Should I switch from Windows to linux such as ubuntu?
Asked by
atlantis (
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June 10th, 2009
I have Vista and honestly, i think Microsoft has run it’s course. Is Ubuntu a good alternative as a sole and primary OS?
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17 Answers
What do you use your computer for?
It depends what you use your computer for. Web browsing, playing music and videos and Word processing? Then sure, make the switch.
On the other hand, if you use any adobe products regularly, or game, you might have a harder time switching.
What I suggest is first run the Live CD, and get a feel for it. If you’re still unsure, dual boot with Windows. I wouldn’t delete the Windows partition, just because you may need it for a program, and a license key is expensive.
Here’s a link for the download. Try it out as a live CD and see how you like it.
I use Ubuntu on my home computer, and I have loved it. I only use it for internet, word processing and music, and it can do all I ask of it and more. One problem I have run into is I can’t run certain programs on it easily (such as Rosetta Stone), but it hasn’t been enough of a hassel for me to really be upset with it (I’m fortunate to have two computers. Oh, three if you count the brick I have that has a floppy drive and serial port connectors.) Take @eambos’ suggestion and do some reading up on it and try it out before you make the commitment. I didn’t dual boot it because of lack of space n my computer’s hard drive, so I dove right in and it is the only OS I have on that computer. As I said, aside from every now and then wishing I could run Rosetta Stone, it has been great for me.
@Les Try running Rosetta Stone under WINE. It’s made for running Windows programs in Linux.
According to this page, Rosetta Stone seems to work pretty well in WINE.
Try Wubi, it installs Ubuntu from within Windows. This allows you to have both Windows and Ubuntu installed on your machine. Try Ubuntu for a couple of months as your primary OS. If you need to run a Windows-only program, you can still boot into Windows. Play around with Ubuntu for a while, get used to it, learn a little bit about how Linux works. I’m sure you’ll be hooked. But if you aren’t, just uninstall Wubi from within Windows, and Ubuntu will be gone.
If it werent for games, id still be using Ubuntu. Its great, i just need to play my pc games :P
If you want. It’s not a bad idea.
@uberbatman is correct that if you’re a gaming enthusiast, the list of games available to you on Linux drops off drastically.
Like any operating system, you have to determine what you want to do with it before making the plunge.
I’ve been working with Win7 and it’s a big improvement over Vista.
Try Linux Mint it is much more like Windows than Ubuntu, you may find it much easier to use.
If you want an environment that is similar to Windows, I would go with KDE over GNOME. So you could try Kubuntu or just install KDE on Mint or whatever distro you choose.
As everyone has already said, whether or not Ubuntu — or any operating system — is suitable for you depends upon what you plan to use the computer for. Linux in general is wonderful, and Ubuntu in particular is an excellent distro, but if you can’t run an essential application then you’re out of luck.
Unfortunately I have been addicted to WordPerfect for word processing for the past 25 years, and nothing else will do, thus I am locked in to Windows. But I also use Linux (Fedora in my case) and feel it’s a far better OS in so many ways. If I could find a Linux replacement for WordPerfect then I could leave Windows behind, except I probably wouldn’t simply because I have to interoperate smoothly with other people, most of whom are using Windows.
@Joe_Freeman
Open Office won’t suffice? Have you tried using Word Perfect with Wine?
@Ivan
No, though I do use OpenOffice, as well as AbiWord and ThinkFree, when I need something that interoperates well with Word. But there’s nothing out there that does what WordPerfect does. There was a WordPerfect for Linux years ago but they pulled the plug on it, and in fact it was built using Wine. It worked fairly well but I have never been pleased with applications run under Wine and have not tried rolling my own WordPerfect using Wine. Not a bad idea, though.
Well, Wine is always progressing. It couldn’t hurt.
@Everybody suggesting other distros: please, just let him try Ubuntu. There’s no denying that most people seem to like that, so for a first foray that’s probably the best bet to try, even if you personally prefer something different.
@atlantis – if you are prepared to do the work (find out which programs you will miss, learn to use the new system, etc.), then sure, go for it :).
what I like about Ubuntu (been using it at home since 2006) is that any problem can be googled w/ success by using ubuntu in the keywords: Ubuntu, put Podcast on iPod.
The community can help you tackle any problems you might have.
I learned by listening to podcast: Linux Reality
What I like about Ubuntu (been using it at home since 2006) is that any problem can be googled w/ success by using ubuntu in the keywords: Ubuntu, Podcast on iPod.
The community can help you tackle any problems you might have.
I learned by listening to podcast, Linux Reality
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