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Ubuntu 10.10
by richardbwest
I have been toying with different flavours of Linux for a couple of years now, but I always ended up going back to Windows. Why? Because as much of a geek as I am, I want my computer to 'just work'. Well, finally Ubuntu has matured to the point where it does this, and boy more. Too lazy to read the full review? Well here's ... why:
1. It Installs easily - You can install it as a windows program and then if you dont like it simply un-install it from windows.
2. It all Works - Graphics,Wireless,Video,Music - it all pretty much worked 'out of the box' and what wasn't enable d as standard because of Licensing laws could be installed easily with a one click install.
3. It looks amazing - the graphics are amazing and everything is of course customisable.
4. You can download extra software with confidence from the Ubuntu Software Centre - FREE!!!
5. Its much more virus resistant than windows.
6. It much less resource heavy than windows - when you start up you are only using 400-500meg of your precious ram, not like windows 7 that sits at 800-900meg.
7. You can mount(load) windows partitions at boot - without having to first have a computer science degree!see down the bottom for details.
Want to know more? read on...
More info:
--- Installed applications ---
Internet - Firefox
Mail - Evolution Mail
Music - Rhythmbox
Video - Movie Player
Office - Open Office
Photo Manager - Shotwell
Plus many more....
Getting it:
You can get Ubuntu direct from their website, either as a direct download, or downloaded via a torrent. I chose the direct download and this completed very quickly on my system.
Installing it:
If you are new to Linux, I would recommend downloading the Ubuntu installer for windows from their website and installing Ubuntu as a application for windows. Its very easy, even my dad should be able to do it.If you know what do are doing or want to install Ubuntu without windows like a true Linux disciple, then simply burn the Ubuntu image to a CD and reboot your system. The Cd will load the Ubuntu Live system, where you csan play around and get a feel for it, and then install using the Graphical installer. This is a fairly straightforward process, and you are presented with the usual options of formatting partitions. The installation itself took 30 minutes on my newish machine.
Using it:
My system boots in 22seconds, so nice and quick!
Here is a great thing about Ubuntu. You can install things easily,confidently ad and spyware free, and for free - all from a 'one-click' button! just go to the Ubuntu software centre and choose your category and away you go!
As for stuff already on there, you have the brilliant open office, basically it does the same as Microsoft office without the pretty buttons and colours that were designed to make it easier for a 2 year old to use.
Printing:
This is one area where you have to be careful. Ubuntu still has limited support for some manufacturers (especially lexmark) so if you are going to be printing check you have a linux compatible printer - or go buy one. Otherwise you will have to boot back into windows every time you want to boot.
Gaming and Graphics:
The ATI propriety drivers are not installed by default - but they are available as a one click install and the Catalyst control centre (for those with with ATI graphics cars) works straight off!
Tweak it:
As with any linux distro it is infinitely customisable - if you are into eyecandy I would recommend you have a look at macbuntu - a mac skin for ubuntu - its pretty easy to install (some terminal commands but not too hard) and looks awesome.
Conclusion:
This is an awesome operating system, that has finally come of age. Heartily recommended.
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Ubuntu
by handsondave
Getting your hands on Free and discounted software - Ubuntu
We all like FREE stuff, but can you really software for free? Yes you can, read on to find out how; there are several ways to access free software.
For anyone with a home PC or Home Laptop you can download and install free versions of Linux software, one in ... particular is Ubuntu available from
http://www.ubuntu.com/
There are lots of resources out there for free for instance, take a look at this http://distrowatch.tradepub.com/free/w_make10 for information on how to get started with Ubuntu and yes it's free. "The Incredible Guide to NEW Ubuntu (Karmic Koala)"
Other Linux distributions:
Fedora, Kubunto, OpenSUSE, Debian, Linux Mint, PCLinuxOS
------------- So why chose Linux -----------------
The first and probably the best reason is that it is free, and so is a great deal of software for it, it comes packed full of applications and games, including open office which is now compatible with MS office documents. Second it is nowhere near as vulnerable as Windows to attack or viruses, free antivirus and firewall software is available. Hackers normally attack MS products because they don't like the fact that we have to pay large amounts of money for products and also because MS was and is mainly a closed source program although some parts of Microsoft applications are open source but not a lot.
SPEED, Linux operating systems are very fast, personally I would say faster than Windows this is mainly because the code is lightweight, when someone creates an application for others to use and modify, others will generally improve it, removing bugs, making the code better and improving its overall performance. Linux uses your computer resources better too! For instance if you have 1GB of memory, Linux will generally use most of it, which is another reason why it runs faster, as the programs you need to use are probably already loaded into your RAM (Random Access Memory).
Just take a look at the mini laptops on the market many of them are now shipped with Linux because they are not as power hungry as MS products and they are faster!!!!!!
-------------- Open Source software --------------
Means that any programmer can download and access the files used to create the software, allowing them to modify and improve the features further, with a view to release the modifications to others. The open source projects are developed around the world by people who like to tinker with programming, testing their skills, whilst creating good software that is comparable to MS apps. If you need to know more just Google Open Source Software, it is also possible to install open source software on Windows, for some of the Linux applications you may need to install an additional software application first.
If you have ever wanted to use software for graphics, video and so on you will have found that you can get windows based programs for free, or you can try them for a month free, then you need to buy them. With Linux you can probably get hold of applications that do the same or better for free.
------------- Ease of use ----------------
How easy is it to install one of these Linux operating systems? Like everything over time it gets better, Linux is exactly the same; with the new Distro's as they are called, they have graphical user interfaces similar to MS Windows so it does most of the work for you. It provides user interfaces for common users as well as the well proven advanced users, there are literally thousands of sites out there that provide support for Linux for free, if you have a problem with your installation or with an application someone else will have already reported it and found a solution to the problem.
It is also possible to create a dual boot computer that will allow you to use both MS windows and Linux, the user chooses which operating system to load at the time your computer boots up. The selected operating system then loads and hey presto, so if you don't want to wipe your machine completely to try out this software you don't need to! WORD OF CAUTION - when setting up a dual boot operating system please Google how to do it, as with any installation of a new operating system it is easy to accidently wipe the whole drive thus losing everything you had on it. Once completed, you will notice the difference as soon as your computer begins to boot up.
Open office which is installed free as default is a resource rich package that has many of MS equivalent tasks, it is just like learning to use a new version of MS office (2003 - 2007) after a few weeks you will be a master of. Most computer wizards started out on MSDOS or Linux/Unix operating systems therefore if your child is really interested in working on computers, I would advise getting them to use Linux as well. This is because MS has tried to make the PC available to all, but it removed the need to have a lot of the knowledge away in order to use it. For most users this is a benefit, however in my opinion, it makes it more difficult to develop our future computer wizards.
--------------- Conclusion -----------------
My final thoughts are this, no one should tell you what software to buy or use as it is your choice however, you need to know about other options in order to make an informed decision. As I mentioned before if you prefer Microsoft products no problem, on the other hand if your computer is running very slowly and you have other things to spend your money on instead of a shiny new computer then think about trying out Linux and see if there is any improvement. I believe you will notice major improvements, first because you will need to wipe the hard drive if you want to use it permanently and second it will use the resources of your computer better. Hardware manufacturers now even provide driver support for Linux operating systems if need be.
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