Switching to Ubuntu?
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[tags]Ubuntu, Linux, tweak, dual boot[/tags]
Okay, I am now in the process of, maybe, switching to Ubuntu Linux from Windows. I have read way too many “bad” reviews of Vista. One minute it’s the cat’s meow, the next it won’t run right unless you have a minimum of 4 Gigs of RAM. Sheesh. Thus the (more than likely) changeover.
Anyway. I have installed Ubuntu onto its very own hard drive. I have set it up to dual boot with my XP Home, since I still have a few things (mainly games) that I can’t seem to get to work on Ubuntu. Still, it’s a challenge to get things to work on Ubuntu and I am, believe it or not, mainly having fun with those challenges that it is throwing at me. Heh. I’ll whip that sucker yet!
I’m one of the folks who has a Nvidia video card, so it’s fun tweaking that to work in Ubuntu the way I want it to. For the most part, it’s up and running the way I want it to, but I just can’t get it as “sharp” as I want it to get. But, I’ve only been running it for about two weeks, so I have plenty of time to tweak it to where I want it to be. That’s my fun - getting a program to do what I want it to do.
The speed of boot seems to be on a par with XP Home. I really like how you have to enter your login name and password to get onto the system and I love how nothing can be installed without entering your password. Much coolness! Helps with the possible virus infestations, too, in my opinion. I haven’t set up a anti-virus program yet; that is mainly due to the overwhelming amount of message traffic where people say it is not as “mandatory” as it is in Windows. Heck, I ran Ubuntu for the first week before I even put a firewall on it - no problems. I like the faith shown in it by those who rave about it, but still, I would rather be more on the safe side than the sorry side, just in case. I figure I’ll go with the firewall alone and see what happens in the next month or so.
Still, no crashes, no lockups, just sits there, chugging along, while I do my stuff. Oh. Except for something in Firefox that keeps popping up a notice box about a script screwing up. I think I know what is causing that, though. If it’s not what I think it is, I’ll just go on from there and tweak that sucker some more.
Okay, enough rambling. I just re-read this and am appalled at my wanderings. Well… It is “Michael’s Meanderings” after all. Hehehehe
Nighty-night
7 Comments
thatgrrl
February 21st, 2007
at 8:35am
Good luck with it. I’ve got a Ubuntu CD which I plan to install when I get a new PC. I’ve been running Win Me trouble free for years but a lot of new things won’t work with it, which is annoying for so many reasons. Still, I’ve heard a lot I don’t like about Vista and I didn’t like XP when I tried it either. So I’m headed to Linux. After all, it took me awhile to prefer Firefox to the IE browser but now I’m a firm convert and wouldn’t go back. I think I can do the Linux thing too. I think I can … I think I can… :D
dwasifar
February 21st, 2007
at 5:34pm
Hey there Michael,
By “can’t get it as sharp” as you want to get it, I’m guessing you’re talking about font rendering, right?
Just follow the advice in this thread:
http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=235526
…and your fonts will look much, much better. I recommend the “fonts” repositories instead of the “experimental” ones, but see what you like.
Ubufied - Ubuntu Blog
February 21st, 2007
at 6:48pm
[...] Switching to Ubuntu? [...]
ratchet
February 21st, 2007
at 7:03pm
A few things…
I am a BIG Ubuntu supporter. I use it everyday.
Windows XP can be set up to ask for username/password at login.
Windows Vista asks you for confirmation (user/pass) before installing anything.
You do not NEED a software firewall on any machine if you are behind a hardware firewall (which you probably are if you have a cable/dsl router).
You do not need antivirus at all on Linux unless you are more than just extremely paranoid. 99.999% of viruses are written for and only run on Windows… the same reason Mac users don’t require antivirus. If you’re extremely paranoid then install “clamav” and you’ll be fine.
Okay… specifically… what software must you run on Windows other than games? Any? You said “mainly games” but failed to mention anything other that those.
Specifically, what PROBLEMS are you trying to muddle through. I know you said you’re having fun fixing them, but the goal of the distribution is to eliminate any issues as they arise.
Thanks for the post and I’m glad to see you made the switch…
Kyle Raglin
February 21st, 2007
at 10:43pm
Good for you, Michael. I’ve been using Ubuntu Linux for a couple of years, now (after moving from Redhat/Fedora). I’ve also been playing around with the latest alpha version, Feisty Fawn. If you think the current release is good, just wait until Feisty Fawn is officially released. There will be many improvements.
Christer Edwards
February 23rd, 2007
at 9:23pm
Glad to see you’re giving it a try. I absolutely love Ubuntu and left windows nearly two years ago now. Please stop by my blog to find tips on how to solve some of your potential issues. You’ll really start to love it, I promise :)
Paul
May 8th, 2007
at 8:42pm
I am in dispair as this is the 2nd time in a month that my vista OS crashed. None of the apps work with it, and it is always crashing. The one thing that suprises me is that Vista keeps coming back after bluescreening so many times. But that doesnt mean much if you are having a hard time getting work done. Right now I am just wasting some time while a Ubuntu torrent downloads, I figure I need to try an alternative. I am wiping Vista off, and going with a duel boot system, XP and Ubuntu.