Ubuntu!
 

I just moved cold turkey from Windows XP to Ubuntu. So far it's been fantastic, I can't
believe how intuitive and easy to use this is!

For a long time I was in the same boat as most Windows users. I was intimidated thinking that Linux was the same as in the days of "Redhat" when there was no graphic installers for programs and everything had to be done by command prompt, like the days of DOS. That was mistake #1. The Add/Remove programs in Ubuntu is far superior to windows.

The other factor for me was my aging hardware. My current laptop is a Dell XPS 9300 that I bought three years ago. It has a decent CPU, 2 gigs of RAM and 256 MB video.

On Windows, every 6-12 months I had to wipe everything away and start over again. My machine would just get slower and slower. I just got tired of doing this.

Yesterday I backed everything up on my external hard drive and wiped the slate clean with the latest version of Ubuntu.

I'm so impressed so far. This OS comes with almost everything I use anyway; Firefox, Open Office and a huge range of graphics/sound editing (Audacity, Gimp, etc.). The only thing I needed to install was Thunderbird and Skype. Doing this was so easy, just clicking on the menu, Add/Remove programs, and you can type in any application you want to download, click the checkbox and it downloads/installs automatically.

For quite some time my ultimate goal was to free myself of Microsoft programs all-together. I was thinking for years, some day, Linux will be user friendly and easy to use enough where I won't need Windows at all. I am 99% sure that day for me has arrived!

The only challenge I've had so far is to figure out how to read/write from my Maxtor External hard drive. It was actually not too hard. I just had to download NTFS-3 for Linux and boom, I was back in action.

Now I just have to figure out how to import my thunderbird e-mail :)

If anyone else here is running Ubuntu (Chip, Frank, where you guys at?) I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences!:)

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I've been considering this to give the old desktop that hasn't been used in months a boost in speed, glad to hear it worked out for you.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I have an ubuntu linux box that I use as a secondary backup for digital photos and as a burn box for when I need to copy a bunch of cd's. I love it. Never had any problems with linux stability. The one time my linux box died was because the actual HDD failed. At least it was under warranty and backed up.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I ran Ubuntu on an older Dell laptop for a while as my man-cave computer until it was replaced by a Mac Mini. It is a great OS but I always had problems with drivers for the wireless card. Not really a Linux issue but a PITA none the less.

The Dell ran much faster and smoother with Ubuntu than XP.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

This was one of my main concerns as well. I've always been under the impression that driver support was the biggest problem of Linux based OS's. So far, everything has been smooth.

I'm still wondering what the best way to manage multiple wireless connections will be. I'm going to try to find a better wireless connection manager for Ubuntu. Any suggestions?

I have a stock Intell wireless card in my Dell.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Just installed KWifi Connection Manager. It seems very easy to use and is specifically written for Ubuntu and Debian based Linux OS's.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I have tried the last 3 or 4 Ubuntu versions but prefer PCLOS. I have only had to use ndiswrapper on one, out of a dozen portables I've installed PCLOS 2007 on. Generally it picks up the card and finds the connection, just type in the PW if there is one and roll.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Ubuntu is easy. PClinux is very good. But I like Sabayon the best. The 3.5 release was most excellent. I am pumped to hear about PClinux 2009 though. PClinux 2007 was my fav OS for a long while.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

+1

Sabayon is an excellent distro ... I prefer it to a number of higher profile distros like Suse and Fedora.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Thanks for the great posts! This might be my first step in becoming a linux junky?

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I was thinking of installing Linux on an old Dimension 4300S. I hadn't made up my mind which distro to run with, though. Still doing that research, but I'm glad to hear it went well for you.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I've been an ubuntu user for years. It's great. However, if you need to share MS office documents with regular windows users, you will run in to the limitations of open office real quick. That's the main reason that I use Vista in my consulting (my main work products are documents). Not an ubuntu limitation, but open office, which continues to get better all the time.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

there is always Apple and mac osx...... :)

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I found the OP ironic, I have a dual boot laptop, XP and Ubuntu. In the end my main use for the ubuntu install is to fix disks that Windows chokes on, chief among those is an external Maxtor!

If you aren't married to any software (with me it's Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, Flash), Linux, esp ubuntu is a no-brainer, free and easy and plenty of useful software available.

Glad you're getting the most out of your hardware, for free, and having fun doing it! Wish I could go all the way like that

Re: Ubuntu!
 

With a gig of RAM I run XP in a virtual machine within PCLOS. Simple to set up and runs great.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I've been running one kind of unix or another for 10 years now. I liked SuSE better than Red Hat for RPM based distros. Slax is pretty good.
Debian distros are the best IMO. Ubutu is pretty good. Raw Debian is good, too, once you know your way around the OS. I have settled on a distro called Mepis for desktop use. It was based on Debian, then Ubuntu, and now back to Debian again. This is based on where the software repositories are maintained. A great "toolkit" distro is Backtrack.
I keep a Win98 and WinXP partition around, just in case I need to open some weird spreadsheet or Word(r) document, but I don't use them very often.
I like being in control of my OS. I don't trust Windows much for browsing.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Welcome to Linux Tristan. I currently use Mandriva and have installed as a dual boot with XP on my step daughters machine in Oki. She likes it and uses it all the time. She has an old XP machine without much ram and a Celeron cpu. Breathed new life in to that old box. Still have Ubuntu on a couple old desktops downstairs, can't remember the last time I turned them on. PCLinux OS like Sean said is still one of the easiest distro's I've used. Linux Mint is still running on one of my other kids Gateway. Haven't used windows in a long while other than to fix for the kids that have Vista. Some day they will listen to me about being smarter on the net. OSX and Linux is all I use now. BTW isn't the Ubuntu forum a wealth of knowledge when it comes to getting things to work on Linux?

Re: Ubuntu!
 

My laptop is ubuntu only my desktop is still vista for gaming and the such.... ubuntu is great and does everything I need especially on my laptop

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Frank!!! How yens doin?

The Ubuntu forum is great!

Knoppix is pretty slick! I actually tinkered with it last week. Someone at work needed to recover some files from a dead Windows XP install and I burned it for them. I burned myself the DVD version. I was impressed that it worked instantly with all my hardware and connected to the wireless network (I'm not sure) at work with no credentials. It simply WORKED with almost no action on my part!

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I am finding new things to love about Ubuntu daily. Yesterday, I was renaming a jpg. In windows, I had to manually highlight everything behind the extension, in Ubuntu, I press F2 to rename and everything behind the file extension is highlighted by default! I just had to type in the new name and press enter. SLICK!

This is one of those things where you say, "Why didn't someone think of this earlier?" So intuitive!

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Just an update: I've been using Ubuntu for two months straight and have loaded it on my parent's desktop, my brother's desktop, my wife's laptop and my buddy's PS3.

Ubuntu is awesome!

I'm going to download the latest beta of PCLinux and play around with it next time I'm bored. I'm just going to run it within VirtualBox for the heck of it. I intend on keeping Ubuntu until I find something that is superior! I doubt that will be anytime soon!

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Its nice not having to have a Virus protector or firewall :dance:

Re: Ubuntu!
 

The only problems I've had with Ubuntu are the occasional flash crash and when installing, it won't automatically detect video cards in SLI. I have to remove one of them, install, tweak xorg.conf and then install the second card. I love dual monitors with Compiz.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I am now using Puppy Linux, running off of a 2gb kingston flash drive.

I boot my work computer from it and I don't have to worry about all of the stupid permission blocks they have on me ... like not being able to burn CD's.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I just migrated to Ubuntu about two weeks ago and its worked out pretty good. My media server is still XP but thats about it.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I currently run XP for photoshop, and RHEL5 for everything else. I also have Ubuntu loaded on another partition...I have a live disk of Ubuntu too...that is pretty cool

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Sigh.... I'll have to go back and read this thread more closely to see what people are running these days.

A couple years ago I was tinkering with Puppy and PCLOS (which was brand new back then) in an attempt to get a FREE, easy to use OS for a computer I built for my father. After a lot of hair pulling and wasted hours I had to blow it all away and install Win XP when I finally realized one day I was starting to read things about the deep inner workings of how Linux talks to hardware, which was totally the opposite of the experience I wanted!

The deal breaker was that neither OS would emit a peep of sound no matter what I did (other than installing XP). :sad

I want to give Linux another shot, but my past experience has left me gun-shy. I have a spare SFF PC lying around that I'd like to use, but no OS for it....

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Try Ubuntu, if you want to check out what's all the rage and read up on what is out there check out http://www.distrowatch.com

Re: Ubuntu!
 

hmm.....go to whatismyip.com on oyur new linux box and then public post your ip address.

/get rootkit
/brute force attack
/slip in rootkit

hehehehheeh

Re: Ubuntu!
 

SimlyMepis live CD has worked for me on every system I have tried it on, right off the CD. Anything not on the CD could be searched for and install through the utility "synaptic". The distro BackTrack3 has a way to build a flashboot drive. Useful for those behind-the-wall systems, and other things.;)

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Running OS X on my dell mini right now. Works like a champ.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Thanks for the link. I was struggling trying to remember what that site was called. :)

I'll have to read up on Ubuntu sometime... I vaguely recall being weirded out a bit by all the different "flavors" of "-ubuntu" that are out there. :p

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Yea just get the regular version.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I'm running Ubuntu 8.10 on my laptop right now. Wow, I had been using 6.06 before, what a difference! Automatic, easily configured wireless support! YAY!

I still use Puppy Linux on a flash drive at work. I only use Windows on the work machine when I absolutely have to.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Just did a clean install of 9.04 on my laptop last week. Wow, it boots super fast and it's great!

Also, installed Xubuntu on my wife's laptop. It is so fast I can't believe it. She's really happy with it. Way faster than Windows XP!

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Nice. I guess I'll fire up the desktop and do the update.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Been using Ubuntu for years. I used to run the Ubuntu California LoCo.

I have been using Linux since about 96 and Debian is still my go to OS. It sure has come a long way from where it was even 5 years ago. Compiz FTW! :)

And did someone say penetration test? hhmmmm Check out my company http://www.grayscale-research.org

Re: Ubuntu!
 

NICE! So there are schools now to teach the stuff we used to have to learn the hard way.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I've been messing around with 9.04s netbook remix on my eeepc. I like it so far :tu

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Been having problems with my Ubuntu install on my laptop lately. Youtube videos are temperamental and sometimes the audio stutters. Have 2 gb of RAM on the way. Currently running on 512. Anybody have ideas for tweaks? Or should the additional RAM help?

Re: Ubuntu!
 

512 is pretty small for real time aps. I used to get by with that much but that was 4 or 5 years ago. It's just for fast buffering. You should see how much of it you are using with "free" or "top" or some graphical command.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Here's what "free" shows me on my rig:

Axeman@2[~]$ free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 1811976 1259076 552900 0 236484 537900
-/+ buffers/cache: 484692 1327284
Swap: 1004020 0 1004020

The posting software destroys the format of the listing.
I have two gigs of which some is allocated to the graphics card. One gig of swap on the disk that is not being used. 537.9 M used by cache that coud be freed up if needed. 484+ M used as buffer.

I like to have at least one gig.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I would advise more RAM. 512mb should be enough, but may not give you desired performance.

If you want sheer speed and performance try Xubuntu. You can install the desktop package through synaptic package manager from System -> Administration menu. It's very simple and you easily find a tutorial on the "google machine."

I installed Xubuntu on my wife's laptop (1gb ram, 1.74 ghz pentium M) and the performance increase was incredible. Also, she has an ATI 128 mb video card; which Ubuntu has some issues with. The Xubuntu is a lot less taxing on the device and overall.

More on the video issues. Have you recently upgraded to a new version? I originally had 8.04, upgraded to 8.10 with no video issues. When I upgraded to 9.04 I started having huge video issues, slow downs, audio sync. I searched everywhere for resolution. I uninstalled codecs and video players (vlc, movie player, totem) and reinstalled to no effect.

I decided to back everything up and do a fresh install. Now my system is running flawlessly. The performance increase and faster boot time is astonishing!

My hypothesis; I think when I first got Ubuntu I was playing around a lot and doing things I didn't always understand (audio codecs, running scripts, etc.). I think this botched things up and after a few upgrades my system wasn't running optimally.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Are you on wireless?

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Yes, I am.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

I will definitely give Xubuntu a shot, thanks for that advice. I have recently upgraded to 9.04 from 8.10 and it does seem to correspond to the YouTube quirks. I also have the dreaded ATI 128 MB video card headaches.

When I really need to get stuff done, I run Puppy Linux off of a flash drive. It can accomplish about 80% of what I need a computer to do on a regular basis.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Have you tried streaming while you are hard wired instead of wireless?

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Maybe go with Xubuntu 8.10. You won't have as many ATI issues. I would wait until they resolve them to upgrade to 9.04.

The only thing I want to try is to install Xubuntu 9.04 on my wife's laptop (with the ATI) and install ENVYNG to see if I can use the ATI driver, if there is one. That might help. Not sure!

Have you check out envyNG?

In the terminal:

sudo apt-get install envyng-qt

Hope that helps!

Re: Ubuntu!
 

Might give Xubuntu a try on my OLD desktop. Probably need to upgrade the RAM though, I believe it only has 256MB.

Re: Ubuntu!
 

You should be good with 256MB!

Minimum requirements for Xubuntu from official website:

"You need 192 MB RAM to run the Live CD or 128 MB RAM to install. The Alternate Install CD only requires you to have 64 MB RAM at install time. To install Xubuntu, you need 1.5 GB of free space on your hard disk. Once installed, Xubuntu can run with starting from 192 (or even just 128) MB RAM, but it is strongly recommended to have at least 256 MB RAM."