A Viable Alternative to Microsoft – Ubuntu Linux 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)
June 20, 2009 by: Allen SanfordUbuntu Linux 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope), is just one of the many Linux flavors out there today that can run the software your business needs to run its day to day operations. If there are so many flavors out there why choose Ubuntu, simple in my opinion they have the best online community, they tend to be the most flexible (They don’t take the “well, we think it would be best this way attitude”, they actually listen to the community), and their release schedule is pretty reasonable. Enough about why I chose Ubuntu, lets get to the point here. The number one reason that most business owners venture into the Open source world is “Cost Savings” (typical savings can be anywhere from $500 to $2500 per user in a year). Business owners need to be aware that not only can you save money but time, in the long run most users once they have jumped past the learning curve period, can become more productive. I guess I should mention here that you can opt for the paid support option from Canonical Global Support Services and get premium first class support from the Ubuntu team, even if you chose this route you will still be able to save thousands of dollars per year.
OK, right out of the gate Linux can save you big money per year by eliminating your cost on anti-virus software. Currently there are very few known viruses that affected Linux. Second the very nature of Linux is more secure than Windows making it harder to create viruses for Linux. Thirdly, the every vigilant Linux community usually releases any security updates before they become a problem and escalate enough for someone to create a virus to exploit it (In other words usually before a virus can be written to exploit a security problem the community has usually released a fix to it, something you don’t see happening in a closed source shop).
Not only Ubuntu, but just about every Open Source product has an effective support community. Not only do the projects (you may call them products but in the open source community they are called projects) have effective communities but they also usually have forums that answer your questions about known problems. You can also submit your problems and get answers relatively quickly as well. Most of these projects also incorporate a request-for-feature list in some manner or another, where users like you make suggestions for future enhancements. Usually the request which is most requested is incorporated in the next version or update of the software. Using the entire community to replace the three or four “suits” in a closed source shop, ensures the most important features that are relevant to the users of the software are included and changes according to need.
Ubuntu releases a new version every six months. Enterprise (commercial) releases are typically every 12 to 24 months. The other open source projects usually follow there own release schedule and sometimes those releases are every night, this means you can grab the latest development release every day, try that with a Microsoft Product!
Below I will list several business-critical tools from Ubuntu, designed to replace costly standards from Microsoft.
CNET says Ubuntu Linux 9.04 is “as slick as Windows 7 and Mac OS X” (CNET.com, April 24, 2009). Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., his home computer is Ubuntu Powered. Drum roll please, now the real reason to switch to Ubuntu, is it now offers a complete alternative to Windows environment and it is free I might add. In addition, it has a large community backing it, 8 million users and counting.
More than 50 million users have downloaded OpenOffice 3.0, Ubuntu’s alternative to MS Office. OpenOffice can edit documents that were created using the MS Office format, avoiding the need to recreate critical documents. When installing OpenOffice, ensure that all installations are version 3.x.x. If you install version 2.x on some machines, it can corrupt files when users with different OpenOffice versions try to access the same documents on a file server.
Evolution 2.26.x can now directly import Outlook PST (Personal Folders) files. You can bring your e-mail, contacts, appointments, tasks, and everything else you have stored in Outlook over to Evolution. It also now has support for Outlook’s native protocol, Microsoft Exchange’s MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface). In other words, Evolution is now considered by many to be a complete Linux replacement for Outlook.
Started in 1995, GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP, is one of the oldest and best image manipulation programs for the Open Source community (Windows and Linux version are available). The interface is somewhat different than Adobe Photoshop and can be somewhat difficult for a user to swap from Photoshop to GIMP. Now in comes GIMPshop it is a plug-in for GIMP which can be used to replicate the feel of Adobe Photoshop making the transition for those users easier.
Several alternatives to Windows Small Business Server 2008 exist; the two most popular are Debian GNU Linux 5.0 and Ubuntu Server 9.04. By default, Ubuntu Server has a command-line interface (CLI), but you can also download a graphical interface, if you need it. In addition, a server system needs other applications like a Web server, proxy server and firewall. On Ubuntu you will be able to find many alternates but the basic players for Linux are Apache, Squid, and Iptables or Ipchains respectfully.
Openfire 3.6.3 (formerly Wildfire) is a cross platform, real-time collaboration server based on the XMPP (Jabber) protocol. It’s a perfect chat server for any organization. To use Openfire, you will need to use Spark 2.5.8, a cross-platform, real time collaboration client. Spark can work on Windows/Linux and Macs, and also used to talk to your other contacts in Yahoo!, MSN, Gtalk and AOL. So, even when users are on different operating systems, all of them can collaborate and chat using Spark. You can also use Pidgin as well if you just need an IM client.
I am not going to spend a lot of time here but my brother-in-law let me check out the new net-book remix version of Ubuntu, and I spend a little time looking it over. I really, personally, don’t like what they did with it but for him, he had never used any Linux flavor before, it was easy for him to use. I really don’t have a lot of information as my time was limited testing it. The time I did spend with it, I discovered a lot of small nuances which were irritating to me but I know that the community will fix them quickly and I am sure I will be pleased with it once they iron out the problems, after all the net-book is still new to the scene. Anyway Just thought it was worth mentioning that there is a net-book specific version of Ubuntu floating around.
The case for using Open Source and free applications is strong. But before transitioning your business, it’s important to be aware of two roadblocks.
First, many third-party application developers do not have Linux support available for their applications yet. If you rely heavily on a certain application(s), you need to determine if there is a Linux version of that program or application from the company who developed the windows version, or if you can work with a viable alternative. Also some applications can run on Ubuntu under Wine, an Open Source solution that runs Windows applications on Linux. Go to http://appdb.winehq.org to check if your Windows application is compatible with Wine.
Second, resistance from Windows users to switch to Ubuntu can be a major issue, as I have already described people don’t like change period. The change in interface is really no different than a Windows XP user switching to Vista, and just like switching from XP to Vista, it takes no more than a few weeks for most users to become familiar with the Linux way of doing things. You can always support your argument by calculating the total potential savings from switching to Open Source solutions. Switch a few users first then gradually make a complete transition will also ease this pain.
| Commercial Windows Software | Price | Open Source Alternative |
| MS Windows Vista Home | $199.95 | Ubuntu 9.0.4 (Jaunty Jackalope) |
| Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition |
$280.00 | Debian 5.0 / Ubuntu 9.04/CentOS/ RedHat 9 |
| Office Standard 2007 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) |
$399.95 | OpenOffice 3.0.1 |
| Adobe Photoshop CS4 | $699.00 | GIMP / GIMPshop |
| Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 | $399.00 | KompoZer / Bluefish /Quanta Plus |
| WS_FTP Server 7 | $445.00 | FileZilla Server |
| Inbit Corporate Messenger Server | $179.99 | Openfire + Spark |
| Advanced Web Ranking (monitor search engine rankings) |
$199.00 | Rank Checker (Firefox Plugin by SEObook) |
| Microsoft Money Plus | $59.99 | GnuCash 2.2.9 |
| Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2009 (mainly to scan attachments of mail server) |
$39.99 | Clam Antivirus 0.93 |
| MS Dynamics CRM Professional Server | $2,000.00 | Sugar CRM Community Edition |
You have got to be joking. Ubuntu is inferior to Windows XP Pro — and I hate Microsoft! Linux is fine if you are a Computer geek, but most things do not work. This include hardware drivers, multimedia codec’s, install of apps, nVidia, etc, etc.
Did I mention that distro’s are not compatible with each other???
Best efforts are PCLinuxOS, Mint 7, and Puppy. The rest will frustrate normal people.
I would have to disagree with Mahfaan. “Out of the box” linux has better support for more hardware than windows. Every distro is well documented on how to install codecs. There are various reasons (local laws, etc) that cause some distros to not incude certain codecs (libdvdcss for dvd reading as an example) with the base distro. Installing programs has been greatly simplified, and in some cases, is WAY easier than windows.
As for distro compatibility, I don’t quite follow that comment. My xorg.conf is the same on my gentoo as it was in debian as it was in suse. Some distro’s may favor rpm over .deb, but the source is always there, but 99% of the time, you’ll find a package that’s already made for your distro.
If this was 1999 and not 2009, I would agree with your comments. The old “drivers” argument can be thrown out the window along with the rest of that outdated FUD.
Linux is getting better, but it still falls short in a lot of hardware support,
for instance this computer has a cpu that varies it’s speed in windows xp,
in linux it’s always full speed. Some wireless cards are still not supported
And many people would rather have vender support instead of Hack’s And in
windows I don’t have upgrade my operating system every three months
@m – sudo apt-get install powernowd
that should fix your cpu scaling probs
@steve.walton –
Thanks Steve!
@Mahfaan – The biggest problem is that most “Windows Boxes” come with the drivers pre-installed by the hardware manufacturer. Ask your self this; when was the last time you installed Windows on a new machine when you first bought it? If more people were buying machines with Linux pre-installed we would see the compatibility problem disappear within a relative short period of time. That would leave mostly printers, scanners, and cameras to deal with. And, I am willing to bet that if more people were buying pre-installed Linux boxes, more catalog stores like Office Depot would be carrying “Linux Compatible” stickers on their hardware. Even with the hardware today you have to look for the “Vista Compatible” sticker or soon the “Windows 8″ sticker. This is why I say that the switch is no different to switch to Linux than a new Version of Windows (Soon to be Windows 8 for those who choose so).
i wish people would just think before ranting out …
Mahfaan …you know why ubuntu cannot include certain drivers cause they are proprietary.
Similarly, Windows also does not include certain drivers due to license issues..
And further more…Vista and Xp are sooo not compatible in terms of drivers..So whats the difference when you use ubuntu , redhat or even slackware?? None right?
At this rate M.S are shooting themselves in the foot
I run Ubuntu 9.04. My only problem is a scanner which isn’t compatible (Canon, who don’t release drivers); all printers worked either on install or after a follow-the-idiot-proof-prompt install (HP, Samsung).
If you’re worried bout program compatibility, for basic apps (OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird), it’s completely familiar to a Windows migrant, you need 20 minutes or so to learn to navigate menus. Geekhood NOT required!
I also have to run XP for ONE program written for IE by my employer, and that took over two hours to get set up, mainly the router driver, so XP is NOT 100% set-up out of the box.
Give Linux a try (especially Ubuntu, great support!) – dual boot and you don’t even have to lose Windows.
I am a XP and Vista user who has experimented with Linux over the last few months. I have been impressed with the ease of use of some of the Linux distros. (Can you get a free live cd with office to try from MS
There are at least a half dozen (I am sure there are more that would work, however, we based our selections on reviews and user feedback) Linux distros that from a live cd detected and ran all of the hardware on the following machines a notebook with Intel Centrino duo 3gb ram, an AMD 64 4500 with 4gb and two older systems a PIII 1200 with 512gb, and an AMD 1700 with 512gs Without having to dowload additional drivers. Those lacking proprietary drivers, such as Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.04 were functional enough to surf the internet, capture files or photos from installed disks and removable drives, read and create documents. I then installed these on a few extra internal drives to test as installed systems. Those such as Ubuntu which do not include proprietary drivers have a simple gui to download and install them. (Remember having to load all the drivers for a Windows 98 system at least it gave the user some control over the system and system bloat). Support and forums for many of these distros are also quite helpful.
We have switched to Sabayon 4.1 on the notebook (does not work well on older machines with less than 1gb) and Ubuntu for two of the desktops for my wife and children. The support community and also the availability of a several users guides for newbies was a factor. The third desktop is running Vector Linux 6.0. I am not an Windows basher or a Linux cheerleader just happy to have found great software that meets our personal needs without having to install not only anti virus software but 2-3 Malware programs to supplement Windows defender. We installed Clam anti virus so as not to pass on any infected Windows files or scrips. On a fifth machine I have installed Slackware and NetBSD on two drives and am on a very slow and steep learning curve. There are many very good (and free Linux) distributions which for the most part run right out of the box which would have suited our needs. Thanks to all who develop the software and those who review it!
I use Windows XP as well as Ubuntu in two different machines . I have to tell you that I had to manually install my Broadcom wireless , Realtek Sound card and Intel chipset drivers once I had to reinstall XP . The default installation CD does not have those drivers by default .
Codecs are not free in XP either . You need to pay for the as well . Try reinstalling XP in your machine which came with XP pre installed.
On the other had, I never had to manually install any driver in case of Ubuntu. All hardware were correctly detected . It takes just three minutes to add the Mediubuntu repository and install the non free codecs.
It looks like your knowledge is not sufficient on Windows XP either. Anyone who understands XP quite well , Ubuntu will be a piece of cake for him/her. So simple is the operations in Ubuntu.
I am a user of MS operating systems since 1989 and ever since , I have used all the MS OS so far . However, I disagree with your opinion.
The reviewer neglects to mention that many 64bit users are affected be a severely slow SATA and USB transfer rates. This bug has been around for a while and remains unresolved. I am also told it is Ubuntu specific.
My experience is such that the system becomes unusable when large file transfers occur. A 1G file took 8 minutes to transfer between internal SATA drives (AMD AM2 X2 4000+, ASUS MOBO).
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.20/+bug/119730?comments=all
Anyone contemplating Ubuntu on AMD hardware should only consider the 32bit install.
I think the key point is vendor support as in vendor Cd’s with drivers,that comes
with your computer or motherboard. The correct driver for the correct part.
And since linux needs to be updated so often, stay with live Cd’s And that’s the
point with windows xp basic knowlege is all you need.Many of us don’t want to
play take your operating system down every few months as linux requires.
I am not against all linux, PClinuxos and opensuse are very good.
Not one single word of what you just said was true. 100% complete and total lies. Try getting your facts straight before you make up such absurd lies.
Contrary to popular belief, Linux actually has BETTER hardware support than Windows. People are just too quick to give up when something doesnt work as soon as they plug it in. Take 5 minutes and do some research.
I suppose if that were true, linux would be more popular.
Many like myself, did the research, 5 minutes won’t cut it with linux.
Linux may not be so bad but you get what you pay for. thats why much of it’s free
Have you checked out distrowatch lately? The trend is down, not everybody wants
to mess with linux. I really wish linux were more competition for windows.
oh well i think maybe we still have 5 – 10 years yet before linux comes into
common use.
It is not true that Linux wants to compete with Windows in the desktop world. Linux is not for everyone either. Having said that , millions of people use Linux on their daily life and they are happy with it . I work for an organization that is linked to Microsoft but many of my colleagues use Linux at home even though we get free MS software. Therefore, the idea of price is not relevant here .
However, it is certainly true that Linux is not meant for people with below average PC knowledge. Many people who advocate Windows over Linux , also lack knowledge on Windows itself . I deal with thousands of MS user who simply do not know some basic functions like copy/Paste or extracting a zip file.
We can not expect these people to make their HD partition over night and make them believe that an application can be installed in many ways other than clicking on a .exe file.
Since 2006 I’ve been Linux-only (usually Ubuntu) apart from one small invoicing program I use on a Windows box which NEVER meets the web.
Just recently I was given a DVD with Windows 7 Ultimate RC which for fun I loaded onto a spare HD…
Return of nightmares from a few years ago ….!
Can’t do this, need to buy that, security issues blah blah, and eventually I’m expected to PAY hundreds of bucks for it !!!!
Yes it hasn’t been easy to accustom to a Linux distro, but it certainly hasn’t hurt to learn simple techniques and Terminal commands to get jobs done.
What I’d forgotten – having been spoiled by free Linux software – was the crazy scenario with Windows. Freeware, Shareware, Malware etc. Most at a cost eventually.
Can’t be bothered ..again.
Mike.
@Michael – Ubuntu is certainly a viable alternative to Windows as per this review. As I posted earlier we recently switched to Ubuntu 9.04 and it was very easy to make the adjustment. It took about 15 minutes for the default installation with guided partitioning. Upon reboot a window opened saying proprietary drivers were available did we want to install them. Then a window opened saying updates were abailable. That’s it everything worked. Our old Excel and Word files worked fine with Open Office. I spent two months researching Windows alternatives and the only hard part was choosing from some very competent distros. This was after a Vista update had rendered some of our programs inoperable and one of our XP machines got partially infected by a safe website that had been hacked to upload browser scrips. It took three spyware removal programs and manually cleaning the registry to remove all the little bits. 2 housrs of lost time. We are also planning to switch our small business systems to Linux. These two posts by m are just misleading “Many of us don’t want to
play take your operating system down every few months as linux requires.”
Linux does not require you to do this I know people who are still running Ubuntu 7.04 even though there are no longer updates available. As far as Ubuntu goes there is support for 18 months or 3 years from date of release depending on which version you choose. Debian which is very safe and stable usually has a 2-3 year cycle and older versions are still running in many servers. None require you to take down your operating system every few months, they do provide updates.
The second statement by m
“I suppose if that were true, linux would be more popular.
Many like myself, did the research, 5 minutes won’t cut it with linux.
Linux may not be so bad but you get what you pay for. thats why much of it’s free”
I have paid for Windows and like Mike won’t be bothered again. How about the well rated (consumer reports, pc magazine etc.) antivirus and firewalls for windows which are free and perform better than the paid and subscriber versions. Most of the best spyware removal programs for windows have very effective free versions. How about the XMBC media center free for Windows Mac and Linux in my opinion much better than the resource hog that comes with windows. Alan hit the nail on the head with the title of this article.
@Mahfaan –
I an not,repeat not a geek, I never well be, and will not even try to be one.
Too old for that.
I just use Ubuntu to do what I want. However I went back to 8.10 after 9.04 failed in displaying my emails properly.
Ubuntu allows you to do that,relatively easily, much more so than with MS.
May try upgrading after 9.10 is available.
PIerre
June 22nd, 2009 at 16:41 | #11
Reply | Quote
The reviewer neglects to mention that many 64bit users are affected be a severely slow SATA and USB transfer rates. This bug has been around for a while and remains unresolved. I am also told it is Ubuntu specific.
My experience is such that the system becomes unusable when large file transfers occur. A 1G file took 8 minutes to transfer between internal SATA drives (AMD AM2 X2 4000+, ASUS MOBO).
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.20/+bug/119730?comments=all
Anyone contemplating Ubuntu on AMD hardware should only consider the 32bit install.
Hello Pierre,
I am using 64bit on Ubuntu, and installed it for 8.10 after 9.04 (using 32bit) had problems.
I do not have any problems now!
Hi Bruce,
A recent ubuntu update broke more stuff so I decided enough is enough. I’ve moved all PCs except the wife’s eeepc (on eeebuntu) to fedora and mythdora.
Cheers
Pierre
Hi there everyone. I am currently using PCOSLinux and I love it. I am using a 64 amd board and processor with 2gigs of ram and a Geforce 7900GT. I didn’t have to install a single driver for any of my components. The learning curve to type commands to install source code was new to me but I’m willing to learn because…
1. Linux is free, no pirating needed.
2. Linux is secure. I’ve purposely have gone to unreputable sites to see if malware would be installed in my system, and it wasn’t. Still as perfect as the day I installed it.
3. Linux is FASTER. I gained a performance boost in web surfing alone which amounted to around 15% speed boost in stream video loading and buffering. With Vista on an Identical spec machine I had to pause streaming video for allowing time to buffer. Because of all the bloatware running in the background windows sucks the life out of internet fun. Also loading GIMP is much faster than running PS. So that is wonderful.
4. Linux has package downloaders! If I want to see if there is a new program to do what I want as a windows alternative I just go into my package manager hit “refresh” and search for it. 8 out of 10 times there is exactly what I’m looking for. Package manager downloads and INSTALLS everything needed automatically.
5. My favorite feature right behind security. Customizable interface/desktop. With PCOSlinux I can in less than 2 mins search for and install new themes for my desktop and taskbar. Windows has no such feature, though third party software can be used they tend to eat up system performance.
6. I still have windows installed only for certain games I play. But for anyone wanting to play 75%of all windows only games WINE will do the trick just fine.
So there are some top reasons for anyone considering Linux. Learning curve is no more than a windows user switching to mac os. I love pinguins!
@Mahfaan
No way- Windows is inferior to Linux, Ubuntu Linux, and I switched when I was as a computer n00b!
Fedora11 wow is the shit.
I’ve recently upgraded to Ubuntu 9.04 from 8.something, prior to which I was on (and off, regularly) XP Pro. Given that XP Pro is about the best and most reliable OS that Microsoft have ever produced, I think it’s a tribute to Ubuntu that when I moved to it, I found that everything – just worked. I didn’t have to endlessly muck about with the OS to get things the way I wanted, it’s reliable, runs fast on a 1.6mhz ages old PC and is about as secure as it can be – definitely food for thought if you spend much time on email/internet.
My only regret with Ubuntu is that I didn’t find out about it sooner. And, by God, it’s even got a fabbo version of Elite!!
I couldn’t say it better than that!
In MY case, I have an elderly Celeron 1.8 PC with 1.5 gig RAM. These days, utter crap. Who cares? Certainly not me …
For fun I loaded Windows 7 RC Ultimate on a spare drive. Even allowing for slow processor speed and marginal RAM, I have wasted but enjoyed a lot of time sussing it out…
Even with the latest updates, W7 doesn’t seem to know what to do with itself.
With AVG anti-virus making things even slower, my boot time is around 6 minutes!
As for it being, ‘Ultimate,’ it is pitiful, pretty (for sure) and ponderous…
To buy it would cost me over $450!
And so, after playing with W7 for an hour or two tonight – using it now actually – I’ll switch drives and go back to Ubuntu 9.04.
Where everything works quickly and perfectly.
Boot time one-and-a-bit minutes.
Windows 7 requires huge new investments in hardware and architecture, which is probably the idea when MS has deals with so many other global conglomerates.
Ubuntu 9.04 is easily customizable. One can add what one wants FREE whenever one wishes to expand their software entourage.
Doesn’t take too long to figure out how to type a few commands into a terminal!
Re. B.J’s previous post ..
Look; everyone has their fave distros! I reckon I’ve had a bash at most of the recent ones. Fedora 10 was just annoying. Some people have tried really hard like DreamLinux and Subayon. Eventually you run into a brick wall. Something simple goes pear-shaped, and it’s not worth the effort to fix it.
And it’s not just the money!
Like you, Simon, I was a happy XP user until I tried something else (Linux) four years ago, and just went, ‘WOW!’
And never looked back, until I tested Windows 7 ….!
All I can say is that I have been using Ubuntu 9.04 since it came out in May (I think?) with a AMD 64 Athlon X2 processor and it works great. My biggest problem is with websites that require Windows Media Player (or flash player) to view some video. Other than that it screams with speed. I have no real idea (out side of proprietary Windows programs) why anyone would *not* want to use Ubuntu. My wife complains about it because it is different, but even her complaints have died down a bit. I bought this computer used (refurbished?) with Umbuntu 8.04 installed. Then I had to do the upgrade myself to 9.04 and it took me a long time to do mind you. But I have no regrets and considering I am still learning (a bit the hard way as well) I really think it is going well and I have a real affection for the speed, reliability and stability of Ubuntu Linux. I am even going to take a 3 day class at the local community college on Linux this fall. I really think that there is a nitch (cottage) business here some where and I just have to find it.
…No windows bashing.I don’t need to.
I just want to share this with you.
Leave your windows (any version you want from 3.11 to server 2008) box running for six months , add these: ftp server – web server and connect 5 other machines on the network , then start watching movies, listen to music, surf the web, check and your mail and do whatever a normal user do on a daily basis.
If you can…then somebody has installed ubuntu at a time that you were not paying attention…
Remember all for free and with the community help.
Nick
Athens Greece.
Preface: I am a long term Linux user, still program for Windows. I will continue to use linux because I like to know how things work.
Now, 10 out of 10 for your enthusiasm, Nick. The reality is quite different, of course. Let’s own up here; Linux, whatever the flavour, is for masochistic geeks, nerds and the fanboys, of course. Try getting flash to work reliably in Firefox. Ha! Try right clicking and “Sending” a document by email. Don’t get me started on audio, especially since a bunch of idiots decided PCM is the way of the future.
Try finding a backup utility that works reliably (I have some real bad tales to tell about corrupted backup files) . To this day I continue to use Acronis which as you know is Windows oriented.
Then there is a lack of decent programming tools for RAD. It says something about the geeks that they insist a text editor is better for application development than the quality RAD IDEs that abound in the Window’s world.
Linux couldn’t get it up when it had a chance with netbooks so I doubt that it will ever achieve a meaningful user base.
Those who need a computer to do real work, as opposed to spending a lot of time under the hood as it were, are I think much better off using a MacBook or Win7.
Cheers
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Good article, to which I would clarify that OpenOffice is not only available for Linux, but also available for Windows, free at that (but if you insist on shelling out big bucks on software each time you update, send some my way so I can get one of those new i7 systems, or a new Corvette, thanks in advance).
Apparently some people won’t give something a reasonable trial before running their mouths, or maybe they’re MicroSnot shills.
Just to comment on a couple of comments heretofore:
My system is about 5 years old. It includes an Asus A8N-SLI M/B, AMD Athlon-64, 3 GB of RAM, 500-watt PS, GT-6600 video card, CD/DVD drive, and several hard drives – mostly older, and smaller than 100GB.
I’ve been running Windows XP-Pro all that time, and several versions of Linux about half that time. They include each current version of Ubuntu, Mint, and a couple of others. I like to play around with different distros to see how each performs.
In case you’re not aware, Linux does not require a huge hard drive for your O/S and applications. I’ve used drives from 10 GB to 80 GB, without filling them up. That’s not to say it can’t be done, but you can operate reliably on much less than Windows requires.
During that time I had to reinstall XP at least 12 times. After a few months usage it would lock up, and nothing would cure it but reformatting and reinstalling. It gets to be a royal pain having to reinstall everything and reset all the changes you’ve made to get it the way you prefer, or just to get it to work properly. At times it seemed I had chosen the BSOD as my screen saver.
During the time I have used Linux, I have had a total of ONE crash which required reformatting and reinstalling. The best I can tell it resulted from the electric company’s loss of power as I was using the computer.
I’ve used both 32 and 64-bit distros and had very little trouble with either, certainly far less than with XP. This does NOT refer to the problem of being subject to attack by every teenage hacker on earth. It is solely due to MS problems (identified by Windows has experienced a problem. Do you want to tell MS about it?).
Virtually every piece of hardware using Windows requires a driver disk, or downloading something online. Linux includes drivers with the O/S. The only hardware my Linux systems failed to recognize was a borrowed HP 5440 scanner. HP didn’t see fit to write drivers for Linux in those days. I don’t know to what extent that has changed.
Despite other users’ successful experience with dual-booting, I now use a separate hard drive for each installation. I got tired of having to redo Linux each time Windows puked and took out everything else on the hard drive as well. It’s a lot easier to swap a couple of cables between drives than reinstalling, refining settings, and all that goes with it.
Mahfaan, what’s so hard to understand about different distros not being compatible?
Try using an XP fix on Vista, or vice-versa. Or an IE-7 fix on IE-6.
At one time you couldn’t import Word-97 files into later versions of Word because MS deliberately made them incompatible so owners would have to buy a new Office suite to go with their wonderful new operating system.
Only when MS started using virtual machines for backward compatibility did they address those types of problems. They’d rather force their customers to cough up several hundred dollars per application/machine to fix those problems.
That doesn’t address the problem of each new version of Windows requires a much newer, more powerful computer to operate acceptably. Try running a recent version of Windows on a 5-year old computer and you’ll find it’s feet are buried in concrete booties. Try the same thing in Linux, and you’ll likely find it works quite well.
The same principles are at work in other products. When was the last time you installed a fender from a 2001 Toyota Camry onto a 2007 model?
m, what do you mean by Linux needing to be updated so often? If you are referring to most distros’ 6-month release cycle, you don’t have to change versions. The updater packages work quite well.
Try getting an updated version of MS products on a 6-months cycle. Let’s see, XP was released in 2001, Vista sometime later, and most recently Windows 7. My calculations suggest that’s about 3+ years per version or release.
If you are referring to the fact that Linux bug fixes, etc. are applied as soon as they have been proven, try getting MS fixes before the second Tuesday of next month, or whenever they get around to it. Recently MS fixed one bug that had existed for 7 years, and the only reason they fixed it when they did was that someone figured out how to do so.
No, Mahfaan and m, I don’t think either of you would do very well using Linux. You’d both be better off sticking with what you know best, and all its headaches.
I just realized I failed to mention it in my previous comment, but when I dual-booted XP and Linux, each had its own partition on one hard drive. So a Windows crash shouldn’t affect Linux, but it did, and that got old quickly.
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