I'll start with why I did this. My primary computer is a Dell laptop which had Windows XP installed when purchased. I had the computer for approximately 1 year when Windows crashed and requested an XP install disc to recover. Dell did not sent me this disc and when I contacted them I spent about 12 hours on the phone only to find out that if I wanted the disc it would cost me $65 even tho I already purchased a copy of XP with the laptop. I refuse to be extorted so I looked at other options and found Ubuntu. At the time the release was Hardy Heron and Jaunty Jackalope was about to be released so I contacted Ubuntu and was sent a Hardy install disc from a distributor in Germany for free. I set my BIOS to boot from CD before HD and got my system running off the CD. I then moved all important data from my laptop to my external drive and shut the system down. Upon reboot Ubuntu asks if you want to run or install. I chose install which prompts that there are 3 ways to go about it.

1) Complete install which formats the HD and wipes out all data and a clean install of Ubuntu is obtained. This is what I did since XP was toast anyway.

2)Partitioned install which basically breaks the HD into 2 seperate partitions and leave Windows running 100% on 1 partition and installs Ubuntu on the second partition. This allows the user to switch between 2 O/S's at will. If your version of Windows is working 100% this option can be used.

3)Run strictly from CD which leaves all data alone on the HD but allows you to play with Ubuntu and see if you like it or not. This is painfully slow because everything you do has to be retrieved from the CD but upon removal of the CD you are back to "normal".

Most of you are asking why the hell would I want to do this. Here's what my reasons were.

1) Ubuntu is much more secure that Windows. There are less than a dozen known viruses that effect a Linux OS. If someone were to hack into your computer they would need your administrator password to access anything on the HD. On Windows if someone hacks into the system they have full access to everything on the HD. There are virus programs and firewalls available for Linux but personally I only run the firewall so I can monitor inbound and outbound traffic.

2) All Linux O/S's are open source which means that the majority of the software is free and if you have the ability there is nothing stopping you from editing the code to make the programs do exactly what you want. There are literally thousands of progams from games to Open Office and CAD programs you can get for free.

3) Ubuntu is also much more stable than Windows, there will never be the "blue screen of death". In fact my system has been running 24/7 for about 6 months with no issues at all. Different versions of Linux are predominantly what is run on most larger servers.

Now for the drawbacks.

1) Printing. Linux does not recognize all printers and most printer manufacturers do not release a Linux driver for their printers so we have to rely on the code writers around the world to write the drivers or write them ourselves (No, I'm not there yet). There is a website I will post at the bottom that allows you to check and see if a particular printer is supported within the Linux community.

2) Video can be a problem initially. If you have a certain type of video that you want to see the patch may or may not be installed which means you may have to go out into the community and download/install the necessary patch. Simple solution but can be frustrating for a beginner.
3) In the earlier versions of Linux you had to write the code to install new software. In the present version (Karmic Koala) 99.99% of installations run automatically and if it doesn't you can easily find the code and copy/paste into terminal to initiate the installation.

Now for what kind of things you can do with Ubuntu.


1) There is a free version of CAD that will open most drawing and gives you about 75% of the power of AutoCAD.

2) Open Office is also free and it comes with a Database, Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Presentation tool. It is capable of opening all Windows documents and can save them in just about any format you can think of including Windows.

3) There are full blown photo editing programs like Album Shaper, GIMP, F-Spot and DigiKam. You can import, download, edit and save digital photos plus build photo albums with all your pics.

4) Free softphone called Ekiga which operates just like Skype.

5) Free media players from Rhythmbox, Amarok and Brasero. They will easily link to most MP3 player, organize your music and play it. You can covert from .wav to .mp3 to .mp3u, etc with just a few clicks. Movie Player will automatically link you to Youtube and play movies if want and if you have a DVD reader it will allow you to watch movies.

6) If you use a terminal server or remote desktop the software is already installed, you just need to set it up for your connection.

7) There is a program preinstalled that works almost like SnagIt allowing you to take screenshots of whatever your looking at and save them. I use this for balancing the checkbook, I log into my bank, pull up my statement and save the screenshots then log off and balance.

8) There are a number of different free programs for handling email that work just like Outlook. I personally use Evolution Mail.

And best of all since EVERYTHING is open source if you want to learn code you can then go in and manipulate the software to do whatever you want without worrying about copyright infringement.

There is also a very helpful community that spans the globe so if you have questions about doing something you will typically get an answer within a few hours.

There are also many version of Linux like Kubuntu, Mythbuntu, Redhat, Ubuntu, GNU, Fedora, etc. I personally have only used Ubuntu in Hardy Heron, Jaunty Jackalope and Karmic Koala. My primary laptop is running Karmic and my Mini is running Hardy.

If you are considering switching O/S's the first thing to do BEFORE jumping in is create your free account with the Ubuntu Forum and search to see how big of a project it will be to install it onto your particular system. For example it was plug and play on my Dell Inspiron B130 but I have an older CTX desktop that is fighting me tooth and nail on the install. I would also recommend doing the download, burning the ISO and running it from CD so you can get a basic idea as to what it's like. This is not for everyone because there is a bit of learning and adapting but IMO it's well worth it.

Now to the links.
Here's Ubuntu's web site where you can download a free copy. Once downloaded it will need to be burned to disc as an ISO file. Ubuntu will walk you through how to do this and where to get the necessary free sofware.
http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download

Here's the forum for the Ubuntu Community.
http://ubuntuforums.org/

You can check and see if your printer is compatible here.
http://www.openprinting.org/printers

If anyone has any questions feel free to either post or PM and I'll do my best to answer them. You can thank Johnny for this post, had be not asked for it I wouldn't have thought twice about posting it.

Thanks a77ssii, I run CENT OS on my game server and i have another computer at the house with cent os and love it, Most linux computers run half if not 1/3rd of the processes that windows does (what does that mean) Well a linux machine is generally faster than a windows machine.

I will be trying the ubuntu on a laptop i have and see how this os works.


Thanks again a77ssii.

And as for anyone else out there, personal experiences like this really help others so if there is some things that you have done or know POST them.

I am so old school, don't want to change

This has sparked my interest, and I'm going to seriously consider the change, just wish I had another computer to test it on. Maybe I could get another hard drive?
Hmm

Follow the link to download Ubuntu then burn an ISO of the file. Tell your computer to boot from CD and you can run it as long as you want with no changes to your machine. When your done with it remove the disc, boot as normal.

down loading it now, and have ordered cd

BTW Lumpy, old school WOULD be Linux. Apple beat IBM & Microsoft to the punch for home PC and Apple still uses a Linux base for it's OS just like it did back in the 80's.

a77ssii, LOL i had an old lap top and got ubuntu on it to try then with in 5 mins i said HELL YEA wiped out windows on it and am installing it as a dual system on every windows machine i GOT. I AM ON IT RIGHT NOW, this lap top is OLD and the speed difference is ridiculous. THANKS this Version of Linux has really got their CHIT together.

Here's the thing Johnny. In a Windows environment every major piece of software is quietly running in the background waiting for you to initiate startup which bogs the CPU but makes initial startup quick. In a Linux environment the only things running are what you open so the CPU can run at top speed but opening programs up takes just a bit longer. Once you get it installed and have a DSL connection go to Applications>Ubuntu Software Center and nose around a bit. Just remember EVERYTHING listed is 100% free with no strings attached.

If you want a Dell restore disk I can send you one, just in case you want to go dual boot. This is NOT Pirated Software, this is the original Dell disk. If you have a Dell with a license for that software you're legal. I have several. All I use is Dell, and well I have had many laptops over the years, I used to be a Network Engineer and MCSE. I even have Windows 97 and maybe Vista, which I hate. No Windows 7 though. It will only install on Dell equipment, so putting it on something else won't work. If you know what to do you can, but it's a pain and then you need a key.

BTW

I've 100% adapted to Ubuntu. Both my Inspiron B130 and my Mini are running it and honestly I'll only go back to windows if someone holds a gun to my head and even then I'd have to think about it. No crashes, no blue screens of death, no lock ups, nothing. Getting rid of windows was the best thing I've done in a long time with the computer.