[desertranger]

Rant:
For years I've suffered with the expense and headache that is Microscum Windows. Constant upgrades, bugs, crashes, viruses, malware, etc. The cost alone to upgrade from one Windows version to the next plus the cost of MS Office and other software upgrades, etc. Not to mention the hardware upgrades just so you can run the damn thing. For years I've said the only thing Windows does is get in the way of productivity. I spent an awful lot of time maintaining Windows in order to keep the system running at optimum. I spent a lot of money doing the same thing. Win 3.11 required a HD upgrade, Win95 memory, WinME video and a bigger drive, Win XP needed even more memory and Vista??? forget it, that needed a whole new computer.

So over the weekend I switched to Linux. Specifically it's called: Ubuntu Karmic Koala. The last version was called Ubuntu Jaunty Jackrabbit. See no version numbers, already I feel better. I find that there are versions of Linux that will run on my old DOS 386 with 640K of ram. That's all I need to run a standalone server.

Ubuntu is free. Sun Micro's Open Office software suite is free, accountingsoftware is free, utilities are free, med record tracking is free, the games are free, graphics and multimedia are free and thousands of other apps are free. In fact in setting up Ubuntu from scratch the only cost I have incurred is labor, about an hour for the basic install, compared to a couple of days to set up a Windows environment enough so that I can work.

Here's some of what I did not have to set up in Ubuntu.
Office software (it's included)
Graphics and photo editing software (included)
Internet security and anti virus, not needed
Networking (automatic)
Internal security (already secure)

Add-on Internet Security (inSec) like Symantec or McAffee alone can take up as much as 1/3 or more of your Windows systems resources and needs constant updating. That's 1/3 of your memory and processing power for example just to keep your computer safe from hackers. The equivalent amount of system resources for Ubuntu to do this same task is ZERO! nada, nothing. I like that since it's another annual expense I don't have anymore.

I shall have to keep Windows around since I do have a couple of legacy apps I need. However I'll run it as a task in Ubuntu and not by itself. It shall also have no access to the internet. As far as my main computer is concerned I'm a happy camper.


Goodbye Windows it's curtains for you. Goodbye Bill Gates and all the money I wasted being frustrated with the pile of crap that is Windows. You won't be getting anymore.

Want to know more? Visit ** They have a very cool intro to Ubuntu and getting it up and running. Ubuntu can downloaded free from the Ubuntu Website.

[Jomar]

Some day I will totally convert - right now I have a dual boot system on my desktop and Linux Mepis alone on my laptop.
I change it over to Ubuntu or Kubuntu once in awhile.
Those were the first 2 Linux OS I tried years ago.

I have Quicken that I really like and that is the main reason I have stayed with Windows XP . Haven't found a comparable free program like it.

I haven't needed to upgrade to Vista or 7 for anything.

[stagger]

Hello,
Having a Dell 2400 and a Dell workstation I could be tempted to convert the work station if this is Dummy's friendly. I'm running Firefox and IE 7 on this 2400

[desertranger]

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

Some day I will totally convert - right now I have a dual boot system on my desktop and Linux Mepis alone on my laptop.
I change it over to Ubuntu or Kubuntu once in awhile.
Those were the first 2 Linux OS I tried years ago.

I have Quicken that I really like and that is the main reason I have stayed with Windows XP . Haven't found a comparable free program like it.

I haven't needed to upgrade to Vista or 7 for anything.

There is a Linux program called Wine. It is an Application Layer Gateway. Wine Is Not an Emulator. (wine... get it) I run several legacy apps in wine it works fine. Quicken is on the list of Apps. You can also run Windows XP in a Vbox inside Linux and run Quicken that way. That's how I run Macromedia Freehand and Corel Draw.

[Jomar]

I tried to figure WINE out a few yrs ago. Couldn't figure it out or how to install it.
Got tired of fiddling with it and reinstalled XP.

I was having a lot of XP crashes then, mostly due to free or no security programs back then..& downloading , testing things..
Learned my lesson.
Now I have a full internet security suite and all good for over a yr now.

I do full back ups on external HD every so often, I guess I'll keep using XP til I can't use it anymore LOL.

It is fun to play around on the Linux OS distros they are so customizable.

[Jomar]

Well.. how funny,
I had ordered a free Kubutu 9.10 Live CD a months ago and it arrived today.
So I have been installing and setting it up on my second hd as a dual boot system.

I always have to edit the boot menu, sine we use auto start up and mostly use windows.
new Linux installs always put linux as the default boot up.
found a boot start up manager so it is much simpler to set the OS you want to start up first and the time delay for making a choice if you want to.

have to download all the updates tomorrow, might take awhile, then I can play more with it.

[RobinM]

I must say I am impressed with Windows7, Vista was rubbish and lasted 4 mins on my machine. XP for me was fairly crash free, but the coding in Windows7 is better IMO, and runs my old machine smoother.

[Sunrise]

I've been using a PC for 20 years. I wanted a Mac for 10 of them. Well I finally bought my Mac, and I do love it. But *now* Microsoft comes out with a decent version of Windows? Do I have good timing or what?

Sunrise

[Jomar]

I decided to order the newest free Ubuntu CD and I like it too, better that the Kubuntu.

These are "live" cds - meaning you can put them in the cd drive and boot your commuter using it that way.
But your computer has to be set check the cd drives first before booting from the hard drive.

But you can use & explore the live cds with out making any changes to your system. It will run slower since it is running from the cd drive, when installed it runs much smoother & quicker.

If you install it for a dual boot use , it will import your files and settings from Windows!.
My bookmarks, pictures and documents all got copied over to Ubuntu.

This is a totally new thing, trying to get everything transferred was one of the main problems with moving between Windows & a Linux system.
I also found & downloaded 4 finance programs to try out and they can import Quicken files. So I'll see if any will work for me.


If you want to find out more there are books with cds in libraries, or order the CD and read online about Linux while you wait for it to arrive.


[Requesting an Ubuntu CD

Ubuntu is available free of charge and we can send you a CD of the latest version (9.10 (Karmic Koala)) with no extra cost, but the delivery may take up to ten weeks, so you should consider downloading the CD image if you have a fast Internet connection. ]
https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

I ordered one before the holidays so it took quite awhile but this newest one took only 2 weeks or so to get here.

[plgerrard]

desertranger: Thank you for the post. My husband and I have talked about installing Linux on one of our computers first, and working with it a while before converting the rest. We thought we would need to leave Windows on one of the computers, but Vbox might work instead. So, I have a question for you about it.

We run Adobe CS3 MasterSuite on 2 of our computers. I mainly use it for Acrobat (and have been trying to teach myself Dreamweaver), but my husband constantly pushes the limits of his 4GB memory with Photoshop and the plugins he uses. It has something to do with his photos, as each is about 10MB. (I'm afraid data is my thing and photos/graphics is his, so I don't understand the details.)

How well does Corel Draw run inside Vbox? How well do you think Photoshop would run?

I remember when I supported networks in 40 locations, and in my spare time taught myself Access using the help menu and internet searches. I wrote and maintained a database for purchasing and tracking at the 40 locations, and supported close to 200 employees.

Now, even though I'm only working a few hours a week, my pharmaceutically-challenged brain has spent months trying to learn OpenOffice Base and Dreamweaver - even with 'Dummies' and 'Bible' books for each. So, Jo*Mar I'm grateful for the link you supplied. I'm going to order the CD, so I can become familiar with it before attempting to install.

Thank you both