Thread: Windows XP replacement -> Ubuntu.

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    Windows XP replacement -> Ubuntu.

    My XP system works fine and does all I need it to do. I am aware that it is not supported any more, and thus, becoming open to attack. I have Windows 8 on this machine, but don't like it, it seems like a childs toy. I have downloaded Ubuntu, but not burnt the DVD yet, (no media, awaiting delivery). In the very distant past, I had a UNIX flavour running on a small system at work, at the time, Windows 3 was current. What can I expect from Ubuntu? I expect it to work, be usable, have the necessary tools etc. but there are usually a few stupid, (once you know...), gotchas that inevitably arise.
    Last edited by Fossaw; 10-08-2014 at 03:04 AM.

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    Let's see. Going from memory here, so may have missed something.

    Recent versions of Ubuntu provide a user interface somewhat inspired by Mac's OSX, and are reasonably polished. People moving from older versions of windows (like XP) to OSX tend to either love or hate OSX - it's hard to pick which will be you. Current and future trends for Ubuntu are also toward mobile computing - which is the cause of the "childs toy" phenomenon you describe.

    Reasonably novice friendly, well documented.

    LTS (long term support) versions are released occasionally (and receive updates for 5 years). However, most releases (six-monthly) are not LTS, and security updates cease within less than a year. The size of updates to keep current can be daunting, and does drive some users away.

    Ubuntu is arguably better than most "free" unix variants (linux, BSD, etc based) in terms of range of software and hardware driver support, but it is a bit less comprehensive than windows (particularly with very new products).
    Right 98% of the time, and don't care about the other 3%.

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    My advice to you would be that you try it out in the live CD scenario a bit before you decide to install it. You may also try to run it from a USB stick in case you don't want to wait for the media to arrive. You can use a tool such as UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads to create a bootable (and installable) USB.

    If you don't find the default Ubuntu interface to be of your liking I would advice you to try a version called XUbuntu. What they have done is that instead of using the normal Ubuntu interface they have replaced it with an interface called XFCE. Other than that it is the same as normal Ubuntu. There are other versions as well, for instance KUbuntu which uses KDE. But try the normal Ubuntu first and see what you think about it.

    Other than that, since it is an XP machine I assume the hardware is a couple of years old, which means there are likely working drivers for it. Getting sounds to work completely right is something I have found that can be frustrating but Ubuntu usually handles that well aswell. Other than that I can't think of any real gotchas you will run into, other than the fact that software installations will work in a completely different manner compared to the Windows way.
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    I don't think I had any sort of "gotchas" with Ubuntu when I first tried it. It ships with a lot of stuff and is stable.

    The big thing about Ubuntu is its use of Unity as its graphical shell. I also think they sell information to Amazon or something like that so maybe Ubuntu isn't the right OS. Idk, I think I heard that but I could be wrong.

    Ubuntu was what got me to use Linux though. I tried it out and now I haven't used Windows as my primary OS in years. Though I did eventually switch to Arch Linux but I was looking for something more Linux-y than Ubuntu after awhile.

    Also, I think Steam is optimized for Ubuntu so there's always that.

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    Unregistered User Yarin's Avatar
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    What is this, some sort of convert-to-Linux sect?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yarin View Post
    What is this, some sort of convert-to-Linux sect?
    No, it's a thread asking about what to expect when switching to Ubuntu from Windows.

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    Unregistered User Yarin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matticus View Post
    No, it's a thread asking about what to expect when switching to Ubuntu from Windows.
    I'll take Windows X.Y over Linux any day.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yarin View Post
    I'll take Windows X.Y over Linux any day.
    That's fine. But I don't understand the relevance of this statement to the thread.

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    Registered User MutantJohn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yarin View Post
    I'll take Windows X.Y over Linux any day.
    *throws up in mouth a little bit, swallows it back down and thinks, huh, that actually didn't taste that bad...*

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yarin View Post
    I'll take Windows X.Y over Linux any day.
    And my first order of business with any computer I personally own is to get rid of Windows and install Linux...to each their own and as Matticus said, I don't see how your posts are relevant to this thread.
    STL Util a small headers-only library with various utility functions. Mainly for fun but feedback is welcome.

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    Quote Originally Posted by MutantJohn View Post
    The big thing about Ubuntu is its use of Unity as its graphical shell.
    I actually hate Unity quite a lot. It is very static, and not customizable. The most glaring problem, that they explicitly stated that they refuse to change (I didn't say fix, because they claim it isn't broken), is the fact that you can't move the launcher bar to the bottom of the screen. It can only be on the left side. You have no freedom with Unity. It's their way or no way at all. In their statements regarding moving the bar, they talk about their "design goals," and how moving the bar wouldn't fit into them.

    My favorite desktop at this time is Cinnamon, although LXDE is great too. There's an official LXDE distribution of Ubuntu, called Lubuntu. There's also Kubuntu, which uses KDE as its default desktop.

    Quote Originally Posted by MutantJohn View Post
    I also think they sell information to Amazon or something like that so maybe Ubuntu isn't the right OS. Idk, I think I heard that but I could be wrong.
    There is a data collection system that works with Amazon, but it is possible to opt out.
    What can this strange device be?
    When I touch it, it gives forth a sound
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    What can this thing be that I found?

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    Wait, have you heard of the Tweak Tool?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yarin View Post
    What is this, some sort of convert-to-Linux sect?
    Quote Originally Posted by Yarin View Post
    I'll take Windows X.Y over Linux any day.
    Déjà vu, but with different actors.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elkvis View Post
    I actually hate Unity quite a lot. It is very static, and not customizable. The most glaring problem, that they explicitly stated that they refuse to change (I didn't say fix, because they claim it isn't broken), is the fact that you can't move the launcher bar to the bottom of the screen. It can only be on the left side. You have no freedom with Unity. It's their way or no way at all. In their statements regarding moving the bar, they talk about their "design goals," and how moving the bar wouldn't fit into them.
    Both Unity and Gnome 3 are plagued by design goals. That's when I love i3 even more.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  15. #15
    Unregistered User Yarin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matticus View Post
    That's fine. But I don't understand the relevance of this statement to the thread.
    Quote Originally Posted by MutantJohn View Post
    *throws up in mouth a little bit, swallows it back down and thinks, huh, that actually didn't taste that bad...*
    Quote Originally Posted by Shakti View Post
    And my first order of business with any computer I personally own is to get rid of Windows and install Linux...to each their own and as Matticus said, I don't see how your posts are relevant to this thread.
    How about Windows or silence?
    I won't bite on your flame bait.

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