Thanks Ubuntu

[kaybertoss]

Hi all

I'm new to Linux and I’m quite impressed. I've been in the Windows environment for about 10 plus years. Started with 98SE now with 7 on both my machines. With computers I'm an amateurish/somewhat knowledgeable hobbyist at best. Can build systems and troubleshoot software fairly well.

Recently tho I've had my PSN account info hacked and even my DSLReports email/password hacked.

Anyhow, I'm not seeing a very bright future overall for security in the Windows environment and the cloud so I've made a commitment to wean off of Windows and take nothing for granted in the cloud in terms of security and move to a more secure environment. I duno maybe I’m wrong and getting paranoid.

So, after trying Ubuntu 5 years ago I wasn't all that impressed. However, after deciding to give it another shot with the Ubuntu Live CD I went ahead and installed it on both my machines under a duel boot set-up. My 4.5 year old Dell Inspiron 6400 worked right out of the box, even the WiFi worked right away without having to fight with drivers. My homebrew desktop worked fairly well with just a few Nividia 6600GT Video related issues, nothing major. Even my precious Asus Xonar ST was recognized and worked. After a few installed add-on's I'm even able to set my impedance on my sound card for my Sennheiser headphones!

It's been about three weeks now and we are rarely using Windows, finding that our family can do most things with Linux that we were doing in Windows. I'm hoping to bring my 5 year old daughter up in an Linux environment as well.

It's a bit of a learning curve, the terminology and environment is a little different/strange but plenty of Google searches helps.

Oh and I love the price!

Thank you Linux, Ubuntu and the open source community for providing an excellent alternative to the status quo.

[Kafubie]

The Linux community thanks you for sticking with Ubuntu.

If you have any problems, this forum will help you step-by-step to resolve your problem.

Stay Classy. \\:D/

[Wild Man]

Hi all

I'm new to Linux and I’m quite impressed. I've been in the Windows environment for about 10 plus years. Started with 98SE now with 7 on both my machines. With computers I'm an amateurish/somewhat knowledgeable hobbyist at best. Can build systems and troubleshoot software fairly well.

Recently tho I've had my PSN account info hacked and even my DSLReports email/password hacked.

Anyhow, I'm not seeing a very bright future overall for security in the Windows environment and the cloud so I've made a commitment to wean off of Windows and take nothing for granted in the cloud in terms of security and move to a more secure environment. I duno maybe I’m wrong and getting paranoid.

So, after trying Ubuntu 5 years ago I wasn't all that impressed. However, after deciding to give it another shot with the Ubuntu Live CD I went ahead and installed it on both my machines under a duel boot set-up. My 4.5 year old Dell Inspiron 6400 worked right out of the box, even the WiFi worked right away without having to fight with drivers. My homebrew desktop worked fairly well with just a few Nividia 6600GT Video related issues, nothing major. Even my precious Asus Xonar ST was recognized and worked. After a few installed add-on's I'm even able to set my impedance on my sound card for my Sennheiser headphones!

It's been about three weeks now and we are rarely using Windows, finding that our family can do most things with Linux that we were doing in Windows. I'm hoping to bring my 5 year old daughter up in an Linux environment as well.

It's a bit of a learning curve, the terminology and environment is a little different/strange but plenty of Google searches helps.

Oh and I love the price!

Thank you Linux, Ubuntu and the open source community for providing an excellent alternative to the status quo.
Hi, also for the things you can not run in linux you can use virtualbox and install windows inside of it and have them both running at the same time on different desktops.

[I♥HTML5]

Google and these forums are the only reasons my Ubuntu computer works at all!

[Jagoly]

Hi all

I'm new to Linux and I’m quite impressed. I've been in the Windows environment for about 10 plus years. Started with 98SE now with 7 on both my machines. With computers I'm an amateurish/somewhat knowledgeable hobbyist at best. Can build systems and troubleshoot software fairly well.

Recently tho I've had my PSN account info hacked and even my DSLReports email/password hacked.

Anyhow, I'm not seeing a very bright future overall for security in the Windows environment and the cloud so I've made a commitment to wean off of Windows and take nothing for granted in the cloud in terms of security and move to a more secure environment. I duno maybe I’m wrong and getting paranoid.

So, after trying Ubuntu 5 years ago I wasn't all that impressed. However, after deciding to give it another shot with the Ubuntu Live CD I went ahead and installed it on both my machines under a duel boot set-up. My 4.5 year old Dell Inspiron 6400 worked right out of the box, even the WiFi worked right away without having to fight with drivers. My homebrew desktop worked fairly well with just a few Nividia 6600GT Video related issues, nothing major. Even my precious Asus Xonar ST was recognized and worked. After a few installed add-on's I'm even able to set my impedance on my sound card for my Sennheiser headphones!

It's been about three weeks now and we are rarely using Windows, finding that our family can do most things with Linux that we were doing in Windows. I'm hoping to bring my 5 year old daughter up in an Linux environment as well.

It's a bit of a learning curve, the terminology and environment is a little different/strange but plenty of Google searches helps.

Oh and I love the price!

Thank you Linux, Ubuntu and the open source community for providing an excellent alternative to the status quo.

The best part of this post is that it isn't a complete suck up or windows hatred :KS

PS: I love the price too;)

[uRock]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

I am glad Ubuntu makes you happy. My 7 year old has been using Ubuntu for two years and she loves it. As son as she saw Unity on my test machine she insisted it be installed on her machine. She uses it for playing learning games through her school's site as well as playing the many Tux games, which can be found in the Ubuntu Software Center.

PS. Moving this to the Testimonials & Experiences sub-forum.

Thanks for sharing. :D
uRock

[kaybertoss]

The Linux community thanks you for sticking with Ubuntu.

If you have any problems, this forum will help you step-by-step to resolve your problem.

Stay Classy. \\:D/

Hey thanks! Much appreciated.

[kaybertoss]

Hi, also for the things you can not run in linux you can use virtualbox and install windows inside of it and have them both running at the same time on different desktops.

Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I´ll give that a shot. Format my C: HDD so that Ubuntu is my primary OS and load all of my files on it. Try to do without Windows.

The three things at this point I would need windows for, would be some PC games, advanced soundcard settings (not a biggie) and using AnyDVD. The virtualbox would solve that I´m guessing.

[kaybertoss]

Google and these forums are the only reasons my Ubuntu computer works at all!

Good to know I´m not the only one! :P

[kaybertoss]

ps: I love the price too;)

Yes, lol!

[dash10]

This forum and Ubuntu itself really are brilliant, just got help tonight troubleshooting an annoying issue.

And yeah, the price is nice.

[kaybertoss]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

I am glad Ubuntu makes you happy. My 7 year old has been using Ubuntu for two years and she loves it. As son as she saw Unity on my test machine she insisted it be installed on her machine. She uses it for playing learning games through her school's site as well as playing the many Tux games, which can be found in the Ubuntu Software Center.

PS. Moving this to the Testimonials & Experiences sub-forum.

Thanks for sharing. :D
uRock

Thanks and ooops, wrong forum.

Interesting you have your child/daughter in mind as well. Sigh, with all of the pitfalls out there I´m hoping to educate her from an early age regarding internet safety and good sound computer OS practices.

Coincidently, I thought my wife might of resisted the change to Linux but her needs were easily meet as all she does is mainly on-line bank, Facebook, youtube and listen to our FLAC music collection. After a brief tutorial she has seemed to get around fairly well considering she is not all that computer savvy and was mainly used to the Windows 7 environment.

However, she has always been skeptical and leery of computer/internet security so reaffirming on the security benefits of Linux made the migration somewhat easier.


I'll have to check out some of those TUX games for my daughter as well.


Cheers.

[dash10]

It's all about Super Tux Kart, for real.

[kaybertoss]

This forum and Ubuntu itself really are brilliant, just got help tonight troubleshooting an annoying issue.

And yeah, the price is nice.

Yeah, it seems that way with my one post so far. Friendly and with a little look around helpful folk too. Glad to hear you problem was resolved with the help of the forum.

[Jagoly]

Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I´ll give that a shot. Format my C: HDD so that Ubuntu is my primary OS and load all of my files on it. Try to do without Windows.

The three things at this point I would need windows for, would be some PC games, advanced soundcard settings (not a biggie) and using AnyDVD. The virtualbox would solve that I´m guessing.

Not exactly. 3d Graphics aren't to good on virtualbox. Besides, to use virtualbox, you would need to get another copy of Windows anyway. Keep windows for now.

For Games and other windows software, try looking into Wine Is Not an Emulator (http://www.winehq.org/)

Not everything will work in WINE, and sometimes alot of tweaking may be required, but once something works it will probably work faster than on windows.

Edit: My 100th bean:D

[Wild Man]

Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe I´ll give that a shot. Format my C: HDD so that Ubuntu is my primary OS and load all of my files on it. Try to do without Windows.

The three things at this point I would need windows for, would be some PC games, advanced soundcard settings (not a biggie) and using AnyDVD. The virtualbox would solve that I´m guessing.
Hi, it does not handle games as well as people would like, because it is gear more towards productivity, but everything else it does.):P

[fabricator4]

Anyhow, I'm not seeing a very bright future overall for security in the Windows environment and the cloud so I've made a commitment to wean off of Windows and take nothing for granted in the cloud in terms of security and move to a more secure environment. I duno maybe I’m wrong and getting paranoid.


Welcome to the community.

No, you're not being paranoid. It's not just lack of security with "that other" OS, but also that it's the primary target for a variety of reasons. Even when running Ubuntu (or any other Linux OS) security is still about being vigilante and watchful. Linux won't save you from a spoofing site, for example, and you need to be careful to select strong passwords and things like that.

Your move to Ubuntu has just made you several thousand times safer on the net. (Metaphorically speaking - but I do believe it to be nearly so.)



It's been about three weeks now and we are rarely using Windows, finding that our family can do most things with Linux that we were doing in Windows. I'm hoping to bring my 5 year old daughter up in an Linux environment as well.


I'd also like to add a vote for VirtualBox. Running XP in a virtual machine (Windows doesn't know any different) is a great solution for a minor need for a Windows machine. In my case, I need TomTom home to keep my GPS updated, but TomTom have stated that they will not be supporting Linux any time soon.

I wish I'd tried VirtualBox sooner - it was a lot easier and way more useful to me that I thought it would be. All you need is the installation file and the extension pack from Oracle, the Windows boot disks, and lots of RAM in your computer to run the virtual machine in.

Use the PUEL (Personal Use Evaluation License) version from Oracle, not the OSE (Open Source Edition) version in the repositories as it doesn't support USB ports or devices. (I guess the USB bits aren't open source)



It's a bit of a learning curve, the terminology and environment is a little different/strange but plenty of Google searches helps.


To be sure, the learning curve is steep. I found that the point at which you start to feel comfortable is right before the point that you start to realise just how much you still don't know :D

Self help is the greatest learning tool as you seem to have found out.

Chris

[kaybertoss]

Not exactly. 3d Graphics aren't to good on virtualbox. Besides, to use virtualbox, you would need to get another copy of Windows anyway. Keep windows for now.

For Games and other windows software, try looking into Wine Is Not an Emulator (http://www.winehq.org/)

Not everything will work in WINE, and sometimes alot of tweaking may be required, but once something works it will probably work faster than on windows.

Edit: My 100th bean:D

Congrats on your 100th post.:D Thanks for the heads up and your screenshot.
I see you have transmission installed. I tried Deluge as my first foray into torrents under Linux and it worked great!

Here is a screenshot of my Desktop as well. My main gaming vise under Windows is Call Of Duty 2.

[kaybertoss]

Hi, it does not handle games as well as people would like, because it is gear more towards productivity, but everything else it does.):P

Thanks, I'll hang on to my duel boot for a while then and experiment with virtualbox and WINE.:-P

[-kg-]

It's a bit of a learning curve, the terminology and environment is a little different/strange but plenty of Google searches helps.

Yes, I always say, "Google is your friend!", and not only for this.

I've been using Linux since 2008, and before that, I used DOS/Windows for many years. It was difficult and strange to me at first, too! Now, Windows seems different and strange. I find it increasingly difficult to help my friends with their Windows computers, because "that's not the way it's done in Linux." :mrgreen:

I certainly think you'll grow into Linux and appreciate it more as time goes by. I know I did!

At the risk of putting off some here, I have a further suggestion. Ubuntu is a very fine starting (and ending) Linux distribution, but once you get used to things (Ubuntu has the finest Community-based support available, in my estimation), don't neglect to check out and experiment with other Linux distributions available. There are literally hundreds!

Check out the website, http://distrowatch.com/. They list all the known Linux/BSD/etc. distributions out there, active or inactive. An entire range of distributions from the user-friendly to the uber-geeky. They also have specialty distros that are field specific, such as Ubuntu Studio, which specializes in all things audio/video/multi-media processing. I have this installed myself, since I video tape live bands and process/burn the videos.

Personally, I have 3 different distros installed on my laptop alone. Besides Ubuntu, I have Fedora and OpenSUSE (Oh yeah, I have Vista installed too.). They're all fine distros, though I'm thinking of replacing OpenSUSE with something else to experiment with.

That's the beauty of Linux. Whatever you need/desire, there's likely a Linux distribution that will cover it specifically, and big time, as well as the general "cover-all" distros that do everything well.

[kaybertoss]

Welcome to the community.

No, you're not being paranoid. It's not just lack of security with "that other" OS, but also that it's the primary target for a variety of reasons. Even when running Ubuntu (or any other Linux OS) security is still about being vigilante and watchful. Linux won't save you from a spoofing site, for example, and you need to be careful to select strong passwords and things like that.

Your move to Ubuntu has just made you several thousand times safer on the net. (Metaphorically speaking - but I do believe it to be nearly so.)



I'd also like to add a vote for VirtualBox. Running XP in a virtual machine (Windows doesn't know any different) is a great solution for a minor need for a Windows machine. In my case, I need TomTom home to keep my GPS updated, but TomTom have stated that they will not be supporting Linux any time soon.

I wish I'd tried VirtualBox sooner - it was a lot easier and way more useful to me that I thought it would be. All you need is the installation file and the extension pack from Oracle, the Windows boot disks, and lots of RAM in your computer to run the virtual machine in.

Use the PUEL (Personal Use Evaluation License) version from Oracle, not the OSE (Open Source Edition) version in the repositories as it doesn't support USB ports or devices. (I guess the USB bits aren't open source)



To be sure, the learning curve is steep. I found that the point at which you start to feel comfortable is right before the point that you start to realise just how much you still don't know :D

Self help is the greatest learning tool as you seem to have found out.

Chris

Thanks for the extra details regarding virtualbox. Yes seeing Mac users facing a Malware scare is a testament to just how hacking is evolving in terms of cheating unsuspecting users out of personal information/cash with a less popular, more secure OS.

If I´m not mistaken Windows has roughly 89% market share in the PC market. Most hacking/scams revolve around the big guy. With Linux in the roughly 2% range, apparently we kinda fly under the raidar. But as you point out there is still a risk.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20064394-245.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=InSecurityComplex

looking at Linux from an noobie prospective, yes I´m feeling a lot more secure overall.
Having said that I´m going to have to educate myself on the security end of things just as I did under Windows. I thought I was quite secure under Windows tho. I never had a virus, was quite proactive in terms of educating myself, securing my 2 systems, being careful where I traveled on the net and trusting no one.

[Jagoly]

Congrats on your 100th post.:D Thanks for the heads up and your screenshot.
I see you have transmission installed. I tried Deluge as my first foray into torrents under Linux and it worked great!

Here is a screenshot of my Desktop as well. My main gaming vise under Windows is Call Of Duty 2.

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=3794

Got a gold rating, so it's worth a try):P

BTW, what sort of GPU do you have? (nVidia/ATI/Intel)

[kaybertoss]

Yes, I always say, "Google is your friend!", and not only for this.

I've been using Linux since 2008, and before that, I used DOS/Windows for many years. It was difficult and strange to me at first, too! Now, Windows seems different and strange. I find it increasingly difficult to help my friends with their Windows computers, because "that's not the way it's done in Linux." :mrgreen:

I certainly think you'll grow into Linux and appreciate it more as time goes by. I know I did!

At the risk of putting off some here, I have a further suggestion. Ubuntu is a very fine starting (and ending) Linux distribution, but once you get used to things (Ubuntu has the finest Community-based support available, in my estimation), don't neglect to check out and experiment with other Linux distributions available. There are literally hundreds!

Check out the website, http://distrowatch.com/. They list all the known Linux/BSD/etc. distributions out there, active or inactive. An entire range of distributions from the user-friendly to the uber-geeky. They also have specialty distros that are field specific, such as Ubuntu Studio, which specializes in all things audio/video/multi-media processing. I have this installed myself, since I video tape live bands and process/burn the videos.

Personally, I have 3 different distros installed on my laptop alone. Besides Ubuntu, I have Fedora and OpenSUSE (Oh yeah, I have Vista installed too.). They're all fine distros, though I'm thinking of replacing OpenSUSE with something else to experiment with.

That's the beauty of Linux. Whatever you need/desire, there's likely a Linux distribution that will cover it specifically, and big time, as well as the general "cover-all" distros that do everything well.

Ah yes, I'm the guy most friends and family rely on to help solve their Windows problems so I'd feel more and more out of the loop unable to effectively help out. Helping them out is something I enjoy doing. Thanks for encouragement and the links. Amazing how many flavors of Linux there are.

[kaybertoss]

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=3794

Got a gold rating, so it's worth a try):P

BTW, what sort of GPU do you have? (nVidia/ATI/Intel)

Hey thanks! Looks promising. I'll defiantly give it a try.

[Jagoly]

Yes, I always say, "Google is your friend!", and not only for this.

I've been using Linux since 2008, and before that, I used DOS/Windows for many years. It was difficult and strange to me at first, too! Now, Windows seems different and strange. I find it increasingly difficult to help my friends with their Windows computers, because "that's not the way it's done in Linux." :mrgreen:

I certainly think you'll grow into Linux and appreciate it more as time goes by. I know I did!

At the risk of putting off some here, I have a further suggestion. Ubuntu is a very fine starting (and ending) Linux distribution, but once you get used to things (Ubuntu has the finest Community-based support available, in my estimation), don't neglect to check out and experiment with other Linux distributions available. There are literally hundreds!

Check out the website, http://distrowatch.com/. They list all the known Linux/BSD/etc. distributions out there, active or inactive. An entire range of distributions from the user-friendly to the uber-geeky. They also have specialty distros that are field specific, such as Ubuntu Studio, which specializes in all things audio/video/multi-media processing. I have this installed myself, since I video tape live bands and process/burn the videos.

Personally, I have 3 different distros installed on my laptop alone. Besides Ubuntu, I have Fedora and OpenSUSE (Oh yeah, I have Vista installed too.). They're all fine distros, though I'm thinking of replacing OpenSUSE with something else to experiment with.

That's the beauty of Linux. Whatever you need/desire, there's likely a Linux distribution that will cover it specifically, and big time, as well as the general "cover-all" distros that do everything well.

then whats even better is the fact that you can mix and match pretty much anything:popcorn:

[clive510]

The one minor problem by wiping Windows from the hard drive, like I did, is for example, anyone with a; "Sat-Nav". I have Tom-Tom XXL.
When you come to update your Sat-Nav you need Windows.
Unless someone knows different - Hope someone has a solution for this.

[fabricator4]

The one minor problem by wiping Windows from the hard drive, like I did, is for example, anyone with a; "Sat-Nav". I have Tom-Tom XXL.
When you come to update your Sat-Nav you need Windows.
Unless someone knows different - Hope someone has a solution for this.

Read my post above - number 17. I have VirtualBox running on my machine now, with an XP virtual machine. After I installed vcredist_x86 (A visual C++ distributive component from Microsoft) I was able to install TomTom home and update my TomTom One. Note the caveat about installing the PUEL version from Oracle, not the OSE version that's in the repositories.

I've tried doing this under wine previously with no luck - it wouldn't see the device, but I didn't know then about the program needing vcredist_x86 - it might be worth trying again.


Chris

[vcrpex]

welcome to ubuntu! most of the questions regarding about making ubuntu work for your system can be found here. Once I make the switch, i never turn back. You can even sync your iphone through windows in virtualbox if you are using one. Been on ubuntu the last 2 years, only small glitch is things broke down once in a while when i update the kernel. Through the forum, you should be able to resolve it quite easily most of the time.

The price is definitely fantastic, knowing that you will never run into legal issue of software in ubuntu. Just their defacto network tools seems more equipped than in windows.

[blackbird34]

+1. My trackpad won't scroll in my (self installed) 7 and no command line to do anything about it =(

[fabricator4]

+1. My trackpad won't scroll in my (self installed) 7 and no command line to do anything about it =(

There is a command prompt in Win7, in two flavours: "user" and "elevated" access rights (http://www.sevenforums.coma/tutorials/783-elevated-command-prompt.html)

Gee, I wonder where they got that idea from.

Likely the solution for your trackpad is a GUI one however.

Chris