11yo son quite disappointed with Linux

Got my son the Linux AAO for xmas (today!) and he's a bit disappointed as he can't play puzzle pirates or miniclip games. PuzzlePirates uses Java and I've tried to install this and the PuzzlePirates application but nada. Also no shockwave so no miniclip either.

Are there any (easy) workarounds to this or do I need to go down the XP route to make things work?

Thanks - and sorry that my first post is a whingy one!

 

Seasons greetings!

I'd like to help you, but you haven't given us a lot to go on - what does "nada" mean - the install failed with some sort of error, you couldnt figure out how to install it etc.. etc... can you be a bit more specific please?

This should get you started with your Puzzle Pirates app:

http://yppedia.puzzlepirates.com/Puzzle ... ide_(Linux)

How familiar are you with the command line? Don't give up on Linux just yet, it will run allot better on the One than XP ever will, it's just a bit different, thats all.

 

Your 11 yo son was disappointed?

So was this 63yo semi-retired engineer!

I was given an AA1 last Sunday, as an early Christmas present.

A nice little gadget, I thought, I’m going away for a few days, so something to take with me, to play with.

It’s got this Linux thing on it - I’ve heard of Linux, but never had anything to do with it before.

I’m not a computer Geek, I’m a semi-retired Engineer, of average intelligence, and I’ve had PC’s for about 30 years, so I should be able to handle this OK.

I have a small program installed on a laptop, [WinXP], and, when the audio output of a radio, tuned to an appropriate station, is plugged into the microphone socket, the software will convert the audio into RTTY [Radio Teletype], and display it on the screen.

I’ve read on the Internet that it will run on Linux, with the assistance of Wine, [I do lot's of things with the assistance of a bottle or two myself!]

Firstly, find Wine on the Internet - there’s about a dozen "Wine's" for some strange reason, and after quite a bit of rummaging around, discover that what I’m running isn’t Linux at all, it’s called Linpus - quite confusing, because not only is it Linpus, apparently, it’s Fedora!

So find a Linux that mentions Fedora in it’s name, and download it - my goodness this little Acer is very quick, it downloads just as soon as I press the button.

It’s put it in downloads, so go there and am faced with lots of files with totally meaningless titles - and no instructions what to do next!

Tried clicking on some of the files, but nothing - not even a "Readme" file - I was that desperate, I was even prepared to read instructions!!!

Go back to 'net, and find casual mention of "yum" - lets get this right, my program will run, when I eventually modify the OS, but to modify it, I need Wine, and to install Wine I need something else?

I feel too lazy to get up off this settee and get an anorak to wear, I think when the shops open again, I’ll take this down to my local PC emporium, stick it on the counter, and ask if they will remove the operating system and replace it with WinXP - at least when I give it a program, it installs it, and runs.

It doesn’t tell me to go off and get something to act as an interface, oh, and by the way, you need something else to help you install the interface.

Linux?

You gotta be joking, back in the early 'eighties, software was issued in a half-built state, and the user had to spend hours on the phone to sort it out; the Linpus/Linux people are still in the past!

 

Hi sameagle,

Sorry to hear that you are dissapointed with Linux. In my humble opinion however, you are going about using it entirely the wrong way. Please bear the following in mind:

• It's not WIndows - if you want to accomplish a particular task, its likely that you won't go about it in the same way as when you install Windows apps.
  Think back to the first time you used a Windows PC - thats the stage your at with Linux right now - i bet you had problems using WIndows too, as i'm sure we all did - it's a learning curve.
  Not wanting/attempting to start an argument, but Linux has many "one-ups" over XP on the One - (Linpus is) faster, doesn't require anti-virus, never requires defragging, comes with an integrated package manager etc... Windows has its plus points too, however.
  The Linux distro on the One is designed to be an all-in-one package; its sort of "locked down" to prevent people installing software, and possibly messing it up. It's also heavily customised, so it tries to limit the chance of you breaking things by undoing these customisations when installing software etc... This isn't really a problem and can be worked around quite easily - alternatively you may choose to install XP, or a different Linux distro more akin to Windows, such as Ubuntu. One of the first things you should do is unlock the "Advanced Mode", which you can find out how to do here >>> viewtopic.php?p=158
  Linux is like a brand name - at the core of every Linux OS is the kernel (think the OS's brain) - from there upwards, different distributions (versions of Linux, of which there are thousands) all look, feel and perform differently. This means that you can tailor your OS exactly to your needs. Fedora is from a company called Red Hat, who work with the community to produce a free open source OS - Linpus is derived from Fedora, it's sort of stripped down, and the Linpus on the One is further customized to suit the Aspires hardware.
  By running Windows software on Linux, you are trying to hammer a very square peg into a very round hole - when it works it's ace, it won't always work as expected however. If you head over to osalt.com you can probably find a free Linux alternative to your program, or ask about on Linux forums. If your Windows app works however, then theres no reason not to use that.

To install software in Windows, this is probably what you are familiar with doing:

• 
  Load web browser
  Go to Google
  Search for software
  Navigate to software manufacturers website
  Enter e-mail address to sign up for monthly newsletter from company
  Sign some sort of agreement
  Download .exe
  Run .exe
  Turn down the offer to install Google Toolbar
  Turn down the offer to install Ask.Com Toolbar
  Make the software manufacturer's website your homepage
  Run software only to find that its a 30 day trial

To install apps in Linux, such as Wine, do the following:

• 
  Press "ALT+F2"
  Enter "Terminal" with a capital "T" and hit return
  enter "sudo yum install wine" at the terminal
  Make a cup of tea/coffee

Allow me to explain - "sudo" means make me the administrator while i carry out this task - by default you have to ask to become the administrator, or "root". "yum" is your package manager, its like a one stop shop for software - you tell it what you want to install (above we simply told it to install Wine with the default setup) and it downloads and installs it for you. You could download the files from the web as you tried to do, which is natural coming from a Windows background, but its not the best way of doing things.

Below is a picture of yum running in GUI mode, instead of at the console - we can select applications (packages) to install/uninstall - it's much cleverer than downloading apps one by one, plus if you ever reinstall your OS you can just give yum a list of apps to install and leave it to get on with it.



Anyway, to run a windows ".exe" file, after having installed Wine right-click on the .exe and select "Open with..." -> Open With other Applications. Open the "Custom command" pane at the bottom, enter wine in the field, and press "Open". You should now be able to run .exe files from the file manager. Props go to the ladies and gents in the Wine thread, here: http://aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopi ... e&start=10

Postback or PM me as to how you get on. We all have to start somewhere, Linux is different and often unfriendly, but persevere and you'll reap the benefits.

 

Great post Andysan. I know exactly how sameagle feels as being a retired Electronics Field Engineer for the Navy and have probably close to the same computer experience he has. The difference is I got introduced to Linux a little earlier and to a distro that was not locked down. This really makes a difference when trying the learning curve. So I would like to say to both bigmul and sameagle hang in there. there is a ton of helpful people here that really know what they are doing (even on Windows) that you will feel great once you make the little AAO dance the tune you want it to. The same goes for your 11yr old son bigmul.

 

As a keen Linux user myself, I would say that Linux is not for the readily frustrated, regardless of "intelligence" or "computer savvy". Also, if you simply have to run certain Windows-only programs, then you're most likely better off sticking with Windows.

From the Puzzle Pirates website "download to your desktop" link (http://www.puzzlepirates.com/download.xhtml):

Choose to Save the file when prompted by the download box.
click Save to Disk when prompted
Open a terminal window and run the installer program.
% sh yohoho-install.bin
Then follow the instructions in the installer.

These directions looks like they ought to work with Linux. It may be necessary to use "sudo sh yohoho-install.bin"

 

Thanks donec, i use both Windows and Linux and tend to prefer whichever makes completing a task the most efficient and enjoyable, which is never always the same one - they both have their pluses and minuses. What I do think should be stressed more to Windows users is that just because something is done in Windows like so, doesn't mean that it is necessarily done in Linux in the same way - if that was the case, Linux would just be Windows with penguins.

 

Had my acer (running linpus) for just over a month now. My reasons for buying were the compact size and a good specification, (i could have had windows XP or linpus installed (the acer in quite capable of running both with no problems), wireless connectivity and finally price....

First impressions were a quick an easy load up with some reasonable applications already installed. Everything worked straight out of the box. It soon became evident that the acer could be customised, improved along with better documentation / manuals (acer and linpus please take note !!). I wont repeat or bore you with the experiences i have had, you can read them under the "Installing programs under linpus thread..).

I have stuck with Linux (linpus) despite the several threats to myself to ditch it and replace with windows. I am beginning to enjoy the linux way of doing things (then thats probably due to my old ZX80 days, chess in 1k etc...). Once you get used to the basics of the operating system it carries out tasks just as good as windows. The acer is now running pretty much how i want i now (except for the niggling problem of not remembering my wireless passwords).

I also use windows vista on my desktop pc and that recently fell over when composing a long document in word ?

I am a grey matter computer owner and find the challenges of technology exciting as well as keeping the brain active.

Have a Happy New Year and enjoy your computing.

 

@Andysan

Great post with good info.
I admire your patience and good will but please don't be disappointed if this was sam's first and last post.

@sameagle
I just can't help wondering what p.c.'s were you using 30 years ago and how did you operate them?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms-dos. "ms-dos released 1981'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms_windows. "Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS"

@devondave
this was my first: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zx81 some good old memories there

Happy New Year to all

 

Ive had my aspire 1 for 3 weeks now,,and im loving it.
I too had problems with downloads when i first got it.
But now that ive figured out the basics,,Its pretty simple.
Ive also learned that the Linux Linpus has an equivalent of most
windows softwares in it package manager.
This is by far the easiest way to download software ever.
Thats correct,,even easier then windows.
When it starts to get tricky is when you need to download
something thats not in the package manager.Or doesnt have
an equivalent.
And when that happens i search around here for the software im trying to install
for tips and tricks to make it easy on myself.
Id just like to add,,with out this forum Id probably hate Linpus myself.

 

I'll give a possible answer for sameagle as I also was using computers over 30 years ago.
Well since 30 from 2008 = 1978
1974 I had a Bally Arcade game that came with a cartridge with the Basic Programming Language on it that had a keypad that allowing a person to program in basic using there TV for a monitor.

1975: MITS introduces the Altair personal computer, named after a Star Trek episode, A Voyage to Altair. The kit cost $397 for a 256 byte computer. The I/O consisted of switches and lights. It was designed by Ed Roberts and Bill Yates.

1977: Apple, Commodore, and Tandy begin selling personal computers.

1978: Total computers in use in the U.S. exceed a half million units.

So maybe we weren't running "PC's" since the term was not being used yet, but then again since you had to do everything your self they were quite personal and they were computers. I for one didn't start using MSDOS or Windows when they first came out because they were just new fangled toys that wouldn't amount to anything.

 

I've been out of the ham scene for a while now, so I'm not exactly sure what program you are using on XP but I do know what RTTY is. If you do stick with the Linux Aspire One, or later want to dual boot your XP trade-in with another Linux distribution, there's lots of things out there:
linpsk: Screenshot, Documentation
gmfsk: Home page
grig: Home page
xastir: Home page

Those listed above are just a few of the ham programs available for one-click download and install from a Package Manager. You can find a good list of others here http://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Software/Linux/, but installing them will take a few more steps. Some might have a package (rpm for Linpus, Fedora 8 is what choose for compatibility like XP vs 2000) you can download and then install.

 

Having recently installed Ubuntueee I have found adding applications easy.

I have noted that while downloading extra packages there is an abundance of Amateur radio software available.

Ubuntueee, and I daresay Unbuntu, seems to be very user friendly and takes a lot of the work out of installation. Like Windows does.

If you want games, it has games, to me it seems to be the best all-round solution at this time. Yes it's based on 8.04.1 but, I am certain that the release of the 8.1 verson will only improve the experience.

 

Thanks woodland,

Yup ,it's only natural to yearn for Windows if a user feels more comfortable there, if they prefer Windows/Linux/Mac then i respect that. I don't have time for people who diss Linux after ten minutes use, because "it's not like WIndows". I have a relative right now going through similar experiences to sameagle.

And to be fair to him, although you can argue how you define the term "PC", i have always thought that of the first PC as the 1876 Apple I, so 30 years could be right...

Happy New Year all!

 

Don't you think 1876 is a little more than 30 years? Happy New Year to you also along with all the rest of the great forum people.

 

Yeah, i meant 130 - heres a pic lol!

 

Hi

I'm sorry if this sounds really dumb but is that all I need to do. Or do I need to enter "sudo yum install wine" then do something else?

Thanks.

Other then learning about the linux system very very slowly I'm really enjoying getting used to these little marvels. Shame it's my daughters netbook lol.

 

Sorry to hear that, my 11 year old grandson loves Ubuntu, been using it for a couple of years now.
I have just joined this forum, having been given an AA1 for Christmas, as an experienced Computer user, I am pleased with the way that the GUI is set up, I was online in about 5 mins, everything works fine, nice and easy to use.

I use and support Windows, Mac and various flavours of Linux on our network and for our customers.
Started on a HP with a digital readout, used Pets, ZX spectrums, Amigas, and finally PCs for about 30 years now.

I know it is frustrating when something is not what you expect, but I wish people would not be quite so ready to dismiss something as poorly made because it works differently from what they are used to.
A lot of people seem to buy netbooks expecting them to be Laptops.
The AA1 is designed for a particular market, and it works very well from what I have seen so far. It is not a laptop or desktop PC replacement, but a portable unit with capabilities far beyond my old Psion organisers

 

Very well said wyliecoyoteuk.

 

Many thanks for all of these replies everyone, it really does help having a decent community to fall back on!

I managed to update Java somehow (!) so he was happ about that. Also followed the Macles guide on installing VLC & Firefox. Will look into getting Wine on there soon and go from there. I'm definatly looking to keep Linux on it though.

Thanks!