocks can only be written to a certain number of times before they can no longer be written to. Eventually, you run out of usable blocks and the SSD becomes a read-only device. Realistically, this isn't going to be a problem nowadays, due to advances in SSD tech. It would take decades of writes to reach that point with a modern SSD device (unless you defragment your SSD. Don't do that!! ). The problem really lies with me, as it would make me feel bad about needlessly writing to the SSD when I know that it can only be written to a fixed number of times. With a HDD, it can be written to so long as the device continues to function.

In essence, I consider SSD devices to be boogeymen because of preposterous reasoning. Of course at the end of the day, SSD's are faster than HDD's, and HDD's have their faults too.

[robocop]

Zenith, have you ever seen people run their OS from a SD card? What about those?

[NeverendingAbyss]

I do back ups often, but what's even more useful for me is the cloud. I have both a laptop and a desktop and it becomes super convenient when I do the heavy work in my desktop and then do the finishing touches on my laptop without the need to transfer data using a USB stick.

Computers do fail. 100% of the time. So long as you do back ups you should be fine, SSD or HDD.

Robo do you find that a graphics card helps with your recording stuff, or not so much?