Computers for the family

[catzenmouse]

Anyone here taken a laptop to the family? I know about getting the  keyboard stickers for Ruski but are there other things I can/need to do?

Is there a problem with taking a laptop there and not bringing it back?  Is there a way to convert the operating system to Russian or will I  need to get a RU OS?

Thanks Much in advance.

Ken

[BC]

Ken,

You might want to check on prices in RU before taking one over.

The prices are probably in line or even cheaper there.  Also might be good to have warranty/guarantee/repair/support channels available locally.

[Turboguy]

Ken,

The operating system I see all through Russia and Ukraine is the standard Windows.  I think you just set it up for whatever country and fonts you need.  There are some posts about converting an amercian computer to Russian that should tell you how. 

I think BC's thougths about just buying one here might be good.  The other thing he did not mention is the plug to run off the household electric would be the two prong 110 volt on an american computer and the two round plugs for 220 on a Russian one.  That is probably not a big deal but it would save an adapter and the fooling around that goes with it. 

I will be in Moscow for three days starting tomorrow.  If I am around any computer shops with some spare time, I will try and get some prices for you so you have an idea.  I don't expect a lot of free time but may have enough.

 

 

[andrewfi]

I second the 'buy it there' camp. Whilst it may be possible to buy a cheap laptop for less in the US than in the FSU, the difference will be marginal. I was considering buying a cheapo laptop from the US and shipping over on AFPO, but when the service and warranty factors are included, especially if buying at the bottom end whre there is a difference in price, then it is not worthwhile (and I have access to AFPO for returns and carriage!)

You might also want to confirm that a laptop is the preferred choice. There are good reasons why a desktop might be a better choice (less likely to be stolen, easier to upgrade)

 

[catzenmouse]

Thanks all for the information. After talking about it a bit I think we will wait until we get there to pursue this further.

Ken

[BC]

Ken,

That's called successful proctastination!

Wife here hates it!

:D

[catzenmouse]

BC,

 I was all for buying one now and getting it set up and ready for her mom but for once it was not me who procrastinated successfully! Onto my next mission. The digital video recorder for our trip. Been looking at them for about a month now so with the computer out of the mix I can jump in headlong and go nuts!

Ken

[BC]

Work your way thru:

www.dell.ru and www.hp.ru for a few ideas..

[RussianKeyboards.com]

Ken,

The operating system I see all through Russia and Ukraine is the standard Windows.  I think you just set it up for whatever country and fonts you need.  There are some posts about converting an amercian computer to Russian that should tell you how. 

This is correct, however the Windows version is fully localized - it means that the complete interface is Russian and programs running on PCs have Russian interface. If you buy a laptop here in the US, you may find it difficult or impossible to convert it to the localized version of Windows. This is becuase Russian version might not have the latest drivers that support the US hardware.

Cheers,

Sergey N.
RussianKeyboards.com

[Mamma D]

 Help   Old lady needs help with linux 1.0
Got it loaded ... but it doesn't open    just sits there like that
penguin!

Anyone in the conUS that can help?   

Mamma D

[Admin]

Help   Old lady needs help with linux 1.0
Got it loaded ... but it doesn't open    just sits there like that
penguin!

Anyone in the conUS that can help?   

Mamma D

I think Bruno is our resident expert with Linux.

What flavor of Linux are you running (Red Hat, Suse, ??? - there's a bunch of different ones)?

I am told the simplest one for a newbie is a distribution called Mepis - and I can vouch for the fact that it is a nice version.

Maybe Bruno, or another Linux guru, will be able to help.

- Dan

[Bruno]

Help   Old lady needs help with linux 1.0
Got it loaded ... but it doesn't open    just sits there like that
penguin!

Anyone in the conUS that can help?   

Mamma D

linux 1.0 ? Like Dan say, it is not enough information... in the 1.0 version, you have "Fox Linux", "Pardus Linux", "PC-DSB", "Puppy Linux", "Tao Linux", and a lot of other...

Usually, when you download a linux version, the file are ".iso"... it mean that you need write a CD... iso is a cd image, don't simply copy the file on a CD...

For people who wish try Linux, i advice to download Knoppix 5.0.1 ... it is a live CD or DVD... it mean that nothing is copied on the hard drive, only memory and CD/DVD is used... on the CD, around 2 Gb of software is installed ( office, firefox, gimp, ... )...

After a time, if you like Linux, choice a strong distribution... Mandriva and Redhat are good for newbies... Ubuntu and Kubuntu are with frequent release, mean last version of software... Debian release delay is long, a few year but the software is really test and stable, not recommended for newbies due to the complex configuration ( and don't work with very new material )...

Myself, i use Mandriva.... The RC 2007 since the official 2006 don't work with my motherboard who have a recent 9xx intel chipset... same problem with graphics card, i need use the beta from Nvidia...

I am told the simplest one for a newbie is a distribution called Mepis - and I can vouch for the fact that it is a nice version.

Too much old... in my case, don't support my serial ata raid, my ide raid, my netwerk card, my PCI express card, the acpi function... only good for old machine with enough memory... the last update from Mepis ( kernel ) was simply copied from Ubuntu

http://www.ubuntu.com/ ( Rich south African owner, Mark Richard Shuttleworth, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Shuttleworth )
http://www.kubuntu.org/ ( idem )
http://www.knoppix.org/ ( Deutch owned )
http://www.redhat.com/ ( American owned)
http://www.mandriva.com/ ( French owned)

[Christopher]

On the linux front I have tried them all.  The newest version of unbuntu is really nice to install but if you are using wireless be careful with the chipset.  Ubuntu is based on debian and the apt-get system is by and far the best package system out there.  Red Hat is pay for only so you will have to go to fedora core.  Nice but I really dislike rpm based packages.  Suse is really really slick but I have not used it much so understanding  how to update I am not the greatest at.  At work I run a dual core amd server with ubnuntu dapper drake on it.  Rock solid and have had no problems with it. 

Can you tell me why the machine hangs?  Does it hang during install or after the install?  What the type of machine: custom built, brand new factory machine but getting rid of windows, older machine that was laying around and decided to make it useful again?  I can not really tell you what look for: video card issue, to little memory, cpu to slow for the release, etc..  Also what flavor of linux are you trying to run?  I would usually suggest just googling for it but my experience is that you can spend week(s) looking for a solution.  Some forum boards are very good at getting an answer to you.  I had upgraded my wireless router firmware to DD-WRT and was having problems.  The guys working on the firmware were more then helpful and answered really quick.

[Bruno]

I can not really tell you what look for: video card issue, to little memory, cpu to slow for the release, etc.. 

Video card ? Work from the very old one to the more modern in VESA mode...
Memory ? Since each version Linux start first in text mode who ask only a few MB, error message will only appear when X start... but 128 MB is enough for graphics mode... of course, when you will use open-office, the SWAP partition will work a lot...

CPU ? From the 386 to the Pentium Dual core ( core duo if you use the edgy beta or Mandriva RC2 )... some version of Linux can be installed on very old computer like the "Commodore" one...

Agree with Christopher that the Ubuntu brand is good... but only the edgy support my new material and the beta is too much instable... same with Mandriva, only the 2007 work... but they are already at the RC2... the final version will appear the 2 October... your will have a 3D desktop style Vista...

About material, Mandriva make all in the easy way... Ubuntu have the same functionality but you need to configure it manually... by example for DMA access on the Hard drive, you need instal HDparm, run it, configure the init and restart the computer... for Mandriva, nothing to make... Ubuntu is the best for tune system but some knowledge is needed... Mandriva install and running is easy like windows...

[Christopher]

I have never had to configure hard drive support.  I run a raid 5 serial ata at work and the most I have had to do during set up was tell it to make it a home directory for Samba with XFS. 

I was installing ubuntu on a dell laptop and it had to be set to wga mode for the graphics drivers during install but that was for breezy badger.  It was fixed in Dapper Dan.  You do have to be careful with how old the machine is for the version you are running.  I have had machines stop install because of too little memory.

I have never used Mandriva Bruno.  How easy is it to update?  I have gotten spoiled with Debian's apt-get and kind refuse to use anything else.

[Bruno]

I have never used Mandriva Bruno.  How easy is it to update?  I have gotten spoiled with Debian's apt-get and kind refuse to use anything else.

Easy to update... but like you say before, apt-get is better that the RPM system for dependencie hell...

Debian based distribution are a little more difficult that other for use and install but once installer, the system never fall and upgrade from one version to the other is easy...

By example, Mandriva 2007 don't allow to use previous configuration for menu from Mandriva 2006 due to new system... not really a problem for me but can be a big problem for some people who keep the home partition... like russian women, no one distro is perfect... simply seek the right one for yourself... your have so much flavor in Linux that you will always find your hapiness...

Since Christopher like the Ubuntu serie... Ubuntu is with the gnome desktop... for the KDE desktop, use Kubuntu... for teacher, Edubuntu is perfect... for low end machine low in memory, Xubuntu is perfect... Choice is something who exist with Linux !