Linux newb, help needed -which distro?

[thedrklion]

Alright, I have my HTPC rearing to go and this is a call to arms.
I am running windows 7 and I need help to remedy this situation - turn this machine into a dual boot system.

Here is my build
* THERMALTAKE LANBOX LITE PIANO BLACK VF6000BNS
* ASROCK 780G MAINBOARD
* AMD ATHLON II X2 2.8ghZ SOCKET AM3 BLACK EDITION CPU @2.8GHz
CAPABLE OF 3.1GHz at STOCK VOLTAGE!
* 4 GB G.SKILL DDR2 800 MHz DUAL CHANNEL RAM
* RADEON 3450 HTCP PCI-E 2.0 VIDEO CARD CONFIGURED FOR HYBRID
CROSSFIREX
*750 GB SATA 2 4.5MS HDD
*LG 22X SATA DOUBLE LAYER DVDR/RW CDR/RW MULTI WRITE BURN PROOF
LIGHTSCRIBE OPTICAL DRIVE
* THERMALTAKE DUAL RAIL, DUAL FAN, POWER SUPPLY UNIT
*ROSEWILL ALL IN ONE MEDIA CARD READER WITH FRONT USB 2.0
*WIRELESS-N PCI NETWORKING ADAPTER

Plus a external HD connected USB and a 500GB PATA drive enclosure connected via firewire or USB.

I want to delve into Linux for the first time (played with it before once or twice but never ran a system) and want a true HTPC distro to run boxee on.
So the question is: What is a good HTPC Linux distribution?

From what I see in the forum, Ubuntu (9.10?) is popular but is this a true htpc solution?

My needs are as follows:
1. The Distro must be able to handle Boxee VERY WELL. Obviously.
2. The Linux distribution for this machine must be able to share its drives easily with the Windows machines in my network, with as little hassle as possible.

3. I would prefer NTFS-write access to its internal and connected drives since I download on my main desktop, occasionally, and then transfer them over the network to the drives. (legaltorrents + miro)
4. Nice looking, perhaps skin-able and well refined interface. (this is something i will be staring at a lot)
5. Would be nice to be able to run a few emulators to play games. Zsnes and the like.
6. Internet telephony -[would be nice, but a must] I will be ditching my voip service and finding something new, even if its gotta be magicjack, but a seamlessly integrated soft-phone HTPC solution would be AMAZING, especially something that allows BYOD (bring your own device) - If it lets me use skypeout or google voice thats good. I would, of course, prefer some method of turning off the HTPC and retaining phone service.

In my attempts to find something i found LinuxMCE, which can do ALOT but i dont think it can Run Boxee. Can it? Also its a bit ugly as a front end but seems functional.
Also i found ELEMENTS OS:
http://www.elementmypc.com/main/index.php
Looks neat. But early, very early. Anyone try it??

There are also various mythtv+Linux distros but i dont need a PVR i dont know if they play boxee.


Someone, help...
Or i am doomed to windows media center.
A fate worse then death.
(actually, I have not tried the Windows 7 MC since my PC has not arrived but i would still like a linux solution)

[newcolour]

Even though I have not direct experience with an HTPC (Santa Clause has not come to town, yet), I would suggest you to go with a slightly older Ubuntu flavour. I have had the 8.10 release until a few days ago. I just migrated to 9.04 Jaunty on all my computers, including my old laptop currently connected to my tv. I know the new beta is going support 9.10, but it will take some weeks to get it (unless you go to the big apple today!).

Giving your configuration, I don't see any problem with Jaunty. Just be sure to follow some of the suggestions around the forum (some of them are stickied), like removing pulseaudio, etc.

IMO Jaunty fulfils all the requirements you want, including ntfs writing, emulators and voip. And you can keep it very minimal, as it is much easier than windows to customize your installation and spot and remove unneeded packages.

That being said, it is still linux, so you will have some work to do, no questions about that But Ubuntu is famous for making that as little a hassle as possible. In the case, post your problems and the community will help!

Hope this helps.

Cheers!
S.

[thedrklion]

Should i consider mint distro over Jaunty?

[newcolour]

I have tried it (mint 7) and still prefer Jaunty. Above all, I guess you need stability. And the Ubuntu community cannot be beaten for support, IMO.

Mint is really pretty and, to some extent, even easier to use than Ubuntu, but I had some troubles in the video section (intel here). I guess it does not hurt trying. It is still Ubuntu-based.

BTW, Ubuntu partitioner (gparted) is incredibly smart and easy to use, which means that, if you try Mint first and you are unsatisfied, it takes a few minutes to get Jaunty on, straight from the installation disk!

Post or PM if you have troubles, of course!

Cheers,
S.

[thedrklion]

I have heard of virtualBox, and as i understand, its a virtual machine that i can run out of Windows 7 and run a Linux distro. It just seems like a good idea to use it poke my nose into linux and figure out which distro will run boxee smoother then Windows 7 and provide a better HTPC experience.
So:
Is VirtualBox easy to setup?
Will boxee run in VirtualBOX?
Does Linux, and specifically which distro of linux, in fact, provide a better boxee/HTPC environment then Windows 7?

(after all, that is the main reason I am considering installing linux on a machine that comes with windows 7)

This is a especially pertinent question since Boxee Beta has flash 10.1 and works with direct X!


Thank you for all the help already provided.

P.S.

Has anyone tried linux distro "Element OS" found here:
http://www.elementmypc.com/main/index.php

And is it worth a using as a all-in-one-solution?

[sdnick484]

Is VirtualBox easy to setup?
Will boxee run in VirtualBOX?
Does Linux, and specifically which distro of linux, in fact, provide a better boxee/HTPC environment then Windows 7?

(after all, that is the main reason I am considering installing linux on a machine that comes with windows 7)

This is a especially pertinent question since Boxee Beta has flash 10.1 and works with direct X!

Thank you for all the help already provided.

P.S.

Has anyone tried linux distro "Element OS" found here:
http://www.elementmypc.com/main/index.php
And is it worth a using as a all-in-one-solution?

I use VirtualBox extensively; it's constantly being updated and works very well (especially on newer CPU's with virtualization extensions like VT-x or AMD-V). It's very easy to set up, and it's a great way to get familiar with Linux (and other OS's) and test distros.

Boxee may run in VirtualBox (they have OpenGL passthrough, but it's a very new and fragile feature), but it probably wouldn't work well.

As far as whether Linux provides a better experience than Windows with Boxee, I can't comment on that (I don't run Windows at home or Boxee at work). However it's worth keeping in mind that Linux is extremely versatile, and its very easy to set up a minimal windows session so that the full system resources can go to Boxee.

As for the best distro, it really depends on your experience with Unix and what you're trying to do. I'd recommend going with Ubuntu, Fedora, or Mandriva if you're new to Linux and want a general OS. Since they're all free, there's no harm in trying them all.

[jerkychew]

Personally I wouldn't mess with a virtual machine if you want good native video performance. For ease of install (especially as a first time Linux user), install Ubuntu using Wubi: http://wubi-installer.org/

It installs Ubuntu in a folder on your Windows system. No need to partition your disk or mess with bootloaders, and since it's inside NTFS it already has NTFS read and write capability.

I'd echo the sentiment that you shouldn't get the latest Ubuntu 9.10, as it doesn't support the current flavor of Boxee without a lot of tweaking. Go with 9.04. And for rock solid performance, run Wubi with the --32bit argument to load the 32 bit version. I've had issues with 64 bit Ubuntu and Flash. I was able to get around the issues with lots of library linking but it could be super painful for a first time user.

[thedrklion]

The Beta supports 9.10 fully, does that change things?
Or should i go with 9.04?
Any packages or dependencies I should consider right off the bat?

Any nice HTPC packages?
Anything that will allow boxee to launch on startup?
Something to resolve my need for a VOIP?


Thanks for helping a new Linux convert.

[agentlame]

The Beta supports 9.10 fully, does that change things?

i would recommend 9.10 for the beta.

[thedrklion]

Any of these run nicely in the background - so i can take a call on a "bring your own device" - while boxee continues to play?

* Asterisk — Telephony and VoIP server
* Coccinella — VOIP softphone
* Ekiga — Video conferencing application for GNOME and Microsoft Windows
* FreePBX — Front-end and advanced PBX configuration for Asterisk
* FreeSWITCH — Open Source telephony platform
* QuteCom — Free Voice, Video and IM client application
* SIP Communicator— Java VoIP and Instant Messaging client
* sipX — SIP Communications Server
* Slrn — a newsreader
* Twinkle — VOIP softphone