Has anyone used this operating system as an alternative to Window XP?
If so, thoughts or concerns?
Thumbs up or Thumbs down????
If so, thoughts or concerns?
Thumbs up or Thumbs down????
Ubuntu
- Thread starter gadgetgary
- Start date
Help Support :
Ubuntu is wonderful if you take the time to get used to it. There's no Microsoft Office but for the most part the OS is very usable and there's no need for the "fear" of Linux that most people have. You can make Ubuntu look and feel like Windows very easily by following this guide: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2028896/how-to-make-ubuntu-linux-look-like-windows-7.html
If you're coming from a Mac, you'll be even more comfortable because Ubuntu and OS X are both built on a *NIX platform.
Speaking of coming from a Mac, if you want a more "Mac-like" experience with Linux, try Elementary OS. It's even more newcomer-friendly than Ubuntu and just as stable. http://elementaryos.org
If you're coming from a Mac, you'll be even more comfortable because Ubuntu and OS X are both built on a *NIX platform.
Speaking of coming from a Mac, if you want a more "Mac-like" experience with Linux, try Elementary OS. It's even more newcomer-friendly than Ubuntu and just as stable. http://elementaryos.org
bluejay
Well-known member
haven't used it in some time, but it was a great OS. My one complaint was that the auto update would never work, so I'd have to go in and manually fix stuff. Ubuntu can also be used on older computers, which is great for our archaic laptop.
solsburian
Well-known member
I find the Ubuntu user interface difficult to use. They have also caused controversy by tracking user searches on their computers.
On the other had, the Ubuntu derivative Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop which is very flexible and should be familiar to Windows Users.
On the other had, the Ubuntu derivative Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop which is very flexible and should be familiar to Windows Users.
warmsecondrinse
Well-known member
Thumbs Up!!
As a totally non-tech person (although that's slowly changing) I've done a lot of reading on Linux and its many versions, flavors, or "distributions" (nearly always shortened to "distros".
Ubuntu is the head or cornerstone of a one family of versions. It is designed for newer computers. There's a light version called Lubuntu which works equally well on less powerful or older computers. I've loaded PCLinuxOS (Ubuntu-based) onto 2 of my older netbooks and they work great.
I would read up on Ubuntu, Lubuntu, LinuxMint, and PCLinuxOS and go with the one that seems to best fit your computer's hardware. One warning, though. I've read widely that the minimum system requirements are a bit optimistic. Pick one that lists RAM, Hard Drive free space, and processor speed requirements that are a bit below what your computer has. As a general rule, if your computer was running just fine on Windows XP SP3 you should be fine with straight Ubuntu and I'd go with that.
As a major plus, I've found that there's a lot of information on the web written for non-tech people on how to pick a Linux distro and upgrade your computer to Linux. Google something like "best linux distro for windows xp ugrade" or "best linux distro for (make and model of your computer) or "move from windows xp to Linux". If an article is too technical/geeky, skip it and move on to another one.
Once I've moved and settled in I plan to install Linux on ALL my computers. I'll only keep Windows for the on-line work I do for a company that at present requires Windows or Mac.
One neat thing is that most Linux distros can run off a flash drive so you can try one to see if you like it without making any kind of commitment.
Ok, break over. Back to packing for me.
Jim
As a totally non-tech person (although that's slowly changing) I've done a lot of reading on Linux and its many versions, flavors, or "distributions" (nearly always shortened to "distros".
Ubuntu is the head or cornerstone of a one family of versions. It is designed for newer computers. There's a light version called Lubuntu which works equally well on less powerful or older computers. I've loaded PCLinuxOS (Ubuntu-based) onto 2 of my older netbooks and they work great.
I would read up on Ubuntu, Lubuntu, LinuxMint, and PCLinuxOS and go with the one that seems to best fit your computer's hardware. One warning, though. I've read widely that the minimum system requirements are a bit optimistic. Pick one that lists RAM, Hard Drive free space, and processor speed requirements that are a bit below what your computer has. As a general rule, if your computer was running just fine on Windows XP SP3 you should be fine with straight Ubuntu and I'd go with that.
As a major plus, I've found that there's a lot of information on the web written for non-tech people on how to pick a Linux distro and upgrade your computer to Linux. Google something like "best linux distro for windows xp ugrade" or "best linux distro for (make and model of your computer) or "move from windows xp to Linux". If an article is too technical/geeky, skip it and move on to another one.
Once I've moved and settled in I plan to install Linux on ALL my computers. I'll only keep Windows for the on-line work I do for a company that at present requires Windows or Mac.
One neat thing is that most Linux distros can run off a flash drive so you can try one to see if you like it without making any kind of commitment.
Ok, break over. Back to packing for me.
Jim
When I first tried it back in 2007, and until 2010, I could have easily migrated straight to Ubuntu.
That all changed around 2010.
The Unity desktop is sorta like the iOS interface (iPhone/iPad etc), crossed to Windows 8. I found the search glitchy and slow, even on recent hardware, and the system was particularly fast like the older "distros."
A lot of die-hard Ubuntu fans were lost with the move to Unity - mostly because it wasn't refined before release, and was very buggy for quite a while before they finally got something right with it.
Given you would be transitioning from a Windows XP machine, I would suggest Xubuntu, which is a lightweight alternative that still has the basic menu system of Ubuntu before it was "bastardised" by the developers. I used that on an old Toshiba laptop for about 4 months before upgrading to the Macbook I have now.
Xubuntu doesn't have the same "Office" package installed, although it is easily downloaded from the Ubuntu software centre. By default, it includes lighter-weight versions of software, so it doesn't get so draggy on older computers.
That all changed around 2010.
The Unity desktop is sorta like the iOS interface (iPhone/iPad etc), crossed to Windows 8. I found the search glitchy and slow, even on recent hardware, and the system was particularly fast like the older "distros."
A lot of die-hard Ubuntu fans were lost with the move to Unity - mostly because it wasn't refined before release, and was very buggy for quite a while before they finally got something right with it.
Given you would be transitioning from a Windows XP machine, I would suggest Xubuntu, which is a lightweight alternative that still has the basic menu system of Ubuntu before it was "bastardised" by the developers. I used that on an old Toshiba laptop for about 4 months before upgrading to the Macbook I have now.
Xubuntu doesn't have the same "Office" package installed, although it is easily downloaded from the Ubuntu software centre. By default, it includes lighter-weight versions of software, so it doesn't get so draggy on older computers.
I much much prefer another take off of Ubuntu, MINT. Version 17 is in beta and the moment and will be released soon. It will have long term support. Very user friendly.
davetranter
Well-known member
Ubuntu
I only ever tried to use Ubuntu once. No idea which 'build' / 'Distro'. I couldn't make head or tail of it. It seemed to have all the worst features of Windows (like putting anything you download where IT wants to, not where I want it to) without the familiarity to go and find/change things. I was unimpressed, but then... I am a 'Luddite'....
All best
Dave T
I only ever tried to use Ubuntu once. No idea which 'build' / 'Distro'. I couldn't make head or tail of it. It seemed to have all the worst features of Windows (like putting anything you download where IT wants to, not where I want it to) without the familiarity to go and find/change things. I was unimpressed, but then... I am a 'Luddite'....
All best
Dave T
User Interface....
Listen to Solsburian on this one. In work a few of us agree this is one difficult system to maintain. I prefer openSuSE, plenty of menu driven maintenance that you get accustomed to with Windows (and Mac). The install CD comes with an open Office suite (most of the Linux O/S do these days).
Another good one is CENTOS. UBUNTU is at the bottom of my list.
just my 0.5 cents,
paul
Listen to Solsburian on this one. In work a few of us agree this is one difficult system to maintain. I prefer openSuSE, plenty of menu driven maintenance that you get accustomed to with Windows (and Mac). The install CD comes with an open Office suite (most of the Linux O/S do these days).
Another good one is CENTOS. UBUNTU is at the bottom of my list.
just my 0.5 cents,
paul
the joys of Linux
I have been almost exclusively using Linux for a few years now.
A brief lesson first:
With windows, you get the current version - currently Windows 8.1 or 8.2??
A choice of one.
With Linux, you have choices of dozens of distributions (called "distros") and within each distro, often you get a choice of desktop environments (DE's.)
A Desktop environment has a lot to do with how the computer looks and behaves, and a bit to do with what system resources it requires. So Linux Mint with KDE destop environment will look a bit different, behave a bit different to Linux Mint with Gnome or XFCE desktop environments.
I have a lot of time for Mint as it is the first distro I tried that worked 100% on my old computer at the time. I found XFCE the easiest and most intuitive desktop environment, it is still my fave. KDE is a bit more bling and there is a lot of software written to work specifically with KDE, many of them have the letter K prominent in the name, such as KMyMoney for finances, KWrite word processor and so on. But I think KDE can be clumsy and counter-intuitive to use so I have drifted away from it. Unity desktop environment, which comes standard with Ubuntu, is a disaster IMHO. I just hate it.
XFCE desktop environment fits my brain. If I am unsure how to do something and just try something that seems logical, with XFCE that seems to do the trick. It is very easy to customize to get a look and feel that I am comfortable with.
XFCE is fairly light in system resources so is often a good choice for older hardware, and runs really fast and light on newer systems. "LITE" versions of many distros use XFCE. Enlightenment is another lightweight DE, clever but not as intuitive to use as XFCE IMHO and not as many distros offer Enlightenment (Often called by the letter E and the version number, such as E17 or E18.)
For beginners I like PCLinuxOS as they provide a monthly e-newsletter of advice, hints, tips and tutorials on how to use their distro. Also the user forum is helpful. PCLOS is available in most of the desktop environments - KDE, Gnome, XFCE and others. The XFCE version is called PCLOS Phoenix edition, I have no idea why.
Mageia is another distro I have liked, though I used the KDE DE and got sick of that. It is also available in XFCE so that could be worth a try.The Mageia forum were very helpful when I had printer troubles. Mageia is based in France.
A good start is to go to www.distrowatch.com which lists every Linux distro available, and links to reviews, the distro's own website and user forum, and popularity rankings.
Sniff around the user forums of each distro and try to gauge the attitude prevailing there. To me, some get a bit to hung up on "you shouldn't have posted this question here" rather than trying to be helpful. Also look at how long it takes for questions to be answered - a less popular distro will have fewer people on its forums. Mageia was a pleasant surprise here.
You can download a LIVE CD for most distros - this means you download a CD or DVD image from their website, burn the image to a CD or DVD, insert the disc in your computer and re-start it. When the computer boots up it will detect the disc and boot from it instead of the hard drive, so your computer will temporarily be a linux computer. Your windows installation will not be disturbed and next time you restart with the CD removed, it will boot up as Windows again. It is a simple and safe way to play with Linux - you can download and burn several distros and the same distro with several DE's, and try them all to your heart's content.
Be aware that running from the CD drive is much, much slower than running from a hard drive, so running from a live CD will be frustratingly slow. (Some lightweight distros will load themselves into RAM and run from there, which is fast.) Bear this in mind, you are not assessing the speed of operation, you are assessing the look and feel, how intuitive the distro and DE are for you, whether they offer the software you want.
Ubuntu-based distros such as Mint and Xubuntu have a simple interface for adding and updating your software, which I appreciate. This varies a bit between distros.
Your internet connection may bias you towards some distros and away from others. I'm in Australia and most of the major distros have a mirror here in Australia so downloading updates and new software is reasonably fast. I quite liked LinuxLite but it doesn't have an Australian mirror, so downloads were painfully slow and I have given up on it.
With windows, you get software from all over the place. You buy software on disc from shops, you can down load it from software suppliers,from CNET and so on. Linux doesn't work like that. Each distro has its own library of software, called a repository, and you get ALL your software from there. This is one way Linux is more secure. The kindly nerds who run the distros will test out the software in "testing" repositories before releasing it to us, the great unwashed, in the "stable" repositories. There are a few exceptions, for example I had to download linux drivers from the Brother website when I bought a Brother printer. HP release their drivers to the distro repositories which is better, easier to use.
You may find that some distros don't have a particular bit of software you want, so this also means you just shop around for a distro that suits you. Some distros allow you to post a request for their developers when you know of a piece of software available on other distros that they don't have. (PCLOS do this for example.)
Burn several live CDs or live DVDs and try them all out. When you fall in love with one of them, you might then decide to do a full install to your hard drive, either as a stand alone Linux system, or dual-boot, where each time you start the computer you select Windows or Linux.
There are sometimes things you can't do on a Linux computer - I have a Navman GPS and its map update software is only for a Windows computer. (And a dreadful GPS it is too...)
My Sony camera came with a suite of clever photo software - windows only - but I can download the photos into my Linux computer and use "The Gimp" to edit them in Linux.
Have fun.
I'm currently using Xubuntu, assessing if I can switch my 88 year old Dad from XP to Xubuntu.
I love Linux and would never go back.
I am a bit of a distro sl*t and like trying out different distros. It can be fun.
I have been almost exclusively using Linux for a few years now.
A brief lesson first:
With windows, you get the current version - currently Windows 8.1 or 8.2??
A choice of one.
With Linux, you have choices of dozens of distributions (called "distros") and within each distro, often you get a choice of desktop environments (DE's.)
A Desktop environment has a lot to do with how the computer looks and behaves, and a bit to do with what system resources it requires. So Linux Mint with KDE destop environment will look a bit different, behave a bit different to Linux Mint with Gnome or XFCE desktop environments.
I have a lot of time for Mint as it is the first distro I tried that worked 100% on my old computer at the time. I found XFCE the easiest and most intuitive desktop environment, it is still my fave. KDE is a bit more bling and there is a lot of software written to work specifically with KDE, many of them have the letter K prominent in the name, such as KMyMoney for finances, KWrite word processor and so on. But I think KDE can be clumsy and counter-intuitive to use so I have drifted away from it. Unity desktop environment, which comes standard with Ubuntu, is a disaster IMHO. I just hate it.
XFCE desktop environment fits my brain. If I am unsure how to do something and just try something that seems logical, with XFCE that seems to do the trick. It is very easy to customize to get a look and feel that I am comfortable with.
XFCE is fairly light in system resources so is often a good choice for older hardware, and runs really fast and light on newer systems. "LITE" versions of many distros use XFCE. Enlightenment is another lightweight DE, clever but not as intuitive to use as XFCE IMHO and not as many distros offer Enlightenment (Often called by the letter E and the version number, such as E17 or E18.)
For beginners I like PCLinuxOS as they provide a monthly e-newsletter of advice, hints, tips and tutorials on how to use their distro. Also the user forum is helpful. PCLOS is available in most of the desktop environments - KDE, Gnome, XFCE and others. The XFCE version is called PCLOS Phoenix edition, I have no idea why.
Mageia is another distro I have liked, though I used the KDE DE and got sick of that. It is also available in XFCE so that could be worth a try.The Mageia forum were very helpful when I had printer troubles. Mageia is based in France.
A good start is to go to www.distrowatch.com which lists every Linux distro available, and links to reviews, the distro's own website and user forum, and popularity rankings.
Sniff around the user forums of each distro and try to gauge the attitude prevailing there. To me, some get a bit to hung up on "you shouldn't have posted this question here" rather than trying to be helpful. Also look at how long it takes for questions to be answered - a less popular distro will have fewer people on its forums. Mageia was a pleasant surprise here.
You can download a LIVE CD for most distros - this means you download a CD or DVD image from their website, burn the image to a CD or DVD, insert the disc in your computer and re-start it. When the computer boots up it will detect the disc and boot from it instead of the hard drive, so your computer will temporarily be a linux computer. Your windows installation will not be disturbed and next time you restart with the CD removed, it will boot up as Windows again. It is a simple and safe way to play with Linux - you can download and burn several distros and the same distro with several DE's, and try them all to your heart's content.
Be aware that running from the CD drive is much, much slower than running from a hard drive, so running from a live CD will be frustratingly slow. (Some lightweight distros will load themselves into RAM and run from there, which is fast.) Bear this in mind, you are not assessing the speed of operation, you are assessing the look and feel, how intuitive the distro and DE are for you, whether they offer the software you want.
Ubuntu-based distros such as Mint and Xubuntu have a simple interface for adding and updating your software, which I appreciate. This varies a bit between distros.
Your internet connection may bias you towards some distros and away from others. I'm in Australia and most of the major distros have a mirror here in Australia so downloading updates and new software is reasonably fast. I quite liked LinuxLite but it doesn't have an Australian mirror, so downloads were painfully slow and I have given up on it.
With windows, you get software from all over the place. You buy software on disc from shops, you can down load it from software suppliers,from CNET and so on. Linux doesn't work like that. Each distro has its own library of software, called a repository, and you get ALL your software from there. This is one way Linux is more secure. The kindly nerds who run the distros will test out the software in "testing" repositories before releasing it to us, the great unwashed, in the "stable" repositories. There are a few exceptions, for example I had to download linux drivers from the Brother website when I bought a Brother printer. HP release their drivers to the distro repositories which is better, easier to use.
You may find that some distros don't have a particular bit of software you want, so this also means you just shop around for a distro that suits you. Some distros allow you to post a request for their developers when you know of a piece of software available on other distros that they don't have. (PCLOS do this for example.)
Burn several live CDs or live DVDs and try them all out. When you fall in love with one of them, you might then decide to do a full install to your hard drive, either as a stand alone Linux system, or dual-boot, where each time you start the computer you select Windows or Linux.
There are sometimes things you can't do on a Linux computer - I have a Navman GPS and its map update software is only for a Windows computer. (And a dreadful GPS it is too...)
My Sony camera came with a suite of clever photo software - windows only - but I can download the photos into my Linux computer and use "The Gimp" to edit them in Linux.
Have fun.
I'm currently using Xubuntu, assessing if I can switch my 88 year old Dad from XP to Xubuntu.
I love Linux and would never go back.
I am a bit of a distro sl*t and like trying out different distros. It can be fun.
The Only Trouble:
I've *heard* of with Linux (and only mildly experienced) is on the forums and internet, posting for help can yield the following response,
"Its easy."
When in fact, the solution they provide is either non-existent or so complicated to the point of being persuaded to severe anger.
Just keep that in mind
I've *heard* of with Linux (and only mildly experienced) is on the forums and internet, posting for help can yield the following response,
"Its easy."
When in fact, the solution they provide is either non-existent or so complicated to the point of being persuaded to severe anger.
Just keep that in mind
warmsecondrinse
Well-known member
I've heard that as well. that's one of the reasons I went with PCLinuxOS. They seemed to be most geared for the non-tech person. Most of the posts provide answers in plain English, not geek speak.
