Ubuntu or Vista - Modern Computing

[Kim]

It won't be too long until I need a new laptop. However, I have serious reservations about Vista - the way it handles all kinds of digital rights stuff in particular. A friend of mine lost a whole bunch of paid for downloaded music because Vista didn't recognize the licenses etc. It also has issues with hardware that uses unsigned drivers - it won't run - i.e. you can only use what Microsoft allows you to.
And the security was built in conjunction with the NSA????? You're kidding me.......we're already in a world of phone tapping whole populations, and it's supposed to be *normal* and in *our* interests????

So why do you still need firewalls/virus software/spy-ware software/pop-up blockers etc etc to choke your whole system before you've even started the software you actually wanted to run? And it's expensive......again..... No matter I've been paying them for my OS since early DOS days!

So I went to Europe a few weeks ago. My son-in-law runs Ubuntu Linux on his new notebook. It looked pretty good to me. And it's free. And it's well protected and safe.
So.......it's just a question now of whether I run it on my new laptop.......or this one.

I just read a nice comparison article too.........

 

[Red_5]

you can try Ubuntu w/o installing it via a 'live-cd'


I have the live CD for here at home on a x64 machine

I have Ubuntu on a laptop at work running Feisty Fawn (latest release).

I control that laptop from my main computer (running XPpro) with Synergy (freeware)



I'd avoid Vista.. too many heartaches and other problems. right now, the best M$ version would be XPpro. I did try XPpro x64, but had problems finding working drivers for it (other than the driver issue,and some non support from Adobe it was ok)

 

[Kim]

Yes - I have the live cd. It's neat too, as if you want to actually install it you can do that as well direct from the cd.
I heard today that MS is supposedly going to stop supporting XP next year. That and the fact that the new DirectX is only going to be released for Vista really annoys me. It's been a long time coming but I'm definitely going to start the migration. Linux will only continue to improve, whereas Windows is getting quite boring now. They don't even bother with parts of it at all. I mean - when was the last time they improved either Paint or WordPad? OK...they're just simple basic programs compared to full featured stuff - but you still pay for them each time around!!!

 

[Warthaug]

Ubuntu is the easiest linux system to install and use - it has been designed around user friednlyness. Even so, expect a little time to get used to the system as it is a little different then windows.

Before you make the switch I would check first to ensure that you can use ubuntu for all of your needs. A lot of software is not available for linux, although alternatives exist for many things (i.e. office can easily (and freely) be replaced with openoffice). However, liux is still weak in some areas (notably games, video editing and DVD creation).

I use linux on my home systems, except for my laptop which runs XP for work purposes. I also manage several linux (including 1 ubuntu) system here at work, and trust me - once you get used to the linux thing you won't want to go back

Bryan

 

[Kim]

However, linux is still weak in some areas (notably games, video editing and DVD creation).

That's why it'd probably be good for the laptop I take to work. It doesn't run games really - I don't use it for video editing or DVD authoring (I do that at home on an XP desktop).
One thing that caught my interest today reading the comments to the article I linked to was the possibility of creating a really good firewall on a linux squid box - and porting from there to any XP machines on the LAN by specific IP. I bet XP would do a lot better itself if the protection could be stripped out of it's own session and handed to another machine.

I should imagine I'll catch on fairly quickly. I did a reasonable amount of Unix way back when. I'll be rusty as all hell but I believe a lot of the underlying principles are similar no?

Actually - I quite enjoy command line stuff. DOS 5 is still my all time favorite OS!

I think I'll take the Ubuntu live CD to work tomorrow. I don't have much to do!!

 

[Warthaug]

That's why it'd probably be good for the laptop I take to work. It doesn't run games really - I don't use it for video editing or DVD authoring (I do that at home on an XP desktop).
One thing that caught my interest today reading the comments to the article I linked to was the possibility of creating a really good firewall on a linux squid box - and porting from there to any XP machines on the LAN by specific IP. I bet XP would do a lot better itself if the protection could be stripped out of it's own session and handed to another machine.

That how we run computer security here at work - linux box acts as a firewall, everything else is behind that. In the 4 years I've been here we've had several attacks, but the only "successes" were viruses people brought in on disks...

I should imagine I'll catch on fairly quickly. I did a reasonable amount of Unix way back when. I'll be rusty as all hell but I believe a lot of the underlying principles are similar no?

Very, very similar. If you're even passingly familiar with unix then linux will be a breeze to pick up. If anything, linux is easier to learn then is unix, as you can control nearly everything from the windows manager - rarely do you need to load up a text manager (or exit to command line) and enter things manually.

I think I'll take the Ubuntu live CD to work tomorrow. I don't have much to do!!

Its worth playing with the live CD for a while - it gets you used to the system. Just remember - it'll run 100x faster if/when you do a real install.

Bryan

 

[flemnos]

I thought I saw an article not too long ago that mentioned Microsoft extending support for XP (Pro, Home, and Media) by an extra five years. I'll google around and see if I come across it or one like it.

That said, I run Ubuntu on my home computer (dual-boot feisty and XPpro), and the only thing I find myself loading windows for is the downloader for my Suunto dive computer. Most everything else I do just revolves around web-browsing, e-mail, and the occasional OpenOffice document, so I'd say that Ubuntu would fare quite well as a work laptop, assuming those things are the sort of work you do.

One thing I'd really like to see Windows pick up is the ability to highlight text and paste it in another window with the middle-click.

 

[RonDawg]

I thought I saw an article not too long ago that mentioned Microsoft extending support for XP (Pro, Home, and Media) by an extra five years.

While I realize the OP absolutely HATES Wikipedia, this is what they have on Windows XP and ongoing Microsoft support:

Support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 will end four years after its general availability. As per Microsoft's posted timetable, the company will stop licensing Windows XP to OEMs and terminate retail sales of the operating system January 31, 2008, 12 months after the release of Windows Vista.

Windows XP will begin its "Extended Support" period that will last for 5 years until 2014.First generation Windows XP (without Service Pack 2) is no longer supported; Microsoft ended the support for Windows XP RTM on September 30, 2004 and Windows XP Service Pack 1 and 1a on October 10, 2006.

The original Wikipedia article does quote actual Microsoft sources for this information.

It makes sense to continue offering support for XP for some time to come, considering Dell and other computer manufacturers are still offering XP on brand new machines.

Even when support ends, it doesn't mean the software will automatically stop working, it just means Microsoft will no longer issue software updates for it. I know of a major metropolitan police agency on the west coast that is still using Windows 95 :11:

 

[RV]

I like openSuSe 'cause It runs my 4 tuner MythTV so well...

oh, and it's also free

 

[Hoosier]

Dumb question.

I have never used a linux. I don't think anyone is using a linux nearby me.

How about a file tranferrring between linux and Window?

I have already told in other thread though. Another reason that I gave up Mac was a file transferring issue. This issue has been solved, but it was a big issue when I had a Powerbook.