Any Ubuntu users here?

Cracka

Cracka

CAG Newbie
I've had windows crap out on me on a few computers, and I was thinking about trying out Ubuntu on them, it seems to be a somewhat popular OS. I figured i'd install in on an old computer that I have in the attic and try it out, and if i like it maybe switch on my other computer.

For those of you who are using Ubuntu, what would you say the pros / cons of it are?

Currently my laptop is just used for web browsing / maintaining websites. I don't plan on playing any games or anything like that on my computer, and I believe theres a linux compatible program equivolent of almost every windows program.. gimp/open office/etc.. and i use those programs already so that wouldn't be a problem either.

Just wondering what everyone else's opinion is on the OS
 
It's my favorite flavor of Linux, but I still prefer Windows. I use Linux for programming (usually), Windows for everything else. The only reasons I use Linux for my programming are because (1) most job postings I've seen desire shell scripting proficiency and (2) it's easier to remotely access my school's Linux-based servers.

In the next week or two I'll be inheriting my roommate's Macbook, with the Unix-based OSX, so maybe that'll be the best of both worlds. I've never used OSX much.
 
You can always dual boot to have the best of both worlds. Or use a live cd to get some general impressions.

Ubuntu can unfortunately be a pain if you don't have a wireless card/graphics card that likes to play nice with Linux. Things have certainly improved in the most recent releases, but you may want to check your compatibility first.

Personally, I still use Windows as my primary operating system because I still require too many programs that are Windows only. I have a secondary pc that is an HTPC / server that runs Ubuntu 9.04, and it runs fantastic. It usually goes months without a reboot - and that's typically due to power failure or I need to move furniture around.
 
i downloaded ubuntu and put it on a disc, and found out you can use it without actually installing it on your computer so thats what i'm doing now. I'm on Ubuntu right now, and i'm not gonna lie I like it, but then again all i use my computer for is internet stuff. Also its telling me that my hard drive has many bad sectors, which lets me know its not windows that crapped out on my, but my actual hard drive. So apparently running Ubuntu off of a cd or off of a flash drive if i can get that to work is really my online option besides getting a new hard drive.

But I do like it, and it seems a million times faster than windows. Keep in mind that i'm running off of a cd, which they say runs alot slower than if i were running ubuntu straight off the hard drive, so i'm pretty impressed.
 
i recently deleted ubuntu off an extra hdd that i was using to dual boot between it and windows 7. its a nice little OS, very slick and fast. but i never used it, so i deleted it. theres a few reasons why i didnt ever really use it.

i never really took the time to look for software. on windows i have all sorts of programs from photoshop to soundforge to games like dragon age and team fortress. secondly, it didnt like my wifi card. im running my house on wifi, so having to plug it in to use the internet was annoying to say the least. and finally, windows 7 is slick man, i really like the OS. ive had zero problems with it and my pc is beefy enough that it can handle whatever 7 throws at it. oh, and also i dont like the GRUB bootloader, its slow and just made it a pain to get into windows.
 
I was running it from a flash drive on my netbook earlier. Would be typing this post from it but i couldn't get the wireless network here to connect. Need to read up on wireless network settings in ubuntu as they are a bit different than windows.
 
I use Linux Mint which is based off of Ubuntu but I like it a lot more for a number of reasons: codecs already pre-installed, one menu instead of two like GNOME default, more elegant themes/colors. Once you use Linux for a while you really get to notice just how shitty Windows is.. btw, I posted a blog about Ubuntu a while ago on this site.

Oh.. in response to the OP's post, I think Linux beats Windows at almost everything, with the one exception being gaming. Windows crushes Linux at gaming... but that's cuz developers usually just ignore Linux. If we can spread the Linux gospel a bit and make it more popular, the tide will slowly change.
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']I use Linux Mint which is based off of Ubuntu but I like it a lot more for a number of reasons: codecs already pre-installed, one menu instead of two like GNOME default, more elegant themes/colors. Once you use Linux for a while you really get to notice just how shitty Windows is.. btw, I posted a blog about Ubuntu a while ago on this site.

Oh.. in response to the OP's post, I think Linux beats Windows at almost everything, with the one exception being gaming. Windows crushes Linux at gaming... but that's cuz developers usually just ignore Linux. If we can spread the Linux gospel a bit and make it more popular, the tide will slowly change.[/QUOTE]

Agreed, I use/used linux mint, on and off between windows 7. Linux mint comes in many flavors, for the most part. IF you want LM in xfce, fluxbox etc. its possible with the community editions of LM along with the main edition. Its also easier to install programs IMO via LM as opposed to Ubuntu. Linux mint is a better Ubuntu to say the least.

OP, linux, for the most part, work as live cds. You can just burn the iso image of a linux distro, and you can use the and fiddle around with the operating system from the cd as it boots from the cd. No need to install if you don't like it.
 
[quote name='JolietJake']I was running it from a flash drive on my netbook earlier. Would be typing this post from it but i couldn't get the wireless network here to connect. Need to read up on wireless network settings in ubuntu as they are a bit different than windows.[/QUOTE]
if u have a problem w/ wireless try out ndiswrapper. worked well for me but that was 3-4years ago. luckly my new laptop has a supported wireless & from what it seems ndiswrapper is updated since then.

@OP
I used to dual boot ubuntu or FC w/ OSX. I ended up dropping that just because I never really used it. at first i used for LAMP servers but eventually just ssh from osx. atm im running 10.6 w/ win7.

best use for linux for the home in my opinion is for older comps that can't perform well with the current OS's, netbooks since they are very much underpowered, or if you are addicted to ruby, python and anything with development or programming.
 
Well here is the thing. Linux is a OS where you basically say goodbye to windows apps. Sure you can use Wine to emulate them but it's one of those luck of the draw things.

Anyway Ubuntu is fine for a starter distro. Personally I prefer something a bit more in depth as a distro like Fedora, Arch or Gentoo, but for a person who is just starting out with Linux, Ubuntu or Mint is the way to go.
 
I am running Linux Mint on my laptop, although I use Windows 7 on my main desktop computer. It is an older laptop, and I only use it for word processing and browsing the Internet, so Linux Mint is the perfect OS for what I need.
 
After seeing different screenshots of Mint, I'm thinking about making a liveCD of it and trying it out. It does look pretty nice. I need to run to walmart and get a small 1 or 2gb flash drive that i can make a live flash drive from and partition so i can actually save my settings so everything doesnt get reset everytime i restart my computer.
 
I am an expert on Linux. Just look at my outrageous neckbeard good sirs! I use it to write my Dungeons & Dragons campaign, play Baldur's Gate, and shop for Magic: The Gathering cards. The only unfortunate part is that pizza grease has stained my laptop and I might have to go upstairs to get Windex to clean it off, there is no Linux program that can do that.
 
[quote name='naiku']if u have a problem w/ wireless try out ndiswrapper. worked well for me but that was 3-4years ago. luckly my new laptop has a supported wireless & from what it seems ndiswrapper is updated since then.

@OP
I used to dual boot ubuntu or FC w/ OSX. I ended up dropping that just because I never really used it. at first i used for LAMP servers but eventually just ssh from osx. atm im running 10.6 w/ win7.

best use for linux for the home in my opinion is for older comps that can't perform well with the current OS's, netbooks since they are very much underpowered, or if you are addicted to ruby, python and anything with development or programming.[/QUOTE]
It isn't that the wireless adapter isn't supported, just that the network at school needs specific settings that i apparently don't know how to fully do under linux.
 
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