Ubuntu version compatible with WebEx, etc.

[TheFu]

Sorry - had to sleep. So monkeybrain20122 is providing good advice.
Nothing will predict whether CentOS works or not like installing it. I'd give it 10G - java always needs a little more disk. I helped someone install it on a laptop a few days ago - took about 20 minutes. During the install it provides lots of options - choose "desktop" and I would pre-setup the single partition you need before. Reuse the swap partition already on the machine. That is fine, unless you hibernate either systems.

You asked if I would be concerned running an unsupported/non-patched OS - YES! Attacks do not just come from the outside world. They come from any device on your internal network. TVs, media players, any connected devices, including computers, smartphones. Be afraid.

If Ubuntu 12.04 is "too new" for WebEx to support - they have huge management issues. That is not it. I think Redhat 6 is newer. It is purely a business decision, I'm certain. The US-DoD uses Redhat, therefore it is supported. Until a very large "paying" WebEx client uses Ubuntu - it will not be officially supported. WebEx is from Cisco. Very large US-based corporations use it, including the US gvmt, so those companies dictate which OSes are supported. I've worked inside a few of these and they definitely work closely with all the big hardware/software makers to get what they want.

Oh - and USB will be slow. Even USB3 is slow. It might be just fine, only you can decide.

[AbleTassie]

BTW, you can install Centos in a usb drive so you don't even need to dual boot. You probably need to do a real install instead of live usb because you need to install packages and may be update kernel etc.. A 8 g usb flash drive partitioned to ext4 would be good enough, when you need it just plug it in and boot from it and you can use it on different computers. Since it is a single purpose installation the performance of flash drive is probably not a factor.

Thanks MonkeyBrain,

I cannot boot from my USB, my PC is too old. I think I'd have to use a DVD to install Centos on my internal hard drive.

I don't think booting off a live Centos DVD is a realistic option. I think navigating around in a pdf document during a WebEx desktop document sharing interview would be slow, probably too slow with my older PC. I need the JAVA plug-in for the WebEx interview too and I don't think comes on the live Centos DVD.

QUESTION: Or maybe the JAVA plug-in does come with the Centos live DVD. Do you think it does?

Thanks,

R.

[TheFu]

It is possible to install software while running an Ubuntu Live CD. I would be surprised if that wasn't the situation for CentOS too.

Instead of asking questions, it would have taken less time to just-try-it. Then you'd know.

[AbleTassie]

You asked if I would be concerned running an unsupported/non-patched OS - YES! Attacks do not just come from the outside world. They come from any device on your internal network. TVs, media players, any connected devices, including computers, smartphones. Be afraid.

If Ubuntu 12.04 is "too new" for WebEx to support - they have huge management issues. That is not it. I think Redhat 6 is newer. It is purely a business decision, I'm certain. The US-DoD uses Redhat, therefore it is supported. Until a very large "paying" WebEx client uses Ubuntu - it will not be officially supported. WebEx is from Cisco. Very large US-based corporations use it, including the US gvmt, so those companies dictate which OSes are supported. I've worked inside a few of these and they definitely work closely with all the big hardware/software makers to get what they want.

Thanks Fu,

I appreciate the specifics in your advice. I only connect my PC to the internet via DSL (I don't feel inferior about this when I recall that Alan Turing didn't even have a PC.) I'm still concerned though.

I have complained to WebEx tech support about not being able to attend the meeting with Lubuntu 13.10. And I plan to complete a written WebEx customer survey that complains about this as well. So maybe that will help some with WebEx support for Ubuntu in the future.

Thanks again,

R.

[monkeybrain20122]

live cd doesn't have persistence, so every time you reboot everything is lost. I would suggest you make a small partition to set up Centos and your software. Take about half an hour for the whole thing.

[AbleTassie]

Edit: to install java http://www.if-not-true-then-false.co...-red-hat-rhel/

MonkeyBrain,

I have now installed CentOS 6.5 and am using it to write this post. I went to the link above and tried to install JAVA, but it is not working as described below in more detail.

First I downloaded jre-7u51-linux-i586.rpm as the site suggests. I downloaded the file into the download folder,

then I ran the terminal command "rpm -Uvh /path/to/binary/jre-7u51-linux-i586.rpm"

but I get the error message: "error: open of /path/to/binary/jre-7u51-linux-i586.rpm failed: No such file or directory"

QUESTION: What am I doing wrong? It appears the PC cannot find the file.

Thank you,

R.

[TheFu]

rpm -Uvh /path/to/binary/jre-7u51-linux-i586.rpm

That must point to the location (download folder?) where the RPM was placed. Also, sudo will be needed to install a package.

[AbleTassie]

Fu and Monkeybrain,

I figured out how to make the path correct and installed JAVA. I contacted WebEx tech support and I just tested CentOS 6.5 with the JAVA plug-in in a simulated WebEx meeting at the LGO (Large Govt Organization). And it worked, I was able to attend the meeting. So your hunch that CentOS would work seems to have been correct.

Thank you so, so much,

I will mark this as SOLVED.

R.

R.