RE: [Freevo-users] Newbie

[Tom S. <Tom...@bi...>]

> Greetings All

Greetings.

> I am really keen on putting together a Freevo.
> I am new to Linux and I am not to sure on a few things before I begin.

Well, to start off with, turn off html-email.  In my experience mailing =
list
members don't appreciate it.

> 1) I have a 350Mhz AMD lying around would this be enough or should I =
use
my 750Mhz?

That depends on what you're planning on doing with it.  If you are =
thinking
of playing movies, then a AMD 350 (a k6 presumably) will not be =
sufficient.
The 750 will be fine.

Freevo is an interface for mplayer (amongst others).  Start by trying to =
get
mplayer to do what you want it to (play dvds/mpegs etc).
http://www.mplayerhq.hu

> 2)I have a ATI Rage Mobility card with TV out will this work ? (i see =
that
Freevo
> uses Matrox..but if there are ATI drivers available (Redhat 7.2) can I =
get
them
> to work ?)

Personally, I run freevo in X11 mode on an nvidia card.  If your card is
supported by X11 (using Xvideo extensions), or by mplayer directly =
(vidix)
then possibly.  Expect to have to work at this.

> 3)What "Desktop" do I install ...KDE...gnome ..ect (Like I said I am =
new
to Linux)

If you're building a desktop computer, then freevo is probably not what
you're looking for.   Freevo is (or at least appears to be) targeted at
dedicated HTPC (home-theatre PC) type applications, using a IR remote
control as an input device.

GUI's are optional on linux (and Unices in general).  Freevo doesn't =
need a
"desktop" environment, but a simple window-manger (such as fvwm) maybe
useful if you're running X.

> 4)Any good info available on C programing on Linux or the differences
between
> Windows eg Win API's ect (Does Linux have a set of API's ?)

I'll leave this to someone else...

> Thats all for now but I am sure I will have more questions as I =
proceed.

I'd suggest keeping future questions on this list as on topic as =
possible.
This is not a linux-newbie mailing list.

From my experience freevo installation isn't desperately user-friendly =
and
is likely to overwhelm a complete newbie.  Start by making yourself more
familiar with linux, install a distribution (pick one) then get mplayer =
to
play the media you are interested in.

> Any help or links will be much appreciated.

http://www.linux.org
http://www.linuxnewbie.org (although I've no idea how good it is)
http://www.mplayerhq.hu (mplayer)
http://gatos.sourceforge.net/ (ati drivers/info.)

--=20
Tom Seeley