• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Ubuntu Linux - worth it?

K

KDOG

Diamond Member
Thought about building a second PC out of my spare parts. Read in Maximum PC that Ubuntu Linux is the way to go. Impressions?
 
I'm very new to Linux as an everyday user. I tried RedHat and a few other distros in the past and while I never had any problems getting them installed and online once I was done doing that I always reverted back to Windows. I recently installed Fedora Core 4 on my IBM T42 and used it for about 2 weeks. At that point I installed Ubuntu on my T42 using a spare HD and I'm very impressed. It supported all of my T42's hardware out of the box and using Automatix it made making Ubunto a functional Windows replacement a breeze (no pun intended). I liked Ubunto so much I resintalled it on a dual boot on my regular IBM's Win XP Pro drive (you can resize your Windows partition (Defragment first!) during the install and make room for Ubuntu).

In short, I say give it a try. I'll admit it took me about 2 weeks go get used to the Gnome interface and customize it to my liking but I don't even boot to XP Pro anymore.
 
If you are used to Window$ you might want to take a look at Kubuntu. Also, SimplyMepis and Xandros OCE. OCE you will have to install. The other two have live CD versions that you can boot and run off the CD to see if they are something you like before installing to hdd.

BTW, have been using linux since August of last year and have very seldom gone back to Window$.
 
Ubuntu's great. I've tried several Suse's (bloated), Fedora Core 4 (rpms ... ), Kubuntu (a little buggy), PCLinuxOS, Xandros, SimplyMepis and many more, and Ubuntu's by far my favourite. It's my sole desktop OS now; I use it for general office stuff, development, gaming and multimedia and it 'just works' (expect for encrypted DVD and some multimedia codecs (which were an easy install)). Even my digital camera (Kodak Z700) just plugs and plays with no extra software or anything.

I highly recommend it to anyone. It's slick, clean, user-friendly, stable and customizable.
 
A friend of mine who is good with computers but totally new to Linux just got Ubuntu 5.10 up and running on a system where he works. I think he used an IBM T41 but I'm not positive. Anyway, everything was detected proparly and he was able to get on the network and add a printer without issue. He told me his biggest problem was finding the 'command prompt' (Terminal). 😉
 
I have been using Ubuntu for more than a year (almost since its debut) and just recently upgraded to the 5.10 release, and all I can say it's been a superemely reliable and functional system. I still have a windows machine for gaming, but I use Ubuntu on my 24/7 general purpose machine which serves as a web server, file server, internet browsing, email and even multimedia (watching movies). Even during catastrophes and re-installs of the windows machine, I always had my Ubuntu machine to fall back on. I tried many distros in the past (and also recently) and I think the debian based ones like Ubuntu are way better because of the ease of maintenance. Ubuntu leverages these qualities and adds a very well chosen set of apps, and with the community custimization guides and support it's easy to make it into a multimedia monster or a server or any other specialized function. Even advanced things like build tools and custom kernels are so easy to do using the available repositories and the great software installation tool.

Ubuntu is highly recommend for both linux newbies and seasoned linux users. And it has been dominating the linux scene for the last year or so (#1 distro).
 
ok, right now, i just installed windows media center edition on my Gaming rig, now this computer is fully powerful, nothing in it is weak, so i wanted it to be the center of attention, however, with media center, im gettin all sorts of code 10's and failures, that i never had before using XP PRO. so the question is, is my hardware Linux compatible, ive read that people are very happy with Linux, and id like to know where to get it, if someone could tell me if my stuff is compatible and point me in the nearest direction to download it, id be very appreciative.
here are my specs.

3 GG of pc3200
Athlon 64 3200 thourobred
Radeon X800 GTO2 16 pipe 256 mg 256 bit (HDONLY)
60" HDTV (default monitor)
Realtek 5.1 surround sound
Razerback Mouse
Logitek keyboard
3x 40 gg harddrives (maxtor)
windows XP MEDIA (very unsatisfying)

 
Originally posted by: Neavo
ok, right now, i just installed windows media center edition on my Gaming rig, now this computer is fully powerful, nothing in it is weak, so i wanted it to be the center of attention, however, with media center, im gettin all sorts of code 10's and failures, that i never had before using XP PRO. so the question is, is my hardware Linux compatible, ive read that people are very happy with Linux, and id like to know where to get it, if someone could tell me if my stuff is compatible and point me in the nearest direction to download it, id be very appreciative.
here are my specs.

3 GG of pc3200
Athlon 64 3200 thourobred
Radeon X800 GTO2 16 pipe 256 mg 256 bit (HDONLY)
60" HDTV (default monitor)
Realtek 5.1 surround sound
Razerback Mouse
Logitek keyboard
3x 40 gg harddrives (maxtor)
windows XP MEDIA (very unsatisfying)
Click to expand...

looks like it should work.

If in doubt, try knoppix (a linux distro that lives on a cd, makes no changes to your hard disk)

 
Originally posted by: Robor
A friend of mine who is good with computers but totally new to Linux just got Ubuntu 5.10 up and running on a system where he works. I think he used an IBM T41 but I'm not positive. Anyway, everything was detected proparly and he was able to get on the network and add a printer without issue. He told me his biggest problem was finding the 'command prompt' (Terminal). 😉
Click to expand...

that's called the console 😀

unless it's been changed recently, one thing i don't quite like about ubuntu is lack of kde support.

otherwise, it's a decent distro.
 
Originally posted by: Hyperblaze
Originally posted by: Robor
A friend of mine who is good with computers but totally new to Linux just got Ubuntu 5.10 up and running on a system where he works. I think he used an IBM T41 but I'm not positive. Anyway, everything was detected proparly and he was able to get on the network and add a printer without issue. He told me his biggest problem was finding the 'command prompt' (Terminal). 😉
Click to expand...

that's called the console 😀

unless it's been changed recently, one thing i don't quite like about ubuntu is lack of kde support.

otherwise, it's a decent distro.
Click to expand...

Shens ! look at Ubuntu guide, it's simple to install KDE, or you can use Kubuntu which come with KDE pre-installed

http://easylinux.info/wiki/Ubuntu#How_to_install_KDE
 
I've just installed Ubuntu on my old Linux machine. The install was easy and it has some positive features over my Fedora Core 4 machine. It's simpler to use but I'll get back to you about its practicality, compared to FC4. I tried earlier Red Hat distros, but found FC4 better suited for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top