New to Ubuntu, still Windows user, convince me!

[the*hero]

I have not yet installed Ubuntu on my PC. We want to test run it on my home PC to see if we should put it on our development computers at our office. We are web developers. We mainly use Dreamweaver MX 2004, Photoshop 7, Firefox 3.0.4, IE 7, and many other applications to run our development. I have it all working great in Windows XP, I know probably a swear word in here.

I have a few questions about Ubuntu and the switch I'll make.


Will Ubuntu already be able to run the programs I have installed on my PC upon installing Ubuntu?
If not, will installing Ubuntu delete my programs from my PC?
Can I run the above mentioned programs on Ubuntu?
If so will they run faster?
What is the main reason I should switch to Ubuntu?


All in all, convince me of why I should switch to Ubuntu from Windows XP?

[mbzn]

Will Ubuntu already be able to run the programs I have installed on my PC upon installing Ubuntu?
This can be checked with the live CD

If not, will installing Ubuntu delete my programs from my PC?
Linux is not *******... It's a complete different system

Can I run the above mentioned programs on Ubuntu?
wine wil run ******* apps, try the open source programmes i find them mostly better with support and.. hey free

If so will they run faster?
I have personaly not benchmarked it but chances are verry good

What is the main reason I should switch to Ubuntu?
FREEEEE!!!! and the forums will help you a lot faster than ******* updates

p.s. Try the live cd, it will be slow but will give you an idea

[perlluver]

No one can convince you, it is your choice. I am pretty sure Dreamweaver will not run on Ubuntu, I would recommend checking the apps database at: http://www.winehq.org. As for your other questions, installing Ubuntu, you can install it beside Windows, or you can do a clean install and it will remove Windows. Firefox is the default browser, and IE7, can be installed through ies4linux, but I wouldn't recommend browsing with it.

The choice is yours, as a Server I wouldn't recommend anything else than Linux, but for web development, with mostly Windows tools, it won't suit your needs. I web develop, but I use Quanta, and Gedit, I edit the pages by hand.

Hope I answered some of your questions.

[Michael.Godawski]

nicely said perlluver,

the choice is yours. Photoshop 7 should run on Ubuntu: http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iVersionId=1336

As for the other designing software I am not sure.
Run the Live CD and see if you like it, nothing will be changed on your system as long as you try Ubuntu out and do not install it to the drive so you can get a clear picture of the look and feel.

Honestly speaking some applications are just made for windows. So if your business relies on them, why change?

[fishyf]

Well, in your situation, I wouldn't recommend you switch from XP. The setup you are comfortable with wouldn't be straightforward to replicate in Ubuntu.

Instead, I would recommend you get another PC/laptop/netbook and install Ubuntu on that. Gradually replace the programs that you are used to using on XP. In the beginning, you will find many things to hate about Ubuntu, but you will start to see why it is so popular if you persist.

Many Web developers use Ubuntu because the web applications can run on your computer. You could easily run apache, mysql and something such as php on a powerful netbook/average laptop and have an excellent web development environment. Well, that's what I do ...

[the*hero]

Thank you for your replies. Where do I request the latest version for the live CD?

[perlluver]

Thank you for your replies. Where do I request the latest version for the live CD?

http://www.ubuntu.com/ and you can download or have them ship you a copy, but the shipping takes about 6 weeks. Either way is free.

[brian_p]

I have a few questions about Ubuntu and the switch I'll make.

1. Will Ubuntu already be able to run the programs I have installed on my PC upon installing Ubuntu?

No. They are Windows programs.


2. If not, will installing Ubuntu delete my programs from my PC?

Only if you give it permission to.


3. Can I run the above mentioned programs on Ubuntu?

This is a repeat of question 1.


4. If so will they run faster?

See question 1.


5. What is the main reason I should switch to Ubuntu?

It's fun.


All in all, convince me of why I should switch to Ubuntu from Windows XP?

Not just yet if that is ok with you. You could read the vast amount pertaining to this issue in these forums and on the web and convince yourself (or otherwise).

[mlentink]

linux, and therefore Ubuntu, is not Windows.
Whether you will be able to run windows applications in Ubuntu is highly doubtful. I would strongly advise against choosing a linux distro to try and find a better Windows. Try and choose it because it is a better operating system.

[Temposs]

You will need to install a program called Wine to run Windows programs on Ubuntu, or any Linux-based system.

I know photoshop 7 and IE7 will run quite nicely on Ubuntu, using Wine.

To search for which Windows programs will run nicely in Ubuntu under Wine, go here: http://appdb.winehq.org/

Type a program into the search at the top.

Dreamweaver may or may not work: http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=1054&iTestingId=28468

Photoshop 7 will work well: http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=1336

Firefox of course will work well, since it runs natively.

---
I don't think you can reliably measure whether a given program will run faster or slower under Ubuntu vs Windows. It depends on a lot of things...

---
A couple nice reasons to use Ubuntu are:
1) Better security(no risk of viruses or spyware, and better protection against hacking)

2) The killer app is the add/remove programs application that comes with Ubuntu. With a couple clicks you can search for, download, and install any of thousands of applications endorsed by and in some cases supported by Ubuntu's developers. And they're free, in cost and in the way you can use them. And there's a program for most anything, usually 2 or 5 for the same purpose. You no longer need to go searching for random shareware programs or pay through the nose for proprietary programs.

3) A fun, different experience from the usual computing experience.
---

But, in the end, no one can convince you to switch to Ubuntu. Ubuntu is different, and you can come into it expecting it to work just exactly like Windows. It's not Windows. Use both Ubuntu and Windows for a while if you're not sure which you want to use. I did, and eventually I dropped Windows altogether.

You may want to read this excellent piece on how Linux is not Windows. It's very good: http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

Just take things step by step. We're not a company(though there is an organizing corporation), we're a community. We learn and build together. You must approach using and learning Ubuntu as entering a new community, not simply searching for a new software product.

[the*hero]

http://www.ubuntu.com/ and you can download or have them ship you a copy, but the shipping takes about 6 weeks. Either way is free.

Does the download run the same as the CD? Trying this CD/Download won't cause me any headache in reverting back to windows? Am I correct in understanding that it allows you to see how it would run with Ubuntu but wouldn't really install it?

[Captain_tux]

What is the main reason I should switch to Ubuntu?



Because I like you, I'll give you three (and unlike Windows, won't charge you... for any!):

Viruses, trojans and worms.

[Michael.Godawski]

jep. The CDs are the same. Just make sure you download the Live CD version. This version has the capability to load fully and solely into the RAM of your machine, so no data is written to your hard drive as long as you do not install it.

The Alternate Installer CD does not have this function.

[perlluver]

Does the download run the same as the CD? Trying this CD/Download won't cause me any headache in reverting back to windows? Am I correct in understanding that it allows you to see how it would run with Ubuntu but wouldn't really install it?

If you download the Live CD, and run it, without installing, it will let you see what Ubuntu is like. If you choose you like it, you can install it without wiping Windows.

[Temposs]

Does the download run the same as the CD? Trying this CD/Download won't cause me any headache in reverting back to windows? Am I correct in understanding that it allows you to see how it would run with Ubuntu but wouldn't really install it?

You are correct that it will let you try Ubuntu without actually installing it. It will run a lot slower than normal because everything is being loaded off the CD into memory and you're not using the hard disk at all.

The download needs to be burned to a CD with software called ISO recorder. Check out this tutorial on doing that: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BurningIsoHowto

After that, just make sure your CD drive is set to boot first, and away you go!

[Temposs]

If you download the Live CD, and run it, without installing, it will let you see what Ubuntu is like. If you choose you like it, you can install it without wiping Windows.

As perlluver says, you can have both Windows and Ubuntu installed on the same machine, in different hard disk partitions :-)

[perlluver]

And as an afterthought make sure you burn at 4x or slower, and make sure it is burnt as a disc image.

[the*hero]

Wow, I really appreciate all your replies. They have helped me to better see what this is all about. I will look into it.

For now I'll sit back and enjoy the show :popcorn:

[Therion]

All in all, convince me of why I should switch to Ubuntu from Windows XP?

I'm not really interested in convincing you to switch over. If you want to switch, switch.

I'm not here to convert you, but if you do decide to use Ubuntu I'll be happy to help you with your transition.

[theozzlives]

I have programs that won't run under Ubuntu, so I have 30 GB for XP, and spend most my time in Ubuntu (Dual Boot). Linux is growing fast and software venders are coming out with Linux programs... it just takes time. I would not recommend going past XP, or surfing the net in XP, but for certain programs, it's fine to Dual Boot.

[sigurnjak]

Wecome to UBUNTU community !
Here is some reading to give you better grasp of Ubuntu and some other stuff , enjoy !
http://kdubois.net/?p=24
http://www.linuxgenuineadvantage.org/
http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html
http://www.mindblowingidea.com/Vista.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-I-Prefer-Linux-To-Windows
http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/
http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html
http://linuxappfinder.com/alternatives
Yeah , i know it is a lot , but it is worth it !:guitar:

[sarath_it]

All in all, No one will convince you to have free lunch!! You just get it, because it is in your best interest :)