Sunday, November 05, 2006

Video Driver Update

I updated my nVidia Graphic Card driver. I use the AUTOMATIX Package Installer to download and install the new drivers. What a difference in the GL applications. Some games us GL and were very slow, now they fly. I also installed Google Earth, another GL program (It is a fancy map program with photo overlays). It went from unusable to very nice.

In addition I installed GNOMEBAKER, which is a CD/DVD burning program. It looks more like what I'm looking for in my CD/DVD Burning Software.

Lesson learned, update your drivers. I've been very timid so far when it comes to hardware driver changes or additions. I do not know what to do if I get it wrong and it crashes.

2 comments:

Enos Straitt said...

When I was having trouble, I went to Nvidia's web site and installed the driver from there, where is newer, *but* the process is far from automatic...you have to log on to terminal only mode, and command line everything and recompile your kernel every time you upgrade it. Very difficult. I am glad things are looking up for you.

Let me add something that you have been commenting about, and this is by no means an insult. Linux will never be 100% as easy as Windows and it is not very prudent to expect it to be so. The more overly it has to make it easier makes it more unstable. MS has been trying to make Windows user friendly for 20 years or so and Linux only about 5, give or take. The Linux community initially did not want it to be "easy"...but "stable". Ubuntu is bridging the gap, but it is staffed by volunteers...no one is getting paid to make this, at least as far as I know :) .

knightmare said...

Still scared of the Hardware stuff. I will have to budget some research time before I get into that part of it.

The ratings and complaining I'm doing now is based on my "Click and Pray" approach. I know this isn't the best way to do computer stuff but I want to see how Linux looks to a MS Windows user just transferring to Linux.

I could and will do what I should be doing and this read, read, read. But since I put the 30 day limit on my test I decide to just jump in and see what works easily and what doesn't.

After I experience Linux a little more (10-15 days of the 30) I should have an idea of its potential, letting me spend less time researching things that are too specialized to easily do in Linux.

I should have made it clearer where I complain and rate things that theses are just first impressions and that these probably will change as I learn more.

And to be honest I have been very surprised so far as to how much does work right out of the box and how easy most things are. Take the USB tests I did, I figured that some of the storage devices would fail but none did. The Camera was found and functioned just fine. Yea it was different from MS Windows but that is what this is all about. And the install process it's self, I did it will very few problems (and have done it a second time for a friend who is trying it too.) and when it started for the first time it connected to the internet and updated it's self with out any help from me. MS Windows Can't do that.

So far I am pretty happy using just Linux. Just based on what I've done so far, I know I will have a Linux Box running in my house well beyond the 30 day test.

And after Christmas (if I'm lucky) I may do another BLOG called "30 Days of Apple"