Windows 10: What You Need to Know

[Skybird]

Robbins,

what are good and safe Linux pendants to Skype Video Chat, Team Viewer, Bandicam, and how is it with Google Earth under Linux?

Stellarium is available under Linux, I see. ArtRage 4 unfortunately not, which is a shame.

What I cannot do in Linux, will find a place in the Windows 7 gaming setup.

Shredder 12 (chess) is also available for Linux, but expensive and not really eqivalent to Shredder under Windows, I read.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Robbins,

what are good and safe Linux pendants to Skype Video Chat, Team Viewer, Bandicam, and how is it with Google Earth under Linux?

Stellarium is available under Linux, I see. ArtRage 4 unfortunately not, which is a shame.

What I cannot do in Linux, will find a place in the Windows 7 gaming setup.

Shredder 12 (chess) is also available for Linux, but expensive and not really eqivalent to Shredder under Windows, I read.

Skype is available on Linux. You just have to add the repository it lives in and it just works really well. Teamviewer is a native Linux application and works flawlessly under Linux--no alternative necessary. Google Earth runs really well in Linux.

My astronomy program du jour is a French program they unfortunately called Sky Charts in English. I prefer the French hame Cartes du Ciel. It is just a flawlessly extraordinary astronomy program with databases including all stars down to about magnitude 14. Patrick Chevalley is a total genius and has made a masterpiece there. It works better in Linux than it does in Windows and it runs wonderfully in Windows. I use it to plan my cell phone astrophotography sessions. I believe I have the world's first cell phone photo of galaxies. I'm working on the Cygnus area now, featuring the North American nebula. If I get it I'll be outperforming $1500 DSLRs. That would be fun!



I'm not really sure about a Bandicam replacement. I haven't done any game recording in Linux, but after I get Silent Hunter 4 working there I'll be checking that angle out myself. And ArtRage4 is a real niche program with no real analogs, even in Windows software. Since they make an OSX version, that is very, very close to Linux I'd bug 'em about making a Linux version. Linux will blossom when commercial software is sold for it, both games and other applications.

You also might be able to get ArtRage to run in Wine. The fallback is a Virtualbox installation of Windows XP. You can shut off the Internet access of a Virtualbox client and make Windows XP perfectly safe to use. Of course, Virtualbox is a native Linux application that migrated to Windows long after it was a polished app far superior to commercial virtual computing in the Windows world.

[aanker]

I wonder if Arena (a GUI for chess engines) will work with your Linux OS Skybird.

The Arena site says, "it runs on Windows XP or higher or on Linux with Wine 1.0 or higher."
- http://playwitharena.com/?Welcome_to_Arena

I have used Arena (free) on Windows for many years.

[Skybird]

Thanks for the software recommendations.

I know Arena from PC and wondered whether it would run under Wine, I have no idea how well Wine performs or not. I do not expect complex super-charged graphics-wonders working too well in Wine, nor do i think things like FSX-PMDG or Assetto Corsa or Raceroom or soon Fallout 4 would run via Wine.

Arena is the best free chess GUI out there. Even better are only payware GUIs - and that is mainly about looks.

My mother will like to hear Team Viewer running under Linux, although I expect her to run into much fewer problems when i must help on the fly, than before.

Whether it is wise to use Skype anymore, is another question, now that either Google or Microsoft bought it. In the end it is an open channel into systems and I have no idea whether it is wise to arrange oneself with that anymore, even under Linux?! I would like to cut all links to US-based server stations and US corporations completely. Is there an unsuspicious replacement service available?

Stellarium I like for the quick overview on what'S up in the sky currently, other such software may do even more ( I have two or three others...), but it does not look so beautiful and also is not that sweet to handle.

Space Engine - running under Wine...?

Bandicam - I forgot that I will not run comploex sims and games under Linux, so it is not needed at all for Linux.

P.S. That old laptop. I just does not like Linux, and Linux doe snoit like it. I installed an old XP onot it, and to works stable. I tried to seal it off as good as possible with free stuff and set options extremely paranoid. That way it should serve as a backup if I need access to the web for information when my main syswtem goes on strike. And if that old thing gets infested - who cares. I will not attach it ever to USB sticks, external drives or anything. Just being able to do researches if needed - a safety measurement. Good to know its there, just in case, handles more comfortably than virtual keyboards on an Android tablet.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Stellarium I like for the quick overview on what'S up in the sky currently, other such software may do even more ( I have two or three others...), but it does not look so beautiful and also is not that sweet to handle.

Well now! If it's Stellarium you wish it is Stellarium you shall have! The authors of that software are not American so are not Microslothcentric. And they have an Ubuntu version. Since Mint is Ubuntu based, any Ubuntu program will run flawlessly under Mint.

I wouldn't be surprised if Stellarium were not available already in the Synaptic Package manager. If it is not this link will set you up with connecting Stellarium's PPA to Synaptic, which will treat it just like all your other software. If, when you log on in the morning, there is an update available, Synaptic will offer you the ability to download the update, or even install it automatically if you configure it that way.

You CAN have your cake and eat it too! Wonder what the translation of that looks like?

[HW3]

Neal,

This might be the answer to saving your limited bandwidth.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-...spying-on-you/

[Onkel Neal]

Some good news, the next update will include some color customization for the interface.
https://www.thurrott.com/windows/win...10-fall-update

I knew my bellyaching would pay off

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by HW3

Neal,

This might be the answer to saving your limited bandwidth.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-...spying-on-you/

I'm currently using that and as far as I can tell...so far so good.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by HW3

Neal,

This might be the answer to saving your limited bandwidth.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-...spying-on-you/

Oh, thanks!

I'm glad the author of the article addresses that some of these tools are worse than the MS data collection they claim to shut down.

Talk about taking what is a non-issue and blowing it up into a real problem! No self-respecting privacy tool should install adware onto a system. Period.

Jim, I assume you mean Spybot Anti-Beacon?