Is there anybody out there using Linux?  I would like to know how blender works in it.  Also, how do you get the program loaded in it? :unsure:

it works well, realy well.  if you switch to linux i recomend ubuntu or kubuntu (NOT SUSE- bad experiences)
blender actualy works better in linux supposedly as there is more ram for it to use and less backround processes.  the ui is generaly either very much like a mac (gnome)  or very much like windows (kde)
lots of scripts made for blender in python were actualy made using a linux so by using linux more scripts will work for you.
however, going from windows or mac which have complete graphical interfaces to a linux which uses lots of command line to get simple tasks done is tricky,  so keep windows installed partialy before you make your full switch
if blender is installed it loads from the "start menu" like in windows. 

Blender works quite well in Linux, though you may have some openGL issues if you haven't got the graphics card installed properly.  One of the weird things is you have to close it using file-->quit or with the Q key, it doesn't have a normal window title bar with the minimize/close buttons.  You may also have to change interface behaviors for the Alt key, I had to in gnome or it would just move the whole window instead of whatever I was trying to do in the blender interface.

You can probably load it from the menus of whatever distribution you're running, but it's better to run it from the command line so you can get the console.  Unless you mean how to install it, in which case if you're running a debian-based linux version you should find it in the repositories, otherwise you can download it from the website.

By the way, if you're new to linux I'd recommend Ubuntu.

Edit: heh, crosspost :)

Regarding the command line, I actually use the windows command line more than I use the one in Linux ;)  that may just be that I know the commands much better and can get a lot done with them, been using them since I was little and all we had was dos

I have already purchased PCLinuxOS. I think it's their new one.
I was given a tip, that it was good for video editing.  For the money I thought it was worth a try.  To my surprise, I actually like it.  So far I have only run it off live CD. I am very much impressed with a program called Gimp. It puts paint to Shame.  I was planning on doing a dual-boot install.  I have a lot of money in Windows compliant software.

http://www.pclinuxonline.com/wiki/HomePage       

you can get gimp for windows, as well as Inkscape.  for your actual install of linux i would not recomend PCLinuxOS.  i also would not have recomended buying the cd, as linux is free.

I use OpenSuse 10, and have a mandriva install on a spare HD that I'm playing with. (Mainly OpenSuse as work have a corporate Suse deal - so it makes sense for me to use this as a prime distro)

Blender under Suse is great, much faster then in windoze, installation is a breeze as YAST (the suse installer) takes RPM installation files. So simply open YAST ask it to install a new package locate the blender rpm that you downloaded and it's done....

Suse has python and gimp already in the distro and YAST will auto update to the latest versions if you ask it to.

I installed from a cover-mounted DVD from a magazine then did a net update - it's all pretty seamless and not at all painful. Friends tell me that Ubunto is just as well setup

The way I understand it. Suse is contracted under Microsoft and Linux, and the contract runs out in five years. Another thing I noticed is the distro price skyrocketed.

oodmb,
                 I didn't know that Linux was free. Good thing I only paid six dollars for it.

Thanks haloedrain, I didn't notice the line under Ubuntu. That is fantastic!  I feel like such an idiot for purchasing the other one. :thumbupboth:

Suse is not contracted under MS it is a Linux distro and is free, you can pay for support if you want it. If you are paying for a distro, shop around and ensure that you are comparing like for like, most distro have several version, some of =which may include support. But the base distro of any linux has to be freely avaiable open source

I've heard SUSE is difficult to install because it requires a lot of customization, but I've never tried it myself.  I can say that Ubuntu is very very easy, it recognized all the hardware on the desktop and most on the laptop automatically (which is better than I can say for the reinstallation of Windows on the laptop...).  It does come with Gimp already installed, not sure about python, but there are some nice, easy graphical interfaces to add new packages and programs.  I've never heard of PCLinuxOS before, but honestly I'd trust Ubuntu a little more--it's based on Debian, which is a good solid distribution that's been around for a long time and has good community support.  However, if it works for you then go for it.  By the way, it sounds like they're using KDE for their desktop interface, you can get that or a couple others for any(?) version of linux, so don't let interface stop you.  What matters is the strengths and weaknesses of the distribution, support, updates, and maybe things like directory structure, which can vary a bit from version to version...and probably some other things I'm forgetting, but interface is pretty flexible.

Gog, now I am really confused.  I was looking over software when I come across this:

And then in PCLinuxOS magazine, I read something and now I don't understand the point.  The title was, Linux users owe Microsoft. It was in issue five, dated January 2007.
Here is the PDF:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/texstar/magazine/012007_VD.pdf

Attached Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux

I don't really get the article either, but I'm pretty sure it's making fun of Microsoft.  Linux is not in any way the intellectual property of Microsoft.  Arguably some of the *applications* that copy microsoft products could be seen to be infringing upon copyright (OpenOffice, for instance), but it's a pretty weak argument in almost all cases, much like the following one from the article:

Quote - Ballm e r: Well th e re 's too m any to m ention, but just to
get starte d, w e invente d th e 3 button m ous e , so all
de s k top m enus us ing th e m iddle & righ t button violate
our IP and all Linux's do copy our m ous e innovations .

I don't think Novell is owned by Microsoft, and even if it were Linux itself and most linux applications are open source, and freely available for  use, modification, and redistribution under the same liscense conditions.  There are many free versions of linux, and unless you buy the whole "three button mouse" argument they do not violate Microsoft's intellectual property in any way.  Third-party applications conceivably might, but they would just as much in SUSE as anywhere else unless MS has made some sort of deal with Novell about it I guess, but that's moot as Microsoft has never, to my knowledge, won any litigation that would say the standard applications distrubuted with any version of Linux are a violation of intellectual property, nor are there any lawsuits pending, to my knowledge.

Microsoft has been working on something or other involving Linux in Windows, but I can't remember what.   That may be what the article is alluding to, I guess.

Edit:
Ah, ok, I figured out what it's talking about:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novell%2C_Inc.#Patent_Agreement_with_Microsoft
Yeah, pretty sure it's making fun of microsoft.

Microsoft and noveel signed an agreement saying they wouldn't sue each other for copyright / patent infringement - it was a ridiculous agreement with neither side agreeing on what they agreed to.......

I think I got it now.  Looks like a long battle, turning into a war between the Microsoft and Linux.  Or this has been a war going on for a long time, and now going public.  Nevertheless, it seems that the ones that stand to make the most profit out of all of this, are the ones praising Microsoft and Novell for coming together.

haloedrain, thank you for the wealth of information.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.