I want a new OS, is Ubuntu for me??

[epsylum]

I absolutely hate Vista (my brother has it and IMO, it sucks), but I hear MS is planning on ditching support for XP in the near future, so I have been dabbling in other OSes. I recently (last week) bought an old original iMac from a fellow INGO member that has Mac OS X v. 10.3 something just to test out the OS X waters. So far I am kind of impressed and kind of dissapointed. It does seem to run a hell of a lot better than Windows and considering that the iMac it is on is weaker than the first PC I ever built over 10 years ago (it is 350mhz, 196mb of ram, and a 6.25 Gig HD), it still pretty useful. That is something I can't say about the PC I just mentioned. However, some things just are working like advertised and I am having issues finding things for it.

My main gripe about Macs is that they are EXPENSIVE. If I could just slap OS X on my existing PC, I would and save a ton of money. That had me thinking about Linux. I hear a lot about Ubuntu on here and a lot of other places. Is this what I am looking for? What are it's strengths and weaknesses? Would I be able to ditch Windows entirely or would it be advisable to keep it around just in case?

As for me, I know just enought about computers to be dangerous. I can usually figure things out on my own pretty well, but mistakes can and usually happen (how else can one learn? ). I HATE programming and networking, so if it requires more than a few mouse clicks, I would rather not deal with it. Lastly, other than your usual uses for a computer (internet, multimedia, e-mail, etc.), I have AutoCAD 2006 on my PC for work and school. Is it Linux friendly?

Thanks!

 

[indyjoe]

If you are OK with occasionally going to the web and doing a Google search to fix a small problem.

I almost only boot Ubuntu at home. It took a little while to get used to certain things, but upgrading to new versions is painless, updates are less annoying. There is a downside, you can't run all the programs you might have before.

It is a good idea to make a home partition separate from your root (main OS) partition. With Linux, everything to do with your user is in the home directory. I decided to reload my Ubuntu box. I generated a file describing what packages I had installed and stored that in my home partition. Then I reformated and reinstalled Ubuntu. Told Synaptic Manager the programs I wanted and was up exactly like before in under 30 minutes, with 10 minutes of my time. An XP reload takes a minimum of 3 hours and things are never exactly like they were.

Boot the Live CD and play with it. Setup the system to dual boot at first if you install. See if it works for you. You might have to learn a little. It isn't harder to use than Windows, it is just different.

 

[epsylum]

It isn't harder to use than Windows, it is just different.

Thanks for the advise. As for different, that I can deal with.

I am thinking about getting another PC as my current one is getting a little long in the tooth. I might just get another Windows box and set my current one up with Ubuntu for the mean time, that way if I royally screw something up, I won't be messing up my main PC. That is, until I get more comfortable with it.

 

[Bubbajms]

You can dual-boot, too, if you have an extra hard drive around.

There are several options for Autocad, too. Autocad in and of itself isn't compatable with Linux, at least not that I know of. You can use a program called "Wine" to emulate Windows, and you can run Autocad in an emulated environment. You can also install a virtual desktop, which is basically a pretend computer that you operate inside your linux installation. I find that useful for testing out different programs and things.

It sounds (to me) like you'd be a pretty good person to try out some version of linux. Ubuntu is great for someone that's new to linux, as it's supported very well and there are TONS of writeups on how to do just about everything.

 

[Steelman]

Analogies:

Microsoft is the sorority girl. Popular. Easy to use. Volatile when certain conditions aren't met.

Linux is the older sophisticated type. Difficult to get going and you really need to know what you're doing to enjoy it. Once you master the basics, you'll see what you've been missing.



Running the live CD would be your best option. Google "unix commands" and bookmark the page.

 

[epsylum]

What is the "live CD?" Here is all I find on the DL page of the Ubuntu site.

Download Ubuntu | Ubuntu

I am currently DLing the CD image to burn to a disk.

 

[Steelman]

What is the "live CD?" Here is all I find on the DL page of the Ubuntu site.

Download Ubuntu | Ubuntu

I am currently DLing the CD image to burn to a disk.

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) Daily Build

Guess they call it a "desktop CD"

Burn and make sure BIOS is set to boot cd-rom before hard disk.

 

[indyjoe]

A Live CD is a CD that you will be able to boot from and play with Ubuntu. The standard desktop iso will make a Live CD. The only reason to get the alternate CD is if you are trying to install on a low RAM system. To run the Live CD, part of your RAM is used as a ramdisk. Also, the speed will be MUCH slower than running with a real install, because to less RAM and reading from the CD.

 

[epsylum]

A Live CD is a CD that you will be able to boot from and play with Ubuntu. The standard desktop iso will make a Live CD. The only reason to get the alternate CD is if you are trying to install on a low RAM system. To run the Live CD, part of your RAM is used as a ramdisk. Also, the speed will be MUCH slower than running with a real install, because to less RAM and reading from the CD.

Cool. Thanks Steelman, Bubbajms, and Indyjoe.

I am DLing the 64bit version as I have a 64bit AMD processor at home. I am assuming that was a wise decision. I will play with it and see what's up.

Thanks!

 

[indyjoe]

I would recommend the 32 bit for your first go. There are still some subtle driver issues and unique things that can occur more frequently with a 64-bit version system. You won't see much speed or performance differences and doing 32-bit at first might save some headache. You can always try 64-bit first and do 32-bit if you have issues.

 

[epsylum]

I would recommend the 32 bit for your first go. There are still some subtle driver issues and unique things that can occur more frequently with a 64-bit version system. You won't see much speed or performance differences and doing 32-bit at first might save some headache. You can always try 64-bit first and do 32-bit if you have issues.

It's free. I'll DL and burn both.

 

[indyjoe]

You will want to check this site out: The Linux Alternative Project - linuxalt.com

Gives programs in Linux that do the same thing some in Windows do.

 

[Bubbajms]

Yeah, you can get a pretty good indication of things just from the liveCD.. I keep several on me to pass around if I talk to someone that's interested in Linux..

There's several options, too - if you're doing Ubuntu, you'll be using Gnome for the desktop manager, at least from the beginning. You can install KDE, thus making Kubuntu, which is a little more like Windows as far as feel. I prefer XFCE, which would be Xubuntu in their terms, as it's a little lighter and more responsive..

Just get them, burn them, and try it out..

 

[epsylum]

Thanks a lot guys.

I thought I had some blank CDs here at work. I guess I was wrong. I have both the 32 and 64 bit versions DLed. I will bring in some CDs and burn them tomorrow.

 

[Episcopus]

I was using Ubuntu exclusively for about a year and a half before I melted my RAM this week. I haven't booted into Windows in probably a year. I am probably the same experience level as you. I knew just enough to figure out how to do what I wanted, and I was never afraid of messing things up. Google and a little experimentation will go a long way in Ubuntu.

One word of advice: be somewhere with an alternate internet connection when you install Ubuntu. That way, you can search out an answer and fix for any problem you might have during or after install.

 

[epsylum]

One word of advice: be somewhere with an alternate internet connection when you install Ubuntu. That way, you can search out an answer and fix for any problem you might have during or after install.

Between my roommate and I we have:My PC, his PC, his Laptop, my iMac, and if I HAVE to, my PS3 has a browser. Oh yeah, I also forgot about his PSP and both of our cell phones. So that is a total of 8 net enabled devices.

 

[epsylum]

Uh, oh. Should I be worried? This is the exact PC I am wanting to put Ubuntu on.

liveCD issues on emachines T6520 - Ubuntu Forums

 

[slacker]

10.3 osX sucks alot compared to 10.4 or 10.5, do yourself a favor and shell out the cash for a mac, even if its just a mac mini.

If you are sick of windows and want free Ubuntu is good, but no where near as friendly as windows or osX.

 

[Bubbajms]

Well, that's some really old posting and I wouldn't be surprised to see that those issues had been fixed with some of the most recent liveCDs..

The nice thing about a liveCD is that if it doesn't work, just pop it out and you're back to where you were before. No change..

And slacker, I find Ubuntu just as friendly as Windows. Friendliness is tied to familiarity, not ease of use. If you sit my grandmother down with anything, she won't understand it. My parents use XP, and they bought and returned a Mac because they didn't understand it.

Linux isn't hard to use, and it's 100% friendly if you understand it. I'd liken it to driving a manual when you're used to an automatic - the idea is the same, but there are just a few differences here and there..

 

[Episcopus]

And slacker, I find Ubuntu just as friendly as Windows. Friendliness is tied to familiarity, not ease of use. If you sit my grandmother down with anything, she won't understand it. My parents use XP, and they bought and returned a Mac because they didn't understand it.

Linux isn't hard to use, and it's 100% friendly if you understand it. I'd liken it to driving a manual when you're used to an automatic - the idea is the same, but there are just a few differences here and there..

Excellent point. I actually find ubuntu more 'user-friendly' than windows. It just takes some time to adjust to a slightly different way of doing things. If you aren't willing to change, ubuntu isn't for you, but if you will take the time to learn something new, you might like it.