Thinkpads Forum

Today I got the Red Hat Linux/Fedora Desk Reference for Dummies at the thrift shop for 50 cents. So I guess I'm using Linux .

I guess Linux is sort of like an official IBM product since IBM apparently uses it on their own systems. But what distribution does IBM use? Do they have an official version?

If you've never used Linux I highly suggest you read this article first. It's a great explanation of the difference between windows and linux.

http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm


Lenovo is currently using SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP2 (here is a link)

http://www.novell.com/documentation/sled10/


However ThinkPads are very Linux friendly in general, so if you have no Linux experience and want to try it, I highly endorse Ubuntu Linux. It is a great place to start and due it's popularity there is a tremendous amount of online support. (Ubuntu Links)

http://www.ubuntu.com/
https://help.ubuntu.com/
https://help.ubuntu.com/community

Cheers...

Lenovo uses this

smidgley wrote:Lenovo uses

That was already stated in the thread above you. ThinkPads with Linux preloaded have SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP2 / otherwise known as SLED10

Your post wasn't there when I was creating mine. Sorry to have posted in your thread, it won't happen again.

smidgley wrote:Your post wasn't there when I was creating mine. Sorry to have posted in your thread, it won't happen again.

No problem, I do see where your post time was very close. Just looking to conserve space, and avoiding duplicate responses.

Cheers...

If you guys are going to argue, don't be so polite about it. Make it nice and gruesome and entertaining so I can sell tickets.

What do you think of Red Hat/Fedora?

Hmmm... Can't all us Linux Penguinos and Penguinettes just get along???

> Can't all us Linux Penguinos and Penguinettes just get along???

Probably. But about that penguin thing: I'm cold.

I think IBM (as in the company IBM rather than Lenovo, who is the current owner of the Thinkpad line of laptops) uses AIX on some of their server products. AIX isn't linux, but it's still Unix-like.

I wonder how OpenSuSe is. I love Arch to pieces, so I probably wouldn't switch to a different linux distro, though.

One of the best things about Linux is all of the different distros. I haven't found one yet that I don't like. It's the variety that is interesting and the fact that there are great choices. I've used several and each have features that I like. Along those same lines I have more than one favorite. Red Hat Fedora is certainly a good one, as is Arch. Frankly I'm enjoying Linux so much that I eventually will end up trying all the major distros. Mandriva is next up on my list.
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Cheers...

I have been meaning to try out FreeBSD, and there are a lot of linux distros that I am interested in. maybe I'll try out either OpenSuSe or FreeBSD or something on the 40gb hard drive that used to reside in my laptop.

For what it's worth, I might suggest OpenSUSE.

I have experience with both of those, and you will certainly like OpenSUSE a lot better. A great place to start if you want to spend some time with it.

If time is short and you want to get up and running fast, with minimum problems and have fun, then Ubuntu cannot be beat.

Cheers...

well I tried Xubuntu, and I definately prefer the simplicity of Arch (they're both simple, but in entirely different ways.) OpenSuse is apparently fairly configurable though, and that seems cool. Arch starts up faster than Xubuntu by quite a bit. It also taught me a lot about the stuff that goes on in the background of Linux (because you need to build it up from a small command-line base). FreeBSD is also apparently similar in the way it's laid out, would mostly just to learn about non-linux Unix, and to learn about *BSD's specifically.

For the newbie (like myself) Ubuntu is a cake walk on an OEM T30. I did not set out to build the unit Im now typing on 100% OEM.... but it is. I loaded it, and in less than 2 hours it does everything my Windblows XP does on my other T30. Starts as fast, seems to run as fast, Im impressed.
Dont get me wrong, out of the box it is Bolder Dam ugly. But after a little seek and destroy I have changed the color pallet and generally am pretty happy with it.
Its a work in progress, but 100% usable out of the box!

Ron

I you want to try Linux on your Thinkpad, then www.thinkwiki.org is a great place to go. ThinkWiki is a website where you can find information about how to configure Linux so it fits for your Thinkpad

emeraldgirl08 wrote:Hmmm... Can't all us Linux Penguinos and Penguinettes just get along???

Window Rock, AZ? My wife and I are going to move just up the road from you in Chinle, AZ! So, howdy neighbor!

LouisDK wrote:If you want to try doing anything with your Thinkpad, then http://www.thinkwiki.org is a great place to go. ThinkWiki is a website where you can find information about how to configure Linux so it fits for your Thinkpad

Fixed it for ya!

archer6 wrote:For what it's worth, I might suggest OpenSUSE.

I have experience with both of those, and you will certainly like OpenSUSE a lot better. A great place to start if you want to spend some time with it.

If time is short and you want to get up and running fast, with minimum problems and have fun, then Ubuntu cannot be beat.

Cheers...

I had attempted to install OpenSUSE 11.1 on a T60, I kept getting hard locks/freezes upon attempting to install anything into the USB ports.

It must have been a software/driver related problem related to 11.1, because I didn't experience a single problem relating to that, upon reverting back to Kubuntu.

Wierd.

I use Zenwalk at the moment and for XFCE I definitely prefer it to Xubuntu. Generally, I am not that fond of the Ubuntus. They are too 'parenting'. For example: on my friend's computer I had to install TeXlive 2008 which is not on the depo. Afterwards, one have to trick Ubuntu not to install texlive 2007 if you install anything TeX-related.

I think I will be trying out Arch in the summer. Generally, I prefer GTK+ systems but I am concerned about all the Mono that is haunting Gnome at the moment. (For example, I think I saw a .exe when I tried to install Banshee the other day )

I use fedora on both t20 and t400. On my T400 I have also partition with suse11_64bits and I found it is only a question of taste. I have tried ubuntu and scientific linux. You have to know a bit about partitioning and that is all. On my lovely T20 I test Fedora 11 formated on ext4, no problem. One may expect some problems with new hardware that is not known to distro. I think more important is to know if the gear is dedicated to something special like many compilations or multimedia.