Need a little help about ubuntu????

[adil mannan]

hi,friends.i am thinking of changing my operating system.

i am thinking of installing linux,but i don't know which operating system to install.

currently i am a windows xp user.

i don't know anything about linux.

i came to know that ubuntu is the best linux operating system .


so i want to know which is the best desktop environment i,e

kde or gnome.

i came to know that every 18 months a ubuntu version is released.i want to know which is the permanent release until now.

is it compulsory to have a internet connection if you have installed ubuntu?........to have the updates regularly.

i dont have a unlimited internet connection, i have a limited download limit.

so please suggest a linux desktop operating system that don't have to be regularly updated and which is also be the permanent version.





i want a desktop os that does not get infected by malware and have a firewall.

i want to know whether i can install the drivers which are provided by my system hardware.

i can install that drivers or not.????

i want to know whether i can run my ms office on linux operating system.


so guys and gals pls help me.

thanks in advance.

[adil mannan]

reply soon pls.

[Peter09]

If you install Hardy which is the current Long Term Support version you will hove only a few small downloads a week (if any). I would suggest you download (or get) the LiveCD version of Hardy. This allows you to boot from the CD and try out Linux without changing your windows O/S.

After that you could dual boot your PC. That is you would have the choice of using Windows or Linux when your machine starts up.

[gvartser]

I like gnome, but this is as we say in SE "like the ***, devided".

The version you are after is 8.04. This is a log time support release.

/g

[Duck2006]

kde or gnome

I use Gnome it runs well, it looks a lot like a mac. Kde looks a lot more like *******. Why not try them both vie there live CD's and see witch one you like?

[alphaniner]

Well the current version of Ubuntu is LTS, meaning it will be supported and maintained for another few years. You should keep up with the updated, which are fairly frequent, though generally the downloads are small if you keep up with them.

[prematurebaby]

Gnome is the best in my opinion. You can also get the Beryl Compiz desktop environment depending on your graphics card. See video at my website the link is in my signature. I know that you should be able to run office with a program called wine. Don't worry about any viruses or anything because Linux is pretty much immune to that because nobody makes a virus for Linux. So my recommendation is that you choose Ubuntu.

[clive littlewood]

Hi

Welcome to the forum and Ubuntu.

I would suggest that you use the live CD and check out you hardware compatability first.

Hardy Heron is well sorted and very stable.

I personally find the Gnome desktop to my liking, but again you can try both

99% of all ******* programs have an alternative in Linux.

If you have any problems when running the live CD you will always get help here.

Good Luck :)

[MeBeMikeyC]

I don't know about "the best linux operating system", though Canonical does strive to make Ubuntu very user friendly. What is "the best" distro is up to you to decide.

Regarding best desktop environment (for you), I would recommend Gnome. I have machines that run Gnome (Ubuntu), XFCE (Xubuntu) and KDE (Kubuntu). I think Gnome is the easiest to navigate for a Windows user.

And, regarding updates... Yes, you would need an internet connection to download regular updates. Good news is, ignoring updates doesn't open you up to security problems as badly as Windows.

I suggest installing Hardy Heron release (8.04), which is a "LTS" (Long Term Support) release. Install all current updates, shut off update notifications, and ENJOY! I would suggest manually updating every few months though. Probably a good idea to stay at least somewhat current.

[Duck2006]

I know that you should be able to run office with a program called wine.

Not all ver's of office will run on wine. Go to wine's web site and see witch ver's will.

[FutanariKitty]

As has already been stated, you definitely want the 8.04 release. It ran wonderfully well for me, and after some GNOME updates, there are rarely any other updates to worry about, just the occassional bugfix or security update.

There are numerous ways to get ahold of Ubuntu, the easiest being to download and burn one of the ISO images of course. However, since you are limited in bandwidth, you can try purchasing from Amazon.com (for about $13 US...if you're outside the US, I'm not so sure you can get ahold of it there...)

There are bound to be other sites that offer to send you a copy of the live CD very reasonably priced. Canonical also offers free discs, but the site states this can take up to 10 weeks to get ahold of, and apparently they are offering Ubuntu 8.10, which is bound to have numerous updates.

As for your hardware, the only way to know for sure is to test it out, by booting up the live CD.

[prematurebaby]

Open office works fine too if you download some extra stuff like clip art. You might also want to consider waiting until 8.10 comes out if it runs good in it's first stage which I'm sure it will.

[muteXe]

reply soon pls.

That was posted 2 minutes after your first post.
If you wanna learn linux you gotta learn to have some more patience man :)

[Yoke & Chung]

I don't know which Linux is the best, but I love Ubuntu, mainly because of the very helpful users here. Just refer to the sticky for some common issues, and if not just post, think many will be there to assist you.