I'm thinking about getting ubuntu...?

Question

but I know absolutely nothing about it. I have vista right now but I saw some videos showing some of ubuntu's capabilities and it looks really cool, so I want it...I think. Can someone please explain to me whether or not I should download it or if I even can when I already have vista and if there is anything special I need to do before I get it. Please keep in mind that I know basically nothing about computer software so please make your answer as simple and understandable as possible. Thanks.

Answer 1

Ubuntu is an open-source free operating system. A good explanation of the origins and purpose of Ubuntu can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu

As the article above explains, Ubuntu's installation CD is available as a Live CD. A Live CD lets you try the operating system before you install it, by running it off the computer's Ram without actually installing it. You simply pop the CD into the tray while running Vista, and it autoruns the operating system, allowing you to know if there are any computer components that may not work without some tweaking.

I use Ubuntu on my Windows XP computer. It's installed in such a way that it lets me choose, on starting my PC, whether i want to use XP or Ubuntu. This feature is called Dual Booting and it's useful because i get to keep Windows on the same hard drive as Ubuntu but on a different partition. In other words, my main hard drive C:\ is now divided into 2 separate areas on the same drive, one for windows and one for Ubuntu.

The installation process lets you choose whether you want to Dual boot Ubuntu with your Vista installation, whether you want to erase Vista and install Ubuntu over it or whether you want to install Ubuntu to a separate drive ( if you have 2 or more hard drives). The partitioning process is done during installation and you are given the option of selecting the size of the new partition for Ubuntu. If for example you have a 320GB hard drive, you can choose to use 100GB for Ubuntu and the rest for windows. The size is really up to you, but you must give Ubuntu at least 15GB for it to use.

The Ubuntu live CD can be downloaded from the Ubuntu website. It's in the form of an ISO, which is a disc image format. You just need to select the option in your DVD burner software to create a data CD. The option to create one from an ISO file should be there.

Here's the Ubuntu website. There's alot of information there. By the way, Ubuntu has both 32bit and 64 bit versions, but i'd recommend using the 32 bit version, as it has a higher installation success rate for newer machines.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubu...

The chief advantage for using Ubuntu is that you get to use the internet without the need for a firewall or antivirus. You get access to all the opensource web browsers and you are fully protected from spam and viruses because they can't run on Ubuntu. Also, if your Vista installation crashes due to viruses, spam or a windows update, you will still be able to surf the web and troubleshoot the problem from the very same computer.

Answer 2

to install it you'll need a spare partition or hard drive

if you dont have a spare partition you can make one with gparted

once you have the bootcd you boot the machine with it in and it will install. It will place a boot menu on your hard drive so that when you start the machine you will have the option of booting to linux or vista (assuming you are keeping vista)

Once you get it you will need to add codecs if you want it to be able to play multimedia files like dvd's. There are instructions on the web site about how to do this.

From memory, you will also need to install flash player for the web browser.

With linux, the easiest way to install software is with the package manager. In ubuntu, its called 'synaptic'.

'synaptic' by default does not have all the software available to the os. If you want more dsoftware options you will need to add repositopries. There are instructions on the website about how to do this.

Linux is not great at running windows software. It runs windows apps through WINE. To find out what windows software you can run on it, see http://appdb.winehq.org/

Unfortunately, to get much done in linux, you will need to use the terminal (command line). The command line is case sensitive. This is important to keep in mind when you use it.

Linux requires you to use SUDO to get things done that would be more straightforward in windows. You should read up on what SUDO is and how it works, as its an important concept to getting anything done.

Linux is not particularly simple to use, and has some rather large differences in the way it operates if you are used to a MS OS. Its very rewarding if you are happy to put in the time to learn, but can be hard work if you're not prepared to read and ask questions.

For help and support with ubuntu, use the forumns on the website.  

Answer 3

Lots to know about Linux. l'm pretty good at figuring out Windows but ubuntu (which is only one of thousands of Linux operating systems).it's another story. A friend swears by it so l started dabbling in it, 6mo later l gave up switching because l can't afford another printer. Canon's software only works on windows systems. There's progress being made with the compatibility thing and there is a few printers that work but you'd have to check. You got to do alot of reading and understanding a whole different computer language. For security issues it's tops. The crackers only attack Windows systems. Find everything you need to know @ linux operating systems.RR

Answer 4

For a detailed tutorial go to http://www.mymediatutorials.com/. I forget where it is but I saw it there once

Answer 5

Ubuntu is a great choice. You can actually dual boot with it so you can run vista and ubuntu (you'll be given a choice on start up). NOt that anyone would want to run vista....

It's very easy, even people with no computer experience can handle it.

Go to the Ubuntu site, and you can either Download the ISO file (and there's instructions on how to burn that to cd) or you can have them mail you an install cd for free. You can even try it without installing it, so if you don't like it, no harm done. And the install is very, very hard to mess up. You should be fine.

Good luck!

Check either the ubuntu forums, or linuxforums.org if you run into trouble.