Finally, a version of Linux that works!

[jcmax]

Until Knoppix, I've not had much luck with Linux

Until Knoppix, I found Linux (and Unix) to be the most end-user unfriendly OS ever created.

My worst Unix experience was in at a job many years ago were a Unix machine was rented to run some batch jobs.

To make a 'very' long story short, if I had the $20,000 at the time to pay for the machine, I would have rolled it up to the 5th floor and pushed it out the window.

Then a number of years later I had heard Linux may be the next big OS

With Windows 95 hanging all the time (forcing a reboot) I thought I'd give Linux a try. And Linux was "free"

But the problems I had with Linux was even worse then what I experienced with UNIX.
Getting the thing up and running was a nightmare.
I couldn't even find drivers for my modem or video card.

Being so used to the easy install of Windows 3.1 (or GeoWorks Ensemble), Linux was just too much trouble for what it was worth.

The Linux fiasco was such a bad experience, I vowed never to even say the word "Linux" ever again.

To be clear, I was "not" a new computer user. I had been using some sort of computer pretty much since 1981 when I got my first computer (The Commodore VIC-20). Then there was the Commodore 64, then a PC-XT compatible running DOS, and eventually running Geoworks Ensemble.

I shouldn't say I've had "no luck" with Linux as I did use DSL running from a MINI CD (or Business Card CD).

The problem I had with DSL was: After typing a simple letter I had no way to save it (aside from attaching it to an email and emailing it to myself)

So although DSL did work (and actually worked quite well) having to use email to keep anything was to much of a hassle to continue using DSL

Recently, I read an article on the Net that talked about a Live CD "with persistence" that ran from a USB Flash Drive called "Knoppix"

After downloading the utility and writing the image to a 4GB USB drive, I restarted my laptop and with minutes I was in a fully functioning Linux environment with an Office suite and functioning wireless access to the Internet with no setup at all. Amazing ! (Almost hard to believe)

I'm now using Knoppix all the time for everything from watching TV online from my Laptop (connected to my TV via HDMI) to booting my NetBook.

Running Knoppix from a flashdrive allows my NetBook to run much... smoother then it does with Windows 2000. It doesn't really run any "faster" but at least the lag (or momentary hanging I get with Windows 2000) doesn't seem to occur with Knoppix.

Knoppix is fast and it works!

[Denver Dave]

Running Knoppix does seem to run the basic OS on the most PCs that I've tried. I've just started with Knoppix, so will take a while to get used to it, but seems to take more terminal code than GUI than some others that I've tried. Not sure if this is good or bad, if the code is concise.

Knoppix 6.7 seems to run the same on my Windows 7 laptop, XP desktop and an old windows something box that I have that can't read a USB, but Knoppix CD runs - impressive.

[0800peter]

I used linux on all of my pcs and laptops since there was knoppix 3.2 after some trials with suse and redhat
Key point to switch was the successful help of dd_rescue on a damaged harddisk system, that ran important software in WinNT.
some generations of PCs an Laptops worked fine since then. Actually my 980g Asus Netbook. And since 4 years there is no win software anymore in my household installed. I feel perfect to trial out new hardware in our big red loud consumer supply store using usb bootsticks.
Beeing impressed and happy by the growing performance from version to version.