Hi there. I am using Maya 6.0 currently.Running on Asus A7M266-D with two AMD Athlon( TM) MP 1800
and NVIDIA Quadro4 700 XGL on WIN XP.
I am considering switching to Linux for variety of reasons and I need professional advice conserning
Compability of my hardware,
Simplicity of installation -running system
Drivers and multimedia app. like Media players ,audio editors
What I have heard from Your forum so far You are suggesting that SUSE 9.1 is the best choice.
Alias suggest that RED HAT ( 9 ? )
Please help me to make a decision.
Just choose SuSE9.1 Pro, and forget the recommendation from Alias, or RH !
In fact, maya for linux could run in all the linux distros, though maya linux edtion was developed on RH platfom.
SuSE is the best linux os used to run computer graphics application, due to it’s original relations with Xfree86 development group. A latest poll indicated that more than half of the total studio had switched to SuSE when they migrant to linux os.
The giant of computer graphics, SGI also choose SuSE as it’s linux os on Altix platform.
Of course, lots of other reasons support SuSE than RH, like the file system support of ReiserFS and XFS…
I am also a big fan of SUSE, but if you’re new to Linux you might actually be better off with Red Hat. This is not because it’s easier than SUSE (it isn’t), but because Alias can support you if you have questions or problems. It’s worth considering.
Also, your hardware will be fine. You’ll have to get a driver for your video card from NVIDIA and install it yourself.
I don’t know Red Hat. All I can say is that SuSE worked ok for me. All the little hassles I had were linux common I think.
No big problems except that Maya Linux does not playblast into moviefiles!
This is a real downer…
-k
No big problems except that Maya Linux does not playblast into moviefiles!
This is a real downer…
There is a mel script here on highend that auto makes movie files from playblasts in linux.
See the link in the Linux Forum thread “Software for Linux Artists, Designers, etc”. As for my experience with Maya on Linux I prefer SuSE Linux Professional for it’s ease of use and the tools, software offered with the package. The only real issue I’ve experienced with RPM based Linux distributions is a lack of video codec support by default. This can be resolved by installing updated media players such as MPlayer and installing the codecs but it would be nice to purchase an RPM based distribution that has support for popular codecs.
Anyway, follow the link in the thread I mentioned and if you decide on installing SuSE Linux see my signature links at the site. In my signature are some help tutorials for things such as video codecs which should be useful even for those wishing to run Red Hat Linux.
but why would you want to “purchase” stuff for Linux? It doesn’t have to be rpm packaged either, you can create your own rpms if you really have to have everything installed in your rpm database. The collection of codecs for mplayer is unbeatable by any windoze _legal_ package that you can “purchase”, and its free. What I don’t understand though, is why people who already have windows and maya etc. working as advertised would want to switch to Linux? I’m all for gui friendliness etc. but if you already have a product you “purchased” (windows) and it works, why switch? Yes, Maya does run a _little bit_ faster in my experience, and I personally like the way X works with opengl and Maya better than in windows, the wireframe is much clearer and looks better, all the hotbox and other overlay operations are a bit faster, but its only a _bit_..
What I don’t understand though, is why people who already have windows and maya etc. working as advertised would want to switch to Linux?
Windows working as advertised???
Most desktop user of windows do not need more than 2gbs of ram so there’s one reason to switch to linux.
The main rteason why I remain on windows is that it is convenient to do so not because windows is great. I thas more to do with being compatible with most of the people I work with known of whom use linux although some use the Mac.
I’m sure that switching to Linux would be fraught with annoyances.. for one like not being able After Effects natively.
Windows is buggy and is continuelessly being propped up by patches .. it’s next to impossible to maintain the installation of it so basically you just expect to reinstall windows frequently. I expect Linux to be much less troublesome in that aspect.
If you use linux and don’t know why a windows user would switch then try using windows.. obviously it is a more than capable operating system but it’s far from perfect.. like I said convenience is it’s biggest strength if for no other reason because it is widely used.
I’m a little confused by your post. Sure not everything in the Linux community is free but most is available free to the end user. It is at least in my opinion more cost effective to use Linux not only for the Freelancer but also for studios whether small or large. There’s nothing stopping a studio from working with Linux in a cross platform network until they decide if switching entirely over to Linux is best or not. You can choose one of the many free Linux distributions to install if you wish to avoid paying for a retail version which includes extras like support. Take a trip over to Sourceforge or Freshmeat and see the thousands of free Linux applications available. It’s good to know that some developers such as those working on the Jahshaka project realize studios use more than just Linux and so port the free software over to other platforms such as Windows 2000/XP and Irix. Other reasons to use Linux is security and it’s wide support for both new and legacy hardware. I could go on for pages but this issue has been raised before on many forums including here at Highend.
What I recommend is for individuals to try a variety of Linux distributions for themselves to see which is best suited to their needs. A lot of developers such as Novell release Live CD (demo) of their software for businesses and individuals to evaluate prior to purchase. This way you or a studio can test software on current hardware as well as see how the end user likes the user interface.
“Windows working as advertised???” Lol..
"If you use linux and don’t know why a windows user would switch then try using windows.. " Lol again, I get the point..
True, there’s a lot of trojans etc. and hustle with Gates’ logic of doing things in Windows, but it works as far as graphics apps are concerned, and if you don’t touch that internet explorer program you might actualy get some work done, thats all I meant to say 
My experience with windows is very limited, so forgive my ignorance
Yeah, thats what I’m saying, most of the stuff is - free, so “purchasing” packaged codecs and stuff is not a very “linux” thing to do , thats all 
as far as distros go, i’ve found nothing but headaches whenever a distro decides to be smart and do things “automatically” for you. Like package dependencies mess. Like “rpm -ivh package x; package x needs lower version of package y. rpm -e -v package y; package y is not installed” etc. As far as gui goes, it has nothing to do with a distro, you have choices for linux, not a distro, kde, gnome, xfce all run on any gnu-linux setup so there’s not much of a difference there..
2cent ends
Besides the weaknesses of windows and internet security all aroudn it sems that emmeory management is still sub par. I don’t know who to blame wether it’s microsoft of it’s third party developers but every program seems to have issues with memory management. Oh well.. the grass is allways greener..
Like package dependencies mess. Like “rpm -ivh package x; package x needs lower version of
package y. rpm -e -v package y; package y is not installed” etc
There are many package managers out there that solve this problem(they have been around for many years).
Apt-rpm and its gui Synaptic:
http://freshrpms.net/
Yum: http://linux.duke.edu/projects/yum/
My favorite from gentoo: Portage
www.gentoo.org
yes I know there are a lot of package management tools. I’m sure though, that they aren’t flawless… I wonder how much space it would require to get an entirely statically linked distro rolling.. I mean with every program to be static, that way one wouldn’t have dependancy issues hehe. It would probabbly require 4 dvds instead of 4 cds for installation(and tons of hd space) but it would at least be “turnkey”
thanks for the link to the playblast script.
one of the things which is still a nightmare under linux is installing software. You need full IT support for installing a movie player!
I spent hours trying to get mplayer installed without success. Neither compiling(!) nor installing the rpms worked due to wrong versions, missing libraries and dependency problems. I tried to solve all this and went through lots of online forums etc. googled for hours but after spending a whole day on this I gave up for now…
I can’t see why people don’t put out decent installer packages… but then… it’s for free.
So I just need more RAM… 
-k
Kai: read my previous post. Download apt-rpm and synaptic. It makes installing software, including mplayer, very, very easy. It even downloads it for you and all the dependancies.
Playblast script? Anyway here is the direct link to my post for listing of software for Linux users. Title: “Software for 3D/2D Artists, Designers, etc” ( http://www.linuxforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53452 ). Scroll to the bottom of that post and you’ll see the artist and help links in my signature. Such as “Video Codecs” link which is helpful for those that want full media codec support in SuSE Linux. If you go to the SuSE Linux Support forum ( http://www.linuxforum.com/forums/index.php?showforum=23 ) you can find additional help threads in the pinned topics.
Cheers
Playblast script? Anyway here is the direct link to my post for listing of software for Linux users. Title: “Software for 3D/2D Artists, Designers, etc” ( http://www.linuxforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53452 ). Scroll to the bottom of that post and you’ll see the artist and help links in my signature. Such as “Video Codecs” link which is helpful for those that want full media codec support in SuSE Linux.
I won’t bore you with the problem, but I can tell you, it was not that easy. One of the problems was that mplayer requires a few "libXv.so"s which, as I googled, does not come with SuSE 9.1 (but with 9.0). So a few guys installed the appropriate rpm which completely killed their system. Anyway, copied the files from a 9.0 system but mplayer.rpm still won’t recognize (probably have to link/install it somehow, or maybe did not got all the right files over) .
I think this is not how installing a software should work…
anyway. I will try the package manager beaker suggested tomorrow when I get the time to be unproductive and fiddle around with the computer
thanks though
-k
Well I didn’t have an issue with many missing files for MPlayer as you did in either 9.0 or 9.1 of SuSE Linux Professional. Are you possibly running the Personal Edition? If so then you’ll notice in my post at LinuxForum.com I recommend against using SuSE Linux Personal. The Personal Edition will can cause headaches for those running third party applications such as MPlayer and even highend software such as Maya or XSI. I consider the Personal Edition similar to running WinME or WinXP Home. Unless of course you are running another distribution such as Mandrake or Red Hat that may not include the necessary files by default. In any case it took less than 5 minutes to set up MPlayer with all the codecs using RPM packages which are clearly outlined in my mini tutorial “Video Codecs”.
Reading the pinned topic at LinuxForum.com in the SuSE Linux Support forum for how to add a YaST Source via FTP will also help resolve missing files and update your distribution or packages more easily. Usely newer applications such as those for Xine (Kaffeine, Totem) and MPlayer require an updated desktop so updating to the latest version of Gnome or KDE can resolve a lot of dependencies. Both Gnome and KDE can be easily updated with YaST or by installing APT for SuSE Linux.
You may wish to consider Debian as well.
Not supported by Alias, but you may be surprised how easy it is to use and maintain. With currently at just shy of 15 000 applications in Debian proper (Redhat has only 5k or so currently, Suse less) in the next release of Debian scheduled in a few weeks, I haven’t had to compile an application, or find a stray driver in over a year (with the exception of the Nvidia driver, but that has a debian install process as well so that the package manager can remove it later if you upgrade your kernel.)
As a side issue you can use a package called Alien to convert rpm’s to debs if a package happens to appear on redhat and not on Debian. While not perfect it can convert most packages, for example, you would convert maya rpms to debs to install it properly on debian via dpkg.
Just a thought - If you are asking for others opinions on the subject, that means you don’t know enough about the subject. I would recommend learning about Linux a bit more before you go and do a switch.
The simple reason is that if you have enough information, the question will answer it self. It’s pretty much a black and white issue based on your criteria and ability to reason it out.