[misterspiffy]

Does anyone here use Ubuntu? I am absolutely sick of how poorly Vista operates and I am thinking about switching over to Ubuntu. I really don't want to buy XP and give Microsoft anymore money.

If anyone here uses Ubuntu, could you share your thoughts on the OS?

Thanks.

[crackgirly]

Never even heard of it. I was picturing some sort of obscure tribal dance.

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[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Ubuntu will be stable, like most linux distros. Personally, I feel its a dumbed-down version of linux geared to people with little to no computer skills. Others will disagree of course. Its easy to load, and makes a great test platform to ensure your hardware will work with linux, so I suggest you give it a try. If you feel you need a bit more control you could then switch to a less user friendly but more user-defined distro like Slackware, Gentoo etc.

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[misterspiffy]

Ubuntu will be stable, like most linux distros. Personally, I feel its a dumbed-down version of linux geared to people with little to no computer skills. Others will disagree of course. Its easy to load, and makes a great test platform to ensure your hardware will work with linux, so I suggest you give it a try. If you feel you need a bit more control you could then switch to a less user friendly but more user-defined distro like Slackware, Gentoo etc.

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Well I don't know anything about Linux yet so I need a pretty user friendly platform to start off with. According to what I've read, all my hardware should have at least basic functionality out of the box with Ubuntu which will allow me to play around with finding the best drivers after installation. I'm going to partition the drive and dual boot for now.

I'm really glad I got so frustrated with Vista and did some research on Linux on Wikipedia. Ubuntu is a godsend to new users like me want something different than microsoft. And I think if more people knew about it, it might make a dent in microsoft's apparent world domination.

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

Sounds like Ubuntu will be a great way for you to get your feet wet. I was not trying to knock the distro in any way, and I see it sort of came out that way.

Get your dual boot set up, get familiar with Ubuntu, then read everything you can about Debian. That will show you pretty much everything Ubuntu is doing for you behind the scenes, and you can decide if you want to take more control for yourself or keep letting Ubuntu handle it for you. Ubuntu is basically Debian with a super user-friendly shell and one of the best/easiest set up programs in existance.

Do yourself two favors - install both Gnome and KDE, as well as any other DM that tickles your fancy and evaluate them, as their are lots of subtle differences.

Also keep Vista around for BB syncs/backups. That is one thing linux is sorely lacking - good BB support

Good luck!

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[Tripster]

I love XP Pro SP3! Sorry op! I tried Unbuntu didn't really like it. Win 7 will be sweet, even though I love XP Pro SP3.

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[misterspiffy]

Yes I want to get going on Ubuntu and start reading on Debian. I skimmed through the article last night on Widipedia. I built a gaming sytem in 2002 using XP but I don't have it anymore. I really want to start learning about software end of things, particularly open source. I find it fascinating how linux has developed over years, having originally evolved from Unix. I really believe in the philosophy of open source and would like to start supporting the community (I'm sure they'd like cold hard cash and since I'm a newb I would be able to contribute little else). I guess after reflecting on my use of windows since the early 90s, I realized that the profit motive really takes the wind out of creating a stable platform for users. This is really highlighted by Microsoft essentially forcing a switch to Vista from XP on consumers. I cannot understand why they wouldn't try to improve on a stable platform like XP rather than focus their efforts on the abomination that is Vista. And if corporate environements want to keep XP licenses they have to pay extra for them. They are still using XP at my wife's office and they have to pay extra for the "privilege". But until there is some competition, Microsoft will continue to be able gouge their customers.

I thought hard about buying XP but I just cannot see the point. It seems like there is so much more going on with Ubuntu, Linux and the open source community. Maybe I've grown jaded, but I don't think so.

[SandAngel]

Deleted ...double post

[SandAngel]

I just got it last week. Have to admit i already screwed up my computer so i have to wipe it out and start fresh. NOT ANY fault of the program.. it was me screwing around trying to learn how to use it properly.

The reason i got it was the whole "no virus " aspect. And well.... it made my system lots cheaper when I ordered it from Dell. The basics are very user friendly but I'm having a hard time figuring out some things since i'm so used to XP and Vista.

I found a nice learning sight that moves along step by step for jumping into linux. i'll dig it out of my favorites and post it for you. i must admit that there is not ALOT of Linux support on the web... well not as much as Windows anyway.


UPDATE: Here is a good site for great learning information...

Linux Online - Linux Courses

[ctborder]

I've been all over Ubuntu two releases ago. Jaunty Jackalope is pretty sturdy for new users. Whenever I get recycled PCs I like to put it on and donate the computers.

[awarepoint]

I use Ubuntu on one of my computers. It actually works well for me, and it's more counterintuitive than Vista. There is somewhat of a learning curve, but there's a lot of information that you can look up on the web. And right now I don't have to do anything too technical on that computer. I'd research the set-up and give it a try.

[Rakien]

I'm an occasional ubuntu user (since the 6.06 release) and have found it to be a great operating system for older pcs, I rely on XP for now because of certain programs but I might go back to daily usage once more, I'm waiting for the next release which includes a better filesystem.
On a comparison of XP to Ubuntu I find that Ubuntu is more stable, you also enjoy discovering new things to do in the terminal and the free alternative of programs that are on offer

If I ever needed to use a windows program and didn't want to restart then I would either use WINE or desktop in desktop virtualization with virtual box.

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[JustPlainJef]

Personally, I use Vista at home, and I've had no issues at all with it. I don't know what your issues were, but after reading the paragraph below, I can see some of the issues may be you...

Yes I want to get going on Ubuntu and start reading on Debian. I skimmed through the article last night on Widipedia. I built a gaming sytem in 2002 using XP but I don't have it anymore. I really want to start learning about software end of things, particularly open source. I find it fascinating how linux has developed over years, having originally evolved from Unix. I really believe in the philosophy of open source and would like to start supporting the community (I'm sure they'd like cold hard cash and since I'm a newb I would be able to contribute little else). I guess after reflecting on my use of windows since the early 90s, I realized that the profit motive really takes the wind out of creating a stable platform for users. This is really highlighted by Microsoft essentially forcing a switch to Vista from XP on consumers. I cannot understand why they wouldn't try to improve on a stable platform like XP rather than focus their efforts on the abomination that is Vista. And if corporate environements want to keep XP licenses they have to pay extra for them. They are still using XP at my wife's office and they have to pay extra for the "privilege". But until there is some competition, Microsoft will continue to be able gouge their customers.

I thought hard about buying XP but I just cannot see the point. It seems like there is so much more going on with Ubuntu, Linux and the open source community. Maybe I've grown jaded, but I don't think so.

They don't have to pay extra for the privilege of using XP, they have to pay extra to have it still be supported. Sooner or later, MS has to drop support for their OS's. If you still want to hold onto it, then it costs extra if you choose to still use Microsoft support contracts.

[ekyle125]

I've been using Ubuntu for awhile. I tried some others like Fedora Core, Linux Mint (I like that one too), Madriva, SimplyMEPIS, etc. I always seem to go back to Ubuntu. On my netbook I still run XP Pro SP3 until Win 7 comes out because Linux just doesn't have the power management yet unfortunately. The best thing about Linux though is that EVERYTHING is free. Ubuntu is definitely a good start.

[JustPlainJef]

Let me add to my previous post that I'm certainly not anti-Linux. I'm trying to get a Linux NAS box going. I had the OS up, but couldn't get the drives formatted or shared or something...

But as a gamer, I'm going to stick to Windows... It wouldn't hurt to let the wife play with a bit o Linux though...

[SandAngel]

if you haven't checked lately .. there have been some nice Ubuntu/Linux updates.


So many freaking freebies. you just have to weed through them and figure out which are comparable to the windows programs you use. You can find comparison charts on the net