Switch to Ubuntu?

[CrucialHoax]

Hello all,

So I'm curious, how many of you dual boot, or triple boot with Ubuntu? If so, how do you like Ubuntu? Reliable? Fast? Easy to use? I'm thinking about formatting my drive and using Ubuntu instead of Vista but I'm still barely learning Vista's tricks so I'm really torn about that decision. I guess I just need know the facts and user opinion before I really make the switch. I'm actually posting this from the "Live CD" and I'm using the try Ubuntu with no changes to your machine. Plus a lot of the cracking and really neat monitoring programs are linux only so it kind of sucks since I really want to get into that. NO I don't want to hack into other peoples machines to steal stuff, I just would like to learn how it's done so my system isn't open for compromise. So should I make the dive or not?


Thanks guys

 

[Frostmourne]

You'll need to know Ubuntu's terminal (think command prompt but much more important for day-to-day use) and Ubuntu is a bit faster but it still depends on your hardware. You'll also need a firewall - Firestarter - and antivirus for scanning your files if you are transferring them between pc's - AVG free.

I use Xubuntu on an old laptop that Vista previously ran on but linux is limited especially with games, and I can't be bothered to dual boot and reboot between OS's. So, basically you will need to relearn a lot and you'll probably find the overall experience with Vista is easier, especially in terms of apps and drivers.

 

[smarteyeball]

Reliable?

That depends on your hardware. If all your devices are common and widely supported then you should be fine. If not....

Fast?

It can be.

Easy to use?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. As frostmourne mentioned, you will have to become very familiar with the terminal.

Vista is currently far easier to use than any Linux distro.

If you have the HDD space, dual boot. It can sometimes be a pain to setup, but once it's sorted multi-booting works quite well.

 

[calhounhusker]

In my opinion, if you are still having problems learning Vista then you will have a lot of problems learning Ubuntu.
Ive used it quite a bit before, but it can be quite a learning curve if you have never used Linux before.

 

[thepizzaman]

Hello all,

So I'm curious, how many of you dual boot, or triple boot with Ubuntu? If so, how do you like Ubuntu? Reliable? Fast? Easy to use? I'm thinking about formatting my drive and using Ubuntu instead of Vista but I'm still barely learning Vista's tricks so I'm really torn about that decision. I guess I just need know the facts and user opinion before I really make the switch. I'm actually posting this from the "Live CD" and I'm using the try Ubuntu with no changes to your machine. Plus a lot of the cracking and really neat monitoring programs are linux only so it kind of sucks since I really want to get into that. NO I don't want to hack into other peoples machines to steal stuff, I just would like to learn how it's done so my system isn't open for compromise. So should I make the dive or not?


Thanks guys

um i triple boot with Ubuntu, and i like it pretty well, it is very reliable for me, and very fast, and somewhat easy to use (and yes it does help to know how to use the terminal, but you don't have to) if you could dual boot it would be a great thing to learn about :D although i'm still no good with the terminal... haha its still fun :D and as for games if you get wine you can install most of your games anyway, and there are some good free games for ubuntu :D

 

[JimJoe]

There are programs you can add to linux to give it a windows feel. Most distributions come with at least one. KDE is one of them.

You don't have to use a text only terminal interface if you don't want to.

 

[VaguelyRapt]

I had thrice installed Ubuntu alongside Vista on my laptop. Only to uninstall each time a short while later. Each time I decided that I want to get more familiar with Linux, each time not getting around to it and freeing up the disk space it was using.

All in all, installation and setup can actually be very easy (I suggest wubi, it installs Ubuntu within Windows and can be removed from within Windows like any other program!!!)

As far as the actual experience itself, I can't tell you. I had maybe used Linux hands-on for no more than a few hours. I'm very familiar with the Windows environment, and as is well known to be Linux's biggest "conversion" problem is the fact that it's simply not the same environment that everyone is used to. That's probably why I never got around to it. Plus, I don't complain about Windows. Ever.

If you are not too familiar with either environment, there are lots of good reasons to pick any one of the two. And I'm sure a quick Google search will bring up loads of reading material as to what the practical differences are.

I'm just going to say that there are lots of Microsoft haters out there, and lots of Linux haters. But in my opinion that doesn't mean that either is bad. I believe they are both good, and for me personally it was only a matter of familiarity, not necessarily of quality.

 

[thepizzaman]

ah yes i forgot you can install within windows, it makes it a heck of a lot easier, and yes there are things like KDE and Gnome, ect that makes it more like windows

 

[CrucialHoax]

Wubi is sweet, I'm going to install linux now and try it out. Thanks so much for the idea. And honestly, I don't think I've ever complained about windows. I love windows, I'm just curious thats all I have nothing against either OS I just want to try and learn some new things. Thanks again for the Wubi link. So why is it that you have to use the terminal so often when it has a GUI? I don't see the neccessarity.

 

[VaguelyRapt]

Wubi is sweet, I'm going to install linux now and try it out. Thanks so much for the idea. And honestly, I don't think I've ever complained about windows. I love windows, I'm just curious thats all I have nothing against either OS I just want to try and learn some new things. Thanks again for the Wubi link. So why is it that you have to use the terminal so often when it has a GUI? I don't see the neccessarity.

Terminals are very powerful tools, no matter the operating system. Perhaps the Windows GUI has really developed enough over the years to suffice, and completely replaced the terminal for the average user. But I too understand that at least a basic understanding of the terminal is expected of most Linux users. Apparently it's quite comfortable (you can install any program by typing a simple command and the name of the program following).

Oh, I just remembered, if you do uninstall Linux using wubi, perhaps it's best you make sure to have a copy of a Windows Recovery Disc just in case something goes wrong with the bootloader (not too big a deal), but a recovery disc is a good thing to have no matter what. (I don't remember which of the three installations gave me trouble with the bootloader, but I guess better safe than sorry).

 

[Frostmourne]

Defrag your hard disk too. Wubi is also a bit slower depending on the hardware.

 

[CrucialHoax]

I got it, and I've had my first app download thru the terminal. It's kind of weird doing it that way, but hey, I'm not complaining. It's intriguing that a simple command can download an app without any searching

 

[thepizzaman]

glad ya like it :D

 

[JimJoe]

Few of the operating systems I have used over the years had a gui. So a lack of one is not a big deal for me.

 

[Mov]

Ubuntu has many good sides, for example, it's open source and very customizable. However, to be able to enjoy these you have to have experience with linux, command line, etc. Plus there might be some programs that are not compatible. If you are an average user I would recommend sticking to Vista which at this stage is very solid.

 

[CrucialHoax]

I agree, Ubuntu does have a steep learning curve, but once you get used to it, its wonderful. It uses less resources, safer, everything is free, very slim chance of ever acquiring anything malicious on the system... But right now I'm just using it through Wubi so it's installed like a program. Just so I can learn it and see if I like it or not. It took me like 2-3 hours just to get sound, Ubuntu 9.04 has a bug with the sound on HP dv4 laptop's, it routes the sound to the wrong place. But hey, I got it and that made me love it even more lol.

I dont know If I'll ever perminately*? install it or not but it's definitely a nice OS, just be ready for a lot, and I mean a lot of terminal usage.

 

[Frostmourne]

I agree, Ubuntu does have a steep learning curve, but once you get used to it, its wonderful. It uses less resources, safer, everything is free, very slim chance of ever acquiring anything malicious on the system... But right now I'm just using it through Wubi so it's installed like a program. Just so I can learn it and see if I like it or not. It took me like 2-3 hours just to get sound, Ubuntu 9.04 has a bug with the sound on HP dv4 laptop's, it routes the sound to the wrong place. But hey, I got it and that made me love it even more lol.

I dont know If I'll ever perminately*? install it or not but it's definitely a nice OS, just be ready for a lot, and I mean a lot of terminal usage.

You could also give Fedora a shot.

 

[alexdagr8est]

I really recommend that you only dual boot with a 2nd HDD or at the very least create a separate partition. I say this because if u dont like ubuntu or the way the console works u dont want to just uninstall ubuntu, you should more likely just format the HDD or partition, its easier that way.

Know this also, Linux distros can be harder to hack because you can lock people out of your system easier. But if you dont know what you are doing, they can be just as easy to access remotely as Windows, sometimes if not easier.

 

[alexdagr8est]

Fedora - Yum! A tasty OS

 

[Frostmourne]

I really recommend that you only dual boot with a 2nd HDD or at the very least create a separate partition. I say this because if u dont like ubuntu or the way the console works u dont want to just uninstall ubuntu, you should more likely just format the HDD or partition, its easier that way.

Know this also, Linux distros can be harder to hack because you can lock people out of your system easier. But if you dont know what you are doing, they can be just as easy to access remotely as Windows, sometimes if not easier.

Someone can also boot the ubuntu live cd as root and access your files, too.