[mythtv-users] frontend on windows XP

[Dewey Smolka]

> 
> A few suggestions...
> 
> 1.  Knoppmyth.  Just document what ip addresses and other settings
> need to be changed.  Inconvenient, but easily the least expensive.

I'll second this, but with one caveat: you have to make sure that your
Knoppmyth disc is the same Myth version as your BE or else you'll get
db connection errors.

<snip>
> 3.  Ditch Windows.  My kids use KDE on one of the myth frontends.
> It was a little difficult for the first few weeks, but they have
> adjusted fine and are able to do anything any of thier friends can do.  The
> usb drive my 10 year old uses for school loads up fine from the
> windows box at school to the linux box at home.
> 
> Paul

I'll second this as well. It may seem impossible at first but there's
really nothing outside of games on MS Windows that a good Linux system
can't do (except maybe trojans, viruses, and DRM), and an awful lot on
Linux that MS can't or won't do (generating pdfs, managing separate
network interfaces and subnets, customizing, tweaking, scripting,
logging, going months without a reboot, etc).

When I first built a Myth box about as year and a half ago, I was also
looking for a way to make it work with my MS XP laptop. It didn't, at
least not well, and was generally a pain.

I ended up installing FC3 and making it dual-boot, which solved all
the Myth problems. It also means that I've been using MS a lot less as
time has gone on, and don't really miss it at all (though I must admit
I do still boot to MS from time to time to play Railroad Tycoon).

I guess the answer is that you can probably get some of the
funtionality of Myth on MS Windows, but it's easier in the short-run
to set up a dual boot or Linux-only system as a frontend, and better
in the long-run for all of us -- as the Linux user base increases, so
do the number and quality of apps, the level of hardware support from
vendors, and the speed with which improvements are made and
incorporated.

Also, it's a common misconception that computers in general and Linux
in particular are difficult for kids. This couldn't be further from
the truth -- just remember when you were young and were the only one
in your house that could figure out how to program the VCR.

Give a kid MS Windows, and he'll (or she'll) learn how to point and
click. Give a kid Linux and he'll learn how computers work. Don't give
them the root password and there's only so much they can screw up.
Can't say that about XP.

Good luck