I'm going Ubuntu on my Notebook

[Fragilityh14]

I was thinking, "Who could I talk to about this that would be interested without joining an unknown and impersonal forum." So, here I am.

I will be honest, I haven't given Linux that fair of a chance, but, I had only used it on my brothers computer which wasn't that quick, and I simply had a better computer and was playing better games so I wasn't that interested. I had looked into partitioning off my hard drive multiple times or doing a dual boot but simply never did.

But, I was at work (I work in IT services at the help desk at my college) and a computer that was pretty underwhelming had Ubuntu Studio put on it and damn, I'm sold.

The deciding factor is that I was already planning on reformatting my notebook very soon, (using the recovery partition it came with) being as I havn't since I got it 2 1/2 years ago and it is on a FAT32 partition (which I wasnt thrilled about at the time). And, simply put, I am going to go off windows on it and install Ubuntu Studio, downloading it right now and moving my various media files.

Any suggestions for great packs of games, various software etc (I actually dont need any of the editing software it is just so impressive)

How many people here use Ubuntu or another type of Linux?


note: I should mention my desktop has been my main computer for a while now...we'll see what I do with it. I just realized that on my notebook there is no compelling reason to keep windows.

[E-ville]

I have used ubuntu quite a bit, i ran it on my laptop extensivly.. I also have beryl installed..

I Line linux but find to many times the little apps i need to get work done are only on the pc..

My compromise was a apple running parralles, that way i have apple Windows and ubuntu or any other version of OS i could want.. Parrellels is like VMware but way faster.. I love it..

Really for apps for linux there are tons and tons out there.. Just look you'll find them

I really love linux for servers, its so stable, my webserver has been up for over 5 years with no reboots, only getting shut down when i need to move it.. try that with windows!

I put a server in at work it was a internet web server and file server, was up 24/7 for over 6 years, never a problem , during that time the only time it was ever shut down was for 2 replacements of the UPS it was on... finally after 6 years one of the hard drives failed. and it had to be shut down, the data was then moved to a windows server thats was on the SAN.

It had a uptime monitor on the screen saver, it was so cool to go see it, tap the space bar and see the up time counting in years!

I love Linux for its stability.. its rock solid!

[penguins4me]

The first question I'd ask Fragilityh14 is "why do you want to use Linux?" You mentioned games - if you're interested in playing games, at least those currently on store shelves, then you're better off keeping a copy of Windows installed somewhere for that.

As for "various software", what do you want your computer to do? If you just want software to play with, then http://sourceforge.org is a place to start. Otherwise, if you have some ideas regarding jobs you want to do with your computer, name them, so folks familiar with Linux can post some useful suggestions.

Personally, I use GNU/Linux systems for: email, Domain Name Services/System, web servers (to include discussion forums, firewall-bypassing proxies, webmail, etc.), video game servers, automation (programming, scripting, etc.), data backup and recovery, network diagnotics, security (hardware firewalls), wireless access points, and probably a dozen other functions which don't come immediately to mind.

If you want to learn the "guts" of a GNU/Linux system, get yourself a copy of "Linux for Dummies" (I started with this book and consider it a wonderful beginner's resource) and learn how to use the command-line terminal. If you just want to have fun with the various pretty applications, do whatever interests you (I don't have a recommendation for a how-to resource for the major GUIs).

[KBCraig]

I installed Ubuntu on my Apple hardware, but I didn't see a speed boost compared to OS X. So, I stuck with the familiar.

I also installed it on a PC, but we're using that one at our business, and we need to run Windows apps on it, so that install also goes unused.

I think *n*x is great stuff (it's the underpinning of MacOS X, after all), but I don't have a current use for it.

Kevin

[Fragilityh14]

simply put, after using Ubuntu I cant think of any discernible reason to keep with windows on a computer that needed to be reformatted anyway. By wanting games I meant that Ubuntu doesn't seem to come with a package of preinstalled little games. There seems to be plenty of cool freeware. I still have my desktop for serious gaming.

I'm burning a bootable dvd right now, hopefully it works


I dont even use editing software, I just want to show my friends how cool the options are.

(seriously, if anyone has used Ubuntu Studio it comes with like 30 multimedia applications)

[E-ville]

Also look at "Ubuntu Ultimate", it comes pre-loaded with TONS of software and I mean TONS AND TONS of software.. very nice package.. and its als a live cd version so you can see whats all on it before you install it.. its a great package.

They also have a gamers packaged version

http://ubuntusoftware.info/ultimate/

I have rto say the best solution in my opinion is MAC OS with parrallels so you can run any OS you want and at the same time and FAST.

[Fragilityh14]

hm, as of now it simply WONT work and I cant get a program to succesfully burn it as an image instead of as a bootable cd, and when I Tried to boot off of a cd it went to a weird dos mode where I couldnt put in the commands it provided me with (Well, it gives you a list of commands, and when you put them in they fail). Dr Dos is what it was called.

I wish I could get it to just burn as an image, but cant with nero because it is a cd image but so large it needs to be burned on a cd and Infrarecorder keeps having a random input output error

I'm really frustrated because I know a lot about computers, though I never really burn cds or DVDs simply because I have zero patience for bullshit like this.

[E-ville]

It shouldn't be that hard, burn the image to cd and pop it in the drive boot from the cd and your up and running.. could be your download got corrupted or something like that.

[Rodinia]

My husband switch my laptop to 100% freeware about 6 months ago.  I run ubuntu and we have edubuntu for our son.
It was no big deal getting used to the format. It took a little time but humans are adaptable.

The speed at which my computer runs is much greater and I haven't had any problems with security. I had problems with Windows on a regular basis.

I love it.

[Spencer]

Ubuntu sounds like an African dictator.

[error]

Nero should burn it fine, IF you open it THIS way: Right-click the image file, and Open With... Nero Burning Rom. Then, it will burn correctly, assuming your download wasn't corrupted or something.

[Dan]

Ubuntu sounds like an African dictator.

But it means pretty much the opposite, unless it is a hands-off warm friendly neighbor kinda-of dictator.  Like me.

[Spencer]

Ubuntu sounds like an African dictator.

But it means pretty much the opposite, unless it is a hands-off warm friendly neighbor kinda-of dictator.  Like me.

It shows why you shouldn't judge something / someone by a name* because Bill Gates sounds like a fairly respectable fellow.

* The exception that proves the rule, however, is the shit sandwich.

[error]

I prefer the giant douche.

[thinkliberty]

Ubuntu is junk... Kubuntu is waaay better! 

KDE is > Gnome
QT is > GTK
Vi is > Emacs

The Flame war is ON!!