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Im just saying, that especially with directx, for FULL testing, its always good to check that its not needed. They may fix something in wine that previously needed that done, but now doesnt.

Though, I do agree, just about everything game related will need that. I guess I just like taking notes. ahahaha

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Im just saying, that especially with directx, for FULL testing, its always good to check that its not needed. They may fix something in wine that previously needed that done, but now doesnt.

Though, I do agree, just about everything game related will need that. I guess I just like taking notes. ahahaha

Not on this forum. Bug reports will do that, though, if I am not mistaken.

Plus, on a busy day, it would suck to have every single thread you replied to blowing up your email (especially if you get phone notifications.) haha

I bet, glad I'm not using a smart phone.
I noticed that I get notifications of my own posts after subscribing

(sorry for the off-topic)

Oh its all good. No worries.

Yeah. Any action on the thread should send a notification after you sub.

OK ... sorry for not getting back to u sooner ... the problem is still not fixed and I just will drop it and let it go.
I have been reading a lot of material you suggested. it got me thinking.
I am getting tired of Ubuntu as it had given me problems before (not only with this wine bottle issue, but with several other things).
I am seriously thinking of switching over to ArchLinux and just go simple and basic.
Thought to let you know. Thanks for your efforts ... it is appreciated.

That will make no difference in any way when it comes to wine and running your windows programs. Period.

You know, there are a lot of different versions of Ubuntu, and even forks like Mint.

Also, dont forget about OpenSuSE and Fedora. Those are good ones, too. :)

But, again, Ill tell you right now, Wine is going to act the same, no matter what system you put it on. But there is nothing wrong with exploring new flavours of linux. Thats the beauty of it. haha

OK ... the wine I had with Ubuntu usually comes up first whenever I have programs to install ... when I get that ... it is a blank box with nothing in it that I can click to get anywhere ... just blankity blank ... the form and boxes are there but that is all ... nothing works.
If I go thru Ubuntu Software Center ... usually works beautifully ... only with programs that can be obtained there ...
For everything else, no hope. Until PlayonLinux ... it works great ... but still does not with this Photoupz ...
I follow instructions pretty well and am not afraid to do new things, but I admit that I am an idiot when it comes to getting into the nitty gritty of the programs or whatever ...
Your suggestion of reading up is OK. I am capable and willing to learn new things, but I can't reasonably keep up with the needs as I do have too much work online and a little time for anything else. It is very difficult for me to keep up the pace needed to follow along with this repairing of this issue and reading and all.
What is your advice for me?

Find an OS and stick to it. Windows programs need wine to run on Linux. Period. Anything you install through the software center IS a Linux program, so of course they work. They cant be compared to eachother in that sense.

Switch to a different OS will give you the same exact problems, which are:

you want to run a windows program
your program doesnt work in Wine yet

Changing a linux OS to a different linux OS will make not a difference in the world.

What matters is what YOU decide you like for an operating system, and stick to that. Once you learn it, you will have a basic understanding of how most linux systems work in general.

It took me while, as well. Stick with it. Period. Thats the only way that you will learn.

Also, have you looked up an alternative to that program that maybe runs on linux? You would be surprised at the free open source alternatives I have found to windows programs that are native to linux.

yeah, I understand what you are saying.
About the Windows programs needing wine ... yes, I am aware of that. I am not sure why I have this in mind that some programs thru the software center were of Windows ... Maybe it is because usually when I see a program I like, I run the center first to see if it has something like that and often it did, even tho it was a Windows program" where I first saw it ... it is possible that it just found a Linux version of same program that was not in where I found a mention of it.
Anyway ... about that blankity blank box problem ... how do I remove that one? it causes confusion when it comes up.
And for Ubuntu ... which do I download ... deb, gz or whatever? I have some that I downloaded and am not sure how to install it.
I have not seen anything in Linux comparable to this PhotoUpz ... will look around some more.

deb

then just click it.

Look up:

open source alternative photoupz

Nothing in your software center on any linux system will you have a windows program. :)

"Nothing in your software center on any linux system will you have a windows program."

Okey dokey they pulled a fast one on me ... I thought wrong ... for all I know, I saw a windows program and asked the software center for it and it gave me it ... making me think it was ... guess it shows how stupid I am uh?
am looking up the alternative been using gimp ... love it but looking for something that deals with shades and tints etc ... Photoupz was supposed to be good in that area ... will keep looking ... maybe I come across something later
as to this photoupz I have now ... I guess I will uninstall this one.

No you are not stupid. You may have seen a program that ALSO has a Windows version, but not an ACTUAL Windows package.

Are you sure that GIMP doesnt handle shades and tints? Look through their documentation. Its pretty thorough. Im sure that if it doesnt do it stock, you can almost for sure get some extensions for GIMP that will do that. :) Its all about extensability (sp?).

Also, Im fairly positive that you can run some slightly older versions of Photoshop on linux through Wine. This is always another thing to look at.

Yes, I am looking for extensions for GIMP to do this. As a diversion break, I play with photo manipulations ... I have problems with matching up with tones, etc. I came across some remarks online that talks about this and so far, I have not found anything specific. This is one reason I am looking at PhotoUpz ...

Anyway, I am at a point where this photo manip stuff is now not important to me, but that I understand and learn to use Linux to the max.

What would you suggest for me to do, to learn the basic stuff? What I would appreciate is some ideas of what various desktops are and how different they are from eachother.

For example. It bugs me that using Ubuntu 12.04 means I am with Unity. I used to run Ubuntu 10 and 11 which uses another. There are things in Ubuntu 10 and 11 versions that I really like, that is not there anymore in the current 12.04. With Ubuntu, I am running what others decided to use and I am stuck with it.

Another example, I really like the older Image Viewer, but after the hard drive burned out and I was forced to install a new drive, the newer Image Viewer is not the same.

I am looking at ArchLinux, basically as it is something that I can assemble on my own. I can use to learn how it is put together and more importantly, that I can control what I am using.

The question here is how do I decide on which desktop to use, if I do not know what is out there? There are several other subjects similar to this (besides which desktop or image viewer to use) that I am completely in the dark about.

I am tired of just "choosing one out of blue and sticking with it." How do I know what I am using is the one that is the one that is best for me? Where can I go to learn about various "versions" of specific things like desktops, etc?

What would you suggest for me to do, to learn the basic stuff? What I would appreciate is some ideas of what various desktops are and how different they are from eachother.

The "basic stuff", is the same on almost every system. Again, its what you settle on using. I cant give you all of the details for all of the different flavours of Linux, because there are thousands of them. :) The major ones are Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, OpenSuSE, Fedora, CentOS, as well as their derivatives (again, there are far too many for me to list).

For example. It bugs me that using Ubuntu 12.04 means I am with Unity. I used to run Ubuntu 10 and 11 which uses another. There are things in Ubuntu 10 and 11 versions that I really like, that is not there anymore in the current 12.04. With Ubuntu, I am running what others decided to use and I am stuck with it.

You arent stuck with unity. You could install Ubuntu, then install any other desktop manager like XFCE, Gnome 3, gnome-panel, Cinnamon, Mate, KDE, and a handful of others. I personally like KDE. Its fast, stable, VERY customizable, and looks great.

Another example, I really like the older Image Viewer, but after the hard drive burned out and I was forced to install a new drive, the newer Image Viewer is not the same.

Find out the name of the old image viewer, and install it from the Software Center. :) Just because its not on there to start with, doesnt mean its gone forever.

I am looking at ArchLinux, basically as it is something that I can assemble on my own. I can use to learn how it is put together and more importantly, that I can control what I am using.

If you are still struggling with basics, then why try to build your system? Your best bet would be to find a distro that you like (after installing a few and seeing what suits you), and going from there. Trust me. Let the developers build the system, and use their work. Its going to save you a lot of headache. Its not like you are just stuck with whatever you get and thats it and nothing can change. But you need to learn how to get around the command line, what and why the terminal is and hows its used, etc.. This all will come from reading, reading, and using linux. Period. You just need more experience using the system.

Google search something like "best linux distro for beginners" or "dummies guide to linux".

If you want to see a WHOLE HUGE list of different versions of linux, go to :

http://distrowatch.com/

There you can see all of the new distros, see what they are about, see what their release cycle are, etc..

The question here is how do I decide on which desktop to use, if I do not know what is out there? There are several other subjects similar to this (besides which desktop or image viewer to use) that I am completely in the dark about.

Again, this will come with you doing personal research and reading and using your system. No one can tell you how to do it all, and there is no 1 end-all linux distro. Distrowatch will help you decide.

I mean, did you ever try searching for "different desktop environments on linux"? Ill be that if you did, you would pull up 100's of results.

I am tired of just "choosing one out of blue and sticking with it." How do I know what I am using is the one that is the one that is best for me? Where can I go to learn about various "versions" of specific things like desktops, etc?

I mean, no offense, but thats just the way it is. Welcome to Linux; land of a million choices. YOU are the only one that will know what is best for you. You are going to have to read and research, find a distro, try it, and if you like it, stick to it and learn it. Thats all there is to it.

I hope this clears some of this up for you. This thread is starting to get off-topic, though. hahahaha

Actually I have been using the Openbox desktop for testing my games. It is Bare-Bones desktop environment which uses less resources. Meaning you could revive a few more frames per second in your games.

Its really easy to install and really easy to run.
I'm not even customizing it, just logging in to Openbox and then running PlayOnLinulx, then my game.

So I'm sure you could easily install other desktop environments and use the one you like most.

yeah. Hell, it took me at least a year or 2 before I finally settled completely down with Ubuntu (switched to KDE after the whole Unity thing, never turned back).

But I have Ubuntu with Cinnamon on my dads computer, a custom Ubuntu made from Ubuntu Minimal installs with KDE (pure KDE) on both my laptop and my gaming/media system, Ubuntu 12.04 with gnome-panel on my girls laptop, Xubuntu (Ubuntu with XFCE) on my girlfriends desktop, and Xubuntu running on my friends laptop, as well. All for different reasons, and because they like those.

The beauty is when you get bored, you can try SO many other desktop managers, without reformatting your system. Just install a new desktop manager, choose the new one at login, and there ya go. Dont even have to reformat.

When I say pick a distro and stick to it, I really mean "pick a distro or flavour of on of the main linux systems". You will find that, for instance, anything that is a Redhat baby (cent OS, fedora if Im not mistaken) will have a slightly different syntax on the command line for installing things, perhaps different named folders, when compared to Debian flavours, like, well, Debian, or even Ubuntu. If you have Ubuntu installed right now, you can switch to ANY of the other MAJOR DMs that are out (well, most of them), just by installing in from your package manager/software center, like:

KDE
XFCE
LXDE (Im pretty sure its in the stock repos)
Unity
gnome-panel

While still keeping the same basic system. A desktop manager is nothing more than a presentation of your system to you in a graphical format. You just need to be the one to choose how your system is presenting itself to you, and thats why you need to learn the basics of a specific flavour of Linux; it will help you to understand linux as a whole, while still getting what you want out of your system.

Edited by RoninDusette

Honestly, I'm very partial to Fedora. It has been the most stable system I have ever used. I know its a pain to get simple programs installed like flash, video drivers, etc... but man its stable. Once they are installed it can last for years.

I still run Fedora 8 on my game server and its been at least 6 years since I initially installed it.

It wasn't until I started looking at gaming in Linux a year ago when I realized Mint would be a better route since I'm helping windows users to migrate.

For windows users to try something new, its got to be somewhat similar to windows unfortunately. Fedora 16 with Gnome 3 wasn't cutting it. I'm figuring that most windows users won't understand the whole desktop manager thing. So I try to stick with whats default in the Distro.

But for myself, Openbox really speeds up certain games frame rates.

Yeah. OpenBox is just super light, so that makes sense.

The main reason I stayed with Ubuntu, was because, working in the hosting industry, I spent a lot of time working with Debian servers, and was already somewhat familiar with it.

Though, I like anything RH related, as I used RHEL at all of the enterprise joint I worked at.

Ironically Fedora is pretty dang good for gaming. If it wasn't for the windowish Mint I would be testing all of my games in Fedora 16