kstars, has anyone used it?

[wraithe]

i'm wondering if anyone here has used kstars..
it comes as an educational application with ubuntu kde desktop..
but as its a seperate group i know its available for any distro using kde..
i am curious if anyone has used it and it does have the menu to add a telescope to its device list..
and yes it is linux, not a windows application..in fact i dont remember seeing windows on the list of platforms supported...
has a nice star chart and real time tracking...

[janoskiss]

yep, it's nice but has no magnitude limits for DSOs (at least the version I've got) and it is pretty slow.
Xephem is a lot more capable (but steeper learning curve).
Xplns is a good fast and simple planetarium program for Unix & Linux (don't think it will control telescope).
Cartes du ciel should also work on linux but don't quote me on that.

[wraithe]

whats the learning curve you are refering to?
the application or the OS...

[janoskiss]

They are all linux apps, so no, not the OS. I meant xephem itself.

[wraithe]

I'll check out the site but cant download it s i am using win-xp for a week or so and dont wish to reboot till i finish what i'm doing...
thanks for app's tho...
K

[wraithe]

checked them out and thank you...
xephem looks good and i got a feeling ive seen it before...
any way never mind...it looks like a well developed application and i shall be getting it as soon as i reboot to centos...
dont know whether it will be worth trying ubuntu with it as that os is a bit limited...But centos shouldnt have any problem using the rpm for redhat...
Thanks again...
Kathy

[janoskiss]

Ubuntu limited? :shrug: It can do everything Debian can which means it can do anything a computer can. ;) If you want to install from rpms in Ubuntu, use alien to convert them to debian packages (debs) then install these with dpkg.

[wraithe]

yes i know, but i find it limiting...
its an absolute pain to use after growing up with suse and rh then changing to mandrake...i have used most distro's available back in 1995 including debian, but had a break for a number of years but the differences in ubuntu is very limiting for me... I do like the distro, dont get me wrong, but not for the types of work i am doing at the moment..have been told by a few how easy it is to change from win to ubuntu...cant get use to sudo...i liked straight su for root or having a root account for major mods but alas, i will get use to it one day, till then centos and mandriva are my major working distro's and i'll use ubuntu for the net...

[janoskiss]

Just do
$ sudo passwd
and set a password for root. After that you can su.

[Octane]

Debian GNU/Linux for life.

Regards,
Humayun

[wraithe]

i totally agree "linux"...
had to rebuild 2 winbox's today...
and frustrating, if linux took this long to install and get working, i'd never have worked with it...
dam slow...must place on top of memory list, do not use linux commands in windows...lol

[Octane]

Each has a place.

Windows for most folks is fine for desktop work. A certain amount of tech-savviness is required in order to use *NIX-like operating systems. How would your everyday Joe Bloggs know what an MBR is or how to go about dual-booting? Chances are, he won't, unless he has an aptitude and a requirement for it. Even if he has a requirement for it, after reading the instructions or the process required to get it working, he'll probably opt for an easier option. Why waste time on A, when B can do it easier and quicker for you?

I need Windows for processing my astrophotography. I am pro-IRIS, and it hasn't been ported to *NIX. Nor am I aware of any other tool which is as great as IRIS that resides on the *NIX platform.

If there's one thing I'm not, it's a Windows basher. Nor am I a *NIX weenie. I loathe both (types of people).

Besides, Linux is a broken operating system. Debian just happens to be one of the least broken distributions.

You can most definitely use *NIX commands in Windows, by simply downloading a *NIX utilities for Windows and adding the directory to your %PATH%. Easy as pie.

Debian/GNU Linux for life (or until I switch to *BSD).

Regards,
Humayun

[wraithe]

I kind of disagree a bit here...There is no requirement for linux to be dual boot and you need very little knowledge of the masterboot record to install linux...Why do you have to install linux yourself, most people dont install windows themselves anyway...I have people that i installed linux on there pc's 10 yrs ago and they still have a good os and have learnt how to update themselves now, but i also know people that have used windows for years and cant manage there os at all...The best tech in town dont want linux to be popular here, and he also installs and uses it...why dont he want it, recons he wont get enough work then and that most of his work is windows specific...virus problems is probably his biggest money spinner, so to get linux popular here will do away with his work load...and he admits that for a general user it is probably one of the easiest to use, but installing is where you use a tech...I get asked quite often to fix windows os's up because people cant get help off the net....even i have trouble finding info for windows and usually have to work it out...(and yes i have tried getting help from microsoft, dont ask)....
As for a broken os, well maybe you need to consider that..is windows not a broken os too...if it wasnt then we wouldnt be having this type of discussion...

[janoskiss]

I've got a brilliant idea on how to settle this. Why don't we just ask Ken! :hi: Ken :help: :)

[Octane]

I'll respond by breaking your post into its main points.

1. My dual boot example was just that, an example. However, to provide a further example: if you wish to dual boot Linux and Windows, somewhere along the process, a question will be asked where you wish to install the boot loader. If someone makes a mistake at this point, and they intended to use Windows as their primary operating system, then there is a chance that they could install Linux as their primary system and not see Windows in their boot menu. If this happened to you or me, we would boot into Linux using a boot disc/disk and use a tool such as dd to re-instate what we want. A novice at this point has no idea. See point 2.

2. When people make mistakes and format their PC's (granted, they probably didn't have to in the first place, but it is totally dependant on the problem), more often than not, they will go about inserting their Windows disc or system restore disc and install their operating system from scratch. Windows is a simple operating system to install; you put the disc in and press "next" until the process is complete. I can't say the same for Linux; unless you're using a distribution intended for complete novices a la Mandrake.

3. In a home-based environment (read: Joe Bloggs), managing Windows is easier than managing Linux.

4. You must be having quite serious problems with Windows to not be able to find resources online. Personally, I find that any problem that occurs has been well-documented and is therefore easy to fix.

5. Windows is broken, Linux is more so. A lot more so.

Choice is a wonderful thing.

Regards,
H

[janoskiss]

Nah, it's just that with Linux it's easier to see the broken bits.
:P

[mojo]

I love KStars connected to the LX200. The KStars interface makes sense. The other astro software I've tried are a pain to use and I haven't been able to get them working properly with the scope.

I've also used the Windows only version of Satellite Tracker (http://www.heavenscape.com/) with Wine (http://www.winehq.com/) under Linux. It works perfectly.
Actually tracking satellites, though, is not as easy as I thought :) But interesting.

As for this Windows vs Linux thing. It always surprises me when people say that Windows is "better" than something else (usually Linux). I use both. I'm using Windows now. All my other computers run some flavour of Linux. If I didn't have to write software for Windows, I wouldn't be using it at all.

I gave my 64 year old Dad (who never used a computer in his life) a computer running Linux. He happily e-mails and writes letters. He has no idea of what an operating system is. He like most Windows users, received a computer with the operating system installed. He certainly doesn't think Linux is broken - because he doesn't even know what an operating system is. Linux didn't "break" even after he kept switching the computer off from the power, while it was running. How eager would you be to turn your windows machine off from the power switch right now?

Linux can break. Windows can break. Any other operating system can break. But windows is the only one that you hear, "have you reinstalled?" as the solution to the problem.

[h0ughy]

dont mention the war! I think that the original thread title program is a top program! for the price, its great and offers future improvements as time goes on. I cant vouch for its accuracy and star plotting predictions, maybe we might have to do a test to compare between different apps?

[mojo]

Careful Houghy. One more sensible comment like that and I'll make you moderator :)



I don't know about the different astro apps. But I can say that KStars is more accurate than using the controller. So I can only assume that using external software is more accurate than the controller.

[Octane]

I said pretty much the same thing in my second response to the original poster. What I was arguing for was what you just said; they each have their own place.


My point again; your father was given a computer with the operating system already installed. He would have been shown how to launch his email client and web browser. He didn't have to install it. *cringe* at the thought of powering down.


Reinstalled the application software? -- Yes. :P

Regards,
H

[h0ughy]

Never Fear, i certainly wont make that same mistake again Mojo!

The only thing I dont like in Kstars is the way in which you have to update the comet data.

[mojo]

Isn't it just File->Download data->Install ephemerides?

What I'd like to see is artificial satellites incorporated into it.

[h0ughy]

that would be nice.

[wraithe]

Well i'm back, did anyone miss me...probably not...you guys would hav enjoyed the peace....lol...

well kstars is loaded in ubuntu and i shall install it in centos once the server is going...but i shall enjoy this thread about kstars as i am not using it with a scope yet(have to organise buying it first)...
as for price, well if its free or gpl i consider looking but if it costs money then too bad i'm not buying...i would rather develop something myself or just compile from source....

now other topic in this thread, after using linux on and off for last 15 yrs i have yet to be convinced that its not as easy as win...at one time i would say yes it needs some one like me to install before the average person uses it but now the distros have got to the point where ahyone who gets guided in the right direction can install and use it them selves...
my daughter wont install linux on her laptop but she uses it on her laptop daily...its called live disc...and while i was away i installed it on a friends mums pc as win crashed and the techs said she needs a new board...win will not run no more on her board and i flashed the bios but what ever infected her pc has killed the win os and it wont re install....as the board is only 3 months old i just ran a mandriva distro and installed it...(oh mandrake, no more its mandriva now)...she has never been able to get her pc to run properly and the techs that suppose to have set it up properly just dont do it right(half hearted jobs)...now she is playing with her digital camera on linux and is having a hard time with the camera but not linux(camera is too hard now instead of win being too hard), she even worked out how to use gaim but never knew how to use msn messenger...
other pc i installed linux to is my daughters friend and she recons that it is the easiest she has ever used, even helped me with the install(mostly it was me making her do the work so she learnt)...now she has just finished high school and got top marks in her pc class(oops IT)...and her Boyfriend is a tech and he told her it is very hard to use, so she showed him what can be done with linux and he recons that he knows pc's...now she is going to help him with a linux install using mandriva...now thats a bit different to what people say that havent used it or dont read what the install involves...most of the problems people find with linux is usually caused by not reading..yes you need to understand what the mbr is but most linux users dont even know what is listed in the mbr anyway...
and grub or lilo is not installed in the mbr but in the /boot directory...
if you install ubuntu, you will find that there is really very little you have to know, mandriva is a little more knowledge based but if you just allow it to default(partitioning is the most knowledge you need to know) then it will set itself up quite well....
i have more trouble with making things work that are not compliant with linux than doing an install...

anyway must get this cappacino machine working with my linux pc, so bye for now...LOL:rofl:

[janoskiss]

I still reckon we need Ken to settle the whole linux centos ubuntu mandriva windows issue. Oh and Ken, which do you prefer, grub or lilo?

[wraithe]

its a boot loader, it dont matter...both are easy to configure and serve the same purpose....