Linux Format forums

[derryuk]

So I spent some time playing with all the live installs. My target was to log on to my NAS and play a video. I have a collection of .mp4, .m4v and .wmv files.

Hmmmm.
The only software to even get close was Debian and that would only play one format.

Some annoyances.
Why when I log in to my NAS do some distros then insist I create another log-in? Madness.
I tried playing a video by clicking on a video icon on my NAS. Some distros opened the video player and just sat there doing nothing. For a numpty like me that's criminal. Some told me they didn't know what the file was and some told me I needed to download more software.
Why is it that some distros, when I select a shut-down option, then insist on immediately presenting another dialogue with the same option that I just selected? Childish.

As you can probably guess I don't use Linux very often.

Derry.
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Derry.

[wyliecoyoteuk]

No surprise that you couldn't play closed format files.
The codecs are legally barred from free distribution in most countries, and so cannot be put on the cover disk.
Windows may or may not play them, depending on the version (some are licensed by MS) and the codecs you have installed.

Without knowing your NAS device, the login request is probably due to the network filesystem.
I would guess that it is a version of Microsoft's CIFS. Not all distros have the Samba client installed by default (it is a Windows filesystem after all, not a Linux one), and those that do will not have a user configured for your NAS.

As for shutdown confirmation, it is there to stop you accidentally shutting down when there are other users logged in. Linux is a multi user system by nature.

Some of the quirks and limitations are most likely to do with the LiveCD format and its implementation, not Linux per se, but then you can't get a windows or mac LiveCD, can you?

A LiveCD is by nature a demo environment (apart from one or two notable execeptions like Puppy Linux), and can not have codecs, etc installed.
A full installation is very different.
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