Comments on: The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 3

By: The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 6 | zMogo Tech Stuff

The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 6 | zMogo Tech Stuff — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:51:42 +0000

[...] on The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 6The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 5 | zMogo Tech Stuff on The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 3The New Year Linux Resolution: Day Four | zMogo Tech Stuff on The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 7: [...]

By: The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 5 | zMogo Tech Stuff

The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 5 | zMogo Tech Stuff — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:49:27 +0000

[...] Day Four | zMogo Tech Stuff on The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 7: The Stunning Conclusion!The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 3 | zMogo Tech Stuff on The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 6The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 2 | zMogo Tech Stuff on [...]

By: VM

VM — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:27:34 +0000

If you’re looking for free virtualization softare I’d recommend you check out VirtualBox from Sun Microsystems. You can run it on your Windows PC and have a Linux Virtual Machine (VM) or vice versa. On Windows hosts you can also try Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. Virtual PC does a great job with Windows VMs, but doesn’t support Linux guests as nicely as VirtualBox does.

By: AshPringle

AshPringle — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:05:57 +0000

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions again, everyone!

I’ve got day four up, if you want to check it out!

http://www.zmogo.com/gear/the-new-year-linux-resolution-day-four/

By: The New Year Linux Resolution: Day Four | zMogo Tech Stuff

The New Year Linux Resolution: Day Four | zMogo Tech Stuff — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:53:01 +0000

[...] | zMogo Tech Stuff on The New Year Linux Resolution: Switching to Linux for a WeekMuckuMucku on The New Year Linux Resolution: Day 3Jacky Frost on The New Year Linux Resolution: Switching to Linux for a WeekBoo Radley on The New [...]

By: MuckuMucku

MuckuMucku — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:12:54 +0000

Hi. First of all your style of writing is really great . This story reminds me of my first experiences with Linux (Ubuntu). Had been using Windows only before. Linux was always some weird console thingy and sounded like you had to play around a lot to get it running. Then came “idiot-proof-Linux” Ubuntu. I was curious and tried it with Wubi on my Samsung R50 notebook (7.04). And BAM! A black screen after the Ubuntu loading bar . After searching around I found a way to get my screen actually displaying sth. But only in 800×600. I didn’t use Ubuntu much because Windows did everything i needed. But I kept it as sort of pet OS and read Planet Ubuntu on daily basis . With every new version the problems disappeared and I think with 8.04 the display was there with the right resolution. And I started playing with it from now and then. I work as a molecular biologist and for my project I have to work a lot with DNA sequences and analysis programs. Most of them are either written for Linux only or just have command-line versions for Windows. And then I realized the advantages of Linux here. It just feels natural using console commands there and it’s a pain in the a** under Win. Since I have nearly no programming skills I was pretty happy about this.
I don’t know why this fanboy stuff always comes up: “My OS is cooler than yours”. I think it just depends what you want to do with it. Some things suck under Win and some under Linux. At work I just use Ubuntu now for my research. At home it’s Windows. It is nice that Ubuntu/Linux is getting more attention and some companies start open sourcing their drivers like ATI. I think it’s a good development. Maybe I will switch some day… but for now I like having Ubuntu teaching me about Linux. One problem I see is when people are trying Ubuntu and have all these problems it’s probably pretty disencouraging for them. And if Ubuntu is aimed at people with average computer skills this is a bit tricky. Not everybody is able to perform the tricks needed for some of the problems. But I think this will work out in the future…

By: Boo Radley

Boo Radley — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:23:14 +0000

@Troy… Well the point is that Linux is better in many ways than Windows. There is less (or no) need to defrag. No need to scan for malware or viruses and you can visit any website with impunity with no fear of getting them. Linux is a bit more stable and secure overall and updated more frequently. The centralized app install/updating is a dream vs. most every app on Windows phoning home and the constant balloon pop-ups. Plus the apps, while sometimes not as feature-rich, tend to be much less bloated, more efficient, and easier to use.

As for “relearning” everything, sure there are some things to get used to, but really the apps and such work about as you’d expect it to. And for the “tweakers” out there, you can get as down and dirty as you want. My bet is that if you put a novice user who has never used Windows or Desktop Linux before in front of a fresh install of each, they would have an easier time getting around (and most importantly maintaining – as Linux basically self-maintains) and up and running on the Linux machine faster (as Windows comes with little useful software pre-installed).

Learning new things is certainly fun too, as well as doing some of things you just can’t do with Windows. I game on a console so I don’t need to run the latest games (though Linux runs many emulators and “casual” games just fine). And the free (in every sense) is just the icing on the cake!

Don’t bother refuting with “my Windows is stable” or “I don’t get viruses”, etc… That’s nice for you, but it is not the experience of most Windows users, particularly the novices who ironically would benefit most from Linux.

By: Troy

Troy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:49:44 +0000

I guess I don’t get it. I also tried Unix (ubuntu) and I just don’t get the purpose to “trying” to do the same things you can easily do in windows already?

Sure, if you’re looking for a free OS and free apps and only need to do simple internet browsing, word processing and such. But if you’ve already got a valid license for Windows (I do for all my computers), what would be the purpose to switch? Everything I want to do (and everything that is listed in previous comments) I can do now in windows, no need to try and relearn how to do everything in Linux as well. Plus, as a PC gamer it just doesn’t make any sense.

About the only thing I can see is if you game on a console and need a cheap way of doing email/word/finance/etc… and don’t already own those programs in a windows OS. Or, just to enhance and gain knowledge of other OS’s for learning purposes.

Other than that, again, what’s the point?

By: Daeng Bo

Daeng Bo — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:44:25 +0000

Ubuntu does what it does fairly well and painlessly, but getting near the edges can be extremely painful. Edge areas include:
3D graphics for non-mainstream cards (mid-level Intel, ATI, and NVidia work well)
Printing (HP printers seem to be the best supported right now)
File sharing (Linux does this extremely well from a system admin viewpoint, but not so well with users. Try a program called Giver or use Pidgin to share individual files. Use GShare, called simply “File Sharing” in Add/Remove, to share between Ubuntu machines.
Audio work (difficult, but possible)
Video work (beyond difficult, almost impossible)

By: wj32

wj32 — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:10:59 +0000

I enjoyed your three posts immensly! I suggest you turn Compiz on and write about your experiences with that.

By: DIM

DIM — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:11:48 +0000

Try to install some free but not open source programs like skype, flash, java, audio and video codecs, acrobat reader, picasa, google earth, opera.
You can also try KDE (install kubuntu-desktop package). Do you know that you can use more than one desktop manager at once?
Try to avoid “windows only” software. You can always run Winamp and IE using wine but what for? Wanna switch to linux and open source or not?

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:23:21 +0000

Glad to hear you’re finally getting round to enjoying your experience I look forward to hearing more about it.

As for Pidgin, I’ll admit I haven’t read all the other comments, but it’s available for Windows too (and Mac I believe), so even if you don’t keep Ubuntu around, but like Pidgin, you can continue to use it!

By: tcolvinMI

tcolvinMI — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:12:02 +0000

I too have decided to switch from Windows to Linux. Here are some of the things on my plate that I want to try.

1) Sharing resources to Windows PC’s using Samba.
2) Read AND write access to an NTFS partition/disk.
3) Printing both to a local and remote printer.

Also, Ive been using Pidgin since prior to its name change about a year or so ago. I use it for two reasons: 1) It allows you to use multiple protocols in one program, instead of having 3 or more different IM programs installed. 2) Its simplistic design. All I need an IM client for is to chat, nothing more. I have found it to be far superior to other IM clients because it isnt flashy and just simply works. 3) NO ads. At least in Windows, most IM products come with a plastering of ads.

Enjoy Pidgin and Ubuntu. Im looking forward to reading more about your experience.

By: TooDamFast

TooDamFast — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:56:08 +0000

Day 4:

I broke it.

By: jonescal

jonescal — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 22:48:40 +0000

You should try your luck with wine and some of your favorite windows software!