Linux - Install Java

[mike_w]

Well, as said before, there's the Ubuntu Wiki. If do decide to try SUSE 10.0, there's also a wiki on opensuse.org. Installing Java looks pretty simple as well:

http://www.opensuse.org/Java

[nvening]

the ping thing does not seem to work on firefox?

[mike_w]

the ping thing does not seem to work on firefox?

You use ping on a command line. (It can be Linux or Windows, it doesn't matter which.)

[peterb]

I think some people here are being a little ridiculous. Documentation for Linux is ubiquitous and it's hardly fair to tell a newbie to read a ton of documentation and buy a bunch of thick books before using Linux. When I first started, I received a lot of help via IRC for questions experts consider trivial. Granted, I was pretty good about crawling documentation, but if you are going to recommend documentation, make it more targeted. For example, if he needs to read documentation about logging in as a super user, point to a wiki entry instead of just saying, "RTFM!"

I was a Linux NOOB once (I think I still am!) but I started by researching the various distros - looked for one that seemed to be complete and well supported, and had some good documentation. That was Red Hat 9. It worked straight off the install, but in order to learn a bit more about it, I bought the "Red Hat Linux 9 Bible" (Published by Wiley) (after printing off some basic stuff from the RH website and the distro). That was followed up by "Linux in a Nutshell" and "The Linux Cookbook" and "The Linux Pocket Guide" (all published by Riley). I now run 3 networked desktop computers with Linux RH9 (two are for my teenage children who use Linux quite happily) and an experimental FC3 machine. At some point I may invest in a specific FC textbook - although having used the previous books I can find my way around the system reasonably well. There are some things I still need Windows for (GPS software and my diveing computer software) but my Linux machine does nearly everything my Windows machine can do, and some of those things (such as audio processing, CD burning, MP3 processing) it does a lot better!

All it takes is a little perseverance - and yes, I have asked for help in the past, and received it - but only after some research first! Has it been worth it? Yes - I have a faster, more stable computer environment, and a proctical benefit is that I can (and have)use Knoppix live to successfully repair the OS on other operating systems when they wouldn't boot.

Linux is (clearly) not for everybody - like all new skills, it requires patience and perseverance - but so does doing anything out of the ordinary on Windows! (And for those that do want to do anything out of the ordinary on Win2K, I can recommend "Windows 2000, The Complete Reference" (Published by Osborne)

[directhex]

The only reason i wanted to install java is that at the moment my ram for my pc is being RMAd and so i have no games to keep be busy, then i saw the java quake 2 and thought wow, ill install that, and thus had to install java.

aptitude install quake2

[ikonia]

The problem with me reading up on linux is that i cant be bothered, but there is a good reason for this:

utter tosh - if this is your attutide, why should anyone be bothered to help you.

I've responded to your other pointless threads and responded to about 5 linux threads from you personally, if you search back at your previous posts I'm sure even you will agree that your mega lazy and just can't be bothered.

Why not learn a bit your self, and ask specific questions rather than "I can't use Windows" or "Linux doesn't work" etc

If you contribute back a bit, people will be less harsh with you when you do ask questions.

I think some people here are being a little ridiculous. Documentation for Linux is ubiquitous and it's hardly fair to tell a newbie to read a ton of documentation and buy a bunch of thick books before using Linux

yes thats very true.
however search nvenings previous posts, and you'll find out why patience is lost.

[peterb]

And yet another 30 second Google Search (using the terms Linux ubantu book) revealed this...

"Also, I recently came accross a book that I wish had been around when I started playing with Linux. It is written for people who know windows and is quite comprehensive in drawing parallels between the 2 operating systems to make you understand how Linux operates.
The book is titled 'LINUX in easy steps' and is written by Mike McGrath and costs a mere 10 US dollars. The ISBN number is 0-7607-5737-2."

Clear enough? Try Waterstones in this country - (they have a website - you can Google for it yourself!)

[nvening]

ikonia, if you dont want to help then dont.

As i have said above, i have no wish or need to read up on linux, the reason i have started "5 rubbish threads" is that I had had a look at some documentation on it and not understood much of it. Being a windows user i didnt realise that very easy and basic things on windows would require be to read a 1000 page book before i even got to the point of installing java, which then requires a load more reading.

And i would like you to show me the linux documentation that tells me how hard and non user friendly linux is (well actually microsoft may have something lol)

There is a reson for windows being so popular, it does things without such a fuss.

[mike_w]

And i would like you to show me the linux documentation that tells me how hard and non user friendly linux is (well actually microsoft may have something lol)

There is a reson for windows being so popular, it does things without such a fuss.

I would personally argue that Linux isn't neccessarily harder than Windows, just different.

If I dumped you in front of a Windows computer, and you'd never touched a keyboard or mouse before, and said "Install Java", you'd have no idea what to do. If you were on SUSE, Debian, Ubuntu Breezy, etc. it would be relatively straightforward to do it once you'd been told e.g. add a line to a file and type two things into a command prompt. It is only because you've got used to the Windows way of doing things that Linux seems 'hard'.

The reason for Windows being so popular is that the majority of people aren't even aware of an alternative. Even then, they are reluctant to change from what they know. As said, I prefer a Linux installation over a Windows installation since I find Linux generally does things without a fuss. Both operating systems do 'make a fuss' at some point or another, but with Linux, it is much easier to find the problem and solve it. (Unless you consider my prefered Windows method of format C: a solution).

Hmm, I think I've written enough.

Mike.

[peterb]

Well put, Mike. Like all things worthwhile - it just takes a little perseverance!