Before i got started with lots of questions, i have, -Intel Core 2 Duo Processor -1GB Ram -ATI Radeon video card 2400 Pro -250 GB HDD ((130 GB on C drive(my windows installed here) and 100 GB on D drive)),no free space available. -a desktop computer As title says,i do interested in linux as well as mac,but people said mac needs 2GB of ram and linux hate ATI video card.is it true??and i also heard linux is easier to be installed than mac,plus its a freeware.so i choose linux.my purpose is to dual boot it with my vista ultimate 32-bit. of all that above,and before i go a lot further,does my pc compatible to dual boot mac/linux??
That mac stuff is mostly impossible to install on that hardware. People have tried, and people have failed. I don't know why they are bothering with a mac hardware optimised os on incorrect architecture.. stupidity probably.. mac os-x is only unix dressed up to work on a certain set of hardware. There is unix.. exactly the same as the mac stuff but for all types of cpu's.. it's called BSD, and there are a few free versions.. FreeBSD and OpenBSD spring to mind, but you won't find many people here who have even heard of then, let alone used them. Modern linux should work well, the cpu architecture is supported and as long as your ati card isn't the very latest there are drivers for it. The beauty of linux is you don't need all that high end shit to run it. My linux of choice will run on anything from a 486dx up Try a few live cd distros and see what type you like.. If you do a lot of multimedia type work you will probably be better going for a debian based distro rather than suse/fedora. (more people making multimedia apps in the apt chain than the more commercial (business oriented)rpm chain). So before you decide on what to install give a few of these a go and see which ones support your hardware. http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php
thnxs for the reply,so this live cd thing is like a trial cd??how to know that all of my hardware have the drivers for it??and the link you gave have a lot of name,i didnt know which one to choose,the only one i know is ubuntu,kubuntu and puppy linux.and whats with the primary function(desktop,os replacement and others??)??
They are what they say they are.. desktop etc. Why not google some of your hardware and see what the rest of linux world has to say?
i entered the ubuntu link and it has desktop edition and server edition.which one to choose??and besides the ubuntu 7.10,it says supported to 2009,does it mean when its 2010 i need to install the newer one??and i should choose the 64bit AMD and Intel computers right for my type of computer??
You're probably better off running 32bit Desktop version (Standard). For a first time user, you don't need any of the extra potential issues with 64bit just yet. Yes, a live CD is sort of like a trial CD. It is also an installer, so if it boots up and recognizes everything, then you can just answer a few questions and have it installed to the hard drive. Rather than downloading, you might want to consider going to your local newsagent and seeing if they have any magazines with a copy of it stuck to the front (almost always find one with Ubuntu these days). Will save you having to download and burn (one less source for problems), and the magazines often have a bit of a walkthrough on how to install and how to use it. Often also have some good articles and some general Linux tips and advice for new users that is often common knowledge, but nobody tells you .
so if i got the live cd i can just install it straight to my Harddrive??btw i already said i have no space available on the first post,so how to free some space to install linux without having to format my HDD again??