Linux questions.

[anon_private]

1. Why is it that UBUNTU can be obtained on a free LiveCD, but none of the other Linux versions can be so obtained?

2. I am considering using a Live Linux CD for Internet Banking. Which Linux Live CD version would you recommend?

3. To help me, can you quote the major advantage and the major disadavntage of the Linux Versions?

4. It is usually a good idea to check the MD5 status after downloading an ISO file. If a user uses Windows Vista, how can this be achieved?

If a user has an existing Linux Live CD, can this be used to check the MD5 status of a new ISO file?

Thanks

A

 

[anon_private]

Additionl Information:

Processor: 2.8GHz
RAM: 1 GB
System: 32 bit

 

[randomizer]

1. There are heaps of Live CDs around. Every major distribution has a Live CD. Here's a few to look for:

All *buntu versions
Linux Mint
Fedora
OpenSUSE
PCLinuxOS
Mandriva (look for Mandriva One)
Debian (might be "unofficial")
Slax (purely Live CD)

2. The first 6 I listed above will do the job for you. Try them all and see what you prefer. Some may work better on your hardware than others. Debian may be a bit tricky if you've never used Linux before.

3. Personal preference and hardware support. That's about all that separates them. All of them can be made into whatever you want them to.

4. You can try this program: http://etree.org/md5com.html

There's plenty of md5sum checking programs around, just Google for them. Also, since you're using Vista, make sure to check the "verify disc after burning" option when you write the ISO to a disc.

 

[anon_private]

Connect via WiFi

 

[MrRichard]

I suggest using just about any *buntu distro, as they all come with preloaded software and is the easiest to use for someone new to Linux. I'm currently using Ubuntu on my 2 year old PC. It's very light on resources and is fast, very fast.

If you have a USB handy, you can download the Univeral USB Installer. It automatically downloads and installs a variety of Linux distros, including several versions of *buntu. You can even enable persistence, a feature not available on CDs. This allows you to save your preferences used in the previous uses of the operating system. It even checks the status of the download (MD5 checksum) before installing it to your USB. For more info, visit this link.

The only disadvantage I see with you using a Linux distro is hardware comaptability, but that will happen with all distros.

 

[Pyroflea]

Hardware compatibility can be an issue, but it's getting better every day. Pretty much the only real issues lie with wireless chipsets, and ATI cards. Most other hardware works fairly hassle-free.

 

[anon_private]

Thanks for the responses.

I do connect wirelessly.

Best wishes.

A

 

[Pyroflea]

If you can tell us which wireless chipset you're using, we can either help you find a Linux-native driver, or we can help you attempt to install drivers with ndiswrapper.

 

[anon_private]

I don't know how to check for the wireless chipset

 

[blackhawk1928]

Haha, Ubuntu has this program called proprietary hardware drivers and installs wireless chipset drivers in 2 clicks . Super easy to use.

However, if you want a linux that can deal with lots of hardware, I've had luck lately with Mandriva, it seems to excel in that aspect.

 

[Pyroflea]

Mandriva seems to be one of the best distributions for wireless chipsets just working.

As for the method in Ubuntu blackhawk1928 mentioned, it's as simple as System -> Administration -> Hardware Drivers.

Good luck