Fedora Linux.......

[Jack_Hester]

I am accessing this site from my Fedora machine.  These days, when I assemble a computer from scratch, I install a docking station in one of the front 5-1/4" bays.  Most of these allow for dual hard drives.  I use laptop drives, as they can pop out and drop in a shirt pocket.  This particular machine has only been used for Linux.  I have an unused full-installation copy of Win10, but see no need to use it.  I donate these machines to home school families, when I hear that a family has had a major computer failure and no means to replace.  Usually through my Church.  Until such time, they are my experimental machines.  I pop the drive out and install whatever operating system the family requires. 

Anyway, back to the topic.  It's been an enjoyable adventure, and I'm spending less time on my Windows machines as my learning curve increases.  Wish that I had taken more interest in Unix, when I had the opportunity to learn it at work (maybe 30 years ago).  I learned Pascal back in the day, as it was very close to a programming language that was part of a boiler control system that we were installing (1989-1994).  The operating system for those controls was Unix, as well, but we had no need to work on that level.  System configurations was on a level above. 

I've attached a file with some of the stuff that I've done, from within the Terminal (I'm thinking that the Command Prompt is the Windows version of this).  Keep in mind that I am a Linux beginner, even though I've toyed with it for a number of years.  Never, like I have this time. 

Note: 09Jan16 - Updated file can be found in Reply #16

DraftSight is installed, and I've spoke of it in another topic.  But, it is a great AutoCAD substitute.  Not as basic or simple as other CAD programs.  But, my opinion is that once you get used to it, you will make it your primary program for drawings.  I need to organize my AutoCAD symbols library, and copy them to this machine.  I have MS Visio, but only use it to open drawings made by others.  I'm not talented enough to makes some of the fine schematics and layouts, as others here have done. 

Clemintine is a great music player that displays quite a bit of history about the artist, when available.  Makes for a good read while listening. 

Wine allows for Windows apps to be run under Linux.  A few Windows apps are installed, but Notepad is the only one that I've tried. 

Fedy installs a large number of apps that should have been included in Fedora.  Like codecs to enable a lot of music related apps.  Some or most may have been included in previous releases of Fedora.  For whatever reasons, they are not now.  Unfortunately, a stable version is not available for Fedora 23.  However, there is one for 22, which is the version that I installed first.  So, Fedy is still there.  Just goes to show that like Windows, it's not always a good idea to jump on the latest version.  Unlike Windows, the open-source world moves faster to put fixes in place, so that the good stuff becomes available in short order. 

RPMfusion is another that I installed on 22, but not available to do so on 23.  More good stuff to add to Fedora. 

There are some apps or utilities that I've installed, but have not tried.  These were recommended enhancements, but I've got to learn how to use them.  In the attached file, I've commented the ones that I have yet to try. 

ExpressSch doesn't appear to be available for Linux. 

JSchem is a JAVA app that I will try to install.  I have Oracle JRE installed, by means of Fedy.  So, JSchem should run. 

Hopefully, this will be an ongoing venture (adventure, as well).  Please, if you are familiar, or well versed like pompeiisneaks, make comments and suggestions.  I'm hoping that others will find this as interesting.  Plus, I need all the help that I can get.  Thanks. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Last Saturday (26Dec15), I wiped the hard drive clean on my '04 Dell laptop.  It had WinXP, and I have been toying with the idea of installing Win10 32 bit operating system.  Even though it's now considered old, and it is rather heavy, I don't like to just stop using a tool.  We don't travel as much as we used to, but it's still handy. 

So, Fedora 23 32 bit was free for the download.  Win10 32 bit  is in the $130.00USD range.  Plus, I would either order online, or drive somewhere to purchase.  My DSL is not the fastest, but the download of the 1.4G file wasn't a problem.  Ran in the background. 

Unfortunately, my laptop CD drive doesn't work (got to figure out how to replace it).  So, I copied the file to a pin drive.  Plugged it into this Fedora machine.  Imaged the ISO file to another pin drive.  And finally, installed it on the 40G laptop drive.  This laptop is an Inspiron 8600, and 2G of RAM is the max that I can install, which I did early on.  I don't remember the processor size, but it's a dual-core.  Hence, 32 bit, only. 

It's up and running, and the processor stays near or at 100%.  Only about a third of the RAM is taken up by the processes, when nothing else is running.  It can be sluggish, but I'm liking it, just the same.  If and when I get the Akai interface to run on Linux, I don't believe that it will do well on this machine.  I'll still try it. 

Anyway, most of my Linux time will be on the faster machine.  So, that one will be my reference point for this thread.  More to come.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Figured I'd post a link to a site dedicated to Linux Musicians: 

https://linuxmusicians.com/index.php?sid=0d592d06dfc16eb1ca4fd75fac06aa32

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

A bit on my choice on internal docking stations.  I've tried a number of types, over the years.  The one that I have in my personal machine at work is an ICY DOCK that allows for two 2.5" hard drives and one slimline CD drive.  This is ok if you never plan to move the drives from machine to machine.  Each drive mounts in its own removable tray.  Here's what I have in that machine:

http://www.amazon.com/MB994IPO-3SB-Enterprise-Metal-Optical-Backplane/dp/B008RPVA4A/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1451325137&sr=8-13&keywords=icy+dock

The one that I have in two machines at home is a StarTech, that must mount in a Floppy bay:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CYZC38/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=KMZTGZOFC8WQ&coliid=I266L37KX7T8ZT

Or, in a 5.25" bay with an adapter:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009MGGWQE/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=KMZTGZOFC8WQ&coliid=I1L017VHGOFASM

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HLZXH2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=KMZTGZOFC8WQ&coliid=INXXZMZVY7AYJ

I prefer the StarTech dock, as the drives can come right out of the package, and into the dock.  I also prefer the adapter with metal mounts, but have use both without any issues. 

I typically install two DVD-RW drives.  One a slimline that takes the disk through a slot, and the other a tray that opens (what some call a cup-holder tray).  The reason I like to have a tray type is to be able to use the small CD's from time to time.  I think they are 150 Meg CD's. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

I found out that there are two versions of my Akai EIE.  A Red and a Silver, the Red being the 16 bit version.  That's what I have. 

And, I received some encouraging words from a fellow here: 

https://github.com/mmm444/eie-pro-linux/issues/1#issuecomment-167780519

So now, to try and figure out how to implement what he recommends. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Made the following installation:

yum install jack-audio-connection-kit qjackctl

While in the Terminal, I invoked the command 'qjackct'(no quotes) and opened the program JACK Audio Connection Kit.  Found it in my applications menu.  Working my way through these manuals:

https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/15/html/Musicians_Guide/sect-Musicians_Guide-Using_JACK.html

http://www.64studio.com/manual/audio/jack

Jack

[vibrolax]

I haven't used fedora since it was called redhat linux.   I have used Linux mint for years on the 4 or 5 old desktops and laptops I have at home.  My diy cnc machine runs linuxcnc on Debian wheezy.   My diy NAS box runs freenas, a freebsd based system.  The most exciting thing for audio is the work a Japanese developer did to get a bunch of FireWire audio devices functioning on Linux.  Now my old m-audio fw-410 is usable again.last supported windows drivers were for xp.  I can do my own kernel compiles and build most things from source, though I don't unless I need to.   I also use the porteus Linux distribution as my universal thumb drive instant plug and go tool.   

I got 2 free copies of win 10 pro through the windows insider program that started with the tech preview in fall 2014.  I have no complaints about it, though I'm under no illusions about who controls the computer when it's running win 10.  It's convenient for running autodesk fusion 360 for cad/cam. 
Jon

[Jack_Hester]

Jon -

Being a total novice on Linux, my comfort level has increased to the point that I'm enjoying it more, and spend less time on Windows.  Or at least, I'm finding (creating) more reasons to spend time here.  Getting a working CAD program that would take my AutoCAD drawings directly was all that I needed to start making the transition. 

Of course, apps and their implementation still  don't come as easy as that of Windows.  But then, I've been on something Microsoft since '86.  DOS, until '95 when I purchased a WinNT machine.  Or, I should say, I purchased a machine and 13 WinNT floppy disks. 

Anyway, I'm open for any suggestions as I go.  That's why I'm posting the changes made, and what works and what doesn't.  Thanks for posting.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[vibrolax]

I write software for a living, which I've been doing for almost 40 years.  I would prefer to use open source software workflows for all my projects, but there is only so much time to spend fiddling with tools in the hope of making progress.  Thus I will use Linux and freebsd whenever I can, but it the price is right in time and dollars I will use Windows.  My hat is off to the thousands of devs that have produced all the great open source software I use daily.

[Jack_Hester]

Installed the latest JAVA runtime environment for Fedora:

su -c "yum install java-1.8.0-openjdk"

In preparation to get JSchem up and running.  Downloaded the .bin file from here: 

http://dhost.info/jschem/

Created a dedicated directory/folder for it and copied the JSchemUnit.bin file to it.  Invoked the command: 

chmod +x JSchemUnix.bin
(copied and pasted from the site instructions)

Nothing happens.  Reading about 'chmod' commands here: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chmod

The '+x' says to execute the .bin file.  So now, to figure out what I may be doing wrong.  More to come.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Also, from the WIKI page, I learned to add the '-v' parameter to the command, and got the following:

mode of ‘JSchemUnix.bin’ retained as 0775 (rwxrwxr-x)

No idea what it means, but I'm learning. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Ok.  Tried something different.  As I have JAVA installed, tried JSchem from a different route.  Downloaded the 'JSchem.jar' file and put it in the JSchem folder.  Then, from the Terminal, I invoked the following: 

java -Xmx256m -jar JSchem.jar
(copied and pasted from the site instructions)

JSchem opened and was fully functional, that I can tell.  Next issue is to get it working from a desktop shortcut.  And hopefully, to see if the settings will let me change it from 'mm' to inches, as my ExpressSch files are in that format. 

I still want to see if I can get it to work from the .bin file. 

Jack

[DummyLoad]

Also, from the WIKI page, I learned to add the '-v' parameter to the command, and got the following:

mode of ‘JSchemUnix.bin’ retained as 0775 (rwxrwxr-x)

No idea what it means, but I'm learning. 

Jack

MAN PAGES! <<< sings it out loud! 


ex.: man chmod


--pete

[Jack_Hester]

MAN PAGES! <<< sings it out loud! 

ex.: man chmod

I was confused at first.  Sometimes the obvious is not so, with me.  Didn't realize that you were pointing me to a manual.  I finally saw the example. 

Great tip.  Thanks.

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Work always gets in the way of the fun stuff.  Glad I had some days off, to spend time in Fedora.  I'm learning.  Leave the updates alone, until something doesn't work.  With the constant development of this living OS, updates can happen several times a day.  Fedora has a new release every six monts, and they are at 23.  They just announced that they no longer will be doing updates for 21 and older.  I think that I'll stay one revision behind all the time.  I updated one hard drive to 23, and a number of the goodies that I have on the 22 drive won't install on 23.  Because the stable versions of those pieces of software aren't available. 

I hardly spend any time on a Windows machine, except at work.  And, to run one of my own apps on a Windows machine at home. 

Tomorrow, I plan to clear a place on the workbench, to set up my Akai EIE, and start the process of getting it to work on a version 22 OS.  I take the 'home-schooler' computer that I have out in the shop and slip a Fedora drive in it.  It's just sitting, unused. 

Because Fedora is not quite as user-friendly to someone who uses only Windows, emulating my Windows desktop has taught me some things about the Windows desktop.  Like, clicking on the little icon just left of the web address in the address bar, and dragging it to the desktop.  I didn't know this applied to Windows, until I did it in Fedora, and tried it on my Windows machine.  On the Windows machine, you may have to rename the shortcut, but that's about it.  You do a bit more in Fedora.  But, not much more. 

It's fun to learn this stuff, as long as I write it down.  And, leave bread crumbs as to where I left the notes.   

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Cleared a small bench out in my shop, and set up my equipment.  The computer out here has a mini-itx motherboard with an Intel i5 processor, and 8G of RAM.  Hard drive is a 250G Samsung SSD.  Fedora 22 Workstation 64bit is installed. 

As this machine will start out as a means to record amplifiers, I have one of my nicer model tube amps on the bench.  It's a Flot-A-Tone Model 600.  I haven't dated it yet, but it appears to be late 50's to early 60's, and is in practically new condition.  Anyway, it's to be the test amp for the first time out with the EIE. 

I have an MXL R-159 Ribbon Microphone for use with the EIE.  However, an oversight on my part, I neglected to get a female XLR to male phone cable.  My cable is 3-pin XLR on both ends (male to female).  So, adapters are on the way.  I purchased a short 1.5 ft. cable, but also a female XLR to male phone adapter for my existing cable.  Testing with the mic will have to wait until next week. 

However, I connected the EIE to the computer, entered the Fedora Setup, and opened the Sound setup option.  There it was.  EIE Multichannel was one of my selections for my sound output, and the only choice for sound input.  No speakers of any kind attached, yet.  Will do so next week. 

Started up JACK Audio Connection Kit and set the input and output devices to EIE usb.  Initiated a Start, and it did so. 

So now, I feel that I may be able to interface with the EIE.  More to come.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Here's an update to the file that contains much of what I've learned so far.  And, downloads that I've installed on this machine.

Jack

Note: 16Jan16 - See Reply #26 for the latest update

[Jack_Hester]

I need some information on the type of plug used on the front panel inputs.  The manual states that it's an XLR-1/4" TRS Combo jack.  So, I know that a 1/4" Tip/Ring/Sleeve stereo plug can be used.  But, the manual only shows a very basic drawing of the plug.  I'm not having much success finding what one of these looks like, or how it's wired.  I thought at first that it might be a Speakon type, like I've seen on speaker cabinets.  I don't think that these are the same. 

The PDF file of the quick-start manual is too large to attach.  1.2 Meg.  But, it can be found here: 

http://www.akaipro.com/product/eie

I would like to see a schematic of this interface, mainly for the I/O.  I'll contact Akai and see if they will provide one.  Thanks for any info.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[Willabe]

Is this what your asking about Jack?

[sluckey]

This may help...

[Willabe]

I need some information on the type of plug used on the front panel inputs.  The manual states that it's an XLR-1/4" TRS Combo jack. 

You can use either a 1/4" TRS OR an XLR into the front panel inputs of your Akai. 

....that it might be a Speakon type, like I've seen on speaker cabinets.  I don't think that these are the same. 

They are not the same, a Speakon is a different animal altogether.
 

[sluckey]

One piece XLR adapters or cable adapters are common at places like Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, Amazon, Radio Shack, etc. And here's a link that should answer most all questions about wiring XLR, 1/4" phone, RCA phono plug adapter cables...

     http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/connection/xlr-jack-stereo.html

[Jack_Hester]

I feel a bit foolish.  I quizzed our resident rocker, at the plant this morning.  He just grinned and said, 'plug the male end of your XLR microphone cable into the jack'.  At first, I didn't think that he understood what I was asking.  Then, it came to me.  I was trying to make it something other than what it was.  The fact that it didn't look like a female XLR, didn't mean that it wasn't.  He reminded me the key word was combo. 

So, I'll go out to the shop, the first thing when I get home.  Sure hope it's that simple.  I may be able to try some simple recording.  That is, if all is working on Fedora.  Looks like it is. 

Each of you posted some good information as to the color codes and wiring points.  Got it all filed away.  Good thing about posting on a forum is that all I basically have to remember is where I posted it.  It's save here, as well.  More to come.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[Willabe]

He reminded me the key word was combo.

Yep. It can make life easier in the studio by letting you use either type plug without using an adapter. 'Oh man where did I put that stupid thing. I know I have one here somewhere'.                 

The fact that it didn't look like a female XLR.........

Yeah they look odd at 1st.

Sure hope it's that simple.

It is.     

[PRR]

> letting you use either type plug without using an adapter.

Used to be common to have *both* a 1/4" jack and an XLR socket.

Takes a lot of panel space.

First time I saw a "combo" I thought: why did they make that geetar hole so frikkin big?? And why does it have three notches?? Since I was (at the time) playing with both types plugs all day and night every day, I did figure it out. That's a strange way to take an XLR, it is strange that 1/4" fits "inside" an XLR's pins, but WTF, by golly it works.

[Jack_Hester]

Strange, indeed.  It didn't jump right out at me, even with all the obvious clues.

My male XLR cable-end plugged right in, so I put the ribbon mic on a short stand and connected the other end of the cable to it.  Started the JACK software, and then Audacity.  Set it to monitor and turned the gain up on Channel 1 to 12 o'clock.  Set the Master Volume to 12 o'clock and spoke 'testing', from about 12-18" away.  The monitor indicator jumped to about half scale.  I have no speakers attached, and for some reason, I can't put my hands on my headphones. 

But, I have a response.  So, I think that I'm in business.  That is, if the little computer doesn't crap out on me.  It has a mini-ITX motherboard that I had laying around, and used for the build.  That may be on the blink, as the computer rebooted itself a couple times.  No big deal.  I think that I have a micro-board that will work with the CPU and RAM that I'm using with this one.  The main thing is that it works. 

More to come.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Just an update to the text file.  Re-arranged things a bit, to put like items together.  A couple more downloads, as well as notes.  Again, the notes are my short-term memory references.  Things that I didn't know, or had completely forgotten. 

I think that I may have our resident rocker at work interested in giving Linux a try.  He's a very active, performing guitarist since the 70's, and has had a small studio since the late 80's.  His Windows machine (10) eats up a lot of CPU and RAM, when he's working.  A goodly amount, when it's sitting idle.  I told him the the little machine that I'm experimenting with (Intel i5 CPU, 8 Gig RAM, Fedora 22) never exceeds 10% CPU or 6-8% RAM while I'm playing with the interface.  Haven't done much of that, though maybe some more today.  But, I've been paying close attention to the CPU/RAM usage. 

I haven't seen Steve's (resident rocker) setup.  But knowing him, it's pretty elaborate. 

Anyway, it's been an enjoyable experiment.  Knowing full well that Fedora is a living OS, that releases a new version every 6 months, I'm thinking that staying at least one version behind means that everything is very stable and bug-free.  I do have one hard drive with version 23 on it, and it appears to be much compatible with software that runs without a hitch on 22.  So, I'm expect 24 to be on the horizon, soon. 

[Jack_Hester]

Was able to spend some time with the interface, after lunch.  The ribbon microphone seems to work better with direct voice, than recording from my amp speaker.  The highs to aren't there, though the sound is clear enough.  Found my headphones.  As the saying goes, 'good thing it wasn't a snake'. 

I have an American D-4-T, and a D-8.  The D-4 gave me the best recording.  Maybe a bit of the low end was cut.  The D-8 gave me mostly the mid to highs.  That may be just the age of the mic.  I connected the D-4-T to Channel 2, leaving the ribbon mic on Channel 1.  Adjusted the gain on each channel to give me the best overall range.  I should have been doing this a long time ago.  It's a bit overwhelming.  Just too much in front of me, all at once.  But, very enjoyable. 

And, doing this in my shop just doesn't get it.  I'll continue to learn, with the setup out there.  But at some point, it needs to move to the house.  That will be a challenge.  Good thing it all occupies a small footprint.  The amp takes up the most space. 

I would say that this is an ideal setup for a simple studio.  The software/app defines how complicated it can be.  Audacity will keep it simple for me.  It can do way more functions than i know how to use, but still it can do as little as I need. 

Not sure about the other microphones that I have.  I'm wondering how well one of my Astatic D-104 mic's will work.  I'll see if I can try one tomorrow after Church.  Always worked well with radio. 

Jack

[pompeiisneaks]

Odd, I swear there was another thread about linux I'd replied to, but if you have any questions about linux, please feel free to ping me, I've been using it since 1993-94'ish, and know it really well.   I love seeing people use it.  I've seen a few software app's dedicated to audio applications, I see you mentioning audacity.  I love it for simple stereo editing, but for more complex stuff I've played with ardour, rosegarden and hydrogen (a drum machine software suite).  I even helped with the mac port of hydrogen at one point in the long past, but I think it didn't help much :(.  I love linux, and still work with it daily.  If you have questions, PM me or some such.  I work as a  software engineer so I am a pretty heavy nerd in all ways. :)

~Phil

[Jack_Hester]

Odd, I swear there was another thread about linux I'd replied to, but if you have any questions about linux, please feel free to ping me, I've been using it since 1993-94'ish, and know it really well.   I love seeing people use it.  I've seen a few software app's dedicated to audio applications, I see you mentioning audacity.  I love it for simple stereo editing, but for more complex stuff I've played with ardour, rosegarden and hydrogen (a drum machine software suite).  I even helped with the mac port of hydrogen at one point in the long past, but I think it didn't help much :(.  I love linux, and still work with it daily.  If you have questions, PM me or some such.  I work as a  software engineer so I am a pretty heavy nerd in all ways. :)

~Phil

There is.  You did.

http://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=19162.msg196966#msg196966

Thanks.  I'm really glad to have you as a resource.  I'm progressing nicely, though on this end of life, I won't retain much more than what I put in my notes.  But, I do retain that which I do daily.  So, muscle-memory is still in effect.  I've all but abandoned my Windows machine, using it only for my routine computer chores. 

Installing Gnome-Tweak-Tools on Fedora allowed me to somewhat mimic my Windows desktop.  I've added Brasero, Clementine, Calibre, Fedy, and of course, DraftSight for my CAD'ing of schematics.  I like Clementine for listening to music, and Calibre for reading my Kindle books.  Those are both on this machine at work.  I have a cubicle away from the shop, where I can connect to my hotspot and stay off the company network.  I'm running Fedora 23 on this one.  It's coming up to speed, as I can run apps that would only load on 22, previously. 

I'm glad that you mentioned the other pieces of software for recording, but I probably won't progress much past Audacity.  I will be a recording rookie for some time to come.  But, it's new and fun for someone who's never done such.

I've added a number of other audio related apps, but experiment mostly on the machine out in the shop.  Planet CCRMA drivers (if that's the correct terminology for them) and JACK.  These two made everything audio work, on the Akai EIE (Red). 

Anyway, I'll keep posting as I progress.  Thought that I'd be back out in the shop more.  But, we've gone from bone-chilling cold with snow, sleet, freezing rain, temps in the teens, to full blown Spring.  Mostly rain coming in, but temps up to 70 DegF yesterday (Monday, 01Feb16).  And, down to 48 DegF last night.  Onions are coming up all over the yard.  Time to put the battery-tender on the mower and get it out for a warmup run.  More to come.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[pompeiisneaks]

Ahh yeah, cad for linux :)  Yeah, its gotten to the point that it really isn't much different from using Windoze, other than everything having different names ;)

~Phil

[Heinz]

I'm using Linux exclusively. My house has been a Windows-free zone for more than a decade. I've tried several distibutions over the years but I've settled on Debian with KDE several years ago. That doesn't imply anything, it's just the distro I got used to and that I know. They all have their strengths and weaknesses but for private use it is mainly a matter of taste.

ExpressSCH runs fine in Wine out of the box. You run the Setup using Wine and it'll add a menu entry to the KDE menu (don't know about Gnome, though). Another program I discovered recently (wish I had done that earlier) is KiCad. It's a tool chain for PCB design, from schematic to production gerber files. It is a bit quirky in places but work pretty well once you know how to handle it. There are some very good tutorials on youtube for getting started.

[Jack_Hester]

I've got Wine installed, but haven't taken the time to learn my way around in it.  I want to setup my Borland Delphi, and be able to run my apps written in this language. 

ExpressSCH is definitely one of the programs that I need up and running. 

Jack

[pompeiisneaks]

wine is great because it provides a windows library layer support to run windows applications.  Apps with complicated 3d graphics can sometimes be a bit tricky but all others have been pretty straightforward.  There's a lot of good resources out there for wine, you could start at winehq: https://www.winehq.org/ and then also just google for wine install "app" whatever the app is and it usually is pretty well covered. 

Example: https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=2325&iTestingId=8917 for boreland 7

I've been a gnome/fedora/centos guy myself for a lot of years but have tried a lot of installs, going back decades :).

I still use some windows and some mac's for certain things, it all depends on my need. 

~Phil

[Jack_Hester]

I have used Linux mint for years on the 4 or 5 old desktops and laptops I have at home. 

I have a laptop (not very old, either) that was recently given to me by a co-worker.  Belonged to his wife, and the hard drive crashed.  She lost that lovin' feelin' and bought another without having this one fixed.  I offered to replace the drive and install their Windows (Vista) back on.  He said that he was throwing it away, and would bring it to me to do what I want. 

I have two hard drives, a 1 TB standard, and a 500 G Solid State.  I have Fedora 23 loaded on the standard drive, and have now installed Linux Mint on the Solid State drive. 

I'm liking them both.  Fedora is the one that I use most, but I'm spending as much time as I can on the LM OS.  It is really, really nice.  I would say that it would be the easiest transition from something like Windows 7 to Linux Mint.  I'll try to post my learning curve on it.  Docs say that it's based on the Ubuntu OS, and anything that I install is basically for that OS.  A few Mint apps, but mostly Ubuntu.  More to come.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[pompeiisneaks]

Jack,

That's absolutely correct, Mint is an Ubuntu based distribution with the goal of making the end user experience more simple/familiar for windows users.  They basically spend their time on making the UI look more like what new users can deal with quickly etc.  Ubuntu is also based on Debian at its roots. 

As you may already know, Fedora is done by RedHat as their learning platform.  All the latest and greatest versions of applications are deployed there so they can get them read for their Enterprise platform RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux).  Centos is a project that takes all of the RHEL sources and removes any reference to Red Hat and makes them 100% compatible with RHEL.  I tend to prefer that for my servers as it is more robust, but doesn't cost anything unlike RHEL.

Enough on that nerd rant, back to your regularly scheduled program lol.

~Phil

[DummyLoad]

I've got Wine installed, but haven't taken the time to learn my way around in it.  I want to setup my Borland Delphi, and be able to run my apps written in this language. 

ExpressSCH is definitely one of the programs that I need up and running. 

Jack

use ki-cad or gEDA


--pete

[Jack_Hester]

use ki-cad or gEDA

Thanks, Pete, for the suggestions.  Will download each, tonight.  I noticed that kiCAD had quite a few platforms available.  Fedora and LinuxMint, included. 

Jack

[DummyLoad]

YW, i prefer ki-cad over gEDA. the PCB tools in ki-cad are cumbersome and the mult-part symbols editor is goofy and two main reasons why i have not switched.


--pete

[Paul1453]

I also have played around with Linux variations for nearly 20 years now.

Red Hat Fedora always seemed slower when compared with different OS's on the same hardware.

Not being a programmer, a user-friendly GUI that set up my hardware automatically was always preferred.

So I've basically stuck to Ubuntu and Mint versions.

One thing about using Open Source Linux distros is that there are updates available almost daily.
Not even talking about the Beta versions.
I've been rather slow to learn this lesson, updating can break things.
Mostly I see issues when updating java things, or hardware control items.
Java tends to break browsing things that used to work fine.
Hardware items can render the whole system nonoperational, for newbies like me.
If the GUI won't come up because of an update, I really struggle to restore functionality from the Command Line.

On older slower machines, I think it might be best to just get them set up to do what you want from them.
And then leave them alone as far as updates.
It's not very likely you'll get your old Linux system hacked because you didn't do the updates. 

[pompeiisneaks]

I spent a good part of yesterday upgrading my mail server from fedora 11 (ancient) to centos 7 and the latest version of Zimbra 8.6. 

It wasn't fun, and my eh185 build got heavily delayed :)

Phil

[DummyLoad]

I spent a good part of yesterday upgrading my mail server from fedora 11 (ancient) to centos 7 and the latest version of Zimbra 8.6. 

It wasn't fun, and my eh185 build got heavily delayed :)

Phil

i spent friday getting quagga running on centos 6.7 - ospfd and bgpd. that was a fun hack.  ipchains was #7k!ng stuff up with ospfd.


--pete

[vibrolax]

Besides the desktop Linux(s), I have a couple of "appliance" builds I run.  OpenWRT runs the router, and I keep a USB stick with Porteus on it.  Porteus http://porteus.org/ is a Slackware-based live distro that runs mostly in memory (optionally all).  Turns almost any laptop or desktop into a modern browser appliance.  There are many packages for all kinds of server or client situations, but I just like an instant browser that doesn't need any installation or configuration.

[Jack_Hester]

I have Wine installed on my laptop (Linux Mint).  I experimented with some of my small apps that I've created over the years.  Mostly to do math that I can't do in my head. 

Seems they all run just fine.  But, a very important one is my Delphi '07 programming tool.  It installed with no hitch.  I can open existing code, but I haven't tried compiling any.  I'll see if that works, over the weekend. 

My ACAD '05 will not install, as it says that it needs to reboot in order to do so.  It never reboots when I select 'yes'.  I don't have Draftsight installed, as it's a 64 bit app, and my laptop is only a 32 bit.  I'll check to see if I can find an older version to try. 

Jack

[pompeiisneaks]

Here's a thread about that:

https://forum.winehq.org/viewtopic.php?t=11064

basically you need to run 'wineboot' and it considers the state 'rebooted'.

~Phil