Ubuntu here I am!

[Luc]

Let me open with, I am not un-happy with my windows 7 system. Sure, it's a bit slow sometimes but it works well. I started playing with virtualbox not too long ago to see what I could do. What mainly motivated this is that work uses Ubuntu as their way to connect someone from home. So, I had my bootable CD, I made the ISO file and ran the whole into Virtual box. I then avoided rebooting each time.

I then thought I should get back into linux since I use it a bit at work. I got Ubuntu and Gnome (yet to try) and it works pretty well. I am running it on a USB stick at the moment and it was super easy to do it. The computer seems smoother and maybe a bit quicker even (considering I'm on a USB stick, it's pretty impressive). I am now thinking of getting that old computer that my Father in Law has to see if I could run the thing on it. That would be easy to check, I just need to put the USB stick in and boot with it.

I do not know if I'm converted but one thing is for sure, this was pretty easy and it's awesome how it works. The first version of Linux that I tried was Red Hat (can't remember the version number) but it was before the graphic interface. It wasn't easy to get around everything if you didn't know anything about Linux. Now, it's much more user friendly and for what I do with a computer these days, Ubuntu could be it!

I'm by no mean a Linux expert but I want to play with it more.

 

[Vickers]

I've been using it for about 3 years now.

There are only a couple of things that it can't do: iTunes, batch download of songs off Amazon (used to be able to, but Amazon changed their interface), and a few others. I keep one machine a dual-boot for when I need that functionality.

 

[Luc]

I've been using it for about 3 years now.

There are only a couple of things that it can't do: iTunes, batch download of songs off Amazon (used to be able to, but Amazon changed their interface), and a few others. I keep one machine a dual-boot for when I need that functionality.

Yeah, I knew about itunes but there's a few solutions to backup the ipod/iphone/ipad. I think there are alternate softwares or you could run a windows emulator to run itunes in it. Something like it...

 

[Matt_Bloodletter]

Ubuntu rocks and really puts windoze to shame. I love Win 7 but detest Win 8. I just might virtualize Win7 and run from a linux flavor at some point. For some reason vbox hates me though. I have better luck with VMWare. One day I might try to figure it out.

 

[Vickers]

Yeah, I knew about itunes but there's a few solutions to backup the ipod/iphone/ipad. I think there are alternate softwares or you could run a windows emulator to run itunes in it. Something like it...

I've tried WINE, and I've seen screen captures of people who have it running, but I've never had success.

If you have an iPod Classic, you can use RhythmBox and just drag and drop.

 

[Luc]

I've tried WINE, and I've seen screen captures of people who have it running, but I've never had success.

If you have an iPod Classic, you can use RhythmBox and just drag and drop.

Wine still exists!

I used that when I was in high school! That's pretty cool. The emulation was great once it was running but I remembered spending close to 3hrs to make it work for the first time. Then it worked.

 

[rajagra]

What USB stick are you using? I tried setting up PortableApps on mine and found I had two types of USB stick: too small or too slow!

 

[Luc]

What USB stick are you using? I tried setting up PortableApps on mine and found I had two types of USB stick: too small or too slow!

I actually found it on the street 3 years ago. It contained some hip-hop music and that's it. It's a Lexar 4gigs

I used this procedure (http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows) and it worked pretty well. It took 20 mins and I am still running Ubuntu from the stick at the moment!

 

[Phog Allen]

I have played around a bit with a few distributions and really liked Linux Mint which is Ubuntu underneath. I too find if not for a few programmes I could switch to Linux and not really lose or miss much. Since the DRM stack from Silverlight is a pre-requisite for Netflix Linux is a no go for that option. Like most I don't really do much actual work on the pc. I use it for a lot of A/V purposes and Internet surfing. Ubuntu really has been a huge catalyst for Linux and was the first one I tried. I may have to load up a usb stick with the latest edition and give it another whirl.

Cheers, Todd

 

[global_dev]

I haven't touched Ubuntu since dapper drake I think. I tried toll my own gentoo and that was about it. Tried and failed.

I want to put my kids on Ubuntu or some variant soon.

 

[rajagra]

I actually found it on the street 3 years ago. It contained some hip-hop music and that's it. It's a Lexar 4gigs

I used this procedure (http://www.ubuntu.com/download/help/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows) and it worked pretty well. It took 20 mins and I am still running Ubuntu from the stick at the moment!

Great. The speed problem seems to affect the big drives of 16GB+ so I probably have one that's suitable.
Some of the speeds for 4KB read/writes in Crystal Disk Mark are just shocking.

 

[Artimid]

Last time I tried Ubuntu, I spent 2 weeks trying to build my own drivers for my wireless card on my laptop, as there wasn't one yet. Even then, I could only connect to open networks, and not secure.
In Windows, it took me less than 15 seconds to configure my wireless.

Before Ubuntu, I had used Red Hat for one of the companies I worked for. Since they knew I could use a PC (that was all they had to know), they made me the designated IT for pretty much the entire corporation. That was unpleasant.
I tried Mandrake Linux lots of times, and then I went to distrowatch and went down the list trying most of them (not with great success). The best Linux ever for me? The one that worked perfect and fit my display? HikaruLinux based on DSL and Debian. That was an awesome variant until I installed it from the Live-CD, and then everything was horrible. Worked as a live-CD, but failed hardcore as an installed. So honestly, be weary of that. Linux can change during the install process.

Eventually, I just quit trying. I found the various communities as a waste of time as I have dealt with less annoyances at MENSA groupings. For me, I realized I didn't need Linux for anything that I couldn't get/configure in Windows (proper name, not Windoze.. which makes no sense, do people not know what the holes are in their walls at home?). That being said, if someone can get Linux actually working for them and it meets all their needs, ESPECIALLY if it works with older PC's that would otherwise not be used? Awesome. That is what I like to see. I believe most schools should have variants of Linux on them to get the most out of the old computers, thus putting MORE PC's in schools that have far too few. Ubuntu has, if nothing else, tried very hard to create an environment that is intuitive to most people who pick it up. As much as I didn't get along with them as a full OS, I still have a lot of respect for the people who made it possible. Out of all the breeds of Linux, I fully understand why someone would dip their toes into the Ubuntu pool.

Btw, my Ubuntu stick? 256 megs. That is simply astounding, and it ran quite well. I have Windows 7 on my 16 gig stick, just in case of an emergency. Pretty much every Live CD for Linux beats Windows PE by a mile, giving a fully functional OS instead of just a repair environment. So it is definitely something I carry around.

 

[Member357]

Ubuntu was my first taste of Linux, and despite trying others I've never strayed too far from it.

My main PC is Linux Mint Debian Edition, which runs like a dream. My old PC is on crunchbang which is fantastic and fast, but maybe not ideal for beginners. Peppermint is also a great distro and well worth checking out, especially for older or lower spec PCs and laptops.

 

[dymaxion]

I've been using Ubuntu for about 5 years now. This weekend I build a new machine to KUbuntu which I am really enjoying.

I've used Red Hat, Mandrake, Tried to get Arch running but I've never succeeded. Ubuntu just seems to work.

For my older PC's I like XUbuntu. If you have kids who just like to surf the web Bodhi is a great distribution to bring an old PC back to live.

 

[Greg1911]

I run Linux Mint 13 and 14 on 3 systems at home and really like it. It is built on top of Ubuntu but I prefer the GUI.

 

[Luc]

I got a cheap 16gig usb stick today so I can install a boot-up Ubuntu that I can play around it with.

 

[Luc]

The installation is completed on the 16 gig USB. I used virtual box with the iso image and the stick only so it wouldn't wipe anything. The end result : bootable USB stick and it keeps what I installed. I can still access my HD on the computer and move my downloads there if I need to. It's pretty awesome. I installed Chrome and it downloaded all my bookmarks and extensions in Ubuntu so I didn't need to do that again.

It works quite well if you ask me. The installation is a bit slower than the "try it" version but I expected that. It's still not too bad.

 

[coachschaller]

We had a Linux group on here a while ago..... I have been running Linux for a few years. Had to because the laptop with Windows ME wouldn't really work anymore. I still use it occasionally. I mostly use Linux mint but have used linux Bodhi for a while. I don't mind Windows 7, I use it at work, but every time I boot up or shut down I remember why I love Linux. If we could only get Netflix.... I have done a windows environment on virtual box to use netflix while on Linux.

 

[kenac]

first time i tried Linux was back in the day when everything was on floppy disk, Linux back then was so complicated you almost
had to build the entire OS by hand.
you got to have in mind that program designed for windows wont work.

sadly Linux is way better than windows in every way possible, but the game/program developer just dont care.
if you didnt know; Mac/OS is based on Linux, funny thing is, linux is free and open source, Mac is not.
apple is just making money stealing good people work.

 

[GoodShave]

first time i tried Linux was back in the day when everything was on floppy disk, Linux back then was so complicated you almost
had to build the entire OS by hand.
you got to have in mind that program designed for windows wont work.

sadly Linux is way better than windows in every way possible, but the game/program developer just dont care.
if you didnt know; Mac/OS is based on Linux, funny thing is, linux is free and open source, Mac is not.
apple is just making money stealing good people work.

Just a friendly correction. You are right that MAC/OS is based off of a UNIX-like operating system, but it is based of one of the BSD distributions (can't remember which one), not Linux.