Ubuntu

[Quickened]

Hey there PBers!

A while back i had tried putzing around with Ubuntu. My main issue back then was it wouldnt recognize my netgear wireless connection that i had. Since then i have moved out and dont use wireless anymore.

So i will finally be able to connect to the internet. (the biggest problem then)

I am running an older computer. I think this dates back to 2003. I mainly use this computer for browsing the internet, doing online bill payments, sometimes using esword, and playing mp3s and movies. Thats about it.

Right now i have windows XP.

Are there any significant benefits to switching? Originally i liked the premise of beryl and wanted to putz around with that.

 

[tcalbrecht]

You can download and burn a recent Ubuntu LiveCD and run off the CD without disturbing your XP install. Or, if you have the space, you can repartition your HDD and make a dual boot system.

 

[steven-nemes]

You can brag about having a Linux distribution installed on your home computer

 

[uberkermit]

Hey there PBers!

I am running an older computer. I think this dates back to 2003. I mainly use this computer for browsing the internet, doing online bill payments, sometimes using esword, and playing mp3s and movies. Thats about it.

Right now i have windows XP.

Are there any significant benefits to switching? Originally i liked the premise of beryl and wanted to putz around with that.

For what you are going to be doing, the benefit is that you have an up to date, and generally secure system. You won't need to be as concerned about viruses or trojans as much as you would with XP.

 

[Edward]

I don't think I'd kill and XP install to run Ubuntu (Vista is a different story). Ubuntu is probably going to be more bloated than you are used to with the XP. I'd at least try it for a while booting from a CD.

Now, if you want something that is compact and lightning fast, try PuppyLinux. You can boot from CD, but save bookmarks and files to your hard drive without disturbing your existing operating system or folders.

It's also a bit more user friendly than some of the distros.

 

[Edward]

I don't think I'd kill and XP install to run Ubuntu (Vista is a different story). Ubuntu is probably going to be more bloated than you are used to with the XP. I'd at least try it for a while booting from a CD.

Now, if you want something that is compact and lightning fast, try PuppyLinux. You can boot from CD, but save bookmarks and files to your hard drive without disturbing your existing operating system or folders.

It's also a bit more user friendly than some of the distros.

By bloated, do you mean that you actually have choice of some programs to use, as opposed to what you get with XP, consisting of a really old web browser and a media player?

Sorry, I used a term that common jargon among experienced computer users, without thinking of amateurs who might be reading.

By bloated, I mean programs that have a lot of unneeded code which eats up processor capacity and memory. Symptoms include slow operation, the need to access the hard drive (or other location) repeatedly.

CP/M and DOS were not bloated (and Puppy definitely is not). Vista and to a slightly lesser extent, Ubuntu are. Wordstar wasn't. Word 2007 is.

If you are running a high end gaming machine, Ubuntu (or Vista) will run nicely. If you have a 5 year old machine running XP on less than a gig, you might be less happy with the results. But have fun trying.

(Posted using Seamonkey on PuppyLinux on a machine with Vista installed)